We had a discussion of who did the big events best, so here's a better one:

What network has the best Scorebox? There are a couple of major factors in rating these things:

1st, They should be easily readable. Bright contrasting colors with good bold text.
2nd, Are they sized right? Some networks has insanely large boxes that can cover the action at times.
3rd, can they be annoying? YES won't win this at all because they take forever to put the box up coming back from commercials.

I would say ESPN does them the best, but I'll give FOX and NBC some credit. FOX's line score seems like it takes less space, but it actually does not. A Novel Idea, but it doesn't really work. NBC's Corner Box they use for Arena football seems to take the least space of any box, but is a little tough to read. One thing I like about ESPN's new one though is that they FINALLY highlight which team is batting when they do Baseball games. Why more networks haven't figured this out eludes me.

I think one reason that ESPN does it best is because they've done it for so long. I remember when they first came out with it on the deuce...it was large and often covered text from the broadcast on the bottom of the screen. Also, I can remember it being "stuck" several times when one score would show for quite a while...I haven't seen this in a long time.

One thing about ESPN's system though:
It should pause when commercials are played and resume right where it left off. I remember many times waiting and waiting for a score (particularly when college football is being played) only to have it break to commercial as the sport was being shown, then when it came back I had to wait another 2-3 min.

Nevermind.

I like the FOX thign for baseball...Everybody uses a variation of it except for ESPN, YES, TBS/Turner South and various OTA's.

I wish KCAL would move its bar to the top.


[Please don't sign your posts - LTG]

In Canada, we have scoreboxes for curling. It shows eight rocks for each team and as a team throws the rock flashes and then disappears. It is absolutely ridiculous.

As for the main sports, I liked what NBC did for baseball, just fading in and out the score and count before every pitch. I don't need all that stuff cluttering the screen. I hate FOX for their sound effects and flashes.

I love CBS' NFL ticker in the top corner of the screen though.

Fox's sound effects get old quick. And I'd rather ESPN not pick UP on it (at least during SportsCenter). However, TBS actually has a nice thing I'd like to see ESPN add to their baseball broadcasts: After someone's had a plate appearance, they'll show how they did in each one (how they reached, how far they got). I am quite fond of Fox's top line, though. It does take up more space, yes, but it at least seems like they compensate for it by not having it block any action.

I'm sort of on the fence with TBS' scorecard. At first I thought it was a bit ridiculous to show the entire scorecard, especially since many people probably wouldn't be able to figure out what everything meant. But, it's sort of growing on me.


I don't like KCAL's bar, but mainly because it's never clear to read. I'm not sure if it's the broadcast quality or just my TV screen, but I always have trouble making out what the score is or what inning I'm watching. Then again, KCAL is such a bootleg TV station to begin with anyway.

Richard Sandomir, the New York Times' sports media columnist, had this to say on Tuesday about ESPN's Wimbledom score box:

"ESPN should have realized by now that the vertical score box it has been using for Wimbledon looks more like an eye chart for myopic mathematicians than a legitimate graphic that can be read without rewiring one's brain."

If it blocks out those idiots who wave at the camera while on their cell phones, I'm all for it. But otherwise, gotta give it to FOX NFL broadcasts. They do the color thing and the top-line thing (in the form of a ticker if it's NASCAR, which helps a LOT and was enough to get me to watch some races.)

Who cares?!! Just as long that they showed the score so that I don't have to tell people what the score is.

CBS has the best scorebox, hands down. They are #1! They always have the game score up, and continous flashing updates with another box concerning other games of note. They can't be beat!

FOX is okay- but just okay. They try to make it look too much like a futurisitic machine- when it's just a graphic. Hey FOX- that's not a machine on my TV. Don't insult my intelligence!

ABC/ESPN falls under FOX. I hate it when ABC/ESPN like to put graphics on the TV that aren't there in real life- like the fake background behind the announcers for ESPN Sunday Night Football, or the massive television which magically appears in the middle of the field on MNF. I get pissed when they interrupt their lower stat line crawl with programming notes for ESPN programming- I could care less when TILT will be on next.

NBC is the worst. The score should be on the TV screen AT ALL TIMES- especially if you are trying to watch the game in a loud bar or party, or among company that does not care for sports programming. Flashing the score on and off is a cheap way of forcing viewers to keep watching.