Businesses like money In T.V, ratings = money Tebow = ratings Tebow = money Which = ESPN the business likes Tebow Which = WAY WAY WAY TOO MUCH TEBOW ON T.V and that's coming from a pro Tebow guy.
I have said it before, the media (specifically ESPN) over covers Tebow to the point that: 1. Other players resent him. 2. Psycho anti Tebow haters think he is getting credit somehow when he isn't 3. It will ruin his chances to actually catch on with teams because teams just do not want to deal with the headache. Thanks ESPN!
If talking about Tebow gave you more ratings, why not talk about him if people will watch, if you are annoyed, don't watch. Seriously Tebow is the recent phenomenon to make ESPN (Actually, Mickey Mouse himself since ESPN is owned by Walt Disney) millions and millions of dollars. Same can be said for Brett Farve, Barry Bonds, and A-Rod. Skip Bayless is just a troll, if you realize that, First Take can be enjoyable to watch. Have been watching since the days of Cold Pizza and Stephen A Smith a show calles "Quiet Frankly"
I'd like to just point out the mindblowing irony of posting an article critiquing objective journalism, originating at....Deadspin. Seriously? SERIOUSLY??? :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl: Yep. Whatever one may think of Skip Bayless (I personally disagree with his take more often than agree with his take), he is the only "personality" at ESPN that comes to mind who has been consistent in his views on Tebow for a couple years now, in the face of overwhelming, lemmings running off the cliff opposition and negative views on Tebow at ESPN. Pretty much everyone else at ESPN jumped on and off and on and off the Tebow bandwagon. Even the extreme Tebow haters like Hoge and Dilfer flip-flopped on Tebow at one point during last season when the Broncos were making their run, but they flip-flopped not because they sincerely changed their opinion on him, but because they simply could not stand the heat/shame of looking like a big bunch of idiots downing on Tebow when he was leading a bargain basement team to the playoffs last year, all of their pronouncements about him notwithstanding. Skip also predicted exactly the W/L record - 7-4 - that Tebow would have in the regular season once he took over for good after the Chargers game last year. What other well-known sports personalities on ESPN (or any other network or sports media outlet) had either the balls or the foresight to make that prediction and stick with it? I don't know of any. I do believe that some of the positions Skip posits on First Take - maybe a LOT of his positions - are purely for ratings and he doesn't necessarily personally believe the viewpoint he is taking. And that bugs me. But the Tebow issue does not fit into that category for Skip. His views on Tebow are clearly 100% heartfelt and are the way he actually feels, and I for one applaud him for sticking with those views and not bowing to the tremendous peer pressure of other "journalists" in the sports world to do everything possible to destroy Tebow.
Integrity and obligation. You're basically advocating for corporate abstention in a corporatist world. SportsCenter made ESPN millions (and both contracts with sports leagues and the coverage of sports in general) but not any particular athlete. And the network's quality has declined since ABC and ESPN started slowly merging beginning in 1996. ESPN prevents uninformed sports fans from using their "originally programming" to become more informed. They've morphed into the antithesis of their original purpose.
1) Skip also called Dez Bryant the next Calvin Johnson and said he'd pick Tebow over Brady or Rodgers for the last 2 minutes of an NFL game. 2) In the words of Skip Bayless: "I'VE BEEN EXTREMELY OBJECTIVE ABOUT TIM TEBOW." --Every Tebowner
If Tim Tebow flames out of the NFL, I think the Tebots should put almost all the blame on Skip Bayless and ESPN for screwing up NFL career to a point.
If you all thought that Skip Bayless actually believed the things he said you are all kidding yourselves. I said this months ago that Skip Bayless only says what he does because he gets ratings. TMZSPN indeed. What is one of the largest topics that makes people angry and causees, Religion, and Tebow is huge in this front. What is the second biggest topic that people hate, Lebron James, Skip was all over that as well.
Oh god. Their "original purpose" was to attract viewers in order to make money. It was that way from the very first day that the company existed.
