The "Sports Leader" killing hockey?

[auxlepli 17]

I received the latest Newsweek yesterday. There's an article aboot ESPN written by Devin Gordon.

The sub headline says it all.

"After a key anchor leaves, ESPN inches closer to becoming the worldwide cheerleader in sports."

My emphasis.

The article says aboot Dan Patrick.

"As an anchor, Patrick struck the perfect balance between wit and gravitas; he had the funniest one-liners and he asked the toughest questions. But in recent years, networkwide, that balance has begun to tip unmistakenly toward the kind of athletic-centric idol worship that seems more like the province of Us Weekly than ESPN."

I wholeheartedly agree with the second statement. The one aboot Patrick is a little over the top but he was bearable as an anchor IMO, when many others are just downright horrible.

Later the article says.

"Many influential sports bloggers, such as The Big Lean and Deadspin, have accused the network of ignornig sports, especially pro hockey, that ESPN doesn't have deals with. Then again, ESPN has ramped up its coverage of ultimate fighting even though the network has no financial stake in it - and it does in its rival, boxing. And while it's true that ESPN's hockey coverage has declined lately, hockey has also declined lately. Is that ESPN's fault, or the NHL's?"

Interesting this appears aboot the same time the other article I posted did. Internet mime I guess.

in any case it could be argued that hockey hasn't declined lately. League-wide attendance figures are up. The salary cap has increased. Clearly ESPN hockey coverage has declined. It was declining even when the NHL was on ESPN.

[Hank 0]

There is nothing that I hate more than when I think I am going to be listening to Jim Rome and whose voice do I hear, but that stupid, incoherent, babbling, closed minded, obtuse, jack ass Skip Bayless.

Living in NH for some reason I can't find Rome to save my left nut, so when I do get it driving back to Maine and throw it on only to find out that J-stew and Rome are on vacation and this numb nut is behind the mic, I want to smash my car into the guy next to me.

Woody Paige, yes I said it, is a far and away better journalist than this tool. Watching Woody may be like watchin a kid with ADHD who mistakenly took crack instead of his Ridlen, but he is a way better journalist. Reading Woody is not a day at the beach either but most of that is due to how he got noticed on TV. It is an act, notice he and the other complete tool on around the horn Jay Mariotti were always on the show acting like fools, while the serious Journalists would rotate around from day to day or week to week, the show wanted flare.

Then came that horrible morning sports news show 1st and 10, and captian crap (Skip Bayless). I have never heard some one mutter so many idiotic strings of thought together in my life. And as you can tell from reading this I can string some crap together.

As stated by Hank, if he doesn't know something about a sport or a player or a topic, he starts his rant off with, this is dumb, or this sport makes no sense, this is the dumbest sport ever. Yet ask the man about tennis, not that it isn't valid (well I hate it), he will tell you all of the players life stats. Because he knows something about it he learns all of it. When he knows nothing, he dismisses the sport or issue as meaningless.

I have a theory that Rome goes out of his way to have idiots fill in for him when he's out on the road. That's not to say all the 'fill ins' are bad, but certainly having Bayless makes Rome look much better.

It's for that reason, I believe, that he doesn't have Jay Mohr host more often. Mohr is great and a lot of the times I enjoy him more than Rome.

P.S. Bayless = MORON.

[NC WINGS FAN 5]

Skip? Chip? whatever. That guy's a real prick. Opie said it best. You know? it's funny because I thought I was the only one who could not stand this guy.... then I looked him up and realized I was not alone.

[HuntsVegas Baby 0]

I say let ESPN keep the Crooked NBA, drug stained MBL and the gun toating NFL. I get the Center Ice package and do not rely on Versus to get me my hockey.

Also I like having my hockey non-mainstream, I don't need all of my neighbors opinions on my sport to appreciate it. I have a good core of friends that love hockey and we all have our die hard teams. Think of it like a small fraternity, if all have the same interests, popularity will only dilute the objectives of our beliefs!

Think of it like the Sopranos. I got HBO because I wanted to be part of the elite group that watched because I liked it and was willing to pay extra to be part of it. Now any old blow hole who gets Lifetime (or whatever channel it is on) can watch ten episodes a day. Watered Down!

Edited July 24, 2007 by HuntsVegas Baby

[regwinguofmfan 0]

Yes by all means keep hockey off of ESPN so tons of people can miss the 2 games they air a week because their provider doesnt have the network.

Or maybe you liked having the option to watch one early playoff series and one late.

If you remember ESPN had four games on each night during the first few rounds. You could actually watch the games you wanted to watch.

Instead we had to watch princess crosby and his penguins flop.

Yeah ESPN would be a bad move for the NHL.

[HuntsVegas Baby 0]

Let's all also remember that this is the station that brought quality programming like Playmakers and Tilt. Remember when ESPN used to give sports scores?

The only thing ESPN has to offer for me is Thursday night college football Big West game of the week (so I can feed my sick gambling habit during the week), the Sunday night (now Monday night) NFL game, which they even screwed that up by putting that bald goof nut Cornholer on, and the Little League World Series. Other than that, I watch Nickelodeon with the kids.

