tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29066645.post2633684114788090081..comments2023-09-09T06:14:27.969-04:00Comments on From The Bleachers: What He SaidWill Collierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15125312209711458722noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29066645.post-7293381294939715272007-10-11T16:43:00.000-04:002007-10-11T16:43:00.000-04:00It's almost as though they are afraid the product ...It's almost as though they are afraid the product (sports) will fall flat on its face if they don't pump it up this way.<BR/><BR/>IIRC, wasn't ESPN a standalone channel at one time? Did it start going downhill once ABC bought them, or was it later, when Disney bought ESPN-ABC?Robert Jacobyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10067931736205852562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29066645.post-83579403432429061052007-10-09T19:49:00.000-04:002007-10-09T19:49:00.000-04:00Every single part of their television college foot...Every single part of their television college football coverage, save Ron Franklin and Ed Cunningham, is grotesque. I was specific to TV because I actually like their team of writers, led by Ivan Maisel.<BR/><BR/>ESPN's only rival in the "craptacular" category is FSN's CFB coverage. Living on the West Coast, I am, unfortunately, subjected to frequent FSN Pac-10 games with Petros Papadakis as the color man. He is head-in-the-oven bad.Chris Bertellihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10103509769110439195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29066645.post-7572211266420485092007-10-09T10:11:00.000-04:002007-10-09T10:11:00.000-04:00Well, we could go on for ages about all the ways t...Well, we could go on for ages about all the ways that ESPN actually detracts from the sports it covers. IMO the most glaring example is college basketball, where their love affair with Duke and a couple of other "name" programs has so trivialized everything about the sport that it makes it harder to appreciate the sport as a whole. And they also do this ridiculous naming, only of entire weeks -- I remember last winter they had "Rivalry Week", presumably with UNC-Duke and a few others. Tennessee happened to play LSU on "Rivalry Week", so they showed this really contrived vignette of a UTK and an LSU fan talking about their intense hatred for each other. Sheesh.<BR/><BR/>I mean, ESPN deserves a lot of credit for growing the exposure of college sports, but they're really a mixed blessing.That guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09538943769759852913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29066645.post-63512805814460054282007-10-09T09:56:00.000-04:002007-10-09T09:56:00.000-04:00Come on, Will, you didn't think that was "clever" ...Come on, Will, you didn't think that was "clever" on ESPN's part? I know I did!! It really enhanced my enjoyment of all the games!! Whenever I was watching and saw a great play, I said to myself, "Hey, it's Gut Check Saturday!" If I got distracted and started doing something else, a little voice went off in my head that said, "Hey, it's Gut Check Saturday, gotta get back and watch some football!!" Gut Check Saturday, Cut Check Saturday. Whatever they're paying their writers and producers to come up with such great names, it's not enough!!!Lein Shoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08820817843320160010noreply@blogger.com