For those who missed the breathless reports on ESPN early Tuesday, New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter dislocated his shoulder in a head-first collision at third base in Monday's opening game against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Big deal? In the baseball world, sure. Next to Steinbrenner, Jeter is the face of the Yankees. Losing him dents the leadership on the team, creates a hole in the lineup for who knows how long and suspends a stellar career.
But was there a reason to keep replaying the agonizing scene? I counted nine replays in less than four minutes at the front of SportsCenter Monday night. Nine times. From several different angles. During two different segments. That doesn't include the shots of him rolling around on the field, nor the tape of him being interviewed after the game with his arm in a sling. (I've always been amazed when athletes in severe pain take time to answer questions immediately after a game. As if they owed us an explanation.) For good measure, three more versions were shown by the end of the hour-long broadcast, bringing the total to 12 replays.
But this is standard in sports television journalism now. The injuries are as much a part of the entertainment during highlight shows as the games are. It's not a full report unless you can literally see the ankle snapping off the leg of the University of Miami running back or the driver flipping a dozen times in the infield. How many times do we have to see the back of Greg Louganis' skull hit the diving board? What's the minimum amount of replays it takes to make the point that Dave Dravecky's cancer-riddled arm almost snapped off his torso? How many anniversaries of "The Punch" are we going to need to retell the story of how Kermit Washington caved in Rudy Tomjanovich's face? Where do you draw the line in showing Dale Earnhardt's death in Turn 4? Ten times? A hundred? A thousand?
Are such events part of the sport? Absolutely. Is it news? Without a doubt. But showing it over and over like its the Zapruder film is beyond sadistic. Incessant showing of a hockey player's head slamming into the boards or a football player's neck snapping back in a punishing recoil of a tackle turns the viewer into a vulture.
The best part: If you missed it the first time, SportsCenter -- not to mention its ESPN News companion -- regurgitates the scene over and over during back-to-back replays of the show well into the next morning and afternoon.
They say that war coverage in Iraq is dulling the senses. What I've seen on ESPN on a routine basis for years qualifies as spectator-driven agony worthy of Thunderdome.
By the way, the Yankees won, 8-4.