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Mike Rodak leaving ESPN


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47 minutes ago, Nick the Greek said:

He had, what most of us would agree with, a dream job. Paid to cover the NFL.

 

And he quit voluntarily? That doesn’t make much sense to me. 

I'm assuming he wasn't making much with this position , financially at least his wife will rake in much more $$ but ya I'd love to have that job. Man I'd prefer a bunch of posters on here

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Panther guy replacing him huh? Seems ol ESPN sees the writing on the wall for the next powerhouse of the east. Have to get someone with Carolina ties in to cover the bills playoff runs the next 10+ years. One can hope right 

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Does this guy not know?

His professional career just hit a wall!

He will now spend his time never breaking any stories while writing retread stories after the fact. 

The CO must not have been a good gig or ESPN must pay well bc unless he decides to reinvent the wheel,  all he will be doing is reporting said wheel is round.

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5 hours ago, Bray Wyatt said:

ok gtfo, this is his replacement:

 

Verified account

Carolina Panthers beat writer, @theobserver | @Cronkite_ASU, @VClions | Habitual line stepper | MLouisJacques@charlotteobserver.com | IG: mlouisja

 

looool

 

Another Panthers signing... Damn it!

2 hours ago, JerseyBills said:

I'm assuming he wasn't making much with this position , financially at least his wife will rake in much more $$ but ya I'd love to have that job. Man I'd prefer a bunch of posters on here

 

I don't think it really is a great gig. I think it is good in terms of potential exposure for a writer. However, I don't think it does much for them unless they are covering New York, Chicago, LA, Dallas and that's about it. Probably philly too. Those markets will get you a lot of calls. 

 

Buffalo, not so much. Whoever is covering Cleveland better take advantage of this year lol.

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3 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

I’m sure he has another position lined up. He’s leaving because he’s moving to Bama - his wife’s residency is up at UB and they want  to be closer to family 

Saw that.. seems like a weak excuse tho. 

 

He cant be from Alabama right? We all convinced ourselves he was a Pats* spy. He gotta be from Mass.

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5 hours ago, Lurker said:

What's ESPN?...

ESPN is a dumpster fire of sub par sports reporting.  I can remember when Sportscenter was widely watched and considered a good source of legitimate sports reporting.  They've lost that and haven't been good for quite a while.  It doesn't surprise me that they have a lot of turnover with their employees.  

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This collusion between Beane and ESPN must stop. I request an independent panel be formed to determine Beanes involvement in the hiring of one Marcell Louis-Jacques for this position. I would like Mr. Rodak subpoenaed immediately and questioned for his involvement. Living closer to family? Is that really the truth Mr. Rodak? Bills nation must protect the integrity of Bills reporting. Attica! Attica!   

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8 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I was just starting to like Rodak. I thought he did a decent job but we held his New England ties against him. Oh well, on to the next one

 

 

My exact response.

 

As he got to know the team/players he got a bit better and seemed to pay a bit more attention. I never really thought he was anti-Bills.  But he was a Pat's* guy and early on he seemed pretty lazy. He got a bit better.

 

I knew the new reporter would catch s#it here once people heard he previously covered the Panthers.

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2 hours ago, Florida Bills Fanatic said:

ESPN is a dumpster fire of sub par sports reporting.  I can remember when Sportscenter was widely watched and considered a good source of legitimate sports reporting.  They've lost that and haven't been good for quite a while.  It doesn't surprise me that they have a lot of turnover with their employees.  

 

There's certainly no more Feel Good Edition!

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9 hours ago, BuffaloBob said:

Is that some sort of Country music dance fad?

 

 

I’m OK with the new guy being a habitual line stepper, providing he is able to keep from grinding his feet into the Pegula’s couch. 

Edited by BillsGuyOutWest
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5 hours ago, Bangarang said:

This new guy better worship everything Allen, McD and BB do or the fans won’t like him.

Star gets doubled teamed every play.

McD will win a challenge, soon.

Releasing Foster was actually a smart move.

Nate P. deserved multiple chances at QB.

 

I can do this job and make everyone happy. Let me at it. 

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14 hours ago, eball said:

 

For his first several years his stories provided absolutely no insight and it didn't even seem like he was watching the team personally.  I think he started to "get it" more recently but still lacked any real journalistic "spark."  If I read anything of his it was truly by accident.

 

I think in fairness there has been a change of editorial style at ESPN. The no insight regurgitating stuff from elsewhere was pretty much the modus operandi for them until a couple of years ago when I think they saw where football coverage was heading and moved much more into a space of trying to be analytical. 

 

I still think Rodak is a very mediocre writer. But I think the first few years he covered the team when a wet pencil could have done the job was not all on him.  

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My take is that a national outlet reporter from outside the area has little context to summons when initially assigned to a new team/city.  Not to mention no inside sources or strong relationships with team management, coaches or players.  It's a tough gig.

 

IMHO Rodak did alright in his time here and was pretty objective and never played the Homer role.  Wish him and his wife the best in starting a new chapter in their life.

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21 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I was just starting to like Rodak. I thought he did a decent job but we held his New England ties against him. Oh well, on to the next one

 

He admitted to Tim Graham that some of his tweets were trolling the fans since they treated him so bad.  He also said, he was trying to hold the Bills to a higher standard.  

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14 hours ago, KzooMike said:

This collusion between Beane and ESPN must stop. I request an independent panel be formed to determine Beanes involvement in the hiring of one Marcell Louis-Jacques for this position. I would like Mr. Rodak subpoenaed immediately and questioned for his involvement. Living closer to family? Is that really the truth Mr. Rodak? Bills nation must protect the integrity of Bills reporting. Attica! Attica!   

 

Getting rid of Rodentak increases integrity of Bills reporting.

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3 hours ago, High Football IQ said:

Sad to see Rodak go, I always felt he did youman's work covering the Bills beat for ESPN despite a lot of shade thrown his way for allegedly being a closet Pats fan just because he lived in the greater Boston area.

I mean, on Tim Graham’s show he talks about being a pats fan growing up. I know as a media member they’re supposed to not have any bias but can anyone really turn off their fandom completely? I personally don’t care either way. He’s also mentioned about the hoodies he owned from their earlier super bowl years as well. 

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Funny when I first read the announcement I thought it said *Binghamton*, and my first reaction was "oof!" ?

 

Similar to when people have super strong opinions about certain announcers, or jerseys, the alleged terribleness of Rodak just kind of went over my head - just seemed like a regular dime a dozen beat writer to me.

 

My most lasting impression of him will be at training camp last year where after one of the practices he was standing near the stands with a group of reporters who had stopped a player coming off the field.  As the reporters were gathered and recording what the player was saying, a group of 20-somethings in the stands stood there mockingly screaming "Rodak! Rodak!" the whole time.  He just stood there and took it with as much dignity as someone can muster in that scenario.  All I know is that he handled that encounter with class (and the same verbal assault these same guys had given him throughout practice whenever he was in earshot).

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