ESPN wants to destroy Fox Sports One

[TulsaWarrior]

Tonight's "30 for 30" special, Requiem for the Big East seems like a off handed slap at the current Big East, a league that is a prime air property of rival Fox Sports One. I don't know if it is possible for ESPN to do a journalistically honest look at what happened to the Big East. That would take some introspection and investigative work involving the role of ESPN executives and a look at the duplicity of college presidents at Pitt and Syracuse. That's not going to happen. Look for a whitewash of the changing face of college sports.

The choice of the programs title tells us what the ESPN corporate suits want us to think.

req·ui·em
ˈrekwēəm,ˈrā-/Submit
noun
1.
(esp. in the Roman Catholic Church) a Mass for the repose of the souls of the dead.

[TedBaxter]

Jay Bilas openly lobbying for the ACC to take over New York City is another example. He's gone from a guy I use to respect to your typical network mouthpiece and it's become all about money.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/weiss-contrary-critics-big-east-alive-swishing-article-1.1722523

[CaribouJim]

Jay Bilas openly lobbying for the ACC to take over New York City is another example. He's gone from a guy I use to respect to your typical network mouthpiece and it's become all about money.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/weiss-contrary-critics-big-east-alive-swishing-article-1.1722523

Jay was beating up Xavier this morning as a possible team in the NCAA's in lieu of NC State.

[Mark Miller]

Jay Bilas is better than that. Or maybe not. Perhaps he's getting his direction from his bosses at ESPN.

I am now a Fox Sports 1 watcher.

[Mark Miller]

Of course, the great thing about basketball this time of the year is teams get the chance to prove their worth on the court.

The Big East needs to do well in the post season in order to hush the critics, many of whom have agendas.

[MUMac]

Jay Bilas is better than that. Or maybe not. Perhaps he's getting his direction from his bosses at ESPN.

I am now a Fox Sports 1 watcher.

I have lost all respect for the blowhard bilas. His holier than thou schtick got old. I refuse to listen to him anymore. I no longer watch ESPN. I have moved to Fox Sports 1 as well.

[CaribouJim]

Jay was beating up Xavier this morning as a possible team in the NCAA's in lieu of NC State.

...and on ESPN Radio this morning he declared the Big East "dead"..."just because the name remains doesn't mean that it is the same".

I did notice one of the promo ads for the documentary tonight was about the '85 FF - where 3 of the teams were from the Big East - Villanova, G- Town, and SJU - all 3 still in the BE. That was 5-6 years into the league's history - let's see how things go from here - not even a full year yet.

One thing I really hope for is that all BE teams really have an aggressive OOC schedule. Don't want to be hearing a year from now when tourney bids are being discussed that "that (BE) team didn't play anyone".

Ultimately, the league members have to prove it on court. Major league bummed that MU is not playing this year, but hoping the 3-4 teams that are kick some butt.

[mufan2003]

Jay Bilas is better than that. Or maybe not. Perhaps he's getting his direction from his bosses at ESPN.

I am now a Fox Sports 1 watcher.

Well said. Caught some ESPN highlights of scores and when it was Big East time...."To the Big East, even though it's not what it once was." Would not be surprised if that was in the script and not just added by the individual doing the highlights.

The good news, based on all reports (including posters here) the Big East tournament was a smashing success. Great games culminated with a superb championship game. Bryce Cotton had a little Allen Iverson in his game last night against the SI cover boy.

FOX, Big East and MSG are not going anywhere. If ACC wants to dominate, they are going to have to earn it. 5 Top 25 recruiting classes for next year are teams from the Big East. Coach K, Boeheim, Roy Williams won't coach forever. What if Pitino leaves Louisville?

I am fine with the Big East being 1 of the 4 best conferences each year. Some years #1 or #2 and some years #3 or #4. I think that is how it will be, ACC only adds Louisville and look how mediocre the conference was this year outside their top 4. They have to deal with a lot of football first schools, whereas Big East is all about basketball!

[Gato78]

Fox could always do a piece on how football and ESPN destroyed the greatest basketball conference.

[mufan2003]

Bilas also played and was an assistant coach at Duke. I have no doubt Coach K has had a big say in the ACC's ambitions to be the dominant conference. No problem with that, but do it promoting your conference and with play on the court....not attacking another conference....seriously, how childish does that look to spend so much energy trying to put down another conference if your own conference speaks for itself? Their actions speak louder than words.

[mufan2003]

"Requiem for the Big East" surely has its motives to undermine the current Big East. However, the producer of the piece is a Georgetown alumnus and Georgetown fan. They did a preview on Outside the Lines this week. That is why I will at least watch.

Within the 2 hour program, an interesting part is his story on how John Thompson and the Hoyas became the "Bad Boys" of the Big East. The "street cred" that the Hoyas had, the toughness in the way they played and even the racial undertones they faced in opposing arenas (towards Patrick Ewing and others).

[ValiantSailor]

Fox Sports has Raftery...ESPN has Vitale. 'Nuf said.

