The 50 Best Sports TV Shows of All Time

Sports and television were made for each other.

Can you imagine your life without being in front of the TV watching something sports related? I know I can't.

Between fictional sports shows and reality-based shows on networks like ESPN, there's plenty to choose from, and some have been better than others. With that in mind, here are the 50 best sports television shows.

Tony Kornheiser took a crack at the sitcom with this effort based on he and Michael Wilbon's experiences as a sports writer.

This got a bad reputation, and it wasn't the best show. But I enjoyed it for the short time that it was on the air.

I loved how the fake Wilbon had a ton of hair when the real one doesn't even have a combover.

Maybe it was some good feeling left over from Seinfeld that played into this choice.

The League is a show on FX about a group of friends who take part in a hyper-competitive fantasy football league.

It's a wild cast of characters, including Taco, who is my favorite character on the show. He is just so aloof and can barely function in society, let alone run a fantasy football team.

It's currently in its second season. If you haven't seen it, make sure you try and catch it in some form. It cracks me up every week.

This is one of the longest-running shows on our list, and the Wide World of Sports was a beloved show by many and highly rated by some.

I just could never get into it.

It introduced a lot of people to sports and athletes that they had never heard of before, but I was just never interested in those types of sports featured for the most part. Maybe I'm a victim of my age, but I just wasn't interested.

I know a lot will disagree.

Sports Night only lasted two seasons, but it has turned into somewhat of a cult hit after its cancellation.

It focused around the goings on with a SportsCenter-type show and all that can go wrong behind the scenes before the show hits the air.

It never found its niche until after the show was canceled, and that's a shame because it did have its moments.

After the success of the film Friday Night Lights and the subsequent TV show by the same name, MTV decided to try and cash in with this show about a real high school football team.

I was much more compelled with the football side of things than all of the off-field stuff they threw in to appeal to girls. But for the football action, it was worth the watch.

It's interesting to see how much pressure is on these athletes in major high school football programs.

Not to mention the Nike jerseys. That had to be sweet.

Pros vs. Joes was an interesting concept by Spike that allowed wannabe pro athletes try their luck against those who actually lived the dream.

It's compelling just to see how seriously the pros take it. While it would be easy to collect the easy paycheck and call it a day, the pros take it like they're back in their playing days.

It's awesome to watch how that competitive nature never leaves a pro athlete.

The Contender was the brainchild of Mark Burnett of Survivor fame, and was originally hosted by Sugar Ray Leonard and Sylvester Stallone.

The show featured a bunch of amateur boxers trying to make it big. It was just a fun watch to see what it takes to make someone into a professional boxer.

The desperation some of these guys had was palpable, and it made it that much more entertaining to watch.

It eventually fizzled out, but I enjoyed the first season.

Of course, it's the original American Gladiators.

The one with the awesome names and the totally awesome hair.

I wouldn't be caught dead watching that Hulk Hogan-hosted version that couldn't keep my interest if it tried. The original of anything is almost always better than any remake.

That's a rule to live by.

Footballers Wives is a British television drama that is about the life of the WAGs—or the wives and girlfriends of English soccer players.

People are obsessed with the real live drama, and the fake is just as interesting overseas. It became a popular show before being canceled.

It did have a good run, though.

What's better than a cartoon centered around Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson and Wayne Gretzky fighting crime and helping children?

For a lot of people, nothing. There would be live-action spots with the stars before the episodes, and it was a big hit with a lot of people in the early 1990s.

It had a very short run, but had a very big impact.

The Hoop Life was a Showtime show about the lives of basketball players in a fictional basketball league.

It was cancelled before the first season even ended, and a lot of people loved the show during its very brief run. I mean, it was by the producers of Homicide and Oz.

How could you not enjoy that?

Hangin' with Mr. Cooper was one of my favorite shows when I was growing up.

It was about a former basketball player who became a high school teacher, and eventually a basketball coach. It was a good premise, and as a kid, I couldn't get enough of it.

I miss that show.

If you took Saved by the Bell and spun it around a high school basketball team, you'd have Hang Time.

Hang Time had a good run in the 1990s and featured a boys basketball team that happens to have a girl player on it.

You'd have to suspend disbelief, but it did have a strong following.

Around the Horn was a different attempt at a sports talk show where panelists were graded on the quality of their argument and eliminated in a competition-style format.

Max Kellerman was the original host of the show, and I thought he was much more entertaining than his replacement, Tony Reali.

Don't get me wrong, I like Reali. But I feel like Kellerman was a better fit.

Am I the only one that missed, "These four things I KNOW are true!"?

E:60 is a show in the same vein as Outside the Lines, but it's set around this board meeting that helps set up in the pieces on the show.

The show has gotten better since it has started its run, and I enjoy watching it when its on. I just think that it's on at a very bad time.

The Best Damn Sports Show Period was a show that I always enjoyed watching when I caught it on TV.

It did a good job of mixing comedy and sports, and it almost felt like you were sitting in on a discussion at times, and it was less stilted than other shows like that.

It could have been much better, but it was enjoyable to watch.

Before the X-Games was one of the biggest sporting events of the year, there was Dan Cortese and MTV Sports.

Cortese would go around and try out different extreme sports, and this was back when MTV was a legitimate network.

Not enough is mentioned about this show and the evolution of extreme sports.

Colin Cowherd isn't the most entertaining person to watch.

But paired with Michelle Beadle, it works on Sportsnation.

