The 'next big spectator sport'

The New York Times reported Sunday about ESPN's plans to hype dominoes as the "next cool thing" now that the poker craze has cooled off. The network has started taping segments to run on ESPN Desportes and on ESPN 2. According to a Sports Business Daily report, ESPN also plans to produce a celebrity chess tournament. Although it's clear that hyping such activities as sports serves ESPN's quest to sell advertisers on cheap programming, it also keeps the door open for a continuing evolution in the definition of sport, one that includes a variety of activities and competition levels.