For all the shit ESPN gets, their online hockey coverage is actually pretty solid. If only they would bring back Barnaby...
ESPN Is Pathetic
- Thread starter Lose Remerswaal
- Start date
glennhoffmania said:
I'm gonna resolve to try Yahoo. As Deadspin has done a good job spotlighting of late, ESPN is only a news organization if it doesn't run contrary to their aims as a broadcaster of games -- and they now broadcast everything so they're constantly compromising their standing as legit sports journalists.
Not that this is new. But somewhere in the last few months, between their agenda to push the Tebow non-story, to endlessly hyping the Lakers, to their lack of Shanahan criticism over RG3 (safe to assume because of Schefter's cozy relationship with Shanny), to even a lack of any editorial comment on the X Games snowmobile death, I've just had it.
Yahoo it is.
Was doing okay quitting espn.com and fell off the wagon briefly today. I go there and see this headline in the news feed: "Lakers' Howard shrugs off father's remarks." Unbelievable. I just can't be imagining this "corrupt Lakers ratings agenda" shit. I mean, on a Sunday a lead news item about a guy's father's comments.
Okay, dead horse beaten sufficiently.
Okay, dead horse beaten sufficiently.
If you're clicking into the SportsNation section of that website, you deserve everything that you get.
Considering nearly 45,000 people have voted in this, I'd say it's about 1000 times more successful than most of the intelligent polls posted here.
"Agent cancels Oscar Pistorius' races indefinitely." This story is nonsense (oh really? you mean until his agent made the tough call, he would have been out racing?) and unnecessary (as in, oh, so there's no new news to report?), and 100% sensational, which kind of defines modern ESPN as a news organization.
Here are today's headlines:
- LeBron to stick with pregame dunk routine
- Johnson sure he'll outrush Peterson in 2013
- Packers' Finley says he won't accept pay cut
- Report: Nash doesn't regret joining Lakers
- Tiger saves par-70 at Honda
| In progress
- Driver tries to explain remark that led to ban
- Chavez Jr. suspended 9 months, fined $900K
- Prospects say sex orientation queries made
- Pain from tattoo sidelines Rangers' Andrus
- Rodman finds 'friend for life' in North Korea
- Karabell: Riskiest fantasy picks in Top 100
Didnt see this posted anywhere. How about this little number- that Brady's restructured contract "proves" the Patriots are a second tier team?
http://m.espn.go.com/nfl/story?storyId=8998804
It's such a dumb argument. He claims the Pats have relied too heavily on Brady in recent years, then states that this restructuring signals the Patriots' decline. If they've been too reliant on Brady, wouldn't reducing his cap hit be a *good* thing?
http://m.espn.go.com/nfl/story?storyId=8998804
It's such a dumb argument. He claims the Pats have relied too heavily on Brady in recent years, then states that this restructuring signals the Patriots' decline. If they've been too reliant on Brady, wouldn't reducing his cap hit be a *good* thing?
Wilco's Last Fan said:
That might be the stupidest article that ESPN has ever published, and that's saying something. Good god.
In the news scroll right now, "Altidore Tops Dempsey's European Goals Mark" with a little camera icon. Awesome, I'd love to see that clip! In the game-action still loaded on the video player, Jozy looks excited.
Oh, score! Its not game highlights package at all! it's a video of a weekend anchor talking to somebody on the phone - and they even zoomed in on that still photo a bunch of times. Exactly what I was looking for.
Oh, score! Its not game highlights package at all! it's a video of a weekend anchor talking to somebody on the phone - and they even zoomed in on that still photo a bunch of times. Exactly what I was looking for.
Here's Steven A Smith railing against the NHL and Chicago Blackhawks because he thinks it's stupid that hockey has ties.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/stephen-smith-believes-3-ties-blackhawks-nhl-record-180125951--nhl.html
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/stephen-smith-believes-3-ties-blackhawks-nhl-record-180125951--nhl.html
So, during a lull in the action on the NBC broadcast of the Honda Classic this weekend, they brought Jack Nicklaus into the booth to comment on Tiger and his chances of breaking Jack's record for majors. I listened to the entire interview, and it was about as bland as they come. (This is not surprising, as Nicklaus himself is as bland as they come.)
