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do you actually like espn?

C

cravNbeets

Bluelighter
Joined
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espn is basically the only game in town when it comes to tv and radio sports talk/reporting here in the states. my question to you is do you actually like the network?

i for one cant fucking take it anymore! when a story breaks its beaten into the ground so thoroughly that any interest i've ever had in the topic turns quickly into loathing.

case in point: today manny tests possitive for a banned substance. i watch espn in the mornings while getting ready for work. they reported solely on this story for literally 40 minutes! are you kidding me?! 2 major sports are in their post season and you waste 40 minutes "reporting" on manny testing positive for a substance given to him by his doctor. unbelievable


i cant stand the "reporters" schtick. i hate sport center's live format. i hate mel fucking kiper... i've had it.

yet im still compelled to watch.
thoughts?
 
i feel your pain. i also get sick of espn broadcasting stories about things that have NOTHING to do with sports. they're a sports network, why bore me with real life?
 
btw, just after i read this thread, they started talking about the champion's league match between chelsea and barcelona yesterday on "around the horn." typically i enjoy this show and most of the people on it, but they were REALLY out of their league on that topic. all of them shit talked on soccer saying that the officiating was horrible (which it WAS yesterday), they need to institute an instant replay rule, that it's stupid that a 1-1 tie results in one team advancing (because they think winning on aggregate is, and i quote, "a grotesque tie breaker"), that they do things weird in europe, and that they, as viewers, just weren't feeling the passion. they even went so far as to say that europe needs to take a step back and look at how they do things over there, referring to the advancement of barca after a "tie game."

are you fucking kidding me??? obviously they're not soccer fans so it's difficult for me to grasp why they even talked about it since all they did was bastardize it. there IS a world outside of the US (and canada) where soccer is bigger globally than american football, baseball, hockey and basketball. unless i heard wrong in the past... it's THE biggest sport in the world.
 
EPSN has some good journalists. Tony Reali, Woody Page, Mel Kiper, Tony Kornheiser, Chris Berman, and Michael Wilbon - to name a few. they also have bad journalists and they absolutely do beat the dead horse way too much.

why the Mel Kiper Jr hate? his hair is perfect and he does a lot better of a job than that lackluster Todd McShay.

ESPN can really get away with anything, as they are the only big guy around when it comes to sports journalism.
 
I'm in the same boat. They drive me nuts (ex. Brett Favre coverage makes me want to slit my wrists) but as a sports fan you have to watch to get latest news. I round out my experience by checking out blogs like Deadspin, etc who poke fun at ESPN and give a more cynical and humorous viewpoint.
 
I think I liked it until that Kurkjian queer stated "today history was made. two pitchers whose name start with the letters "VOR" pitched games against each other. to top that off, a man whose name starts with "VOT" got a hit, making him the first "VOT" to get a hit off of a "VOR."
^ That isn't fucking news, nor is it a record. Its just a slow news day and some total bullshit.
 
haha... that aside though, i like kurkjian a LOT. him and jayson stark are extremely knowledgeable about baseball and NORMALLY they have a lot to offer in baseball trivia.
 
johanneschimpo said:
I think I liked it until that Kurkjian queer stated "today history was made. two pitchers whose name start with the letters "VOR" pitched games against each other. to top that off, a man whose name starts with "VOT" got a hit, making him the first "VOT" to get a hit off of a "VOR."
^ That isn't fucking news, nor is it a record. Its just a slow news day and some total bullshit.
Click to expand...

Holy shit, dude! I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed this junk the other day.

And not to be a nitpicker, but it was actually "VOL" (Volquez and Volstad).

Anyway, ESPN is okay for the most part. Of course I've long since tired of the Yankees and Red Sox dick riding, but it is based in CT, so what can you do? If I were ever on the show, I sure as hell wouldn't hold back my bias for my teams, even though journalists are supposed to be objective.

That being said, there are a number of people on the network I do enjoy watching. Lately, I think Neil Everett and Stan Verrett are a great team and they kick ass.
 
I REALLY miss having Dan Patrick teamed up with Keith Olberman.

Arguably, at the time, they were the singular best comedy duo in show business.

I'm not kidding.

And, boy do I miss Craig Kilborn.

"We love Pooh!"

-- Old Skool ESPNophile, L to the L, Who Is Of The Strong Opinion That ESPN is BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS the most important channel ever spawned in the history of cable TV.

It has undoubtedly revolutionized sports.

That's saying something.

*RAISES GLASS*

"To The Boys (& Gals) In Bristol!"

Salud,

LL <3
 
It only annoys me when the repeat the same thing for 24 hours

Constant coverage of Manny today good example. That was all they could talk bout for 12 hours!
 
I can't comment on the other sports, but their soccer coverage is abysmal. Known around the world for being the worst of its kind. Tommy Smyth epitomises all that is wrong with it. A pig-ignorant fool who apparently doesn't understand the rules and can't recognise the players (he once continually referred to Man United's goalie as Oliver Kahn, probably equivalent to continually confusing LeBron James and Kobe Bryant). A fountain of irritating catchphrases and slang terms that no-one but him uses, but that ESPN seem to think are in common use around the world. A man who clearly only has the job because of his Irish accent, fooling the higher-ups into thinking he must know something about the sport, because he's European. The most evil man in the world.

