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On ESPN and their attempts to cover the NBA

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Triple-S

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Not to op-ed this stuff.

I know ESPN gets NBA some record ratings. I know that they're also perhaps the best partner for them because they have the biggest reach.

But this marriage that we've seen has been just bad all around. I don't know why ESPN thought it would be great to have to have all of their announcers giving various op. eds and treat the broadcast like their own personal podcast...but damn, it's bad.

It's frustrating because you look at how GOOD Turner Sports, NBA TV and even a lot of the local sports networks are at covering the game. And you have just this...trash heap of hot takes, hack catch phrases (BANNNG!) and bad music to introduce a game.

It's even more frustrating when you indeed have a woman near by who is actually BETTER than the two gasbags talking things up like it was their own podcast. Doris Burke is awesome, very well spoken and knowledgeable the game. The fact that she's stuck doing sideline work is actually insulting to me.

Why can't we as sports fan (not just Cavs fans) get better? Why are we stuck with this crap?
 
Not to op-ed this stuff.

I know ESPN gets NBA some record ratings. I know that they're also perhaps the best partner for them because they have the biggest reach.

But this marriage that we've seen has been just bad all around. I don't know why ESPN thought it would be great to have to have all of their announcers giving various op. eds and treat the broadcast like their own personal podcast...but damn, it's bad.

It's frustrating because you look at how GOOD Turner Sports, NBA TV and even a lot of the local sports networks are at covering the game. And you have just this...trash heap of hot takes, hack catch phrases (BANNNG!) and bad music to introduce a game.

It's even more frustrating when you indeed have a woman near by who is actually BETTER than the two gasbags talking things up like it was their own podcast. Doris Burke is awesome, very well spoken and knowledgeable the game. The fact that she's stuck doing sideline work is actually insulting to me.

Why can't we as sports fan (not just Cavs fans) get better? Why are we stuck with this crap?
Stop watching games, unfortunately we aren't willing to do that so ESPN will continue to put these clowns in the booth.
 
Stop watching games, unfortunately we aren't willing to do that so ESPN will continue to put these clowns in the booth.

It's like IndyCar or College Football. You don't want to ever endorse their form "sports entertainment" but you have no alternative because they have the exclusive rights.

If they offered a mandarian language feed of today's game on say, CCTV? Well, I would be watching that. I would actually prefer trying to listen to someone call a game in a language I don't understand on my television than to ever give that channel the time of day.

Also hindsight? If I could go back in time, I would order whomever was building ESPN's HQ to put it in Wyoming. I'm being dead serious. The douche chills that one gets from the Boston honks that get employed there is pretty evident.

edit: And at least with the other two? ESPN is about to be picked clean of the rights.

IndyCar signed a deal with NBC
Big Ten ball is probably going to be Fox Sports exclusive in the near future. Probably along with Big XII, PAC 12, etc.
 
Nothing like being forced to listen to Paul Pierce's take on the Cavs Celtics matchup.. a guy that practically has pom pom's. It's such a blatant middle finger to any Cavs fans that are watching.

ESPN: We literally give ZERO fucks what you think Cleveland! Go Celtics!
 
Nothing like being forced to listen to Paul Pierce's take on the Cavs Celtics matchup.. a guy that practically has pom pom's. It's such a blatant middle finger to any Cavs fans that are watching.

ESPN: We literally give ZERO fucks what you think Cleveland! Go Celtics!

It was a network founded in Connecticut. and it's original reach/intent was to reach New England, and New York. The founder said that..was his original intent. To serve as pretty much the equivlant of Fox Sports Ohio but for the state of Connecticut (UConn Basketball, Hartford Whalers, and Bristol Red Sox are cited). This..by the way? Was not an uncommon thing. TBS was primarily an Atlanta station, and HBO actually was based in Scranton PA to start out.

When ESPN started out? It's first big "get" was actually Big East basketball. (I would argue that it's first "successful" sport that would become a nationwide event would be "NASCAR" that they throw on their to fill air time). So their roots are firmly planted within the east coast.

