ESPN To Air Inauguration And Set Of "Barrier Breaking" Shows

Wednesday, January 14, 2009


I guess the wrong word to use is hype, but ESPN is using the "excitement" surrounding Barack Obama's Inauguration, and airing something that they are calling "Breaking Barriers". Not only that, but they also plan on airing Obama's swearing in as President, live on Sports Center. Via ESPN....

ESPN will commemorate and cover Barack Obama’s inauguration Tuesday, January 20, with a 10-hour marathon, Breaking Barriers, starting at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN Classic that will feature ground-breaking African-American athletes such as Arthur Ashe, Jack Johnson and Eddie Robinson. ESPN Classic will also present seven hours of Breaking Barriers on Monday, January 19, Martin Luther King Day, with programs devoted to Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron and other ground-breaking black athletes.

In addition, SportsCenter will present live coverage of President-elect Obama’s swearing-in ceremony starting at 11:30 a.m. with Jeremy Schaap reporting from the West Front of the U.S. Capitol. Schaap will also provide reaction from athletes in attendance.

ESPN’s inauguration coverage will include “Realizing The Dream” vignettes on Tuesday, January 20, in which sports figures talk about what Barack Obama and his election means to them. The vignettes will air within ESPN studio programming – including SportsCenter – and across platforms (ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN Mobile Properties, etc.). Sports figures participating in the vignettes include Magic Johnson, Tom Jackson, Paul Pierce and Craig Robinson, the Oregon State head basketball coach and brother-in-law of Obama.
The ESPN Classic stuff seems like a good enough idea, but I really don't see what the point in airing the ceremony is. It's definitely a momentous occasion, but not one that needs to be covered by the "Worldwide Leader in Sports". Here's the schedule of shows in case you want to check them out....

Breaking Barriers Schedule on ESPN Classic, Tuesday, Jan. 20

1975 Wimbledon Finals: Arthur Ashe vs. Jimmy Connors (1-3pm)
Jack Johnson documentary (3-4pm)
SportsCentury: Bill Russell (4-5pm)
National Championship: Texas Western vs. Kentucky (5-6pm)
Third and a Mile: History of the Black Quarterback (6-7pm)
Eddie Robinson's 400th Victory (7-9:30pm)
SportsCentury: Ernie Davis (9:30-10:30pm)
10:30-11 p.m. SportsCentury: Willie Jeffries

22 Comments:

Maybe Josh Elliott will cry about this, too.

GMoney said...
Jan 14, 2009, 10:42:00 AM  

Multi-culturalism and PoMo at work...love this shit.

I guess we'll have to have a black President forever, just to make people happy.

Ridiculous. No one gave a crap about Dat Nguyen.

E Buzz said...
Jan 14, 2009, 10:45:00 AM  

Screw this, they should be airing the inaugurarion game on the White House basketball court. Do you think Obama gets calls even more then MJ did?

Ted Hill said...
Jan 14, 2009, 10:49:00 AM  

Again, does Craig Robinson land the Oregon State job without being Barack Obama's brother-in-law?

Anonymous said...
Jan 14, 2009, 10:51:00 AM  

Wow, you fuckers are racist.

I bet you're wearing your white hood and robe right now.

Anonymous said...
Jan 14, 2009, 11:11:00 AM  

Every other media outlet will be cover the inaguration, why does ESPN feel the need they need to do it as well? Also, I find it funny (I guess "funny" is the right word) that all these people are trying to profit from peddling Obama t-shirts, coins, hats, posters, etc. What if the man turns out to be a mediocre president or crocked? It's just strange to me, but maybe because I'm not profitting off him too.

walnuts said...
Jan 14, 2009, 11:29:00 AM  

And yes, this is a weird idea, to say the least.

Solid ESPN Classic schedule though.

Anonymous said...
Jan 14, 2009, 11:37:00 AM  

@walnuts

Even if Obama does turn out to be a mediocre president, he'll stil be better than Bush.

