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jay
05-10-2013, 11:25 AM
While DBR applauds ESPN's re-upping of Bomani Jones, it disappoints me.

I don't have a problem with his views, but Bomani is clearly a part of ESPN because he has the ability to debate, and hold his own. And that's all ESPN has become any more. An endless line of sports pundits arguing with each other over Lebron vs. Jordan, Tebow vs. the world and on and on and so forth and so forth. Worthwhile reporters and programs like 30 for 30, Bob Ley, Tom Rinaldi, Outside the Lines get maybe a segment or program a day at the most, meanwhile we're bombarded by blowhards like Jones, Skip Bayless, Chris Broussard, Steven A. Smith who don't do any actual reporting.

I rarely watch ESPN anymore (even SportsCenter) because of what it has devolved into.

I read a recent Deadspin article (http://deadspin.com/why-espns-chris-broussard-came-out-as-a-bigot-486117661) that summed it up pretty well:


On ESPN, a lot of times it's giving your opinion. This is what the daytime SportsCenter and First Take have wrought: the total fetishization of the opinion. Look at how a colleague, daytime SportsCenter anchor Sage Steele, defended him on Twitter—as if merely stating an opinion on television rendered it somehow unimpeachable. What does it matter if it's no more intellectually or morally defensible than an anti-miscegenationist weighing in on RGIII's fiancée, or a segregationist debating 42? All that matters is that it's an opinion, ideally counterpoised against someone else's opinion.

fuse
05-10-2013, 12:14 PM
I follow Bomani Jones on twitter, which I guess makes me a glutton for punishment.
I don't listen to his radio/podcast or live broadcasts.

I'm probably not Bomani Jones target audience.
One of the reasons I follow him on twitter to benefit from a diversity of perspectives.

Frankly, he comes across as an arrogant prat and more of a "blogger"/opinion piece writer than a journalist.
There is a place for that, and congratulations to Bomani for making the most of his talent.

MarkD83
05-10-2013, 12:14 PM
The deadspin quote might as well apply to a lot of the major television news channels. If you want the factual information about sports or a news story you go to the internet and hunt around for the information you want. If you want opinion you go to the TV.

Dr. Rosenrosen
05-10-2013, 01:25 PM
The deadspin quote might as well apply to a lot of the major television news channels. If you want the factual information about sports or a news story you go to the internet and hunt around for the information you want. If you want opinion you go to the TV.
I've mostly given up b/c today's so-called news outlets are so overly concerned with "eyeballs" that their product has devolved into total garbage. Sports news outlets are no better, and in fact maybe worse.

I actually used to enjoy watching The Sports Reporters on Sunday mornings way back when.

slower
05-10-2013, 03:08 PM
Frankly, he comes across as an arrogant prat and more of a "blogger"/opinion piece writer than a journalist.

at best

pbohan
05-10-2013, 03:11 PM
I completely agree with everything that has been said but he can be very funny at times which supports the previous comments I guess

Olympic Fan
05-10-2013, 03:54 PM
There are a bunch of guys in the media that raise the hackles of Duke fans -- from Doug Gottlieb to Lennie Elmore.

But Bomani Jones is the only national guy I know who is a self-professed Duke hater.

He told me this himself a few years ago when he tried to get my help to reach Will Avery (he was trying to track down Avery to rip K -- the whole Curry Kirkpatrick fabrication). I was talking to him about his ridiculous claim that Christian Laettner's "stomp" of Aminu Timberlake was (in his words) "the most despicable act ever committed on the basketball court." I asked him if he had ever heard of Luke Witte ...

His response was, 'Oh that's just my schtick ... I've positioned myself as a Duke hater."

blueduke59
05-10-2013, 09:30 PM
ESPN's VP is a UNC alum. Not surprised Jones gets plenty of face time on that network. Also not surprised they've ignored UNC's shenanigans to the degree they have

Newton_14
05-10-2013, 10:18 PM
There are a bunch of guys in the media that raise the hackles of Duke fans -- from Doug Gottlieb to Lennie Elmore.

But Bomani Jones is the only national guy I know who is a self-professed Duke hater.

