Latest news with #MoonMammoths
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
John Oliver Says ‘Late Show' Cancellation Is 'Incredibly Sad'
John Oliver is calling the cancellation of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert 'incredibly sad.' While speaking to reporters over the weekend, Oliver was asked his thoughts about the news, which CBS revealed in a surprise announcement Thursday. More from The Hollywood Reporter What Will Stephen Colbert Do After 'Late Show' Ends? He Has Options David Ellison Met With FCC Chairman in Push to Finalize Approval for Paramount Deal Writers Guild Calls for Investigation After 'Late Show' Cancellation, Citing Bribery Concerns 'Obviously, I love Stephen, I love his staff, I love that show — it's incredibly sad,' the Last Week Tonight host responded. 'I'm partly excited to see what they're gonna do for the next 10 months. It's terrible, terrible news for the world of comedy.' Oliver and Colbert both served as correspondents on The Daily Show — though not at the same time — and are friends, with Oliver having appeared on Colbert's show over the years. Oliver also noted he grew up watching The Late Show in England, when David Letterman was host. 'Late-night shows mean a lot to me, not just because I work in them, because even growing up in England, I would watch Letterman's show, which of course was Stephen's show, and think about what a glamorous world that was,' he said. 'So to have got to have been on Letterman's show and Stephen's show was always one of the most fun things. So it's very, very, very sad news. I look forward to seeing what [Colbert is] gonna do next because that man will not stop.' Colbert shared the show's live audience during the taping of Thursday's show at the Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York, drawing boos from the audience. He said he'd been told about the decision the night before. In a statement, CBS said the cancellation was 'purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.' Last Week Tonight, meanwhile, is on hiatus until July 27. Oliver was talking to reporters in Erie, Pennsylvania — home of the newly rebranded minor league baseball team, the Moon Mammoths. The team formerly known as the Erie SeaWolves will play four games under the new moniker, but it's unclear if the name will be permanent. 'This is entirely for the people of Erie and this team to decide now,' Oliver said, according to 'If they want to go back to the SeaWolves, this has been fun. If they want to keep the Moon Mammoths forever, have it.' Erie Mayor Joe Schember declared the day as Moon Mammoth Day and presented Oliver with a key to the city. The new name is inspired by George Moon's discovery of a mammoth skeleton in Lake Pleasant in 1991. Saturday night's game drew a record crowd of 7,070 at UPMC Park. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Studio': 30 Famous Faces Who Play (a Version of) Themselves in the Hollywood-Based Series 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise Solve the daily Crossword
CTV News
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
John Oliver's Erie Moon Mammoths debut in front of a record crowd
John Oliver and Fuss E. Mammoth, the Moon Mammoth mascot, are driven onto the field before a game between the Chesapeake Oyster Catchers and the Erie Moon Mammoths at UMPC Park in Erie, Pa., on Saturday, July 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Joe Reedy) ERIE, Pa. — Besides being a fan, John Oliver has had a certain affinity for minor league baseball. On Saturday night, the comedian and host of HBO's 'Last Week Tonight' saw his latest crazy creation set out into the world as the Erie Moon Mammoths made their debut in front of a record crowd of 7,070 at UPMC Park. 'We're sending our furry child out into the world and you are the custodian of it. Now, please be careful with our child,' Oliver said a couple of hours before the Moon Mammoths took the field against the Chesapeake Oyster Catchers. Oliver spotlighted Minor League Baseball promotions and alternate nicknames during 'Last Week Tonight' on May 4. At the end of the segment, Oliver invited teams to send in proposals on why they should get rebranded by the show's staff. Forty-seven teams sent in pitches, including the Erie SeaWolves, the Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. Erie president Greg Coleman sent a list of 11 reasons why they were the perfect candidate, including: 'The SeaWolves play baseball nowhere near the sea.' 