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Anyone else as ticked off as I am? (1 Viewer)

sholditch

sholditch

Footballguy
OK, they start out the pregame talking about how hard it is going to be for the Falcons to just focus on football and try to keep press distractions from detracting from that. Then they proceed to talk about literally NOTHING OTHER than Vick for the entire game. One stretch of "commentary" was particularly enlightening for how ESPN wants to run football games and how they are going to permanently ruin MNF. During this stretch Suzie Kolber was interviewing Chris Mortenson (great brain trust there) and Mort was saying some completey unimportant and unenlightening crap about the Vick case, and during this stretch, Harrington throws two consecutive passes to go about 60 yards up the field, and allow Jerrious Norwood to score on a beautiful run up the sidelines. They never leave the interview, even after the Falcons are celebrating the touchdown. Directly after they break away for about two seconds to acknowledge that the Falcons did indeed score on two amazing plays, they go right back to the interview and pretend that by briefly paying attention to the actual game, that we have missed some truly insighhtful commentary on the Vick case. I can't remember what that was because A) it added nothing to the discussion that had already been repeated about 20 times at that point in the broadcast, and B) I was trying to watch the game. Immediately after that scoring drive, the Bengals entire offensive series was sacrificed so some award-winning columnist, who has never covered sports in her life, can talk to Suzie about the effect that Vick's plea has on the Atlanta community. I am not exaggerating when I say that this woman was jabbering about nothing for about five straight minutes of game time.

I get that this was the day that Vick pled guilty, but there's something that ESPN obviously still doesn't get. People watch football to watch football. These people only want to hear people talk about the game in front of them. And if it's a preseason game, and they are still watching, you can bet your ### that they are not a casual fan. Chances are they are really into football if they will stay up and watch it when it means nothing. And these very people that are boosting ESPN's ratings and giving them more advertising dollars are made to watch one person after another repeat the same stupid speech about Michael Vick instead of being allowed to pay attention to the game.

For those of you that have watched ESPN operate over the years, you know that this is a trend. SportsCenter was too simple a show so they bring on Rush Limbaugh to add a political element. Bomb. Same parent company decides MNF commentary needs more humor so they bring in Dennnis Miller. Bomb. These people for some reason simply can't beleive that football all by itself has enough inherent interest to keep viewers, and now that MNF is in their hands, you can expect the games to be littered with celebrity guest spots talking about their new show, pop stars, and commentary that focuses on anything BUT the game being played.

I don't know about you but I am writing ESPN a letter and telling them what I thought of their travesty of a broadcast. Here's the form:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?...=contact/espntv

 
ESPN, for the most part, SUCKS. You should make Phil Mushnick of the NY Post an everyday read (or every other day, whatever). He goes into painstaking detail as to how and why ESPN continues to be a joke.

 
Being active in the Shark Pool, you would think I am OK with discussing things repeatedly, but I have to agree that this Vick thing is just mind-numbing. It's too big a story and too fresh (since he plead yesterday) for them not to discuss it, but it was BY FAR the majority of the conversation, versus analyzing what was happening on the field and/or what else has been happening around the league this preseason.

 
What kills me is that while all they did was talk about Vick, the Falcons put together a great game against a very good opponent. And these people talking over the game are the same ones who talk about how hard it is for the Falcons to get past the distractions, when they are the very ones distracting people!!

 
Last night was terrible..on and on and on about Vick. I didn't have a problem with it pregame, that was to be expected. I wouldn't have had a problem with the crew acknowledging it at the beginning of the game, but ALL game long??? The dumbest part was having an ESPN reporter(Kolber) interviewing an ESPN reporter(Mortenson). Why couldn't Mort just pick up a microphone himself? ESPN really sucked last night. I think I wore out the mute button.

 
I'm trying to get people to write in. This forums sees tons of actions and if they get 100 pissed-off emails today they might *MIGHT* think twice about doing it to that degree in the regular season. Power to the people. Let's get our MNF back!

