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I never thought I
would say those words.
Is it just me or is the shock-jock, sports
radio over-analysis becoming all too
prevalent in the world? It used to be
confined to AM radio stations and an
occasional piece buried late in the ESPN
staple, "SportsCenter".
But now... it seems
that ridiculous arguments, vast
overstatements, snap reactions, absurd
speculation and repetitive lame banter
blasts my eardrums morning, noon and night.
ESPN has turned the conversations I used to
have with my buddies into redundant chatter.
I say ESPN, only
because it is the bread and butter of sports
television. Sure, there are other
channels that are very much guilty of the
same bullshit -- but ESPN is the one I
always have looked forward to watching.
Like I said... It
used to be confined to bit segments as time
filler on "SportsCenter". There was
also a favorite show of mine that aired
every Sunday morning called "The Sports
Reporters".
After that, "Pardon
the Interruption" became a massive hit for
the station. I was an avid viewer and
loved the initial interaction between
Kornheiser and Wilbon.
Heck, even the first
few months of "Around the Horn" was must see
TV -- back when Max Kellerman was the host.
Since then, ESPN has
flooded the airwaves with supposed experts
who are prone to spewing wild statements all
over the place in an attempt to be the
loudest and most obnoxious analyst on TV
I can't go five
seconds without seeing the insane ramblings
of Skip Bayless or Stephen A. Smith.
Have either one of them ever been correct
about anything ever in the history of
sports??? They are simply contrarians
with loud voices.
If we don't get
served assholes like that, we are treated to
morons like Woody Paige and Bill Plaschke --
neither of which can deliver a
multi-syllabic sentence without stumbling
repeatedly.
ESPN is slowly
devolving into a cesspool of "opinions"
rather than a provider of information.
It is desperately trying to be entertaining
rather than factual. It is becoming
the Fox News of sports broadcasting.
Listen -- I still
have affection for ESPN and want it to
revert back to what it was a few years
ago... when I couldn't get enough. All
I feel now is a sense of "bullshit fatigue".
Dial it down a notch
ESPN -- before your audience grows out of
you and your childish squabbling. Try
to be a station for adults... not teenagers.
Get rid of the "controversy seekers" and
start giving us "quality analysis".
The only great show
on ESPN now is E:60 -- which is essentially
a rip off of the fantastic HBO series, "Real
Sports with Bryant Gumbel".
So ESPN, we would
like to see more of the
following...
Ron Jaworski, Chris
Berman, Tom Jackson, Bob Ryan, Mitch Albom,
John Saunders... etc. These guys
haven't yet felt the urge to jump in the
muck
Stop feeding us the Bill
O'Reilly impersonators!!!
Stop feeding us big
name ex-athletes like Keyshawn Johnson -- a
terrible speaker and a vile human being!!!
Stop expecting us to
listen to the same crappy arguments 25 times
a day!!!
Stop appealing to
the lowest common denominators!!!
Raise the bar of
your profession... Set the standard.
Make ESPN the "real
leader in sports television".
AND THAT'S WHAT I'M
BURNING ON!!!
©
Written by TC Candler |
