The "Why SportsCenter Sucks" Thread

bsaza2358 · 06-13-2007, 03:04 PM

It is a well-known fact that SportsCenter on ESPN has been in a freefall for some time in terms of quality and usefullness. Discuss the problems with the show.

Giantsfan1080 · 06-13-2007, 03:07 PM

Everything. But in all reality it is Disney's fault which is kind of a shame since I'm a big Disney fan.

MaxV · 06-13-2007, 03:08 PM

LOL, the "spin-off" thread.

Yeah, the only SC that I've enjoyed in that last couple of years was the one right after the Colts won the SB. And that was for obvious reasons.

bsaza2358 · 06-13-2007, 03:08 PM

On my now-defunct blog, I wrote a piece about how SportsCenter jumped the shark. The text is below:

Quote:

Originally, Sports Center ("SC") existed to show sports highlights from around the country and the world on a fledgling cable network called ESPN. In the mid 80's to early 90's, the show grew in popularity with the emergence of sportscasting legends Chris Berman, Bob Lee, Dan Patrick, Craig Kilborn, and Rich Eisen, with up and coming stars Kenny Mayne and Stuart Scott. [Blogger's Note: Chris Berman has fallen from stardom like Tori Spelling. He lives off his prior reputation, he offers nothing to any show he's on, and he gets paid ludicrously well for sucking at life. While Berman was instrumental in building SC into a franchise, he now offers nothing to sports or sports entertainment.] The show was a hodgepodge of great bits, amazing writing, and it was driven by the anchor personalities. It wasn't about advertising or market share, it was about good TV and a solid broadcast. ESPN built a monopoly by hiring the best talent and putting out the best broadcast. I used to watch it 3 times a day in middle school, high school, and college...

Flash forward to 2006, and the show has long-since become a parody of itself. The legendary anchors have moved on with their own failed projects, and the new generation of sportscasters have become self-centered douchebags more concerned with their own exposure than the quality of their work. The writing is painfully cliched, the show is formulaic, and the anchors, with few exceptions, don't seem to have any passion. Let's not forget that there are so many sports being televised these days, that the anchors can't even devote enough time to sports anyone cares about. Do you think I care who won the Texas Regional 4H Club Sheep Humping Contest? NO! I want the major sports, college athletics, and interesting stuff. Trust me, no one needs to see the guy in Bangledesh who runs straight into an elephant's anus. This may be good TV, but it has its place on FOX. The Budweiser Hot Seat, the Coors Light Sixpack Bullet Points, and all the other idiotic promotions annoy the hell out of me. And let's not forget that every 3 minutes of crappy television product must be matched with 2 minutes of even worse advertisements. ESPN: Just because you essentially have a monopoly doesn't mean you are not responsible to put out a quality broadcast. Get off your butts, hire some quality talent, play the highlights, and cut the commercials, product placements, and cheesy question segments. No one cares about them. Get back to the basics, use your capabilities, and give the consumer a good show.

Paul · 06-13-2007, 03:08 PM

Skip Bayless.

Edit: I thought it was the whole Espn not just SC. But still Bayless

M.O.T.H. · 06-13-2007, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul

Skip Bayless.

not sports center but, doesnt matter...that dude has a creepy man crush on Manu...oh and he's a moron.

Boston · 06-13-2007, 03:12 PM

It's become one big popularity contest.

NYmoney · 06-13-2007, 03:12 PM

same stories every day. EVERY SINGLE DAY. I don't even watch it anymore.

JF4 · 06-13-2007, 03:12 PM

Canadian SC is worse.

Hawk · 06-13-2007, 03:13 PM

I just want to see the damn score and I have to wait thru 30 minutes of them saying how underrated the Spurs are and how great Duncan is. Hell, I'll go to the computer

drowe · 06-13-2007, 03:23 PM

yeah, the problem with sportscenter is they devote sooooooo much of their hour show to the "big" stories that nobody cares about. Barry Bonds, A-Rod, Mike Vick are the big winners now. but, i'm sure very few people turn on SC to get their daily Vick's Dog update. AND, when they're not doing one of the 3 or 4 stories that they've decided they're married to for a month, they're doing lame human interest stories about some one legged albino dwarf in utah that made a free throw during his JV basketball game. again, this is NOT why people watch SportsCenter.
Scores and Highlights. That's what I want.