:mellow: :goodposting:

 
Preseason games in general are not meaningful. They are addressing the only story that was relevant last night regarding the team that was playing. The Falcons are probably the worst team in football. I'm sure they would have rather had 2006 WSOP reruns, to be honest....

 
sholditch said:
OK, they start out the pregame talking about how hard it is going to be for the Falcons to just focus on football and try to keep press distractions from detracting from that. Then they proceed to talk about literally NOTHING OTHER than Vick for the entire game. One stretch of "commentary" was particularly enlightening for how ESPN wants to run football games and how they are going to permanently ruin MNF. During this stretch Suzie Kolber was interviewing Chris Mortenson (great brain trust there) and Mort was saying some completey unimportant and unenlightening crap about the Vick case, and during this stretch, Harrington throws two consecutive passes to go about 60 yards up the field, and allow Jerrious Norwood to score on a beautiful run up the sidelines. They never leave the interview, even after the Falcons are celebrating the touchdown. Directly after they break away for about two seconds to acknowledge that the Falcons did indeed score on two amazing plays, they go right back to the interview and pretend that by briefly paying attention to the actual game, that we have missed some truly insighhtful commentary on the Vick case. I can't remember what that was because A) it added nothing to the discussion that had already been repeated about 20 times at that point in the broadcast, and B) I was trying to watch the game. Immediately after that scoring drive, the Bengals entire offensive series was sacrificed so some award-winning columnist, who has never covered sports in her life, can talk to Suzie about the effect that Vick's plea has on the Atlanta community. I am not exaggerating when I say that this woman was jabbering about nothing for about five straight minutes of game time.

I get that this was the day that Vick pled guilty, but there's something that ESPN obviously still doesn't get. People watch football to watch football. These people only want to hear people talk about the game in front of them. And if it's a preseason game, and they are still watching, you can bet your ### that they are not a casual fan. Chances are they are really into football if they will stay up and watch it when it means nothing. And these very people that are boosting ESPN's ratings and giving them more advertising dollars are made to watch one person after another repeat the same stupid speech about Michael Vick instead of being allowed to pay attention to the game.

For those of you that have watched ESPN operate over the years, you know that this is a trend. SportsCenter was too simple a show so they bring on Rush Limbaugh to add a political element. Bomb. Same parent company decides MNF commentary needs more humor so they bring in Dennnis Miller. Bomb. These people for some reason simply can't beleive that football all by itself has enough inherent interest to keep viewers, and now that MNF is in their hands, you can expect the games to be littered with celebrity guest spots talking about their new show, pop stars, and commentary that focuses on anything BUT the game being played.

I don't know about you but I am writing ESPN a letter and telling them what I thought of their travesty of a broadcast. Here's the form:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?...=contact/espntv
Click to expand...
:lmao:
 
Email sent to ESPN. The commentary was unbearable last night, I agree. Jaws is a great addition to the crew IMO though.

I hope we don't have to hear about all this Vick crap throughout the season.

 
C Diesel said:
Email sent to ESPN. The commentary was unbearable last night, I agree. Jaws is a great addition to the crew IMO though.I hope we don't have to hear about all this Vick crap throughout the season.
Click to expand...
If we heard about Katrina all season long when the Saints were playing, I guess we'll hear about Vick every time the Falcons play.
 
Excellent posting, Sholditch. That was just unbearable. I couldn't even enjoy just watching the game because the broadcast was more about off the field news than the actual game itself. Freaking BS.
 
500 character limit :goodposting:

And I was honest and categorized it as a complaint; so therefore, it will most likely go straight to the junk folder.

 
ceo3west said:
They should rename the network E! SPN
Click to expand...
:goodposting: :bowtie: Oh, one more thing: :goodposting:From the sports perspective, ESPN has been heading downhill now for roughly a decade. It is far more entertainment than sports, and while they are hardly struggling for money (so the masses apparently don't mind), something has been lost in the transition.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Just sent this...

I was disappointed at the way ESPN chose to handle the coverage during the broadcast of the Cincinnati/Atlanta game. Although it's pre-season, as a football fan, my focus was on the game at hand rather than the Vick coverage that had permeated ESPN and other outlets all day.

What was most disappointing was the fact that the sideline interview obscured an Atlanta drive that resulted in a TD. Aside from a brief mention, the coverage curtailed back to the interview as if the game was secondary.

 
I completely agree with the original poster... it's not like they didn't discuss Vick for a huge part of NFL Countdown immediately before the game. ESPN lost me as a regular viewer about 15 years ago. Now, I only watch to see a sporting event I'm interested in.

 
Last night was absolutely ridiculous, but just more proof of just how much of a joke ESPN has become. They're more drama than sports now. T.O. antics, Kobe's rape case, Bonds, Who's Now/Next, and now Vick. They just go too far with this crap.

The worst part about these terrible interviews on MNF is the split screen that they do, where they shrink the game window to about a quarter of the actual size, just so they can stick Mort's mug or whoever they're interviewing, in another window, surrounded by WAY TOO MANY graphics in the background that just eat up the screen. I shouldn't have to squint at my 42" HD picture, to try to barely see Norwood dodge a few defenders & tight-rope the sidelines on his way to a TD.

