Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

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.

"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.

"I wonder if he got a card from the Kopechnes." Read on...

It took five days to make this call? That's pretty sick, but at least they took this buffoon off the air.

Related Reactions



Login or Register to post comments.

140 comments

Soon, gone will be the days of right-wing radio types. Their house of cards is starting to shake...

Mark Madden was immediately notified by the RNC that he'll be a keynote speaker at their national convention this year.

Fox news is already offering him contracts.

big ass stupid buffoon. May he get all that he deserves in this life and the next.

A little slow in responding but good. Even corporate America is beginning to catch on that about 90% of us have had it with Republicans and their mouthpieces.

Nice guy. Wonder if he kisses his family members with that vile mouth of his -- or if they let him, more to the point.

Gee,who says Conservatives aren't funny?

Right-wing Christian Family-Values.

4 no longer a proud american Says: big ass stupid buffoon. May he get all that he deserves in this life and the next.

Maggots, spiders and night-crawlers?

Free speech doesnt make someone a buffoon. Humor is the only thing that makes this life worth living.

I couldn't believe it when a "classic rock" jock here in San Diego said something like, "If the Democrats get elected we'll be attacked". This was before the '06 election. I think he was reprimanded, I don't think he was fired.

great. another unemployed fat racist redneck douchebag.

coward

ESPN = Disney = Right wing propagandists and GOP enablers.

My guess is if they could have kept him on the air they would have. After 5 days they decided they couldnt, or wouldnt, risk the fallout

Just more stupid white trash....both him and his listeners.

Seeeeeeeeeeeeee ya...........wouldn't want to be ya.

Looks like you'll have to move back in with Mom, unless your trailer is paid for, Redneck.

Damn, why do people even go there?

Another thing-I feel awful for the Kopechne family. Every time Ted has a problem, these people use Mary Jo Kopechne as some sort of personal baseball bat against him...

I wonder how many of these self-righteously indignant mopes could name Laura Bush's dead BF? The one she killed in a car accident. What about the names of any of the guys killed on the Forrestal during McCain's 'wet start.' Or any dead people from Iraq, for that matter.

Fat bastard looks as if he's had a frontal lobotomy.

I was always under the impression that ESPN was a sports cable channel not RW hate talk radio thing.

Just out of curiosity... what the hell does Teddy Kennedy have to do with professional sports?
I'd also like to point out that right wingers making jokes about killing liberals has become pretty mainstream. Coulter does is, Malkin does it, Beck, Limbaugh, Savage etc etc all do it. But if some annonymous poster on Democratic underground or the Huffington post makes a similar joke (instead this time it's about killing a conservative) all hell breaks loose.

Frankly, I think on both sides of the political spectrum ppl need to stop making these types of jokes. Mostly because America is a country with a history that tends to show make political assassinations not so funny: Kennedy, Lincoln, Bobby Kennedy, the attempt on Reagan, Martin Luther King, etc etc.

I'm pretty sure ppl could make some very mean joke without having to hope for an assassination. For example, people will make jokes about how things would be better off if Ann Coulter were dead. Why? There is an untouched gold mine of jokes all about how Ann Coulter is a lonley, unloved, unwanted, crusty, old, childless, middle aged, menopausal, spinster woman.

Jeez, what an assh*le.

And good points, all, Miss Kitty @ 18.

Judging by the link to the Pittsburgh paper, I can SEE why this guy was on radio. Looks like an overweight, loud-mouthed, redneck.

That said, there are a lot of very cool people in Pittsburgh.

Just Thinking. @ 10:

Free speech doesnt make someone a buffoon. Humor is the only thing that makes this life worth living.

Free speech doesn't make someone a buffoon-although what you choose to say definitely can.
By way of example,I could submit that I find tasteless jokes about assassination funny,which would be my right,although it probably expose me a gaumless pin head.

