-
Follow
Following
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
All about Nature, about the outdoors<>I love it, photograph it and protect it.
Posted on October 30, 2016 by Bulldog Ben
Like so many big-time sports fans, I spend quite a bit of time watching ESPN. The variety of programming on the network’s five channels is extraordinary. Sunday Night Baseball is one of the ESPN productions I especially like. It’s got a large audience. And I think it’s safe to say that the SNB regulars lean towards the traditional side, as is true of baseball fans in general.
Former softball great Jessica Mendoza is the most recent addition to the SNB broadcast team. Some ESPN viewers were less than pleased with the change. To help give some context, a quick run-down on Jess for those of you who aren’t softball fans: she had a stellar career as an outfielder for the Stanford Cardinals from 1999 – 2003 and helped lead Stanford to their only softball College World Series appearance in her senior campaign. Jessica was no slouch with a glove but was especially known for her stellar hitting skills; she still ranks in the NCAA top-ten in four hitting categories: doubles, triples, RBI’s and walks.
Her career continued as an Olympian for Team USA. The Americans took the gold in Athens in 2004 and the silver four years later in Beijing; Jessica’s considerable skills at the plate were one of our softball squad’s most potent weapons.
National Pro Fastpitch is the only professional softball league in the U.S., and Jessica had a fine career at the professional level as well, playing for the now-defunct Arizona Heat and the USSSA Pride, the squad based out of Champion Stadium at ESPN Wide World of Sports. That fine facility at Disney is perhaps best known as the home field for the Atlanta Braves for preseason (spring) baseball.
Jessica was not new to ESPN at the time she was tapped for a slot on SNB. The story of how she came to join the crew full-time after a clearly racist tweet from Curt Schilling is well-known to many baseball fans. I think Jessica is a fine addition to the Sunday Night line-up and I don’t feel at all as though it’s some sort of tokenism on the part of ESPN management. Not by a long shot. Ms. Mendoza has paid her dues and is an excellent fit. And although not a few fans — and even some players — are not happy that a woman has joined the Sunday Night team, I think she’ll continue to earn high marks for her work on America’s premier sports network.
Kayla Lombardo is an Associate Editor for Excelle Sports, a net zine that covers womens’ sports. Her fine feature on Jessica and her work for ESPN came out this last Thursday; I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It’s common knowledge that womens’ sports receives just a tiny fraction of the coverage the men get. And let’s get real: that is not going to change anytime in the near future. Perhaps it never will.
That being the case, it’s such a good thing that there are publications like Excelle Sports. I’ve been very impressed to see how well they have the scene covered. If you do have an interest in womens’ athletics, Kayla’s article on Jessica Mendoza could be a great introduction to the work done by Excelle. To read Ms. Lombardo’s fine and in-depth article, just follow this link.
Hooray for womens’ athletics! And for Jessica Mendoza. And ESPN. They contribute greatly to the sports scene here in America and beyond.
Now excuse me as I get off the net and tune to Fox to catch game five of the 2016 World Series. I’m hoping the Cubs can keep alive their hopes for ending the curse and taking it all! Their chances don’t look all that good, to be frank. I enjoy the Series so much more when it goes all the way to seven games. If it doesn’t this year, I could bear the disappointment much better if Dan, Aaron Boone and Jessica were calling the game!
Category: SportsTags: Aaron Boone, Atlanta Braves, Baseball, Chicago Cubs, Curt Schilling, Dan Shulman, ESPN, ESPN Wide World of Sports, Excelle Sports, Jessica Mendoza, Kayla Lombardo, National Pro Fastpitch, Net Zines, Olympic Games, Olympic Softball, Softball, Sports, Sunday Night Baseball, USSSA Pride, Womens Athletics, Womens Sports, World Series
Enjoy the Outdoors. Love the Planet.
Recent Comments