P.S. Tony Kornheiser is still an idiot. I don't know how a guy can be a sports writer for this long and seem to know so little about the game of football. He is always just pervading these already overwrought story-lines, and offers no true football analysis. It's completely excruciating. At least Dennis Miller was mildly entertaining in the role, but I think any football fan would still prefer a true analyst over some "edgy" personality, stuck in the booth solely for their witty, inciting banter, and to provide entertainment value if a game turns too one-sided.

 
I like ESPNNews. Other than that I stopped wathching Sportscenter and ESPN regularly ages ago. The announcers have made the shows more about them then about announcing the clips.

 
Jason Wood said:
Being active in the Shark Pool, you would think I am OK with discussing things repeatedly, but I have to agree that this Vick thing is just mind-numbing. It's too big a story and too fresh (since he plead yesterday) for them not to discuss it, but it was BY FAR the majority of the conversation, versus analyzing what was happening on the field and/or what else has been happening around the league this preseason.
Click to expand...
I agree Jason.To me, it was a crystal clear line defining what is entertainment and what is about football. Mike Vick has very little to do with the Falcons this season. This is Joey Harrington's team. In essence, any talk about Vick is basically for the "entertainment" value.I've struggled with the same thing in our Daily Email Updates. Once it was evident he was done for the year, I cut my coverage of the situation WAY back. As it really didn't matter anymore. I'll still include a note here and there as some people still want to know but for the most part, Mike Vick is completely off my radar because he's off the radar of anyone focused on the 2007 version of the NFL.J
 
ESPN News is so far and away better than SportsCenter, it's incomparable IMHO. To ESPN's credit, they must be doing something right as they're now the single most valuable cable TV property and THE crown jewel of Disney/ABC's media empire. But as their tendrils have extended into a broader reach (mile wide, inch deep), I think they've inevitably lost some of the hardcore fans like the Shark Poolers. I'm sure the NFL Network will get like that someday, too, but for now it's 100% goodness :goodposting:

 
Jason Wood said:
ESPN News is so far and away better than SportsCenter, it's incomparable IMHO. To ESPN's credit, they must be doing something right as they're now the single most valuable cable TV property and THE crown jewel of Disney/ABC's media empire. But as their tendrils have extended into a broader reach (mile wide, inch deep), I think they've inevitably lost some of the hardcore fans like the Shark Poolers. I'm sure the NFL Network will get like that someday, too, but for now it's 100% goodness :headbang:
Click to expand...
ESPN News is where I watch my highlights now. I banned sportscenter earlier in the year.
 
sholditch said:
OK, they start out the pregame talking about how hard it is going to be for the Falcons to just focus on football and try to keep press distractions from detracting from that. Then they proceed to talk about literally NOTHING OTHER than Vick for the entire game. One stretch of "commentary" was particularly enlightening for how ESPN wants to run football games and how they are going to permanently ruin MNF. During this stretch Suzie Kolber was interviewing Chris Mortenson (great brain trust there) and Mort was saying some completey unimportant and unenlightening crap about the Vick case, and during this stretch, Harrington throws two consecutive passes to go about 60 yards up the field, and allow Jerrious Norwood to score on a beautiful run up the sidelines. They never leave the interview, even after the Falcons are celebrating the touchdown. Directly after they break away for about two seconds to acknowledge that the Falcons did indeed score on two amazing plays, they go right back to the interview and pretend that by briefly paying attention to the actual game, that we have missed some truly insighhtful commentary on the Vick case. I can't remember what that was because A) it added nothing to the discussion that had already been repeated about 20 times at that point in the broadcast, and B) I was trying to watch the game. Immediately after that scoring drive, the Bengals entire offensive series was sacrificed so some award-winning columnist, who has never covered sports in her life, can talk to Suzie about the effect that Vick's plea has on the Atlanta community. I am not exaggerating when I say that this woman was jabbering about nothing for about five straight minutes of game time.

I get that this was the day that Vick pled guilty, but there's something that ESPN obviously still doesn't get. People watch football to watch football. These people only want to hear people talk about the game in front of them. And if it's a preseason game, and they are still watching, you can bet your ### that they are not a casual fan. Chances are they are really into football if they will stay up and watch it when it means nothing. And these very people that are boosting ESPN's ratings and giving them more advertising dollars are made to watch one person after another repeat the same stupid speech about Michael Vick instead of being allowed to pay attention to the game.

