I appreciated Shaq’s sentiment but I didn’t believe a word he said. Dude sells just about anything that will pay him.
NBA: ESPN saved Inside the NBA
- Thread starter JP4CY
- Start date
Apparently someone was drunk and in his fee fees last night.....
Bill Simmons had a long discussion about this on his podcast today. Biggest thing that I hadn’t thought about that ESPN will screw up are the length of segments and commercial breaks. With how much they paid for the NBA, they need to have long commercials to recoup their investment. But to have a 2 minute halftime segment just won’t work for these guys. And how do they handle Sportscenter that normally follows the games?
That’s the stuff that’s going to matter. Things like Steven A or Perkins will be easier to say no to. But the schedule will be a thing and I never really thought about just how different it’s become on ESPN with their longer and longer breaks.
That’s the stuff that’s going to matter. Things like Steven A or Perkins will be easier to say no to. But the schedule will be a thing and I never really thought about just how different it’s become on ESPN with their longer and longer breaks.
So after Bill Simmons’s mention of the commercial breaks for Inside the NBA on ESPN I’ve been paying attention to the ESPN shows. The entire halftime has been ads with a 30 seconds of Steven A blabbering about something. What’s the point of having a show and sending people to be onsite if you’re just going to show commercials through the entire break?
After just a few seconds of the halftime show I just had to mute it and wait for the second half to start. Who in their right mind wants to watch SA Smith and Perkins? Please give us Shaq, Ernie, (the real) Smith, and Barkley!!!!
I can't stand SA Smith and ESPN uses him for EVERYTHING! We don't need his opinion on every single thing that happens in sports. The only things he won't comment on are golf and racing.
Coco Gauff advances to the next round of a tennis tournament - let's go to Stephen A. for a reaction
Aaron Rodgers signs with the Steelers - let's hear SA Smith's thoughts on the deal
Ohtani hits a Home Run last night - SA Smith on why he thinks Shohei is the best player in baseball
Cowboys looking to sign backup cornerback - Stephen gives his thoughts on which free agent they should sign
Perkins is terrible too. I also think he was starting a company that was doing some sort of NIL advancements that would pretty much screw over many college athletes.
Reactions are not analysis.
ESPN's definition of "Analyst" has gotten way off base. In addition I think they are leaning into the E (Entertainment) in their ESPN acronym a bit too much. They should probably start thinking about rebranding to Shock Jock Entertainment and just get it over with.
One of the best things we all can do is ignore these entertainers who are standing in the way of real analysis. I make it a point to not watch or open anything that has SAS, Perkins, Shannon Sharpe, Skip Bayless, Nick Wright, any of their ilk, or any of their shows. They are continuing to have jobs while the good ones get let go because people are giving them views and clicks. Stop the hate watching and let them die on the vine!
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I couldn’t agree more with your last paragraph. And I don’t watch any of those lousy shock jock shows.
The problem is ESPN forces their crappy personalities down your throat by inserting them into the games themselves with pregame and halftime analysis. Also, with ESPN’s app, when I look for the news or scores, about 50% of the time the default video that auto plays is some sort of SAS hot take. They engineer it so real sports fans have to try hard to avoid these idiots.
It's impossible to seek real analysis on youtube or social media without Stephen A and Perk being force fed too. The "algorithm" is a long ways from being able to tell I love NBA yet hate those guys.
But, but, they also give you the enigmatic Bob Myers! Let's be fair.
If I ran a network and wanted to make my own "Inside the NBA" type of show I think I'd offer a show to Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes adapting their "All the Smoke" podcast. They are just funny and not mean/angry like all the ESPN shows, it's like a very unpolished version of Charles/Kenny if they had a long podcast without a TV studio producing it.
Frequent guest Vernon "Mad Max" Maxwell is hilarious but probably too raw for a cable TV show.
Here's their reaction to game winner last night but usually the podcast is more like they have a legend on and talk basketball for an hour. They had Cynthia Cooper on a couple weeks ago.
Frequent guest Vernon "Mad Max" Maxwell is hilarious but probably too raw for a cable TV show.
Here's their reaction to game winner last night but usually the podcast is more like they have a legend on and talk basketball for an hour. They had Cynthia Cooper on a couple weeks ago.
So Reggie will go to NBC next year, SVG, Ian Eagle and Kevin Harlan will be on Amazon. Getting Inside was a big win but ESPN/ABC could've really used Harlan. Their in game crew is rough, Harlan is as good as they get. A nice get for Amazon.
I like Doris Burke but she’s not “the voice”. Harlan basically just extended the Marv Albert voice for more decades.
Reggie has such an odd sounding unique voice but it somehow feels like a perfect fit.
No way CBS was going to let him work for ESPN and I can't imagine he wanted to give up the NFL or the NCAA Tournament.
He and Kurt Warner are an absolute clinic in broadcasting on Monday Night Football radio.
