It's Not Always Your Patriotic Duty to Root for America

I was watching ESPN’s Ryen Russillo on his sports talk radio show earlier today before I left for work and he was talking about how he was torn a new one on Twitter last night because he was tweeting about the Boston Red Sox game and fans were letting into him for choosing a regular season baseball game over watching the U.S. women’s soccer team compete against Germany in the semifinals of the Women’s World Cup. Among the chief complaints was that Russillo was being unpatriotic.

Russillo explained that he just can’t get into the sport of soccer, which is perfectly fine. There’s not a section in the U.S. Constitution dictating that sports fans must follow sports they don’t like simply because their country has a team competing in it.

Fans giving Russillo hell for his not watching the U.S. women’s soccer team reminds me of the time I first truly recognized the idiocy of sports fans when it comes to what they perceive as a patriotic duty to root for American sports teams, even going so far as demeaning someone for choosing to watch anything else over those American teams.

In the last Women’s World Cup in 2009 the United States women met up against Japan in the final match for the tournament title and American sports fans could see nothing but red, white and blue. But, just a few months before the beginning of the World Cup the country of Japan was struck by a horrific earthquake that caused an even more horrific tsunami. More than 16,000 people were killed and it remains one of the worst tragedies of any kind during my lifetime, if not all-time.

So in July of 2011, Japan needed something good to happen to forget about the tragedy and death and heartbreak that had taken its toll on the country for months even for just a brief moment in time. The Japanese national soccer team beating the United States in the Women’s World Cup would give the country something to cheer on and smile about for at least one day during one of the nation’s worst years in its history.

And, so knowing the Japanese needed this more than any of us Americans did I openly rooted for the Japanese women on social media. It was something I have never once regretted, but I was ridiculed harshly for by fans claiming that I was being unpatriotic (as if rooting for a sports team can truly make someone patriotic or unpatriotic.)

I thought I was being humane by hoping the Japanese had something to lift their spirits (and I was, there’s no doubt in my mind and heart about it), but Americans will always care about American things regardless of the pain felt elsewhere. Thankfully for the millions of hurt Japanese their women’s team did give them something to smile about for at least a brief moment in time defeating the U.S. women in a hard fought and entertaining final.

The U.S. loss made it worse for me having openly rooted for the Japanese women, but I didn’t care. I could stand being a little less patriotic, because I’d rather care about an entire country’s pain than see the United States dominate yet another thing. 

Best Sports Journalism of 2013 - Part 4 of 5

All year long I’ve been reading great sports journalism online to recommend to the followers of my podcast’s (Basement Sports) Facebook fanpage. I’m a writer and a huge sports fan, so the two mingling together to form great journalism has always mesmerized me. The year has truly seen some great sports writing, and I wanted to share the best of the best that I’ve read from 2013.

Over the next few days I will be unveiling the ‘25 Best Sports Writing Articles of 2013’ from the many that I have read. While I’ve read more than 100 fine pieces this year I’m sure that some truly fantastic online sports writing has slipped through my grasps, so I do apologize if an obvious piece of great sports writing has been omitted.

In part four of this five-part list are excellent works on the beast with the baddest body in all of sports, the English tavern where thumb wrestlers from around the world decide who’s the very best, what it’s like to try to make a professional football team out of training camp, the secret of a two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback who simply seems average most of the time and the possibility that a great sporting event from 40 years ago may have actually been fixed.

10. "The Secret of Eli Manning" by Grantland’s Brian Phillips (October 11)

Eli Manning is one of the real tough cases to crack of any athlete in sports. He’s a two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback who looks terrific at times, but simply average for most of his career. He’s also known for as being aloof and having a seemingly uncaring attitude.  But, as Brian Phillips writes in his Grantland.com piece (his second outing on this list) there’s a secret side to Eli Manning that many people apparently don’t know about … and it’s far more interesting than the character we believe him to be.  

9. "The Saddest, Most Inspiring Story You'll Ever Read About Thumb Wrestling" by The Atlantic's John Metcalfe (June 28)

John Metcalfe’s story of an aspiring actor working in a Los Angeles restaurant that ended up as a championship level thumb wrestler for The Atlantic is one of those truly great sports stories because it lets you into a world that you never knew existed. When you find out that these all-star thumb wrestlers go by pseudonym’s like Thumberlina, Thumbertaker and Jack the Gripper and travel from all across the world every year to meet up in a tavern in England it truly becomes a must-read.

