If you are a die-hard sports fan like me, you probably get your sports news the same way. You read things online, you check your Google reader every few minutes to see updated news, and you keep ESPNews on in the background just in case a press conference or something is breaking.
What you might not do is tune in to ESPN that much anymore, just because most of the shows are aimed at people that might not have enough time in their day to read up on everything going on, so hitting the big stories is good enough. (Or you might just avoid most of the shows because, at times, they can be obnoxious.)
Good news if you're more on the side of sports features that don't really break the concrete, if you will. ESPN has decided to give Rick Reilly, their $17 million dollar journalist hire, his own television show called "Homecoming." Trust me, it gets better.
ESPN2's new series -- Homecoming -- challenges that old adage "you can't go home again." Hosted by 10-time Sportswriter of the Year Rick Reilly, Homecoming will debut Friday, Jan. 9, at 8 p.m. ET with an episode on Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers in his hometown of Raleigh, N.C. The following week, Pro Football Hall of Famer John Elway returns to Van Nuys, Calif. The shows are the first two of a six-part series featuring one-on-one, hour-long interviews of today's top names in sports from the towns and cities where they grew up.
Awful Announcing, in its infinite wisdom, jokes about the softball pitch that is the John Elway interview. The guy is from Colorado and has been buddies with Reilly since his mug hit the back of Sports Illustrated. It would be like having your own radio show and just interviewing your dad every time because you have no other guests (I actually thought about that idea once).
I'm sure some people will find the show interesting, but I probably won't be one of them. The show is an hour long and is loosely based on the Thomas Wolfe book You Can't Go Home Again.
In the sports sense, I don't even really get it. Why can't these guys go home? They are extremely famous people that probably get handed free drinks and tacos and hugs in every city they go to, especially in their hometown. I have a friend that got drafted out of high school and has never pitched an inning in the bigs, and when the guy comes home he damn near needs the Pope Mobile.
I can guarantee a couple of things that you'll get with "Homecoming." Pinstripe suits and Ed Hardy shirts. Aren't those the "in" looks right now?
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