'To have so many teams expressing interest was really edifying. I think it kind of validates the fact that we thought there was something special about minor league baseball. We thought this would be a group of people that would respond to the ludicrous idea that we had,' Oliver said. Erie was announced as the winner on May 18. After six weeks of research by Oliver and his staff, the Moon Mammoths were unveiled on June 29. That included the mascot named Fuzz, a purple woolly mammoth wearing a space helmet. 'Erie did stand out to us as being, you know, uniquely eccentric. And I say that as both a compliment and an insult, which is the biggest compliment there is,' Oliver said. 'There was something about the Moon Mammoth that spoke to us for being particularly odd. It felt like it could make a baseball team's theme. You could almost see the logo in your head and it felt like something to be extra surprising.' That this came together in less than three months is a minor miracle. It usually takes 16 months for a team to have an alternate identity approved and then take the field. 'I thought we had a good chance when I sent it in. And then when we were selected it was a little surreal,' Coleman said. 'And since then working with the 'Last Week Tonight' team, they've been wonderful and detail oriented.' The Moon Mammoths name was inspired by George Moon, who found the bone of a prehistoric mammoth while scuba diving in 1991. The remains are housed at the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. Moon has become a regional celebrity since the rebranding was announced. He was at the game and caught the ceremonial first pitch from Oliver. 'It's fun. I'm enjoying it,' Moon said. 'From all those years ago to today, I would never have thought anything like this would've been possible. The newspaper did something on its 30th anniversary (in 2021). Other than that, I haven't heard much.' Coleman said that since the Moon Mammoths were unveiled, the team has done the equivalent of four years' of online sales in three weeks. The line of people waiting to get into the team store, which was located in left field, stretched out to near home plate in the concourse area. Karyn Drombosky and Sean Mizerski drove from Pittsburgh and were wearing homemade tusks as they waited to get into the team store. 'It's just great. We're big baseball fans. We see the Pirates all the time, and minor league games are fun. There's so much silliness,' Drombosky said. 'We watch John Oliver pretty regularly. We were like surprised but excited when we saw he picked the Erie team to take over.' In addition to throwing out the first pitch, Oliver was a batboy during one inning and led the crowd in 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' during the seventh inning stretch. The cap and jersey that Oliver wore for the first pitch are going to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Erie trailed 6-3 going into the bottom of the ninth but got within one run on Kevin McGonigle's two-run double. Chesapeake's Yaqui Rivera struck out Josue Briceño with the bases loaded to end the game. 'The atmosphere was great. Everything worked smoothly. It doesn't happen very often in minor league baseball to be able to have an event like that. It was a fun night for everyone,' Erie manager Andrew Graham said. The Moon Mammoths will be back on Aug. 19 as well as Sept. 12 and 13. Coleman said there will be at least four Moon Mammoths games next season. 'I love minor league baseball. There is a special eccentricity to it,' Oliver said. 'It felt like a nice fit with our show because minor league baseball, as you know, is willing to try anything. That was proven by the fact that over half the league was willing to sight unseen, rebrand and put their trust in the hands of a group of people who are objectively untrustworthy. That's a bad decision, and it's that kind of bad decision making that I love about minor league baseball.' ___ Joe Reedy, The Associated Press
Chicago Tribune
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
John Oliver's Erie Moon Mammoths debut in front of a record crowd
