The season finale is this coming Tuesday night (11/11)

I kept missing this show at first becaue I was trying to get all my studying done so that I could watch Nip/Tuck. Then Nip/Tuck got done for the season so then they had a Playmakers Marathon on ESPN and ESPN 2 so Hubby and I got caught up and now we are waiting on the season finale for next week. Here's my opinions on:

DH: I hate him so much with his crackheaded azz!! Is he going to take the whole team down with him?? What's taking him so long to get caught, anyway? Next week, he and Leon will actually go to blows!! *rubbing hands in glee*

Leon: If I have to hear him whine one mo time about him being old and not getting respect and blah blah blah, I'll throw my fuzzy slipper at him!!

The big bald white guy with issuses with his dad (I can't think of his name): I like him. He seems to be the only sane one on the team. But the season finale will seem to bring him some daddy trouble of his own.

The team manager: I was so glad when he went off on everyone on Tuesday's ep. because they treat him like the team go-fer and fix it man and ho hook-up. I thought that he and that girl he hooked up McConnell with would get together.

I hope ESPN will bring it back for a 2nd season.

I kinda thought the season was too short. It should have lasted the length of the NFL regular season!

I was glad for Leon...although I know since its TV they had to make the underdog come out on top. I also like DH... he keeps it interesting.

A friend of mine in the NFL says the show is too stereotypical and so fake...but hey its entertaining!

Well I heard that Playmakers won't be coming back next season...apparently the NFL was NOT havin' it with this show.
Is this true? Anyone else hear the same?

Here's an article I found. I dont know that the NFL is actually taking any steps to get the show snatched. I hope they aren't!

ESPN's `Playmakers' irks NFL hierarchy
BY ED SHERMAN
Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO - (KRT) - The drug-addicted running back resorts to stealing pain pills from a terminally ill kid in a hospital. Another player tries to conceal he is gay by decking his partner in a bar. The amoral quarterback had the trainer take care of his girlfriend's abortion. The veteran leader has been charged with spousal abuse.

It's just another week in the life of the Cougars, a team full of some of the most loathsome characters ever to put on a uniform. These guys go so far over the line, they have drawn the ire of the National Football League, although not for reasons you'd think.

The Cougars are the fictional pro football team in ESPN's Tuesday night drama, "Playmakers." The show doesn't spend much time detailing how the quarterback dissects film.

Rather, the story lines offer behind-the-scenes twists at every turn, some of them straining credulity. "Playmakers" has the feel of a soap opera for football fans.

The formula is working. ESPN's first foray into a dramatic series has been a huge hit, with an average audience of 1.63 million households per airing. Outside of NFL games and prime-time college football, "Playmakers" has been among ESPN's highest-rated shows this fall.

The program has a large following among men ages 18 to 34. But it also has some key detractors in that category.

Several NFL players have spoken out about their dislike for "Playmakers." They believe it is an extreme exaggeration as to what really goes on behind closed doors.

NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue quickly came to the players' defense saying the show "is a gross characterization of our sport."

Gene Upshaw, executive director of the NFL Players Association, went on the attack this week after hearing several players express their concerns about the show.

"I really don't believe our broadcast partners (ESPN airs Sunday night games) should be participating in that type of program, because it is portraying players in the wrong light," Upshaw said in a speech to the Charlotte Touchdown Club.

Upshaw went as far as to say the show is "racist" because the majority of the players with problems on the show are black.

"We have some great players in this league, both black and white," Upshaw said. "But the way they are being portrayed is that they all have problems, that they all beat their wives, that they all have drug issues. ... The guys in the NFL don't resemble that. Yes, we've had guys who have had some incidents happen, but you don't see all of them on the same team."

Upshaw turned down a request for an interview Thursday, saying through a representative, "the comments speak for themselves."

The NFL isn't the only constituency up in arms. The Association for Women in Sports Media is upset over what it deems the stereotypical portrayal of a women television reporter who flirts openly with the team's veteran running back. The association also cites a credibility problem in questioning why the network is using the actress on the show, Thea Andrews, as a correspondent on "Cold Pizza," ESPN2's new morning show.

The negative reaction has ESPN on the defensive. Network executives keep stressing that the show isn't based on reality.

Ron Semiao, ESPN's senior vice president for original entertainment, said "Playmakers" is no more a portrayal of the NFL than "McHale's Navy" was of life in the navy.

"This is dramatic television," Semiao said. "It's fiction. It's entertainment. (In Hollywood) things are condensed and blown up for entertainment purposes."

Semiao said the premise for "Playmakers" is the same as those for fictional police and hospital shows. He maintains "ER" wouldn't be a popular show if all they showed were patients coming to the emergency room with scraped knees.

Semiao said story lines are exaggerated for dramatic effect on "Playmakers." He said viewers are sophisticated enough to know the difference.

"Yes, I'm a little surprised the NFL has had this reaction," Semiao said. "There have been dramatic cop shows on for years that portray the police chief in an unsavory manner. I've never seen this type of reaction from police departments. All of our research shows viewers don't associate this with the NFL. They watch it for what it is. It's TV."

Yet ESPN is sensitive to the NFL's feelings. The Sunday night games and all the other related NFL programming are among ESPN's most valuable properties, if not the most valuable.

That could be one of the reasons why ESPN has not decided whether "Playmakers" will return for a second season. Officially, Semiao said the network needs to determine what kind of time slots will be available for a dramatic series next fall.

There is speculation, however, ESPN could pull the plug if the NFL continues to howl. The last thing the network wants to do is damage its relationship with the league.

