Author Topic: Scrabble coming to ESPN (Read 10142 times)

Matt Ottinger · « **on:** November 06, 2003, 11:08:32 PM »

No Chuck Woolery, no John O'Hurley, but the pink and blue squares will still be worth more when the 2003 Scrabble All-Star Championship airs on ESPN Sunday, November 9th at 3:30pm.

God, I love my TiVo.

Adam Nedeff · « **Reply #1 on:** November 06, 2003, 11:16:57 PM »

Quote

No Chuck Woolery, no John O'Hurley, but the pink and blue squares will still be worth more when the 2003 Scrabble All-Star Championship airs on ESPN Sunday, November 9th at 3:30pm.

Filling TV time with games of Scrabble...and yet, somehow, they feel that a SECOND ESPN is necessary. Astonishing.

inturnaround · « **Reply #2 on:** November 06, 2003, 11:28:13 PM »

[quote name=\'Adam Nedeff\' date=\'Nov 6 2003, 11:16 PM\']

Quote

No Chuck Woolery, no John O'Hurley, but the pink and blue squares will still be worth more when the 2003 Scrabble All-Star Championship airs on ESPN Sunday, November 9th at 3:30pm.

Filling TV time with games of Scrabble...and yet, somehow, they feel that a SECOND ESPN is necessary. Astonishing. [/quote]
I for one applaud them for airing it. They already do the Scripps-Howard Annual Spelling Bee and I think it's great to see some non-physical competitions being shown on ESPN. (I think ESPN2 has show some Magic: The Gathering tournaments)

With Poker being a big cable hit for channels like Travel, I'm not surprised to see ESPN airing this special. It's only an hour against the NFL, not like their core audience is watching them anyway.

As for ESPN2, it may not be needed 24 hours a day, but it sure does come in handy for College Gameday and when baseball and hockey season overlap.

cyberjoek · « **Reply #3 on:** November 07, 2003, 12:22:35 AM »

Yes they do air Magic: The Gathering Tourneys (and until two years ago the National Geographic Geo Bee) on ESPN 2, also rember that ESPN stands for Entertainment & Sports Playing Network. The scrabble games can get quite interesting (unless your a five year old looking at the racks live :-) )
-Joe Kavanagh

DrBear · « **Reply #4 on:** November 07, 2003, 12:44:30 AM »

[quote name=\'cyberjoek\' date=\'Nov 7 2003, 12:22 AM\'] also rember that ESPN stands for Entertainment & Sports Playing Network.
[/quote]
Does this mean that Fox Sports Net will show footage of foxes?

wxfrcaster · « **Reply #5 on:** November 07, 2003, 12:53:29 AM »

For those curious, here's the answer to the question, What does ESPN stand for, from the ESPN FAQ:

http://espn.go.com/sitetools/s/help/espn-faq.html#espn

WHAT DOES ESPN STAND FOR?
It doesn't stand for anything, but the story is this...When ESPN started in 1979 we were the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (thus, ESPN). However, the full name was dropped in February 1985 when the company adopted a new corporate name --ESPN, Inc.--and a new logo. We are a subsidiary of ABC, Inc., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Co. The Hearst Corporation has a 20 percent interest in ESPN.

Robert Hutchinson · « **Reply #6 on:** November 07, 2003, 01:40:59 AM »

[quote name=\'DrBear\' date=\'Nov 7 2003, 12:44 AM\'] [quote name=\'cyberjoek\' date=\'Nov 7 2003, 12:22 AM\'] also rember that ESPN stands for Entertainment & Sports Playing Network.
[/quote]
Does this mean that Fox Sports Net will show footage of foxes? [/quote]
If you take it as slang, they already do, in their opinion at least.

Jimmy Owen · « **Reply #7 on:** November 07, 2003, 02:21:35 AM »

"It's the game you've played all your life....quite like this....Scrabble!"

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #8 on:** November 07, 2003, 08:05:01 AM »

As a much bigger fan of the board game than I ever was of the game show, I'm eagerly waiting to see exactly how they're going to present this. I imagine it's going to be done much like the poker shows, heavily edited with detailed explanations for the uninitiated and profiles of the more colorful players.

Can Monopoly be far behind?

zachhoran · « **Reply #9 on:** November 07, 2003, 08:10:21 AM »

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Nov 7 2003, 08:05 AM\'] As a much bigger fan of the board game than I ever was of the game show, I'm eagerly waiting to see exactly how they're going to present this. I imagine it's going to be done much like the poker shows, heavily edited with detailed explanations for the uninitiated and profiles of the more colorful players.

Can Monopoly be far behind? [/quote]
This actually does sound interesting. WHere is this championship held(they have one annual tournament near me in Atlantic City).

mmb5 · « **Reply #10 on:** November 07, 2003, 08:32:41 AM »

Things like Scrabble, Magic and Miniature Golf on ESPN are time buys. This (besides cable fees) is what makes ESPN their money. Many of the fishing shows, billiards and cheerleading championships are that way as well. Notice that these air against programming on broadcast networks that would be siphoning off most sports fans.

--Mike

aaron sica · « **Reply #11 on:** November 07, 2003, 08:48:07 AM »

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Nov 7 2003, 08:05 AM\'] As a much bigger fan of the board game than I ever was of the game show, I'm eagerly waiting to see exactly how they're going to present this. I imagine it's going to be done much like the poker shows, heavily edited with detailed explanations for the uninitiated and profiles of the more colorful players.

Can Monopoly be far behind? [/quote]
I can just see some other parlor games with tournaments being aired for TV...

"Live, from the beautiful Mandalay Bay, it's........Connect Four!"

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #12 on:** November 07, 2003, 09:24:19 AM »

[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Nov 7 2003, 09:10 AM\'] [quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Nov 7 2003, 08:05 AM\'] As a much bigger fan of the board game than I ever was of the game show, I'm eagerly waiting to see exactly how they're going to present this. I imagine it's going to be done much like the poker shows, heavily edited with detailed explanations for the uninitiated and profiles of the more colorful players.

Can Monopoly be far behind? [/quote]
This actually does sound interesting. WHere is this championship held(they have one annual tournament near me in Atlantic City). [/quote]
This tournament was in Providence, Rhode Island and was taped back in August. Here are some links for anyone interested:
http://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/pop...pop-candy_x.htm
http://www.scrabble-assoc.com/news/pr/2003/pr000011.html

Jay Temple · « **Reply #13 on:** November 07, 2003, 11:33:27 AM »

[quote name=\'DrBear\' date=\'Nov 6 2003, 11:44 PM\'] [quote name=\'cyberjoek\' date=\'Nov 7 2003, 12:22 AM\'] also rember that ESPN stands for Entertainment & Sports Playing Network.
[/quote]
Does this mean that Fox Sports Net will show footage of foxes? [/quote]
Lisa Guerrero

clemon79 · « **Reply #14 on:** November 07, 2003, 11:58:15 AM »

[quote name=\'Jay Temple\' date=\'Nov 7 2003, 09:33 AM\'] Lisa Guerrero [/quote]
No longer...she's an ABC property now, as I found to my dismay when I tuned in Monday Night Football for pretty much the first time this season a week or so ago. (This is what happens when yer a Seahawks fan.