What do you like in your sports coverage?

[Dave Gray]

I find that I'm not nearly as interested in watching Sportscenter as I used to be.  I think it's several things:

1) Their highlights seem to focus on cool plays or large plays and follow superstars, but they don't do a good enough job of telling the story of the game.  When I watch highlights, I want to feel like I understood the pace of the game and what plays mattered.  I don't think that they do that like they used to.

2) Too much human interest stories.  I guess this is unavoidable, but it's filler television to me.  I don't really care about the hardships and families of these guys, but it seems that ESPN talks about this stuff all the time.  On specific shows, like Outside the Lines, it's fine, but I get bored with Sportscenter when I have to watch a segment about some guy building a new gym for his old inner-city high school.

3) Not enough big-picture analysis.  It seems like these hosts talk about these games in a vacuum, without relating them to the bigger picture of what it means for the team to make the playoffs (specifically in the NFL).  They don't look ahead and they don't intelligently compare well enough, similar teams that you might've played before, defensive schemes, etc.  It seems like Sportscenter plays to the lowest common denominator.

[bsfins]

I like that MLB network,and NFL network, focus on every team...They have too,good year/bad year they talk about them...

Things I like on MLB network...
Diamond Demos,when something happens during a game...They are on their field explaining it,what the player should of done, what the did right.

In talking about all the teams they tend to bring up/spotlight players that might be up and coming...

They can break in during the game,and show me what's happening,they talk about it as it's happening...

They seem like they're having fun...All the people ESPN shows,look stiff,old...Got HEEEEM....

[Sunstroke]

^^^ That illustrates the biggest differences between ESPN and the MLB, NFL, NBA amd NHL Network channels. The individual sport stations get to focus deeply on their sport, while ESPN, as Dave so aptly put  it...plays to the lowest common denominator. I still love ESPN, don't get me wrong, but I probably spend as much time these days on the individual sports league stations as I do on ESPN.

[BigDaddyFin]

I like a person reading the highlights, and occasionally making it funny.  I don't care for the over-the-top gimmicks anymore.

I'd also like it a lot if they'd knock off the "storylines of the game bullshit."  The game itself is the storyline, stop pushing an outcome you want.  Games are fixed enough on their own without your help.