ERIE, Pa. — Besides being a fan, John Oliver has had a certain affinity for minor league baseball. On Saturday night, the comedian and host of HBO's 'Last Week Tonight' saw his latest crazy creation set out into the world as the Erie Moon Mammoths made their debut in front of a record crowd of 7,070 at UPMC Park. 'We're sending our furry child out into the world and you are the custodian of it. Now, please be careful with our child,' Oliver said a couple of hours before the Moon Mammoths took the field against the Chesapeake Oyster Catchers. Oliver spotlighted Minor League Baseball promotions and alternate nicknames during 'Last Week Tonight' on May 4. At the end of the segment, Oliver invited teams to send in proposals on why they should get rebranded by the show's staff. Forty-seven teams sent in pitches, including the Erie SeaWolves, the Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. Erie president Greg Coleman sent a list of 11 reasons why they were the perfect candidate, including: 'The SeaWolves play baseball nowhere near the sea.' 'To have so many teams expressing interest was really edifying. I think it kind of validates the fact that we thought there was something special about minor league baseball. We thought this would be a group of people that would respond to the ludicrous idea that we had,' Oliver said. Erie was announced as the winner on May 18. After six weeks of research by Oliver and his staff, the Moon Mammoths were unveiled on June 29. That included the mascot named Fuzz, a purple woolly mammoth wearing a space helmet. 'Erie did stand out to us as being, you know, uniquely eccentric. And I say that as both a compliment and an insult, which is the biggest compliment there is,' Oliver said. 'There was something about the Moon Mammoth that spoke to us for being particularly odd. It felt like it could make a baseball team's theme. You could almost see the logo in your head and it felt like something to be extra surprising.' That this came together in less than three months is a minor miracle. It usually takes 16 months for a team to have an alternate identity approved and then take the field. 'I thought we had a good chance when I sent it in. And then when we were selected it was a little surreal,' Coleman said. 'And since then working with the 'Last Week Tonight' team, they've been wonderful and detail oriented.' The Moon Mammoths name was inspired by George Moon, who found the bone of a prehistoric mammoth while scuba diving in 1991. The remains are housed at the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. Moon has become a regional celebrity since the rebranding was announced. He was at the game and caught the ceremonial first pitch from Oliver. 'It's fun. I'm enjoying it,' Moon said. 'From all those years ago to today, I would never have thought anything like this would've been possible. The newspaper did something on its 30th anniversary (in 2021). Other than that, I haven't heard much.' Coleman said that since the Moon Mammoths were unveiled, the team has done the equivalent of four years' of online sales in three weeks. The line of people waiting to get into the team store, which was located in left field, stretched out to near home plate in the concourse area. Karyn Drombosky and Sean Mizerski drove from Pittsburgh and were wearing homemade tusks as they waited to get into the team store. 'It's just great. We're big baseball fans. We see the Pirates all the time, and minor league games are fun. There's so much silliness,' Drombosky said. 'We watch John Oliver pretty regularly. We were like surprised but excited when we saw he picked the Erie team to take over.' In addition to throwing out the first pitch, Oliver was a batboy during one inning and led the crowd in 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' during the seventh inning stretch. The cap and jersey that Oliver wore for the first pitch are going to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Erie trailed 6-3 going into the bottom of the ninth but got within one run on Kevin McGonigle's two-run double. Chesapeake's Yaqui Rivera struck out Josue Briceño with the bases loaded to end the game. 'The atmosphere was great. Everything worked smoothly. It doesn't happen very often in minor league baseball to be able to have an event like that. It was a fun night for everyone,' Erie manager Andrew Graham said. The Moon Mammoths will be back on Aug. 19 as well as Sept. 12 and 13. Coleman said there will be at least four Moon Mammoths games next season. 'I love minor league baseball. There is a special eccentricity to it,' Oliver said. 'It felt like a nice fit with our show because minor league baseball, as you know, is willing to try anything. That was proven by the fact that over half the league was willing to sight unseen, rebrand and put their trust in the hands of a group of people who are objectively untrustworthy. That's a bad decision, and it's that kind of bad decision making that I love about minor league baseball.'
