but I suppose you would call them small market when comparing their fan base to other comparable markets. lol ;) I think even Denver has a larger fan base than San Diego, but less than half the population. oakland would be considered a small market(smaller than Denver even), but it has a rather large fan base as well. So it begs the question, what is a large market compared to a small market?

I gained a lot of respect for her when she seemed to own up to the idea that the Favre love fest on MNF (GB at DEN) was just plain da&#ed silly.

Still, the personalities at ESPN seem to hype themselves more than the players, the games, or the sports, and it lessens the quality. There is also way too much fluff, and too little focus during NFL games.

The same dynamic happened with MTV. It started as a music channel, and the VJs where second place to (and star struck) by the celebrities they interviewed. Then the music videos became less of a focus (much less), and the DJs tried to become celebrities themselves. Now, instead of being a cultural center and trend setter, MTV is just another cable channel (and has little to do with music and music videos anymore).

It also happened in political programming on TV. There was a time when we had shows like Firing Line, the original McLaughlin Group, the original Capitol Hill Gang, and the original Cross Fire. Firing Line never went down hill (WFB RIP), but the other shows spiraled from intelligent, informative and respectful debate, down to talking points, arguing, and cheap applause lines.

ESPN and FOX Sports are similar problems. Loud, fluff, and less about analysis and more about egos.

the female commentators (i. e. Michelle Tafoya) need to go. They are always spewing BS in the middle of great plays.

Not to sound overtly sexist, but women have no place commentating on football. Now the WNBA, that’s a different story.

The one person that I always want to hear more from is Mark Schlereth. I know there’s a little Broncos bias, but the irony of someone who participated in the OL Media Kangaroo Court being a national TV personality (complete with an soap opera appearance) is truly awesome.

He always articulates a good argument from the players point of view, which can’t be said of all of the other former players that cycle through ESPN.

Since the Broncos second of back-to-back Super Bowl wins, “East Coast” teams (Giants, Ravens and the Pats thrice) have won more championships than the rest of the league combined! The other winners are the Bucs, Steelers, Rams and Colts, so no one considerably west of the Mississippi River has done much of note in the last nine seasons. I know that Left Coast and Mountain West fans feel underrepresented, but perhaps that has more to do with the product on the field than some sureptitious bias…

its a Denver Bias!

:)