ESPN allows front page John Calipari hating with featured piece and then hides it

Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

To be honest, if this was just a normal Grantland piece and ESPN linked it as a commentary, I probably would have not clicked the piece.  And after clicking it and seeing the tone, I certainly would not have read it.  But the fact that this was passed off as a LEGITIMATE story on Kentucky and tricked people into clicking on a hate piece is inexcusable.  Does Grantland need the hits so bad that you have to troll the Kentucky fanbase?  Or was it just a late night editor with a vengeance that posted it?  Because it disappeared pretty quick.  

Here is the conclusion to Pierces article.

"Truth be told, I’ve been watching John Calipari operate since he was an assistant coach at Pittsburgh, and I still wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw a thoroughbred. But he has refined his rap extremely well. He is the Jerry Tarkanian for the new age; for the Tark, it was always about “the kids,” too, even when they wound up in hot tubs with hoodlums. Calipari has created a working model for the modern college game and now, remarkably, he is getting credit for having done so. And he will get even more credit, as his talented group of temp workers moves on to play in the Final Four in a stadium that’s too damn big for football, let alone for basketball. One last absurdity in a season built on it. This is a little miracle, is what it is. What can you do now but laugh?"

And this is what frustrates the hell out of me.  I don’t care if Charles Pierce hates Kentucky.  I don’t read Grantland and it’s his right to hate on Calipari.  It’s my right to protest.  But what gets me is just the laziness of his conclusion:

"Truth be told, I’ve been watching John Calipari operate since he was an assistant coach at Pittsburgh, and I still wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw a thoroughbred."

Why?  Why do you distrust Calipari?  Does he owe you money?  Or is Calipari-bashing the big thing and you just wanted to write an attack piece because its vogue to do?  I may be the only one that wants to know WHY an author has such a biased view.

At least we know why Pat Forde attacks John Calipari.  And Jeff Goodman.  And even Dan Dakich.  They have all given reasons for the snark and it’s their right to bash Cal all they want.  They obviously have the right and it is my right to not give them the pageviews or to just cast an uninterested air at mostly anything they write.  You know what you are getting with a Forde piece.

From what I can tell, Pierce is from Massachusetts and perhaps that is where is animosity and obsession with Calipari comes from.  And I get that.  Yet, I should not have been tricked into reading it under the guise of “What to expect”.

If you want to check out the whole Grantland piece, here is the link.  It’s only right to do so because I have used parts of his story in my piece and because of that, a link back is expected.  

And to be honest, Pierce is not the culprit here.  I’m not siccing people on him or telling people to “go get him” because he wrote a piece about John Calipari.  It’s his right and his prerogative. I’m discussing him today solely for the reason that a ESPN editor thought it would be cute to troll an entire fanbase.  It’s quite possible that Pierce had no idea that his story would be linked on ESPN.

The fault is solely on ESPN and whoever made the executive decision to link that story.  I really don’t see how it could be a mistake to link a story from an external website and then say “Oh, I meant to link this Andy Katz (or whoever) story.”  And if that mistake happened, well, that is why you proofread.  And if you did not proofread, well that goes right back to you.

I may be the only person offended by this.  I doubt it.  And no one else may care.  But I do.  And it’s shameful that the players and families of the players have to be subjected to this without warning during what is probably the happiest time of their lives.  The fact that an eight seed is in the Final Four is a great story and the coaching job that John Calipari has done deserved recognition.  Marcus Lee deserves better.

Why link to something that attacks a kid and then just take it down like it did not happen?

I get it.  People at ESPN don’t like Kentucky.  But it’s the Final Four week, one of the greatest week in sports for a lot of people who watch ESPN’s coverage incessantly and are the reason ESPN can charge the ad rates they do.  Can you for once, just stick to sports and stop the trolling for one week?  On Tuesday, you can link all the anti-Calipari pieces you want and I won’t be paying attention.  But not now!

Shame on you, ESPN.  You know better.