This afternoon, for the first time in...months and months, I visited ESPN.com. Formerly, I hit ESPN numerous times a day. Today, I went there to confirm the broadcast time of K-State v. Auburn this Saturday. (FYI - it's 7:45 PM ET and Ron Franklin is calling it - yay!). My severe droppage in visitation is two-fold: 1. These days, I get much, much more of my sports information via various sports blogs. 2. For my "mainstream coverage", I prefer Yahoo! Sports and CBS SportsLine.
I could go into a big dissertation why I dislike ESPN.com. But it generally boils down to me finding the site extremely noisy with each feature trying to grab your attention more than the other. I also do not care for many of their writers.
SportsLine and the 'Hoo, by contrast are easy-to-navigate and viewing them is not a stressful, possibly-seizure-producing event. I also really like Gregg Doyel and Clay Travis of SportsLine and the plethora of solid 'Hoo writers. I also value both sites' fantasy sections over ESPN's.
The blog aspect is pretty self-explanatory. I like the snark. I like many of the behind-the-headlines finds. I enjoy the scooping of mainstream media outlets, like ESPN. I like the flexibility, creativity and humor blogs allow. Unlike the days when I was younger, I am more about the stories now than I am that stats. You?
+ If I had the time, I would produce a blog exactly like Doyel's Dribbbles. Every morning, Dribbles is one of my first reads of the day. Solid, snarky and leading-edge.
+ Every time I see or hear the word "you", in my mind it comes off as sounding like "YOOOOUUUUA". Thanks, Soulja Boy and Philly urban radio.
1 comment:
RE: Stories vs. Stats
I can't agree with your take on this one. Don't all the movies and tv shows and music entertainment deliver enough stories? Now the nonsensationalized win/loss column has to take a back-seat to tabloid fodder too? There's no escaping the exploits of the Pacman, Skip To My Lou and Brett Myers characters, but the NL East pennant race is still my lead story.
And I do understand that not all the stories you are probably referencing result in mug shots. The Tom Shearn camper story was a decent human-interest piece. But it can't trump Jason Werth's 9 straight hits for the Phils, playing in the thick of a pennant race for an injured regular.
I do however agree with your web coverage assessment and will gladly give your recommended Doyel reading a shot. I pretty much stick to Yahoo! and Deadspin. Although, if I want premature, frequently innacurate fantasy advice, I'll check out Rotoworld.
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