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Subject: ESPN - Especially Slow Performance Now
Posted by: Guru
- [330592710] Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 10:05
I'm getting increasingly frustrated with ESPN's server slowness. Even on a weekday morning on the east coast, when you'd think the traffic should be lighter than normal, I often have to refresh a boxscore several times just to get it to load. Their fantasy games server performance has been similarly pathetic for several months now, and doesn't seem to be getting better at all. I don't know if that's on the same server, but sometimes I simply have to give up and come back later - or else go find what I need on a different site.
I've always preferred to use ESPN for boxscores, roster/transaction info, and roto games, but if the situation doesn't improve, my habits will change. I've relied much more heavily this fall on both NFL.com and NBA.com. And even the Sportsline fantasy game server performance has been significantly better, even though I like its functionality less.
Am I alone with this frustration, or is this a widespread issue? It seems to be a very regular, persistent problem for me.
Perhaps Blue Hen can let us know whether this is regarded as a problem at ESPN, and whether any improvements are planned. |
| 1 | PGunn
ID: 251028715
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 10:24
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They have one of the slowest sites on the internet. It's been that way for a long time. I have also gotten fed up with it and go to CBS Sportsline and other sites now.
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| 2 | PGunn
ID: 251028715
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 10:35
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And there live game stats are a totally disaster. I haven't used that since they changed it last season. I even forget what they call it.
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| 3 | Hamid Toliyat
ID: 509533010
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 10:37
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Also I'm getting irritated at how much content is going to their "insider" subscription basis. I enjoy reading some of their fantasy columns, but they definitely aren't worth any money.
I'll bet it they didn't have that stupid msn bar on their pages it would be a little faster. I think the page got a lot slower a couple years back when they got on the "go" network.
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| 4 | Myboyjack
Leader
ID: 108231015
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 11:01
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I stopped using espn.com last year altogether (except for their Page2, which is occasionally worth the downtime for loading)
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| 5 | Tree
ID: 599393013
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 11:02
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yea, often where ever they're getting their feed from is awful. the NBA box scores are often useless or "frozen"...
the nfl has gone that way too on ESPN. can't remember which game it was, but it was an OT game a couple weeks ago. one team scored a last-second touchdown, but ESPN's scorepage reported that the kicker missed the tying extra point, ending the game.
thing is, he hit the kick, and the game went into OT....if ESPN had been a website before it was a cable channel, it would never have made it past website status..
peace,
Tree
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| 6 | J
Leader
ID: 49346417
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 11:11
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I've complained to blue hen plenty about how slow the site is. Not to mention all the pop-ups now. Of course, I'm on dialup.
When he sends me links to ESPN sites, I always time it to let him know how long it takes to load, almost always over a minute!
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| 7 | Flying Polack
ID: 48914212
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 11:25
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I stopped using ESPN last football season (for both stats and fantasy games). I'm amazed at how much better NFL.com's game stats are. I also think Yahoo has a better fantasy game. Even if Yahoo goes to all pay leagues, I'd stay away from ESPN.
Does anyone else think a well run website is more valuable than that stupid ESPN News station.
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| 8 | Smackdown
Donor
ID: 51054300
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 11:30
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Bottom Line is ESPN wants money for most everyhting these days. Why pay the cash for their crappy fantasy games when you can go else where for less and have a better time. I stopped paying them for fantasy games 2 years ago. Here is another reason not to use them. What do you get if you win a league? A t-shirt? I get more than that with Smallworld and that is from the free game! ESPN is a Joke!
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| 9 | YOUNGBUCK
ID: 310312710
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 11:33
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what are you guys talking about? espn.com loads pretty fast when I browse through it.
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| 10 | Hang Time
ID: 27922621
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 11:36
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I've never really had a problem with ESPN. However, I'm on a shared T3. I usually use NBA.com, though.
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| 11 | biliruben
Sustainer
ID: 5310281417
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 11:45
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It's not as a big problem on the west coast, it seems.
Their code is fairly bloated, so my home dial-up is slow, and I don't use any of their real-time game applets, but from work it loads in no time.
I have moved CBS myself, however, because I like their continuously updated scoring, with little bloat.
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| 12 | emachine
ID: 26901610
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 11:48
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NBA.com is the worst. They don't even include blocks, steals, and TO's until the game ends. What a joke for the official website of the NBA!
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| 13 | TaRhEElKiD
ID: 42109719
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 12:13
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I quit using it months ago. I have been using, NBA, NFL, and CBS for about 5 months or so now. When I try to open ESPN I see sparks coming from my computer! I like the info that ESPN can provide, but it is just too much trouble.
