Keith Olbermann returning to ESPN

I watched the first two shows in their entirety. I very much enjoyed both of them. I am not going to set an alarm clock to be sure I never miss seeing the show, but I will be tuning in several nights a week from now on.

If FS1 intends to make sports fun and attract an audience in that way, then Olbermann's show will be something they have to overcome because his program makes fun of sports. There are dozens of smiles/chuckles in the hour it is on the air. And then there are a few thought provoking moments too. For me, that is the essence of TV programming; it is entertaining and informative.

 

Great post that sums it up quite well.

Awhile ago, I was so down on KO. I know I posted here a few things to that effect. Now I'm having trouble remembering why.

 

As I get ready to watch Olbermann on espn2, I'm confronted by a first round US Open match between two non-Americans that's in the second set.

(Apologies on the excessive whining. I'm in a hotel tonight with no DVR/channel guide and only get the first two ESPNs. if WWL wants this to take off, it has to be 11pm on the same channel every night. Can't be moving it around.)

 

No espnews in my room. Crap.

First round tennis. First round MEN's tennis. Cripes.

 

For WWL's next contract...

"...we reserve the right to cutaway if more than half the seats are empty at the U.S. Open."

 

Also, nobody cares because it's tennis.

 

I am a product of the 80's. Watched it rabidly. Played it the whole damn decade.

The men's game is dreadful to watch. Serve. Weak return. Winner. Repeat 240 times.

WWL needs a channel with no carriage fees. ESPN Niche. Most tennis, WNBA, horse racing, boxing, half their baseball games, non-ACC college basketball, track and field, softball, Around The Horn.

 

Watched first two. The monologues off the top weren't great. The Manziel rant was esoteric and ultimately bullshit: Pasting a NCAA-defying "conscience" onto a kid without three thoughts in his head is classic Olbermann transference. There were times -- few, thankfully -- on MSNBC when Olbermann would pretend he knew how to interpret the Bible without fault and with a deity's clarity.

Maybe I'm just weary of the NCAA stuff, though. We need some games.

But I'll keep watching. Olbermann will handle playoff baseball beautifully, and it's in that sport -- where the players have so much fucking power your head spins, and money and stats rule -- where Olbermann doesn't have to twist himself around the great moral conundrums of the postmodern media. He'll fare OK with NFL stuff. He'll the NBA.