8. "What It's Like to Make the Cut" by Monday Morning Quarterback's Jenny Vrentas (September 2)

Sports Illustrated’s Peter King debuted his new football-only website “Monday Morning Quarterback” this year and within just a few days of its debut it was featuring top notch football articles such as Jenny Vrentas’ “What It’s Like to Make the Cut,” which followed Minnesota Vikings training camp invitee Zach Line in his attempt to make the Vikings’ season roster. The story of how hard this fullback had to work to make the team is a unique insight to the toughness a football player must exhibit and the drive he must have within him just to be one of 53 players to make the team.  

7. "The Match Maker: Bobby Riggs, The Mafia and The Battle of the Sexes " by ESPN/Outside the Line's Don Van Natta Jr. (August 25)

One of the biggest shockers I read this year was Don Van Natta Jr.’s piece for ESPN.com and “Outside the Lines” on the possibility of Bobby Riggs having thrown the famed “Battle of Sexes” exhibition tennis match in 1973, losing to Billie Jean King. The expose on Riggs, his Mafia ties and his debts makes me believe that this legendary event 40 years ago may have been fixed. How it came about and why it took 40 years to uncover is part of this great mystery.  

6. “Unridable” by ESPN the Magazine’s Wright Thompson (July 9)

Every year ESPN the Magazine publishes its “Body Issue,” basically the magazine’s answer to Sports Illustrated’s “Swimsuit Issue,” which features fitness and the chiseled physiques of nearly nude professional athletes. But, it came as a surprise when one of the best bodies in the sports world this year tipped the scales at a whopping 1,700 pounds, kicked dirt and snorted snot from his massive nostrils. But, as Wright Thompson (in his second piece to make this list) tells us Bushwacker, the meanest and best bull on the Professional Bull Riders circuit, had the baddest body in all of sports. The article is must-read, but the segment for ESPN’s news program “E:60,” which was awesomely narrated by Thompson, is a classic (but, unfortunately cannot be found in its entirety).   

Best Sports Journalism of 2013 - Part 3 of 5

All year long I’ve been reading great sports journalism online to recommend to the followers of my podcast’s (Basement Sports) Facebook fanpage. I’m a writer and a huge sports fan, so the two mingling together to form great journalism has always mesmerized me. The year has truly seen some great sports writing, and I wanted to share the best of the best that I’ve read from 2013.

Over the next few days I will be unveiling the ‘25 Best Sports Writing Articles of 2013’ from the many that I have read. While I’ve read more than 100 fine pieces this year I’m sure that some truly fantastic online sports writing has slipped through my grasps, so I do apologize if an obvious piece of great sports writing has been omitted.

In part three of this five-part list are fine writings on Major League Baseball’s lack of a game-changing superstar, a boxing match that left one opponent dead and the lives of others changed forever, the hall of fame case for a former NBA superstar that on first look might not seem worthy of enshrinement, and two stories on the competitive drives of legendary (Michael Jordan) or volatile (Kurt Busch) athletes.

15. “The Unfortunate Tale of T-Mac” by Grantland’s Bill Simmons (August 30)

As an Orlando Magic fan there have probably been few NBA players in my lifetime who I’ve enjoyed watching play basketball more than Tracy McGrady. But, despite being a great player for a good amount of time, McGrady was never viewed as a winner (having never led his team past the first round of the NBA Playoffs) and thus never viewed as a potential future hall of famer, even by myself. However, Bill Simmons’ wonderful post-career analysis of McGrady’s career for Grantland.com this year did something that rarely happens … it made me take a second look at a player and change my opinion. After reading Simmons’ piece, I now believe McGrady should one day be inducted into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame.

14. "Kurt Busch Shows Drive to Win Away From Track" by USA Today's Jeff Gluck (August 15)

USA Today’s Jeff Gluck gets my award for most interesting article idea of 2013, because he had the audacity to ask the always-volatile, uber-competitive NASCAR driver Kurt Busch to go mini-golfing with him as a part of a story on the irascible driver’s attitude and drive to win at anything and everything he does, no matter how trivial the event. The outcome pretty much proves that Kurt Busch is always going to be Kurt Busch when it comes to competition.

