A friend couldn’t have summed up ESPN’s Winter X-Games better: “For three days every January, Sal Masakela gets a job and ESPN showcases 9 million degrees of spins.” Very true, but it also allows the network to try and awkwardly fit some randomly selected soundtrack to long-haired Europeans’ doing flips off a 30-foot snow pile. Nas held that position this year, but his appearance wasn’t as disastrous as it could’ve been. Read the rest of this entry »

A Friday night game featuring the Clips and the T’wolves would’ve got the gas face anytime before this season. News of an injured Chris Paul probably had cats heading for the club as well instead of staying in to watch ball. Nevertheless, the match up was anything but a toilet bowl. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s the scene. Let’s say you’re the head coach of the Miami Heat and you’re down one with 16 ticks on the clock. You can get a one possession lead with the right play call. Who gets their name drawn for the potential dagger? Read the rest of this entry »

ESPN lost its visage of an objective journalistic entity years ago, finally jumping the shark when it pretended to be reporting breaking news on the LeBron James decision while simultaneously making back room deals to air a “Decision” special. But this Tim Tebow bullsh*t has gone too far. Read the rest of this entry »

Unless gaming is just your thing or you have an abundance of free time, there’s a pretty good chance your Xbox 360 has been relegated to Netflix status. For those still paying for that Gold Xbox Live membership, ESPN 2.0 could make watching college football this upcoming season even more enjoyable. Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t know about you, but I’m so over the NBA’s free agency season right now. I’ve come to realize that I prefer my free agent signings to appear as blurbs across the bottom of ESPN’s screen or as breaking news interrupting diving outfield grabs on SportsCenter. Read the rest of this entry »

MTV should take a lesson from ESPN. While the faux music channel airs reruns of stale teen flicks, ESPN’s 30 For 30 series continues to impress with documentaries that we actually give a damn about. Tins already expressed his appreciation of “The U,” while also suggesting new topics for future installments. What Tins didn’t suggest was this week’s latest doc, “The Two Escobars.” Read the rest of this entry »

The greatest thing to come out of the NBA Playoffs this year has been Ron Artest in front of a live mic. He made Craig Sager rep for Queensbridge Projects then thanked his psychiatrist after game 7. But all of that was just the appetizer for the entree – a meal that, I imagine, includes turkey necks and Grape drink – that was the awkwardness of the entire Artest squad bombarding Hannah Storm for the post-game interview. VH1, you love painting Black people in the most positive light possible. I implore you to pitch a Ron Artest reality show. We need it. Read the rest of this entry »

Kristal Solis

ESPN Coming To Xbox 360 [The Koalition]

Sir Charles Wants To Be Your Next GM [With Leather]

The Imports: Non-American Black Music Acts [Black Voices]

Everything You Need to Know About Kevin Costner’s Miraculous Oil-Cleaning Machine [Gawker] Read the rest of this entry »

Bee Rae

ESPN To Launch New 3-D Channel [Showing Out]

See You In New York, LeBron [With Leather]

Sarah Silverman Got Canceled [Warming Glow]

Sammy “Soft White” Sosa Ditched The Splotchy Bleached Skin And Is Black Again [Bossip]

5 Other Excuses Lawrence Taylor Might Use At His Trial [Guyism]

Gay Men and Straight Girls’ Private Parts: A Peace Treaty [Gawker] Read the rest of this entry »

I would be lying if I said that I would have watched this E:60 profile without Nas being attached to the project. It’s what caught my attention in the first place. But once the story unravels, it quickly takes precedence over the celebrity voice-over. The story describes the journey of the Liberian Amputee Soccer Team and the struggles of its players. Read the rest of this entry »

When it comes to sports, those who document them are almost as important as the athletes themselves. For those who are still not in the know, ESPN is the architect behind one of the greatest documentary campaigns ever. Their “30 For 30” series has already produced classics centering around subjects like Len Bias, The University of Miami, the Knicks/Pacers rivalry and even one on the way about the Los Angeles Raiders – narrated by Ice Cube.

But “the worldwide leader in sports” can’t possibly do a documentary on every thought-provoking story that’s happened over the years. Below are seven stories I wouldn’t mind being brought to TV. Pardon the lack of diversity. Read the rest of this entry »

If ESPN doesn’t win some type of award for their “30 for 30” series, something is criminally wrong. It’s doing exactly what I have been saying has been lacking from sports (and music in a sense), the ability to successfully tell a story from a deeper perspective. Last week, “The U,” a two-hour documentary focusing on the University of Miami’s football program, was shown and was subsequently their highest rated film to date. From teetering on the brink of cancellation to becoming the most controversial and successful program in history, it was all explained in depth. Coming from a Florida State fan, it had me glued to the TV for the entire time and laughing at the fact just how cocky (and talented) these dudes actually were. They won a football game once by tallying over 200 yards in penalties because they’d celebrate after every play. Now I see where Chad Ochocino draws his inspiration from. Read the rest of this entry »

Interesting statistics ESPN’s Outside The Lines compiled when highlighting on race in the NBA. As math would have it, White Americans’ presence in the league is at a historic low. Off the top of my head, the only active White American player I could think of was J.J. Redick. When Jerry West was asked the same question, all he could do was chuckle. And if anybody knows the NBA roster, it would be him. He played when they used peach baskets and will more than likely die a GM. Read the rest of this entry »

Fans and enthusiasts can now rejoice and breathe a sigh of relief. Allen Iverson has returned to the “City of Brotherly Love.” The news that had plenty of supporters in a tizzy, is now a mere afterthought as he’s set to give his first NBA team a boost in their roster. No surprises here. Did anyone really believe the league would let a capable marquee player sit out without a bigger probable cause than a cry for attention? Who does he look like? Latrell Sprewell? Read the rest of this entry »