THK
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| 14 | DissFunkShun
ID: 31015120
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 12:21
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Been using espn for a few years with 56k with minimal trouble. I've noticed this year though their pages are loading slower because of pop-up ads like Orbitz & that silly Miller Lite 6-pack pick 'em. I now use a pop-up ad blocker that stops all pop-up advertisements & actually increases my speed. I've read that these utilities actually increase your bandwith.
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| 15 | Smackdown
Donor
ID: 51054300
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 12:28
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I use Kafenatid.net LOL
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| 16 | Smackdown
Donor
ID: 51054300
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 12:31
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CBS sportsline I started using and it is not bad. No steals and blosks but good up to date status for who is in the game and not.
Than I use NBA League Pass when my damn Dish is up! That usually is pretty good! LOL
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| 17 | RecycledSpinalFluid
ID: 42121814
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 12:36
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I don't notice anything slow at all, but then again, I am on a T-1 or Broadband-Cable when I check, so that may be it. And, if biliruben's idea is true, I have the added benefit of being a west-coaster.
I like the Boxscores, they seem more accurate in game than the CBS.Sportsline stuff. I appear to be alone here.
What I have noticed is the superslugbuttslowness of the Yahoo servers for their games. Its like pulling teeth, its so painful to watch load.
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| 18 | biliruben
Sustainer
ID: 5310281417
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 12:45
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Yeah, RSF - I have been bugged by yahoo as well. Just in the last couple of weeks, it has been especially bad.
I wonder if ESPN and yahoo use Akamai or something similar. If not, maybe they should.
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| 19 | Guru
ID: 330592710
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 13:15
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Maybe there is an east coast penalty. I have a cable modem connection, and this morning, when trying to review game recaps, it was taking about 2-3 minutes for a page to load. That's clearly not a bandwidth issue.
I'd just open a link in a new window, and then come back a few minutes later to see if anything had appeared.
I think speed has gotten noticeably worse in the past 3-4 months. The popups don't help, but I don't think they are the primary culprit at all.
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| 20 | DR Stars
ID: 0839516
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 13:41
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I'm completetly out of the country, but I guess it could be considered east coast connection to the internet. ESPN is always slower to load compared to other sporst sites, but I like the content a lot and use it as my secondary reference after rotoguru.com.
I usually just open the main page, and start opening the articles I like in other windows. For live scores I really use cbs more, and have stopped using ESPN for that after they changed their format last year.
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| 21 | J
Leader
ID: 49346417
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 14:49
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while we're dogging ESPN...whats up with this poll
What's the best rivalry in college football?
Alabama-Auburn
Army-Navy
California-Stanford
Florida-Georgia (huh??????)
Harvard-Yale
Nebraska-Oklahoma
Ohio State-Michigan
Oklahoma-Texas
Texas-Texas A&M
USC-UCLA
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| 22 | SillySpheres
ID: 58512252
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 14:50
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I have noticed the same stuff with my DSL. More than once or twice in the last week I have gotten "Server Too Busy" or "Page Cannot Be Found" errors when loading their main page. Thank god I have a pop up blocker so I dont have to waste my time closing the ads. On top of that they have the flash menus and other useless stuff.
It has become really annoying that all of the worthwhile content has been moved to the Insider. I noticed that other day that they put the Average Picks behind the Insider wall when they were freely available earlier in the season.
I only use Yahoo and Kafenatid now, at least Yahoo's stat tracker has been working well since it crashed every 30 seconds the first week of the year (I assume due to load b/c it was a free trial).
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| 23 | SillySpheres
ID: 58512252
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 14:51
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J:
Dont you get excited for the annual Florida - Georgia rival game? I sure do!
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| 24 | 2PaC
ID: 15944301
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 14:53
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ESPN works fine for me
i haven't had any problems with it yet
it's also more accurate than any of the other sports sites
that i've tried
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| 25 | Species
Sustainer
ID: 569221717
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 16:08
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I can't believe this didn't engender a response from blue hen.
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| 26 | Jazz Dreamers
Sustainer
ID: 38948228
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 16:09
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As I see it, ESPN has taken a step down from being top-quality to being more gimmicky lately. It used to be that ESPN was both hip and informative, but recently they've lost their edge. First, their website has gotten worse than what it was, with slower-loading pages with the same (or less) info. Also, are you getting tired of Sportscenter's decision not to show the stats screen after a highlight, and instead just putting a small box with two players' lines? I realize that they have added stats-intensive shows (NBA 2night, etc. plus ESPNnews), but why don't they have the stats available for what should be there best show?