Jack continued to maintain that he thinks Tiger will eventually break his record, noting that he won 4 after he was Tiger's age, but he did note at one point that the clock is ticking and that Tiger does need to "get going" and win one sooner rather than later because the longer it takes him to win the next one the more the pressure will increase.
Again, nothing even remotely controversial about this. Except that as Myt1 pointed out, ESPN.com has become a soap opera site for men, so they felt compelled to link to the story with this headline:
I know that we love to engage in hyperbole around here, but the people at ESPN.com really are pathetic.
Jack continued to maintain that he thinks Tiger will eventually break his record, noting that he won 4 after he was Tiger's age, but he did note at one point that the clock is ticking and that Tiger does need to "get going" and win one sooner rather than later because the longer it takes him to win the next one the more the pressure will increase.
Again, nothing even remotely controversial about this. Except that as Myt1 pointed out, ESPN.com has become a soap opera site for men, so they felt compelled to link to the story with this headline:
I know that we love to engage in hyperbole around here, but the people at ESPN.com really are pathetic.
PBDWake said:
The fact that Smith is even mentioning hockey on the Boo-Yah network is a win for hockey.
Given the fact they really don't let their best ambassadors talk about hockey (Bucci, Levy) and keep trotting out Melrose, I think I prefer it living in the relative anonymity of the Outdoor Life Network OLN Versus NBCSN.
On the front page sidebar: a news story on Big League Chew packaging.
Filed of course by possibly the most useless human being on the planet, Darren Rovell. Rovell basically acts as an unpaid, volunteer PR person for any company related to athletics.
Filed of course by possibly the most useless human being on the planet, Darren Rovell. Rovell basically acts as an unpaid, volunteer PR person for any company related to athletics.
SportsCenter this morning was an unwatchable marathon bookaki sesh with Kobe and LeBron. Continuous vomit.
This seems relevant: http://deadspin.com/5988892/no-the-lakers-did-not-prove-that-they-can-compete-with-the-thunder-last-night
More of the same when it comes to ESPN and the Lakers.
More of the same when it comes to ESPN and the Lakers.
Their awfulness really is increasing on a daily basis. ESPN's problems might best be summed up by the stories in the sidebar this morning on the website: "Dwight Howard: no disrespect meant toward Magic" near the top, and several spaces below it, a story on the Lakers' big 4th quarter comeback. Even with (one of) their favorite teams having a huge night in actual game action, it's not as high-priority as some more endless Howard drama no one actually cares about.
I've been resisting posting on the Lakers shit, as not to harp on it incessantly.
But it is horrible.
But it is horrible.
Here's Richard Sherman and Skip Bayless spewing shit at each other
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkPUj30GpPs
It's always hilarious when guys try to "take down" Skip. Sherman keeps talking about his Stanford degree, but he's pretty fucking dense if he doesn't understand how First Take works. You don't beat Skip Bayless; the fact that you thought him worthy of engaging means you already lost.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkPUj30GpPs
It's always hilarious when guys try to "take down" Skip. Sherman keeps talking about his Stanford degree, but he's pretty fucking dense if he doesn't understand how First Take works. You don't beat Skip Bayless; the fact that you thought him worthy of engaging means you already lost.
ESPN Suspended Bill Simmons for his comments about the Bayless/Sherman blowup.
http://deadspin.com/espn-suspends-bill-simmons-from-twitter-after-em-first-453717304
http://deadspin.com/espn-suspends-bill-simmons-from-twitter-after-em-first-453717304
That's crazy. I wonder how the contract with Grantland and ESPN works. Is there any time table where Simmons can eventually go out on his own? Or bring Grantland to SI.com or Yahoo!?
He's not leaving ESPN. Maybe he's pissed, but I think it's more likely he did it knowing he'd get his wrist slapped/twitter jail time, since he's done it before, and by this time is probably very familiar with ESPN's social media guidelines. I said in the other thread he should've kept tweeting, then we'd see how far ESPN is really willing to go to punish him.Darnell's Son said:
This is awesome. Love the play-by-play guy's attempt to derail the sarcasm.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6N636WgsLro
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6N636WgsLro
ESPN in epic fail mode this morning- a marathon session of nothing but Lakers and Tebow. So predictably terrible.
They're having a really bad day. Nothing but Lakers, Tebow, PEDs-Golf, college realignment, Jordan's wedding - all click bait. They are whiffing (intentionally or not) on the Collins story. And my favorite little gem - the "Race for the EPL Title" link below the fold - you know, the title that's been decided for a week now. That would be like the Guardian having a little "Race for the MLB Title" link on their sports page a week after the World Series.
