I've long been done with ESPN. In fact, I've been done with them since NHL2nite left (although it's not about their lack of hockey coverage for me, per se). They are more about the characters they peddle than they are about sports. They are all about entertainment and they really hold no weight with me anymore. I can't remember the last time I watched SportCenter from beginning to end, but has to be close to at least 6 years. I've had it with them and their enormous ego's. This article asserts that the LeBron "decision" show was a farce; it was a disgrace to the network and leans closer to "real life" drama than it does respectable newsgathering.
And the McDonalds ad they also ran. So LeBron was all about making dollars with this little
spiel. The NBA fans and other lemmings who bought into this are simpletons, plain and simple.
Couldn't agree with this post more if I had written it myself. ESPN is an absolute joke, they cover what they want to cover, when they want to cover it, and have become one of the most sensationalist entities on tv. In essence, they tell the viewer what is important, whom to care about, how long to care, and to what degree. They have a monopoly on "sports coverage," so the simple "change the channel" response from people who refuse to understand the situation doesn't apply if one wants to see sports "highlights."
I always, this year especially, use the analogy of the San Diego Padres. They are my home team, so of course I would like to see more coverage of them across the board, but usually it just doesn't make sense to mention the Padres in more than passing because for the last few years they have been perennial let downs not worth extended consideration. However, this year, the Padres have been in 1st place in the NL west for the majority of the season, are tied with the Braves for the best record in the NL, and have the best all-around pitching staff in the MLB. Not to mention specific players such as Mat Latos, Heath Bell, Adrian Gonzalez, Luke Gregorson and Mike Adams that are among the game's best individual performers that hardly ever get mentioned. Look up each of those players numbers, and you'll be pretty surprised at how well these players have fared in their respective positions/roles compared to the annointed "others" that ESPN chooses to bestow coverage upon. The casual fan has never even heard of 3 of the 5 players I've mentioned here, and all of them are All-Star caliber players. (I'm not saying that all of them should be All-Stars, but in comparison to a handful of the players that are this year, they deserve more serious consideration than they got.)
I understand the the Padres' style of play is solid pitching and solid defense coupled with timely hitting, and to most, that is not the sexiest combination of factors for a baseball team to have, nonetheless the Padres are 15 games over .500 (50-35) and are having an unbelieveable season and IMO deserve a lot more credit and respect than ESPN has deemed they are worthy of. In perspective, considering the way that the Padres have been playing over the course of the season, they have been completely shafted by ESPN for the likes of team such as the Dodgers (47-38), the Cubs (38-48), the Phillies (44-40) etc... teams that have not been playing nearly as well as the Padres, but have "sexier" players and more drama to hype. Even the Washington Nationals (38-48) have received more attention this season.
Granted Strasburg is a phenomenal player, and will be for years to come, but even before Strasburg was a major leaguer the hype surrounding him as far "when/where/etc." will he make his MLB debut was far bigger "news" in the eyes of ESPN than anything that was actually happening at the major league level. Disgusting. And with respect to Strasburg, he has done well, yes, but ESPN has done no justice to other rookie pitchers that have already made a more pronounced and direct impact on their team's performance on the field. Take Mike Leake from the Reds as an example. One of a very, very small number of individuals to start in the majors without ever having thrown a single pitch in the minors is news enough in my mind, but Leake, in 16 starts this season has accumulated a record of 6-1, with an ERA of 3.38, close to 70 strikeouts (without "dominant" stuff) and has become the staff ace of the "lowly" Reds who are currently atop the NL central (49-38) and currently hold a 3.0 game lead over the trailing Cardinals, and a 10.5 game lead over the 3rd place Cubs. Far more impressive, IMO, than Strasburg winning a few games for a less than averagre Nationals team that sports the 3rd worst record in the NL.
ESPN is a joke, but there remain few alternatives, especially on television. That's why I choose to get my sports from the individual sports channels themselves (i.e. MLB tv, NBA tv, NFL tv, etc...) as ESPN has turned into nothing more than the sports equivalent of the Jerry Springer show, interested more in sensationalism than actual news. But seeing as how not everyone has X tv options, they remain consigned to the dreck that is ESPN.
