Making something out of nothing... in a bad way

By Eric Y

Last Friday, South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier admitted he did not vote for Florida quarterback and former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow as All-SEC quarterback. Spurrier was the only coach in the conference to vote for a quarterback other than Tebow. ESPN, among others, has spent a lot of time covering this story. Talk of the Head Ball Coach "dissing" his alma mater and their star was all over the news. But I have to ask: why do we care?

Ok, ok, we get it: Tebow should have been unanimously the first-team quarterback. But does this error, this mistake, which Spurrier himself fessed up to, really deserve this much fuss? Mississippi quarterback Jevan Snead getting ONE vote does not mean Tebow isn't on the first team. And do you think Tebow is upset that Spurrier accidentally voted for someone else? Do you think a good guy like him is gonna go on a rant, calling out the Gamecocks, because of this? No! Of course not! There is nothing so newsworthy about this mistake that it should be the headline of the SEC media day, where we should be hearing about the upcoming season and not Tim Tebow's virginity.

This whole over-reporting of the SEC first team "scandal" really leaves me wondering: is ESPN turning into the MTV of sports television? Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of SportsCenter and of when the station shows games. But more and more of ESPN is becoming off-the-field stuff and less and less is about what's actually happening in the game. Of course, a little bit about what's happening to athletes off the field is good, but after hearing about Terrell Owens' antics and reality TV show and the pregnancy testing for Dirk Nowitzki's girlfriend every day, you get pretty sick of it. Why don't you tell me how Owens, the same wideout who was exiled from three different cities, can mesh into Bufallo's system and thrive? How about you spend just a second talking about Nowitzki's performance on the court and not in bed?

Often times, I turn on the TV expecting to see a game on ESPN, but, most times, I'm disappointed to see yet another goddamn E:60 report on Michael Vick and his puppies. ESPN is slowly but surely turning into MTV, showcasing the World Series of Poker but not Major League Baseball, and Outside the Lines but not NFL Live. And that's why I like ESPN Classic; they show actual sporting events (with the exception of American Gladiators, but it's entertaining). I'd rather watch a football game from 10 years ago than hear about a punk wide receiver who kills a guy but doesn't get 10 years.

On a totally unrelated note, Tim Tebow's reported girlfriend is totally bangin. I wouldn't mind if the guys on ESPN talked about her a little bit more.