13. "Death at the Garden: Memories of Emile Griffith and Benny Paret" by The New Yorker's Jonathan Coleman (July 24)

When boxing legend Emile Griffith died in late July it instantly sent The New Yorker’s Jonathan Coleman back to the night that he witnessed his first prizefight between Griffith and Benny Paret as a kid in 1962. It was a night in which one man would not survive and the lives of a few others would be changed forever. Coleman’s telling of vivid memories from the night recalls the horror of the event and the tragic side of the sweet science.

12. "Michael Jordan Has Not Left The Building" by ESPN's Wright Thompson (February 22)

Wright Thompson’s fantastic “Michael Jordan Has Not Left The Building” for ESPN.com in correlation with “Outside the Lines” for Jordan’s 50^th birthday (which ESPN way overdid with coverage) is very similar to Jeff Gluck’s "Kurt Busch Shows Drive to Win Away From Track" in that it shows things haven’t changed since MJ’s final retirement. Depending on your feelings toward Jordan you might feel differently, but the intriguing part of Thompson’s piece to me is how pathetic Jordan really looks when it comes to his personality, attitude and his general sense that the world revolves around him.

11."Seeking the Elusive Face of Baseball" by ESPN's Jayson Stark (July 16)

There has been a lot of talk in 2013 about how baseball has a massive problem in that it doesn’t have a “face of the sport,” a la LeBron James or Peyton Manning, though others (myself included) don’t feel it to be a big issue. Jayson Stark’s excellent piece for ESPN.com on the topic was among the best (and most important) baseball articles of the year, as it gets to the point (or issue) as to why it’s so hard to develop one superstar or “face” of the game that stands out above all the rest and how that may need to change or risk hurting the sport.     

Best Sports Journalism of 2013 - Part 2 of 5

All year long I’ve been reading great sports journalism online to recommend to the followers of my podcast’s (Basement Sports) Facebook fanpage. I’m a writer and a huge sports fan, so the two mingling together to form great journalism has always mesmerized me. The year has truly seen some great sports writing, and I wanted to share the best of the best that I’ve read from 2013.

Over the next few days I will be unveiling the ‘25 Best Sports Writing Articles of 2013’ from the many that I have read. While I’ve read more than 100 fine pieces this year I’m sure that some truly fantastic online sports writing has slipped through my grasps, so I do apologize if an obvious piece of great sports writing has been omitted.

In part two of this five-part list are fine writings on a Major League Baseball player who must make sacrifices to care for his beloved dog, a baseball player who realized the game was no longer for him, the perfect response to performance enhancing drug allegations, capturing the horror of the Boston Marathon bombings and the tale of how women must first defeat their own breasts before setting their sights on their opponent. 

20. "Playing Defense: What's the smartest PED response strategy?" by SportsonEarth's Will Leitch (August 13)

In August, the NFL’s best running back Adrian Peterson, of the Minnesota Vikings, kind of surprised the sports media/world when asked if he used performance enhancing drugs. His response: "... it makes me feel good. When you know you don't do it, and someone's saying you do, you're like, 'Wow. They think I'm on HGH? I'm doing that good? It's a compliment. I don't get mad about it at all." It was a reaction unlike any other athlete who'd ever answered the question and according to Sports on Earth's Will Leitch is the smartest strategy to responding to PED questioning. 

19. "Lonely Days Ahead for Mark Buehrle" by ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (February 7)

Jerry Crasnick’s piece on newly acquired Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Mark Buehrle and his love of his dogs was intriguing because it shows the sacrifices, sometimes ones you wouldn’t even think of, that professional athletes sometimes have to make during their season. Buehrle and his family own a 2-year old American Staffordshire terrier and bulldog mix, part of the pitbull family, which happens to be outlawed in the entirety of Toronto’s province Ontario. Because of their bond with their pup, Buehrle’s family chose to stay at home in St. Louis and take care of the dog, meaning that they would be away from each other for most of the season. Buehrle’s sacrifice and the love and care he has for dogs makes for a supremely touching story. 