It's funny how the best written articles and breakdowns are on Grantland and not ESPN.com. It's also funny how commentary articles are buried away on ESPN.com and there isn't even a section there anymore. The best articles come from the local bloggers of teams, not surprising. ESPN used to be really good about being objective and their writing, it has slowly gone downhill. Deadspin is actually a good "slander" website or however you want to use it. They dislike ESPN obviosuly, but most of it is rooted and they post tons of examples why. The best writing for ESPN comes on their side sites that they rarely push or promote. It's the way it is. Deadspin also has a good point, ESPN can create it's own news cycle. Everyone is talking about Tebow because they are always talking about Tebow. Everyone is talking about Peyton because they influence it. They influence it and they can play both sides by having people saying "so and so are over covered these days" because they are doing it. ESPN's best thing right now is 30 for 30s.
Without the character issues, Dez Bryant very well could be the next Calvin Johnson. Skip has backed way off of his earlier opinions about Dez, though, because of his constant character issues. And I would also take Tebow over Brady or Rodgers for the last 2 minutes of an NFL game. Tebow gave us multiple examples last season of how clutch he is in the waning minutes of the game. He has been. He's never said he would be a pro bowler or hall of famer, has acknowledged he may never have the prettiest throwing motion or highest completion %, but that he is a great leader and a competitive force of nature who raises the play of others on his team and helps to win games. He said Tebow could lead a team to the playoffs, which he did. He was the only NFL media personality I know of who correctly predicted the Broncos regular season record once Tebow took over. Nailed it. Which part of that isn't objective, or true? Now, when he says he's been extremely objective about Lebron James, well, that's nowhere near the truth. But Tebow? Yeah, he's been extremely objective. Just because you vehemently disagree with his view on Tebow, it doesn't change the fact that he's been very objective about him (while the haters have been very subjective), and it doesn't change the fact that he's been right about Tebow. Alright, flame away, tell me all the ways he hasn't been objective about Tebow, I know you're just dying to, all while no doubt holding yourself up as the model of objectivity on the subject.
Dez is just not very good because he is (in no particular order) 1. A lazy route runner. 2. has very low football IQ 3. can not grasp hot reads even until last game (still has not gotten it) 4. a lazy rout runner 5. has off the field issues (as you mentioned) 6. is a lazy route runner. He is not 5% of what Calvin Johnson is. he actually sets the team back more than he helps. In fact last year of Romo's 10 ints, 5 were caused because dez screwed up the route. he is an OK receiver but no where near worth a 1# pick (not even close).
Yeah, it's made it very difficult. I was always ready to settle in and just follow Tebow's development as a hobby. But the extreme polarization, the extreme hype, has made it impossible to to just casually follow the guy in the background. My most hopeful expectation for Tebow coming out of college was the level of attention, development, and coverage that Colin Kaepernick has gotten. They were comparable situations, in terms of the skillset, the college numbers, and where they were drafted. But Colin gets left alone and Tebow's in a constant fishbowl.
The Rasmussens and Eagan were just sports fans; originally they considered creating a cable tv channel to cover Connecticut sports only.
I'm talking about purely from a talent standpoint, and I think that's what Skip was getting at also. Most of the points you mentioned above have to do with character issues. By the way, while I have never had occasion to mention it here, I was born in and lived in Texas for the first 25 years of my life, and I am a dyed in the wool Cowboys fan, always have been. And for the record, my personal opinion is that Dez Bryant should be cut, or at least traded at the first possible opportunity. He is a drag on that team and on Romo. Just as a funny aside, Dez Bryant played for the Lufkin Panthers in high school, and Lufkin is where I was born and lived for years. We used to go see Panthers games all the time, I had a lot of friends and some family also that played for the Panthers over the years. I had moved to a different state by the time Dez was playing there, but my baby brother is about Dez' same age, and actually had occasion to play some pick-up basketball games in Lufkin with Dez and some other guys. My brother always said Dez was a heck of an athlete. That much is pretty clear on the football field. It's his character issues that I believe will prevent him from ever being anything more than very inconsistent as a receiver in the NFL.
Tebow is manufactured product Sanchez need to get some ESPN tv time for being the first chicano qb in the NFL
