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| SportsMonday, August 20, 2007 11:47 PM CDT |
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Deacon: ‘Worldwide leader’ may lose its following
Once upon a time in the infancy of cable television, one maverick network came up with the radical idea of showing mini-movie versions of radio hits. Yes, some of us remember when MTV actually played music videos. Similarly, some of us remember when ESPN thrived on showing sports highlights. Once self-proclaimed the “worldwide leader” in sports programming, the flagship and its spin-offs have devolved into nothing more than screaming commentators entrenched in programming designed specifically for network self-promotion. We’re constantly inundated by loudmouths feeding unbalanced coverage. They’ll waste more time telling us “Who’s Now” than actually telling us who won. We get tons on the Yankees and Red Sox, but very little on other teams. No wonder the station has earned nicknames like “Eastern Seaboard Programming Network” and ‘The Boo-yah Channel.” On the rare occasions when SportsCenter does show highlights, it’s still blatant self-promotion. Recent episodes have led off with NASCAR Busch Series (a.k.a. Triple-A) races and preseason NFL games shown earlier that day on ESPN. Yes, preseason! What happened to showing highlights of games that actually count, even if they were on other networks? You can get plenty of Arena Football or X-Games clips, but good luck finding anything from the NHL playoffs. The days of “The Big Show” with Keith and Dan are long gone, and it’s a shame. Big Ten Not? On the topic of sports networks, Big Ten officials better find a resolution to their squabble with the major cable companies if they want their fledgling enterprise to be a success. The network is supposed to launch at the end of the month, but most cable providers — including Insight — have yet to finalize a deal to carry the channel. The major sticking point seems to be whether the Big Ten Network will be available on extended basic programming (like Comcast Sports Net) or on a sports-tier upgrade (like NFL Network). It’s turned into a test of wills, and it’s hard to imagine the cable companies conceding. Boomer’s hard knocks A familiar face could be found on HBO the past few weeks. Hard Knocks, a series on the Kansas City Chiefs’ training camp, features one prominent storyline focusing on former Illinois State linebacker Boomer Grigsby. The gregarious Grigsby receives frequent ribbing from teammates, and his mohawk hairstyle looks a bit strange. But his segments in the series’ first two episodes have been among the best parts of the show. In the premiere, he seemed to be making a successful transition from linebacker to fullback. Although it was somewhat odd watching him catch passes out of the backfield, his lead blocking was ferocious. He even was anointed a “folk hero” by Herm Edwards during a coaches meeting featured in the second episode. Unfortunately, moments later he’s shown suffering a rib injury that’s caused him to miss the Chiefs’ preseason games and slide down the depth chart. Even then, his strong desire for excellence is evident in his dejection the inability to assist his teammates in a loss at Cleveland. He’s still one of the brightest spots in a very entertaining show that’s worth watching. ‘Z’ cashes in The Cubs made the right move in giving ace Carlos Zambrano a long-term contract extension. Now the team must show Zambrano he made the right move in staying. Chicago must continue doing everything possible to end its nearly century-long championship drought. Interestingly, the announcement of the extension came immediately before the start of a crucial home series against the rival Cardinals, just as St. Louis was turning the tightening battle in the NL Central into a three-horse race. Coincidence? Maybe not. Chemistry experiment A couple weeks ago, White Sox games got a lot more interesting to watch for about a week. Not because the team got on a mini-roll, and not because Bobby Jenks retired everyone he faced. Steve Stone’s turn spelling Darrin Jackson alongside Hawk Harrelson enhanced the telecasts tremendously. The two developed an immediate chemistry on par with the connection Hawk had with Tom “Wimpy” Paciorek in the ’90s. Stone’s knowledge of the game is immeasurable, and all those years working with Harry Caray honed his broadcast talents. Almost everything he says happens — like Juan Uribe’s game-winning homer in extra innings against Cleveland. The only downside was hearing Hawk calling him “Stone Pony.” But Jackson’s back now, and the broadcasts have reverted back to unfulfilling and mediocre — just like the team. Joe Deacon is a copy editor for the Pantagraph. He can be reached at jdeacon@pantagraph.com. Get area high school sports scores and statistics at Varsity Sports. E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS Show comments |  Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories |
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Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.
Nunu wrote on Aug 20, 2007 2:54 PM:
no name wrote on Aug 20, 2007 10:05 AM:
ll cool j wrote on Aug 19, 2007 8:08 PM:
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