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Ed Schultz Blames Fox for Anthem Flub, Declares ‘There Might Not Be a Next Super Bowl’

» 64 comments

As a recovering Countdown addict, I’ve had some difficulty adjusting to the daily doses of methadone replacement that MSNBC has offered in its place. Sure, they keep the pain at bay, but where’s the rush? Still, unlike Jon Stewart, I’ve found the blustery charms of fire-breather Ed Schultz growing on me.

Yes, he’s louder than Keith Olbermann, and somehow less subtle, but you have to admire the guy’s commitment, and his live-wire unpredictability, as evidenced by Monday night’s episode. Schultz demonstrated primo Fox-bashing chops by laying Christina Aguilera‘s National Anthem butchery at the network’s feet, and made me do a double-take by declaring, “There might not be a next Super Bowl!”

Wait, what? Is there some kind of foretold NFL rapture on the horizon that I missed? I mean, the Jets didn’t win this year’s Super Bowl, so it can’t be the Apocalypse yet, right?

Schultz quickly explained that there might be a strike/lockout next year, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be a next Super Bowl. It just might not happen for two years.

As for Aguilera, Schultz pointed out the way that Fox News Channel wraps itself in the flag, and observed “you would hope that they would get the National Anthem right.”

Here’s the clip, from MSNBC:


Both moments made me smile, as did Ed’s frothy outrage over the fans who were kicked out of the game because of unsafe seats, and the suckers who paid $200 to watch the game on TV in the parking lot. Yes, Schultz may lack subtlety, and in the case of the Fox jab, logic, but there’s one thing he gets that many liberals do not: simple sells.

There’s a very good reason that he and Randi Rhodes‘ ratings successes, Rhodes in syndication for Air America and, in Schultz’s case, syndicated radio, topped that of other Air America hosts. Unlike much of the talent at Air America, they were pure radio pros, and they knew how to fit stuff onto a bumper sticker. They adopted the stylistic flourishes that the right has been beating the left’s heads in with for decades, packaging liberal messages in ways that appeal to people who think nuance is some kind of fruity shampoo.

Update: As some have pointed out, Schultz was never actually on Air America Radio, but his program was syndicated alongside Air America programming on XM Satellite Radio. Schultz actually engaged in a pitched blood feud with Air America Radio, and much of their talent, who were upset at having air time awarded to Schultz instead of AAR programming.

During that feud, AAR’s talent questioned Schultz’s liberal bona-fides, and Schultz responded with criticism of Air America’s understanding of the radio business.

I’ve updated the post to reflect the correction.

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  • timzank

    How is Fox to blame for Christina Aguilera forgetting the lyrics?

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Greg-Palmer/100000481076398 Greg Palmer

    methadone replacement? Sgt Schultz is Bull Shit replacement.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Greg-Palmer/100000481076398 Greg Palmer

    timzank said:
    How is Fox to blame for Christina Aguilera forgetting the lyrics?

    It’s a step up from his standard “It’s Bush’s Fault”

  • The Lantern of Truth

    ” …nuance is some kind of fruity shampoo . ”

    RRKING selling . For a really fruity shampoo , come into the salon ! Ask for Bobbi .

  • Obeezy

    Simple sells? His rating are in the crapper. Being the top rating for a radio station that failed miserably is like saying he is the sanest nut in the nuthouse.

  • Gitchee Gumee

    Check you facts. Ed was never on Air America.

  • Harry Flashman

    Okay….O’Donnell bashed Palin. Schultz blames Fox for an over rated pop princess butchering the national anthem. And Matthews blames Beck for, I dunno, whatever.

    MSNBC has NOTHING in the way of credibility. They should change their motto from “Lean Forward” to “Look! Fox!”

    Pathetic.

  • The Real Royal King

    timzank said:
    How is Fox to blame for Christina Aguilera forgetting the lyrics?

    That does, at best, seem tenuous.

    Harry Flashman said:
    Okay….O’Donnell bashed Palin. Schultz blames Fox for an over rated pop princess butchering the national anthem. And Matthews blames Beck for, I dunno, whatever.

    MSNBC has NOTHING in the way of credibility. They should change their motto from “Lean Forward” to “Look! Fox!”

    Pathetic.

    There is much for which to blame FOX “News” regarding its appalling lack of responsibility when it comes to our Republic, as there is for CNN and MSNBC, as well. FOX “News” should, indeed, be raked over the coals for Palin and O’Beckerhead. For the national anthem, not so much ….

  • Liberal Tormentor (formerly Seeing 2012 From My Window)

    HAHA, now I’ve heard everything! A-MESS-NBC, the gift that keeps on giving!

