OT-ESPN: The Worldwide Leader in Ass-Kissing

Submitted by maizenblue92 on

I was going through some of my usual websites I visit and came across a link that intrigued me: http://moondogsports.com/2010/07/09/espn-the-worldwide-leader-in-ass-kissing/ . It is suprising how true this blog's editorial is. It basically sums up ESPN's terribly over-the-top coverage/ass kissing of LeEgo.

EDIT: Because I don't like LeBron or the way ESPN handled this I decided to post this concise review of "The Decision" http://www.dailygazette.com/weblogs/schott/2010/jul/08/espn-james-the-decision-was-awful-television/

Paly33

July 9th, 2010 at 11:17 AM ^

Its tough to watch Sportscenter anymore!  ESPN will force feed athletes/teams down your throat until you end up hating them. i.e. Lebron, Tiger, Lakers, Yankees, etc.....

ESPN lost their focus years ago and now all that is left is a sports version of TMZ.  

turd ferguson

July 9th, 2010 at 11:42 AM ^

i think it's probably a smart move by ESPN. to them, it really doesn't matter whether you love or hate lebron, TO, the yankees, tim tebow, etc. they just want you to care. by building insane hype for certain players and teams, they generate interest among fans, even if it leaves most of us feeling annoyed most of the time.

Paly33

July 9th, 2010 at 11:49 AM ^

Don't you think they should listen to what the fans want, instead of fabricating interest in a player/team that the fans may have not wanted in the first place?

Don't get me wrong I know casual fans out there have interest in the topics that ESPN reports but I just don't like the way they go about it anymore.  The over analyzing, over hyping, and force feeding turns me off. 

What I do like is that EPSN is doing Regional covereage of certain cities; still waiting on ESPN Detroit!!

turd ferguson

July 9th, 2010 at 12:13 PM ^

i think their goal is to increase the number of eyeballs watching their shows that are attractive to advertisers. if "listening to what the fans want" does that, then yes, that's what they should do. still, there are a bunch of diehards out there -- and we're probably among them -- who would be happier to watch an all-sports station that avoids the idol-building crap that they've done with lebron, tebow, the yankees, and whatever. most of us watch even when they do that crap, though, and it pulls in a whole bunch of more peripheral viewers.

again, i don't disagree with your feelings about it. i just think that it makes some sense, selfishly, for ESPN.

Transatlantic Flight

July 9th, 2010 at 11:18 AM ^

The advent of Tim Tebow made this not news. ESPN took a kid who for all intents and purposes was an average, talented football player (with tears that cure Type II Diabetes) and made him into a monster. What they are doing with LeBron is not out of character

Irish

July 9th, 2010 at 11:19 AM ^

get ready for it with ND this year, they're already trying to do whatever they can to get back in the good graces of the athletic department.

VAWolverine

July 9th, 2010 at 11:25 AM ^

Entertainment & Sports Prostitution Network.

I have felt this way about ESPN for a while. They virtually have a monopoly on sports coverage with their merger with ABC. They will also stoop to any level to broadcast an event like they did last night or report "breaking news" like Kirk Herbstreit did when Les Miles was supposedly taking the M job in 2007. I'm surprised they have not hired Geraldo to anchor Sports Center.

wile_e8

July 9th, 2010 at 11:33 AM ^

For the life of me, I will never figure out why Versus hasn't created its own SportsCenter rip-off show yet.  Pretty much every die hard sports fan hates ESPN due to their pumping of the big story until everyone is sick of it, but keep tuning in because it's the only place for die hard sports coverage.  If only there were an alternative....

WhatTheFekete

July 9th, 2010 at 11:41 AM ^

Who decided that this is what the "sports fan" wanted?  