For those of you that have watched ESPN operate over the years, you know that this is a trend. SportsCenter was too simple a show so they bring on Rush Limbaugh to add a political element. Bomb. Same parent company decides MNF commentary needs more humor so they bring in Dennnis Miller. Bomb. These people for some reason simply can't beleive that football all by itself has enough inherent interest to keep viewers, and now that MNF is in their hands, you can expect the games to be littered with celebrity guest spots talking about their new show, pop stars, and commentary that focuses on anything BUT the game being played.

I don't know about you but I am writing ESPN a letter and telling them what I thought of their travesty of a broadcast. Here's the form:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?...=contact/espntv
Click to expand...
I stated in another thread that Theismann was recently interviewed locally. He said that the powers that be wanted to make the show more "Issues oriented". Apparently Theismann was always "dragging the topic back to football". If preseason is any indication, I think he's telling it like it is. Long ago I ditched the MNF announcers and started tuning into the radio broadcasts(either Marv and Boomer or the local announcers for the teams playing. Need Sirius for those last 2 options but it's well worth it).
 
Jason Wood said:
ESPN News is so far and away better than SportsCenter, it's incomparable IMHO. To ESPN's credit, they must be doing something right as they're now the single most valuable cable TV property and THE crown jewel of Disney/ABC's media empire. But as their tendrils have extended into a broader reach (mile wide, inch deep), I think they've inevitably lost some of the hardcore fans like the Shark Poolers. I'm sure the NFL Network will get like that someday, too, but for now it's 100% goodness :coffee:
Click to expand...
Overextending is always a worry I think Jason. I worry about the NFLN doing the college show. That doesn't seem to fit. But overall, it's money. It's the only station I watch consistently outside of the games. :bag:It also helps that most of the stories that are "distracting" or take away from the game are negative. They don't sweep things under the rug, but they also have a vested interest in moving on from a Mike Vick or Briggs Lamborghini story and getting back to football. J
 
sholditch said:
I'm trying to get people to write in. This forums sees tons of actions and if they get 100 pissed-off emails today they might *MIGHT* think twice about doing it to that degree in the regular season. Power to the people. Let's get our MNF back! :fro: :bag:
Click to expand...
After watching the first 2 Monday night games in 06, I immediately emailed a complaint to ESPN and the returned response was thanks and we'll look into it. The thought of having to suffer through another year of MNF with these jokers is beyond depressing, Sunday is the new Monday. Please email and complain away these guys are killing a time honored tradition. :coffee:
 
Joe Bryant said:
Jason Wood said:
Being active in the Shark Pool, you would think I am OK with discussing things repeatedly, but I have to agree that this Vick thing is just mind-numbing. It's too big a story and too fresh (since he plead yesterday) for them not to discuss it, but it was BY FAR the majority of the conversation, versus analyzing what was happening on the field and/or what else has been happening around the league this preseason.
Click to expand...
I agree Jason.To me, it was a crystal clear line defining what is entertainment and what is about football. Mike Vick has very little to do with the Falcons this season. This is Joey Harrington's team. In essence, any talk about Vick is basically for the "entertainment" value.I've struggled with the same thing in our Daily Email Updates. Once it was evident he was done for the year, I cut my coverage of the situation WAY back. As it really didn't matter anymore. I'll still include a note here and there as some people still want to know but for the most part, Mike Vick is completely off my radar because he's off the radar of anyone focused on the 2007 version of the NFL.J
Click to expand...
So, what you are saying Joe, is that maybe one of those guys should be shanked, right? :coffee: (of course i am kidding... there are a few that will understand this comment and smile, i apologize to the rest of you in advance.)
 
I got the gist of the first post, and skipped all the rest, so forgive me for repeating what I am sure someone already said:

What did you expect?

It was a preseason game (meaningless), and the announcers rarely discuss the on field action, especially in a national broadcast. At least with the local homer announcers, they will know and talk about that 3rd string back, and #7 WR, but Tirico and Kornheiser? They are trying to appeal to as many viewers as possible, and ESPN felt they had to talk about the biggest story.

I watched a lot of that game, and basically ignored the announcers. Norwood is a crazy talent.

 
My favorite was when Berman referred to the situation as "one of the greatest tragedies in the history of all sports, not just football" or something to that effect.

I used to listen to the MNF radio broadcast also, while watching it on TV, but now that I have DirecTV the video delay makes that impossible. Bummer.

