This Is Sport?

As your basic sports addict, I watch lots of television. As such, a large portion of that time is spent with one of the ESPN family of networks. ESPN, once just a crazy idea, is now the brand name in sports television. They are, as they proclaim, "The Leaders in Sports". However, I've noticed a trend in their coverage that makes me wonder what direction they are heading.

For those of us old enough to remember the network, yes, there was just one then, ESPN was a unique experience. Australian Rules Football, college baseball, rodeo, anything and everything was broadcast to fill up a programming schedule devoid of the "big names" in sports. Televising MLB, NFL or NBA games on ESPN was a wild fantasy back then.

Obviously, things have changed. ESPN almost single handedly elevated college athletics, basketball and football in particular, to their current level of national popularity. Broadcasting the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, tennis' majors and some of golf's premier events is now commonplace. In fact, their gains in these areas have led to the birth of ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPN Classic, ESPN Radio and, of course, ESPN.com.

In light of this transformation from struggling network to global media force, I was checking out any number of ESPN venues this past weekend only to find SportsCenter informing me of the results of the annual Coney Island Hot Dog eating contest.

Frankly, pun intended, how does this event merit SportsCenter air time? Yeah, it's kind of famous. Is it sport, however? If it is, wouldn't every county fair's pie eating contest qualify for SportsCenter coverage? I have the same amount of respect for some overweight guy in rural America pounding down blueberry pie as I do some thin Japanese kid gorging himself on coneys just outside NYC.

Now, if watching overeating isn't enough, the premier sporting network offers us The World Series of Poker. Okay, I'll spot the network execs some slack here. Everyone is broadcasting poker. It's on the Travel Channel, for crying out loud. The Travel Channel.

I understand poker is the game du jour. Fine. It also costs probably next to nothing in broadcast dollars. No need for slow motion replay, blimps shots, tons of graphics or people to do all those jobs. So, the network is making a money grab. Understandable, but was the continous countdown (yes, a countdown) on the crawl during SportsCenter just a bit much?

Only two hours, fifteen minutes and twenty-six seconds until the World Series of Poker begins. Funny, isn't that how quickly ESPN bosses wished they could lose these type of events over two decades ago? Did I mention the poker tourney was also the big event on ESPN.com?

In fact, now that I think about it, look at what else the network provides us. The X Games. Yes, I'm sure they get great ratings and I'm equally sure I am too old to comprehend interest in these fringe events, but when you are THE network, should you be brodcasting this stuff? Maybe at three in the morning, but in primetime?

What about the Outdoor Games? Dream Job, anyone? Playmakers? The made-for-tv movies? Look, I'm not opposed to all these non-mainstream events, but isn't this the type of programming ESPN was trying to emerge from twenty-five years ago?

ESPN is just the latest example of "the more things change, the more they stay the same" theory. In the end, I guess I can't complain too much. At least their programming choices leave me with more time to blog and more material to write about. Maybe that's something you should complain to ESPN about.