When people at a sports network turns against a president...

[ticapnews]

is it a turning point?

In the past couple of months I have noticed a dozen or so times when an anchor on SportsCenter or one of the other ESPN shows has taken a shot at President Bush. I found this very unusual because they generally stay out of politics, unless they are doing a fluff piece about a political figure posing with a championship team.

Today Mike Lupica and Jon Saunders lambasted the president on The Sports Reporters for his lack of leadership. Lupica took him to task in the first segment and then invoked his name again in his "Parting Shot."

Talking about the recent awarding the 2010 Super Bowl to New York City, in an effort to secure the Jets a tax-payer funded stadium, he suggested the NFL instead award it to New Orleans, to "send a message of hope" and "a pile of money" to the devastated city. In doing so, "the Commissioner of the NFL can act more decisively and more compassionately towards New Orleans this week than the President of the United States did last week."

I have heard and read that a turning point in the Vietnam War was when Walter Cronkite gave Americans the grim news that we weren't winning the war. I believe we are seeing the same thing now. For many of us sports are part of our daily lives. Many check the sports page before we read the front page. These are shows NASCAR Dad watches. The people on them are people Red State voters listen to without thinking about politics or a viewpoint. They are now getting a view of this president from a source they trust far more than a stack of New York Times articles.

It may not be the watershed moment, but I think it is a sign that things are changing. When sports reporters go out of their way to criticize the president I think it is worth noting. And if this is the start of a change, I will remember that individuals at ESPN started earlier this summer, long before the political reporters in the mainstream media.

They were critics when being a critic wasn't cool.

[JackDragna]

1. That's not going to happen.

The Super Bowl is now used as a bribe by the NFL to encourage cities to build ridiculously expensive new stadiums. New Orleans is the perfect place to host the Super Bowl, which is exactly why it cannot host any more.

[SledDriver]

2. Wishful thinking...

I'm guessing those guys will get called on the carpet by their corporate masters for those remarks.

And that'll be that.