 
Skinsfansince72 said:
I stated in another thread that Theismann was recently interviewed locally. He said that the powers that be wanted to make the show more "Issues oriented". Apparently Theismann was always "dragging the topic back to football". If preseason is any indication, I think he's telling it like it is. Long ago I ditched the MNF announcers and started tuning into the radio broadcasts(either Marv and Boomer or the local announcers for the teams playing. Need Sirius for those last 2 options but it's well worth it).
Click to expand...
:popcorn: Yeah, heck of a note if you let a football game get in the way of letting us know how brilliant you are. Not looking forward to :football: on MNF this year. Praise God I live close enough to the Burg so I listen in on WDVE.

 
I almost completely lost it after the 4th quarter teaser for Sportscenter ..."I'm Joe So-and-so. Coming up next on SportsCenter....every word of the Mike Vick press conference."

Yeah! That's exactly what I'm looking for after hearing about it ad nauseam for 3 hours. :football:

My ears literally bled.

 
Right, I know that I should expect crap from ESPN by now, it's just that I expect the crap to at least make mention of football every now and then. IF they billed this show as "20 different announcers and figures discussing the Michael Vick case," how many people would have tuned in? Zero. People tune in, ESPECIALLY IN THE PRESEASON (this is the part you skipped over), to watch football. If someone is willing to watch a game that has zero impact, chances are this person is more than the casual fan and is watching to get a feeling for their teams prospects or to watch the development of new players (like, I dunno, a totally new starting QB or coach) and those viewers, the onees providing ESPN with their advertising pull, want to hear those things discussed. Aside from passing mentions, every single aspect of the game and both teams' prospects for the season was totally sacrificed so that each and every announcer (and journalist apparently) could get face time talking about a case that is for all intents and purposes a moot topic anyway.

I think that's BS. And I don't think people who just want to come home after work Monday and enjoy a football game in the evening should have to put up with it. And I don't think they should have to give up their MNF to avoid it. So keep writing letters and maybe we won't. Or do nothing and watch MNF descend into nothing but a promotional vehicle for shows and artists of the parent company, which they will NEVER run out of.

 
Agreed. It sucked.

That said, understand they are not aiming at us. Clearly, some consultancy has told them that actual football analysis doesn't bring ratings. The casual fan can't get enough of this crap. That is, until the Next Catastrophe comes along...

 
gferrell20 said:
Blackstar said:
WHO WAS THAT WOMAN??!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?!?!She talked for an entire drive without taking a ### #### breath.
Click to expand...
:shrug: I wondered the same thing.
Click to expand...
That was Cynthia Tucker, one of the editors for the AJC. Trust me when I say that she is just as vapid and ignorant on the editorial page as she was on the telecast.
 
Who still watches prime time games with the sound on? The commentary on these games has been horrible for years. These guys have been doing the same schtick forever and it isn't even very good to begin with. I would much rather listen to the radio than watch and have to hear those idiots.

The same can be said of the pregame and postgame shows. These guys try too hard to be funny and entertaining. Just call the game and give some occasional insight, otherwise ####.

 
Jayrod said:
sholditch said:
Here's the contact link for those clicking last post:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?...=contact/espntv
Click to expand...
:shrug: Uhhhhh.........
404 - FILE NOT FOUNDYou’ve requested an ESPN.com page that does not exist. If you’ve reached this page by selecting a bookmark that worked previously, it’s likely the file moved to a new location. Please use the site map below to find what you are looking for.
Click to expand...
Methinks they changed the link due to an influx of complaints, and hope that no one researches where the new link actually is.I sent them a "why cover the story on NFL Live, Sportscenter and pre-game show if you are gonna talk about it during the whole game?"

I guess they want us to know Boomer's take on it huh?

The only comment I liked was Jackson's......"don't tell me you found God in one day, show me with your actions" comment...or something in that realm, I was a little numb from all the constant, "Michael should be given a 2nd chance banter"

 
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DawnBTVS said:
What was most disappointing was the fact that the sideline interview obscured an Atlanta drive that resulted in a TD. Aside from a brief mention, the coverage curtailed back to the interview as if the game was secondary.
Click to expand...
I've already complained about this in two other threads. so I'll spare you all. :shrug: I did write to them 1st thing this morning and actually mentioned the same thing about not calling the plays durning the td drive, despite all of their focus on whether harrington can step in as qb.

Since there is an Atlanta MNF game again when he is sentenced 12/10, a letter campaign is certainly worth a shot!

eta - if you got the error message, try this link now; i just tried to go from the main espn page.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?...=contact/espntv

 
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