The Grandstand

Media, etc.

First of all, special thanks to ABIN for keeping this blog alive.

Sorry to backtrack, but I just wanted to post a few comments/responses regarding the current state of sports media before moving on to what is a very exciting time right now: the middle of baseball, with the deadline approaching; basketball free agency; NFL camps beginning; college football right around the corner; and not to mention the transfer market in European football. [ps. Bandy, did you hear Viera transferred to Juventus? I think they, and of course, Chelsea, are the early favorites to win the Champions League, although you can never count Milan out.]

Sports has been slowly morphing into just another form of entertainment for some time now, but I agree that current coverage is bordering on sickening, and for a variety of reasons. I can't even bear to watch Sportscenter from start to end, because every other segment is a "feature" or graphic-laden recap [what is this Reset bullshit they show like half way into the show? I mean have our attention spans become so short that we need reminders of what we just saw? THen there is the coming up segment... they're constantly either telling us what we just saw or are about to see, without actually showing us anything].

It makes sense that pro sports leagues, most notably the NBA, and their partner networks try to create "stars"/celebrities rather than letting the game speak for itself. They are not trying to sell their "product" to people like you and me, who follow sports no matter what because we love the game, and will follow athletes based on performance, not how they look or who they date. Stern & Co. are trying to attract the casual fan who needs a reason to watch a game or buy a jersey, someone unique and seemingly perfect. People live through their sports stars, so they want players who are not only talented and winners, but also good looking and magnetic [Jordan, Tiger, Becks, AROD]. This is why guys like Bonds, Barry Sanders, Jerry Rice, Tim Duncan, etc. have not transended sports to become major celebrities -- they simply don't have the charisma and look that can be sold to casual fans. I don't see how this can change -- after all, isn't this just a reflection of American culture, where the masses are more concerned with sex, drama, and gossip than actual merit? Plus, there are simply too many sports in this country for most people to follow each one closely, and while that remains the case the casual observer needs a simple, attractive package that's easy to digest and follow.

Back to ESPN: We learned in 9th grade Mass Media that the media does not report what we think is important, but actually tells us what is newsworthy based on what they choose to cover. In the case of ESPN, they are so dominant that they create sports stories rather than reporting them. The other networks/websites are forced to play along or else. More importantly, they create stories that only they can scoop and update, forming their own monopoly on information that they told us was important. Our only savior is the internet and alternate web sites, but they don't have the balls to criticize the players and coaches too much because so much emphasis is put on scooping a story and reporting it before anyone else. Look at the Larry Brown situation. I mean, the guy's a great coach, maybe the best in the league along with Pop and Phil, but what he did to the Pistons (advising a rival team during the playoffs, creating a distraction and betraying his team) is absolutely inexcusable. He should be punished for tampering and not allowed to coach for the remainder of his contract, but instead he gets a buyout? Now he's going to make $10M/year from the Knicks when he decides to take that job, and will be rewarded for his lack of professional respect. So, why is no one saying this? Well, writers don't want to get on any high profile coaches bad side, especially when he is about to go to the world's biggest market to take on a high profile job after a summer of controversery, resulting in one of the season's biggest stories. The last thing an "insider" would want is to be shut out from a developing story, or to gain a reputation as an honest critic. As professional journalistic integrity is withering away from sports, it us up to us, noble and honest bloggers, to keep it real and tell it like it is.....

NEXT UP: NBA Free Agency, Drew Rosenhaus and NFL policies that don't protect players, lots of MLB....

posted by -dig- @ 4:30 PM