Of all the studio shows that have launched this month, the strongest debut came from ESPN2’s “Olbermann” on Monday. Now if you’re not a fan of his, and there are many, there was nothing to indicate that he will win you over, so if you’re an Olbermann detractor, then just skip this bullet point and move on to the next one.
Olbermann began the new and improved ESPN2 version with “And as I was saying…”, a borrowed line from his Current debut, Keithy went into a 13 minute diatribe against a New York Daily News Jets beat writer for attempting to stir up controversy against coach Rex Ryan. It was so intelligently written and delivered, that it immediately elevated ESPN2 to a higher level. Yes, ESPN could be accused of stirring its own pot last week, but that was not going to get mentioned here. There were two guest segments, one with the equally polarizing Jason Whitlock who marked his own controversial return to the alleged Worldwide Leader, and the other with Dallas Mavericks owner Marc Cuban who opened his spot with “Welcome to the Skip Bayless Network!”
And Keith looked like he was having genuine fun in voicing various highlights. There were elements from his MSNBC and Current shows like “Worst Person in the (Sports) World” and “Time Marches On.” In essence, it was Countdown with a sports slant, but that was fine. This isn’t an actual review, but if this is any indication, this might be one of the better sports shows on TV. Still early though.
