Short Run Deserved More Air Time

So now, sandwiched between Doc Walker in the morning and John Thompson in the afternoon, Dan Patrick will bring his nationally-oriented show to WTEM. No doubt he'll have big-time guests on a regular basis, though I must confess I thought his old ESPN radio show was nothing particularly special, at least not until he got his old anchor sidekick, Keith Olbermann, to make regular daily appearances.

Mostly though, Patrick seemed to practice the fawning, yuk and suck-up style of interviewing, particularly with athletes and coaches. Still, he's a terribly talented guy -- or rather, brand, as his agents probably prefer -- soon to appear with a column on the Sports Illustrated web site, with a likely presence in a magazine that, by the way, also is about to lose back-of-the-book columnist Rick Reilly to ESPN (Reilly to ESPN for Patrick, straight up, you have to give ESPN a big edge in that trade).

But would I drive around the block to keep listening to Dan Patrick? Not right now. Back to you NPR.

E-Mail of the Week

Jim Donahue, St. Louis

I see now ESPN is exactly what we fear -- they are getting too "incestuous" for objectivity. The network has become too big for itself. Like a scene from the movie "In Good Company", this is all about "synergy" and the cross-branding that goes on between sports and the networks. The pairings on Monday Night football, for example, demonstrate that the emphasis has gone from an "entertainment show" with emcee Howard Cosell, to people who are not "A" list celebrities and ex-jocks who litter the ESPN landscape. How can you get objectivity when the former players want to remain close to the limelight?

Don't get me started on the ESPN anchors. That conversation could last a lifetime. Chris "Boomer" Berman and Kenny (please take him off the air) Mayne have outlived any recognizeable value and serve only to block new and fresh faces from delivering the corporate line. The "jockocracy" which is now sports is being superceded ( if possible) by ridiculous events such as the ESPYs and the X Games. It kind of makes one pine for the Wide World of Sports, or to have Howard Cosell do MNF games again. Don't you remember when MNF games were the talk of the week? Don't you recall when the "halftime highlights" were the talk at the coffee break room? Now we are stuck with Tony, Mike and Jaws. Doesn't seem to have any of the excitement attached to it. How do we fix this? Perhaps with competition, but if you love sports, how many venues can you go to? Maybe the "synergy" needs to end.

Leonard Shapiro can be reached at Badgerlen@hotmail.com or Badgerlen@aol.com.