“The Sports Reporters” Stands Out From the Cluttered Pack

Like any other entertainment-type genre, there is a flood of very weak and unnecessary sports talk shows on radio and television these days.

Sometimes I wonder if TV and radio execs think that all they have to do to create a sports talk show is sit two to four people at a table and have them yell at each other about sports for half an hour…very aggravating.

However, there are a few shows that are not only worth viewing but serve as an excellent source of sports insight by outstanding sports writers and analysts.

The Sports Reporters, aired Sundays at 9:30 am on ESPN, continues to be the best sports talk show around. The program consists of a host and three other sports writers or personalities who tackle current news and events surrounding the world of sports. The format is also tightly structured and well paced, so you never have panelists shouting and tossing out irrelevant and empty statements.

Although the host (currently John Saunders) remains the same, the three panelists on The Sports Reporters tend to change each week and generally represent different media markets. As a result, viewers get fresh and different perspectives each time.

There are some reporters who appear more frequently than others (New York’s Mike Lupica, Detroit’s Mitch Albom and Boston’s Bob Ryan), but you also get a steady mix of talent you otherwise wouldn’t have the privilege of watching.

This past Sunday’s show featured a reporter I don’t believe had appeared on The Sports Reporters before, ESPN’s Rachel Nichols. Nichols is primarily an investigative and features reporter, usually filing stories for SportsCenter, ESPNews and Outside the Lines.

Nichols has been a national reporter with ESPN for more than five years and is generally considered an accomplished and well respected journalist. So appearing on The Sports Reporters gave viewers an opportunity to watch Nichols in a forum that allowed her to inject opinions and knowledge and also go toe-to-toe with the top sports-media minds in the country.

Whenever there’s a fresh face on the panel I’m always very interested in how they’ll perform and come across on the show. Not everybody does well on The Sports Reporters. There’s been panelists who’ve struggled and really weren’t ready for a show of its magnitude.

But Nichols more than held her own on Sunday. I thought she was terrific and I hope she continues to make appearances on the program.

One particular topic discussed Sunday where Nichols rose above the other heavyweight panelists was regarding the situation with the New York Yankees and their ticket pricing crisis.

Offering a perspective on the situation I hadn’t heard or read before, Nichols put a lot of the responsibility on the fans' shoulders. Her point was that fans can not be complaining and raising hell about the outrageous prices at the new Yankee Stadium and then, at the same time, spend money buying tickets.

Excellent point.

The Sports Reporters does a great job choosing the right journalists and personalities to serve on the show’s panel. Many times when a big sporting event that’s not one of the “big three” rolls around, the show will feature an expert analyst of that particular sport.

So for a show airing around the time of Wimbledon, Bud Collins usually joins the program. For The Masters, the great Jim Nantz may make a special appearance.

Of course there are other sports talk shows that should be noted and given its due – Pardon the Interruption, Outside the Lines, Mike’d UP: Francesa on the Fan.

But no program has been as consistently good as The Sports Reporters.