The Broun Blog

USA Today posted the following story yesterday:

Kimmel apologizes for Detroit remarks ... sort of

DETROIT (AP) — Jimmy Kimmel's late-night talk show was pulled off the air for a night following a joke the comedian made about Detroit during Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

Jimmy Kimmel Live did not appear in his usual time slot at midnight ET Wednesday on ABC affiliates around the country. In Detroit, WXYZ ran an episode of "The Wayne Brady Show" with a crawl across the bottom of the screen saying Kimmel's show would not be seen.

Kimmel was talking to ABC sportscaster Mike Tirico during halftime Tuesday when he said, "They're going to burn the city of Detroit down if the Pistons win, and it's not worth it." Tirico, an Ann Arbor resident, immediately objected, telling him to be careful in talking about his home state.

"Frankly, we were shocked. We thought it was uncalled for," said Andrea Parquet-Taylor, WXYZ's news director.

The network made the decision to pull Wednesday night's show shortly after it was taped at 11 p.m. ET in California, but ABC publicity manager Jennifer De La Rosa said she didn't know whether it was because of the Detroit comments.

WXYZ General Manager Grace Gilchrist said the taped show featured more disparaging remarks about the city.

Kimmel issued a written statement to address his comments.

"What I said about Pistons fans during halftime was a joke, nothing more. If I offended anyone, I'm sorry," he said. "Clearly, over the past 10 years, we in L.A. have taken a commanding lead in post-game riots. If the Lakers win, I plan to overturn my own car."

Parquet-Taylor said Kimmel's apology wasn't an apology at all.

"He tried to turn it into another bad joke," she said.

De La Rosa issued another apology from the comedian Thursday:

"When you're 2,000 miles away from a city you've never lived in, it's hard to understand the sadness people feel from something that happened in their town — even if it happened many years ago. It was never my intention to cause anyone pain. I was trying to make a joke and I'm sorry it resulted in anything other than laughter."

Despite the apologies, Pistons fans weren't happy about the comments at The Palace before Game 3 Thursday night. A handful of derogatory signs were spotted in the crowd, including one that read: "Hey Kimmel: Burn Some Pounds, Chubby!"

Now, let's be honest. Win or lose, Los Angeles will be burned to the ground. Over the last few years, there has consistently been some form of rioting in L.A. following the NBA Finals. Lakers lose, fires and overtuned cars. Lakers win, fires and overturned cars.

I think Kimmel's comments are actually pretty funny, but they lead to a greater insight for us Brounies: the Auburn faithful should rejoice in our tradition of rolling Toomer's corner. Yes, it's messy, but it provides an outlet of release -- a controlled method of celebrating an Auburn victory.

It's one thing other fan bases could learn from us: a safe, semi-organized tradition may save cities like L.A. a few headaches in the long run.

Renfroe Fired as Head Baseball Coach

In four seasons as head coach, Renfroe posted an overall record of 145-92 and a conference mark of 60-60. This season, Auburn finished with an overall record of 32-24 and a record of 12-18 in SEC play.

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I honestly don't have an informed opinion on this, but the team certainly seemed to tank enough in SEC play this season to justify it. At the conclusion to the MLB draft, I'll post an update on which Auburn players were drafted.