Just a heads up. I'll be on ESPN2's Quite Frankly with Steven A. Smith tonight at 6:30pmET, along with Esera Tuaolo, Pat Griffin, Dave Kopay and Christian fundamentalist Carey Casey.

Looking forward to it Cyd. I know you will do us proud.

I was wondering if you were going to post this. I posted it in the Sheryl Swoopes thread in the Gays in Sports forum. Would love to go to the show Cyd, but I just got the email a half hour ago. But I will definitely tune in! Make us proud!

Ha! Classic!

When you come back Cyd, make sure you tell us how pre-scripted the entire show is - even as far as the planted audience questions.

And make sure you tell us how smart Smiff actually is, or how he's basically fed information by the producers, because he doesn't have a freaking clue.

Quite Frankly This Show is Staged
Quite Frankly Smiff is a Fraud

I'll try to give a shout out to the "Vikings"!!

Work my name in and I might be able to russle up another Outsports donation!

Go Cyd Go! I'm gonna miss it but I know you'll do us proud. I need Tivo!

Cyd in all honesty, They tried to pull some Iggle Fans in for his show during the whole TO/Dmac thing.

You submit a question, they re-write it to their liking and write out Smiffs answer for him to yell, oops i mean say.

Actually I just decided to take a late lunch and drive home to watch. Do good!

Why drive down ratings?

While the topic of the show is of interest, I really want to hear what Cyd says about the validity of the show itself.

Jim go drink some more water. wink

Why, if this is a "good news" story for gay people, do they need to have a (presumably anti-gay) "Christian fundamentalist" on the panel?

The other panelists (incl. Cyd) sound great. But hopefully the discussion will look at the positive aspects of Swoopes' coming out, how she can be a role model for young people, how she might make it easier for a male athlete to come out, etc., and not a battle between gay and anti-gay forces.

Tell them the Hawks are for real too Cyd!

For those of you (us) that won't be home by 6:30 PM to watch the show, according to ESPN's website it will be repeated at 12:30 AM.

Still more proof that the idea of the "liberal media" is a fraud. Frankly, I'm not sure I'll watch even with Cyd. I'll record it while I'm at the Flyers game and then when I get home I'll decide.

Yes, in a NON PETER KING WOW I"M ON TV kinda way!

I did see this show once, and it completely sucked, for something scripted... well...

Hopefully George gets to see the show live. George will set the truth free.

Go George Go!

oh good, can't bear smith, but will tune in to see Cyd.

Just watched the opening and the "3 and Out" intro he does. Oh god, he's awful. And the topics--is there really a lawsuit from HOuston fans who were cold against MLB for not closing the roof of the astrodome? And he thinks the people of Houston has a right to decide if the roof is open or close. What is the logic there of letting the fans decide? Isn't there so wrtiten guideline.

There's Cyd on teh set. looking tall and handsome. But too much tv makeup. And Smith beating up on her girlfriend coach, again. Smith talks too much. The idea of deception. This is not a dialog, this is question question question with little followup, depth. Cyd is off. Smith is still on, I'm outta here.

Good job Cyd. My only complaint with the program is that they didn't have you on long enough. I would have loved more questions about you and what it is that Outsports is all about.

Fans = taxpayers who funded the stadium. Who is Bud Selig to be the one to impact a team's homefield advantage?

Good show that showcases a lot of our issues as gays and lesbians. Great to see Dave Kopay even though he appeared a little nervous. And THANK YOU LORD, for Dave calling Reggie White a FOOL on national TV! Esra is good too, giving it back to that minister guy.

Cyd, you look good and did a great job. This idiotic minister minister makes me wanna throw up.

This is probably his best show thus far. I only watch it because I like Stephen A., but his show overall is quite boring.

Hey, folks, if you didn't catch the show at 6:30, it's repeated again at 12:30 pm edt tonight (Thursday) on "the duece" (ESPN II)

[ October 27, 2005, 08:07 PM: Message edited by: buccoman ]

LOL. Too much makeup? I barely had any on?

BTW, I'm hearing that Swoopes pulled out because she doesn't like Steven A. Smith. And, obviously, he wasn't happy about it.