The curious thing about AC is that she is rather misogynistic and was caught and photographed at the opening evening of a new gay restaurant in DC.
Shes a mystery that one, claims to hate everything but secretly does what etc, just remembered ah well just another typical closet self hating Republican.

Now the wheel has started turning. It is about time that people began to realize how malicious and terrible these talk radio hosts are. Hopefully, this will start to be a trend. After all, they won't respect "equal time" on the air. So, it's time that the radio (and televsion, by extension) producers and news directors develop a conscience and do something to get rid of these guys. They've been allowed to say their filth for too long. All they use the airwaves for is to denigrate and attack women, people of color, gays, lesbians and transgendered folks without being caught.

Therefore, they have instigated an entire generation of blowhards who see these radio fascists' dysfunctional behavior as open season to attack anyone who does not fit the ideal perception of an American. As a result, the blowhards' behavior (as demonstrated by their talk radio fascist idols) is echoed in the work-place, on-line, within families in the public space and so-forth.

I am for Freedom of Speech, like the next person. But I think that talk show hosts like the one featured in this thread abuse this Amendment and then use it to cover his behind when they get caught.

Speaking of other RW radio denziens, I wonder how long will it take for Neil Boortz to go? That man is yet another radio fascist that won't disappear.

people love these far right assholes. Why is Fox so popular?

miss_kitty @ 18:

Another thing-I feel awful for the Kopechne family. Every time Ted has a problem, these people use Mary Jo Kopechne as some sort of personal baseball bat against him...

I wonder how many of these self-righteously indignant mopes could name Laura Bush's dead BF? The one she killed in a car accident. What about the names of any of the guys killed on the Forrestal during McCain's 'wet start.' Or any dead people from Iraq, for that matter.

I guess it's okay when repubs kill people. Seriously, though, you're right they wont let up on Kennedy for his accident but you never hear about Republican mistakes, no matter how many people pay with their lives.

How many people listen to "sports" radio?? Must be a bunch of reich wingers anyway. The reich wing was busy buying up progressive stations and then going to "sports talk" or religious talk. Must be hundreds losing money and folding.

pinkobait @ 24:

Just Thinking. @ 10:

Free speech doesnt make someone a buffoon. Humor is the only thing that makes this life worth living.

Free speech doesn't make someone a buffoon-although what you choose to say definitely can.
By way of example,I could submit that I find tasteless jokes about assassination funny,which would be my right,although it probably expose me a gaumless pin head.

correction:it WOULD probably expose me AS a gaumless pin head.
Like being unable to type properly.

brokenarrow @ 16:

Seeeeeeeeeeeeee ya...........wouldn't want to be ya.

Looks like you'll have to move back in with Mom, unless your trailer is paid for, Redneck.

Mom is probably also his wife and sister...

Any relation to that other sports-oriented Madden guy?

Just to get it right, this guy wasn't a far right radio talk show host. He was a sports jock who, like a lot of sports jocks around the country, are hired to get ratings by being a jerk with overamplified opinions. He would say stupid things about a lot of people, mostly in sports. His show did not have a political agenda.

Maybe he can get a job at Radio Ruwanda

Another tool of divisive patriotism gone, let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.

RonDumsfeld @ 32:

Any relation to that other sports-oriented Madden guy?

John Madden? God, I hope not!

[Deleted. Off topic flame bait-Sitemonitor]

miss_kitty @ 18:

Another thing-I feel awful for the Kopechne family. Every time Ted has a problem, these people use Mary Jo Kopechne as some sort of personal baseball bat against him...

I wonder how many of these self-righteously indignant mopes could name Laura Bush's dead BF? The one she killed in a car accident. What about the names of any of the guys killed on the Forrestal during McCain's 'wet start.' Or any dead people from Iraq, for that matter.

BAM, you nailed it!!!

And don't forget Lori Klausutis, who used to be an active member of her local Republican Party - until she was found dead in Congressman Joe Scarborough's office.

