PTI

In a recent issue of World, they had some surprisingly positive things to say about Pardon the Interruption on ESPN and I,Max on FSN. This is what they said about PTI:

Sports talk, at its best, brings the art of argumentation back to life. ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption sets two outstanding sports pundits against each other, with Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon sparring on a list of topics complete with time limits and a buzzer. The two are brash and funny, as well as knowledgeable, and they remind us of what the Greeks and the Romans knew, that argument is a satisfying spectator sport.

This is just bizarre. The sad fact is that Kornheiser rarely makes real arguments anymore and relies on lame one-liners. He has more in common with a third-rate Borscht-belt comedian than he does with Socrates or Aristotle. (I, Max is altogether more compelling and more informative than PTI).

Both PTI and I,Max are interesting for other reasons not mentioned by World. They both show how insular big-time sports journalism has become. The Yankees are featured every day. St. Louis gets far less attention even though they are winning as many games as New York. That the Yankees are in first place is no surprise. But for the Cards to be far ahead of the Cubs and Astros is news.

At least it should be news. To the journalists on the East Coast, news only happens along the I-95 corridor.

Kornheiser was amazed that the Daytona 500 crushed the NBA All-star game in the ratings. He had no idea that NASCAR was that popular. To him it was just a regional sport and an unimportant region at that. Having dismissed it years ago, he failed to notice the new tracks and huge crowds in places like Pocono, Chicago, Kansas City, and Las Vegas.

(Kellerman simply denies that NASCAR and the Tour de France are real sports.)