Countdown Friday: Soap Opera Summer

In this edition of Countdown Friday, I'd like to take a look back at this summer in sports. Or, as I like to call it, the "Soap Opera Summer." Sure, there weren't as many exciting sporting events as we would have liked. But things did happen - the World Cup, the NBA Finals, the Stanley Cup, a couple drafts, Wimbledon. And yet, how often did you turn on the TV and see highlights from these? Every now and then. But you always saw reporters talking about stories - stories that had nothing to do with actual sports, just celebrity gossip. So here they are: the top 10 soap opera stories of the summer.


10. Stephen Strasburg Is The Messiah - This one is only number 10 because it was actually quite exciting to watch him play. But if he pitched only 1 day out of 5, why did we hear about him for weeks?

9. Laurence Taylor Robs The Prostitute Cradle - His defense was that the prostitute lied about her age. Because yeah, that makes it better. But still - a former athlete breaks the law? No way? This story only warranted a few days of coverage, if that.


8. Clemens Is Indicted - A baseball great lied about using performance enhancers and is now in trouble for it. I feel like I've heard this one before.


7. Did Lance Use Steroids? - Yes. Nobody cares. Shut up, Floyd Landis.


6. Haynesworth Is Fat And Spoiled - I still haven't forgiven ESPN for trying to convince me that every fitness test this guy took was worthy of the title "Breaking News."


5. Tiger Woods Doing Anything Ever - There are hundreds of other golfers on the pro tour, most of whom seem to be better than Tiger right now. How about we look at the ones who are actually winning tournaments?


4. Ben Roethlisberger Behaves Inappropriately Towards Women - His sense of entitlement makes me sick. 24/7 news about him only inflates the ego.


3. The Brett Favre Will-He-Won't-He Saga Continues - At least we knew it was coming this time. Sidenote: I burned all my Wrangler jeans.


2. A-Rod Goes For 600 - Definitely didn't need to watch the 46 at bats between 599 and 600. But thanks to ESPN, I got to. What an absurdly meaningless statistic. 600 home runs! It's like 597, but a few more!


1. LeBron-apalooza -As if there was any other choice for number 1. This guy took his ego and somehow elevated its importance beyond that of every other sporting event in the nation. And ESPN ate it up. Perhaps the most irresponsible sports journalism I've ever seen. It's supposed to be about the game, not some egomaniacal superstar.