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Message
re: Has ESPN Destroyed Sports?
Posted on 1/4/13 at 8:33 am to Dr RC
Posted on 1/4/13 at 8:33 am to Dr RC
quote:
and what ESPN is practicing is not the kind of capitalism that is good for longterm growth for all sports entities involved. They try to form monopolies to bully their way into getting what they want which is a bad thing.
and if enough people get upset with it, they'll turn to other options and ESPN will suffer
Posted on 1/4/13 at 8:35 am to Dr RC
quote:
Good luck getting Sportscenter highlights on NHL playoffs, results of a big boxing match, MLS results, or any other sport they don't air heavy amounts of.
they have NHL highlights when i watch and the league works
i saw stills from the paquiao-marquz fight about 5 minutes after the KO
i saw MLS playoffs highlights last week
(i don't watch sportscenter much, but they show coverage of all of these sports)
Posted on 1/4/13 at 8:36 am to BamaICON
quote:
I have have zero desire to watch a single Bowl game this season because of ESPN
I feel the same way, except for the Tigers and the BCSNCG
Posted on 1/4/13 at 8:37 am to Scruffy
quote:
They allowed James to run full steam ahead with his smear campaign, so, yes, ESPN is to blame.
was ESPN part of his suit?
Posted on 1/4/13 at 8:40 am to SlowFlowPro
Pretty sure ESPN is a defendant
Posted on 1/4/13 at 8:42 am to stapuffmarshy
quote:
sports at one time was a release, fun enjoyable
now it's like being in politics, full of hate, backstabbing, evilness and TMZ style living
so y'all hate people, not ESPN
ESPN just gives the public what it wants to see
if the public didn't want "TMZ style living" then ESPN wouldn't air it
Posted on 1/4/13 at 8:45 am to SlowFlowPro
I hate that ESPN essentially scripts the discussion of sports, but I don't think they taint the product at all. The individual leagues do enough of that on their own.
Posted on 1/4/13 at 8:47 am to Dr RC
quote:if true, the lack of coverage on that def. proves an agenda...
Adam James had to admit in open court that he made all of it up.
Posted on 1/4/13 at 8:49 am to Rickety Cricket
quote:
I hate that ESPN essentially scripts the discussion of sports,
i get this argument, but i don't really watch those shows
the masochists who hate that stuff but watch those shows every day crack me up. it's quite easy to avoid
Posted on 1/4/13 at 8:50 am to SlowFlowPro
quote:
they have NHL highlights when i watch and the league works
They usually only show highlights from the penguins, bruins, and maybe the rangers.
quote:
i saw MLS playoffs highlights last week
Yeas, they show one or two highlights from the playoffs. Good luck finding a highlight from a game they didn't air during the regular season. I believe ESPN only airs one or two games a week.
ETA: And they usually only talk about the galaxy.
This post was edited on 1/4/13 at 8:54 am
Posted on 1/4/13 at 8:51 am to nicholastiger
quote:
They ruined Wimbledon
Posted on 1/4/13 at 8:52 am to pvilleguru
without ESPN, the MLS wouldn't be where it is today. they were an early adopter and push the living frick out of soccer every world cup. i don't see how you can act like ESPN is doing something bad for the MLS
the general public doesn't really care about MLS or Hockey. they're going to get proportional air time
the general public doesn't really care about MLS or Hockey. they're going to get proportional air time
Posted on 1/4/13 at 8:55 am to SlowFlowPro
I'm just saying they barely give it any air time, and when they do talk about it it's usually about Beckham and LA.
They push the world cup because it's one of the biggest sporting events in the world.
They push the world cup because it's one of the biggest sporting events in the world.
This post was edited on 1/4/13 at 8:57 am
Posted on 1/4/13 at 8:58 am to pvilleguru
they push the world cup because people actually watch it...
