Street Ball: Street Ball on ESPN?

I was watching ESPN tonight and was thoroughly disappointed. I was in pure shock to see that they were showing Poker (on ESPN) and Street Ball (on ESPN2) during the prime time hours. Hey, I like poker as much as the next guy, but can't they televise that at a different time? Maybe show the poker at 5 PM and then have something more interesting like a Major League Baseball game on at 8 PM? And Street Ball? God, words can't describe how silly I think this is.

Street Ball is nothing but a hip hop version of the Harlem Globetrotters. But at least with the Globetrotters, they weren't obnoxious and they didn't try to convince people that the games were real. They knew that they were more or less a "circus act" and they were fine with it. But this Street Ball is a whole different story. I loathe nothing more than seeing 10 young arrogant punks talking non-stop trash to each other. All these players act like they are God's gift to basketball. Um, OK, you keep thinking that. I'd like to hear if Michael Jordan and Bill Russell agree with you! I suppose this would be entertaining to see in person, but do they really need to put it on ESPN during prime time?

The funny thing is that the players try to act like everything is real in their game. They constantly attempt to persuade us that the games are not scripted. To be honest, I believe that. I don't think they are scripted; however, that does not take away the fact that this game is still a MOCKERY of the real game. Sure, there are lots of high flying dunks and fancy dribbling, but where is the defense? Apparently, they must have a rule where you are not allowed to play defense. I've never seen so many uncontested layups and dunks in one single game! It's amazing how all of these "extremely talented" athletes can never play a single ounce of defense. And when they miss a shot, they usually have a teammate flying high and slamming the rebound in for a dunk. OK, that must be another rule . . . no boxing out/defensive rebounding allowed. Wow, this sport gets more real by the second! I'd love to see all these "ballers" try to do their tricky tricks against the San Antonio Spurs or Detroit Pistons!

Oh, and here is a third rule that I discovered . . . apparently, there is no such thing as palming in this game. The point guard can basically carry the ball all the way to the rim without dribbling. These are not real professional athletes. They are simply performers. They are the modern, arrogant, annoying version of the Globetrotters.

This sport is just silly. And what's up with the commentator being ON THE COURT while the game is being played? How can I take this seriously when I see that? This commentator will stand within two yards of the guy dribbling the ball! This whole thing is nothing but a joke!

The thing that I find most disturbing (and comical) about this sport is the name of it. STREETBALL! Really? Listen, I'm not one to be found on many outdoor basketball courts, but one thing I am pretty sure of is that this is NOT street ball. The street ball that I know actually consists of a thing called DEFENSE! Players play rough in REAL street ball. They play for blood and aren't afraid to take somebody down to the ground to prevent an easy layup.

Oh, if you're wondering if I changed the channel, the answer is no. I did not turn the channel. Instead, I simply turned the TV off and sat on my balcony while watching people walk their dogs. Sadly, I found this more entertaining than street ball.