HBO Sports: The Cure to "Summer Dumber Slumber"

With the TV season on its' annual summer hiatus (certain programs excluded of course), it has been a challenge for me to find something suitable to watch while I'm not out and about. The summer schedule can be the bedrock of what I like to call the "Summer Dumber Slumber (SDS)." Full of repeats and mindless reality shows, SDS presents itself through many facets. How many times have you turned on your television and end up watching G's to Gents, only to get to the end and wonder if you were asleep the whole time? No, you weren't asleep and neither was I -- we were becoming dumber in a slumber. Hence, SDS.

And ladies, how many times have you done this watching Lifetime Movie Network? I rest my case.

This is where HBO Sports' programs come into play. I am already addicted to Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, but in the summer Mr. Gumbel and crew are a reviving breath of fresh air. Real Sports tells the interesting and entertaining stories that seem to be lost in a "too much like right" pile of every sports news network on television. Stripped of the glitz and glamour (except the classic segment on gold-diggers), Mr. Gumbel has developed this show into an "Oprah" of the sports world. The tears, the drama, the strife, the heartbreak, the triumphs, the reunions... this is too good to be true.

Right where Real Sports leaves off, Costas NOW picks up. I love these "town hall" live shows! Especially the new special centered around baseball -- and I do love baseball. Talking frankly about everything from Hall of Fame entry (sorry Pete, your chances are not looking good) to owners cutting high-brokered deals for players and stadiums to the blaring gap of black (non-hispanic) players missing from America's past time. Bob Costas (a fellow SU alum) controls his crowd as he asks all the questions we all want to know. "Who is better, you [Hank Aaron] or Willie [Mays]?" He has balls... I wouldn't ask.

And just when I thought HBO Sports couldn't get any better... my favorite sports reality show returns. Hard Knocks: Dallas Cowboys Training Camp. It doesn't get better than that, now does it? Oh the drama that are my beloved Dallas Cowboys.

(Jerry Jones + any Cowboys head coach) x (T.O. + his personality) x (Tony Romo + Jessica"Jinx" Simpson) x Pacman Jones = ME WATCHING.

So join me on Wednesday, August 6 at 10pm and tune into HBO for a break from SDS. I'll be reviewing the shows as each gets us a little closer to the start of hopefully an excellent season.