They did do a whole show on OTL on the Collins story. OTL was originally supposed to be on the Lakers collapse, but it was devoted to Jason Collins. They had an interview with the ghostwriter of the SI story and a panel discussion including an openly gay sportswriter named LZ (?) commenting on the difficulties Collins might face. On a more general note, under the direction of Bob Ley, Outside the Lines is the sole piece or fig leaf of journalistic integerity ESPN has left. To its credit, OTL does not duck the tough issues or tough questions.dirtynine said:
Chris Broussard's career probably just ended.
Video:
https://twitter.com/richarddeitsch/status/328953204471652352
Video:
Yeah, more on Broussard and ESPN.com's crappy day here: http://variety.com/2013/tv/news/media-coverage-of-nbas-jason-collins-varies-widely-1200425656/
Corsi said:
Is that the wrong video or just edited after you posted? Broussard seems completely normal in that 5+ minute clip I watched. Nothing controversial whatsoever. I'm seeing this in other places, so I'm not doubting it happened, just wondering if ESPN is trying to censor itself to get out ahead of the story or what.
I'm very happy for Collins and really want more players to come out. IMO stuff like this is very, very good for America. I hope we can all live together and forget this stuff even matters. But as I read them I don't really have any issue with Broussard's comments. He's a religious Christian, and has a right to his beliefs. He didn't say anything derogatory about Collins nor impune Collins' own right to do what he's doing. I disagree with Broussard personally, and am not religious myself, but I support his right to have an opinion and express it as long as it's not intolerant or threatening, which I did not detect.
Thanks Touchstone - I also don't really have a problem with what he said. He's basically saying that being gay conflicts with his definition of "Christian," but that he can deal with it.
Yeah sorry but no, bigots are bigots. You can hide behind an overly literal interpretation of the Bible all you want, I'm still gonna call you an ignorant bigot. His opinion is unmitigated garbage and it's time we stop tiptoeing around the crap spewed by conservative Christians. He has a right to his (incorrect and totally backwards) beliefs, but I also have a right to protest having to hear them on ESPN. Shame on them if they stand behind him.
Oh, and his basketball analysis/rumor-mongering sucks too.
Oh, and his basketball analysis/rumor-mongering sucks too.
My initial reaction to Broussard's comments, which I first saw in print only, was outrage, as I detest the viewpoint he espouses and the pathetic & fictional bible-based justifications behind it. I was hoping he'd be fired, not just suspended.
Then I realized it was all a set-up, with ESPN purposely pitting a known conservative Christian against a homosexual on-air for a live debate. While I still detest the viewpoint (and, let's face it, Broussard blows as a journalist), I can't rightly expect him to be penalized by his employer for doing what he was paid to do.
The statement following the dust-up is far more even-toned than I expected. I wonder if those are actually his words, of if there was some arm-twisting by the Mothership for him to temper his stance. I really can't imagine him, or any evangelistic bible-thumper, acknowledging even a shred of "bravery" or stating they "have no objection" to anything gays do.
Then I realized it was all a set-up, with ESPN purposely pitting a known conservative Christian against a homosexual on-air for a live debate. While I still detest the viewpoint (and, let's face it, Broussard blows as a journalist), I can't rightly expect him to be penalized by his employer for doing what he was paid to do.
The statement following the dust-up is far more even-toned than I expected. I wonder if those are actually his words, of if there was some arm-twisting by the Mothership for him to temper his stance. I really can't imagine him, or any evangelistic bible-thumper, acknowledging even a shred of "bravery" or stating they "have no objection" to anything gays do.
I'm with you: enough with using belief in hocus-pocus as license to criticize/control others.cromulence said:
cromulence said:
How's he being a bigot, though? He's not saying Collins should be discriminated against. He said he'd show tolerance to Collins' way of life and had no problem with anything he was doing in the public realm - only that Collins' personal views conflicted with his (Broussard's) own chosen religious deity. If you don't want it on ESPN, that's fine, but that's also your opinion.
Again for context, I personally support Collins and I, personally, think Broussard's views *are* incorrect. But are we really going to police everybody's personal belief systems and opinions just because they're on TV? Who cares what he thinks?