Who's Now? Not ESPN

If you're like me, you probably spend more time than you'd care to admit watching SportsCenter. You watch highlights of games you watched in their entirety only hours before, you have arguments with analysts who can't hear the sound of your voice -- heck, you even sit through hockey clips. If ESPN is selling it, you're buying.

But sometimes the good folks in Bristol lose their way, as they've done with their current masterpiece, the suspenseful "Who's Now?" package. If the phrase "jump the shark" hadn't jumped the shark about five years ago, this would be the perfect spot for it.

In case you aren't familiar with the concept, here's how it works. They came up with a group of the biggest stars in the sporting world (thirty-two of them, I think), seeded them somehow, and dropped them into an NCAA-style bracket. The individual matchups (say, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. vs. Peyton Manning) are then debated by a panel of "experts." Sometimes the experts have some sports credentials, like Jalen Rose or Keyshawn Johnson, but other times it's just a Hollywood schmoe (Kevin James, Adam Sandler) or starlet (Jessica Biel) looking to pump an upcoming film. And to top it all off, the whole thing is moderated by ESPN's poet laureate, Stuart Scott.

The panel debates the match-ups, mulling over such factors as endorsements, hipness, and -- by the way -- on-field performance. The viewers then jump onto the internet and cast their votes, sending one athlete to the next round while dissing the other.

I understand why they do this. July and August are the slowest months of the sports year. The NBA is a distant memory, football season is still too far away, and baseball's pennant races haven't yet begun to take shape.

But this is the best they can do?

Comments

[Michael Duenes]

I agree; "Who's Now?" is garbage. Though it is interesting, if one gets philosophical, to ponder the connection over the years between Hollywood and sports. This would seem to be taking it to another notch. By the way, Hank, when are you going to leave the ranks of teaching to become a full-time writer? It's you, dude! The coaching would probably be the hardest thing for you to leave.