NBC Coverage

[dean smith]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

Poker is pure gambling. Nothing else, nothing more. The millions of people that played poker after the exposure were looking to gamble anyway, they werent brainwashed into it.

TV educated the public about the strategy being used which is basically the gambling aspect. I understand that three live shows weeks apart on Saturday afternoons in the Spring isnt the same as edited wall to wall coverage. And i understand that NBC or ABC or ESPN is under no obligation to educate people on anything. But the idea that someone is sparked to bet on the races by flowery interviews or human interest stories versus someone winning a couple hundred dollars is flawed.

I dunno. In our celebrity-obsessed culture, seeing Michael Jordan, Jessica Simpson, and other glamerous people there and singing its praises gives a lot of people out there reason to think, "hey, maybe this isn't just a seedy, degenerate sport. This is HIP. What am I missing?" Think of them as celebrity endorsements, much like Charles Barkley for Right Guard, or Catherine Zeta-Jones for that phone company.

And really, whether you believe television doesn't -- or is under no obligation to -- educate, it does on a very basic, fundamental level. When Costas talks about different horses' running styles and how it could affect the outcome, or when guys like Goldberg give their picks and tell you why, it piques interest in people, which they may investigate further on their own later.

Originally Posted by dean smith

I dunno. In our celebrity-obsessed culture, seeing Michael Jordan, Jessica Simpson, and other glamerous people there and singing its praises gives a lot of people out there reason to think, "hey, maybe this isn't just a seedy, degenerate sport. This is HIP. What am I missing?" Think of them as celebrity endorsements, much like Charles Barkley for Right Guard, or Catherine Zeta-Jones for that phone company.

And really, whether you believe television doesn't -- or is under no obligation to -- educate, it does on a very basic, fundamental level. When Costas talks about different horses' running styles and how it could affect the outcome, or when guys like Goldberg give their picks and tell you why, it piques interest in people, which they may investigate further on their own later.