ESPN to 'Bronx' Viewers: Drop Dead

I have no idea what happened to ESPN’s much ballyhooed miniseries The Bronx is Burning last night. Apparently the Major League Baseball home run contest ran long–really really long–and kicked Bronx (which was scheduled for 10 p.m.) to start past 11, at which point my DVR had long since stopped recording. 

I’m not happy. First of all, I think the home run contest is just awful. I’m a huge baseball fan–I’ll watch Royals-Devil Rays in September. But the home run contest is dopey–it appeals to the lowest common denominator, and essentially reveals nothing about a player’s skill. Hitting a moonshot off a Clemens splitter is an accomplishment, but armed with a stiff breeze at my back and an aluminum bat, I could probably hit a 60 m.p.h. meatball into the seats. I wonder what allure the contest has for anyone over 10, while anyone under 10 should probably be in bed by the time the winner is declared.

How did ESPN underestimate the length of the contest, so much so that it ran over an hour long? If ESPN is not truly committed to original programming, it should probably bag high-profile projects like The Bronx is Burning. 

LATEST: An ESPN spokesperson said the home run contest did indeed run longer than anticipated, and with ESPN’s "standing tradition" of not breaking from live sporting events (yes, Albert Pujols hitting balls across the San Francisco Bay is a "sporting event"), they opted to delay the "taped programming." Viewers can watch part 1 of Bronx Wednesday at 10 p.m.