18. “Why I Quit Major League Baseball” by Adrian Cardenas for The New Yorker (October 30)

Becoming a Major League Baseball player (or a professional athlete of another kind) is a dream shared by millions throughout the world. One would think that making it to the highest level in your sport would be the ultimate goal, but Adrian Cardenas, a former Chicago Cubs player, realized once he finally made it to “the show” that it really wasn’t what he wanted. It wasn’t his American dream. His telling of why in The New Yorker is an interesting tale of how one can seemingly have what millions desire, but not really want for himself.

17. "You Can Only Hope to Contain Them" by ESPN The Magazine's Amanda Hess (July 16)

Sometimes great articles are the ones that make you think of things that you never would have imagined. For instance, as a man I had never thought about how uncomfortable it must be for female athletes to compete because of their breasts until I read Amanda Hess’ “You Can Only Hope to Contain Them” for ESPN the Magazine. Hess’ piece made me realize that for women sometimes you have to battle your own breasts before even thinking about defeating your opponent.

16. "You Are Not Safe Here": The Remains of a Horrible Day in Boston" by Esquire's Charles P. Pierce (April 15)

The day of the Boston bombing at the Boston Marathon on April 15 was a day that most Americans will probably always remember, but for the people who were actually there will be engrained in their memories – the horror, the blood, the gruesomely maimed and the panic that permeated throughout the area. Esquire’s Charles P. Pierce in just five short paragraphs was able to perfectly capture the panic of the moments directly after the bomb blasts, including the unnerving quote from an officer stating to passer-bys, “you are not safe here.” However, it’s his final sentence that truly lets the horror of that afternoon sink in: "And you can smell the blood two blocks away." 

National Networks Show Understandable, But Still Irritating Bias Toward Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals

I’ve had a theory about Major League Baseball telecasts for a while. The theory states that every single time the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, likely the most storied rivalry in the history of the game (and sports in general), play each other the game will be nationally televised.

I’ve long theorized that every single Yankees vs. Red Sox game in at least the last decade has likely been televised. Unfortunately, I have no way of finding out whether or not this is indeed a fact. What games have appeared on which networks over the last few seasons is not something you can easily find anywhere, probably because few people honestly give a damn.

However, for the last few seasons I’ve heard a good many people give a damn. These people are, of course, not fans of the Yankees or Red Sox as those fans (and there’s a good many of them sprinkled throughout the entire United States) seem thrilled that many of their favorite team’s games (and every time they play their heated rival) are broadcast nationally. It’s not hard to be a Yankees or Red Sox fan in say Arkansas (where I’m from) because you know your favorite team will have as many as a third of their games all season broadcast. But, if you’re a fan of say the Cleveland Indians or Oakland A’s or Milwaukee Brewers in Arkansas or Nebraska or West Virginia you’re going to have trouble ever seeing your favorite team on television unless you want to shell out major bucks for the baseball television package or MLB.tv online (which many people simply cannot afford). This is a feeling that sucks for a good many a baseball fan in this country, especially when they keep getting the same old teams like the Yankees, Red Sox and other teams like the St. Louis Cardinals crammed down their throats.

There are four networks that currently air MLB games nationally: ESPN, Fox (games are regional, but there’s a small enough selection (unlike say NFL on Fox/CBS) to really matter), TBS and MLB Network – all of these networks are shown on most cable or satellite providers. Almost every day of the week there will be at least one nationally televised baseball game. That’s actually a lot of baseball available to baseball fans around the country, but if you’re not a fan of the Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals, etc. it can become pretty fatiguing. This is why every Yankees vs. Red Sox game being broadcast nationally can become irritating to non-fans of those teams.

Let’s get this obvious point out of the way. Yes, it makes complete sense for networks to want to show as many Yankees vs. Red Sox games as they can (and those two teams individual games along with Cardinals games) because these fanbases are the largest (and by a good margin) in the country and the network wants viewers, ratings and the advertising dollars that come from them. Baseball, unlike the NFL and NBA, is not a sport that is watched all that much anymore by the casual sports fan. If you’re a Cardinals fan how often would you watch a game involving a team other than the Cardinals in the regular season? Probably, not very often, especially if you have a busy life. This is partially why the networks search for the big fanbases for their games, because a Yankees or Red Sox or Cardinals game will pull in fans from all around the country, whereas a Pittsburgh Pirates or Colorado Rockies game likely would not.

