Almost ESPN-free

I suggest an ESPN recovering addict's support group be started by the originator of this thread.

 

You forgot "Around the Horn" with Jay Marrioti.

But that's a damn that's a fine post. How I long for the days of Australian Rules Football instead of 12 straight hours of SportsCenter.

 

How on Earth could they show MORE sporting events?
The show all four tennis majors. They broadcast many non-major tennis events.
They show PGA Tour golf.
College football Thursday and all day Saturday.
Three different soccer leagues.
MLB.
NBA.
NFL.
College basketball out the wazoo.
I don't think "not enough live sports" is a realistic criticism.

 

Repeat last night's games, but with Tivo and DVRs, if someone really wanted to watch the game, they would record it.

I miss actual highlights. I do not need to wade through 90 minutes of crap to see the Detroit/Chicago highlights.

 

The Cold Hard Facts and Hot Seat are sponsored segments. They make money. How are they any different from stripper ads?

 

Not the same thing at all.

Stripper ads aren't woven into the fabric of stories.

Worse is that CHF and The Hot Seat advance nothing as far as news or meaningful information. They're blatant ad vehicles.

 

They used to show events on weekday afternoons — sometimes reruns, sometimes first-run minor events on tape-delay. That would be vastly superior to endless SportsCenter, Rome, Mike², Cold Pizza, Colin Cowherd's radio show simulcast and the College Football Live/NFL Live/Baseball Tonight-type stuff that's really nothing more than an extension of the aforementioned endless SportsCenter.

 

You used to be able to find taped sporting events on ESPN in the middle of the afternoon. Now, we have five times as many ESPN channels and less actual sporting events. Hell, even ESPNClassic shows more garbage than it does real sports now.

 

DirecTV swapped ESPN Classic for ESPNU a couple of weeks ago.

Thank God.

 

ESPN Classic is a good idea gone horribly to shit.

 

It was a good idea when it was Classic Sports. It became a bad idea when ESPN bought it, renamed it ESPN Classic, and eventually bogged it down with rodeo and boxing 24/7.

 

ESPN Classic is a concept with fantastic potential to be a living, breathing historical showcase for sports, showing all the great players and games from yesteryear. Would be great to see things like:

Clemente in action in a 71 series game
An amazing Mets '69 Series game
Sixers/Lakers or Sixers Trailblazers NBA Finals games
Raiders/Colts Ghost to the Post or Raiders/Chiefs football game from the 70s
Edmonton Oiler game with Gretzky/Kurri, et al.
Hagler/Hearns, Hagler Leonard

Only problem is the viewing public in general isn't apparently willing to spend the time to watch these games, which means no ratings, which means no revenues.

Of course, ESPN could market it better to promote the schedule and drive interest. And cross promote from ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN News. Maybe do some promotion for a mid 70s Raiders/Chiefs game leading up to this week's actual game. Promote a Clemente game as the baseball playoffs open up.

Would take a lot of effort and ingenuity to build this type of following. And ESPN is either not interested or not willing to make that effort.