Don't cha just love ESPN?

[Notsofastmyfriend21]

The World Cup just begins with Russia and Putin
The US Open is under way in the Hamptons
NFL teams making moves with camp one month away
MLB pennant races head toward the all star break

...and of course, what's on the front page? LeBron and a bunch of people shouting and screaming about where he might play next year, at the twilight of his career, just a week or so after the freaking season IS OVER.

Nice.

 

[fairfaxlion2]

They went all in on a league that’s been through multiple dark ages where nobody watches

 

[Little J]

What is the NBA? Never heard of it.

 

[psuro]

They went all in on a league that’s been through multiple dark ages where nobody watches

NBA viewership is up.

I think what you mean to say is "I don't like basketball, so therefore I assume no one else does, and I will make a false claim to support my preconceived idea".

 

[psuro]

What is the NBA? Never heard of it.

You must know it, because you are the first person on this thread to mention "NBA".

Swing....and...a....miss.

 

[LionDeNittany]

NBA viewership is up.

I think what you mean to say is "I don't like basketball, so therefore I assume no one else does, and I will make a false claim to support my preconceived idea".

The NBA did a really nice job getting viewers back after a pretty dark period post Jordan era.

Moving to this super team model has worked.

LeBron
Durant
Westbrook
Harden
Curry

The face of the NBA is excellent right now.

LdN

 

[cavic]

NBA viewership is up.

I think what you mean to say is "I don't like basketball, so therefore I assume no one else does, and I will make a false claim to support my preconceived idea".

Meh. I like the NBA. Probably rare for this board, I prefer it to the college game. And I still agree w/ the OP.

There's plenty of time for Lebron to milk The Decision II. For yesterday, there were far better options to run above the fold on the front page.

 

[BBrown]

Meh. I like the NBA. Probably rare for this board, I prefer it to the college game. And I still agree w/ the OP.

There's plenty of time for Lebron to milk The Decision II. For yesterday, there were far better options to run above the fold on the front page.

I don't watch ESPN, unless PSU is involved, so is this Lebron's doing or is it ESPN's? If I had to pick my guess is its ESPN.

 

[Obliviax]

The NBA did a really nice job getting viewers back after a pretty dark period post Jordan era.

Moving to this super team model has worked.

LeBron
Durant
Westbrook
Harden
Curry

The face of the NBA is excellent right now.

LdN

Best run of the major leagues (NFL, MLB, NHL). The game has its problems but they've really managed all of the craziness well over the last decade or two.

 

[OhioLion]

What is the NBA? Never heard of it.

For me it's -
N - never
B - been
A - associated

Agree with Cavic regarding more of an NCAA watcher; and that's at tourney time.


OL

 

[Ranger Dan]

They went all in on a league that’s been through multiple dark ages where nobody watches

What is the NBA? Never heard of it.

I once had a partial season ticket plan for the 76ers, but I haven't watched more than 5 minutes of a single NBA game in the last 10 years.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

The World Cup just begins with Russia and Putin
The US Open is under way in the Hamptons
NFL teams making moves with camp one month away
MLB pennant races head toward the all star break

...and of course, what's on the front page? LeBron and a bunch of people shouting and screaming about where he might play next year, at the twilight of his career, just a week or so after the freaking season IS OVER.

Nice.

For people who think or say politics and sports don't mix, look no further than Russia for proof of the opposite - Putin bought and paid for an Olympics and World Cup.

 

[Nitt1300]

Putin is running the world, so of course he gets coverage.

 

[ELDADDY]

I smile everytime I hear about news about that company. My father and I call it LebronCenter (Lame as hell now that I'm typing it out lol).

On a side note, I love everything that they do with college football, Gameday, all the analysts, i cant complain about them in that regard.

 

[Bob78]

I smile everytime I hear about news about that company. My father and I call it LebronCenter (Lame as hell now that I'm typing it out lol).

On a side note, I love everything that they do with college football, Gameday, all the analysts, i cant complain about them in that regard.

Desmond. Howard.

You are a newer poster, perhaps? Around BWI, the near-universal desire to get rid of the "DH" is not necessarily limited to the designated hitter.

*Disclaimer: I am fine with the designated hitter. Not so with the other one.

 

[ELDADDY]

Desmond. Howard.

You are a newer poster, perhaps? Around BWI, the near-universal desire to get rid of the "DH" is not necessarily limited to the designated hitter.

*Disclaimer: I am fine with the designated hitter. Not so with the other one.

Wow!!! My fault my fault!! I actually don't like him i just forgot!!! But I thoroughly enjoy Herbstreit (has always been fair to PSU), Corso, Davis, Fowler, Pollock, and that new girl as well. I misch Lou Holtchz schometimechs (Lou Holtz voice).

