If you’re like me, you long for the days of old school AWA wrestling circa 1988, which featured stars such as Curt Henning, Sean Michaels and Sgt. Slaughter. ESPN Classic revisits that magical time this week, but you’re probably not going to see Hulk Hogan or the Road Warriors — Vince MacMahon and Jim Crockett had taken them to their respective competing leagues by then.

Wait, I just remembered — I didn’t watch wrestling in 1988. Then how do I know this stuff? Weird. More bad TV following the jump. Read more…

We know how enthralled you all are over college football, but college basketball is sneaking up on us (note: fans of the Big East already know this, as they have not attended a football game since 1995). To commemorate the opening of the season, on Tuesday, November 17th, ESPN is televising 24 hours of live basketball. In a row.

(They going to have Gatorade for the players, or coffee?)

That means someone had to volunteer to play a game that tips at 6:00 a.m. and at 8:00 a.m. Hardly sounds palatable, but this is ESPN we’re talking about here. Lo and behold, according to the MIAMI HERALD, they quickly found two games to fit the bill: Monmouth at St. Peters for the 6:00, and Drexel at Niagara at 8:00. Sounds fun, right?

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Imagine being a starting quarterback who has just won the Super Bowl, and having your own television variety show. That was Joe Namath, circa 1969, when he hosted the infamous “Joe Namath Show.” The premise was that Joe just invited whoever the hell he felt like talking with, and they taped a show. They don’t make them like that anymore.

Here’s Joe, below, chatting with guest host Dick Schapp, and … hmm. Can you identify the other two? While you’re pondering that, enjoy women’s soccer, UCLA football, and loads of other listings from which to steer clear. You’re welcome.

(Still better than “Joe Buck Live”) Read more…

You’ve got to hand it to Mike Tirico; he’s a true professional. Even when attacked by a ravenous mosquito, he never loses focus on the job at hand. That insect is sucking the very lifeblood from the ESPN broadcaster; perhaps even siphoning off a microscopic percentage of his considerable talent … hey, there’s a lot about the culicidae family of insects that science has yet to understand.

But Tirico never flinches. Video of this shocking attack following the jump. Read more…

Terrell Owens’ tenure in Dallas was marked by plenty of controversy, and with good reason; it’s hard to get a “clubhouse cancer” label without really earning it. At the same time, the slavish efforts of reporters like Ed Werder - usually seen camping outside the Cowboys’ compound, reporting minutiae that wouldn’t be ESPN-worthy for 90% of the league - seemed to indicate that ESPN almost just covering their own coverage of the team.

(This sounds serious!)

But now that T.O.’s off in the hinterlands of Buffalo, keeping his mouth shut while his offense freezes to death, ESPN’s forced to pimp their Dallas outpost, even as no stories really seem to exist. Ah, but soft! What light through yonder breaks? It is Irving, Texas, and Crayton’s displeasure is the sun! Has Mr. Crayton got horrible things to say about his coaches as a front-page ESPN line would indicate? Well…

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Quite a revealing day for Steve Phillips & Brooke Hundley, wasn’t it?

With his one-week suspension & following self-imposed leave of absence, Steve-O will have plenty of time to think about what he’s done - and plenty of time to track down a good divorce lawyer. Meanwhile, this experience should aid Brooke in dispensing out some more good professional advice & astute observations.

By now you’re quite familiar with Brooke Hundley, the wacky gal with the Steve Phillips fixation who went all Kathy Bates in “Misery” on us today (and there but for the grace of God go you, David Letterman). Here’s another Hundley fun fact: In 2007 she wrote to the dean of communications at her alma mater, Ithaca College, to give advice on media networking. That advice is both fun and revealing.

Included in the letter are several tips on getting ahead in the business, which she picked up at the International Radio and Television Society’s annual minority career workshop and job fair. The dean, Diane Gayeski, posted Hundley’s letter on her blog. When read in the light of current events, they are not only hilarious, but leak irony from every vowel.

Excerpts from Hundley’s letter following the jump. Read more…

It’s been disconcerting to see the rather muted appearances of a college football fixture like Erin Andrews this season. Yes, she’s been around, and yes, she’s certainly got an excuse for a decreased presence, but we’ve been a little disheartened all the same. Has this whole peephole stalker thing really gotten to her?

If we had to guess, we’d say “yes, it has.” That’s because in her recent interview with FANHOUSE, Andrews still had good things to say about her job; she just also had good things to say about things that weren’t her job, namely cutting back her work and, in her words, starting a family.

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Have you ever wondered what would happen if ESPN fitness shows “Kiana’s Flex Appeal” and “Getting Fit With Denise Austin” went back-to-back in an ultimate flexing-babe ratings showdown war? We’ll find out who prevails in this week’s feature, with video. Plus, Welsh soccer, Xtreme Bull Riding, and gratuitous Brooke Hogan. It’s stuff you’d never watch, even if threatened with a large hammer! Read more…

If you can avoid only one game this week, it should probably be the Raiders at the Giants on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on CBS. Some are calling the Giants the best team in the NFL, and the Raiders, who may not even have a coach, um, are not. May cause loss of vision and abdominal cramps; view at your own risk. Elsewhere on your dial: Read more…