All Told, Mark Shapiro Would Just Rather You Die

Speaking of ESPN head overlord Mark Shapiro, he had a pretty money quote to SI.com this week. Talking to "media critic" Richard Deitsch, Shapiro explained why the network might have been interested in a Mike Tyson reality show a couple of years ago, but isn't anymore.

"It's unfortunate that our viewers would find a reality series on an explosive figure like Mike Tyson uncompelling," Shapiro says. "[But] a life of caring for underprivileged people, as [Tyson] says he's going to do, just isn't as riveting as the ticketing-time-bomb life."

And we wonder why Tyson keeps doing crazy things. It's the only way people like Shapiro will pay him.

Is Allen Iverson Next Reality TV Star? [SI.com]