I think them ultimately challenging for the rights to the NBA was a mistake (from a fan's perspective. Not from a $$$ perspective). Especially when you consider the direction they went with their programming around 2001 ("Around the Horn", "Pardon the Interruption","Cold Pizza"). NBC, TNT were able to keep things from getting "toxic" because they weren't trapped in a 24/7 cycle like ESPN has trapped itself in.

"Oh hey. Wow! That Heat V. Knicks brawl was insane! Welp! Tune in tommorow for "INSIDE THE NBA" followed by Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals...Up next? It's the "Shawshank Redepemption" followed by "Law and Order"

No debate. No "hot takes". No arguments about whether or not -insert player here was good-. Just 3 hours of basketball, a pre game show, a post game show and that's it. And let's be honest? While I imagine NBC had bias towards the Bulls, Knicks at times in it's history? It at least felt a bit more evenly spread out. Hell there's video of them doing a Cavs game from 1995 or so when they were nothing but complimentary towards the franchise.
 
LOL as if Cavs fans care how many points Rozier scores. Dude is a backup.

What bothers me is that some TV packages don't carry ESPN. Playoff games should be on a local station, period. Or at least TNT which I think is pretty much on every cable/satellite package out there. I had to subscribe to ESPN on my Sling package just to watch the playoffs. F--king BS.

Also, if you notice, they will have their panel before and after the game and they will never, I mean never, zoom in on Michelle Beadle. I know she's old but she's better to look at than the 3 other twits who are totally anti-Cavs.
 
It was a network founded in Connecticut. and it's original reach/intent was to reach New England, and New York. The founder said that..was his original intent. To serve as pretty much the equivlant of Fox Sports Ohio but for the state of Connecticut (UConn Basketball, Hartford Whalers, and Bristol Red Sox are cited). This..by the way? Was not an uncommon thing. TBS was primarily an Atlanta station, and HBO actually was based in Scranton PA to start out.

When ESPN started out? It's first big "get" was actually Big East basketball. (I would argue that it's first "successful" sport that would become a nationwide event would be "NASCAR" that they throw on their to fill air time). So their roots are firmly planted within the east coast.

I think them ultimately challenging for the rights to the NBA was a mistake (from a fan's perspective. Not from a $$$ perspective). Especially when you consider the direction they went with their programming around 2001 ("Around the Horn", "Pardon the Interruption","Cold Pizza"). NBC, TNT were able to keep things from getting "toxic" because they weren't trapped in a 24/7 cycle like ESPN has trapped itself in.

"Oh hey. Wow! That Heat V. Knicks brawl was insane! Welp! Tune in tommorow for "INSIDE THE NBA" followed by Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals...Up next? It's the "Shawshank Redepemption" followed by "Law and Order"

No debate. No "hot takes". No arguments about whether or not -insert player here was good-. Just 3 hours of basketball, a pre game show, a post game show and that's it. And let's be honest? While I imagine NBC had bias towards the Bulls, Knicks at times in it's history? It at least felt a bit more evenly spread out. Hell there's video of them doing a Cavs game from 1995 or so when they were nothing but complimentary towards the franchise.
Very good points. I enjoy watching games on TNT. Shaq, Chuck and those guys are really entertaining and fun to watch.

I enjoyed shows like PTI, Around the Horn, even First Take, when I was in middle/high school because I wanted to watch sports all the time. Fast forward a few years and I can't stomach them.
 
No surprise because of the site's proprietor, but ESPN isn't the only media outlet whose Celtics reverence knows no bounds.

View: https://twitter.com/Carter_Shade/status/998757820572012549

What's incredible is ESPN may have been keeping his Boston fandom from running wild. Grantland was not like this. It was not unabashedly Boston-centric. And Simmons... man, the dude actually used to be readable. But he's basically caved into himself and let the Boston shit consume him to the point where he's insufferable.
 
What's incredible is ESPN may have been keeping his Boston fandom from running wild. Grantland was not like this. It was not unabashedly Boston-centric. And Simmons... man, the dude actually used to be readable. But he's basically caved into himself and let the Boston shit consume him to the point where he's insufferable.
It's a such a freaking shame. Because so much of that site is good. Jason Concepcion, Shea Serrano, Mallory Rubin, and a bunch others are so much fun to read and listen to. And then they get smothered by Simmons' internet manifestation of his peen.
 

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