Within days of her death, even before her remains were conveniently cremated, her life had been erased so throroughly that even her college pictures had been removed her university's web site. The police declared her death an accident before the coroner examined her and later admitted they did it to "spare Scarborough" any bad press.

That radio blowhard doesn't even know about her I bet, because 98% of America never heard of her, or her suspicious death. It was covered up so fast and so completely its as if she never existed.

But they all know Joe Scarborough. He quit Congress right about then, to "spend more time with his family". Then he promptly left his family, went to New York and got a job on MSNBC.

Soon, gone will be the days of right-wing radio types. Their house of cards is starting to shake

Don't we wish. Don't count on it happening any time soon. As long as people listen, and as long as they make money, we'll always have idiots like this one.

Joe Blow @ 31:

brokenarrow @ 16:

Seeeeeeeeeeeeee ya...........wouldn't want to be ya.

Looks like you'll have to move back in with Mom, unless your trailer is paid for, Redneck.

Mom is probably also his wife and sister...

It's all relative...

Remember the missing and murdered children in Atlanta in the late 70's an early 80's? A body was found one day and the early morning radio shock-type jocks said something (I don't remember what) and played "Another One Bites The Dust". They were fired before the song ended which was the immediately correct response!

rooth hussein @ 39:

And don't forget Lori Klausutis, who used to be an active member of her local Republican Party - until she was found dead in Congressman Joe Scarborough's office.

I left her out, because I see her brought up here all the time. No different. The Kopechne and the Klausutis families should not be bitch slapped with the memories of their daughters in such a fugly manner, every time these guy f up or get sick.

One local pittsburgh blogger's been commenting on the lovely Madden.

Here and
here and here.

Richard @ 34:

Just to get it right, this guy wasn't a far right radio talk show host. He was a sports jock who, like a lot of sports jocks around the country, are hired to get ratings by being a jerk with overamplified opinions. He would say stupid things about a lot of people, mostly in sports. His show did not have a political agenda.

Yes he was clearly engaging in sports commentary when he made his career ending comment. Who are you? His agent?

#23 Brokenarrow said: "Judging by the link to the Pittsburgh paper, I can SEE why this guy was on radio. Looks like an overweight, loud-mouthed, redneck.

That said, there are a lot of very cool people in Pittsburgh."

True, and there's one less since I left the city where I grew up. Seriously, I've known this prick Madden for years and he should have been fired more than a decade ago. But like some others here, I suspect Fox will pick him up within the next year.

Just look at this guy. I hate to judge a book by its cover but come on.

I find that he is posed for the pic with his mouth closed interesting. It must have been hard to go that long without breathing :)

repugs and death go hand in hand.

wvguy @ 47:

Just look at this guy. I hate to judge a book by its cover but come on.

I find that he is posed for the pic with his mouth closed interesting. It must have been hard to go that long without breathing :)

he looks and sounds like a hill supporter

Rico @ 46:

#23 Brokenarrow said: "Judging by the link to the Pittsburgh paper, I can SEE why this guy was on radio. Looks like an overweight, loud-mouthed, redneck.

That said, there are a lot of very cool people in Pittsburgh."

True, and there's one less since I left the city where I grew up. Seriously, I've known this prick Madden for years and he should have been fired more than a decade ago. But like some others here, I suspect Fox will pick him up within the next year.

Oh, assuredly! He's their kind of guy. Bombastic, stupid, and a bully; what a fit!

Just Thinking. @ 10:

Free speech doesnt make someone a buffoon. Humor is the only thing that makes this life worth living.

What if they use their free speech to say stupid things all day?

Is Colin Cowherd still on the air? I quit ESPN radio when he started doing Kerry jokes. Gee, thanks Disney!

moe testers found the bottom ,

I must say, since Disney acquired ESPN, that network has been completely unwatchable.

It's bad enough they whip up any drama they possibly can that's sports related, but weren't they way more laid back a decade ago with their dress code? Maybe I'm thinking it was the Deuce but this network has become decisively unchill for my viewing tastes.