It makes a lot of sense why networks do this, but it also comes off as bothersome to baseball fans because there are a lot of nationally televised games to go around and there are also a lot of other good baseball teams in the country than just the few that are constantly shown on television.

I don’t have the numbers of televised games for the entire 2013 MLB season, because I unfortunately only thought to keep a tally of nationally televised games for the second half of the season. The second half of a baseball season’s nationally televised games are more likely to be skewed than the first half of the season by team records and the playoff hunt, which would’ve made an entire season sample slightly better than just the second half sample. For example, the incredibly hyped before the season Toronto Blue Jays probably had a handful of first half nationally televised games, but didn’t have a single nationally televised game during the second half of the season. In fact, the Blue Jays were one of only four MLB teams to not have a single nationally televised game during the season’s second half with the other three teams understandably being the Houston Astros, Miami Marlins and Milwaukee Brewers – all teams with losing records and few, if any, bankable stars.      

The team with the most nationally televised baseball games during the second half of the season was also understandably the best team in baseball when the season ended, the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox had 31 nationally televised games during the second half of the season (16 on MLB Network [which televises many more games a week than the other three networks], eight on ESPN, four on Fox and three on TBS). The National League leading St. Louis Cardinals at the season’s end had the second most nationally televised games with 25 (15 on MLB Network, seven on ESPN, two on Fox and one on TBS). The only issue with these numbers is that the Red Sox were only the best team in baseball, record-wise, for the last two-to-three weeks of the regular season and the Cardinals were only the best team in the National League, record-wise, for the very last day of the regular season.

Which team was the best team in the game, record-wise, for most of the season’s second half in both the N.L. and baseball as a whole?

The Atlanta Braves.

Despite leading baseball for most of the season, including the second half of the season, the Braves only appeared on national television 10 times (five times on MLB Network, twice each on ESPN and Fox and once on TBS). Ten MLB teams appeared on national television more during that span (Red Sox, Cardinals, Yankees, Dodgers, Orioles, Rays, Reds, Pirates, Rangers and Tigers). The Braves do have a pretty good sized following, mostly from the days when they were shown exclusively on TBS, but it’s not near of a following the likes that the Yankees, Red Sox and Cardinals have. So, they could be the best team in baseball, but if they aren’t bringing eyes to the networks the networks don’t care. It’s a business. It leads to biases. It’s not really right, but nothing’s ever going to come of it. But, the fans are still going to grow fatigued and complain. Both sides are understandable.

The New York Yankees, by the way, appeared nationally on television the third most of any team in the sport during the second half of the season with 24 appearances (11 times on MLB Network, five times on ESPN and four times each on Fox and TBS) despite not making the playoffs. You can thank their national following for that.  

That’s right; the Yankees appeared in 14 more nationally televised games than the Braves. They appeared in more nationally televised games than seven other 2013 playoff teams, as well. The Yankees were broadcast nationally seven more times than the Tampa Bay Rays (who appeared on TV more because they played both the Yankees and Red Sox a lot during the season’s second half), seven more times than the Cincinnati Reds (who benefited from many games against the Cardinals), 10 more times than the Pirates (baseball’s best story of the year), 11 more times than the Dodgers, 12 more times than the Detroit Tigers,  18 more times than the Oakland A’s and a whopping 21 more times than the Cleveland Indians.

Sure, many people will be saying those lesser featured teams need to grow larger fanbases so that they can compete for TV time with the likes of the Yankees and Red Sox and Cardinals. But, to them I ask the question: How does a team build a larger fanbase? The answer: appear more times on national television.

But, now that we’ve seen that the Yankees, Red Sox and Cardinals ride their large fanbases to more nationally televised games than other franchises, some with better records/teams, it’s time to go back to my initial theory. All of those damn Yankees vs. Red Sox matchups are broadcast nationally aren’t they? Some people haven’t believed me when I’ve said this in the past, but here’s the proof. During the second half of this MLB season the Yankees and Red Sox faced each other 10 times … all 10 of those games were broadcast either on ESPN, Fox, TBS or MLB Network.

Man, it sure must be good to be a Yankees or Red Sox fan. The rest of us might want to find a job that pays better so we can invest in MLB.tv or move to a region that shows are favorite teams locally, because that’s the only way we’re ever going to see them play.