[Guest jaytan]

pissing into the wind contest

I'd actually pay to see that.

[Hank 0]

Let's all also remember that this is the station that brought quality programming like Playmakers and Tilt. Remember when ESPN used to give sports scores?

Hahaha! That reminds me of simpler days when MTV actually played music.

[Guest jaytan]

I thought Playmakers was a decent show. Didn't the NFL get it canned because it was making the league look too wholesome?

[NC WINGS FAN 5]

Another thing that annoys me about ESPN is their strong East Coast Bias. It it is west of Chicago, you do not hear about it unless of course it's Barry Bonds related. They seem to think Miami is a real sports mad city as is evidenced in how they r Dan Lebatard of The Miami Herald as one of their big journalists on shows like PTI, Rome, and The Sports Reporters. Remember March of last year? BREAKING NEWS: "Joey Harrington is going to South Beach!" Would they have made such a fuss if he was going to Cincinnati? I can hear it now "Joey Harrington's goin to the Valley baby!! yeah! Bengals in 06! mark my words I just don't get it which is why I try my best to not watch ESPN... unless the Tigers are on

[Hank 0]

I thought Playmakers was a decent show. Didn't the NFL get it canned because it was making the league look too wholesome?

Hahaha. Not so much wholesome as truthful. And yes, the NFL forced them to shut it down.

I thought it was a great show too. And hearing from former pros that it was bang-on to what they experienced in the league, it made it even better.

You could never do a show like that with the NHL. Each episode would be about the guys playing their game, using cliches after the game and then going home with their wives and family. The harshest thing they'd deal with is the guys fighting over who's going to get to pick up the dinner check.

[Wing Nut 19 0]

Since the NHL made the questionable decision to abandon the cable network as its broadcast partner in favor of the fledgling Versus network, many have argued that NHL coverage on the Worldwide Leader in Sports has ranged from underwhelming to disrespectful.

I thought ESPN dumped the NHL Not the other way around according to the article.

ESPNs hockey coverage slucked anyway. They played favorites and Dissed the teams they didn't like.

Then "The World Wide Leader in Sports" -(their words not mine)- Replaced hockey with Poker tournaments and eating contests.......EATING CONTESTS! These are not sports!

ESPN Blows and I have boycotted it for years. I haven't watched ESPN in at least 5 years.

[NC WINGS FAN 5]

Hahaha. Not so much wholesome as truthful. And yes, the NFL forced them to shut it down.

I thought it was a great show too. And hearing from former pros that it was bang-on to what they experienced in the league, it made it even better.

You could never do a show like that with the NHL. Each episode would be about the guys playing their game, using cliches after the game and then going home with their wives and family. The harshest thing they'd deal with is the guys fighting over who's going to get to pick up the dinner check.

Unless they made it about Bob Probert He was quite an interesting character.

[Hank 0]

I thought ESPN dumped the NHL Not the other way around according to the article.

ESPNs hockey coverage slucked anyway. They played favorites and Dissed the teams they didn't like.

Then "The World Wide Leader in Sports" -(their words not mine)- Replaced hockey with Poker tournaments and eating contests.......EATING CONTESTS! These are not sports!

ESPN Blows and I have boycotted it for years. I haven't watched ESPN in at least 5 years.

You forgot about Rock-Paper-Scissors!!! Who can forget the excitment of a game where 5-year olds are your worst enemy?

[Opie 308]

This is my second year in an apartment on my own, and I can tell you barring some catastrophic circumstances, I will be getting center ice.

I say catastrophic because last year I destroyed my knee and had to live with my parents for 3 months right at the start of Hockey season. I am glad I didn't know about the early bird special last year or I would have shelled out some serious clams for no reason.

[HuntsVegas Baby 0]

You know I used to like the off beat sports stuff like Aussie Rules Football, the Americas Cup and the Strongest Man Competitions. I can get along with the Rock, Paper, Scissors thing and the eating contests, because that's what ESPN used to do, bring you things that weren't main stream, like Hockey!

This is my second year in an apartment on my own, and I can tell you barring some catastrophic circumstances, I will be getting center ice.

I say catastrophic because last year I destroyed my knee and had to live with my parents for 3 months right at the start of Hockey season. I am glad I didn't know about the early bird special last year or I would have shelled out some serious clams for no reason.

Sorry about your injury, but what does havnig a knee injury have to do with not watchnig TV? I would think that would benefit your tube time.

[-sam 0]

I don't know how many of you care, but Bill Simmons recently wrote an article about the debacle that the NBA is in.

This is the same Bill Simmons who goes out of his way to insult the NHL.

In this article, he still shows hope for the league and keeps the vigil that it will make it through. I think we all know how this piece would have went if this were the NHL that was in the same bind.

In fairness to Simmons he is an extremely bitter ex-Bruins fan. And I can see where having to put up with Jacobs would turn anybody off of the NHL.