Posted on 1/4/13 at 9:04 am to pvilleguru
well generally the US doesn't give a flying frick about the MLS so that makes sense
i don't get why so many people think ESPN has a duty to devote a lot of air time to sports that people don't really care about
yes, ESPN has developed into a powerful behemoth that can sway public opinion and affect things. i don't disagree, and it can be an issue. but stuff like coverage or the boring/repetitive rhetorical shows? i don't get why people care so much
i don't get why so many people think ESPN has a duty to devote a lot of air time to sports that people don't really care about
yes, ESPN has developed into a powerful behemoth that can sway public opinion and affect things. i don't disagree, and it can be an issue. but stuff like coverage or the boring/repetitive rhetorical shows? i don't get why people care so much
Posted on 1/4/13 at 9:05 am to BamaICON
quote:
Thank god they can't get their hands on the Olympics or they would frick that up as well.
NBC and their obsession with tape delay like it's 1975 is much worse than anything ESPN has done.
Posted on 1/4/13 at 9:06 am to chalmetteowl
quote:
they push the world cup because people actually watch it...
and so they can push the MLS (and soccer in general), so more people watch
people can bring up MLS coverage on ESPN all they want, but there is no single entity that has done more to advertise and push soccer on America than ESPN. i don't care if it's self-serving, b/c it's allowed me to watch more soccer
ESPN tried to do the same with MMA but it didn't work out. other arenas were early adopters and had that niche market
Posted on 1/4/13 at 9:10 am to SlowFlowPro
Until recently, ESPN didn't have any real competition. NBCS is just getting off the ground and while no one is watching, some of the shows are really high quality. I already watch the Lights almost exclusively for sports highlights, ditching SportsCenter.
The answer is both yes and no. Let's focus on the positives first, because I think critics of ESPN forget all of the good they've done: I can now watch pretty much every game by every team in every sport. That is awesome, and you kids don't truly get that this is a new development. Hell, even in the 90s, when we though we had tons of access, most games weren't on national TV. OK, ESPN doesn't broadcast all of those events, but they kind of created the demand and they do broadcast a lot of them. Being a sports fan now is far easier than it was in 1992, and about a billion times better than 1982. At the end of the day, that's a huge positive, and I can't thank ESPN enough for that.
With that out of the way, ESPN propogates some of the most toxic things about modern sports, namely:
-- Using "news" as a marketing arm. It's unethical and it's an inferior product anyway.
-- Screaming head shows. I'll let PTI slide because it was kind of the first and the two hosts are obvious friends who are just needling each other like friends do. There's an undercurrent of goofiness and fun. But nothing has sunk discourse more than the existence of Skip Bayless.
-- the cult of the championship. This belief that a player sucks unless he wins lots of titles is just horribly toxic and prevents us from enjoying sport. The games themselves have value more than just crowning a champ. It's ruined college football.
-- The incredibly toxic belief second place is first loser. It's just demanding to be unhappy and miserable. It's also breeding an era of sociopaths in sport.
-- Brand protection. Sports stars used to have opinions on things and were well-rounded people. Ali protested the war, for example. Now, players are automotons who try to say nothing controversial and any outside interests are actually derided by fans because they aren't constantly devoting their life to the sport. Modern athletes are socially and emotionally stunted, and a lot of its due to how ESPN covers them.
The answer is both yes and no. Let's focus on the positives first, because I think critics of ESPN forget all of the good they've done: I can now watch pretty much every game by every team in every sport. That is awesome, and you kids don't truly get that this is a new development. Hell, even in the 90s, when we though we had tons of access, most games weren't on national TV. OK, ESPN doesn't broadcast all of those events, but they kind of created the demand and they do broadcast a lot of them. Being a sports fan now is far easier than it was in 1992, and about a billion times better than 1982. At the end of the day, that's a huge positive, and I can't thank ESPN enough for that.
With that out of the way, ESPN propogates some of the most toxic things about modern sports, namely:
-- Using "news" as a marketing arm. It's unethical and it's an inferior product anyway.
-- Screaming head shows. I'll let PTI slide because it was kind of the first and the two hosts are obvious friends who are just needling each other like friends do. There's an undercurrent of goofiness and fun. But nothing has sunk discourse more than the existence of Skip Bayless.