Off camera, I asked him if he has a problem with Swoopes dating her coach, does he have a problem with Phil Jackson dating Jeanie Buss. Of course, he said it was different. He admitted to me that he knew zero about the issue of gays in sports. But, contrary to what someone had told me earlier today, he seemed VERY supportive of Swoopes, gay athletes and seemed very interested in what Pat and I had to say.

According to the listings, half of the show is being repeated. I forgot to set up my new DVR to record it, and looking at the listings, the repeat that's airing right now is only a half-hour. The 6:30 pm showing is an hour long (is it live or pre-taped before airing at 6:30?).

Okay I'm a bit confused...

I just watched the late edition and it was the Cyd and Pat show. No Esera, no Dave and no church guy. I agree with most people here that SAS is a joke and the show is a joke but Cyd and Pat were awesome.

I'm so freaking proud of you Cyd and Jim and Outsports. It's so nice to hear my voice come outta of a handsome dude on the TV. And might I say even more handsome than the Cyd I met at the first Gay Super Bowl 4 years ago. Definitely not too much make-up. I thought your answers were succinct, intelligent and on the money.

People are people. It'll come with the baby steps. Thanks for providing them.

M

See above -- it seems they only repeat a half-hour of the show. Too bad we missed Esera and Dave, but I'm so glad I didn't have to sit through the religious nut's lies.

Thanks Joe. I saw your post after I posted mine. Well it seems like I got to see the best half. All fairly positive and moving us forward. Now if only Eric Lindros would come out before he retires...a boy can dream...

I guess since I am an ESPN freak, I kinda' like SAS. His persona is "hard-edged" but he was mostly down with gays in sports, so my respect for him sticks.

SAS seems all forced and telepromterish...like "we've gotta come up with a persona to make the new show work." I liked him on Around the Horn but he didn't act like that. I dunno.

This was the first time I'd ever watched the show and it was tough to sit through. Smith reminds me of how Tyra Banks hosts her talk show ... wants to be all sassy and in-your-face, but the attitude is forced and it makes the dialogue stilted. It also gets in the way of his ability to connect with whomever he's interviewing. Painful. I also hated every time he said "the cause" or "your people."

That said, this was also the first time I'd seen Cyd or heard him speak as well. Up until last night, I only read his posts. I want to say kudos and very well done. He came off articulately, intelligently, and sensibly. Not that I was surprised, mind you, but often times you'll see gay and lesbian advocates come off as very, I dunno, "activisty." Not that there's anything wrong with that. wink

Still, I felt Cyd was thoughtful yet straight forward and came across better than any of the other guests on the show. I briefly turned away when they started talking Leviticus. Please.

Also watched the late version. Cyd - you did great! Articulate and classy...proud of you.

Ditto on the kudos, Cyd; you DID look great - and I complement you on choosing a snazzy, perfectly coordinated outfit! But do watch the makeup; you really don't need any! wink

I only got the 1/2 hour version here in the 9:30 p.m. PDT time slot, too, which was disappointing since I was looking forward to seeing some good old fashioned Bible thumping. But you did very well and showed us to advantage. Good job!

I had my partner tape it yesterday so I could watch it when I got home from work. Overall, I thought it was a very well done hour. Made a lot of good points throughout the show. When the reverend started talking about how it's a choice, I thought they should have said to him: "and when exactly did you conciously choose your heterosexuality?" Tuaolo made some very good points, as did Kopay, especially when he bitched about Reggie White and how all the straight men talk about sex in the locker room, not the gays. I don't personally like Mr. Smith or his manner, but I really thought the show was positively done.

According to Rev. Carey Casey's teaching, I am really f**ked. I mean I am gay, which would make me a sinnner, and since I am Jewish and thus, don't accept Jesus Christ as the path to salvation, I might as well just end it now.

Umm, you're leaving out the part about being a Yankee fan. Hello eternal damnation.

Actually, I thought the "Yankee part" would put me on God's good side .

I was in the audience for the taping, thought I'd throw out a couple reactions.

