Media Perspective.

We bought this old horse at Ye Old Livery. It took us to the top of the mountain in 2003. Then, on our slow descent, and I mean SLOW, we hit the Fine scandal and have made it back to the foot of the mountain.

This horse has been ridden to death. After it died under our butts and we were thrown off, we have picked up a baseball bat and beat it. There isn't a whole lot more to say about the media, but this is what I have to say.

Yes, I am angered by the way ESPN tends to show us. But in all honesty, it doesn't matter if they choose to show us as a hero or a heel. We are front pagers on NCAA MB right now. Not Gtown, the defending National Champs at Uconn, not LLLLLLVVVVVVVVVVVVVVLLLLLLLLL, not Nova. We are.

In all reality, ESPN is just a tabloid. They have slowly turned into a series of talking heads that praise the dynasties and tar-and-feather the new guys. It's about being sensational and ENNNNTERRRRRRRTAAAAAIIIIIINNNNNNMMMMMMEEEEEEENNNNNNTTTTTT

Like all real and organic things in life, we are flawed. The more obvious it is, the easier it is for the jackals at ESPN to take bites out of our image. And let's be honest, we didn't start the year with too great of an image. Between the crash and burn of the football team in the second half of the year, and the Fine scandal, we started at damn near the bottom of the totem pole.

But now, we have risen. We have persevered. They have no choice but to cover us. Like many have noted, they weren't prepared for anyone other than their usual media darlings. It could seem that way. Or it could just be that they need an anti-hero. They can't just love everybody. Spread too much love and you diminish the impact of the love. You need some hate. You need a clear enemy. You need controversy. But even when they choose to love, it still isn't perfect. We aren't the only ones that get burned.

Murray St., when undefeated, were a HEADLINE grabbing, publicity machine. ESPN sent crews out to their little campus to talk to their little fanbase and all their town. Once they lost? All those interviews and spots ESPN had just filmed on their tiny little campus were thrown in the garbage.

But this is the shining example right here. This is the best way to convey my exact point.

Jeremy Lin? Yes ESPN are delving into the whole LINSANITY thing, talking to people about how great it is and Suchy McSuch. But they are also posting articles like commentary from the perennial JACKASS Floyd Mayweather Jr. proclaiming that his race is the sole reason that Lin is wildly popular.

ESPN KNOWS this isn't really true. They KNOW it's because the Knicks have had ZERO to be excited about, even after snagging Carmelo. They KNOW people hate Floyd. They KNOW Lin has just gone toe-to-toe with probably the second greatest guard to ever play the game (Kobe), and won. They KNOW Lin has led the Knicks to a 4-0 record since entering the starting lineup. They KNOW, also though, that race DOES have a small bit to do with it, but it is NOT the sole reason. Where did Lin come from? That's what everyone wants to know.

Yet they let Floyd of ALL people, a man who has been openly prejudiced to Manny Pacquiao, act as the counterweight. If I were Lin, my first reaction would be anger, resentment, maybe even bordering on hatred for a toolbox jerkoff like Mayweather Jr. I would also be angry with ESPN for even airing the latest batch of idiocy from that over-rated, under-concussed, racist prima donna. Why has a boxer been given a bullhorn (FRONT PAGE) to shred one of the (STRUGGLING) Knicks' and (STRUGGLING) NBA's biggest rising stars?

Why? Just go look at the comment sections. The article has been up for roughly 20 minutes and has already blown by the 5000 comment mark. It sends people in to a FRENZY! That's what they want. Buzzing. They don't care if the bees are angry. They don't care if the bees are happy. They want all the little bees to come to the hive and make noise and to make honey.

They want us to flinch. They want us to react. Don't. These are the glory days of SU basketball. It can NOT get much better, aside from winning it all. Even if their spotlight is crappy, dim, poorly angled, and filtered to show what ESPN wants to show, enjoy it. I for one, don't want to look on these years and think that I wasted our time on the mountaintop crying about what a joke ESPN is, and will probably always be. I'm sure they will come out with something outrageous about us, for us, against us, and we will all have something to say.

So next time they are ridiculous, just remember they want us to fly out of our homes, fly into their hive, crash into their combs, and buzz louder than all the other bees they've stirred up. They want us to try and sting Gottlieb and Forde. They want us ravenous and out of control. But I think we can be better than that.

GO ORANGE!!!