glewe

November 12th, 2014 at 9:22 PM ^

I think you were being sarcastic, but I actually think it may have been intentional.

He not only says that they're "cheapening his brand," he also calls ESPN "Hacks" as Jim Hackett's name is frozen on the screen.

Joined: 08/25/2010

MGoPoints: -7293

Monkey House

November 12th, 2014 at 4:57 PM ^

bans Artie Lange for life, hires Ray Lewis. that company is shit. I haven't watched a sports center or any of their dumb sport shows since 2008 and don't ever plan to either.

Joined: 09/05/2014

MGoPoints: 43844

aplatypus

November 13th, 2014 at 11:16 AM ^

seriously, he went on a racist and sexist rant for ages then instead of owning up and even pretending to apologize he acted like it was just some great joke every one was too stupid to get. That dude is trash. And even if he did think it was "humor", ESPN has every right to ban someone who thinks it's humorous to joke about making a black lady a slave again and rape her. Oh, no, you think he was being complimentary, right? All ok then. 

Joined: 11/02/2013

MGoPoints: 1735

Gameboy

November 12th, 2014 at 5:48 PM ^

You mean the guy who rips off things he finds on Youtube to broadcast it on his own show? Isn't this like a thief calling another thief for stealing?

Joined: 11/28/2010

MGoPoints: 9671

Maizenblueball

November 12th, 2014 at 6:08 PM ^

ESPN is terrible now.  Even during the last Michigan game that ESPN broadcast- I think last week against Northwestern- I couldn't stand their coverage, the high camera angle which felt like I was viewing the game from a blimp in the sky, and the cut-aways in the middle of action to get updates of other SEC games which made us miss a few Michigan plays.  ESPN used to be great a long time ago, now they are terrible. 

Joined: 12/08/2011

MGoPoints: 12418

gwkrlghl

November 12th, 2014 at 11:16 PM ^

Both have/had an air of invincibility from their perch at the top and both are seeing their public appearance take a hit and their response isn't "We'll fix it", it's been "Deal with it". For ESPN it's their apparent SEC bias - which they literally said 'deal with it' when confronted. If there was a reasonable 2nd contender, they'd be losing a ton of marketshare right now.

Joined: 04/13/2012

MGoPoints: 72

johnthesavage

November 12th, 2014 at 11:31 PM ^

Amen. I don't know who directs their broadcasts (and in fairness, the problem extends beyond ESPN). But several times this year I've been driven to yell at the screen as they cut from extreme coach close-up to extreme player's helmet close-up to extreme other coach close-up and finally get the camera back on the field approximately 1.5 seconds after the snap.

Holy crap. There is NO INFORMATION in these extreme close-ups. On the other hand, I could be watching how the teams line up and check before the play, and actually you know, observing what's happening during the game. This crap drives me crazy and ESPN is the worst.

I can honestly tolerate the promos and the advertisements. At least that has a purpose. But this stuff -- and the cutaways to irrelevant games you mention -- drives me to madness.

Joined: 03/30/2013

MGoPoints: 2112

Little Jimmy

November 12th, 2014 at 6:44 PM ^

Totally nailed it.  ESPN used to be innovative 20 years ago.  Now, it's any excuse possible not to have to waitch them.  In Canada, we don't have ESPN, but it's poorer cousin TSN, which is just as bad.  I mostly waitch Rogers Sportsnet since their hosts are only a little bit less douchey

Joined: 02/10/2012

MGoPoints: 704

Mmmm Hmmm

November 12th, 2014 at 7:46 PM ^

I was actually pleasantly surprised with NBC Sports' morning show. It was 20 minutes on loop, mostly (if not exclusively) highlights, with minimal gimmicks and some ESPNish tag lines for home runs, touchdowns, etc. don't know if it is still on or the same, but it hit the right notes for me.

Contrast that with NBC's Sunday night football show. It has gotten better (and I'm in the minority that enjoys Mike Florio) but when it started out it was absolutely joyless. It was as if the hosts would rather be doing anything else than discussing football. I get contrasting with the hee haw of the ESPN pregame show and even the forced "chaos" on Fox, but it was a struggle to watch.

Too bad NBC hasn't been able to find the right sports formula, because ESPN would really benefit from some competition before it atrophies to something completely unrecognizable a la MTV.


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Joined: 09/12/2010

MGoPoints: 5144

UMxWolverines

November 12th, 2014 at 7:21 PM ^

ESPN seemed like it really took a turn for the worst in about 2010. Early in the year it was all about where Tebow was going to go and once he finally got drafted they never let off. Never again will a player that did as little in the pros as Tim Tebow get that much media attention. 

Then in the summer of 2010 came ''The decision'' and ever since it has been non stop Lebron hyping. 

It became more about analysis of athletes than actually showing sports highlights. 

Joined: 03/01/2009

MGoPoints: 65498

AeonBlue

November 13th, 2014 at 10:37 AM ^

I think more than this it's that they find something to latch on to that gets ratings and then suck the life out of it. People are interested in Tebow because he's such a nice guy that really sucks at throwing footballs so lets run Tebow-mania. LeBron is shitting on his home-town? Run it. The SEC goes on a national championship spree? Let's make the SEC network. Aaron Hernandez killed a guy? Time to go full CNN on this case.

And let's not forget that any employee that ever expresses anything resembling an actual opinion (looking at you Simmons, LeBatard) gets suspended. It's all scripted garbage designed to maximize viewers.

The list goes on and on. They're no better than any major news network now: whoring themselves out for the almighty ratings.

Joined: 08/03/2010

MGoPoints: 1471