PFT: Troy Aikman rips FOX Sports for hiring Skip Bayless

Cotton

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Troy Aikman rips FOX Sports for hiring Skip Bayless

Posted by Michael David Smith on September 6, 2016, 11:39 AM EDT

Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman is the No. 1 NFL analyst on FOX, but he’s not afraid to criticize his own employer.

Aikman ripped FOX for hiring Skip Bayless away from ESPN and giving Bayless his own First Take knockoff show on FOX Sports 1. Aikman has disliked Bayless since the 1990s, when Bayless wrote a book about the Cowboys that included unsubstantiated rumors that Aikman is gay.

“To say I’m disappointed in the hiring of Skip Bayless would be an enormous understatement,” Aikman told Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated. “Clearly, [Fox Sports president of national networks] Jamie Horowitz and I have a difference of opinion when it comes to building a successful organization. I believe success is achieved by acquiring and developing talented, respected and credible individuals, none of which applies to Skip Bayless.”

Aikman has long maintained that Bayless is an irresponsible, unethical journalist and shouldn’t have a platform at any media outlet. Aikman will continue to say that now, even though Bayless is now a FOX Sports colleague.

______________________________

DAAAAAAAAAAAAMN! STAY DOWN, SKIPSNATCH! :towel
 

Genghis Khan

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Props to Aikman.

As an aside, the shit that ESPN is trying to trot out there right now is brutal. I can't even listen to it. It's been that way for a while but it's gotten even worse recently.

I keep hoping for a sports platform competitor to emerge and save us, but to no avail. Fox hiring someone like Bayless tells me they are going down the same retarded path as ESPN. And I just want to vomit.
 

P_T

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Props to Aikman.

As an aside, the shit that ESPN is trying to trot out there right now is brutal. I can't even listen to it. It's been that way for a while but it's gotten even worse recently.

I keep hoping for a sports platform competitor to emerge and save us, but to no avail. Fox hiring someone like Bayless tells me they are going down the same retarded path as ESPN. And I just want to vomit.
Yeah, that new show with him and Shannon Sharpe needs to be aborted before it gets a chance to breathe air... Bayless makes my brain hurt, and Sharpe just makes me want to shove ice picks into my ears.
 

Newt

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Brutal. I like it.
 

mcnuttz

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“To say I’m disappointed in the hiring of Skip Bayless would be an enormous understatement,” Aikman told Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated. “Clearly, [Fox Sports president of national networks] Jamie Horowitz and I have a difference of opinion when it comes to building a successful organization. I believe success is achieved by acquiring and developing talented, respected and credible individuals, none of which applies to Skip Bayless.
Brutal

:towel
 

Carp

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Another weird announcing thing...the NFL will not let Mike Tirico do their Thurs Night games on NBC, insisting on Al Michaels. Not sure if it is some kind of side deal to keep ESPN happy, but that is a shame. I thought Tirico has always been an excellent play by play guy, so keeping him off of broadcasts is ridiculous. Michaels is 71 too, seems like an awful lot of travel for a guy that age.
 

1bigfan13

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Another weird announcing thing...the NFL will not let Mike Tirico do their Thurs Night games on NBC, insisting on Al Michaels. Not sure if it is some kind of side deal to keep ESPN happy, but that is a shame. I thought Tirico has always been an excellent play by play guy, so keeping him off of broadcasts is ridiculous. Michaels is 71 too, seems like an awful lot of travel for a guy that age.
I agree but I can also see where the NFL is coming from. They probably don't want to provide the appearance that the Thursday night games are anything less than must see marquee events. So in that regard I can understand them insisting that the networks provide their "A teams" to call those games.

Nothing at all against Tirico, because he's terrific in his own right, but he doesn't carry that "big game" feel with him like guys like Al Michaels.
 

Jiggyfly

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Another weird announcing thing...the NFL will not let Mike Tirico do their Thurs Night games on NBC, insisting on Al Michaels. Not sure if it is some kind of side deal to keep ESPN happy, but that is a shame. I thought Tirico has always been an excellent play by play guy, so keeping him off of broadcasts is ridiculous. Michaels is 71 too, seems like an awful lot of travel for a guy that age.
It's actually the NFL wanting all of their prime time games being covered by the number 1 announcing team.

I agree Tirico is excellent.
 

Carp

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Basically the NFL said they could use Tirico, but only if he did SNF as well. I just thought there would be an opportunity for NBC to swing for the fences...like maybe throwing a shit ton of money at Manning as the color commentary.
 
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