Enough is enough and it's time for a change!

ESPN is now the new MTV. MTV was once known for actually showing music videos, providing us with music news, and covering up and coming artists. Total Request Live (TRL) back in the day with Carson Daly even served it's purpose. Countdown the top 20 videos and have fan interaction. Soon after TRL, MTV changed its colors. Now all they show are reality-based programming such as The Hills, Jersey Shore, etc.

ESPN once strictly covered sports and only had SportsCenter to break up the non-stop coverage. It provided a great hourly recap of all the scores and highlights. It would be aired for 4-5 hours per day. Can you imagine they used to cover Surfing championships, Strongman competition, and the infamous RHI (Roller Hockey International). The Pittsburgh Phantoms hockey team actually existed. I remember watching these games as they were played in outdoor California with the sun beaming down. I imagined "heaven" must be a close second to that feeling.

Just as the age of innocence ended, so did ESPN's coverage of sports. ESPN now is littered with "talking head" shows, and continuous news coverage. Do we really need hours dedicated to Brett Favre's retirement, or Tiger Woods's black book (although I'd like to know who else was in that).

Sure they'll still cover the World Series of Poker, the WNBA, numerous tennis events, and perhaps even a body building championship. One has to ask are these even relevant anymore? I see those programs as a stock who's value has already peaked and is on the verge of crashing. Instead of the NHL Playoffs, they'd rather dedicate two hours to the rise and fall of Allen Iverson, Friday Night Fights and HIGH SCHOOL basketball.

"Throw me a frickin bone here" - Dr. Evil.

I know it's all about ratings, but can you really tell me these shows are gonna pull more viewers than the NHL? You can never convince me of that. I understand not covering every game of the regular season, but in the Playoffs you have the best 8 teams in each conference. There are major markets involved such as LA, DC, NY, Detroit, etc. The viewership is there and the only way to capitalize and make money off the NHL is to help grow interest.

"If you build it, he will come" - Field of Dreams

The Olympic Hockey games should serve as the strongest point in this case. The ratings were through the roof. People who didn't even recognize a single player on the US or Canadian team watched. You just need the proper build. There are numerous rivalries in place. Throw in some rock music and you have yourself an amazing montage. ESPN has about 4 different channels it could use for this coverage. To not even relegate Playoff hockey to ESPN 2 is just blatant disrespect!

"Enough is enough and it's time for a change!" - Owen Hart