For Better or For Worse, ESPN:...

            I remember years ago, back in the 80’s and the 90’s, ESPN, the sports media mega giant, was shown on just one tv channel. One channel, total sports and highlights. Not everyone had it. You had to have cable to receive it and it had an additional cost. Satalite TV and streaming on the internet weren’t even a dream then, they were still years away. They had their own radio station back then, on am radio. Remember that? I do. It was am 1260. You could listen to it in your car. Everyday, all day, there were scores and highlights and a little bit of commentary. You woke up, turned it on, saw who won the game last night, maybe heard about an injury or two or a great catch, then started your day. It was pretty simple stuff. Sports journalists talking sports journalism cut and dry. No frills, no opinions, no questions. 

          Things started to change in the latter part of the 1990’s. One channel turned into two, ESPN2 (The Deuce) another channel was added to cover college sports, ESPNU, and still another to cover our Spanish speaking friends, ESPN Deportees. In time, television became more sophisticated and watching the games became more enjoyable. ESPNHD became huge if you had can HD TV. Then there was the internet of course which was in reality a technological revolution like no other and that changed everything. Along came additional channels and APP’s that you could watch remotely on your phone and tablet and about a million different sports related segments and services to fill our days with sports talk. It was impossible to keep up with them all. Not only did you find out who won the Yankees game yesterday, you found out about every other game, from ice hockey to badminton, you knew the score and the winner. You also began to know the how and the why, the stories behind the game. In time, ESPN was on several different satellite channels, nearly half a dozen cable channels and had an internet streaming presence that rivaled any major media outlet in the world. It was a total sports empire. Capturing your attention a few minutes before work in the morning turned into owning an hour or two, sometimes several, of your interest every day. We all became hooked on ESPN. It became a big part of our daily lives if you were into sports. I should know it better then anyone because I became hooked on it as well. 

          Of course it’s not all about just the scores anymore. Like all the other media outlets ESPN has become an opinion factory. It’s click bait journalism. Years ago they called it Yellow Journalism. It’s meant to sell and in turn get you to buy or in this case, watch. It’s not really about true facts anymore, it’s about much more then that. Talk shows now dominate the ESPN airwaves via streaming services, the internet, satellite radio and everything in between. The hosts of these shows make millions, some more then the players themselves. The scores of the game, who won and who lost, have taken a back seat to the how, the why and the whatever opinion of show hosts who in many cases never watched the game and know little about the sport itself. Sure, some of the show hosts have actually played professional or collegiate sports but some have never stepped onto a field, a court, a rink or a pitch in their entire lives. Many are not athletes, they’re analysts, entertainers pure and simple. 

          The progression of it all is pretty simple to see. First ESPN presented us with the information we wanted, sports scores. Then they invaded our televisions and radios. When the internet came along they jumped on board that as well never letting up, giving us more and more of the sports information we craved and drooled over. Then, once ESPN held our undevided attention they bombarded us with opinions. The “who and the how and the why” I like to call it. Talk shows, pod casts, human interest stories, mini series you name it ESPN has it. See where all this is going? Follow the money!

           ESPN has morphed into something no one could ever have dreamed of. I like to compare it to the huge Stay Puff Marshmallow Man from the movie “Ghost Busters”. A massive towering monster of sugar standing forty stories high, lumbering through the city, destroying buildings and bridges along the way with a great big smile on his face. No one wants to be afraid right? Everyone likes the Say Puff Marshmallow Man! No danger there folks!

          Well, think again sports fans because ESPN has a new channel, a new APP to shove down our throats(as if Pat Mcafee isn’t enough) and it’s called ESPNBET. That’s right. ESPN has now directly entered the online sports book business. I’m pretty sure it won’t be long until they have their own chain of Casino/Hotels worldwide, like Hard Rock! Unbelievable! Of course those of us who actually wager might welcome this new APP from ESPN. It’s great for analytics. In Florida you can’t use it to actually place a bet because in Florida on line betting is exclusively run by Hard Rock and The Seminole Indian Tribe. Chief Osceola would have been proud, I think. 

          My problem(s) with ESPN entering the sports betting world are this. Can it be a conflict of interest for the major media outlet covering sports join the industry of sports wagering?  I say yes, most certainly. Does monetary reward comprise opinions and truth in reporting by ESPN’s reporters and journalists? Absolutely!! At the very least it’s unethical in a broad opinion, at the very most it’s illegal in many ways and most certainly opens up a Pandora’s box of compromising situations. The bottom line is thus; The very people that are reporting on “insider information”, have uninhibited access to team meetings, practices, training facilities, front offices and about 100 other information streams that you and I don’t have are telling us who and what to bet on while profiting from the platform that we will use to make wagers. Put it this way folks, there’s a reason why casino’s are in business and it’s not to loose money it’s to make billions off you, the sports enthusiast. 

          Ask yourself a few simple questions here. If ESPN has an “insider” like Adam Scheffler, who has specific injury info on a key player that the general public is not privy to do you actually think he’ll  turn a blind eye to making money off it? Do you think that ESPN would turn a blinde eye to making millions off this “insider” information? If you do then I’ve got a news flash for you, and you’re not gonna like it. 

          For years, U.S. Congressmen and Women and U.S. Senators have made literally hundreds of millions of dollars on have insider information on stocks, bonds and corporate options. They have the same type of “insider information”. What makes you think that ESPN and it’s employees would be and would act any different?!?. This entire journey into sports wagering by ESPN stinks like rotten chicken. I think people are gonna get rich off this scheme and it’s not going to be you or I. 

        In truth it would be hard to prove a compromising situation.  Anyone who watches sports knows that anything can happen and probably will but it’s not like money has been made and lost in these situations in the past and I trust people these days about as far as I can throw them when it comes to money. If you need a verification opinion, just ask the people who bet on Joe Burrow and The Bengals last Monday. I’m sure they’ll be happy to discuss it.