The Sports Monster For Better Or For Worse Continue To Evolve . . . . .

Sports' Newest Hangover: Toxic Tequila

"What am I talking about? Simple, the Tila Tequilization of American sports.

Because TMZ is about to debut TMZSports and the way they cover sports is going to be a game-changer.

Let me explain. Right now, ESPN defines what is and is not a sports story. And while all of us take shots at ESPN, the network generally covers sports action as opposed to celebrity-related angles connected to sports. In other words, the primacy of their coverage is the games and the personalities that emerge in connection with those games.

We've all gotten used to this dynamic and ESPN owns their audience. That's you and me. Primarily male, obsessed with games and their highlights, interested in the personalities of our athletes but only if those athletes are good enough at what they do to be interesting off the field.

The game is the thing.

That's all going to change with TMZSports.

Instead of the game action as the hub of all sports coverage, the non-game action is going to become the hub of all stories. That's how we get Tila Tequila and Paris Hilton in celebrity magazines. That's how a sports meritocracy based on talent is going to all come crumbling down. TMZSports will create stars who don't already exist based on their off-field action, and turn their dramas into an off-field sports opera that has little to do with actual game results."

(SI)