I'll be up front and tell you that I have a limited number of channels to watch on TV as I don't subscribe to Digital Cable or Satellite TV with a dish strapped to the roof of the house. In fact I'm still living in the 70's and watching my shows on a basic analogue cable hook-up. I don't get four channels of Sportsnet, Centre Ice, NFL Sunday Ticket or MLB Extra Innings like some of you might.
When it comes to sports specific channels my three choices are The Sports Network (TSN), Sportsnet (Ontario) and The Score.
This used to be pretty good. I was happy because normally I'd get to watch the sports I like, Football, Hockey, Baseball, Nascar and Golf. I should mention I also get the Golf Channel but since that is specific to one particular sport, I don't count it.
Of course TSN and Sportsnet still show the "good" sports and a few other interesting things like the X-Games, Curling, Boxing and other non-mainstream sporting events. They aren't my usual cup of tea but I can stomach them because I would class them as a sport and that's fair game. Hell, I'll even accept Wrestling. It may be more soap opera than competition but at least the competitors/actors are in shape and have to be athletic to do what they do.
What really ticks me off is on a night like tonight with the NHL playoffs looming and battles for playoff positions still being decided, the bozos in charge at TSN decide to show Poker. When the hell did poker become a sport? How does sitting at a felt covered table playing cards with out of shape guys being served ice cold beverages and talking about inane topics count as a bloody sport?Don't get me wrong, I actually like to play poker and Texas Hold 'Em in particular but that certainly doesn't make me a finely tuned athlete. And as I'm sitting at the table trying to bluff my buddies, I'm not thinking back to all of the years of training that has culminated into this moment where I'm hoping to catch a King on the Turn. Poker is more of a fun social event like the elderly women who gather in their Red Hats or those ladies who get together to work on quilts.
Poker is NOT A SPORT! If you say it is then you are sadly mistaken and have been brainwashed by these networks who want you to think it is. Either that or you have no athletic ability and poker is the only way you can try to feel like a jock. If some guy is sweating at a poker table it's usually because he's overweight and moments away from a massive coronary.
The only thing that TSN shows that could be less of a sport is when they televise the U.S. National Spelling Bee competition. At the meeting to decide the upcoming programming these guys must be rolling on the boardroom floor when they decide to mess with us by scheduling this. Your word is "Unbelievable". Can you use it in a sentence? Sure. "TSN is trying to pass off spelling and poker as sporting events and that is unbelievable".Now, I'm not saying in order for a sport to be classed a sport the individuals involved have to be in peak physical condition. In some sports like Hockey, Track and Field, Triathlon or Basketball you're less likely to see beer bellies on the participants. Other sports like Golf, Curling and Bowling I wouldn't be surprised to see someone chowing down on nachos and cheese in between plays but these events are still more sporting than poker.
I won't even go into the whole gambling issue and what kids are learning from it. Major League Baseball bans Pete Rose for life for betting on a few games but apparently it's OK to televise men encouraging the youth of today to go out and lose all of their money. Yes, it's cool to go "All In" and then shrug it off when you're knocked out of the game and can't afford to feed yourself for the next two weeks.
Poker is not a sport, it is a game and there's a big difference. I dread the day when TSN decides to start broadcasting the World Cribbage Championships or the World Series of Old Maid.
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