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[LosDaddie]

Yeah, I get why people hate ESPN, but it's still fine with me. With my schedule, I only catch ATH and PTI and maybe some SportsCenter during weekdays. College Gameday on Sat., and a couple ESPNU shows here & there on the weekends.

ESPN is cool with me. :kanyeshrug

How ESPN Ditched Journalism And Followed Skip Bayless To The Bottom: A Tim Tebow Story

I'm sure a lot of this is stuff everyone already knows about, but this piece does a nice job of putting it all together to show just how embarrassing ESPN has become:


My favorite part: SportsCenter Spends The Day Celebrating Tim Tebow’s Birthday

Thanks for posting this.

Goes to show why most people don't hate TEbow, but rather the media's infatuation with him (despite what some conservative Christians will claim). It has been ridiculous coverage for a backup QB in the NFL.

Game Informer is already kind of like that with its relationship with gamestop. Am I supposed to believe every AAA game is really a 7-10 when gamestop is trying to push preorders for all of these games?

eh, I get your point, but most of the high profile, AAA games should score around 7-10. Most are good-to-great games.

 

[LQX]

I don't really have a problem with ESPN as I think there is a counter for much of the negative, even with Skip Bayless, where those that come in to rebuff his BS at times are very smart and knowledgeable which highlights more how overboard he goes. And there NFL coverage is great.

My biggest problem is that the whole network seems to get a daily memo of what story tag lines to go with to the point every show seems as if they are just repeating the same thing. Very apparent in shows like "Around the Horn" and "Pardon the Interruption" that follow each other.

 

[Eljay]

Game Informer is already kind of like that with its relationship with gamestop. Am I supposed to believe every AAA game is really a 7-10 when gamestop is trying to push preorders for all of these games?

The inevitable consequence of media journalism compared to news journalism. Hard to be impartial when you have a direct effect on the popularity and importance of the topic on which you earn your livelihood.

 

[dskillzhtown]

The core problem is that ESPN tries to play both sports broadcaster and sports reporter.

They're too financially invested in these sports to report on them objectively.

The thing to remember with ESPN is that E stands for Entertainment. They are trying to entertain with sports-based content. That is it. I do wish there was an alternative that is more on the sports reporting side. NBC is attempting to strengthen it's sports network so we will see what come of that.

When ESPN is great, it is REALLY GREAT. When they are bad, they are terrible. For the most part, the terrible is in small pockets.

 

[Derrick01]

eh, I get your point, but most of the high profile, AAA games should score around 7-10. Most are good-to-great games.

I should have corrected myself. The magazine rarely ever gives anything in their review section less than a 7 regardless of budget, but the real big AAA stuff is usually 8.75-10.

 

[BertramCooper]

The thing to remember with ESPN is that E stands for Entertainment. They are trying to entertain with sports-based content. That is it.

The E stood for the same thing it did 20 years ago - when ESPN was a legitimately good news outlet - that it does now.

But that was back when it didn't have its hands in the pockets of almost every single major sports league.

 

[SolidSnakex]

And they've figured out how to work a Tebow topic into today's show.

 

[Jay Sosa]

And they've figured out how to work a Tebow topic into today's show.

Figured out? The Jets starting QB is playing like shit and one of the most popular figures in all of sports is his backup. What's there to figure out?

 

[Amory]

It was getting bad for a while when he was starting in Denver, but I really haven't noticed it being all that crazy now that he's on the Jets' bench.

 

[Synth_floyd]

ESPN is cable news but for sports. They gotta fill 24 hrs and have to pander to their audiences that care about crap like Tebow. PTI is basically crossfire.

 

[entremet]

Skip Bayless is only on for 2 hours a day and only on ESPN2. His show is just for laughs and everyone knows that.

They've basically molded themselves after sports talk radio, which is just as juvenile.