We all know that the death of Sen. Kennedy is something they've been wishing since we knew about his health problems. Let us not act shocked. They want it to happen to Sen. Obama, and everyone else who is descent. It is sad though, that something like this happens and they, that consider themselves good christians, wish for stuff like that.

Rico @ 46:

#23 Brokenarrow said: "Judging by the link to the Pittsburgh paper, I can SEE why this guy was on radio. Looks like an overweight, loud-mouthed, redneck.

That said, there are a lot of very cool people in Pittsburgh."

True, and there's one less since I left the city where I grew up. Seriously, I've known this prick Madden for years and he should have been fired more than a decade ago. But like some others here, I suspect Fox will pick him up within the next year.

They happily hired Brian Kilmeade from local hate radio, who now merrily continues his spewing of car bombing enemies and attacking people on Faux. Go check Youtube for Brian Kilmeade, rather shocking.

miss_kitty @ 6:

Nice guy. Wonder if he kisses his family members with that vile mouth of his -- or if they let him, more to the point.

Only his sisters.

If these stinking CON's want to kill so badly why don't they join the Army? Oh wait then they might get killed themselves, never mind.

Fuck that greasy haired hick. I hope he chokes on his pickled eggs!

no longer a proud american @ 4:

big ass stupid buffoon. May he get all that he deserves in this life and the next.

From your mouth to God's ears!!! :-)

Attila the Appeaser @ 19:

Fat bastard looks as if he's had a frontal lobotomy.

Too funny!!!! Thanks for the laugh!!

RW @ 59:

Fuck that greasy haired hick. I hope he chokes on his pickled eggs!

Pickled eggs or something else less acceptable to the Repugs!!!!!!! :-)

Tarro @ 58:

If these stinking CON's want to kill so badly why don't they join the Army? Oh wait then they might get killed themselves, never mind.

You are so right on the mark !!!!!!!!!! They are scared shitless of being "hurt" in any way !!!!! Baffoons !!!

Well, what can you expect from a jerk who got his big "break" as a pathetic announcer on that Southern-fried WCW rasslin? lol

One Stupid Redneck down and i hope there will be more to Follow.

miss_kitty @ 18:

Another thing-I feel awful for the Kopechne family. Every time Ted has a problem, these people use Mary Jo Kopechne as some sort of personal baseball bat against him...

I wonder how many of these self-righteously indignant mopes could name Laura Bush's dead BF? The one she killed in a car accident. What about the names of any of the guys killed on the Forrestal during McCain's 'wet start.' Or any dead people from Iraq, for that matter.

Boy are you good!!! Thank you for this!!! No mention at all about the dead BF!!! Can you imagine Hillary getting a free ride on this ????? I bet there are so many people who have no idea what we are even talking about!!!!!!!!! Sad and pathetic!!! She is sooo useless, except to give Georgie the go ahead to be such a jackass!!!! Like father like daughters !!!

Darth Chaos @ 64:

Well, what can you expect from a jerk who got his big "break" as a pathetic announcer on that Southern-fried WCW rasslin? lol

OMG !! too funny!! Thanks !!

I hope he lives long enough to have a heart attack.

Scratch that. Shouldn't be too long...

He can replace that other fatass LimpBalls when he retires. Too bad that idiot doesn't know how much Ted Kennedy has probably helped his own family with his policies on abortion, minimum wage, and no child left behind, but he's too stupid to realize that.

Knowing full well my utter contempt for Ronald Reagan, my mother asked my reaction on the day his Alzheimer condition was (officially) made public. I said it was a terrible shame, and that I wouldn't wish such a fate upon anyone. Damned if I don't think that answer somehow reassured her about my own humanity- that she raised me right (I quickly added he had surely been afflicted in the latter stages of his presidency, to which she agreed). People like this DJ clown will always be with us, of course, but, when all is said and done, they should be more pitied than censured.

