I was too lazy to look for my remote, so I left $portscenter on after the Red Sox game. The opening "skit" involved one of the hosts getting a 5th foul and needing to hit the bench while another host took his place. Is this what they do now? Is this the natural "progression" of corny catchphrases. I need to see what their ratings are. People can't actually watch this, right?

Anyway, the most cringing moment came during highlights of the Lakers' game. I only turned my head b/c I was trying to see if Jeff Van Gundy is still their coach.

There was a dramatic pause as they showed the "highlight" of their announcer (Pam something?) interview Phil Jackson as the 2nd quarter ended. Usually, these "interviews" are pointless fluff. "Hey coach, what do you plan on doing in the second half" "Um, try harder?".

But, if this was going to be a "highlight", something great must have happened. Maybe Phil told her off. So I turn fully around and pay attention.

"After Pam _____ spoke to Phil, she twittered this...."

[they then do the shadow highlighting gimmick as though they were reading a deposition]

"just interviewed phil. he didn't seem nervous about being down. thinks houston will tire themselves out"

Are people really so stupid that they don't realize that Twitter is just a new form of advertising? Follow the dollars:

NBA --> ESPN ---> Twitter ---> NBA

Rinse and repeat. ESPN is just using Twitter as a way of telling people "hey, come spend your dollars on me".