It has happened again. The Worldwide Leader is continuing to purge their talent and try to convince the audience that this is best for you and the network. It is a damning display that has caused said audience to stop watching the network, entirely. Look at the names of the talent ESPN just cut loose today.
-Jeff Van Gundy, one of the best announcers covering the NBA. He, Mike Breen and Mark Jackson were the gold standard. 15 years of service ended in a pink slip.
-Todd McShay, the second coming of Mel Kiper Jr. and easily, the most recognizable figure when it comes to NFL draft coverage. 17 years of service ended in a pink slip.
-Suzy Kolber, the standard bearer of women sports broadcasters in this era. 27 years of service ended in a pink slip.
-Neil Everett, the host of the west coast version of SportsCenter with Stan Verrett. 23 years of service ended in a pink slip.
SportsCenter was the perfect way to end your day if you were a sports fan. In my 20's, I would be coming home from a night out at a local establishment and wanting to unwind with some sports highlights, SportsCenter was the show that hit the spot. Life was good back then. Now, in my 40's, I would come home and vomit. Not because of the alcohol I was consuming, but because of the drivel that I see on my tablet or television. SportsCenter has become more of a talking point than actual highlights. Also, if you want to see highlights of your favorite team, good luck finding those. Unless your favorite team is the Cowboys, Lakers, Yankees, then you will be looking all night.
The bias that ESPN shows is sickening. It is to a point that many people are calling them out for this. Don't believe me? Take Brian Windhorst for example. He actually said that the Lakers looked good while getting swept by the Nuggets in the WCF. L.A. didn't win a game in the series. Also, ESPN's coverage of the Lakers during the NBA Finals was embarrassing to watch. That same Nuggets team went on to win the championship, yet it seemed as the network or the employees that work for them will continue to push that it was a fluke. Here's another example, during the first round of the playoffs between the New York Knicks and the Atlanta Hawks, the ATL won a crucial game to give the lead in the series. However, the network wanted to focus on the reaction of the Knicks players. THE KNICKS LOST! They didn't want anything to do with the Hawks. For a company that advertises themselves as the "Worldwide Leader in Sports," they really do not cover the worldwide spectrum of sports.
I will not even get into the hockey coverage by ESPN. They clearly do not care about that. When two of your employees scoff at the idea of a guest suggesting that a New York team could win a Stanley Cup before winning an NBA championship or a World Series shows they don't care.
I won't get into the politics that the network has involved themselves with. I talk about sports, not politics.
The foundation of ESPN had one simple formula: Get a staff that could report about sports and be relatable to the viewer. It worked for many years. ESPN had a blueprint to draw sports fans into programming since local news gave sports highlights about five minutes of time. This was 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Just non-stop highlights. This was a dream come true. Back in the day, you had Dan Patrick, Chris Berman, Bob Ley, the late Tom Mears, Gayle Gardner, Larry Beil, Chris Myers, Rich Eisen, Linda Cohn......the list goes on. They worked to give you that sports fix that you craved. Even when they covered live sporting events, it seemed like they gave a damn. Now, you watch programming on ESPN, it is here is a sporting event and let's shove Stephen A. Smith down our throats and call it a day. It gets tiring after a while. No one wants to watch the same tired gameplan that the company tries to push the viewer every day and people have responded by not watching and going elsewhere to get their sports fix.
The moment I realized that ESPN was going downhill was when they gave the primetime SportsCenter slot to Scott Van Pelt. SCOTT VAN PELT! Sure, Everett and Verrett handled the west coast version, but giving SVP the east coast version? SVP is the cure for insomnia. I joke about this for years but watch an episode of SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt. The sad part is that they didn't align him with a sidekick to banter back and forth with. Scott Van Pelt could be the greatest guy in the world outside of the studio, but him by his lonesome, no thank you, bro.
ESPN has made some drastic changes to save the money they are hemorrhaging, unfortunately, it's their own dawn fault at the end of the day..
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