  • The Real Royal King

    Liberal Tormentor (formerly Seeing 2012 From My Window) said:
    HAHA, now I’ve heard everything! A-MESS-NBC, the gift that keeps on giving!

    There is nothing unduly offensive about that post, Tormented Michelle-in-Utah. So, I shall wish you a good morning, reserving greetings for the balance of the day as events may unfold. Good morning.

  • tatboy

    That’s a lot of praise for someone this unbalanced. If he were on the right you would be spending you time tearing apart his arguments. Not praising him for his “Bumber sticker ability”. Ed = Rush.

  • http://www.storminsmorningjava.blogspot.com/ stormin1961

    he also blames FOX for his fat ass and tiny penis.

  • The Real Royal King

    stormin1961 said:
    he also blames FOX for his fat ass and tiny penis.

    So, you keep records? You and Larry Craig?

  • tgk

    “Both moments made me smile,”

    And therein lies the problem Tommy. As long as you and others find some sort of entertainment value in lunatics like this with their nonsensical rants, the political discourse in this country will remain in a downward spiral.

  • Penguin60

    stormin1961 said:
    he also blames FOX for his fat ass and tiny penis.

    Way too much information.

    The Real Royal King said:
    You and Larry Craig?

    or Barney?

  • Harry Flashman

    So….let’s see if I can get this right.

    Any time there is an article about oFx and how it smashes the competition or on the ridiculous caricatures on MSNBC, liberal commenters tell us over an over again that Fox is only watched by imbeciles, the shoeless, toothless, unwashed masses in flyover country. Check out some of the comments on the the articles today about Schultz, Matthews, and O’Donnell.

    Which leads to this question…..

    If there are so many, many smart people out there who KNOW with absolute certainty that they are the top of the intellectual food chain, and that MSNBC speaks for the majority – then why is MSNBC doing a face plant night after night?

    Why are their ratings at the very bottom of the barrel, so much in fact that a re-run of a prison show does better than ANY OF THE THREE PUNDITS MENTIONED ABOVE?

    To the left, denial is indeed a river in Egypt. Add that with insult and investive, stir, and you’ve got the liberal stance on just about every issue out there right now.

    It would be hilarious if it weren’t so pitiful. And destructive.

  • Mr.Papshmer

    This dude’s a train wreck waiting to happen, and the entire lineup of msnbc exemplifies why they have so little viewership, why their ratings are in the crapper, why Air America failed, etc. Most people just don’t have the stomach to listen to people hate all day. Oh, sure, there are hateful people, who just seethe that other people do better than they do, that their wives are ugly, that, while they know they could do better, they don’t, because they lack initiative, and so they spend their lives hating other people, and that’s who these left wing networks pander to for the most part. These are the people who watch “Jackass”, and find comfort in others’ misery.

    Fox News’ opinion people and conservative talk radio aren’t hateful. Liberals will tell you that they are, but they don’t actually watch or listen, they figure that in order to keep an audience, a political editorialist needs to constantly throw hate to their listeners, since this is how it works on the left, this is the paradigm that they live in. Sad, angry little people.

  • BR

    Please keep showing us more of the unhinged leftist liberals. If it wasn’t for the fact that they actually get to vote they would be comical instead of dangerous.

  • screwauger

    he’s just trying over-reach as much as the Obowmao Regime.

  • Harry Flashman

    Mr. Papshmear:

    While I agree with many of your points of view I have to tell you that your choice of avatar is offensive, and if you’ve managed to offend me you’ve managed to climb over a fairly high bar. I don’t find anything funny about the blackface thing. It’s a shameful part of our history and that’s where it needs to stay. it has NO place in modern discourse.

    Not only that, liberals use examples like that to use as a rock to throw at conservatives, and you just handed them that rock.

    Just my opinion.

  • The Real Royal King

    Harry Flashman said:
    Mr. Papshmear:

    While I agree with many of your points of view I have to tell you that your choice of avatar is offensive, and if you’ve managed to offend me you’ve managed to climb over a fairly high bar. I don’t find anything funny about the blackface thing. It’s a shameful part of our history and that’s where it needs to stay. it has NO place in modern discourse.

    Not only that, liberals use examples like that to use as a rock to throw at conservatives, and you just handed them that rock.

    Just my opinion.

    I appreciate your writing that. I certainly disagree with much of what Papshmear writes, and I do find the Eddie Cantor black-face terribly inappropriate. His story was on TMC Sunday, and even in context, it is unsettling.