Obviously, there is considerable drama off the screen with "Playmakers." On the screen, three shows are left in the season, with the next one coming Tuesday.

The coming attractions reveal the gay player will be outed by his former partner and tensions run high over the linebacker's in-season contract negotiations. Thanks to television drama, it never is a dull week with the Cougars.

---

© 2003, Chicago Tribune.

Visit the Chicago Tribune on the Internet at http://www.chicago.tribune.com

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services

I love this show!
 

I think it was a great idea for ESPN to embark on this type of programming. They have a new viewer in me for as long as they air the program. My husband and I actually set our tv and make sure we are watching Tuesday at 9!!

The characters are off the hook and always have me waiting for next week...

Okay, My husband and I watch it every week. I love the show. I was so happy for Leon, even though I wasn't feeling that having a daughter thing. I wish the owner would have a heart attack, thats who I don't like!!! I hope it comes back!

such bs
 

i love this show. i think it hit too close to home in many respects. literally everyone had a problem on that show. i didn't see race as a factor. too bad the cougars didn't make the playoff, but what a fitting end if the show isn't picked up again.

Has anyone seen this show? It had me rolling. Today they actually had the Philadelphia cheerleaders doing the weather. LOL It was so bad, I had to turn the channel.

A Moment of Silence....
 

Blowing whistle on 'Playmakers' ESPN's best call
The cancellation this week of the controversial Playmakers series provides hope that ESPN will concentrate on what it does best — providing widespread popular sports programming and keeping viewers informed.
ESPN officials point out that Playmakers, based on a fictitious pro football team, was the third-most popular show on the network. But its storylines of drugs, spousal abuse and homosexuality continued a trend of ESPN moves that needlessly offended part of its core audience.

There was the sometimes-vulgar act of comedian Jay Mohr that was cancelled. Though the Season on the Brink movie about Bob Knight was a ratings success, the profanity-laden dialogue again led to viewer complaints.

And there was the brief but much-debated hiring of conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh, who forced his own resignation when he suggested Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles was overrated because the media wanted a black quarterback to succeed.

In the Playmakers case, those offended included leaders of the NFL. Although ESPN pays more than $600 million for the right to broadcast NFL games, the network understands that the league would have little difficulty opting for another cable partner in its next contract.

Commissioner Paul Tagliabue complained to Disney CEO Michael Eisner about Playmakers. And major NFL sponsor Gatorade pulled out of advertising on the show.

While it might create an uneasy precedent in caving to the NFL, ESPN made the right decision on Playmakers, a show that went beyond the bounds of believability in several areas.

There was little economic sense in the network forcing the NFL to look seriously at TNT or other alternatives for the Sunday night cable telecasts in the new TV deal.

The NFL's reaction to the series "spoke volumes," ESPN executive vice president Mark Shapiro said, "even though it was unintentional" on the network's part to cause harm to the league.

"You learn from your successes and failures," he said Thursday. "The major issue for the league was that (Playmakers) lacked redeeming characters and redeeming qualities. We will have a more watchful eye on that as we move forward."

In 25 years, ESPN has made itself invaluable to any serious sports fan. It is only natural that it would try to attract an even wider audience.

In an effort to spike viewership, the network acquired additional rights such as the NBA and turned to on-the-edge programming. Much of the new programming succeeded, including Pardon the Interruption and the acclaimed Junction Boys movie about Paul Bear Bryant. "Nobody bats a thousand," Shapiro said. "We're not shy about saying we dropped the ball in some areas. But ESPN was founded on being bold and going into new waters."

In an era of declining television audiences, ESPN's ratings have improved for eight consecutive quarters, supporting many of the network's moves. But that does not excuse ESPN from taking greater care in avoiding the wrath of loyal viewers who are turned off by negative programming.

Going pro

After a nine-year run on ABC, the NFL Pro Bowl returns to ESPN on Sunday night.

"The NFL wanted the game in prime time on Sunday to spotlight Hawaii," ABC programming senior vice president Loren Matthews said, "and we had popular (entertainment) programming on Sunday nights."

With ABC moving the game to Sunday afternoons in recent years, viewership had fallen more than 40% from prime-time telecasts.

"We're tickled to have it back," ESPN's Joe Theismann said from Honolulu. "We don't get a chance to do the Super Bowl. This will cap a wonderful season."

Between contracts

Max Kellerman, off the air as Around the Horn host and boxing analyst since his ESPN contract expired last week, might wind up at Fox Sports Net. "We've admired Max's work for some time," Fox senior vice president Lou D'Ermilio said. ESPN has a right to match another offer for Kellerman.



Boo to ESPN for being spineless punks and giving in to the NFL!! :mad: :mad:

Me thinks the storylines were a little to "realistic" for the NFL, especially the drug testing storyline.

Re: A Moment of Silence....
 

I see that some folks can't handle the truth.

This sucks. . . this was the reason I watched ESPN. I hope they bring it to DVD so I can see the episodes I missed.

I read in another article (which I couldn't paste here) that ESPN is promoting a DVD box set for the 1st (and only:mad: :mad: ) season.


I'm really pissed, that was going to be my new Wednesday show since Soul Food is ending this season.:mad: :mad:

I wouldn't be suprised if an pay channel like HBO or Showtime picks this up or does somethink like it since it was so popular. NFL can't punk them into changing thier shows

I think it might be Showtime, since HBO still has "Inside the NFL." But what killed me is that Ray Ray Lewis (sorry, 1sd) :rolleyes: was talking about how Playmakers showed all these "bad things."