Anonymous said...
Jan 14, 2009, 11:40:00 AM  

"What if the man turns out to be a mediocre president or crocked?"

Can't be, not Barry. He will have his image burnished by media PR organizations, sort of like ESPN.

It's fucking creepy as hell.

Dear Leader and all that shit. Just weird.

E Buzz said...
Jan 14, 2009, 11:42:00 AM  

What if Obama turns out worse than Bush?

Anonymous said...
Jan 14, 2009, 12:52:00 PM  

Remember to lionize Obama once he issues an executive order against the BCS and compels those a-holes to give us a playoff as well, WWL.

Brad James said...
Jan 14, 2009, 1:13:00 PM  

I didn't know David Dukes read your blog AA...

Anonymous said...
Jan 14, 2009, 2:34:00 PM  

@Scott F.

What circle of hell do you live in where you can imagine a worse job being done than what we just experienced for the last 8 years?


Anyway, on topic, it is odd that ESPN is covering this. I mean, ABC (and everyone else) will be covering it. Is it just that they didn't want to bother with sports center while this was going on, so why not use the ABC feed?

Anonymous said...
Jan 14, 2009, 3:38:00 PM  

What a joke that ESPN is airing this. A lot of people, myself included, go to ESPN to avoid politics. But of course ESPN can not help themselves. All of this fanfare for Obama across the country is quite ridiculous. I've seen several towns name things after Obama (schools, streets, etc.) Can someone tell me what this man has accomplished besides running for President? I wonder if ESPN would be planning the same amount of coverage if John McCain had won the election. I doubt it. This is just a part of the "Pro-Black" ideology that we have seen so often from ESPN and other media outlets. Being the year 2009, I would think that we would be advanced enough not to become obsessed with the color of somebody's skin; yet everywhere you turn regarding this president there is a celebration of all things black. The guy is being celebrated mostly for his race not his policies or how he will do as president. It is offensive that it has come to this in this country. I come from a family with a black mother and white father and I hate how this country is turning out.

Anonymous said...
Jan 14, 2009, 6:08:00 PM  

Who's "David Dukes?" Did he coach at Oregon State?

Anonymous said...
Jan 14, 2009, 6:44:00 PM  

Is anyone else surprised that Willie Jeffries has his own [30-Minute] SportsCentury? Good for him.

Anonymous said...
Jan 14, 2009, 7:32:00 PM  

No, hype is the best word.

alex said...
Jan 14, 2009, 8:00:00 PM  

Burned any crosses lately, anon 6:08?

Anonymous said...
Jan 14, 2009, 8:41:00 PM  

Interesting how these racist assholes don't have the balls to sign their names to their posts.

No matter what happens, there's no way Obama can be any worse than that shit-stain that's occupied the White House the past 8 years.

Paul

Paul said...
Jan 14, 2009, 9:18:00 PM  

Wow Paul really? A shit-stain has occupied the WH for 8 yrs.? What a highly intelligent observation from you.
Josh

Anonymous said...
Jan 14, 2009, 10:07:00 PM  

Paul, you are such a courageous man for signing your name to your comment. It's interesting how you say racist assholes(plural) when there was one commmenter who was inappropriate.

Also, way to stay classy with your language regarding President Bush. That shows your true character. The President deserves a little more respect than that. No matter what kind of job you think he did, he gave his all for his country and he has handled himself with grace and dignity.

Anonymous said...
Jan 14, 2009, 10:12:00 PM  

The Media continues to smooch Obama's butt
Time magazine is putting Barack Obama on the cover for the 15th time. You can see the covers here. This level of coverage is unprecedented. If the editors of Time were poodles, they would be humping Obama's leg. Now, the final insult has occurred. ESPN is broadcasting Obama's inauguration. We won't even be able to turn the channel to sports on inauguration day.

Jan 15, 2009, 10:44:00 PM  

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