Cyd was wonderful, and I was pleased that I never felt SAS was on the attack against him or against the other participants. Esera Tuaolo handled the conversation with the reverend with a beautiful dignity. But I wish the show hadn't gotten so mired in scripture -- the Bible is only a small fraction of why this is an issue to discuss.

What I would have liked is more of a conversation on what Swoopes's coming out actually *means*. Cyd did a nice job of ducking the question of "what if this actually does have a material negative effect on the WNBA?" I think that question should be considered, as should questions about what her teammates' experiences are now (they don't seem to be under glare now, but I don't know).

As for SAS himself, I knew little about him going into this. I knew that he'd gained a reputation for confrontational journalism but really didn't give much thought to whether it's a staged persona until people started asking about it. I did find him to be level-headed -- his greatest conversational technique is his frequent reassurances that he fully understands his opponent's point of view -- but a bit of macho bluster did come through. He did feel it necessary to reiterate his heterosexuality about four times, which I found a little silly; I got the feeling he genuinely has never had a gay relative or acquaintance or colleague to have even the most basic of conversations with.

And having said that, I am grateful to him for his willingness to put the topic on the air and further the public dialogue.

P.S. The formula for the audience questions, since someone asked if they were staged: They asked for anyone who had a question to raise their hand, and they brought clipboards around to take them all down; from what I suppose was about 20-25 questions, they picked the 3 or 4 that they felt were, not so much the "best" questions, but the ones that would elicit the most interesting responses. (In other words, the ones that make for good television; interpret however.) What I want to know is: The young guy who asked the question about Piazza's "I'm straight!" press conference -- he smirklingly inserted some initials between Mikey's first and last names. Did anyone catch what he said, and what it meant?

Haven't seen the show, but tell me this: The segment was about sports and homosexuality, and how one impacts the other, right? So why was a religious personality invited to participate on the panel, anyway? Did they invite a representative of some budding anti-sports movement, as well? No. Did the Rev arrive with some special insight into the psychology of locker room behavior, or credible scientific research about the actual confluence at hand? No? So, why invite him?

I guess my message is for the segment producers: try thinking for yourselves for once. Not every story that includes the word "gay" in the bi-line needs to become another ratings-grabbing shouting match about faith and morality, even though that's what they want you to think. And you just keep falling for it. The inclusion of the Rev simply lends unneccessary credence to prejudice.

And why do these religious fanatics need to get involved in this all the time? We've got to get past all this judgmentalism, people. I'm pretty sure this intelligent, upstanding young woman, married and a mother, has spent a lifetime reconciling her faith with her sexuality, as all of us do daily. So butt the hell out.

The stupid programs I guess always feel the need to balance the program so they offer up the same tired old religous, conservative mantra about homosexuals, namely, "its a choice", but God loves all homosexuals," blah, blah, blah. So old, so tired.

Overall, "Frankly..." is a decent show and SAS has an edgy side that works for him. He has an especially big appeal to both AfrAmer athletes and fans because he's perceived to have "street cred." So, his doing a show like this is pretty cool in my opinion...ESPN radio also devoted a lot of air time to this issue...The more this gets discussed in a variety of venues, the more we progress....

The reverend was a former college-level player who went on to (head? chair?) the Fellowship of Christian Athletes organization. So he has a sports connection.

CAttledog, a quick aside, I remember from my Southern Baptist Sunday School classes that Jews are the chosen people and thus, when He returns to call His followers, Jews will be given a second chance to accept His salvation. So on that account, you are not damned. I always saw being Jewish as a free pass to salvation.

Way off topic but what about someone who is "part jewish" on the Mother's side but raised Christian - free pass to salvation? eek! :confused:

Shore, I was made aware by the "free pass" to salvation from Christian friends and acquaintances. To be honest, I had never even heard about that growing up until I went to a Catholic High School (Don't ask! ). However, my real point was mocking Rev. Carey Casey's judgments about others in his comments. Esera Tuaolo put it best when he said (I'm paraphrasing here) that God is the ultimate judge. Guys like Casey just crack me up.

As for mdphl, I think you are required to give up your hold on first place in the NFL pick 'em contest to the Jewish person closest to you in the standings to acheive salvation .