Fox Sports 1 Debuts with Good Sporting Events, Less Than Stellar Studio Shows

America’s newest cable network Fox Sports 1 (along with its far-less talked about sister channel Fox Sports 2) debuted in mid-August giving sports fans another option to the sports mega-giant that is the ESPN family of networks.

FS1 debuted on Saturday, August 17 with programming that far exceeds your typical sports network debut – a live NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race and a major Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) mixed martial arts fight featuring one of the sport’s biggest stars Chael Sonnen. That night the network also debuted “Fox Sports Live,” its competitor to ESPN’s nightly news and highlight show “SportsCenter.”

Over its first couple of weeks the network has continued to air live sporting events like soccer, boxing and more NASCAR and UFC and will continue to grow its live sporting events into the near future with college football starting up this week, Major League Baseball coming to the network in 2014 and both NASCAR’s premiere Sprint Cup Series and major golfing events like the U.S. Open coming in 2015.

There’s no doubt in my mind that FS1 is set when it comes to sporting events, if not already than certainly in the upcoming couple of years. This live programming will instantly boost FS1 to the second most watched cable sports network obviously behind ESPN, but ahead of competitors NBC Sports Network and CBS Sports Network, which have been around longer, but don’t really have major live sporting events.

Fox Sports 1’s biggest challenge early on is going to be trying to attract sports fans to its studio shows like its flagship program “Fox Sports Live.”

“Fox Sports Live” is a little bit of a mixed bag from the start. The show features two uniquely talented and funny co-anchors in Jay Onrait and Dan O’Toole who’ve been immensely popular over the years on a Canadian version of “SportsCentre” that aired on Canada’s The Sports Network (TSN). The duo immediately rival any of the best anchors over at ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” which is saying quite a lot, but the show suffers from an unusual format. It’s almost two shows in one. It would be kind of like if ESPN’s “SportsCenter” and “First Take” melded into one. The highlights portion of the show is fine as is, but the panel discussion format hosted by former ESPN talent Charissa Thompson with past athletes Andy Roddick (tennis), Donovan McNabb (football), Ephraim Salaam (football), Gary Payton (basketball) and Gabe Kapler (baseball) as opinionists is out of whack.

The panel on Fox Sports Live is given the biggest topics of the day to debate and give their thoughts on, but it comes off as a little weird for sports fans to see a guy like Roddick talk about Alex Rodriguez on steroids or a guy like Payton talking about the latest story out of the NFL. Most fans seem to prefer actual experts on a particular sport talking about that sport, for instance Roddick talking about tennis or Payton talking about the NBA. It’s a unique idea the Fox Sports network executives had, essentially turning novice fans into panelists, but I’m not sure it will catch on.

As negative as that might sound about “Fox Sports Live,” it is actually the network’s strongest original show thus far. It frankly looks like Emmy Award winning material next to FS1’s other big original series “Crowd Goes Wild,” which airs Monday through Friday afternoon. “Crowd Goes Wild” is hosted by longtime television legend Regis Philbin, who was an awkward decision to host a show from the very beginning, but Fox Sports was likely looking for big name recognition to drive people to the show. Regis may well have driven people to the show, but the show itself has probably driven many of the viewers away. “Crowd Goes Wild” is also a panel show featuring former British sports television personality Georgie Thompson, Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Gay, comedian Michael Kosta, former NFL player Trevor Pryce and has heavy social media aspects from Katie Nolan. Gay is really the only person who seems to have any business being on a show like this. Thompson tries her best to moderate the entire thing – though shouldn’t that be Regis’ job. Yes, but he’s obviously just the face/name of the show – but things are just too wacky and seemingly disjointed on the show. Kosta is instantly one of the most annoying figures on sports television trying to bring comedic aspects to the show, but failing almost every time. “Crowd Goes Wild” is like a really bad version of ESPN’s “SportsNation.”   

Fox Sports 1’s other programming is typical sports cable network stuff: NASCAR Race Hub (previously on the Speed Channel), Fox Soccer Daily, UFC Tonight and Fox Football Daily. All of these shows are like something you would see on ESPN and basically will draw people who either like the talking heads on these shows or who don’t care much for the ESPN counterparts, especially when it comes to Fox Football Daily.