  • BlackWidow

    Harry Flashman said:
    Mr. Papshmear: While I agree with many of your points of view I have to tell you that your choice of avatar is offensive, and if you’ve managed to offend me you’ve managed to climb over a fairly high bar. I don’t find anything funny about the blackface thing. It’s a shameful part of our history and that’s where it needs to stay. it has NO place in modern discourse. Not only that, liberals use examples like that to use as a rock to throw at conservatives, and you just handed them that rock. Just my opinion.

    Great point Harry.

  • Mr.Papshmer

    Harry Flashman said:
    Not only that, liberals use examples like that to use as a rock to throw at conservatives, and you just handed them that rock.

    Don’t care. I’ve spent a good part of my life watching conservatives suck up to the left because they thought it necessary to play nice, while at the same time, the left is the largest group of offensive racist hypocrites ever.

    Why did I chose the Al Jolson avatar? When I first saw it, I thought it was a funny picture of a famous guy. That same day, I heard news that some publishing company had re-published a PC version of “Huckleberry Finn”. Huck Finn is a famous piece of literature, and while there are certainly racial references which may offend the easily offended, that’s just the way things were back then. Of course we’ve moved on, but changing the story is like taking the guns and tanks out of a world war II movie, it might make idiots feel better, but that’s not the way it was. Al Jolson was part of entertainment history, and neither you nor anyone else are allowed to erase him.

  • BlackWidow

    Ed Schultz makes ALL us lefties really look bad. And he works real hard at it. MSNBC needs to get their act together and do something about their lineup. He makes Chris look sane.

  • BlackWidow

    Mr.Papshmer said:
    Don’t care. I’ve spent a good part of my life watching conservatives suck up to the left because they thought it necessary to play nice, while at the same time, the left is the largest group of offensive racist hypocrites ever. Why did I chose the Al Jolson avatar? When I first saw it, I thought it was a funny picture of a famous guy. That same day, I heard news that some publishing company had re-published a PC version of “Huckleberry Finn”. Huck Finn is a famous piece of literature, and while there are certainly racial references which may offend the easily offended, that’s just the way things were back then. Of course we’ve moved on, but changing the story is like taking the guns and tanks out of a world war II movie, it might make idiots feel better, but that’s not the way it was. Al Jolson was part of entertainment history, and neither you nor anyone else are allowed to erase him.

    WOW I actually agree with your explanation. I agree with the Huck Finn rewrite also. No need to change it. It makes those days real and should stay that way.

  • BlackWidow

    Mr.Papshmer said:
    This dude’s a train wreck waiting to happen, and the entire lineup of msnbc exemplifies why they have so little viewership, why their ratings are in the crapper, why Air America failed, etc. Most people just don’t have the stomach to listen to people hate all day. Oh, sure, there are hateful people, who just seethe that other people do better than they do, that their wives are ugly, that, while they know they could do better, they don’t, because they lack initiative, and so they spend their lives hating other people, and that’s who these left wing networks pander to for the most part. These are the people who watch “Jackass”, and find comfort in others’ misery. Fox News’ opinion people and conservative talk radio aren’t hateful. Liberals will tell you that they are, but they don’t actually watch or listen, they figure that in order to keep an audience, a political editorialist needs to constantly throw hate to their listeners, since this is how it works on the left, this is the paradigm that they live in. Sad, angry little people.

    I guess I need to get out my dictionary because I just don’t relate to the word “hate” the way it is thrown around by both sides. Disagreement is NOT hate where I come from.

  • notsofast

    There’s a very good reason that he and Randi Rhodes‘ ratings successes, Rhodes in syndication for Air America and, in Schultz’s case, syndicated radio, topped that of other Air America hosts. Unlike much of the talent at Air America, they were pure radio pros, and they knew how to fit stuff onto a bumper sticker.”

    Wow- talk about a brown noser- MG!

    Oh, and Ed- FOX did not sing the anthem, you POS.

  • Harry Flashman

    Mr Papshmer said:

    “Don’t care. I’ve spent a good part of my life watching conservatives suck up to the left because they thought it necessary to play nice, while at the same time, the left is the largest group of offensive racist hypocrites ever.”

    Good for you, and I don’t care if you care. And…I mean no snark by that.

    I don’t bend the knee to poltical correctness, and you’re right about the whole Huck Finn thing. That has nothing to do with this issue, though.

    I know too many good and decent people of color to ever think that it’s just all right to use an avatar like that. It has nothing to do with political correctness. It has to do with common decency and respect for others. I’m not “playing nice”. I’m playing like an adult.

