ESPN's World: One NFL player

ESPN is on a television in the background in the Paul Brown Stadium pressroom. Four beat writers who cover the Bengals are working.

Mercifully, the sound is off. Every now and then, I look up to watch the wall-to-wall coverage of the Terrell Owens' situation. Did he or did he not attempt suicide? Was it a harmful chemical reaction?

It's times like these that make me embarrassed to be in the media, and the sports media (ugh!) even more.

Talk about a lack of perspective. Of course, the normal ESPN coverage of the NFL bestows more coverage on Owens than any other player. He's the perfect cable sports channel player: a one-man soap opera.

It's the same way ESPN television covers baseball. There are two teams in all of Major League Baseball: Yankees and Red Sox.

But, I can't throw stones. If ESPN calls and wants to talk about the Bengals, ESPN radio or television, I talk. I put on a dress shirt and jacket and drive to the WCET studios if they want to film me.

I'm a small part of the machinery. Sometimes I don't understand the demand. But it's clearly there.