ESPN launching espnW

For now, it'll just be a section on the website, but they will start doing espnW-branded programming, and there's the potential it could eventually become it's own network. Given that ESPN is owned by Disney, I would imagine that between Disney's subsidiaries and ABC they would be able to put together enough programming if they do ultimately go that route:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/hiestand-tv/2010-09-30-espnW-baseball-tv-playoffs_N.htm

The real question... could espnW be the thing that secures the WPS? And could this have a trickle-down effect to more coverage of women's sports both in print and on TV? It'll be interesting to see...

More news about women's sports could only help boost WPS. Still women's soccer is a narrow niche market as things stand. The differences ESPN notes between how men and women relate to sports programming is quite revealing. To me the endless yakking in the studio (TV or radio) about who's going to beat whom and by how many is just so much bull -- Pilot Nation is the only place I indulge in anything like this sort of speculation. Trivia item: Did you know that USA Today sportswriter Michael Hiestand is from Portland? He and I attended school together.