Give us more stories about:
- What the real reasons are that there isn't an NCAA play-off system
- How refs are graded, instructed, and paid
- How some college athletes get away with the bare minimum and never going to class.
My current Top 5 Sports Stories that need to go away:
#5) Pacman Jones
The guy played 1 mediocre season in the NFL. He's undoubtedly more famous for his off-the-field issues than on the field. That should be immediate grounds to cut him as a story.
#4) Pat Riley pushed Stan Van Gundy Out (and SVG is avenging it in Orlando)
Some people will say I'm impartial to Riley -- but the truth is -- I don't think Riley is at all above this. He absolutely is "that guy" who would do what everyone said he did. The issue is that it's not how it went down, however, given the way how it really went down -- Riley is a stand-up guy for taking the heat. In short - Stan didn't have the respect of Shaq - and he wasn't quiet about it among team-mates (including D. Wade). Shaq was the leader on that team - so everyone followed. Riley realized this and stepped in. (and rather than defending himself and throwing Shaq and Stan's beef in the public view -- took the high road)
#3) Any story from Skip Bayless, Rachel Nichols, or Pedro Gomez
Sports journalism is a very competitive industry. ESPN is the absolute giant player in the space - and should have their pick of the best of the best. Over the years - some classic journalists like Clayborn, Patrick, and Oberman have all left - probably for good reason. HOWEVER, the fact that the 3 names above have consistent jobs on the "worldwide leader" are insane. I'm not kidding - anytime I see one of the 3 on the screen, I immediately turn the channel. Give me more Mike and Mike, PTI crew, Linda Cohn, SportsGuy, Erin Andrews (obviously) and others. I even like it when they have guys like Kirk Herbstreet doing sports outside of football. The only way the 3 personalities above should have consistent gigs is if they have dirt on the brass or some kind of nepotism.
#2) Performance Enhancing Drugs (i.e. Roger Clemens)
This one probably could fall into the camp of "real-ness", but it's on the list for a different reason explained below. I've always been taught that you shouldn't complain about a problem without suggesting a solution. It is exactly what media outlets are doing. They point the finger at everyone but themselves and almost feel like these related stories are trendy or shocking or even NEWS. I'm, personally, over it. Maybe I'd feel differently if ESPN didn't have what seemed to be it's own Truman-Show-like Roger Clemens channel a few months ago -- but they did -- and I'm through with caring about performance enhancing drugs in sports. Baseball, Cycling, Track, Horse Racing, Football.... I really don't care. Each sport has a system that should make the playing fields equal - so it's all relative.
(For those who've seen Chris Rock's new concert -- I thought he was right on. Americans themselves are hooked on Performance enhancing drugs (Zoloft, Viagra, Ritalin, you name it -- who are we to judge athletes)
#1) Jason Taylor-Dolphin feud
Seriously, I can't take it anymore. We all know that everything will work out in the end. The media just loves the "Bill Parcells doesn't get along with people" angle and won't let it go. I don't need to know what Jason Taylor is doing on a daily basis. Come August - Jason Taylor will be at Dolphin camp. He's a stand-up person who can be counted on, unlike unstable hold-outs of the past...
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