XM MLB Chat: ESPN in business with team it covers to sell advertising for ESPNBoston.com

Commenters add perspective as always:

"Mikey D says: September 24, 2009 10:16 AM, It doesn't really surprise me. ESPN always favors Boston sports. It's pathetic if you ask me."

(ProFootballTalk.com): "Maybe ESPN wants to be criticized.

That's the only explanation we can identify in the wake of the bizarre news from SportsBusiness Daily (subscription) that

ESPN has hired Kraft Sports Group to sell local advertising for the fledgling
ESPNBoston.com.

That's Kraft Sports Group. As in Robert Kraft. As in the owner of the New England Patriots.

Even more amazing is that the SBD report from John Ourand and Daniel Kaplan doesn't even bat an eye at one of the most blatant and obvious conflicts of interest we ever have seen.

This is well beyond, in our view, the placement of a CBS-themed restaurant at Patriot Place, which has raised some talk of a conflict of interest between the Pats and the network that televises the Sunday afternoon AFC package of games.

This is a sports news outlet entering into a significant business partnership with one of the handful of teams that will be covered by the ESPNBoston.com site....

Meanwhile, we'll wait to see what Don Ohlmeyer has to say about this one in the monthly ombudsman column that

still ends up buried at the bottom of the alphabet junkyard." "ESPN, Patriots create an obvious conflict of interest," by Mike Florio, 9/24/09

Among other comments:

"Triumph40 says: September 24, 2009 10:18 AM,

I don't know why this is surprising to anybody. ESPN and the Patriots have been in bed with each other for years. Just watch any NFL related programming on ESPN. For years, they have gone out of their way to sing the praises of the Patriots, so much so that it's just nauseating.

I never really disliked New England until ESPN has gone out of their way to shove them down our throats. Now I loathe, despite, detest, and in all other ways dislike the Patriots and ESPN. "
"emulcifier says: September 24, 2009 10:25 AM
Whenever anyone doesn't have competition, they produce less-than-stellar output.

It'd be really nice if another sports network could get national syndication, because
ESPN is really marketed towards
12 year-olds in Boston."
"Hap says: September 24, 2009 10:25 AM
Certainly you're not just discovering there's a connection between The Cheatriot's and northEast Sox and Patriot Network, are you ? That relationship is soooo sickening that I don't even watch that network unless I can't find a game anywhere else to watch. Now if you will notice that
not only do they promote the northeast teams, but they put down anyone else who's a threat. Why do you think
they hate The Cowboy's and The Yankee's so much? And that's just the tip of the iceberg. You DO NOT want to get me started on espn. They are douchebags from Hades."...