 

[SolidSnakex]

Figured out? The Jets starting QB is playing like shit, and one of the most popular figures in all of sports is his backup. What's there to figure out?

Because it's a recycled topic. It was based on Rex reiterating that Mark is still his starter. He'd already said that Sunday after the Jets lost. It's one of the annoying things about the coverage of him on the show. They'll literally repeat the same topic every day of the week. The favorite being "Is time to unleash Tebow?!?".

 

[Forkball]

The best thing about Bayless is when he got destroyed by Mark Cuban.

 

[Kusagari]

Because it's a recycled topic. It was based on Rex reiterating that Mark is still his starter. He'd already said that Sunday after the Jets lost. It's one of the annoying things about the coverage of him on the show. They'll literally repeat the same topic every day of the week. The favorite being "Is time to unleash Tebow?!?".

Well there is discussion to be made about why Rex insists on sticking with Sanchez and what the Jets owner thinks of the whole thing.

But obviously ESPN drives it into the ground.

 

[sazabirules]

Shit 'The Lights' on NBCSports is a great alternative for Sportscenter.

What time does The Lights play on the channel?

 

[BertramCooper]

Well there is discussion to be made about why Rex insists on sticking with Sanchez and wha the Jets owner thinks of the whole thing.

But obviously ESPN drives it into the ground.

And subjects everyone to it, not just the NYC market.

 

[Slizz]

What time does The Lights play on the channel?

8AM-9 EST, followed by the Dan Patrick Show.

 

[EvilMario]

Follow the ratings. People enjoy listening to and watching really terrible programming and news sometimes. So that's what they'll give them.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Well there is discussion to be made about why Rex insists on sticking with Sanchez and what the Jets owner thinks of the whole thing.

But obviously ESPN drives it into the ground.

The problem is that ESPN has been pushing this story since August, before Sanchez had a chance to suck. Now there is a bit if a boy who cried wolf aspect to the story and it starts to make you wonder if ESPN reports the news or actually creates it.

 

[BobTheFork]

I think Dan Patrick was talking about this yesterday on my way to work. He said that ESPN was doing this all the time and when they couldn't lie and 'break' the story then they would treat it as a rumour and break the story by saying 'they have confirmed it'. After Tebow freaks put up the billboard in Denver, ESPN figured out there is this massive group that will do anything for Tebow news and it's a good idea to just mention him whenever possible.

 

[LosDaddie]

Figured out? The Jets starting QB is playing like shit and one of the most popular figures in all of sports is his backup. What's there to figure out?

Well there is discussion to be made about why Rex insists on sticking with Sanchez and what the Jets owner thinks of the whole thing.

But obviously ESPN drives it into the ground.

You gata fans aren't fooling anybody.

I should have corrected myself. The magazine rarely ever gives anything in their review section less than a 7 regardless of budget, but the real big AAA stuff is usually 8.75-10.

I tend to think games are better than ever, at least fundatmentally. They're not broken, unplayable messes that we saw in the past.

 

[joeygreco1985]

Its odd because Tebow doesn't seem like the kind of guy who likes having that kind of attention heaped on him. He should start the next game though, this "run in for a play and done" bullshit is just terrible coaching.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Its odd because Tebow doesn't seem like the kind of guy who likes having that kind of attention heaped on him. He should start the next game though, this "run in for a play and done" bullshit is just terrible coaching.

"Playing Tim Tebow at quarterback" is also terrible coaching. He's awful.

 

[IHaveCandy]

You should watch Mark Cuban call them out on their bullshit.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SAkVnlA9CJo

 

[Heel]

I'm sorry, but Skip Bayless is great. A true master of his craft.

 

[TheFightingFish]

It's funny to me to see Deadspin doing this article, seeing as how I pretty much stopped going there around the initial Tebow media circus last year. They put articles up on him like multiple times a day, only practically all of their articles were meta-articles on Tebow mania. Which made it even worse in my opinion, if you think someone is overexposed then go ahead and mention it if you want, but then feel free to stop mentioning them 10,000 times a day yourselves.