 

[BBrown]

For people who think or say politics and sports don't mix, look no further than Russia for proof of the opposite - Putin bought and paid for an Olympics and World Cup.

And that was the least of the things Putin has bought and paid for.

 

[PSU2UNC]

NBA viewership is up.

I think what you mean to say is "I don't like basketball, so therefore I assume no one else does, and I will make a false claim to support my preconceived idea".

I LOVE basketball. I play twice a week and follow my two alma maters closely. I HATE the NBA. I watched zero minutes of that garbage product this year. It's just not good (or interesting) basketball.

 

[Notsofastmyfriend21]

Desmond. Howard.

You are a newer poster, perhaps? Around BWI, the near-universal desire to get rid of the "DH" is not necessarily limited to the designated hitter.

*Disclaimer: I am fine with the designated hitter. Not so with the other one.

Mush Mouf.

 

[Dr. Evel]

To answer your question:

NO.

 

[Op2]

The World Cup just begins with Russia and Putin
The US Open is under way in the Hamptons
NFL teams making moves with camp one month away
MLB pennant races head toward the all star break

...and of course, what's on the front page? LeBron and a bunch of people shouting and screaming about where he might play next year, at the twilight of his career, just a week or so after the freaking season IS OVER.

Nice.

How much ESPN covers or pushes a story is related to how much they or their sister networks cover the sport that story pertains to. ESPN has made a big financial investment in the NBA and thus they are going to push any NBA related story, or perhaps instead make a story where there was none.

 

[joeparules]

I LOVE basketball. I play twice a week and follow my two alma maters closely. I HATE the NBA. I watched zero minutes of that garbage product this year. It's just not good (or interesting) basketball.

I have always loved to play basketball, used to watch any NCAA game on (now mostly PSU and March Madness) and was a big NBA fan in the 80s and early 90s before losing complete interest based on the style of play. I was at the shore on Memorial Day weekend and two of my BILs (both basketball fans) were watching the Houston/GS game (Game 6?). I decided to watch the third quarter and noticed that only two Houston players touched the ball in the offensive half the entire quarter. No surprise it was Harden (90%) and Gordon (10%). The offense consisted of Harden dribbling for 10-15 seconds and throwing up whatever shot was then available. It was by far the worst "team basketball" I have ever witnessed and remembered why I no longer watch the NBA. I would rather watch Real Housewives of ______ than that crap.

 

[Elwood Blues]

Meh. I like the NBA. Probably rare for this board, I prefer it to the college game. And I still agree w/ the OP.

There's plenty of time for Lebron to milk The Decision II. For yesterday, there were far better options to run above the fold on the front page.

I used to prefer the college game - years ago when players stuck around. The one-and-done thing has really hurt the product. Now, you have to be a hard core fan to even name any players (at least prior to March Madness). Duke, Kentucky - they'll probably have 4 of 5 new starters next year, and the year after that, and the year after that. The only good news is that the new system gives senior laden mid-majors, like Loyola Chicago, an opportunity to win with experience come tourney time. Despite what the talking heads on ESPN might say, I love the underdogs and I'm more inclined to watch a Butler, UMBC or Loyola Chicago in the final 4 than another boring Duke, Carolina, Kentucky, Arizona, etc. fake-college-players matchup.

 

[psuro]

I LOVE basketball. I play twice a week and follow my two alma maters closely. I HATE the NBA. I watched zero minutes of that garbage product this year. It's just not good (or interesting) basketball.

Good to know.

 

[TheGLOV]

Putin is running the world, so of course he gets coverage.

I just knew it was the Russian's!!

 

[Ski]

And that was the least of the things Putin has bought and paid for.

For sure! He made out pretty good on the UraniumOne deal.

 

[AWS1022]

I have always loved to play basketball, used to watch any NCAA game on (now mostly PSU and March Madness) and was a big NBA fan in the 80s and early 90s before losing complete interest based on the style of play. I was at the shore on Memorial Day weekend and two of my BILs (both basketball fans) were watching the Houston/GS game (Game 6?). I decided to watch the third quarter and noticed that only two Houston players touched the ball in the offensive half the entire quarter. No surprise it was Harden (90%) and Gordon (10%). The offense consisted of Harden dribbling for 10-15 seconds and throwing up whatever shot was then available. It was by far the worst "team basketball" I have ever witnessed and remembered why I no longer watch the NBA. I would rather watch Real Housewives of ______ than that crap.

Could be why the same two teams have made the championship four years in a row.

 

[nittany119]

Wow!!! My fault my fault!! I actually don't like him i just forgot!!! But I thoroughly enjoy Herbstreit (has always been fair to PSU), Corso, Davis, Fowler, Pollock, and that new girl as well. I misch Lou Holtchz schometimechs (Lou Holtz voice).

This was the home of....Mark May for too many years. Does that summarize ESPN for you?

