Steven Cohen to ESPN

Discussion in 'TV, Satellite & Radio' started by Epikoinos, Sep 23, 2011.

  1. Epikoinos

    Epikoinos Soccer player-coach-manager-journalist

    Arsenal, Real Salt Lake, Forward Madison
    United States
    Jan 6, 2004
    Oregon, WI
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Not many details here, but Steven Cohen tweeted today that he has a new gig at ESPN and it has to do with football.

    "ESPN, football, mid-October. More details as we have them."

    "Yes, i will be doing very similar work to that that i have done before but now for ESPN."

    "Hoping to possibly do a half time bit of US MNT game on ESPN 2 in Oct to announce the show...but I will let everyone know."

    On somewhat related note, Kenny Hassan announced today that he is leaving World Football Daily.
     
  2. pats1237

    pats1237 Member

    Oct 28, 2006
    The District
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Any idea why Kenny is leaving?
     
  3. Warbuxx

    Warbuxx Member

    Jun 23, 2002
    The details regarding this new show will be interesting, but if it will be conceptionally similar to the discussion shows he's hosted, this could be a good step forward for the sport. I like Steven Cohen and he knows his stuff. He's passionate and he's also learned to be less provincial and anglophilic than he was in his earlier days. Of course, he's English, so this was to be expected, up to a point.

    I'm looking forward to this.
     
  4. blackhornet

    blackhornet Member

    Jun 26, 2008
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    And of course the LFC boycotts have ramped up right on cue. I'm surprised that ESPN of all people would get into the Steven Cohen business given their rep for having clean personalities. This should be verrrry interesting.

    Of course if ESPN hasn't announced this yet, perhaps this was a trial balloon and they'll cut ties with him once the heat gets too hot.
     
  5. DetroitTFC

    DetroitTFC BigSoccer Supporter

    Apr 14, 2007
    Detroit
    Club:
    Toronto FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Pure speculation but based on what he said about doing what he did before but now for ESPN, I wonder if it will be a Prem/Euro chat radio show for the ESPN affiliated radio stations. Can't see it being a tv product.
     
  6. bayernfan86

    bayernfan86 Member

    May 2, 2010
    Club:
    FC Bayern München
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    Hmm, this should be interesting. Surely they already knew about his history with Liverpool before offering him the job. I'm guessing that ESPN is too big to be affected by a group of thugs who clearly have all the time to protest an ESPN hire because they are unemployed. People like Skip Bayless, Woody Paige, Stephen A. Smith etc have an almost 100% negative reaction amongst ESPN viewers, yet they are still employed by ESPN.
     
  7. NYRBA1

    NYRBA1 Member

    Feb 4, 2011
    couldn't have said it better myself.

    i'm a cohen fan, was just monitoring a few liverpool message board threads that came up when searching "steven cohen espn" and they truly think they can bring down espn with a few emails. and that they will be feeling the wrath of a "few million people" - truly insanity at it's best.

    whatever you say about him, he's a very entertaining character, and this will only be a positive when he is compared with other bland studio personalities in the football media world right now.
     
  8. simont

    simont Member

    Nov 15, 2005
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I wish Steven Cohen the best of luck and I will support this new show say what you want about him but he is good what he does you may not agree with him all the time but who said you have to agree with some one all the time I will say what some of the LFC fans have done or are doing is just sick first off sending threats to him and his kids I am sorry but doing that kind of stuff is just Wong if you don’t like what he says then tarn it off. LFC fans think they will take down Espn that is just dumb as all hell first off Espn are not going to go bust because of a small bunch of fans that have nothing better to do. What else I find funny about what else I find funny is they say boycott Espn what the hell are they going to do when LFC are on Espn not watch the game why because its on ESPN o please. Can’t write for the info to come out for the show if it is TV or radio all I will say is good job Steven and he still has a lot of fans. I just hope if it is radio his show won’t be put on lets say 3:00 am and that his show is on at a good time.
     
  9. simont

    simont Member

    Nov 15, 2005
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Agree 100% with what you say.
     
  10. Portugeezer!

    Portugeezer! Member

    Jun 8, 2005
    Raynham, MA
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Portugal
    Been curious about this as well. Anyone know?
     
  11. simont

    simont Member

    Nov 15, 2005
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don’t know why Kenny is living but I hope the show is ok. I say this because only last spring Steven left now Kenney is going it gets me wondering is the show on the down. Hope not.
     
  12. IlliniOne82

    IlliniOne82 Member

    Sep 8, 2004
    Plainfield, IL
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    When I first heard the announcement on Friday I got kind of worried but then I realized I had the same reaction when Steven left and the show is probably better now than it was then. I have really started to like Sophie and especially Robert but I think the real key to the show is the off air people who are able to get the lineup of guests that they do. I think it's going to be just fine.
     
  13. socceranarchist

    socceranarchist New Member

    Sep 26, 2011
    Boston
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    First, I hate the Liverpool fans for costing America it's only true FREE nationwide soccer show. I hope they don't get away with it again. Of course the campaign leaders promised up and down that they were only trying to get Cohen off Sirus XM and then they would be done, but I guess we will see what their word is worth. So far it's just the rank and file of the LFC fans online trying to get ESPN to ditch its latest effort to grow soccer/reward soccer fans.

    Surely ESPN knew what the LFC fan response would be and they are willing to go with Cohen as he really is the only person to take a soccer show nationwide and he did it without a major sports entity backing him... that is amazing when you think about it. Hell, Fox Soccer and ESPN and Sports Illustraited have all dabbled in the format and none of them were as successful as WSD in its prime. Ultimately if Cohen were to go too far in his opinions or whatever then ESPN can replace him. That alone should give the LFC fans a reason to set down and be quiet for a while (because if you're protesting at his hiring it is going to make it sound less credible when you protest after he says something you don't like on their airwaves--ESPN will just know they are out to get him).

