ESPN sucks, so do thread closers

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

If the White Sox are heels, that'd explain why I like them. Well that and because they win more games than the Cubs would ever see in a fan's lifetime.

[Guest Richard McBeef]

There are several factors that may have lead to a rise in attendance. After the 1994 strike attendance was bleh for a few years until the home run chase in 1998. Combine a renewed interest with new state of the art ballparks to replace the run down parks and it's easy to see how attendance improved at a local level.

So your rebuttal is "well, attendance is only up because baseball got more popular and improved its venues"? You're saying more people are going to games because more people are going to games, essentially. If baseball's popularity is rising, then what's the concern? Ratings are pretty strong, attendance is higher than it's ever been. I really don't see any problem here.

 

As for the 2006 Series, I think a World Series with a non-descript team and a practically .500 team would underachieve in the ratings no matter what year. The Tigers aren't particularly popular beyond eastern Michigan, as far as I know, and it's not like they had the time to really cultivate an extended fanbase.

[MrRant 0]

I'd say Czech is right about the Tigers. People know the name but there are no players there that people really know.

 

Casually that is.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

ESPN has that "Rundown" thing on right now...and of course the first item discussed is the sub-.500 Yankees. Title is "Yankess: Time to Panic?" Hilarious.

[The Man in Blak 0]

There are several factors that may have lead to a rise in attendance. After the 1994 strike attendance was bleh for a few years until the home run chase in 1998. Combine a renewed interest with new state of the art ballparks to replace the run down parks and it's easy to see how attendance improved at a local level.

So your rebuttal is "well, attendance is only up because baseball got more popular and improved its venues"? You're saying more people are going to games because more people are going to games, essentially. If baseball's popularity is rising, then what's the concern? Ratings are pretty strong, attendance is higher than it's ever been. I really don't see any problem here.

 

I'm playing devil's advocate here, but you can have improved attendance numbers and still lose "market share", if you consider baseball to be a competitor within the overall market of sports. How has attendance and merchandising revenue increased for the other sports, such as the NFL? How about television revenue? There may be an influx of fans throughout all of sports, causing everybody's numbers to jump a bit, but the other sports may be getting a bigger slice of that pie.

[razazteca 0]

I'd say Czech is right about the Tigers. People know the name but there are no players there that people really know.

 

Casually that is.

People know of Detroit Tigers baseball due to the popularity of the logo being a tattoo that every single Eminem/Kid Rock/ICP fan must have! And of course of Kenny Rogers attacking media cameramen and Ivan Rodriguez being the reason why the team made it so far or maybe as the team that had the worst record in the history of MLB a few years ago.

[Guest Richard McBeef]

Someone put a bullet in him already.

[Guest Queen Leelee]

Do any casual fans know any Cubs, outside of chronically injured pitchers? And maybe Soriano.

[Guest Richard McBeef]

At least one of Lee, Ramirez, and/or Zambrano, I'd think.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

The Rogers/cameraman incident occured in 2005 while he was with Texas. Then he got booed in Detroit at the All-Star Game.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Do any casual fans know any Cubs, outside of chronically injured pitchers? And maybe Soriano.

 

They think Sammy Sosa is still on the team.

[Vern Gagne 0]

Awkward moment for Michael Smith on the draft special.

[Guest Queen Leelee]

Schlereth had a couple too, in the mock draft thing I watched for reasons I do not know.

 

Had to look down twice for the top RB's in the draft. Nice studying on the subject.

 

Also, that McShay guy is terrible and adds nothing. Bring back, Mel. Kiper is the Draft.

[Guest Smues]

Noticed a frame of ATH again as PTI went to commercial. Clap clap ESPN.

[Guest Smues]

My not Tivo didn't record the end of PTI today, meaning it was more than 30 fucking minutes past the start of Sports Center. Fuck you ESPN, how much fucking Sports Center do I have to record to get the last segment of PTI? Oh and am I the only one who gets really angry that they do this bull shit 'last segment in sportscenter' all year, but when it's Monday Night Football night they don't? Pick a method, retarded or not, and stick with it. Fuck you ESPN, fuck you all.

[Vern Gagne 0]

Schlereth had a couple too, in the mock draft thing I watched for reasons I do not know.

 

Had to look down twice for the top RB's in the draft. Nice studying on the subject.

 

Also, that McShay guy is terrible and adds nothing. Bring back, Mel. Kiper is the Draft.

 

 

Same here. It wasn't even bad entertainment.

 

Smith's real real mistake was getting caught pretending to smoke a joint at the end of the special.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

"Briggs to Washington 50-50"

 

Well, wasn't it always 50-50? It was either going to happen, or it wasn't.

[Broward83 0]

FUCK ESPN INSIDER.

[Timmy8271 0]

I'll be glad when the draft is over so Todd Mcshay can go back to whatever shithole he came from.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

Not surprizingly there's a TON of love coming from ESPN about the Pats' aquisition of Randy Moss.

[Hawk 34 0]

Why shouldn't the Pats get love for pulling this off for next to nothing? You either get a WR who can still go and helps out a offense that needed targets for Brady or you get a headcase that will cost little to nothing to toss aside. It's win-win.

[Guest Queen Leelee]

A 4th round pick isn't nothing. But, still, if Moss works out in the slightest, they'll win this one.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Yeah, seems like a good move for the Pats. I've actually heard a lot of criticism towards the Packers over the last couple days for not getting him, since he supposedly wanted to work with Favre, etc.

[Guest Richard McBeef]

Here's something ESPN did well: they fired Sean Salisbury from AM1000 in Chicago. I never listened to his show, but I can only imagine how terrible it must have been. I'm sure Uncle Rico will still be bothering us on ESPN itself, but at least he's not trying to do Chicago talk from Connecticut. Godspeed, wang photographer.

[KingPK 0]

Not surprizingly there's a TON of love coming from ESPN about the Pats' aquisition of Randy Moss.

 

Yet on ATH, the Boston representative today (Jackie McMullan) couldn't get past the whole "character issue" thing, telling anyone that tried to debate her on it to "keep drinking the Kool-Aid." Listening to her and reading a couple other people in the papers today, having two or three "questionable" guys means the locker room is going to fall into a state of anarchy while Robert Kraft sits on a throne made from the skulls of the season ticket holders.

[Guest Smues]

It's Jackie McMullen. Nothing that spews out of her mouth is to be listened to.

[Hawk 34 0]

No one from that entire city holds much merit. Gammons, maybe. The rest? Not a damn bit.

[KingPK 0]

Believe me, I know. Most of the media in Boston would rather be the story instead of report it to get gigs on TV and radio shows. I have found some diamonds in the rough, fortunately: Chad Finn, Rob Bradford and yes, Bill Simmons. I know Simmons is more of a humorist/pop culture writer than a real sports analyist, but those three don't take themselves too seriously and don't try to constantly push some sort of agenda like guys like the CHB (or almost everyone on the Globe staff), Mike Felger (who used to be good until he got his own radio show) and the WEEI crew.

[Hawk 34 0]

No, I lump Simmons right in there with the rest of Boston's horde of self-serving dolts. Simmons is a perpetrator of the same things he constantly admonishes.

[Guest Smues]

SportsCenter's commercial tease "blah blah blah Bond's chasing Aaron. DID HE HIT ANOTHER ONE TONIGHT??? FIND OUT NEXT"

 

Well gee if he had they'd have told us within the first 30 seconds of SC, plus it'd be all over the sports ticker like usual, so I'll guess NO he didn't. Hey look I'm right!