SportsCenter is becoming unbearable and ESPN programing for the most part is awful.  It is always selling out to the masses rather than reporting the truth and having some actual opinions on teams and sports...other than everyone is amazing and every highlight is the greatest highlight of all time.  I hate this!  I hate the lack of historical knowledge. 

wigeon

July 9th, 2010 at 12:01 PM ^

I'm a fan, of games. On my terms. I don't care about social lives, I don't care about speculation, I don't care if Lebron went to Miami for tax reasons. I will not watch NFL Live in April, I don't care for mindless speculation and redundant drivel. 90% of "back stories" are a fucking waste of time. 

Football games don't require 3 men in the booth, 4 guys on a sideline veranda, and 4 guys back in the studio.

ESPN isn't the culprit here. We are, for watching it. 

I'm done. 

Games only. 

Robbie Moore

July 9th, 2010 at 12:36 PM ^

on the part of ESPN but it still makes me want to vomit.  May I never hear about the Yankees/Red sox rivalry again.  May LeBron and his ESPN enablers be banished to a deserted island.  May Tiger be allowed to be the mediocre golfer he has become.  How about if the name Terrell Owens is relegated to the scrap heap.  Let's say ESPN stops drooling over Urban Meyer.

A guy can wish, can't he?

tk47

July 9th, 2010 at 12:42 PM ^

Just wait until the first time LeBron goes back to Cleveland with the Heat.  Depending on when it is (Christmas would be my guess), they may not talk about anything else for anywhere between 2-4 weeks.  They might as well buy Shelley Smith's fat ass an apartment right next to "The Q".

Red_Lee

July 9th, 2010 at 12:42 PM ^

What, Lebroncenter isn't as pleasing as Favrecenter? Just wait for the return to Heylookanotherhomeruncenter or maybe even Crosbycenter. 

Ty Butterfield

July 9th, 2010 at 1:05 PM ^

I thought it was funny that the Lebron special was called "The Decision". "The Decision" sounds more like a movie on the Lifetime channel in which a pregnant teen decides whether or not to keep her baby.

Tater

July 9th, 2010 at 1:25 PM ^

I have found the LeBron story to be compelling, and therefore worthy of being covered until it isn't compelling anymore.  This begs one question for me:

Are the stories that have gotten de facto mini-series coverage from ESPN organically compelling to a majority of sports fans, or did ESPN's hype machine make them that way?

I would be happier about what is already being marketed as "Miami Thrice" or "The Miami Threet" if the story had been covered in a more low-key, old-school way.  Sadly, "old school" anything is called "old school" becuase it is, at this point, pretty much a quaint artifact of a bygone era.  ESPN has been extremely successful at turning sports news into "events;" the style is here to stay as long as it is successful.

In other words, as long as we tune in and talk about it, it is successful by their standards and will remain a programming staple.  I have mixed emotions here; part of me wants to vomit, but the other part can't wait until "the resurgent University of Michigan football team" becomes their "event de-jour."

Search4Meaning

July 9th, 2010 at 1:40 PM ^

ESPN is THE LEADER in this industry and has made sports into "events".

This is their clear cut advantage - they make hype happen.

This has been my concern regarding their partnership with the SEC.  The SEC benefits not only financially, but also in the "quality of presentation" - aka "hype".  

The Big Ten Network may be winning the dollars battle, but I fear that the SEC is winning the PR war.

No offense to the BTN - they have been instrumental in Big Ten expansion and income.

SysMark

July 9th, 2010 at 1:33 PM ^

The whole thing was kind of pathetic.  Jim Gray is a pretty good reporter/interviewer.  Unfortunate to see him in that position.

sharkhunter

July 9th, 2010 at 1:52 PM ^

I thought LB went to espn with the idea.  If espn didn't do it, another channel would have.  The whole thing amounted to Lebron trying to have a National Signing Day.  He went from HS to pros, he was drafted, he never got to choose a program until now.  Seemed like he is trying to live and enjoy what high schoolers typically do when they choose a college.  They sit in front of a camera and choose a program.  He never got that. 

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