"Hello, I'm Skip Bayless. Please join me on my daily television show where I will passionately argue that steroids are harmful, cheating is bad, and that rules should be followed."

Many years ago, Late Night with Conan O'Brien did a segment where Conan encouraged his then-sidekick Andy to engage him in a "point/counterpoint" debate on an important issue. Andy was to take the "pro-" position and Conan would take the "con-." Andy expressed some reluctance, but Conan said it would be fun and Andy reluctantly agreed. Then Conan unveiled the issue -- murder.

After some more encouragement and prodding from Conan, Andy attempted to mount a half-hearted defense of murder centered around overpopulation. Then, it was Conan's turn. And Conan proceeded to rip Andy apart for his stupid, thoughtless and mean-spirited opinions on murder.

If you saw the segment, then you know it was hilarious. If you missed the segment, then I'd encourage you to tune into ESPN's 1st and 10, where you can essentially see the same thing happen every day -- only with no trace of humor or irony.

ESPN's 1st and 10 is a sports debate show that features a moderator, and usually two panelists who will debate the pressing sports issues of the day. One of the panelists is always Skip Bayless. And from his perch as "Permanent Panelist," Skip must get to pick first when they decide what positions to take.

On steroid abuse, Skip is against. And I watched as he passionately worked over another panelist who was called upon to offer some weak defense of steroids. Debates over other topics go down the same way, as Skip inevitably gets to take the con- on issues like "Dogfighting" and "Should NBA Refs Bet on Games," as some poor chump across from him attempts to take an indefensible, contrary view.

So thank you, Skip Bayless -- not just for defending what's right, but for making sure Around the Horn isn't the worst show on ESPN.

Labels: ESPN, Skip Bayless