    You wanna use that avatar? Have at it. Its certainly your right to do so. But I don’t have to like it and I don’t have to think its funny.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Josh-Feldman/1158574704 Josh Feldman

    Is Ed seriously blaming FOX for how badly Christina Aguilera screwed up? Okay, that’s kind of pathetic.

  • Pablo

    timzank said:
    How is Fox to blame for Christina Aguilera forgetting the lyrics?

    Ed Schultz is insane, and not very bright. Hence Tommy’s growing admiration.

  • NORBIT

    Hysterically funny.

    And you people don’t think the Radical Left is in Freefall?

    LOL!

  • tws258

    BlackWidow said:
    I guess I need to get out my dictionary because I just don’t relate to the word “hate” the way it is thrown around by both sides. Disagreement is NOT hate where I come from.

    Why do you change your screen name to insult other commenters ?

  • Mr.Papshmer

    Harry Flashman said:
    I don’t care if you care. And…I mean no snark by that.

    Harry Flashman said:
    .. it’s just all right to use an avatar like that. .. It has to do with common decency and respect for others.

    This is where we differ. You said you don’t care, and followed up by saying that it isn’t right because it isn’t decent or respectful. It would seem that your only concern is to not offend black people, not that you really care. My contention is that the black people who are offended by Al Jolson are people who’re looking for an excuse to be offended, and I personally don’t care if they are in that case. My own ethnicity has been the butt of many jokes through the years, but it doesn’t really matter, does it? If you can’t laugh at yourself, then you should learn to.

  • RichS

    GJPinks said:
    It’s a step up from his standard “It’s Bush’s Fault”

    It has to be one of their faults! But, thanks to Michelle’s healthy SuperBowl snack like breaded butter fried in lard, no one at the White House Super Bowl Party had a heart attack due to what President Bush or Fox News did to the National Athem.

  • WildMan

    LSDnbc appears to be handing out street drugs to their idiot talking heads. You just can’t get any wackier than PMSnbc. What a total waste of air time. Hopefully the goofballs time on LSDnbc is now limited once Comcast actually watches one of their shows.

  • Obeezy

    Mr.Papshmer said:
    This dude’s a train wreck waiting to happen, and the entire lineup of msnbc exemplifies why they have so little viewership, why their ratings are in the crapper, why Air America failed, etc. Most people just don’t have the stomach to listen to people hate all day. Oh, sure, there are hateful people, who just seethe that other people do better than they do, that their wives are ugly, that, while they know they could do better, they don’t, because they lack initiative, and so they spend their lives hating other people, and that’s who these left wing networks pander to for the most part. These are the people who watch “Jackass”, and find comfort in others’ misery.

    Fox News’ opinion people and conservative talk radio aren’t hateful. Liberals will tell you that they are, but they don’t actually watch or listen, they figure that in order to keep an audience, a political editorialist needs to constantly throw hate to their listeners, since this is how it works on the left, this is the paradigm that they live in. Sad, angry little people.

    Just watched the Al Jolson story on AMC. Great movie. It was made when he was alive, although it did gloss over his 3 marriages, and didnt mention he was the first to go over and entertain the troops. He did more to promote black culture than Sharpton, jackson ever will

  • Leftist Asshat

    I really resent Tommeh saying that Schultz and Rhodes dumb down their shows so that us Asshats can understand them. Us Leftist Asshats are the smart ones dangit!

  • lazzzlo

    Wait, what? Is there some kind of foretold NFL rapture on the horizon that I missed? I mean, the Jets didn’t win this year’s Super Bowl, so it can’t be the Apocalypse yet, right?

    Schultz quickly explained that there might be a strike/lockout next year, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be a next Super Bowl. It just might not happen for two years.

    That actually could happen if the NFLPA decertifies as a union in the next month or so. It makes everything moot and starts the CBA all over again

  • lazzzlo

    “CBA” being a new collective bargaining agreement.

  • Nachi

    No more Stupor Bowls?? Praise Jeeesussah! But what would good, patriotic Murcuhns do for their very ultimate entertainment??? How would they further…escape???

  • lazzzlo

    Nachi said:
    No more Stupor Bowls??

    That game was more of a grind out type of game. It wasn’t bad but it certainly wasn’t as exciting as some of the recent previous games.

    Big Ed is correct…I dunno if Tommy follows football and the specific owner/player arguments that are happening right now. The 2011/2012 season could be cancelled when/if the owners lock out the players; hence no Super Bowl.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Arthur-Clough/1419363514 Arthur Clough

    Just keep rambling along Ed, no one listens, except Tommy who apparently has no life.