He told me this himself a few years ago when he tried to get my help to reach Will Avery (he was trying to track down Avery to rip K -- the whole Curry Kirkpatrick fabrication). I was talking to him about his ridiculous claim that Christian Laettner's "stomp" of Aminu Timberlake was (in his words) "the most despicable act ever committed on the basketball court." I asked him if he had ever heard of Luke Witte ...

His response was, 'Oh that's just my schtick ... I've positioned myself as a Duke hater."

Spot on Oly. Too bad he got booted from local radio here in the Triangle before having to eat his words regarding our 2010 team. He went on about a 20 minute rant in the fall of 09 I believe, about how sad it was that Duke only had 3 African-American players on the team. He was chatting it up with a caller during this time, and stated that "a lack of brotha's meant a lack of wins" and that we all know the correct translation for "white" is "unathletic", chuckle chuckle chuckle". He also implied that K was intentionally recruiting white kids over African-American kids which was the most absurd accusation I have ever heard regarding K. I was like, wow dude, really? That made the title that much sweeter.

He was gone from 620 not too long after that. He also made several comments about Mrs Curry, that I am told made it back to one Mike Krzyzewski who did not take it very well given 620 is the Duke Flagship station.

weezie
05-10-2013, 10:32 PM
It'll be fun to watch Bonami act like he's too cool.
For about ten minutes.

licc85
05-11-2013, 12:03 AM
There's some guys like him on ESPN, but there's also a ton of guys do a really good job. Scott Van Pelt, Colin Cowherd, Bill Simmons, Ryen Russillo, Tony Kornheiser, Mike Wilbon, Mike Greenberg/Golic, Jay Bilas, Tim Legler, Jon Barry, Seth Greenberg, Adnan Virk, and Chris Broussard, just to name a few :)

As a general rule, I think ESPN radio is alot better than their TV counterparts. It's just alot more relaxed and people have way more personality than on TV. I listen to SVP and Russillo pretty much daily. It's the best sports podcast out there in my opinion. Those guys are great together. Also if you're into fantasy football, Matthew Berry and Nate Ravitz host the best fantasy podcast in the business.

You just gotta know who to stay away from. First Take and Around the Horn are 2 of the worst sports shows on TV . . they just argue for the sake of arguing. Cowherd would dominate Around the horn every single day if he lowered himself enough to go on that show . . . You gotta listen to people who are knowledgeable, have real opinions and are actually entertaining as well.

Also, I think Skip Bayless is the worst sports personality ever. Even worse than Gottlieb.

ScreechTDX1847
05-11-2013, 12:45 AM
The current status of today's 24 hours news cycle gives rise to the garbage and "overcoverage" you see in sports today's. I actually took a hiatus this year from watching and listening to sports media. It was actually starting to ruin sports to me on some level.

COYS
05-12-2013, 12:54 PM
The current status of today's 24 hours news cycle gives rise to the garbage and "overcoverage" you see in sports today's. I actually took a hiatus this year from watching and listening to sports media. It was actually starting to ruin sports to me on some level.

Totally agree. I stopped getting cable a few years back (I can get all the Duke games via watchESPN or on CBS with an antenna), which meant I no longer had SportsCenter and other shows on loop in the background. While I won't lie that I miss seeing things like top 10 plays and things like that, over all, I think I actually get better sports news because I'm able to pick and choose which writers I read on the internet (and, of course, visit DBR daily!). To that point, I can't even offer an opinion on Bomani Jones because I don't think I've ever seen him on TV, read anything he's written, or heard anything he's said.

BobbyFan
05-12-2013, 02:55 PM
There's some guys like him on ESPN, but there's also a ton of guys do a really good job. Scott Van Pelt, Colin Cowherd, Bill Simmons, Ryen Russillo, Tony Kornheiser, Mike Wilbon, Mike Greenberg/Golic, Jay Bilas, Tim Legler, Jon Barry, Seth Greenberg, Adnan Virk, and Chris Broussard, just to name a few :)

This list is way too big.

