Skip Bayless
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Skip Bayless (born John Edward Bayless II on December 4, 1951 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), is a nationally syndicated American sportswriter. He is often seen on ESPN2's morning show, Cold Pizza (with Woody Paige), and the afternoon show 1st and 10. Bayless writes columns for ESPN.com's Page 2 and occasionally substitutes as host for syndicated radio program The Jim Rome Show. He has also previously contributed to ESPN as a recurring panelist on The Sports Reporters and NFL Prime Monday (now ESPN Monday Night Countdown) in the 1990s, and more recently, Jim Rome is Burning. He is well known for devoloping and arguing strong opinions on many major sports topics and debates, often leaving little room for counter-arguments.
Bayless has written for The Miami Herald, The Dallas Morning News, Dallas Times Herald, Chicago Tribune, and most recently the San Jose Mercury News. He has also written several books regarding the Dallas Cowboys. In one such book, Mr. Bayless created quite a controversy when he attempted to "out" Cowboy, and Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman. This attempt was unsuccessful, aside from a slight increase in book sales, and brought much criticism upon Mr. Bayless for the innuendos concerning Mr. Aikman's sexuality as contained in the book.
Bayless was also the first voice ever heard live on the very popular Dallas radio station, KTCK Sports Radio 1310 "The Ticket". During his and the station's first ever broadcast, he rightly predicted that KTCK would dominate the local sports radio market. His relationship with the station would quickly grow sour, however, due to many circumstances, including tension with host Gordon Keith.
Skip Bayless is also know for repeatedly stating that field goals and extra point attempts (PATs) should be done away in the National Football League which often causes an argument with rival Woody Paige on Cold Pizza. This argument once went so far that New York Giants kicker Jay Feely was invited onto the show to guest host for the absent Paige and debate against Skip Bayless and his anti-kicking rant.
Bayless is a graduate of Vanderbilt University in Nashville. His brother is Rick Bayless, a well known chef who specialises in traditional Mexican food with modern interpretations.
Criticism
Bayless is viewed by many readers as a sensationalist because he makes many outlandish remarks and predictions pertaining to popular or controversial sports topics. For example, Bayless claimed on ESPN's Cold Pizza that Josh Howard's "time-out" in Game 5 of the 2006 NBA Finals was "the worst call in sports history."Bayless is also criticized in his writing skills for not using sufficient statistics to support his arguments, which in turn generate a larger readership. An example of this can be found in his allegations that Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman was a homosexual. Bayless did not cite any sufficient sources to support his claim, although sales of his book spiked when the allegations made headlines.
Bibliography
- God's Coach: The Hymns, Hype, and Hypocrisy of Tom Landry's Cowboys, Simon and Schuster, 1990. ISBN 0671705814.
- Boys: The Untold Story of the Dallas Cowboys' Season on the Edge, Simon and Schuster, 1993. ISBN 0671793594.
- Hell-Bent: The Crazy Truth About the "Win or Else" Dallas Cowboys, HarperCollins Publishers, 1996. ISBN 0060186488.
External links
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