  • Grammie

    The Real Royal King said:
    and I do find the Eddie Cantor black-face terribly inappropriate.

    .
    Leave it to the Faux King to confuse an actor playing the role of Al Jolson with the real Al Jolson.

  • Mr.Papshmer

    Nachi said:
    But what would good, patriotic Murcuhns do for their very ultimate entertainment??? How would they further…escape???

    Certainly not by watching Will & Grace re-runs, as is the lefty way.

  • jerzygurl

    Seriously, does anyone on the left actually expect that Special Ed can survive till the Fall before his show gets cancelled?

  • Z_man723

    Please explain how we will have a Super Bowl if there is a lockout.

  • X-3

    Schultz is 500 pounds of crap stuffed inside a 300 pound bag.

  • tatboy

    BlackWidow said:
    Ed Schultz makes ALL us lefties really look bad. And he works real hard at it. MSNBC needs to get their act together and do something about their lineup. He makes Chris look sane.

    I dunno… I though Keith did a pretty good job of that too. And Chris… and Niles… and Rhandi Rhodes… and Mike Malloy… and Oh never mind.

  • tatboy

    X-3 said:
    Schultz is 500 pounds of crap stuffed inside a 300 pound bag.

    10 pounds of poop in a 1 pound casing.

  • lazzzlo

    Z_man723 said:
    Please explain how we will have a Super Bowl if there is a lockout.

    That’s what made me question Tommy’s logic.

  • The Real Royal King

    Grammie said:
    .
    Leave it to the Faux King to confuse an actor playing the role of Al Jolson with the real Al Jolson.

    So, I take it you enjoy a good minstrel show as long as all of the singers and dancers are Crackers? Figures.

  • lazzzlo

    Lol, I’m not an Ed Schultz fan but he was correct in saying that a lockout is both viable and inveitable.

    TC, it would appear, either doesn’t follow football, has no clue about labor relation law or opined when he should have just reported.

    Anyway…TC you do interject your thoughts into your writing. There’s an example of how it can be false.

  • Yoda002

    Pablo said:
    Ed Schultz is insane, and not very bright. Hence Tommy’s growing admiration.

    This coming from a Beck follower..lol

  • Oregon Conservative

    The Real Royal King said:
    So, I take it you enjoy a good minstrel show as long as all of the singers and dancers are Crackers? Figures.

    Fraud:
    If Jolson was a liberal Democrat while he was de-segregating Broadway you’d be nowhere near this thread discussion. A well known Jewish Conservative is what you’re taking with.

    STFU fraud…and get lost.

  • Oregon Conservative

    taking issue with*

  • lazzzlo

    The Real Royal King said:
    So, I take it you enjoy a good minstrel show as long as all of the singers and dancers are Crackers? Figures.

    I think I’m a “cracker”. If you are talking about a Southern redneck….music wise…I think I am one. Nobody down here knows about minstrel shows.

    Their past is very inherent and there still is a racial divide.

    I dunno how you personally view other races in Texas but Florida is working though past racial divides and are treating everyone equal.

    Normally, when you protest too much…it just shows guilt.

  • Yoda002

    Tommy, you need to do your research Ed Schultz never worked for Air America. He was also talking about the next Super Bowl being canceled not every Super Bowl.

  • Who is Salacious Crumb

    timzank said:
    How is Fox to blame for Christina Aguilera forgetting the lyrics?

    Too funny.

  • http://ja-js.blogtownhall.com RME KRNL

    Timzank, don’t you know that whatever FOX is not to blame for, Sarah Palin or George W. Bush are? LIberals can never just leave things alone and as they really are. They have GOT to find some conservative person or organization to blame. Never mind the often total lack of logic or facts of it all.

  • JJ Vachon

    Granted, she did a poor job, didn’t know the words and sang like fingernails on a blackboard. But they surely wouldn’t cancel the hundreds of millions the Super Bowl brings in. Let’s get real…

  • Dave Richards

    The Real Royal King said:
    I appreciate your writing that. I certainly disagree with much of what Papshmear writes, and I do find the Eddie Cantor black-face terribly inappropriate. His story was on TMC Sunday, and even in context, it is unsettling.

    Get over it. SOme people are sooooooooooo sensitive.

  • Patrick

    Ed Schultz seems like a bully to me.

  • Jerps

    You know the story of the boy who cried wolf.

    If he cries “Fox!” for this, why should we listen to him for anything else?

  • Pokerdude777

    WTF does fox have to do with this diva screwring up the national anthem??

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