MaxAMillion
05-12-2013, 09:23 PM
I call it the Howard Stern effect. Just blurt out an opinion with the hope of making people angry enough to continue watching. I am always amazed at how many people watch shows that they supposedly dislike. I don't watch ESPN at all unless a game is on I want to see. I refuse to watch SportsCenter or any of those talking head shows. I have actually found that I like watching sports more now that I have filtered out a lot of the blather and opinions.

mdj
05-12-2013, 09:36 PM
Totally agree. I stopped getting cable a few years back (I can get all the Duke games via watchESPN or on CBS with an antenna), which meant I no longer had SportsCenter and other shows on loop in the background. While I won't lie that I miss seeing things like top 10 plays and things like that, over all, I think I actually get better sports news because I'm able to pick and choose which writers I read on the internet (and, of course, visit DBR daily!). To that point, I can't even offer an opinion on Bomani Jones because I don't think I've ever seen him on TV, read anything he's written, or heard anything he's said.

how's the picture on Watch ESPN? picture clarity for sports is the one thing that's keeping me from saving $100 a month. just writing that makes it seem kinda ridiculous to stick with direct tv.

licc85
05-13-2013, 01:38 AM
This list is way too big.

that was my point, there's a lot of good broadcasters on ESPN, and I think it outweighs the few bad ones like Jones

Duvall
05-13-2013, 08:46 AM
that was my point, there's a lot of good broadcasters on ESPN, and I think it outweighs the few bad ones like Jones

Except that your list of "good" broadcasters included several people that are actually terrible.

slower
05-13-2013, 09:04 AM
Except that your list of "good" broadcasters included several people that are actually terrible.

Exactly. And THAT was BobbyFan's original point.

Dev11
05-13-2013, 09:10 AM
Except that your list of "good" broadcasters included several people that are actually terrible.

Like Colin Cowherd and Mike Wilbon, who definitely fall in the blowhard category.

In general, I don't appreciate when sports reporters admit outright that they have a team that they root for. Wilbon (Chicago), Cowherd (LA), and Smith (New York) are the most obnoxious about it. Simmons is more of an entertainment writer, and I think he does a better job of toeing the line.

slower
05-13-2013, 09:33 AM
Like Colin Cowherd and Mike Wilbon, who definitely fall in the blowhard category.

In general, I don't appreciate when sports reporters admit outright that they have a team that they root for. Wilbon (Chicago), Cowherd (LA), and Smith (New York) are the most obnoxious about it. Simmons is more of an entertainment writer, and I think he does a better job of toeing the line.

You can't be serious. Simmons is THE biggest Boston homer in the world.

Ichabod Drain
05-13-2013, 09:42 AM
Cowherd would dominate Around the horn every single day if he lowered himself enough to go on that show . . . You gotta listen to people who are knowledgeable, have real opinions and are actually entertaining as well.


I didn't know Cowherd could go any lower....

Dev11
05-13-2013, 09:45 AM
You can't be serious. Simmons is THE biggest Boston homer in the world.

I just think he's better at laughing at himself over it. He certainly doesn't hide it.

moonpie23
05-13-2013, 11:08 AM
i think some of these guys are an acquired taste.....i didn't like rome or cowherd at first, but after learning a bit more about where they're coming from, i do now...

i can't stand jones, stephen A, bayless OR tony kornheiser.....and i've given them PLENTY of time to grow on me...

COYS
05-13-2013, 03:17 PM
how's the picture on Watch ESPN? picture clarity for sports is the one thing that's keeping me from saving $100 a month. just writing that makes it seem kinda ridiculous to stick with direct tv.

You definitely can't get it in clear 1080 unless you watch it live, but even then it's not as clear as with regular tv. Most of the time, however, it's pretty clear although there are times when, seemingly for no reason, the quality drops really low. That probably happens once every four games. If clarity is really important, I'd probably advise you to stick with regular TV. However, if you don't mind something less than pure HD but still pretty high quality, I think the watchespn experience is actually really nice. My schedule prevents me from wathing games live most of the time, anyway, so being able to use watchespn for replays is key. I love skipping commercials and half-time. I can watch a game in 1.25 hours, easy.