    Now, as for ESPN, they have seen what a passionate fanbase can do to one of their broadcasters (Kirk Herbstreit for instance). They've also hired people with outrageous opinions (Jim Rome? Steven A. Smith, etc) and if everyone got fired for when they got a fact wrong, or even expressed a controversial opinion, then that station would be nothing but Max Bretos on sportscenter.
     
  14. socceranarchist

    socceranarchist New Member

    Sep 26, 2011
    Boston
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Man, you know the LFC fans have to be majorly pissed. They got Cohen off Fox Soccer and Sirus XM only to have him pop up on ESPN! One poster on one of the hardcore LFC boards said that was like getting fired from Aldershot to wind up at Manchester United!
     
  15. TheAnswer1313

    TheAnswer1313 Member+

    Dec 12, 2007
    Charleston, WV
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    Just out of curiosity what did he do to piss Liverpool fans off so much?
     
  16. socceranarchist

    socceranarchist New Member

    Sep 26, 2011
    Boston
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    He said that the Hillsborough disaster (where 96 LFC fans died in a crowd crush) was caused by thousands of ticketless liverpool fans and by rowdy liverpool fans. He later recanted the "thousands" but did insist there were ticketless fans there and that fan drunkeness put undue pressure on the police at the gates who opened them to relieve a crush at the gates that then turned into a crush in the stadium.

    Liverpool fans are adimant that there were no ticketless fans and that the Taylor Report (a government inquiry) proves them 100% innocent. Cohen said that Liverpool fans misbehavior should share some of the blame. The Taylor report does mention ticketless fans (which was routine for LFC fans back then and even still today) were there and that drunken behavior was present, but ultimately ruled that the police were responsible for not closing off the central pen in the stadium that all the fans rushed into.

    Then when Liverpool fans started a boycott against Cohen he laughed at them, but of course in the end they were successful.
     
  17. IlliniOne82

    IlliniOne82 Member

    Sep 8, 2004
    Plainfield, IL
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    In short he basically refuted the official report that was released on Hillsborough and said it was the fault of Liverpool fans and not poor crowd control. This basically amounts to sacrilege in the eyes of Liverpool fans. I am a Liverpool supporter and had nothing against Cohen however I was in no way close to the Hillsborough tragedy and I'm sure it's much different for those who were.
     
  18. socceranarchist

    socceranarchist New Member

    Sep 26, 2011
    Boston
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Oh, and they are also mad that he once boasted that at a game he called the Liverpool fans "murderers" for their role in the Heysal disaster where LFC fans chased 39 Juventus fans until they tried to escape over a wall and the wall collapsed killing 39. Only the most hard-core Liverpool fans deny any LFC wrongdoing in that incident, yet many of the boycott organizers do so.
     
  19. socceranarchist

    socceranarchist New Member

    Sep 26, 2011
    Boston
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Funny enough, most of the American Liverpool fans who were so active in the boycott were in no way close to the Hillsborough tragedy either.

    In any case the whole episode was full of drastic overreactions from both sides (Cohen and the LFC fans). Cohen once hosted WSD with a Liverpool fan and their good-natured ribbing back and forth was a starting point for much of the Liverpool hatred for Cohen, but then the whole Hillsborough stuff is when it all went nuclear.
     
  20. Hutman

    Hutman New Member

    Dec 3, 2009
    Hmmmmm. I followed the Cohen/Liverpool thing reasonably closely at the time. I'm sure there are others who know the details better than me. For the sake of disclosure, I should also say that I'm definitely NOT a Liverpool fan. Also, I listened to Cohen 3+/- times a week when he was free, but didn't follow him behind the paywall for a few reasons.

    But anyway, I'm interested when you speak about the boycott leaders denying the Heysel tragedy. As I say, I followed things reasonably closely. Do you know who those leaders were? I mean names of individuals? And if you can name them, can you then point me to their statements denying Heysel?

    Because as much as I had little time for the Liverpool fans (or Cohen when it was all over), I never heard or read any of this Heysel stuff and I'm just not certain that your version is correct or that you are even referring to those boycott leaders.
     
  21. FootballFutbolSoccer

    Jun 22, 2010
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Steven AND Kenny have deleted Facebook and Twitter. I have a good feeling the Liverpool people will if not already have killed any future reincarnations of Steven/Kenny on the air. I hope I am wrong but....
     
  22. IlliniOne82

    IlliniOne82 Member

    Sep 8, 2004
    Plainfield, IL
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Are you implying that "the Liverpool people" are the reason for Kenny leaving the show? Do you have anything to back this up? Sorry if I'm misinterpreting this but that doesn't seem to make sense.
     
  23. Hutman

    Hutman New Member

    Dec 3, 2009
    Wow! Both Facebook and Twitter are no more? That's a lot of power for 2 football talkers! :)
     
  24. cdmphy

    cdmphy Member

    Jan 14, 2000
    Natick, MA
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    I imagine they are deleting accounts to rebrand for the show. Scousers aren't as powerful as they think they are. They are no longer one of the big boys and Henry is having a hard time marketing them here in Boston, let alone the rest of the country. Plus this is an American show, so I can't imagine the boys at Bristol will care about what is essentially an English based movement. I imagine the number of subscribers to ESPN in England that are part of this movement are very low.

    And if ESPN is starting a show, they would probably welcome the free publicity from a small cohort of loud mouths.
     
  25. dathay

    dathay Member

    Jul 9, 2007
    San Diego, CA
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    Looks like Twitter accounts claiming to be both Kenny and Steven went live around 11:00am PDT.
    @KennyHassanESPN tweeted
    and @StevenCohenESPN tweeted
     

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