Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

keep your Vegemite hole shut, so more fans could respect yoU. '1 11 ••• MXlV I would like to express my growing displeasure with ESPN 2 and their continual unannounced cancellations of scheduled supercross!motocross broadcasts in favor of other programming priorities. There have been at least two instances of this happening during this year's supercross season, and most recently women's college softball was shown in place of the Hangtown broadcast scheduled for 11 p.m. on May 25. David Bailey and his team should be commended for their excellent commentary, and ESPN 2 does a great job of producing the coverage, but it has become a disturbing trend of ESPN's programming department to show some other unannounced event without even the courtesy of explaining the change. Perhaps the execs at ESPN need to be reminded how supercross and motocross are at the very root of the extremely lucrative (for ESPN) "extreme sports" movement, and they should show the sport that after driving hundreds of miles to get American rookies like Nicky Hay- there. den. Television is good for our sport, real good. Today it's not just a few first year road racing overseas. Per- factory riders who make the big bucks. The fact is, most of the riders who make the program are getting paid pretty well these days, and it's all because of television coverage. Still, I can't help but feel our sport It would be extremely rare for an American to be effective in his formances like John Kocinski's rookie year 250cc title are quite the exception. Nicky is not simply being thrown in with the best riders in the world: He is learning a new track every two doesn't get the TV coverage it deserves with ESPN. weeks, sight-reading corners that the ESPN covers every sport they foes). American rookies also have to can, both major and minor, and therein lies the problem. They just dehydration of jetlag. Until one do not have the time to give supercross and motocross the coverage that most of us would like to see. other riders know like old friends (or adjust to dealing with the wear and makes intercontinental flights every few weeks, it is simply not possible to understand what that can do to Cutting off half of the race or not showing it at all because a major you. sport - that always goes into overtime - goes into overtime should not be acceptable to us nor to the that AMA stars like Miguel DuHamel sport's sponsors. Allowing a lesser network to cover supercross and Championship circuits. The way I motocross would no doubt give us all won the same number of GPs by fans a better show but may not meet this point in their 500cc or MotoG':' all of the sponsor's needs. Still, I cannot brag about ESPN's coverage rookie year. helped get them where they are the of our sport. It is, at best, half ass. ESPN may be satisfied with that, but respect that it deserves. Is this a local or national programming I'm not. Perhaps it is for reasons like these and Colin Edwards had such ordinary rookie seasons on World count it, Hayden, Rossi and Doohan issue? I am certain there are others who feel as I do, and it would be rider's performance. Paul McKendry Tacoma, WA A letter To Mladln RandyWa"en San Rafael CA respect you for the determination Superbike Rules MIke Palmer Pocola, OK the fastest bikes. That penalizes the that you show preparing for and competing on the racetrack. Your I found it interesting that while ability to ride fast and consistent laps without error is also an indica- Road Atlanta, mention was made of Suzuki's dominance, and some even Hey, Bjorn, why would you make helpful if you published an address watching the AMA Superbike race at start to have a respect for your rid- hinted at an unfair advantage. It such a sarcastic remark about ing, you open your mouth and seems to me that all of the players Nicky Hayden and his progress in with the possible exception of Kawasaki had liter bikes already up attack fellow riders and just plain spew nonsense. Bjorn, Bjorn or a method of contacting ESPN to voice our concerns. Allen Harrington via the Intemet MXlV II the top Grand Prix class in the world after only two or three races? Nicky nearly won the 600cc Super- No complaining about ESPN? Okay then. How about that girls' softball? sport Championship riding for a "B" team if you want to talk about rid- Wow! ers on inferior equipment compet- You are our newspaper. Instead of writing about our complaining about ing against the factory-backed teams. The MotoGP bikes are as ESPN, you should be promoting a complex as a Formula 1 car, and letter writing campaign to ESPN. you almost have to be an engineer just to comprehend the complete configuration of the bikes and their MIke Palmer Pocola, OK MXlV III Thank you Cycle News for being a real newspaper by letting us express our opinions. We all have to admit AMA supercross and motocross are not major sports in this country. How can we begin to compare it to the NFL, NBA or baseball? I am thankful that we can finally see our favorite sport on many adjustments. Nicky may not be the top rider right now, but give him time. Nicky has always had the heart, desire, patience and work habits to be a World Champion! Statements from idiots like you, Bjorn, will make that championship a lot sweeter. J. Fogle Rough RIver, KY Bjorn, Bjorn the tube. Back in the "glory days," and running in Formula Extreme and tion of your abilities. But just when I What prompted this letter were could have brought them to the your recent attacks on Eric Bostrom at Road Atlanta, and previously at party. World Superbike, on the other Infineon. Last year you were attacking Gobert and Roberts. This year hand, is restricting air intake on the you had to play smart ass with John competing Suzukis and before long Hopkins at the tests in Malaysia, and now you're after Eric. What's up? will relegate itself to another version of NASCAR, trying to create parity To suggest that Eric's bike is by slowing down the most competi- faster than yours is ridiculous. Any fool who follows AMA racing knows that the AMA rules favor the GSXR tive bikes. I don't think the audience is going to play the game with them. World Superbike has always been the ultimate representation of what production machinery is capable of. Watching wheezing 1000s struggling to keep up in the "Ducati Cup" will soon get old. If a 1000cc limit is placed on the top class, I hope we'll see the best each manufacturer can come up with, regardless of th.e number of cylinders employed. If a handicapping system is to be 1000 "this year," and you clearly have the fastest bike in the paddock. So why don't you just take advantage of that fact and keep your Vegemite hole shut, so more fans could respect you. In my opinion, and that's all it is, an opinion, if you were as fast and talented as you seem to think you are, you would move on to Europe (again) to contest at the world level. employed, a minimum weight sys- A fan of racing who is tired of as Mr. Greer put it, I got to see one AMA National Motocross and maybe With a "big picture" view, readers like Bjorn Inge (Voices, May 21) tem "per category" makes more sense. And it should be one that is one supercross a year - and that was could better appreciate the efforts of employed uniformly, and not just for cue I e hearing you complain, Kent Sheldon via the Internet n e _ S • JUNE 4, 2003 5

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