A good antidote to ESPN

While I can't ever see weaning myself off completely from ESPN (if only because of "Pardon the Interruption," one of my favorite shows) America's top sports network keeps getting more and more unwatchable. I could only stomach 15 minutes of ESPN's NFL pregame coverage last season. That's 15 minutes total. Chris Berman officially moved beyond self-parody into a new, previously unexplored nether region of sweaty self-inflicted embarrassment, and I couldn't even enjoy it ironically any more.

That's why I'm pleased to see that ESPN has hired an ombudsman. Actually, they hired him months ago, but the publicity department was too busy hyping Screamin' A to drop a mention. It's easy to see why: George Solomon is an experienced journalist who measures his words carefully and doesn't make tired "Scarface" references. How boring, right? Well, at least somebody is taking ESPN to task for its wall-to-wall Terrell propaga-, I mean, coverage and the previously mentioned Screamin' A hype.