One Jackass Flew Out to Another Jackass, and the Other Jackass Just Listened

As I watched television this morning I unfortunately stumbled upon an argument on ESPN’s First Take between former NBA player Jalen Rose and the weasel-lipped Skip Bayless. The two were arguing over journalistic validity, careening verbal shots back and forth in a game of trash talking ping-pong: Rose asserted his game-intellect based upon his career within the sport, as Bayless circumvented the argument with his ability to know the game like a chess master. Clearly the two, arrogant in their approach, differed on how to go about covering the NBA: Rose desiring a soft understanding approach toward players and league personnel, and Bayless from an entertainment-driven soap stone slinging name-calling (Example: Chris Bosh nicknamed “Bosh Spice” for his soft style of play).  The bout alone condoned my hatred for the greater money-making media who platform “news” on 24-hour spin cycles to muster up enough to talk about.

This time the one-two punch battled over their own careers, and for two hours dismissed the NHL draft, NFL draft, baseball highlights, Ozzie Guillen story, and many other news-worthy punch lines, in order that they might clear the air when it comes to their current bout over hashtags and tweets. This began during yesterday’s airing of First Take, when Rose reverted to calling the Bayless Water Pistol Pete instead of the Pistol Pete Bayless believed himself to be via twitter, stating:” Tall for age in 9th grade, chosen MVP of state-wide basketball camp over several future D1 players. Decided I was Maravich. Coach disagreed.”

Is it just me or are we all stuck in some derisive vacuum? Why are talking about Skip Bayless in high school? And why does Jalen Rose care?

Rose — pissy over a dispute on the NBA MVP race  — differs from Bayless’ beliefs on Russell Westbrook. And while Rose asserts Westbrook to be a favorable league MVP based upon ability to lead a team and take over a game, Bayless continued his dissent, calling the 21 year-old point guard assertive at the wrong times, a gunner and not a true believer in the greatness of Kevin Durant.

I’m still confused over how this became personal and how the argument devolved into some ego-driven juevo comparison on live television. Without question it argues against the authenticity of First Take and begs whether the show is just another script fueling the fire of a gossip-driven culture.

It seems, in some far fetched make believe world, Bayless’ tweet was in response to his argument with Rose. But why does Bayless think it’s necessary to prop up his defunct athletic career? In order that he might build a better repore with his colleagues, listeners, readers and critics? Does his tweet somehow include Bayless with the likes of NBA stars, as both a man who knows the game from the outside and from the inside? Is Bayless the Michael Jordan who never got his shot?

Likewise, how does playing the game make Jalen Rose more right than one who hasn’t? Should we assume Rose the superior of Red Aurbach? That, according to ESPN insider Andy Katz is absurd when examining and evaluating all the great minds who never played the game at a high level but currently teach it both at the collegiate and professional levels.

The circus malaise got all the more foul, when the more formidable and loud-mouthed, Stephen A. Smith, grovelled his own growls in an indistinguishable banter about his love of sports, his need to tell it like it is, his distaste for Kwame Brown, and the reasons why he alone could build trust with the formerly evasive, Allen Iverson. Smith’s displeasure with Rose rooted itself in insecure cries for professional attention, demanding Rose listen to his arguments as to why former players dream of being journalistic moguls like him.

And while Smith pearled his glories like a great philosopher, the middle man Jay Crawford sat steadfastly puzzled, perplexed and shamelessly amused. Crawford called himself “a fly on the wall listening to great sport knowledge,” using the barometer of his 12 – inch black backed lap top computer to announce their trending stats and the network’s desire to continue on with the battle between the two egos, in order to maximize viewer attention.

That, alone, tosses a greater curve ball in the mix, one I do not have the time for and would take two thousand pages to explain. Are we as fans, to blame for the current misery known as American Sports media? Our lust for entertainment, tweets, gossip and reality television pushing us to a point of intellectual irrelevance? One jackass listening to another jackass, and the other jackass just smiling?