ESPN spend hours talking about all the druggie loosers who get suspended in the NFL, the brawls in the NBA, and steroids in MLB, but hockey has the fewest off the playing field problems and it's still doesn't get credit.

Hey, if it bleeds it leads. You also never hear jack about the vast majority of NBA/NFL/MLB players who never have a single problem on and off the field. Any news is by its very nature a negative business.

[Opie 308]

You know I used to like the off beat sports stuff like Aussie Rules Football, the Americas Cup and the Strongest Man Competitions. I can get along with the Rock, Paper, Scissors thing and the eating contests, because that's what ESPN used to do, bring you things that weren't main stream, like Hockey!

Sorry about your injury, but what does havnig a knee injury have to do with not watchnig TV? I would think that would benefit your tube time.

Kind of a long story but the short of it was since I had just moved to NH all of my doctors were technically in Maine, I had a week to have surgery before permanent damage would have set in. So I was forced to move back to Maine for three months in my parents house, and even though I was willing to pay my Dad put up a huge stink about paying for center Ice, "on my cable bill, and my TV" blah blah blah.

Trust me I got plenty of tube time, that is how I developed my acute hate for 1st and 10 and skip bayless.

[Guest jaytan]

Hahaha. Not so much wholesome as truthful. And yes, the NFL forced them to shut it down.

I thought it was a great show too. And hearing from former pros that it was bang-on to what they experienced in the league, it made it even better.

You could never do a show like that with the NHL. Each episode would be about the guys playing their game, using cliches after the game and then going home with their wives and family. The harshest thing they'd deal with is the guys fighting over who's going to get to pick up the dinner check.

Well, maybe they could just put all the, um.... entertaining hockey players on the same team. Mike Danton, Bob Probert, Eddie Belfour... I'd watch it!

[Opie 308]

Here is a weird thought not sure how it plays in this thread but bare with me.

Think of the most popular hockey movie of all times, Mighty Ducks right? Bare with me here do not castrate me yet, I said most popular.

Now what is the best hockey movie of all times, easy right Slap Shot.

Slap Shot is almost a cult flick, if you are a fan of hockey or a hockey player it is an unbelievably funny and well done movie.

Now how many times do you see that stupid ass mighty ducks or d2 or d3 on TV and how often do you see slap shot on tv. It is exactly the opposite of what it should be. Much like the respect the sports get. NBA, NFL, and MLB are going through some of the most troublesome times in their history yet their ratings do not suffer. Hockey has some of the most respectful, well mannered (off the ice) athletes in the world. However what do you see on TV more.

As I said in another post, I don't blame ESPN as much as I do the average american. For example what is the most succesful longest running game show in tv history. Price is right, do they put it in prime time, no they put some flashy short lived, high reward, heavy effects show that lasts 3 seasons and people tire of it. Because that is what America wants in that 8pm-10pm slot.

[HuntsVegas Baby 0]

http://sports.yahoo.com/

This is hilarious! Big pic has David Stern and the NBA getting boiled. The upper right hand corner is Michael Vick about to be roasted. And in the lower right corner, typical Bonds incident.

And on the far right "Sens sign Emery"

Edited July 24, 2007 by HuntsVegas Baby

[pjgj13 30]

What about when all ESPN showed were Penguins games? Everytime I turned the hockey game on there was Mario and Jaromir.

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

Hockey, just like soccer wasn't invented or popularized in the U.S. and for that reason it will always be less popular than football, basketball, or baseball. Even if baseball is the most boring game ever invented, it will still be ranked higher than hockey in America, because people can't smell their own s***. I don't think that I would want to see the NHL on a network that has a bunch of sportswriters constantly making jokes about the league's troubles. And for those of you that are excusing ESPN because they're only pursuing what's economically viable is horsecrap. They're a sports network, so they should cover sports and not poker, dominoes, eating contests. If ratings are all that matter then why don't they show bikini contests all day on ESPN. Hell that would draw more than any baseball games they show, but it'd still have nothing to do with sports. ESPN can go straight to hell.

[HuntsVegas Baby 0]

Kind of a long story but the short of it was since I had just moved to NH all of my doctors were technically in Maine, I had a week to have surgery before permanent damage would have set in. So I was forced to move back to Maine for three months in my parents house, and even though I was willing to pay my Dad put up a huge stink about paying for center Ice, "on my cable bill, and my TV" blah blah blah.

Trust me I got plenty of tube time, that is how I developed my acute hate for 1st and 10 and skip bayless.

Rock On my friend!

[Guest jaytan]

Slap Shot was on TV this weekend, and I remember seeing Slap Shot 2 a month or so ago.

Mighty Ducks is probably only on the Disney Channel.

http://sports.yahoo.com/

This is hilarious! Big pic has David Stern and the NBA getting boiled. The upper right hand corner is Michael Vick about to be roasted. And in the lower right corner, typical Bonds incident.

And on the far right "Sens sign Emery"

Ah hah! A solution to the NHL's popularity woes.... We need more controversy!

Quick, someone tell McClellan he can have an NHL contract again, as long as he murders a few people.