MSF Podcast: Deadspin Editor AJ Daulerio on Sex at ESPN and the Decision to Name Names

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Though some reasonable people feel that it isn’t a story worthy of discussion, Deadspin’s decision to publish stories about the sexual exploits of certain ESPN employees has been one of the hottest stories in the sports blogosphere over the past 24 hours.

If you’re late to the party, here’s a recap and then some examples of the ensuing reaction to get you up to speed.

We have withheld published judgment to this point, but have been very interested observers at the many angles of this story. One of those angles is what motivated Deadspin editor AJ Daulerio to go ahead with the posting of these stories.

AJ was kind enough to join us on the podcast this afternoon and to provide his answers to some of the criticism Deadspin has received in the wake of yesterday’s events, as well as some of the general criticism he has received since taking over for Will Leitch as editor.

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Thursday WYNTR: The Baseball Playoffs Get Infinitely More Interesting After a Bad Day for ESPN

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The biggest on-field news in the sports world yesterday obviously revolves around the Philadelphia Phillies beating the LA Dodgers to reach the World Series.

The biggest off-field news in the sports world yesterday involved ESPN, Deadspin, and some pretty lurid tales of sex, ego, and quid pro quo. We discussed this as it was happening, but there have also been new developments in the “ESPN Horndog Dossier” since we signed off yesterday.

But that was yesterday. It’s now Thursday, and we already have the most important news of today and it’s not even 6:30 CT yet: Ozzie Guillen will be working for Fox as a studio analyst during this year’s World Series. Yep, this is going to be great.

And now the rest of What You Need To Read for Thursday, October 22nd, brought to you by…Kate Beckinsale.

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Steve Phillips Just the Tip of a Large, Sordid ESPN Iceberg? (Updated)

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If I were an ESPN exec or employee, and I read the latest post by Daulerio over at Deadspin, I’d be shaking in my boots a little right now. Excerpt after the jump.

I just emailed Daulerio to ask if they were really going to be emptying the vault of all the tips and accusations they received regarding sexual craziness at ESPN. His response: “Stay tuned…”

Will do.

My, my, my Steve Phillips. Looks like you may have directly and indirectly screwed up a whole lot of peoples’ lives.

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Wednesday WYNTR: Steve Phillips’ Affair, Jay Calls Out Jay, and More Browns Misery

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It is once again new feature time.

I realized this morning that every day there is one blog post I look forward to more than any other: The Big Lead’s morning link roundups…which, coincidentally, has not been posted yet this morning.

WTF?

This unexpected void in my morning gave me the opportunity to participate in an exciting new morning activity: thinking. And what I got to thinking and wondering about is why I’m not putting together a similar post on a daily basis for you, our trusty MSF reader.

So I decided to start doing it. And if the old adage “imitation is the most sincere form of flattery” is true, then consider yourself flattered TBL. We’ll obviously put our own spin on things, but we’re not trying to hide the source of our inspiration.

Look for this new feature every morning, probably around 7-7:15 Central Time. And if you’re a blogger or an interested reader who likes sharing good stuff you read, send me tips.

And now, without further ado, onto this morning’s WYNTR (that stands for What You Need To Read), sponsored by birthday girl Kim Kardashian (who probably has a better chance of completing that pass than Derek Anderson…)

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