I started a new thread b/c on last one he was only suspended. FANTASTIC! Good for ESPN. And a big thank you to sports writer Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette who had the integrity to break the story. Madden, don't let the door hit you where the Good Lord split you. Hope that's the last the burgh hears from you!

Mark Madden, who made his reputation with bold, outlandish attacks on famous people, has been permanently removed from the air by ESPN.

His dismissal, which came down from ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn., came five days after he made a scurrilous remark about U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy on his 1250 ESPN talk show, which ran from 3 to 7 p.m. weekdays.

"We've taken Mark off the air pursuant to our contractual rights," said Josh Krulewitz, the vice president for public relations at ESPN.

The decision comes less than a year after Madden signed a long-term contract. No decision has been made on who will fill Madden's time slot.

-----

At the opening of his show last Wednesday, Madden said this about Sen. Kennedy, who days earlier had been diagnosed with brain cancer:

"I'm very disappointed to hear that Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts is near death because of a brain tumor. I always hoped Senator Kennedy would live long enough to be assassinated."

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08149/885330-80.stm

That was a tasteless and crass comment at a particularly insensitive time.

Silly people have gone to jail for a long time for far more innocuous statements. You really have to wonder what is going on out there, especially in the hiring practices of the media.

the media's blacklist.

They'd already be in jail for making a terroristic threat.

same standard as everyone else. Can you imagine a progressive/liberal commentator making the same type of comment about a Republican Senator? Of course you can't, because it wouldn't happen. It is time the Maddens, the Limbaughs, the Hannitys--and whomever else spews this bile--be held responsible for their actions.

Wake up America!:kick:

jobless for a while; would serve him right.

What the hell is wrong with these people??!! Hasn't that family had enough to deal with lately?!

hiring him! :banghead:

Notoriety is worth big money in this toxic corporate media atmosphere. It's all about ears and eyeballs. Otherwise, anything goes.

From OP article:

Madden drew a significantly larger listening audience than his only sports-talk competition on Fox Sports 970 and did well, sometimes extremely well, in the ratings. His numbers for the final book of 2007 were an 8.3, extraordinarily high for sports talk and the best of his career. Those numbers came down considerably in the first three months of this year, but that wasn't unusual for what is considered a slow sports period

Can't believe the idiot got paid a six-figure salary. What a waste. But whatever sells advertising I guess. Says something for the listeners who tune in to this jerk.

Does this idiot not believe in karma?

Where is the rubbish barrel for these types of comments. Do we have a symbol for disgusting?}( :wtf: :thumbsdown: :banghead:

If he had numbers like Limbaugh, he'd still be on the air.