 

[Nitt1300]

For sure! He made out pretty good on the UraniumOne deal.

he did even better on that White House deal

 

[21.Guns]

The World Cup just begins with Russia and Putin
The US Open is under way in the Hamptons
NFL teams making moves with camp one month away
MLB pennant races head toward the all star break

...and of course, what's on the front page? LeBron and a bunch of people shouting and screaming about where he might play next year, at the twilight of his career, just a week or so after the freaking season IS OVER.

Nice.

Simmer down Gunsie

 

[Waltwam]

he did even better on that White House deal

Imagine what he could have had!!! All our uranium!!!!

 

[NittanyLion15]

The World Cup just begins with Russia and Putin
The US Open is under way in the Hamptons
NFL teams making moves with camp one month away
MLB pennant races head toward the all star break

...and of course, what's on the front page? LeBron and a bunch of people shouting and screaming about where he might play next year, at the twilight of his career, just a week or so after the freaking season IS OVER.

Nice.

That's all ESPN is these days... a network where grown men... errr, wait PC USA... I mean grown men and sometimes 1 or two females are added... (to spice things up) sit around a table... and argue with each other about the OPINION based aspects of sports. Nobody is ever right, nobody is ever wrong.

 

[Nittany Ziggy]

Simmer down Gunsie

LOL, Gunsie...

 

[Notsofastmyfriend21]

Could be why the same two teams have made the championship four years in a row.

You have to go back a long way to find the last time the same two teams played in the finals four years in a row

 

[fairfaxlion2]

NBA viewership is up.

I think what you mean to say is "I don't like basketball, so therefore I assume no one else does, and I will make a false claim to support my preconceived idea".

No, I like it, but my claim was not false. The league has been through periods where nobody watches. In the early 80s the finals were shown on tape delay and games started in the middle of the afternoon. The league was riding pretty high from the mid 80s through the 90s, but has never really gotten back to that level of interest. It's been 20 years since Bulls-Jazz, which was, IMO, the last time national interest was really high. It would be interesting to see a Raptors-Rockets final. It could set the all-time low.

 

[Relayer]

LMAO!!! Their lead story tonight is Phil should apologize and withdraw from the US Open. Forget about the 15 players in contention heading into the final round. Lame!!!

 

[Kiber]

The World Cup just begins with Russia and Putin
The US Open is under way in the Hamptons
NFL teams making moves with camp one month away
MLB pennant races head toward the all star break

...and of course, what's on the front page? LeBron and a bunch of people shouting and screaming about where he might play next year, at the twilight of his career, just a week or so after the freaking season IS OVER.

Nice.

Over the last month I was mentioning something similar in regards to the simultaneously on-going NHL & NBA playoffs. Over in the NHL you had maybe the most amazing sports story of the year ... the possibility of an expansion team winning their championship in their first year. Think about that.... an EXPANSION team winning their championship. I don't care if it's NHL, NBA, NFL or NBA, it's a totally amazing possibility. This got almost zero mention during a typical 60-minute SC. They'd spend their complimentary 5 minutes on MLB, then their mandatory 30 seconds on the NHL with their Barry Melrose piece.... then it was right back to non-stop LeBron/NBA coverage.

It's a totally conflict-of-interest when what is considered a "sports reporting network" buys coverage rights to a league that they cover. Of course they are going to give it special attention. If you spend $3 billion on NBA rights, you would naturally do everything in your powers to increase interest in that investment.

 

[fairfaxlion2]

Over the last month I was mentioning something similar in regards to the simultaneously on-going NHL & NBA playoffs. Over in the NHL you had maybe the most amazing sports story of the year ... the possibility of an expansion team winning their championship in their first year. Think about that.... an EXPANSION team winning their championship. I don't care if it's NHL, NBA, NFL or NBA, it's a totally amazing possibility. This got almost zero mention during a typical 60-minute SC. They'd spend their complimentary 5 minutes on MLB, then their mandatory 30 seconds on the NHL with their Barry Melrose piece.... then it was right back to non-stop LeBron/NBA coverage.

It's a totally conflict-of-interest when what is considered a "sports reporting network" buys coverage rights to a league that they cover. Of course they are going to give it special attention. If you spend $3 billion on NBA rights, you would naturally do everything in your powers to increase interest in that investment.

The NBA was at a point where it needed to revitalize itself through one or more of the following: contraction, a shorter season, fewer playoff teams, shorter playoff season. A lackluster TV deal would have sent thre NBA the right signals for some change away from relics of the David Stern-era. Then along comes ESPN, led by a junkie, and doubles everyone else’s offer. This sent the NBA a signal to sustain something that’s been in decline since 1999. It’s the NBA’s gain but ESPN will never profit from the deal unless the Knicks, Bulls, or Lakers start making the finals every season