Espn Wants To Reinvent The Couch Potato

Talk about getting in your face. On Apr. 6, ESPN2 talk-show host Jim Rome introduced New Orleans Saints freshman quarterback Jim Everett as "Chris Evert." And he kept twitting the gridder, calling him by the former tennis ace's name, until Everett pushed over a table and sacked Rome. The all-sports channel cut to a station break.

The scuffle provoked a week's worth of barroom banter. And while both Rome and Everett later apologized, the episode spotlighted ESPN's irreverent sibling. Steven M. Bornstein, ESPN's chief executive, described the incident as "regrettable." But what buzz!