Ivan @ 68:

I hope he lives long enough to have a heart attack.

Scratch that. Shouldn't be too long...

Are you that Shock Jocks stupid brother?

Looks like a Dallas Cowboy fan,or a Giants fan.

harley @ 57:

miss_kitty @ 6:

Nice guy. Wonder if he kisses his family members with that vile mouth of his -- or if they let him, more to the point.

Only his sisters.

HA! Love it.

Brad @ 17:

Damn, why do people even go there?

Because they are too stupid to know any better. I bet you $100 bucks he doesn't even know why he hates him.

He looks like the bastard child of Hillary,and Zell Miller.

Hate radio ought to be illegal. That remark is like threatening to harm someone using the us postal service, in my opinion. Hate radio is above and beyond free speech.

Their having casting call's for (Wrong Turn 2).They need a inbred,toothless redneck.

Rush Limpball's should be next.[deleted]

Dude got the job with his mouth, dude lost the job with his mouth.

No sympathy required.

He should be fired. What's with the right wing hate machine anyway? Do they have even an ounce of human kindness?

[Deleted. Let's not decry certain behavior then engage in the same. Thanks-Sitemonitor]

Poor guy, he won't be able to afford doughnuts anymore.

C&L readers - check yourselves.

What if he'd said the same thing about Cheney? In France? wearing a keffiyah?

I have no love for cretins like this nor the type who listen to sports talk radio but do we really want to defend the "people should watch what they say" mentality? You go down that road too far and you'll be supporting blacklists, book-burning, etc.

Karike @ 76:

Hate radio ought to be illegal. That remark is like threatening to harm someone using the us postal service, in my opinion. Hate radio is above and beyond free speech.

Let's start with that nutball fatman Alex Jones. He goes around calling people "retards" when they don't agree with his cockamamie cuckoo fruit-loop twoofery.

Ditto - to ALL of the above!!

the libertine @ 77:

Their having casting call's for (Wrong Turn 2).They need a inbred,toothless redneck.

He can be the next Sling Blade. lol

Breaking news...CNN hired this guy to combat the "liberal bent" of Glenn Beck.

JaneaneTheAcerbicGoblin @ 86:

Breaking news...CNN hired this guy to combat the "liberal bent" of Glenn Beck.

So it's not enough for Glenn Beck to be a pompous ass. Now he has to rip off Hannity & Colmes. I'll pass.

Explain to me why this guy is qualified to talk sports. He doesn't look like he could run across a football much less walk.

You know, you pile on a guy like this, & were shocked when Randi Rhodes was fired.

Free speech means free speech people.

Don't let the fucking door hit you in the ass,you dumb fat,sleazy piece of shit.

The Kennedy comments were typical of Madden, who built his following partly by his willingness to take on popular and important people.

I thought this meathead was paid to talk about sports.

Does this guy remind anyone of a child molestor on the loose? Figures....RW idiots.

Oh what the fuck...

They fire the ex-professional wrestling announcer whom NOBODY listens to..

But Michael Weiner Savage, who played a song by the punk rock group DEAD KENNEDYS (get it?!? har har har) over soundbites of Ted talking about his illness, keeps his job?!

Goes to show ya, once again. Money talks, bullshit walks, and hate keeps on walking as long as there's big money to be made.

Hypocritcal fucks...

Amazing, I thought right-wingers only get fired for getting blowjobs?

demographics........white trash

Look at that man (?) -- all he has is his hate.
*

SweetAtheist @ 71:

Ivan @ 68:

I hope he lives long enough to have a heart attack.

Scratch that. Shouldn't be too long...

Are you that Shock Jocks stupid brother?

Are you aware of the fact that I wasn't referring to Kennedy?

Mark Madden used to be a 2nd rate failed WCW Color Commentator.
to go from Pro Wrestling Color Commentating to Right Wing Radio Talk Show...............Woooooo!!!

Fire this man