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Sportless TV goes all nostalgic on a truly surreal Saturday - MW


So then all programs must continue. Most elite sports in the UK have been postponed because of coronavirus but there are two programs in 21st century sports - one at the stadium, one on TV - and then will continue in the nostalgic form. There's plenty of endless airtime: Sky Sports has nine channels, BT Sport three, Eurosport two, and there's also traditional sports slots on TV for free.

Notice that the BBC will replace Match of the Day with an old Brown Brown Boys episode that has achieved the impossible: it has managed to unify social media. Admittedly the usual response is scorn or disgust but it's still an achievement of sorts. Instead, many have urged the BBC to air a classic MotD episode; others proposed F-Test Cards would be a more appropriate alternative to Agnes Brown's slap trips.

Although there was no match of the day, Beeb continued with Football Focus at Saturday lunchtime. Good afternoon, announcer Dan Walker. You may be worried, there is no Mrs. Brown, but we have a slightly different football Spotlight for you today.

Dion Dublin, Tim Cahill and journalist Rob Harris are guests of the studio and have done very well in such surreal situations. They have an indisputable duty of telling people what they didn't know: when football can return, what could happen if the 2019‑20 season cannot be completed, what is happening. out. They all convey the message of sincerity and before that football really doesn't matter.

Another staple of weekend football, Sky Soccer Saturday, has been quietly dropped from the schedule. Filling half an hour of Focus Focus is one thing; Saturday football is quite different. The presenter, Jeff Stelling, provided his service in a couple of tweets (completely spelled out):

Anyone needs a strange job man. Previously worked Sat 12-6 but now available all day. Sadly useless in almost everything!

I can wash my car, mow the lawn, wash the pots, yell and let you know how many goals Southend has achieved. Is it good?

The main Sky Sports event, often dedicated to their most engaging live action, was taken over by Sky Sports News all day. The channel is often the world's leading company for hype, so it's a bit surprising to flip over and see that they haven't turned the entire screen into a big yellow code. HIGHLIGHTS NEWS: THEY SAY IT NOW. In fact, the coverage has been subdued and pragmatic, with realistic tones and a relatively lacking yellow marker at the bottom of the screen. No fear, no reports have been confirmed that a reserve left-back from an anonymous Championship club was seen in Morrisons with a cart full of toilet paper rolls and tomato soup.

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The last time they satirized themselves was with the announcement that Spurs were interested in Valencia midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia. Honestly, everyone can wait. But the only visual indication that everything is different is a slightly reddish backdrop with molecules floating around and sporadic visible words. There is also an unprecedented focus on the minutiae of the Vanarama National Federation, where six games are played and some Skype conversations with people whose self-isolation is clearly only for their interview purposes.

All the major sports channels nurtured what sports lived on - and, no, they didn't stoop to show four exclusive live hours, or an evening of competitive competition from Lambeth Wetherspoons. . BT Sport covered live news of Halifax v Ebbsfleet's match at the All-England Open and Badminton National League, while Eurosport had the Gibraltar Open billiard. Sky shows Super Rugby in the morning and horse racing in the afternoon.



Additionally, there was playback on every channel and most of the archived footage was familiar. Have the chance to roam through a few Premier League seasons, or be reminded, through the highlights of the 2015 Carling Cup final, that Jose Mourinho once had an adorable smile. In the next few weeks, the past may cease to be a foreign country and become a home - a warm, comfortable place, where we can escape from the strange, unstable landscape of the present.

As any cricket fan will know, there are usually two ways to fill the live sports gap: by showing replays or discussion in the studio. The second is not so easy when there is no scheduled sport in the first place, and there is a significant difference between a group of former cricket players that delayed rain by discussing the order. Their leading UK for the Next Exam and a board of former football players trying to make sense of the biggest health crisis in decades.

The way Sky and BT use their rich archives can become a bit more imaginative when we settle down for long distances. Until now, people are still trying to make sense of the new sportiness. Nobody on Sky Sports News has such a brand but there is an implicit understanding that this is an extremely surreal Saturday.


MW

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