Stu Scott's recent experiment in SportsCenter poetry jamming ("Superstars without a ring/that is the thing that binds them") was called "what absolute bottom for SportsCenter looks and sounds like" by the blog Mister Irrelevant. Gelf thinks Who's Now gave it some pretty strong competition. Nonetheless, we agree that it was ridiculous, and badly written. Prof. Grant Farred—Gelf's resident expert on ESPN and language—has, shall we say, a different take:

I thought it was really smart and clever…this is the only place left for SportsCenter to go, to parody itself. I don't think he [Scott] takes it seriously. … These guys realize they've been mocked and they are mocking those that are mocking them. … The people who are smart enough to get it are gonna mock it, and the people who still like SportsCenter aren't gonna get it.

SportsCenter is now making fun of itself? We'll admit that SC's writers probably read Deadspin and are aware of what's said about them in the blogosphere. Upon rewatching the video, we will not discount the possibility of a self-mocking element. But we also know that academics tend to insist that a cigar isn't a cigar even after it's lit, and seeing as we don't know what goes through Stu Scott's mind, we're conflicted.

So we turn to you for help. Is SportsCenter really that dumb? Is this a case of yet another academic attributing hidden motivations to people where none exist? Does SportsCenter retain a shard of—if not intelligence, then awareness of its own banality?