ESPNBA Main Page Features Rangers. No Mention Of Phoenix In Headlines

[centrehice]

Unreal.

Photo of the Rags on the main page. In the headline text to the right side, not even a mention of Phoenix. These guys need to stay at Disney for the whole year, not just the Hockey season.

This is what happens when you are owned by the World's largest theme park, you get no real Sports news just meaningless fodder that is suppose to entertain you.

They again miss the significance of the largest Hockey story this year, involving a franchise who has never won a playoff series in it's history. How can a network be so daft?

[MrBlackisBack]

When you hold a grudge for a decade, that's how. ESPN has only rarely shown any hockey on Sportscenter (and usually gets something wrong about it). Ever since they lost the rights for broadcasts to VS and eventually NBC, they have sworn off hockey and will cover soccer or bowling more frequently.

[Wickabee]

They're terrible. Hockey is better without them.

Now if we could get CBC mad at the league, that would be perfect.

[30ranfordfan]

Doesn't this just show that the media (rightfully or wrongly) thinks that people care more about what the Rangers did last night (tie the series) vs what the Coyotes did (win theirs) ??

I don't disagree - the Coyotes should be considered the bigger story..... but the bigger story to who? Hockey fans??? Sure. Random sports fan that might actually know the New York Rangers exist - and you could easily convince him that the Phoenix Coyotes are in fact a Lacrosse team? Probably not.

[centrehice]

They are more concerned about the volume of ridership on Space Mountain, than providing actual important Hockey news.


...

[karl von]

Both sides are to blame here.

Ever since Disney bought ABC/ESPN, it's been E!SPN and are painfully forcing the entertainment industry's mark on the sports world down our throat (Mike Fisher's trade to Nashville was huge news, from ESPN's hockey standpoint). It's rare to see them report anything on hockey unless it's an eyesore to the sport (which is rare, since in my observation, hockey players are more humble and well-behaved than other athletes).

Bettman's refusal of ESPN's lowball offers is also to blame. Sure, NBC offered more, but most Americans would have to go out of their way to change the channel to NBC Sports. If you were a business owner and had to advertise in a paper, would you advertise in the NY Times for $1000 or in the Central New York Independent Weekly Gazette for $500? Bettman got more money for broadcasting, but attendance and merchandise sales would have greatly benefited from an ESPN exposure.

Lastly, sadly, us Americans have low attention spans. I don't know how many times I still hear the excuse, "I can't follow the game; where's the puck?" even with today's HD technology. Not enough beer/bathroom breaks. There's more than 4 seconds of action at a time and less time to show replays as the players don't constantly stand around in between plays. Almost none of my buddies are willing to give a live hockey game a chance. It's pathetic.

[centrehice]

Americans have trouble with Hockey because of the speed of the game. They are used to plays lasting:

1. Football scrimmage - median time 7 seconds.

2. Baseball Batting - however long it takes to be thrown out at 1st base, or however long it takes to touch all the bases and home plate on a home run

3. Basketball - A Basketball is slightly smaller than their 2 year old's Fat Head, so they have no trouble seeing it.


When you are use to Sports played at low speeds with players stomachs jiggling out over the top of their belts, it's no wonder they can't watch Hockey.

It's as simple as this, if you cannot follow the puck, you have no attention span what so ever. As far as pee breaks go, why are you buying $9.00 beers in the first place. Are you there to watch a Sport, or habitually go to the washroom?