ESPN aired its inaugural "NBA HORSE Challenge" telecast last night, and with players using their own cameras from home, the footage was "shakier, choppier and blurrier than arguably anything aired on ESPN in years," according to Jack Baer of YAHOO SPORTS. Despite this, the broadcast was "still better than nothing," as seeing "real basketball players attempting real shots has its value." Fans on Twitter "had some fun with the surreal situation" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 4/12). USA TODAY's Andrew Joseph writes fans are "desperate for sports, so the idea was cool in theory." But when it "came time to see the actual broadcast," it was a "huge letdown with laughably poor video quality" (USA TODAY, 4/13). In Oklahoma City, Joe Mussatto writes the broadcast "mostly fell flat." The "shaky cell phone footage and choppy audio was mocked on social media" (OKLAHOMAN, 4/13). AWFUL ANNOUNCING's Ian Casselberry writes under the header, "ESPN’s NBA HORSE Challenge Misses Badly With Blurry Video, Muffled Sound, No Creativity" (4/13).
DIFFICULTIES ON DISPLAY: The GLOBE & MAIL's Cathal Kelly writes working on a "choppy laptop over a so-so connection," ESPN's Mark Jones "desperately tried to inject some big-game grandeur into the thing." But the video was "so choppy, this thing had more in common with the moon landing than a regular NBA game." YouTube has a "higher transmission standard." The quality did "not improve with subsequent competitors." Kelly: "HORSE on ESPN doesn't work. But I salute them for trying" (GLOBE & MAIL, 4/13). On Long Island, Steve Popper writes the event was a "slight step up from the competitions that ESPN has been airing on the Ocho." But the "difficulties of putting on a show like this in the middle of a quarantine were on display." The "best thing" about it will be the "charitable donation from sponsor State Farm after Thursday’s semifinal and championship round" (NEWSDAY, 4/13). THE RINGER's Paolo Uggetti wrote the "low-definition, truncated, slow-paced competition" was still "enough of a train wreck to be entertaining" (4/12).
TWITTER REAX: Pelicans G J.J. Redick: "Could not be worse. I gave it 5 min. Hard pass." The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor: "It’s worse than I thought it’d be. But appreciate the effort to produce something in difficult times." DC United MF Julian Gressel: "Man this HORSE challenge isn’t doing it for me ... we need live sports back ASAP." The Springfield Republican's John Karalis: "This HORSE competition is the NBA's version of driving an Uber to try to make ends meet." SB Nation's Zito Madu: "I feel like watching NBA players play HORSE during lockdown is the moment before catching your reflection in the bathroom at a bar and asking yourself if you're enjoying things or if you're just desperate."
