At Least It's Not "Life Is An Open Road To Me"

After the Roberto Clemente backlash of this morning, we're wary of going this direction ... but hell, somebody's gotta do it.

So ... about the "SportsCenter" Make-A-Wish segments of the last two weeks ...

First off, it should be obvious that we have no problem with sick and/or needy children getting to meet their heroes, living a dream during an extremely trying time. It's always queasy when these special moments are televised from every angle — Odalis Perez would be proud — but, despite all the pat-me-on-the-back-for-being-such-a-good-guy platitudes, it's difficult to argue that more good wasn't done than bad with the segments, even if we have some doubts about the motivation of the non-child participants.

So why, the second we heard the wistful tinkling of each segment's entry music, did we immediately change the channel? (This is completely true; our daily SportsCenter viewing inevitably has had a 10-minute interlude on any nearby channel.) We think maybe it's Chris Connelly. Formerly a reporter for Premiere magazine who quit because the magazine wouldn't run an expose on Arnold Schwarzenegger, this stance on behalf of ethical journalism has led him to this and red-carpet duty at the ESPYs. Connelly seems born to provide narration over soft focus. There's something about his glazed-over eyes and lilted voice; we have a feeling he and Pat O'Brien are very good friends.

Or maybe it's because we get enough infomercials from every episode of "SportsCenter" already and just can't take 10 minutes more. That could be it.

My Wish Is That SportsCenter Was Still A Decent Show [No One Appreciates Me]