FanHouse GeorgeBodenheimer

BRISTOL, Conn. -- When a father-and-son team here in Bristol got the bright idea 30 years ago to start a cable TV channel that showed nothing but sports, most people thought it was ridiculous.

"People did laugh at us," recalls ESPN President George Bodenheimer. "We were a joke in 1979 and 1980."

Apparently, Bill Simmons had Barack Obama all lined up to appear on his podcast. I had no clue (do people still read this guy? I thought he was running an NBA D League team or something. Kidding. Kind of.)

Senator Obama will no longer be appearing though. And it has nothing to do with his busy schedule or the non-political topics (think: NBA) with which they most likely would have discussed. Instead, according to the New York Daily News, ESPN has pulled the plug on the podcast appearance, without really providing a specific (read: good) excuse.

At the last minute, network executives killed a podcast with the senator that was scheduled for Friday with host Bill Simmons.

The presidential candidate was all ready to do it.

'Senator Obama would be happy to appear on ESPN at any time,' said his spokesman, Tommy Vietor.

It's not the first time the sports network has canceled an appearance by the Democratic front-runner. According to a campaign source, a television interview set up with host Stu Scott was canceled by higher-ups as well.

Ruh-roh! Looks like we found the first problem with Sports Guy's new contract at the WWL. He probably should have demanded veto power over any guests, but then again, when he inked back with ESPN, the SG podcast was a lot smaller, at least in terms of marketability.