ESPN is way cool !

[NoBadMojo]

Ok..that's a lie, and I would like to watch the better tennis as much as anybody, but ESPN really has little choice in the matter IMO. ESPN is a business, the people there arent stupid (well not all of them anyway), and the USTA is trying to grow the sport, and ESPN is of course most interested in increasing viewership. The only way to grow the sport (increase viewership) is at the grassroots level, and to get NEW people to watch and play our sport, they have to put on matches w. marketable names to the US non playing public. Those names wouldnt include Nadal or Federer, Paradorn, and many many of the other great players. IMO no matter what they do aint gonna work in the US..we're becoming more and more comprised of fat folks who want everything to come to them now and in massive quantities and just arent willing to put the effort into it. what do you mean I have to run for that ball? Oh..you mean you dont win points by how far you hit the ball? :0 Tennis has always been considered an elitist sport here in the US IMO and now it is even worse w. so many fat people who wish to lose weight by the Atkins diet rather than going out and running and playing and getting the endorphins going and all that abba dabba. Like the guy that recently sued his gym because the gym worked him out hard...bah...hrumpf....ack..thanks for reading my rant. So why dont we all agree to stop complaining about the ESPN coverage and concentrate on some positives. Ed

[joe sch]

I agree that the bottom line is business for ESPN tennis broadcasts. ESPN believes they get better ratings showing Serena Williams repeat match easy wins rather than #1 Federrer vs hottest new star Nadal . I dont think they are concerned with helping grow tennis at all, at any level (grassroots). All they are concerned with is ratings and as soon as they believe that Senior Golf will get better ratings that Williams and Roddick matches, there will be no more tennis

[baseliner]

In a free market system, the free flow of ideas, likes and dislikes as well as what sells and what doesn't is all mixed together to come up with a saleable product. I don't like the product ESPN is producing so I voice that dislike and vote with my wallet. Nothing wrong with that. I think TTC will appeal to far more tennis fans than ESPN. If ESPN would totally get out of the tennis business that would allow TTC to cover more tennis. I know the downside is that much of the market can't get TTC. Make the demand more and more operators carry TTC. I live in a constitutional republic (USA), neither a democracy nor a totally free market, but close enough to a free market for market forces to operate. Criticism of a bad product is good. I'm not negative as i am promoting an alternative.

[edge]

It's more the USTA's fault for not growing the sport at the grass roots level.