On ryan's points: I can sort of see the logic of their argument about the away goals rule. It is there for a good reason though (given the low number of goals in soccer compared to points in rugby or American football etc, you need a way of breaking ties, and given that it's hard to score away from home, the away goals rule makes some sense, though it's not ideal).
 
yeah I hate espn. Unless I care what Arod or Manny (using first name and nickname basis, cause I know them so well, something else that annoys me about espn) or the yankees or red sox or favre are doing, then I try not to watch. Like others said, they talk about the same old shit over and over again. Manny Ramirez taking banned substances (What a surprise half of the fucking Yankees and Red Sox did and do) was breaking news at 8 am but it's still breaking news at 11 pm. It never ends. They waste hours with pointless "mock drafts". If your favorite team isn't from NYC, L.A, Boston, or Chicago you get 90% less coverage.

I don't listen to espn radio anymore cause it's the same deal. I try to listen to local sports talk nowadays cause it doesn't drive me crazy
 
I'm not a huge sports fan in general, but most of my friends are so I've watched a decent amount of ESPN. The thing that bugs me the most about it are all the ADD-oriented programming where you have a couple douchey sports casters give one or two sentences about an event in a list of like 12 other events. It was fine contained to one or two shows but now it seems like EVERY show has a segment like this. It is super obnoxious and clearly catering to folks who have the attention span of a goldfish.
 
^ i understand what you mean. i actually don't mind those shows because they offer A LOT of topics in a short time, then again i'm with you in that when the time runs out on the clock... the discussion ends. if it's a good discussion, i'd rather hear it continued.

it's a double edged sword, in my opinion.

simon: my biggest issue i take with that is that it's a bunch of american's who don't watch soccer (except when they have to in order to talk about it on tv) telling the europeans they're doing it wrong, their system is flawed, there's not enough passion, etc. you just can't be calling for change if you don't understand something in the first place. that's arrogant and self righteous for them to think a foreign system already in place doesn't make sense to them so they should change it so that it mirrors our sports leagues more closely.

maybe the reason i get so into the format of the champions league is because its interesting and unusual. there's nothing like it from what i know. and even though maybe the aggregate rule is a little flawed... to me, i think it's great. as much as it sucked that chelsea was eliminated on a perfect example of it, the fact that a team can be up by a goal, but still not safe from elimination means they (should) play a more exciting game instead of sitting back on a lead. that's my opinion though. i understand most people are outsiders looking in, and i was at one point too, but with an understanding of the rule, i think it's fine.
 
Loved that commercial with the cheerleader with psychic ability "I've got ESPN"

cravNbeets said:
i for one cant fucking take it anymore!

.... are you kidding me?! .. unbelievable


i cant stand the "reporters" schtick. i hate sport center's live format. i hate mel fucking kiper... i've had it.

yet im still compelled to watch.
thoughts?
Click to expand...

I think that summed it up pretty well ;)

axl blaze said:
ESPN can really get away with anything, as they are the only big guy around when it comes to sports journalism.
Click to expand...

Hahahahaha......yes, I recall when they went on the air and I was up at 2 AM watching their broadcast of badmitton from asia with Chris Berman announcing at the desk with someone (can't recall whom). So, I've watched their birth, teenage years, and now their corporate career. They really are the biggest, baddest mofo on the sports programming block, with an ego to match.

They remain the place I turn to first in the wee hours when I can't sleep, but I quickly switch to one of a hundred other sports channels that don't have the breadth of content, but at least they stick with something and give it an honest go. I mean really, do we need televised food eating competition? But then again, did we need to spin off to ESPN2, ESPNews, ..... are we owned by the same malignant morons that turned MTV into a franchise that is no longer about music and shouldn't be on television?

But back to ESPN and how they are today. I appreciate that within 10 min, I know anything and everything they'll be nattering away about for the remainder of the day (until we get a late breaking update on Farve's retirement...or not... :yawn: ). I appreciate that they've taken their empire and reached out to NCAA Football to basically buy so many freaking games I can watch anything I want without CBS' method of doing regional coverage or NBC's broadcast of another pukey Notre Dame loss. I like that they give extensive coverage of NCAA Basketball (and yes, we can finally watch Cal Poly vs Idaho State at 3:30 AM on the east coast....you might laugh, but I *do* watch ;) ).

So, for the meat of what I want, they serve it up well enough. The rest of their content ought to be shredded and shoved down mgt's throat. For the other content I *would* like to see, I've got about 15 regional Fox networks (smaller football schools) and a few European and South American channels (various soccer leagues) to fill my limited viewing time. God love the satellite.


Do I *like* ESPN how it is? Some, but mostly no. But while they are the biggest boy on the block, there are dozens of small time competitors that are meeting my needs quite well, thank you. And that is enough. I'll let ESPN do what it does, and I'll watch what little I care to.
 
Espn is ok, you just have to take it in moderation. if you watch more then an hour straight in the morning, your seeing the same shit 5 times. But nice to catch up on whats going on if your away from the tube for a couple days.
 
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