I had some work to do late this afternoon that could be done while watching television, so. . . after checking out the fascinating array of programming available on the 900 or so channels available, I decided to watch the last half of ESPN's Pardon the Interruption, followed by Sports Center.
Wilbon and Kornheiser were doing their usual faux arguing on PTI. The Caste System, like the larger System in general, believes in eternal hatred and never forgiving orforgetting, so they did a littledog and pony showon today being Cade McNown's 30th birthday, which gave both boys their chance to rip into McNown big time. ("The worst disaster of a quarterback in Bears history, and that's saying a lot.")
But what caught my attention was what was hyped by ESPN duringthe two commercial breaks while I watched PTI. Both trumpeted the upcoming Sports Center with a lead-in story of "Why Peyton Manning's Season Will End Tomorrow." Not asking it as a question or as a possibility, but hyping it as a declarative statement,subjective opinionbeing passed off as a top "news story."
Sports Center began at 6:00, and again the Manning's season ending tomorrow story was given as the lead, but it wasn't. Each time there was a break for commercials, one of the two corporate sports anchors would say, "Next, why Peyton Manning's season is about to end," but the segment wasn't shown. The Bears-Eagles game was analyzed in detail, with predictions of the outcome made. There was also the mandatory NBA stories, and a story about Barry Bonds, but still no Manning segment.
I rarely watch PTI or Sports Center for more than a few minutes when I do watch, and by this time every fiber of my being was screaming at me to switch channels or turn the boob tube off. But my German stubborness won the day, and I waited it out for the Manning story.
At 6:40, forty minutes into the broadcast, there was a segment on the Colts-Ravens game, but no predictions and nothing about why Manning was about to lose. Going into the next two breaks, nothing was said about it all. It appeared that the entire promised segment had disappeared into the Memory Hole.
Finally, at 6:55, the show'sThree Stooges for today -- Mark Schlereth
, Ron Jaworski
, and Darren Woodson
-- were brought on and each predicted a Ravens victory over Manning and Colts, each saying Manning would not be able to handle Baltimore's defense.
During the endless hour plus leading up to the anti-Manning bit, I was treated to several analysts blasting Rex Grossman, along with the gratuitous attack on McNown.
Virtually every other face seen and heard during this time was black, and always presented in a positive manner. The NHL was never mentioned. Neither was the upcoming Australian Open in tennis. It was nothing but the Caste System's sacred black sports of football and basketball and one Barry Bonds story. There was an endless segment featuring Eagles safety Brian Dawkins yapping it up during several Eagles games, and even a piece entitled "Why the Bears Still Believe in Tank Johnson," the esteemed Mr. Johnson of course being arrested multiple times during the past year on various serious weapons charges. There was the pronoucement made by either Sheila or Kyle that "the eyes of the country will be on Reggie Bush when he plays his first playoff game in front of a national audience." And after the Manning bashing segment finally appeared, ESPN immediately launched a story extolling the character of Colts RB Joseph Addai. That's when I finally shut it off.
I think I deserve a medal for sitting through this for 75 minutes. Since misery loves company I decided to share it with you.
Edited by: Don Wassall
Wilbon and Kornheiser were doing their usual faux arguing on PTI. The Caste System, like the larger System in general, believes in eternal hatred and never forgiving orforgetting, so they did a littledog and pony showon today being Cade McNown's 30th birthday, which gave both boys their chance to rip into McNown big time. ("The worst disaster of a quarterback in Bears history, and that's saying a lot.")
But what caught my attention was what was hyped by ESPN duringthe two commercial breaks while I watched PTI. Both trumpeted the upcoming Sports Center with a lead-in story of "Why Peyton Manning's Season Will End Tomorrow." Not asking it as a question or as a possibility, but hyping it as a declarative statement,subjective opinionbeing passed off as a top "news story."
Sports Center began at 6:00, and again the Manning's season ending tomorrow story was given as the lead, but it wasn't. Each time there was a break for commercials, one of the two corporate sports anchors would say, "Next, why Peyton Manning's season is about to end," but the segment wasn't shown. The Bears-Eagles game was analyzed in detail, with predictions of the outcome made. There was also the mandatory NBA stories, and a story about Barry Bonds, but still no Manning segment.
I rarely watch PTI or Sports Center for more than a few minutes when I do watch, and by this time every fiber of my being was screaming at me to switch channels or turn the boob tube off. But my German stubborness won the day, and I waited it out for the Manning story.
At 6:40, forty minutes into the broadcast, there was a segment on the Colts-Ravens game, but no predictions and nothing about why Manning was about to lose. Going into the next two breaks, nothing was said about it all. It appeared that the entire promised segment had disappeared into the Memory Hole.
Finally, at 6:55, the show'sThree Stooges for today -- Mark Schlereth
During the endless hour plus leading up to the anti-Manning bit, I was treated to several analysts blasting Rex Grossman, along with the gratuitous attack on McNown.
Virtually every other face seen and heard during this time was black, and always presented in a positive manner. The NHL was never mentioned. Neither was the upcoming Australian Open in tennis. It was nothing but the Caste System's sacred black sports of football and basketball and one Barry Bonds story. There was an endless segment featuring Eagles safety Brian Dawkins yapping it up during several Eagles games, and even a piece entitled "Why the Bears Still Believe in Tank Johnson," the esteemed Mr. Johnson of course being arrested multiple times during the past year on various serious weapons charges. There was the pronoucement made by either Sheila or Kyle that "the eyes of the country will be on Reggie Bush when he plays his first playoff game in front of a national audience." And after the Manning bashing segment finally appeared, ESPN immediately launched a story extolling the character of Colts RB Joseph Addai. That's when I finally shut it off.
I think I deserve a medal for sitting through this for 75 minutes. Since misery loves company I decided to share it with you.