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| 27 | KrazyKoalaBears
Donor
ID: 266182910
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 16:17
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Compared with other web sites that I frequent, ESPN.com takes forever and a day to load on my cable modem. I've also noticed that the site sometimes freezes while loading, usually right around the time that the MSN toolbar would show up. I think a lot of their problems stem from that toolbar. Does anyone even use that toolbar anyhow? Is it worth the download hassles for THAT? Not for me. Also, I've started frequenting other sporting sites since ESPN.com started using that double pop-up stuff. Nothing screams "PORN SITE!!!" like a double pop-up. I was fine with JUST the Orbitz ad or JUST the game ad, but now that they're popping up one, then the other, I've started using CBS or Yahoo for my sports browsing.
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| 28 | J
Leader
ID: 49346417
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 16:17
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I'm guessing the hen is off today, haven't seen him online (aim) at all.
I agree with Jazz Dreamers on his Sportscenter complaint, I miss the box scores after a highlight. Just dont do what CBS does and show the final stats before the highlights, thats just moronic.
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| 29 | RecycledSpinalFluid
ID: 501072522
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 17:05
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"Nothing screams "PORN SITE!!!" like a double pop-up." LOL, so true.
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| 30 | Micheal
ID: 12744225
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 17:38
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I don't have a problem with the pages loading. I just went from here to the NBA scoreboard in less than 10 seconds. Well, add a few seconds to close out those annoying pop-ups, but other than that, no problems here.
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| 31 | J
Leader
ID: 49346417
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 18:17
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34 seconds for me.
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| 32 | Samuli
ID: 55105128
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 18:21
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The site is more or less instanteous for me... from here to the scoreboard there, it's a matter of seconds. Odd, especially considering that I'm located all the way around the globe (well, almost).
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| 33 | 2PaC
ID: 15944301
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 18:26
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2.6 seconds for me
very fast
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| 34 | Vilica
Sustainer
ID: 3641681
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 18:41
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just timed it, cable modem here. ~11.50 for the main page to completely load (side stuff, could have clicked on a link at ~5s.) Lag time to NBA scoreboard about .5s... total load time ~17.5s.
Two suggestions to possibly reduce load time. One, if you're more technically inclined and don't mind messing around in your registry, is to goto www.speedguide.net and tweak out your [broadband] connection. There is also an option to have more "connections" - so a page loads faster (Don't remember exactly where it is... www.annoyances.org may have the location). The other selection involves spyware. Download Ad-Aware from www.lavasoftusa.com, along with the RefUpdate, install it, reboot in safe mode, and run Ad-Aware. You'd be amazed at how much all that spyware slows down a connection, and even your computer.
Those are two quick suggestions that I can think of, hope those might help.
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| 35 | Perm Dude
Leader
ID: 1310102117
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 18:57
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Dial-up both at the office and home, and there's no way I even try to get into ESPN.com anymore. What's the sense in waiting, at times, more than a minute to be served up annoying ads?
And I would not mind ads at all, if they weren't so obviously pulling down my connection. Sometimes I think that web designers, once they finish a site, should be forced to use a 56K modem the first month after just to see what it's like for so many of us on the web.
pd
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| 36 | DissFunkShun
ID: 31015120
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 19:53
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#34 Vilica, I run ad-aware on my pc & it has found quite a bit of spyware & cookies on my pc. I'm curious though why after installing it must you re-boot in safe mode?
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| 37 | Vilica
Sustainer
ID: 3641681
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 20:19
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DissFunkShun,
Some spyware loads itself as a service, or otherwise in background mode. Since safe mode doesn't load anything but the absolute minimum, the spyware doesn't run and thus Ad-Aware can remove it more easily.
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| 38 | Tree
ID: 1910511219
Wed, Nov 27, 2002, 21:25
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a sampling of current scores, as of about 9:25 Eastern Time -
on Kafenatid:
Bos 90, Chi 80 - 32 seconds left in the 4th
on ESPN:
Bos 80, Chi 64 - End of the 3rd
Kafenatid:
Orl 98, LAL 90 - 5:34 left in the 4th
ESPN:
Orl 76, LAL 66 - 3:00 left in the 3rd
Kafenatid:
Dal 86, Det 56 - End of the 3rd
ESPN:
Dal 57, Det 45 - 0:30 left in the 2nd
what's wrong with this picture?
peace,
Tree
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