The Knicks dick-riding has been crazy by ESPN. I noticed it in Game 3 against the Sixers when they were showing external shots of MSG coming back from a break… while the game was being played in Philly. I didn’t watch much of the pre-game shows during this Pacers series because I don’t care what Stephen A. or Michael Wilbon have to say, but apparently it was more of the same. Dan Patrick and Pat McAfee equally called it out on their shows. Let’s start with Dan Patrick because his was better IMO since he doesn’t have to worry about upsetting feelings of the people who sign his paychecks:

Now here’s where I completely 180. You’d have to be dense to not think ESPN wanted the Knicks to win. Their expensive state-of-the-art studio is in New York. One of their highest-paid analysts is a Knicks fan. First Take leading with Celtics/Knicks talk is going to get higher ratings than Celtics/Pacers talk. The Celts are -1000 in the series. I’d be lying if the thought of the Sixers losing Game 6 would be better for content instead of a win just a couple weeks ago. The longer and longer you do this the more you know what works.

And boy did it deliver:

So this doesn’t bother me as much as it might some people because the E in ESPN stands for Entertainment. ESPN wants what is best for business and what was best for business were the Knicks winning. McAfee made that observation when they announced Jalen Brunson was out for the game:

Announcers and reporters are human. Innately, humans are selfish. You’d be crazy to think they don’t have some inherent bias when they call a game. Ask any Eagles fan what Joe Buck and Chris Collinsworth thinks about their team. You don’t think JJ Redick and Mike Breen want to wake up in their own beds for part of the series? Of course they do. Do you get excited when your work sends you to Indiana or Minnessota? Charles Barkley basically mentioned how annoyed he was that he had to go there to Anthony Edwards two minutes after Sunday’s game:


Now could I do without the hypocrisy? Of course. Proclaiming “if the Knicks were healthy” is hilarious when you think about the amount of criticism Joel Embiid endures on this same desk for his health in the playoffs:

So yea it’s annoying that they just shoved the Knicks down our throat, but every media company does it. FOX does it with the Dallas Cowboys at 4:25 every Sunday. The Braves have been on Sunday Night Baseball like five times already it feels like and the rest of the games have featured the Dodgers. This isn’t anything new. All we can do is hope for a Timberwolves vs. Pacers NBA Finals and watch ESPN lead First Take with, “Should the Hawks draft Bronny James #1 if it guarantees them LeBron James?”