VS

[CaribouJim]

I think it was Sultan who said that the Big Ten Conference TV contract comes up for renewal soon. I'm thinking that it would be good for the Big East to have the FS1 win the Big 10 contract right? Fox really needs more eyes getting into the habit of watching them for their sports fix. For one they need multiple showings of their version of Sports Center, especially in the AM - not just repeat of the prior night. They are promoting the upcoming new Mike Francesca (sp?) Show...ughh. He is dreadful. Hope they can come up with more creative content down the road, then again, it is still early - like the Big East, so I should cut them some slack.

Lastly, would it kill them to have a brunette or someone with a little ethnic flavor and not just blonde hotties - not that there is anything wrong with that, just looking for some variety, which is the spice of life afterall!!!!

[BLT]

Coach K is out barking about getting in NCST in over Xavier and the A10 schools. NCST lost to North Carolina Central, was 9-9 in league play, and lost by 31 to UVA at home. The only reason that NCST has a chance is the putrid bottom of the ACC. They will continue to protect their turf at all costs. It is only a $ business to them.

The Big East and FS1 just need to go more on the offensive as I said before. End of the day, it was a great conference season, lots of parity, the National POY, a great tournament, some top seeds. Just need to go on the offensive in the press. The McDermotts, Cooley, Nova as a potential 1 seed, even the Buzz story helps change the spin versus a bunch of whiny old men in the ACC and on ESPN. I seriously doubt Coach K or Jay Bilas even know how good Semaj Christon is.

[Phantom Warrior]

I'm not as upset as many others seem to be about the "Requiem." It is a shame the Big East of a couple of years does not still exist. It was an incredible conference for hoops. I, for one, mourn the loss.

And the reality is that the present Big East is not even close to what the former Big East was, at least at this point. This year may have been considerably stronger had Butler not lost its best player, GTown had not lost what was potentially its best player (as well as Smith), and had Vander stayed.

[mufan2003]

I'm not as upset as many others seem to be about the "Requiem." It is a shame the Big East of a couple of years does not still exist. It was an incredible conference for hoops. I, for one, mourn the loss.

And the reality is that the present Big East is not even close to what the former Big East was, at least at this point. This year may have been considerably stronger had Butler not lost its best player, GTown had not lost what was potentially its best player (as well as Smith), and had Vander stayed.

Sure. But the ACC this year is nowhere near what the old Big East was either. Start with Pittsburgh at #5 in the ACC and all the way through the 15th team, a lot of average, average basketball teams.

[kneelb4zerg]

Isn't the Big East ahead of the ACC in Pomeroy and RPI?

[CaribouJim]

I'm not as upset as many others seem to be about the "Requiem." It is a shame the Big East of a couple of years does not still exist. It was an incredible conference for hoops. I, for one, mourn the loss.

And the reality is that the present Big East is not even close to what the former Big East was, at least at this point. This year may have been considerably stronger had Butler not lost its best player, GTown had not lost what was potentially its best player (as well as Smith), and had Vander stayed.

The documentary may not be what we think it will be:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-big-east-ncaa-tournament-espn-selection-bracketology-20140315,0,1191312.story#axzz2w9nvuQaH

“I don’t want to go so far as to say that the sport is dead, and there’s still something that’s exciting about the NCAA tournament,” he said. “But the thing that connected me to it is gone. Something has been fundamentally broken.”
Not lost as a culprit in all this is ESPN itself. Founded the same year as the Big East, the pair’s fates were bound together, the rise of one aiding the fortunes of the other. (The network was among the first to show Big East games, for example.) The billion-dollar business that fractured the Big East became that way in part because of ESPN.
Edelman’s film doesn’t shy away from ESPN’s role, though he is not its harshest critic either. In the interview, he said that he was “wary” whether he'd have the freedom to depict the company's role while it was financing and airing his film, but that he was given autonomy to tell the story as he saw fit.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

I have a feeling ACC shills like Bilas are just bitter that the Big East is a superior conference by every numerical system. Yes, the ACC has some nice teams at the top, but they are complete ass at the bottom, and it doesn't exactly speak well of the crown jewel they plucked (so far) that Syracuse went into a late tail-spin including an embarrassing home loss to lowly BC.

[TheSultan]

I think it was Sultan who said that the Big Ten Conference TV contract comes up for renewal soon. I'm thinking that it would be good for the Big East to have the FS1 win the Big 10 contract right? Fox really needs more eyes getting into the habit of watching them for their sports fix.

Yes...at the end of 2015-16. It is huge for Fox, FS1 and the BE. Especially since no other conference is up for bid until well into the next decade.

[CaribouJim]

Yes...at the end of 2015-16. It is huge for Fox, FS1 and the BE. Especially since no other conference is up for bid until well into the next decade.

...and if they did secure the Big 10 they would have coverage from coast to coast in virtually every time zone in the continental USA with the PAC 12 and Big East book-ending the Big 10.

[TheSultan]

...and if they did secure the Big 10 they would have coverage from coast to coast in virtually every time zone in the continental USA with the PAC 12 and Big East book-ending the Big 10.


Exactly right...and remember the B10 will have 14 teams by then. Regardless, they are in for a HUGE payday.