30-Day Challenge Day - 11: The four-letter network and the Association

That four letter network is in Bristol, CT and one of the most popular cable channels out there. That's right it's ESPN. The Association is the National Basketball Association to clarify that too. They've had a little obessesion with each other lately.

See, ESPN has been carrying the NBA for a while now so it makes sense that by talking about the games and players leads to their network getting attention and viewership. I went to school for advertising, I know how that works and appreciate that bills need to get paid so families can eat. However we now need to draw the line after this winter sports season.

That straw has been added to the donkey's back. I have a feeling they have forgotten that there is more than just one sport, or league, on this earth. I know you can say that about their NFL coverage too, but that's not my point today. My point is that the night game one of the NHL finals ended, what did they lead off sports-center with? That's right, talking about a game FIVE in the NBA SEMI-finals. The start of the FINALS in ANY sport carry far more weight than the SEMI-finals of any other sports, all biases aside. The 6-7 hours a day of non-stop breakdowns of Kobe and KG and LeBron are too much for me to handle. This was one of the most exciting post-seasons of hockey ever and if you didn't know better you would have had no idea what was going on. I mean, the team with the longest Cup drought (at the time) ended it's drought. It wasn't in a small market either, it was Chicago! The 3rd largest tv market in the country!! *deep breath*

So who's to blame? Well, partially ESPN and partially the league. Before the lockout a few years back ESPN carried the NHL. After the lockout they dropped their coverage. There's plenty of blame to go around and it's not just one party that's responsible. Hell, even us hockey fans shoulder some of it.

So now let's hunker down for a summer of coverage that includes the following:
Lebron watch 2010
Favre watch 2010
Tiger watch 2010
...as well as a few references to NFL training camps (thank God!!)

Happy ESPN-ing!