[BostonCard]

The public version that emerged was that UConn gave Maya Moore a tour of the ESPN headquarters.  That did undoubtedly happen--and is pretty sickening too--showing the UConn ESPN connection in all its glory.  But was that really enough to rupture the relationship?

That has always seemed to me to be much more of an issue with ESPN -- which ought not to be aiding one program over another -- than with Auriemma, who naturally is going to boost his program any way he can. And the only sensible avenue of protest on this is through the NCAA, which should tell ESPN to knock it off.

We take our football recruits to EA (Electronic Arts; makers of Madden and other games) headquarters up the road in Redwood City, so on the one hand I don't see the big deal (at least from UConn's perspective).  On the other hand, I do kind of agree that it doesn't reflect well on ESPN as an entity that at least theoretically is supposed to be neutral and reporting, though we know that ESPN has never been about neutral reporting, and the inherent conflict of interest they have between maximizing ratings by hyping certain teams and their reporting duties has not been well-managed through the years.

BC

[BostonCard]

The public version that emerged was that UConn gave Maya Moore a tour of the ESPN headquarters.  That did undoubtedly happen--and is pretty sickening too--showing the UConn ESPN connection in all its glory.  But was that really enough to rupture the relationship?

That has always seemed to me to be much more of an issue with ESPN -- which ought not to be aiding one program over another -- than with Auriemma, who naturally is going to boost his program any way he can. And the only sensible avenue of protest on this is through the NCAA, which should tell ESPN to knock it off.

We take our football recruits to EA (Electronic Arts; makers of Madden and other games) headquarters up the road in Redwood City, so on the one hand I don't see the big deal (at least from UConn's perspective).  On the other hand, I do kind of agree that it doesn't reflect well on ESPN as an entity that at least theoretically is supposed to be neutral and reporting, though we know that ESPN has never been about neutral reporting, and the inherent conflict of interest they have between maximizing ratings by hyping certain teams and their reporting duties has not been well-managed through the years.

BC