Do You Know What ESPN Means? Dr. Murphy Does.

A couple of questions… Just for clarification, what time of year is it? Late spring/early summer, right? That’s what I thought. So did ESPN get the memo?

In the name of everything holy in basketball and baseball, would ESPN please change their afternoon lineup?! Anyone unemployed, on summer break or just happen to be in front of their TV from noon and beyond (that’s all three for me) will realize just how irrelevant afternoon viewing is on the Entertainment Sports Programming Network.

First, a rundown of what is really happening in sports. The NBA Finals are in full tilt while the draft looms, the MLB is in the swing of things, the underrated College World Series is shaping up to be a good one and the Stanley Cup Finals matchup just went to seven games.

Now, with that in mind, why in the wide world of sports is ESPN giving us daily installments of College Football Live and NFL Live with no sight of anything related to hoops or baseball? College Football Live has spent each of its recent episodes covering college ball in different states. I recently had lunch while viewing the best college games in the history of the state of Oregon. And this is interesting how? To add to the pain after that, NFL Live generally fills its half hour spot with updates on Brett Favre (anyone outside Minnesota care about that?) and how each teams’ OTAs are going.

None of that is relevant to what is happening in the sports world right now. Where is my NBA Fastbreak and Baseball Tonight? Don’t get me wrong, I like college and pro football – but I prefer to hear about it during football season.

Here’s an interesting thought: make Mayne Street a full half hour show to replace College Football Live and alternate media on the NBA and MLB to take over NFL Live.

PTI and Around the Horn are still quality afternoon shows; it’s just too bad they are preceded by the irrelevancy of football commentary in June.

Quick NBA Finals note: anyone getting sick of Jeff Van Gundy? Any broadcaster too scared to pick a winner in a series because his brother coaches one of the teams should not be broadcasting in the first place. It is a crime that they have imprisoned Hubie Brown and Mike Tirico on ESPN Radio.

so if you don't care about the NBA finals.....here are some thoughts on the draft by Dr. Murphy

With all but 2 of the NBA’s teams eliminated from title contention let’s shift attention to the NBA draft. The long layoff between playoff rounds has allowed the media to take over the draft frenzy. Prospect measurements, interviews, team workouts and everything else are made available for the league’s fans to scrutinize and debate. However there is one thing that reigns over all else when it comes to draft speculation…the MOCK DRAFT – everyone is doing it, we are all reading it.

Just about the only thing anyone agrees on is that the Clippers will select Blake Griffin with the first overall pick. After that, it’s a crapshoot. ESPN’s Chad Ford has picks 2 through 5 going Hasheem Thabeet, Ricky Rubio, Jrue Holiday and James Harden, respectively. Meanwhile, according to Sports Illustrated those same picks are Ricky Rubio, James Harden, Tyreke Evans and Jordan Hill. Not only are they in a different order but 2 new players have emerged!

It only seems more clueless after that. Realgm.com has Golden State taking Tyreke Evans while Dime Magazine suggests them selecting Brandon Jennings at that slot. Detroit Pistons fans looking for clarity on hoopsworld.com will find 4 different mocks with them taking 4 different players: Austin Daye, Jonny Flynn, B.J. Mullens and James Johnson – none of which even play the same position. All of the aforementioned sources can’t even agree on a consensus 2nd pick between Thabeet and Rubio. How is this helpful?

At this point the NBA media begins to lose a little bit of credibility. While good intentioned, these mock drafts only add to the speculation. So much of sports media is guessing anyways, but the NBA draft is the pinnacle of it. All you can do is make your own guess and hang on for the ride.

Mark your calendars: NBA Draft, June 25th, 7 PM EST