ESPN Does NOT Fear Jeremy Lin Overkill

Written by Ben Koo on .

Earlier, I blogged that ESPN would be wise to not overmanufacture debates and tangents regarding Jeremy Lin's story as many fans run, hide, and fight anything jammed down their throats with such vigor. 

For those holding out hope ESPN would temper their coverage and not crank up the manufactured debate and fluff machine, the evidence below doesn't bode well for those still in recovery from Tebowmania induced comatose.


The overly obnoxious and cute Lin puns are already wearing thin and the continued tying of Lin to Tebow only taints Lin's story with an ominous cloud of skepticism. As I said earlier, comparing the two is not like comparing apples to apples but rather comparing an apple to an Apple Iphone.

If you were curious, the Tebow vs. Lin feature has already run twice today and clocks in at 3 minutes and 8 seconds, approximately the same amount of time Tim Tebow is actually a decent quarterback per game. 

ESPN and the media aren't going to pivot away from this story anytime soon and rightfully so. For now though, I'd settle for just a single day without Lin and Tebow in the same sentence and an end to the Lin puns that are just as painul on the ears as Carl Lewis singing the national anthem at this point.

Gracis Beyond The Bets.


Where in the world is Nikola Pekovic is seriously the greatest thing ever

Written by Matt Yoder on .


The Minnesota Timberwolves have had a bit more to cheer about this year compared to their very recent and very dismal past.  Ricky Rubio has given the franchise a shot in the arm, and the team isn't in the Western Conference cellar for once.  Surely though, the best thing to come out of Minnesota this year is the video you'll see below.  It features second year Montenegrin center Nikola Pekovic starring in his version of "Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?" aptly titled "Where in the world is Nikola Pekovic."  According to the T'Wolves' Youtube video description, it's the introduction to the in-house trivia contest at Target Center. 

Perhaps it's the sucker within me for a very dry, ironic sense of humor, but I have laughed out loud every time I've seen this video.  Who wouldn't hire Nikola Pekovic to be their classic comedy straight man in a heartbeat?  It's long past time for the My Giant remake, right?

As if the original Carmen Sandiego music and lyrics aren't ridiculous enough ("she's a sticky fingered pilcher from Berlin down to Belize"), Nikola Pekovic does everything in his power to perpetuate the awkward foriegn big man stereotype.  The results are phenomenal.  An ESPY has to be right around the corner.


ESPN to air Kentucky basketball practice today

Written by Joe Lucia on .

ESPN will apparently be airing a simulcast of Kentucky's basketball practice on ESPNU today.

Lexington TV station WKYT agreed to air the practice after Kentucky's victory over Vanderbilt on Saturday, when coach John Calipari said he wanted to do something to break up the week, as the Wildcats don't have a game. ESPN quickly jumped on the offer to simulcast the program on ESPNU, as the station wasn't airing any live programming during the timeframe of the practice. The practice is open to all Kentucky students, staff, and faculty.

Now, while this seems pretty cool on the outside, digging in gives me a little bit of a negative view of things. Because it's a simulcast, the ESPN broadcast will be manned by local announcers as opposed to their own crew. Now, while this isn't necessarily a bad thing, imagine the bias. It could get a little ugly. I don't see how watching practice, without unbiased announcing or a floor reporter, is going to give viewers some sort of insight into the inner workings of the Kentucky program. I'd understand if there was some sort of "behind the scenes interview and analysis" but it's just going to be video of the Kentucky practice, with a pair of local announcers narrating it. At least put Digger Phelps there to debate UK fans on how to act during practice to add some sort of spice.

I know ESPNU is hunting for programming, but a simulcast of practice seems to be a little much. Is anyone that's not a Kentucky fan even interested in this? 

[h/t: Kentucky Sports]


Ron Jaworski is leaving the Monday Night Football booth

Written by Matt Yoder on .


In a very surprising release just coming down, ESPN has announced Ron Jaworski is departing the Monday Night Football booth to go back to the studio.  ESPN will move forward with a two man booth for Monday Nights in Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden.  Along with this news is a five year contract extension for Jaws that will have him appear on both Sunday and Monday Countdown shows and other platforms including his own SportsCenter Specials...


While ESPN is careful not to deem Jaws leaving the booth as a demotion in any sort of way, especially given the five year contract extension, this is a stunning move.  One immediately has to ask whether or not the booth was becoming too small for both Gruden and Jaws?  There is always give and take with a three man booth and there were a few times where I sensed elbowing for position on MNF telecasts, but it wasn't anything drastic.  I always thought Gruden and Jaws worked well together and made an enjoyable team with Tirico even if some of their QB love was redundant.

It's the first time since 1997 that ESPN will have a two man booth announcing NFL games and it aligns ESPN with the other networks in having their top team be a two man booth.  

In the instant analysis, moving Jaws to the studio will greatly help all shows he will appear on.  He's not a yeller or a laughbox and is one of the supreme X's and O's analysts in the game.  Having him appear on SportsCenter and Countdown will make those shows smarter and better.  

It will also put the pressure on Gruden as the lone MNF analyst for the first time in his career.  ESPN is going all-in with Gruden as their top NFL analyst, so maybe this is his chance to move beyond his "this guy" stigma and become one of the top analysts in the sport.  If anything, perhaps having him become the lone MNF analyst will give him the opportunity to be more hard-hitting.

However it breaks down, give credit to ESPN for making a bold move and not being afraid to shuffle their top talent in an industry that too often unequivocally supports the status quo.  This move should make their entire NFL presentation better.


The biggest threat to Linsanity may be media hype and overkill

Written by Ben Koo on .








NBC Sports signs a huge conference deal

Written by Joe Lucia on .



It's actually.... the Colonial Athletic Association.




[h/t: Baltimore Sun]


Jeremy Lin drains a three to beat Raptors

Written by Joe Lucia on .







Kate Upton rejects Darren Rovell on national TV

Written by Joe Lucia on .






Written by Ben Koo on .








Your Valentine's Day college basketball announcing schedule

Written by Matt Yoder on .



Tuesday, February 14




















H/T Daniel!


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