More Blood-Letting at E(mbrace Debate)SPN... Getting away from everything but the screaming...

News from the sports world today that ESPN, facing continuing declining revenues, has engaged in another round of cost-cutting layoffs.

Noticeably absent from the list I am about to give you is almost anyone from the "Embrace Debate" crowd -- and I'm not the first to notice.  With the debate shows taking over mornings on the main network, as well as proliferating through competitors like FS1 with "Skip and Shannon" and the like, one has to think that the ESPN might soon stand for the Entirely Screaming Programming Network.

(One other thought I had is seeing more "filler" programming, like what ESPN does with the World Series of Poker.  E-sports would appear to be a candidate in that regard, given ESPN's new penchant for covering it -- but NOT the WWE (which ESPN has a partnership to cover).)

The fact is:  There's too many ESPN networks ("1", 2, U, Deportes, News (which often devolves into 30 for 30 during evenings), most of the conference networks are basically ESPN in disguise...), , and there's finally meaningful competition for sports programming (both on the end-user level and the broadcast-rights level, which see Fox seizing the World Cup starting in 2018 -- and then stating Mexico is going to be treated as a "second home side" in the Russia coverage).  Add the cord-cutters, and you now have a network that is either going to die or significantly downsize.

And here, according to what is believed to be the best current list on Deadspin, are some of the more familiar names pink-slipped today:

• Doug Glanville of the baseball coverage.
• Dr. Jerry Punch, seen on a lot of auto racing coverage (on ESPN since 1980, more prominently since 1984), and also did college football sideline reporting for the networks. 
• Dottie Pepper, who was a golf analyst after her LPGA career.
• Roger Cossack, 13 years as the legal analyst for ESPN.
• Trent Dilfer, who spent 9 years as an NFL analyst for the networks.
• A real shocker to me:  Jayson Stark, one of the foremost baseball analyst and knowledge sources on ESPN.  Another example of trying to get away from fact-based programming and more to screaming in each other's faces, isn't that right, people who fired Howie Schwab?
• Another former NFLer with the network, Danny Kanell (radio host).
• Scott Burnside:  13 years of covering the NHL.  Looks like the NHL is slipping further into minor-league status, at least as far as the Worldwide Leader is concerned, with at least three prominent puck reporters cut.
• With Pierre LeBrun and Joe McDonald, that's 30 years worth combined of NHL coverage, out the door.
• Ed Werder:  17 years of NFL coverage
• Cutbacks to the roles of Hannah Storm, Karl Ravech, and Ryen Rusillo.

Only 20 of the 100ish cuts are Bristol-based.

The fact is that they want the network to become one giant screaming match, in the hopes that sports fans will do the same, and ignore any realities inconvenient to them.