Scoop comments in ESPN: Not Waving but Drowning:
A lot of what Mushnick has to say seems to tie in with what we said earlier about the ESPN guys always being expected to chew over the latest listing of “hot chicks” as deemed by some magazine or other, with Dan enjoying the task to a frightening extent for a married man and Keith recusing himself to a ridiculous extent for a (still) single man. Hello?? I thought this was a sports network??
Then again, many people would tell you that ESPN has been going downhill for a long time. If you ever have some free time with nothing better to do, read the comments about SportsCenter alone at JumptheShark.com (http://www.jumptheshark.com/topic/sportscenter-general-comments/1849). You’ll be pleased to note that Keith’s departure ranks as the second most popular “jumped” moment for those who believe it jumped, but many other reasons are given, and not all of them have to do with the Dan-and-Keith successors’ lame attempts at filling their shoes. Lately the complaints about “Who’s Now” seem to be taking center stage, to join the complaints about too many sponsors for every little feature, painful graphics and too much focus on personality over news.
Not that style is bad, but ESPN is getting way too heavy on the style and increasingly weak in the Department of Substance. They are getting away from their meat and potatoes (sports news) and serving up too many marshmallow desserts (e.g., “Who’s Now?”). I like marshmallow dessert, but I don’t want to have it at every meal. (And only in America would anyone have the balls to call it a “salad.”)
I watched Meet the Press yesterday morning; in the discussion of the presidential campaign it was reported that Hillary Clinton made an appearance before a hairdressers’ convention and that a related ad featured the various hairstyles she has had over the years. (Meet the Press transcript, page 4.) Lady, I don’t care what’s on your head, I want to know what’s going on between your ears. It’s kind of disconcerting that some voters have such a great need for marshmallow desserts. Which is why we keep getting stuck with marshmallows when what we really need is a good, hearty main dish.
For me, DP had a good balance of entrée, side dish, and dessert. The meal wasn’t always perfect, but it was for the most part quite satisfying. Most of the replacements that have filled in for DP the past two weeks (it’s only been two weeks, but it feels like two years) have given me some burnt main dishes, soggy vegetables, and Krispy Kreme doughnuts (sickeningly sweet, I can’t stand them). I want the old menu, but it is gone. Darn it.
