Skip Bayless Exemplifies All That's Wrong with Sports Journalism Today

Dana O'Neil of ESPN wrote a piece that got considerable attention for what she calls "me-fiction" journalism.  It seems to have left some people confused as to precisely what her point was. If she had called it "Skip Bayless" journalism though, everyone would know exactly what she meant. 

She describes it this way, 

"

Which is why I’m slightly disturbed at the growing trend in journalism—the "me-ification," if you will, of the profession. Notice me, hear me, adore me. I am clever. I am loud. I am snarky. It’s as if a whole subculture of people, long stored in the anonymity of their bylines, is now overdosing on narcissism.

"

Can you think of a better description of Bayless? This really is the best example of it. When the reporter becomes more important than the story, it's bad. When the reporter replaces the story entirely, that's another thing. 

Bayless shares his opinion about a relevant story. I'm fine with that. The problem with Bayless, though, is he has gotten so wrapped up in his own opinions that he only covers what he wants to opine about, regardless of relevancy.

On a two-hour daily show he has, on a near daily basis, discussed Michael Vick and Tim Tebow—the quarterbacks of football teams who have combined to win two games. One of them hasn't even started a game.

Meanwhile, the baseball playoffs continue. The St. Louis Cardinals completed the largest September comeback to make the postseason in history. Bayless never mentioned the story, not once. 

The Cardinals then went on to upset the Philadelphia Phillies, the "dream team" of MLB, with arguably the greatest rotation in the history of the game. Bayless never one time had a single segment on his show about either NLDS. 

When Chris Carpenter pitched arguably the best game in the history of Major League Baseball in a do-or-die situation, and Roy Halladay pitched the best game ever in postseason history in a losing effort in a deciding game, it was utterly ignored by Skip.

There was time for four segments this week on a hypothetical argument about who was better in their prime, Calvin "Megatron" Johnson or Randy Moss.

It was on the same night Nelson Cruz hit a game-winning grand slam for the Texas Rangers and Albert Pujols had only the third four extra-base hit game in postseason history. Two of the most historic hitting performances in the history of baseball's postseason occurring on the same night has to get some mention, right?

Wrong. Neither game was mentioned on the show. In fact, through four games in the ALCS and three games in the NLCS, Bayless has yet to utter a peep about either series on his show.

They've had time to debate what position LeBron James would play if he were in the NFL, though, and whether he could take an NFL hit. There's been at least two segments on that. 

"Notice me, hear me, adore me. I am clever. I am loud. I am snarky." That's what it's all about now. Bayless isn't talking about what is going on in the sports' world, he's talking about what's going on his head. He, not the news, dictates what's "relevant." 

Out of well over 20 hours of air-time during the MLB postseason, he has literally spent about five minutes total discussing them. And why not? Because Skip is a Red Sox fan. 

The moment the Red Sox were cut out of the postseason, baseball left his show. There was one segment on the playoffs when the Yankees got eliminated. That's it. There has been time for two more segments on the management shakeup in Boston, though.  

Bayless only cares about the Red Sox, so that's all he talks about, and what is supposed to be a national show is a Bayless show. Notice Skip. Hear Skip. Adore Skip. Skip is clever. Skip is loud. Skip is snarky.

Skip devotes more time to pontificating than to actually covering or discussing what is currently going on in the world of sports. He lectures athletes as though he's their private counselor and knows what their innermost thoughts and motives are. 

Skip isn't the only one guilty, he's just the most guilty, and because he's successful with it, he gets copied. The news is no longer the news, it's whatever someone thinks about or cares about that's the news. 

First, opinion about the news replaced the news. Now opinion about anything has replaced opinion about the news. The news has just gone out of sports journalism. Maybe—and I'm just spit-balling here—that's not the part to skip.