Stop the presses...ESPN First Take Talks Spurs during 1st & 10

[jestersmash]

At first it did seem like a joke, then Skip admitted "on-air" that his producers dd, in fact, advice him to steer clear o the topic. Didn't know what to believe.

As for Russillo, you're correct. He has given the Spurs plenty of props over time. I get that. The fact of the matter is, up until now, I've not heard anyone boldly proclaim they would pick the Spurs over the Fakers, as the WC rep in the NBA Finals. Russillo has been so bold.

As for Bardo, he's got every right to pick the Fakers as his choice to win it all. The glaring issue with him is that, based on a couple of inaccurate statements, it's easy to tell that he isn't all that current on all matters Spurs-related.

Interesting. That's sad if it's true. Imagine what might happen if ESPN spent a solid month or two deliberately hyping the spurs up. "These 2010-2011 Spurs are arguably the most interesting team to watch this season alongside the boston celtics! Their team and assist-oriented styles of play are nothing short of spectacular" etc etc. I wonder if ESPN could artificially drive ratings up for the spurs if they did this. The fact that the spurs are in a small market is only part of the problem, in my opinion. ESPN constantly touting the spurs as "boring" in the past quite possibly drove ratings down farther than what the spurs deserved.

ESPN complains that the spurs bring in poor ratings, and then attribute that to "boring" play. But, ironically, ESPN possibly drives ratings down further than expected by constantly calling them boring to begin with. They poison the spurs' reputation and simultaneously complain of the lack of an antidote. It's like...don't make the situation worse than it already is.

I harbor a healthy dose of hatred for ESPN, but to their credit, certain individuals have really tried to "change the tide" this season as far as the spurs' reputation is concerned. Russillo is definitely one of them. I think he provides remarkably neutral and well-informed takes on pretty much every team inthe league.

[jestersmash]

Now, if someone like Chris Broussard went out of his way to praise the spurs, that would be amazing

[SenorSpur]

Interesting. That's sad if it's true. ESPN complains that the spurs bring in poor ratings, and then attribute that to "boring" play. But, ironically, ESPN possibly drives ratings down further than expected by constantly calling them boring to begin with. They poison the spurs' reputation and simultaneously complain of the lack of an antidote. It's like...don't make the situation worse than it already is.

Which is probably why there may be a shred of truth in the admission Skip made on-air last week. He certainly wasn't laughing or joking when he made that admission. In fact, he commented that the producers could probably here viewing changing the channel when there was a mention of the Spurs.