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
John Oliver Reacts To ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert' Cancelation: 'Terrible News For The World Of Comedy'
John Oliver was in Erie, Pennsylvania over the weekend to rebrand the city's minor league baseball to the Moon Mammoths. The Last Week Tonight host revealed in May that he would help bring a new look to the Detroit Tigers Double-A affiliate team, which was previously known as the Erie SeaWolves. More from Deadline Late-Night TV Is On The Precipice After CBS Axes Stephen Colbert; Insiders Lament 'End Of An Era' Stephen Colbert Riffs On Paramount's 'Big Fat Bribe' To Settle Donald Trump's CBS '60 Minutes' Lawsuit Former 'Late Show' EP Rob Burnett Reflects On Stephen Colbert Cancellation: "Never Threaten A Corporate Merger" While he was in Erie, he paid tribute to his old friend Stephen Colbert, whose Late Show was axed earlier this week by CBS. 'I love Stephen, I love his staff. I love that show. It's incredibly sad. I am partly excited to see what they're going to do for the next 10 months,' he reportedly said, per local news. 'It's terrible, terrible news for the world of comedy. Late-night shows mean a lot to me, not just because I work in them, but because even growing up in England, I would watch [David] Letterman's show, which of course was Stephen's show, and think about what a glamorous world that was. So, to have got to be on Letterman's show and Stephen's show has been always one of the most fun things, so it's very, very, very sad news. I look forward to seeing what he's going to do next because that man will not stop,' he added. Oliver has appeared multiple times on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as well as the earlier iteration with David Letterman in 2015. He is the latest comedian and television host to offer his support following comments from other late-night peers including Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers and Andy Cohen as well as the likes of Anderson Cooper. Best of Deadline Streamer Subscription Prices And Tiers – Everything To Know As Costs Rise And Ads Abound (Hello, Peacock) - Update 'Stick' Release Guide: When Do New Episodes Come Out? 'Stick' Soundtrack: All The Songs You'll Hear In The Apple TV+ Golf Series
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Erie Moon Mammoths take the field for special theme night after rebrand by comedian John Oliver
The Moon Mammoths were welcomed to Minor League Baseball on Saturday night with the Erie, Pennsylvania Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers rebranding for four games this season. The Erie Seawolves were chosen by comedian John Oliver and the staff of his HBO program "Last Week Tonight" from among 47 teams who submitted pitches after the late-night talk show host praised the goofy spirit of minor league baseball and wanted to contribute in some manner. Oliver threw out the first pitch for Saturday's game versus the Chesapeake Baysox. He was also a celebrity bat boy and PA announcer, sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and sat in with the broadcast team. Additionally, Oliver presented a race between mascots Fuzz E. Mammoth and Louie, the green Baysox mascot, and also worked as a Moon Pie vendor during the game. The Moon Mammoths lost to the Baysox, 6-5, in front of a record crowd of 7,070 at UPMC Park. (By the way, the Baysox have their own alternate brand identity as the Oyster Catchers.) Erie was chosen after an email listing 11 reasons why the team should be chosen, including "The SeaWolves play baseball nowhere near the sea" and "We have the least creatively named mascot in MiLB. His name is C. Wolf. Seriously." Per Oliver's conditions, the Seawolves had to unconditionally accept the rebranding proposal, with no input in the name, mascot or theme night to be created. "Minor league baseball is clearly both incredibly special and inescapably stupid in the very best way," Oliver said on the May 4, 2025 episode of his show. "I love all of this," he added. "The way the world is now, I'd argue that we all badly, badly need this." Why the "Moon Mammoths"? Oliver and his staff wanted to create a brand identity that somehow told some of Erie's history to set it apart from other minor league baseball cities. 'Erie did stand out to us as being, you know, uniquely eccentric. And I say that as both a compliment and an insult, which is the biggest compliment there is," Oliver said, via the Associated Press. The Seawolves have previously held humorous theme nights including "Alternative Facts Night" in 2017, during which the team celebrated the 2016 championship that it never actually won. The Moon Mammoths were inspired by George Moon, who found a bone measuring three feet long while scuba diving in Erie County's Lake Pleasant in 1991. The bone was discovered to be the shoulder blade of a prehistoric mammoth. Subsequent dives after Moon's find recovered 80 percent of the creature's skeleton, including both of its tusks. Moon caught the ceremonial first pitch from Oliver on Saturday. "If you had bet me 34 years ago on something like this, I would have not taken the money, I would have lost," Moon told Pittsburgh's KDKA. "This is great. I love it for Erie. It is great for the community, for the ballpark, for everybody around." The Seawolves will play three more games as the Moon Mammoths on Aug. 19, Sept. 12 and Sept. 13. After that, it's up to the team to decide whether or not to keep the mascot that Oliver referred to as "our furry child."