Fox Sports 1 would be smart to add daily or nightly shows during the MLB and NBA season for fans of those sports, like ESPN has with “Baseball Tonight” and TNT has with “Inside the NBA,” but I’m not sure there are any plans to do so at this time.

Fox Sports 1, like all new television networks, simply needs time to grow more than anything else. If fans give the network that opportunity within a few years it might grow into a network capable of truly competing with ESPN, which is something all sports fans should want regardless of their feelings toward ESPN because competition leads to a better product all around.

If I were to grade FS1 on their first couple of weeks on the air on an A-to-F scale I would currently have to give it a decent C grade, which I’ll admit is mostly for their coverage of their live sporting events. The network does need to look into ways to improve upon their original studio shows, which I’m sure they will do if the ratings aren’t where the network thinks they should be. It’s probably way too early in the game to worry a whole lot about that right now. I have hopes Fox Sports 1 will continue to grow into the future and be a major player in the cable sports world. Only time will tell.  
 

ESPN Blatantly Stumping for Yasiel Puig to Make All Star Game is Wrong

Media are supposed to be objective. They aren’t supposed to take sides on news stories or events when giving straightforward news. There, of course, are editorials in which media can give informed opinions on such topics. Sometimes the line between being objective and editorializing is crossed though by media.

ESPN, the nation’s biggest sports medium, has crossed the line lately by appearing completely subjective in its attempts to get Los Angeles Dodgers phenom rookie outfielder Yasiel Puig into next week’s Major League Baseball All Star Game.

Last Saturday the All Star Game rosters were announced and Puig was left off of the initial National League roster, but was selected as one of five players in the Final Five vote by N.L. skipper Bruce Bochy. Despite playing in only 34 games this season, even less at the time of the roster announcement, it seemed like Puig would be a lock to win the Final Five vote over arguably more deserving players like Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman, Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, Washington Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond and San Francisco Giants outfielder Hunter Pence. However, after the first few voting totals came in Puig was ranked second in the voting behind Freeman.

Puig has quite possibly been the best player in all of baseball since he entered the league just over a month ago. He’s hit a whopping .407 with eight home runs and 19 RBI. He would probably be mesmerizing to watch play in the midsummer classic, but does a small sample size of 34 major league games warrant him being an all star over someone like Freeman who has more experience, not only this season but career-wise, and has all star worthy numbers in his own right with a .305 average, nine homers and 56 RBI, which is good enough for ninth in the National League ahead of all stars like Pedro Alvarez, Troy Tulowitzki, Buster Posey, Andrew McCutchen, Joey Votto, David Wright and many more.

Do to Puig only playing in about half the games that guys like Freeman have and to the fact that the MLB All Star Game is merely an exhibition game the question of which one of these players should make the game really is a subjective one. However, it should be a subjective one made by the fans. They should be the ones deciding whether or not they think Puig should make the game or should not, because he may not have enough time in the league in their opinion. Thankfully, they get to choose.

However, the media shouldn’t be trying to influence their opinion on shows like “SportsCenter,” ESPN’s answer to the nightly news, which should remain objective for the most part. On editorial shows like “Pardon the Interruption,” “Around the Horn” and many others on the ESPN networks trying to influence opinion isn’t really wrong, but the way the network/shows sometimes go about it, especially of late, is somewhat infuriating and biased.

However, there is a difference between editorial shows showing bias and straight news outlets like “SportsCenter” showing bias. When “SportsCenter” stumps to get Puig into the All Star Game as they’ve blatantly been trying to do for some reason (most likely ratings) much of this week it truly borders on journalistic malpractice. “SportsCenter” shouldn’t have a rooting interest in who wins the National League Final Vote, and notice they only care about the National League vote and where Puig is in relation to the leading vote getter in the category. The show shouldn’t care if the winner is Puig or Freeman or any one of the other three players in the category. It’s the show’s duty to report the winner of the vote, not influence it.

The Final Five vote will come to an end later this afternoon and it wouldn’t surprise me if Puig has surpassed Freeman in the voting by then to take the final slot on the National League roster. If he does ESPN should pat themselves on the back, because they would have played a big role in getting Puig on the team, after all, all we’ve heard about for half a week now is how Puig should be on this team and not Freeman, Gonzalez, Desmond or Pence.