 

[joeygreco1985]

"Playing Tim Tebow at quarterback" is also terrible coaching. He's awful.

Can you tell me with a straight face that he'd be worse than Sanchez at this point?

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Can you tell me with a straight face that he'd be worse than Sanchez at this point?

Yes, I can. He makes Sanchez look competent. Look at his stats last year. He was easily the worst QB in the league. Denver won in spite of him.

 

[Kusagari]

Yes, I can. He makes Sanchez look competent. Look at his stats last year. He was easily the worst QB in the league. Denver won in spite of him.

Tebow owned the Steelers, though!

 

[Meier]

I still use ESPN (naturally) but I canceled my subscription to Insider immediately over the Bruce Feldman fiasco. I haven't ever considered going back and giving them any extra cash.

#freebruce

 

[entremet]

Yes, I can. He makes Sanchez look competent. Look at his stats last year. He was easily the worst QB in the league. Denver won in spite of him.

But the intangibles!

 

[joeygreco1985]

Yes, I can. He makes Sanchez look competent. Look at his stats last year. He was easily the worst QB in the league. Denver won in spite of him.

You need to shake-up the offense though. Whats in place clearly isn't working. Sanchez's QB rating in Week 10 was a fucking 40.7! Tebow can't do much worse than that!

 

[flyover]

ESPN ditched journalism long time ago.

Yeah, Tebow is not what caused this decline.

Listen to any (non-local) ESPN sports talk radio show from the last decade, and you're much more likely to hear sports-related social issue talk and athlete gossip than sports analysis.

And even the sports analysis they do is rarely real game analysis. It's human resources. If someone gets airtime on radio or TV, it's always someone who has access to the teams and can talk about trade rumors and draft positioning and that kind of stuff. Ric Bucher and Chris Broussard and Mark Stein are terrible at talking about actual on-court occurrences, but they have league and team sources, so they get on TV and radio all the time. John Hollinger watches more basketball tape than anyone at the company (he's not just a stat dork, though he is also that), and he can't get a sniff of airtime.

As much as I hated all the Tebow talk from last year -- and it suuuuucked -- it was actually a story that kept the focus (somewhat) on the field, at least a little. So there is that. The problem is that ESPN employs no on-air talent who're qualified to do such commentary, so everything is just recycled conventional wisdom and/or contrarianism.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

You need to shake-up the offense though. Whats in place clearly isn't working. Sanchez's QB rating in Week 10 was a fucking 40.7! Tebow can't do much worse than that!

I bet he can.

 

[see5harp]

30 for 30 is still great but it's obvious the masses would rather watch Skip Bayless and Steven A. Smith look dumb.

 

[Jay Sosa]

Yes, I can. He makes Sanchez look competent. Look at his stats last year. He was easily the worst QB in the league. Denver won in spite of him.

Not that I disagree with you but why in the world did they then trade for him in the first place. If your starter plays like he's still a freshman at USC then maybe it's time to put the backup in. Hell give McElroy a shot.

I bet he can.

The argument is that with this incompetent offense a throwing QB can do shit so maybe a running QB like Tebow can.

Fuck a QB rating, all that count is wins.

 

[SoulPlaya]

People hate on Skip, but I personally think Stephen A Smith is a far bigger embarrassment. The man is basically a caricature of a buffoon. He has no probably coming across as an absolute pervert (his obsession with Tebow's love life is abnormal), and he's a walking example of a bad stereotype.

 

[Toth]

ESPN tends to run stories into the ground. From PEDs to Favre to Tebow, they can get quite annoying and I just tune them out. Sure, Favre may be a bit of a diva, but Rachel Nichols didn't need to camp on the man's lawn months out of the year. Same with Tebow, just let the man play football (or not play, as the case may be). No need to give him undue attention.

