April 27, 2004
What Happened to Sports?
I find it rather depressing that four of the top five headlines on ESPN's home page are about legal issues rather than sports. I wish the sports outlets would leave those stories to the news stations on concentrate on what is happening on the field.
Posted by David Pinto at
02:52 PM
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News Media
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TrackBack (1)
Amen. I think ESPN, particularly, has an obligation regarding this. I know, much of what they cover regarding legal issues is pertinant to the ongoing affairs of sports, and it's what they think many viewers want to see.
Not me, though. Give me a quick update, leave it to OTL Nightly, and definitely don't cover the front page of your website with BALCO, Kobe, Jayson Williams, and Leonard Little if you don't want me to get sick of it.
And that's why I get all my sports news from baseballmusings.com!
*thumbs up & cheesy grin*
No, instead if wishing for that, I wish:
Athletes would stop commiting crimes.
Athletes would stop taking steroids.
Colleges would stop cheating.
Can you say: "Get real"?
ESPN.com is LOADED with stories on basketball games and hockey games and baseball games and every other kind of game imaginable. Okay, badminton doesn't get much coverage.
If anybody's bothered by the relatively tiny number of legal stories, SKIP 'EM. And don't whine about stories that detail the scummier side of the sports world, when the overwhelming majority of ESPN stories ignore it.
I actually appreciate that ESPN covers these stories rather than leaving it up to the traditional media outlets. I like the p.o.v. and sports-centric knowledge that sports writers bring to the table.
It's strange that this topic came up, because I had just brought that up on a message board yesterday. I had mentioned that I'm getting a little OD'd on OTL Nightly and the like concentrating on the "non-sport" aspects of sport. I enjoy the games, and the statistics and the competition. OTL might be ok if it went back to it's weekly format, but sandwiched between Sportscenter and BBTN bothers me.
it's kinda hard to just SKIP IT when you've only got time to watch the first 20 minutes of SportsCenter whille you eat your brekfat before you leave for work. some mornings, they're so busy with Kobe, BALCO and whatnot that i barely get to see any highlights. oh well, at least they move the extraneous stuff like the personal interest stories, top 10 plays, etc to the end of the show or i'd never get to see any "real" sports at all...
Nice irony. Instead of commenting on what is happening on the field, Dave comments on what is posted at the ESPN site to complain about ESPN not commenting on what is happening on the field.
Todd Jones is getting his fastball up into the mid-90s. He just got a called strike.
I used to be one of those people who complained about the mainstream media. Then I stopped paying attention to it. Problem solved. If you don't like ESPN's coverage of baseball, stop visiting. They'll get the message eventually.
It's hard to skip SportsCenter? I can't remember the last time I watched any more than five minutes of that show.
The point is that the ESPN site and many other sites on the web are stuffed with stories that studiously ignore the more rancid side of the sports world. It's very easy if you want to live in a dream world where scumball athletes don't commit crimes. Almost all sports stories ignore the failings of the sweaty heroes. To complain about the very few stories that actually notice the more rotten goings-on is laughable.
WHY DO WE HAVE THAT INANE COLD PIZZA SHOW ON espn??? I WANT BASEBALL TONIGHT IN THE MORNING WHEN I AM DRINKING MY COFFEE AT 6 AM GETTING READY FOR WORK-IF I WANT NEWS I WILL GO CNN-WHO DO I EMAIL TO TELL THE AIRHEADS AT espn THIS NEWS
WHY DO WE HAVE THAT INANE COLD PIZZA SHOW ON espn??? I WANT BASEBALL TONIGHT IN THE MORNING WHEN I AM DRINKING MY COFFEE AT 6 AM GETTING READY FOR WORK-IF I WANT NEWS I WILL GO CNN-WHO DO I EMAIL TO TELL THE AIRHEADS AT espn THIS NEWS
I'm a big baseball fan, and to tell you the truth I'm tired of hearing about the "Billy Goat Curse" or the "Curse of the Bambino." Why doesn't ESPN, or anyone else for that matter, ever mention the "Black Sox Curse." Correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't the White Sox gone with out a title since they cheated in 1919? Isn't that "Curse" just as long as the Red Sox curse, but we never hear a word about it? And if there were baseball gods out there handing out curses, which team would deserve it more than the team that cheated?