-- the cult of the championship. This belief that a player sucks unless he wins lots of titles is just horribly toxic and prevents us from enjoying sport. The games themselves have value more than just crowning a champ. It's ruined college football.
-- The incredibly toxic belief second place is first loser. It's just demanding to be unhappy and miserable. It's also breeding an era of sociopaths in sport.
-- Brand protection. Sports stars used to have opinions on things and were well-rounded people. Ali protested the war, for example. Now, players are automotons who try to say nothing controversial and any outside interests are actually derided by fans because they aren't constantly devoting their life to the sport. Modern athletes are socially and emotionally stunted, and a lot of its due to how ESPN covers them.
Posted on 1/4/13 at 9:18 am to Baloo
quote:
-- the cult of the championship. This belief that a player sucks unless he wins lots of titles is just horribly toxic and prevents us from enjoying sport. The games themselves have value more than just crowning a champ. It's ruined college football.
i don't know if this can be blamed on ESPN. i remember hearing the "dan marino" argument a lot when i was a kid (especially in comparison to joe montana). i think big sports media has more opportunities to push this argument now in general
i think the cult against championships is something that has grown in the past 5-10 years and it just seems like they're being shite on. they're just late to the party but they're getting a bigger voice every year
it's kind of like the traditional stats v. advanced metrics war...actually very similar to that
quote:
Screaming head shows. I'll let PTI slide because it was kind of the first and the two hosts are obvious friends who are just needling each other like friends do. There's an undercurrent of goofiness and fun. But nothing has sunk discourse more than the existence of Skip Bayless.
i don't disagree. i just don't care as much b/c i don't watch them. people obviously like these shows
numbers never lie is a great example of a show that just couldn't exist in a more normal discussion and has devolved into first take part 2, for example. ESPN tried, it failed, and it's going for ratings
(actually, First Take itself is a great example of a show ESPN tried to cultivate that only really blew up when it gave the audience what it wanted. i bet you a fricking book could be written about the history of that show and under the context of sports discussion in general )
quote:
Brand protection.
i think this is a Jordan issue and not an ESPN issue. what' the quote? "Republicans buy shoes, too" ?
Posted on 1/4/13 at 9:20 am to chalmetteowl
They do just fine with Wimbledon, probably better than NBC. Purists just hate that they don't have the rights to that legendary music. The only flaw is where ESPN takes rights on events, but doesn't let Tennis Channel fill in the blanks when ESPN can't broadcast.
I think the only sport where ESPN is way out of control and has too much power is CF. Rights to 95% of the bowl games and all of the BCS seems a bit much. The only minor check and balance is CBS SEC and a few Fox games. If ESPN is dictating conference alignments, that is ridiculous. What never really came out is who exactly kept the Big 12 together. It was often referred to as a shadowy group of interested people who just didn't want immediate 16 team armageddon -- I thought Fox was involved, but then again, LHN is an ESPN venture.
Nobody should complain about ESPN's lack of journalistic integrity. Everyone gets that they are just for entertainment now and produce the occasional decent segment on OTL. Grantland's fake separation is a farce, there are really no investigative pieces there, and guys like Simmons/SVP can't really say everything they want. You get better journalism from Yahoo, CBS, or even Deadspin.
I think the only sport where ESPN is way out of control and has too much power is CF. Rights to 95% of the bowl games and all of the BCS seems a bit much. The only minor check and balance is CBS SEC and a few Fox games. If ESPN is dictating conference alignments, that is ridiculous. What never really came out is who exactly kept the Big 12 together. It was often referred to as a shadowy group of interested people who just didn't want immediate 16 team armageddon -- I thought Fox was involved, but then again, LHN is an ESPN venture.
Nobody should complain about ESPN's lack of journalistic integrity. Everyone gets that they are just for entertainment now and produce the occasional decent segment on OTL. Grantland's fake separation is a farce, there are really no investigative pieces there, and guys like Simmons/SVP can't really say everything they want. You get better journalism from Yahoo, CBS, or even Deadspin.
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