This is Sportscenter

Still to this day the show Sportscenter is one of my favorite TV shows of all time.  Its not just the fact it consists of numerous sports clips and score updates, but the fact that it usually encompasses two of my favorite genres of television: sports and comedy.  Now the comedic side of Sportscenter is usually toned down for the most part during live shows and what not, meaning the sports highlights and interviews take center stage.  The comedy aspect of Sportscenter is most commonly seen in their Ads and commercials however, when the camera's are not live and the atmosphere is much more relaxed.  One of my favorite ads for Sportscenter of all time features one of my favorite hockey players, Alex Ovechkin, a Russian-born athlete who plays for the Washington Capitals.  The scene starts out inside the offices of ESPN, the main set for all of the "This is Sportscenter" ads.  Ovechkin is in full hockey garb filing some papers in the dark.  One of the Sportscenter anchors walks by and notices him in the room.  As he approaches Ovechkin and turns on the light he asks, somewhat sarcastically, "Hey why are you filing papers so late and in the dark?  Are you a Russian spy or something?" The two exchange laughs and the anchor walks away and leaves Alex to his business.  As soon as the anchor leaves, Ovechkin's face changes into a serious glare and grabs some papers as he looks to the ceiling.  The goalie for the Washington Capitals, Michal Neuvirth (a fellow Russian), appears out of one of the tiles and throws Alex a rope, saying "That was too close" in Russian, as Ovechkin agrees saying, "Too close" as well.  It is this kind of comedic genius that makes the Sportscenter ads so funny and so relatable to the athletes they are portraying.  Just the thought of an office being run by athletes from all sports and walks of life makes this ad one of my favorites, as well as all "This is Sportscenter" ads.

A sports ad that i have come to frown upon lately is the Peyton Manning commercial where he is promoting the new Buick car and is acting like a real southern hick while driving it.  Yes, everyone knows that he is a superstar football player.  Yes, everyone knows that he hails from the south and has always been immersed in that culture (graduated from Tennessee University).  But come on Buick, the commercial is just awful and the jokes seem kind of derogatory.  This is probably just my personal feelings on how I feel about the commercial, but I just don't like Peyton Manning or the way they are promoting the car.  Buick should take notes from Sportscenter if you ask me.

Average Morning

The worst sound known to man.  That awful ringing bellowed against my ear drum as I quickly awoke from my comfortable state.  It should have gone off 20 minutes ago, but decides to wake me up now.  Terrific.  Feeling drowsy and tired I roll out of bed to a closet full of hangars and coats; not one article of clothing is clean and hanging up.  I look down on the floor to find the entirety of my wardrobe lying in a heap, waiting to be washed and burning my eyes from the stench.  'What else is new' I mumble to myself and plunge my hands into the mass of dirty laundry, playing my usual game of "mystery outfit" and wearing whatever I manage to pull out of the pile first.  I hobble down the stairs and open the fridge to find an abundance of variety; a jar of pickles and two bottles of Powerade.  'Breakfast of champions' I think to myself as I wash down a salty spear with Mountain Berry Blast, 'And I'm sure the day is only going to get better'.  At this point the sarcasm is literally dripping out of my mouth.  

Traffic is the nemesis for my lead foot as I come to a screeching halt.  I feel like everyone is stupid for going to work at the same time as me, and that no one understands how my day is going.  Its almost like the world is against me at this point, and that everyone planned to get on the highway at the exact same time.  I see an open section in the lane to the left of me and I turn my blinker on as I prepare to turn.  Well I guess my idea was as good as the guy in front of me too as he copies my actions and cuts me off like its his job.  My usual colorful vocabulary began to spew from my mouth as I gave the driver in front of me a piece of my mind, as well as a few choice hand gestures to go along with it.  'Man if I didn't need to pay off this car loan I swear to God I'd ram this bastard' I tell myself to keep up with my tough guy moment, knowing inside that I was truly full of shit.

It felt like years before I got to office, setting all of my morning stress onto my desk chair as I fall into it with thud.  My eyes almost roll back into my skull as I begin to drift off until I see an out of place note sitting on my desk.  The desk chair's wheels screech loudly as I roll closer to my desk and pick up the post it.  Of course its a note from my boss saying that I need to see her ASAP.  You know, the usual note that you love to see on an awful morning.

The envelope felt like a ton of bricks in my hand, and my temperature was rising as  I began to comprehend a few of the important words that my boss was dribbling out of his fat face.  In essence I was being let go, and I didn't give a f*** in this point of my day.  I decided to keep my words to myself, and my thoughts inside.  As I left the office i only had one thing to say to myself.  "Congratulations sir, you just had one hell of a morning!!!"