Anyway, I typically avoid SportsCenter (particularly during the over-saturation moments), but I do enjoy PTI and Around the Horn. I suppose it helps that their formats do not lend themselves well to all-Tebow, all the time.

Oh, and I didn't realize that Gottlieb had left. I always found his radio show quite peculiar. It would often be "The Doug Gottlieb Show... guest hosted today by [insert fill-in host here]," because Gottlieb would always be off filling in for somebody else, be it Greenie or Golic or Cowherd. I mused that he had maybe a 50% likelihood of being on his own show for any given day. Seemed rather absurd, to be honest.

Yeah Doug leaving was surprising because he was a really good radio host

I do not watch ESPN but I do enjoy the NY radio scene and have been a big fan of the MKS for so many years. They really don't talk about Tebow unless asking what the hell are the Jets doing with him. However I knew that ESPN were clowns when they made Kay remove his awesome theme song for Jay...Z...

 

[rvy]

Skip is fucking insane. I love it. So much nonsense in such a short amount of time.

 

[FINALBOSS]

I watch Sportscenter every morning, religiously. But they have a 100% monopoly on sports reporting pretty much--they have no incentive to make themselves any better.

 

[BannedEpisode]

I love Skip and Stephan. They are basically exaggerated versions of each side of every major sports related debate.

Skip is also a masterful troll. It's obviously all scripted but I love it.

 

[Jay Sosa]

Btw. while we're on the topic. what is it lately with ESPN and their 40+ year old anchorwomen that look like they had one too many visits to the beauty doc?

I don't expect that everyone looks like Sam Steele or Erin Andrews but come on, this is TV after all.

 

[3rdman]

The thing to remember with ESPN is that E stands for Entertainment. They are trying to entertain with sports-based content. That is it. I do wish there was an alternative that is more on the sports reporting side. NBC is attempting to strengthen it's sports network so we will see what come of that.

When ESPN is great, it is REALLY GREAT. When they are bad, they are terrible. For the most part, the terrible is in small pockets.

Another thing to keep in mind is that they cover sports...Who gives a shit? In the end, there is nothing remotely important about them, what they cover, or sports journalism in general.

 

[Jay Sosa]

Another thing to keep in mind is that they cover sports...Who gives a shit? In the end, there is nothing remotely important about them, what they cover, or sports journalism in general.

huh? what?

 

[legend166]

The version of ESPN we get in Australia is pretty much PTI and Around the Horn, maybe an hour or two of Sportscenter, and then nothing but sport. It's good.

Besides, ESPN has Grantland, so I can't hate them too much.

 

[Parallacs]

ESPN is to IGN

as

Deadspin is to Kotaku

(Pretty obvious, given that the sites link to each other in the bottom. Just wanted to clear that up for people that have never heard of Deadspin).

 

[Mully]

Pretty good article. Although ESPN hasn't been the same since Terrell Owens went to Philadelphia.

 

[Derrick01]

The worst part about Skip is he really is like an internet troll. After getting shamed or proven wrong he will do the biggest mental gymnastics to come up with something new. He still hates Lebron as much as ever even after last season, he still worships tebow even though we backed into the playoffs last year and then got blown away by NE (but OMG who cares about that, he beat the steelers! All he does is win!), he'll always and forever love the Cowboys and Romo no matter how fucking terrible and overrated they are. He never changes positions.

 

[Mgoblue201]

I'm surprised that so few people have mentioned Outside the Lines, which is one of the best sports investigative journalism programs out there. ESPN is big enough that it's possible to ignore the worst of their excesses and focus solely on their best parts. OTL, 30 for 30, PTI, Grantland, and some of their other online content are all excellent. ESPN Radio is even enjoyable, for what it is.

 

[Kusagari]

Another thing to keep in mind is that they cover sports...Who gives a shit? In the end, there is nothing remotely important about them, what they cover, or sports journalism in general.

What the fuck?