ESPN

ESPN has sold out. Why does the NFL need its own network when there is ESPN? Last night Nelson Cruz hit the first walk off grand slam home run in postseason history and did it in the eleventh inning. Was that the lead on this morning's Sports Center? Did it even get mentioned on First Take? No! Fifteen minutes into Sports Center, after extensive coverage of the Bears-Lions Monday Night game, there was three minutes about the ALCS. Why? Because ESPN does not have the rights to postseason baseball, therefore it does not exist. That's not news coverage, that's advertising.

The World Cup

Congratulations to Team USA for its thrilling 91st minute victory over Algeria to move on to the next round of the World Cup. Now for the rant. Am I the only one sick of the ESPN/ABC/ Disney hype over the World Cup? Hardly a mention on ESPNews of Wimbledon, Baseball (unless its the College World Series which they're covering) or any other sport. What's the matter? Did Tiger Woods, LeBron James, and Brett Favre (the three greatest athletes ever according to ESPN) go into hibernation? Commentators have been debating whether this victory is one of the greatest sports moments ever. Are you kidding me? Its not even the greatest American soccer moment ever! Two words: Brandi Chastain. Her World Cup clinching penalty kick was much more dramatic. Team USA (2010 version) was supposed to advance to the next round. They played in the weakest group and they had to pull out a last minute (literally) win over Algeria to do it. Algeria! This is a dramatic win but not a great win. Is it a great win if Texas beats Sewanee on a last second field goal? No. It's a great win if Sewanee beats Texas but that hasn't happened in a century. It comes down to hype: ESPN and all its related entities are going to hype this to draw in more viewers which means more advertising dollars. You want great? How about Wimbledon?
There is a second round match that started Tuesday that has yet to be completed. No, the weather is fine. An American and a Frenchman have been battling for over ten hours! The fifth set (due to Wimbledon rules no tiebreak) is tied at 59 games apiece. This is beyond great, this is epic. This is something that will be talked about beyond this weekend.