KCJ58 · 06-13-2007, 03:23 PM

Sportcenter is the best show ever...

it dosn't suck

bsaza2358 · 06-13-2007, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCJ58

Sportcenter is the best show ever...

it dosn't suck

I will now assume you were kidding and made a tasteless joke.

KCJ58 · 06-13-2007, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bsaza2358

I will now assume you were kidding and made a tasteless joke.

no im serious its my favorite show...

no joke or as -black likes to say it "No ****"

bsaza2358 · 06-13-2007, 03:26 PM

May I ask how old you are? It is a matter of curiosity more than anything.

ShutDwn · 06-13-2007, 03:28 PM

They suck because the entire cast of "personalities" sucks the **** of one team from each major sport.

All of them say the same thing about the same topic every day of the week. None of them actually have their own opinions all of them are the same. Except some like to yell it or be a total d-bag like Stephen A. smith and Rome. Not about SC I realize, but the point remains.

I used to like PTI because they were atleast a little different from the guys on SC, but now they aren't any different.

Oh, and I hate when they say "coming up" and you have to wait till the end of the show.

Shane P. Hallam · 06-13-2007, 03:29 PM

That new thing on the right showing all the stories. Just makes the show feel awkward.

Paranoidmoonduck · 06-13-2007, 03:33 PM

I haven't watched an episode in over 6 months, but it has sucked way longer than that.

Really, the issue is that ESPN has no reason to stay true to it's roots. They could trot out some dancing elephants with plasma tv's strapped to their sides and probably still be the best delivery method for sports highlights on cable. Fox sports highlights shows suck (because they're trying to be ESPN), and most other networks don't even try.

etk · 06-13-2007, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JF4

Canadian SC is worse.

Quoted For Absolute Truth.

Sportscenter makes it so easy for me to hate hockey...

Shane P. Hallam · 06-13-2007, 03:34 PM

This is exactly why I just watch "Sports Night" instead.

Don Vito · 06-13-2007, 03:37 PM

Every episode is about the same thing and the same athletes. It has been that way since like 2 summers ago when they did an episode in every US state and played that annoying John Mellencamp song just about every ******* commercial.

Scar · 06-13-2007, 03:38 PM

What really sucks is ESPN's Sports Ticker during baseball season. Just show the stinking scores and keep it moving! We don't need to take 2 minutes per game showing useless stat after useless stat after useless stat. If I wanted to know how many hits a pitcher gave up, I'd be looking on the internet. When I'm reading the bottom of my TV screen, I just want the stinkin scores!

MaxV · 06-13-2007, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scar

What really sucks is ESPN's Sports Ticker during baseball season. Just show the stinking scores and keep it moving! We don't need to take 2 minutes per game showing useless stat after useless stat after useless stat. If I wanted to know how many hits a pitcher gave up, I'd be looking on the internet. When I'm reading the bottom of my TV screen, I just want the stinkin scores!

I agree, at this point you might be just better off checking the score on the internet also.

BuckNaked · 06-13-2007, 04:16 PM

The worse is that guy on ESPNEWS who unecessarily rolls his tongue for every single latin player.

S4L · 06-13-2007, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JBond93

That new thing on the right showing all the stories. Just makes the show feel awkward.

I've taken a shining to it, just because if you're waiting for a segment, you know almost exactly when it will come on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scar

What really sucks is ESPN's Sports Ticker during baseball season. Just show the stinking scores and keep it moving! We don't need to take 2 minutes per game showing useless stat after useless stat after useless stat. If I wanted to know how many hits a pitcher gave up, I'd be looking on the internet. When I'm reading the bottom of my TV screen, I just want the stinkin scores!

I disagree. If I don't need to know a score right away, I can much more lazily watch the ticker to see what happened on the day, and the stats also tip me off as to how my fantasy players did and any guys to look out for. I know that I can do all of this online, but with the ticker I don't have to get off of my couch (I assume my computer is a lot further from the TV than for most of you).

A lot of the other complaints are valid. But for what SportsCenter is, it's still a good show. A lot of people complain about all the analysis they do instead of just highlights, but some of the analysts do know their stuff, even if they aren't the brightest bulbs in the storage locker.