Phil Mushnick

Infobox Celebrity
name = Phil Mushnick


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occupation = columnist
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website = http://www.nypost.com/sports/columnists/mushnick.htm
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Phil Mushnick is a sports columnist for the New York Post. His column entitled "Equal Time" appears three times a week on Sunday, Monday and Friday. He also provides a weekly column on Sunday for the entertainment/TV section of the paper. The columns cover numerous subjects that expose hypocracy in sports, criticize expoitation of sex and "attitude" in sports programming, advocates on the behalf of ticketholders and exposes ignorance and/or inaccuracies perpetrated by broadcasters.

=Major Targets=

World Wresting Entertainment & Vince McMahaon

Throughout the decades, Mr. Mushnick has been extremely critical of the lifestyles portrayed by World Wrestling Entertainment, both in their storylines and the performers personal lives. In 1997 he criticized WWE chairman, Vince McMahon in his column regarding the death of Brian Pillman. He claimed that McMahon's perpetration of steroid use for his performers led to Pillman's early demise. McMahon responded on an episode of "WWE Raw" that Mushnick was a "stupid, self-righteous, bitter, pathetic, no-good son of a bitch." [cite web|url=http://www.pwtorch.com/artman/exec/view.cgi/17/1188|title=5 Years Ago: Pillman's funeral, Goldust-Marlena wedding postponed|publisher=PWTorch.com|accessdate=2007-07-05] Not deterred, Mushnick continued to critize the industry as a "death mill" citing several wrestlers who have died before the age of 45. Although some of the performers, such as Miss Elizabeth& Davey Boy Smith, died while not employed with the WWE, Mushnick attributes the lifestyle that they led while employed for Vince McMahon directly attributed to their early deaths. [cite web|url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/06292007/sports/benoit_tragedy_wakes_up_media_sports_phil_mushnick.htm|title=Benoit Tragedy Wakes Up Sports Media|publisher=New York Post|author=Phil Mushnick|date=2007-06-29|accessdate=2007-07-05] Mushnick's claims are backed up by a variety of other media outlets that have provided statistics showing the high number of wrestlers who have died young from heart failure, car crashes, suicide, homicide and other health related problems. [cite web|url=http://www.joesportsfan.com/column.php?storyid=579|title=In Defense of Pro Wrestling|publisher=JoeSportsFan.com|date=2007-07-02|accessdate=2007-07-05]

Mike and the Mad Dog

The Mike and the Mad Dog program on New York City sports radio WFAN has been a popular target of Phil Mushnick. In a March 2008 column he compared Mike Francessa to the Wizard of Oz stating "Francessa's self-importance is so advanced that when the light turns green, he thinks it's because he knows people down at the DOT." [cite web|url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/03022008/sports/both_sides_of_the_torre_100117.htm|title=Both Sides of the Torre|publisher=New York Post|author=Phil Mushnick|date=2008-03-02|accessdate=2008-03-08] . His attacks on Francessa's partner, Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo are more directed at Russo's inability to remember simple sports facts, strategy and information.

ESPN & Stephen A. Smith

No one is beyond the bounds of Mushnick's critique at ESPN, but the personality he targets most often at the all-sports network is Stephen A. Smith. "Could it be that Smith’s urban street-hip brotha yak — which he seems able to turn on and off with the drop of a Kangol — is supposed to appeal/pander to young, urban, street-talkin’ sports fans?" [cite web|url=http://www.cantstopthebleeding.com/?p=2571|title=Quite Frankly, Phil Needs A New Act|publisher=Can't Stop the Bleeding|author=CSTB|date=2005-08-07|accessdate=2008-07-02] . Mushinick is critical of ESPN's coverage of sports in showing more attitude in the athletes they cover and the broadcasters who cover them. He notes how ESPN's Stuart Scott appears more interested in being freinds with the athletes than being critical of their performance should it be subpar. He has also made note of ESPN's ESPY Awards as pathetic, their "Who's Now" segment in the summer of 2007 and the fact that they ignore most second-tier sports in their highlights until they sign contracts with ESPN. An example of this is the Arena Football League.

Joe Morgan

Mushnick often points out when sports play by play and color commentators make factual errors or mess up a call on the field. But a column about Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Morgan who provides color commentary for ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball provided extra controversy when Joe Morgan took the attack personally and responded in "An Open Letter to Phil Mushnick and Other Critics of Mine." [cite web|url=http://www.yard-work.org/?p=767|title=An Open Letter to Phil Mushnick and Other Critics of Mine|publisher=ESPN|author=Joe Morgan|date=2007-08-07|accessdate=2008-07-02] . Morgan was responding to a July 20, 2007 column of Mushnick's titled "Had Our Phil of Morgan". Morgan had told an in-game story about a game he played in 1964 that had proved to be inaccurate. Mushnick exposed the inaccuracy, but Morgan's counterpoint was that it was not important he had made a mistake in the story, that his job as color commentator was to enhance the game being watched.

Don Imus and Sid Rosenberg

Mushnick was always critical of the Imus in the Morning programing for its off-color humor and shock value and he acknowledged the show as such. However, he felt that Sid Rosenberg often crossed the line between crude humor and total inappropriateness. He prophetically often wrote that Rosenberg would be the downfall of the show and despite being fired from WFAN for inappropriate remarks, continued absenteeism and bad public behavior, Rosenberg was one of the instigators of Don Imus remarks about the women Rutgers University basketball team. He criticized the Imus in the Morning Program for calling Mother Teresa "a no-good bitch", former WFAN host Len Berman as "Lenny the Jew" and various other "observations" he felt that crossed the line. [cite web|url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/04102007/news/columnists/this_is_an_ugly__old_story_columnists_phil_mushnick.htm|title=This is an Ugly, Old Story|publisher=New York Post|author=Phil Mushnick|date=2007-04-10|accessdate=2007-04-10] . In the same column he wondered why people were shocked at Imus' "nappy-headed-ho" comment.

John Sterling

"The "Voice of the New York Yankees" may be the worst broadcaster in professional sports" is the label Mushnick has attributed to New York Yankees radio play-by-play man John Sterling. He often points out in his column that John Sterling botches calls and uses his signature home run call "It is high, it is far, it is gone" simply to self promote himself while sacrificing accuracy for the benefit of the radio listener. [cite web|url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/04252008/sports/airwaves_full_of_the_absurd_107969.htm?page=0|title=Airwaves Full of the Absurd|publisher=New York Post|author=Phil Mushnick|date=2008-04-25|accessdate=2008-04-25] . He makes it a duty to his readers to point out when Sterling starts his home run call, only to be wrong and the ball is caught, foul or hit off the wall. "The logical notion that Sterling would grow weary of making a jerk of himself is no longer a logical consideration."

=Other Stuff=

He devotes many columns to defending fans' right to affordable ticket prices and reasonable game times, notably the New York Mets' recent policy of charging higher prices for games against high-profile teams. Each week, he publishes the names of a celebrity and an athlete who look alike (e.g. actor Martin Mull and Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren). The "lookalikes" are submitted by his readers. Also, in one of his articles, Mushnick related to his readers a piece of advice from Jerry Orbach - never be photographed with an alcoholic beverage in your hand.

=Footnotes=