ESPN makes me sad

Has ESPN changed or have I?

Truthfully, the world-wide sports leader has been one of my best friends for a very long time. I never had cable until my senior year in college. I have never not had cable since- mostly because I can't imagine life without being able to watch sports. The ESPN family of networks and whatever station has the Indians and Cavs games are my staples.

But somewhere along the way, ESPN and I took divergent paths. To me ESPN rather being about providing me access to sports has become about ESPN. The network has become a collection of talking heads that bring attention to themselves and occasionally it fills time with by showing a sporting event. Except most of the time the game itself takes a back seat to the talking heads. The announcers don't announce all that much anymore. They tell stories including stories that have nothing to do with the game. An extreme example was earlier this year during the overtime of a important SEC game, play-by-play guy Mike Patrick started discussing Britney Spears, but sadly it happens nearly every game almost all game to some level. I just want to watch sports. I don't care what fired basketball coach Jeff Van Gundy thinks about movies or the NFL. I just want to watch the game that is on right then. ESPN has plenty of talking head shows that where they can spout whatever they want-- I don't need to hear it during a game.

It isn't like I have many other options, I still have to watch ESPN so maybe that is why I resent them so much. When my local sports page is weak, I can turn to the net to find articles worth reading. But there really isn't another sports channel option. Fox Sports is all about the PAC-10 and the Best Damn Sports Show- which should be called People Magazine Sports Show in my opinion, but then again I haven't watched in years so what do I know.

ESPN has sold its soul to Chris Berman instead of Bob Ley and the result has led the network to becoming what it is. Loud equals prime-time where journalism equals filler. When I want sports news on TV I used to turn to ESPN NEWS. Berman and Stuart Scott would never stoop to the little sister channel so I thought I was safe from noise for the sake of noise. But even the third string has learned the fastest way to the first team is to be annoyingly obnoxious. There are times when I have to turn off the channel because I can't take anymore preening.

I used to watch Pardon the Interruption. Wilbon and Kornheiser used to be journalists, I know they are still paid to be journalists in their day jobs but I think line has been crossed. PTI used to be mildly entertaining then at some point Wilbon and Kornheiser became caricatures of themselves. Instead of being themselves they now behave as they think they are expected to be behave. The change may have been slow and subtle but it has become so complete that I can't finish a show anymore.

ESPN will always look to the favorite. They love the Yankees and the Red Sox because that is the market that sells. So they hammer them down our throats.

Today I watched the end of their March Madness coverage. Every talking head in the studio picked nothing but numbers ones and number twos. No one was willing to take risk in the final four outside of the obvious. That way if they were wrong- so was everyone else. Almost all of their final four picks were exactly the same. Well with one exception- no one puts coach Bobby Knight in a corner. He picked sixth seed Pittsburgh to win it all. If Bobby Knight is wrong, what does he care?

Anything edgy on ESPN is a false edgy. They make up things like who is now? They have stupid concepts like the Budweiser Hot Seat. They talk and talk and talk and talk and talk. So much so I don't care about steroids. I don't care about Michael Vick. They work so hard to take my sports passion and suffocate it with information. They have dumbed down sports. Seriously when did my enjoyment of sports get better with the sound off?

ESPN now runs ABC sports and you can see their ripple effect across the sports universe. Rather than just call my brother's college game on the internet, the students manning the mike criticize every move and tell stories. Newsflash- you are a college student- please just call the action.

I know there will be no revolution. It will only get worse and never better. Man do I hate ESPN.