Random Media Thoughts

ESPN is pushing Rick Reilly so aggressively that it is reminiscent of the way the WWF or the WCW operated after signing a big name wrestler away from one another.

- Both LaRocque and Babcock recently commented upon how frustrating it is to listen to almost every show on WEEI, other than Dale and Holley. I'm on board with that. In fact I've almost entirely replaced sports talk radio with a number of daily podcasts. However, there is one point I want to make. It does not bother me so much that the Big Show operates as it does. I just can't get over the fact that it is so popular.

- I don't need people to talk during the home run contest. In fact if they just played some good music and let guys hit home runs I'd be all set.

- That last point brings me to a bigger issue. Over the last several years we've seen an explosion of blogs. I'd attribute this to two developments:

1. The technology has developed to the point that anyone can get an opinion out there. Attracting readers and building a following is tough, yet not impossible.

2. In general people know a lot about sports. We're not talking high-end physics, game theory, or internal medicine here. A lot of my friends have played competitive sports almost their entire lives. So when guys like Peter Vecsey (listen to the Bill Simmons podcast when he was a guest) act like they are bigger than the games, it gets old fast. Along those lines I don't mind that Chris Berman is a caricature of himself at this point as he gets by entirely on his schtick. It is what it is. I only ask that he stops pretending to accurately predict the picks on NFL draft day when we all know someone is telling him who will go. That's a reasonable request.

Ultimately the blogging revolution has sent the message that people from all walks of life can contribute insightful, well thought out arguments, opinions, and coverage. As people have increasingly found their own voices ESPN has throw more talking heads at us. On occasion this works. I consistently learn from Ron Jaworski and Peter Gammons. However, their work is rare. In reality a lot of us are simply looking for highlights from ESPN. You know like back in the mid 90s. Yet as several members of ROOMOFZEN have previously noted, SportsCenter is hard to watch. This is difficult for guys in their mid to late 20s who used to consider it one of their favorite shows. This is not intended to be an "ESPN sucks rant" of which there are plenty already. To be fair I read ESPN.com a lot, consider ESPN news a good source of highlights, crack a smile when one of the anchors says, “(insert baseball player’s name) has 99 problems but a pitch ain’t one” after a home run, and realize that ESPN does a lot of things well. Having said all that I was disappointed in a few of the network's decisions:

5. Network policy that prevents employees from appearing on non-ESPN radio shows. Come on now.

4. Probably 2 summers ago now, SportsCenter ran some fake press conferences where Steve Phillips pretended to be a GM for MLB teams and answered questions about what those teams needed to do. I distinctly remember Buster Olney waving in a crowd of journalists and asking questions. This is ironic because Olney is a real journalist and a good one at that. As a side note Olney’s full name is Robert Stansbury Olney III. I’ll be honest I don’t see the Buster thing. The nickname Buster should be reserved for guys like Vince Wilfork. By the way if you don’t believe me or I didn’t explain it that well – read this.

3. SportsCenters’s day in every American state. Probably happened 2 summers ago too.

2. The TitleTown campaign that is going on as I type this.

1. The death of Baseball Tonight. I recognize that Peter Gammons had to step away for health reasons. And the whole Harold Reynolds situation was a debacle. Regardless that show is not what it used to be. I could go on but this does the trick.

Ultimately these examples are in line with the direction of the network. And much like WEEI, ESPN is as popular as ever. So I don't know what to say.

Josh Hamilton Is Strong

Josh Hamilton has turned heads all season long in his break out campaign. You probably know by now that Hamilton missed three years of baseball altogether as he battled drugs and inner demons. Or maybe you heard that Nolan Ryan compared Hamilton to Mickey Mantle because of their talent. Translation he's a big dude with power that runs like a deer. Furthermore, on ESPN's coverage of the home run derby Steve Phillips compared the sound of the ball coming off Hamilton's bat to the way balls sounded coming off Bo Jackson's bat. BO JACKSON! And yes this Steve Phillips. Ah the power of Internet archives.

Unfortunately Hamilton did not win the home run derby after a ridiculous 28 home runs in the first round. But that's not what this post is really about. This is about me drafting Hamilton in the 15th round of my fantasy baseball draft and watching him develop into the cornerstone of GreenwellWasRobbed's* offensive attack. And I know I'm not alone on this one. People across the country are reaping the rewards of taking a flier on Hamilton. I don't like to talk fantasy sports too often. In reality nobody cares about someone else's team. However, now seemed like as good a time as any to step back and enjoy the Josh Hamilton experience. Good times.

* This is a reference to Mike Greenwell's contention that Jose Canseco did not deserve his 1988 MVP award. Although to be fair Greenwell didn't deserve it either for his repeated attempts to end Ellis Burks' career.