It's a show based around online polls and audience interaction. And with Cowherd being the blowhard that he is, the lighthearted nature of Beadle makes the show worth watching.

I know people dislike it, but I enjoy seeing it.

First Take, Cold Pizza...whatever you want to call it, I know that I'm tuning in every morning to see 1st and 10 with Skip Bayless.

Say whatever you want about Bayless, but he's entertaining to watch. He's so full of himself that it's hard to look away.

He goes way out on a limb and will defend it to the end.

You have to respect that, at the very least.

After Max Kellerman left Around the Horn, he landed on Fox Sports Net with his show I, Max.

He and former Around the Horn panelist Michael Holley debated sports while the arguments were judged with there being a winner.

It had great ratings, but was eventually canceled.

This was ESPN's attempt at cashing in on the game-show craze after the dawning of the new millennium.

It starred Howie Schwab, who was the first statistician ESPN ever had. He has an insane amount of sports knowledge, and it was hard to knock him off.

I personally learned a ton watching that show.

After the success of the movie, Bad News Bears was turned into a TV show on CBS.

It didn't have a long run, but it was enjoyed in its limited time on the air, even if it was an ill-conceived idea.

Too much of a good thing can be bad. Too bad people in Hollywood have to learn that the hard way.

I could honestly watch this show year-round.

The NFL has found a way to make its sport a year-long event, and NFL Live is there for most of it to let you know what's most important in the world of football.

Some days are better than others. But for its time slot, it's a must-watch.

Mike and Mike in the Morning is one of the best things to watch in the morning if you're a sports fan.

There's always experts calling into the show, and the banter between Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic is one that's hard to pass up. It helps that the pair are good friends in real life, and it translates well to the show.

You can only watch SportsCenter so many times in the morning.

While wrestling isn't real sports, it does require some amount of athletic ability, and you can't ignore its impact.

When I was growing up, you were no one if you didn't know what had happened on Monday nights. Now that could be a sad commentary on our society and how we raise children, but it's the truth.

WCW with the nWo was must-see TV back in the '90s.

NFL Countdown is one of the best pregame shows on Sunday's just for the sheer fact it's two hours.

There's so much to talk about heading into the games that you need that extra hour, plus it gives you something to do before kickoff.

It's by far better than either Fox or CBS's pregame shows.

30 for 30 is the brain child of ESPN Sports Guy Bill Simmons, and it's some of the best programming ESPN has done in a long, long time.

While it's not episodic in nature, these documentaries have been riveting. If you haven't seen them, try and find them because the work is spectacular.

I'll be sad when these are through.

When HBO has a big fight, it's time for 24/7.

It's a great show that helps build the drama heading into prize fights.

It's compelling television, and gives you a window into what it takes to get ready for a boxing match, which is a grind I can barely comprehend.

Add it onto a Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight, and you've got awesome television.

I know I'm going with another wrestling show, but this ended up being the dominant wrestling show on television after the WWE bought out the WCW.

Stone Cold Steve Austin turned into a major celebrity along with The Rock, who went on to have a decent movie career.

It helped shape a decade and a generation, and can't be ignored.

On Saturday mornings, College Gameday is the place to be for all you need to know about the world of college football.

I love the picks segment, and it's always entertaining to see Lee Corso put on the mascot helmet to end the show.

Add in the addition of Erin Andrews, and it's hard to turn away.

During the summer, you need to watch Baseball Tonight to catch up on all the big plays and all the major storylines in the world of baseball.

With baseball controlling most of the summer, if you want to be in the know, it's a great show to watch.

Plus, who doesn't love seeing the Web Gems?

Now this show was the best when I was growing up.

It involved kids taking part in athletic contests that usually had some sort of extreme twist on it with the show ending with the final sprint up the Megacrag (it had different names through the years).

I always wanted to be on that show when I was little.

This is a debate style show on ESPN that stars Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, as they debate the biggest sports news and usually play some sort of game or run a segment with some sort of gimmick during the show.

I had my doubts when this show first came on, but I've become a regular viewer and think it's great TV. I always enjoy seeing who they get to guest host while the duo is on vacation.

There's a lot of mixed opinions on it, but I love it.

Based on the Monday Night Football Club books, this was a show on the Disney Channel that was about a magical football jersey that could transport you into the bodies of pro athletes.

It was always cool to see the pro athletes and the show and the different situations the cast would get into, and I loved watching the show.

TV shows just aren't the same anymore.

I miss NFL Primetime of any show on ESPN.

The Blitz is OK and all, but I miss flipping over after the final afternoon game and watching all of the highlights from the day's NFL action.

I would love to see this back on the air.

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel is a monthly show much like Outside the Lines that features four stories by different reporters.

It's always done with great taste, and is an excellent show to watch.

I just wish it was on more often.

Outside the Lines is one of my favorite shows to watch on a Sunday morning.

I'm even happier now that it's on during the week on ESPN.

It's not as good as the Sunday edition, but it's still a great show to watch if you want to go deeper into the day's sports stories.

It's one of the best shows on ESPN.

SportsCentury was a series that ESPN did right around the new millennium, where the network profiled athletes and events that defined sports during the last century.

It was a great thing to watch, and was some of the best work the network has ever done.

I learned so much about sports by watching those.

The Ultimate Figher is a UFC reality show in which prospective fighters try and claw their way in to the MMA organization.

It's much better than The Contender, which was a similar show based around boxing. It's one of the things that has helped make the UFC so popular in recent years.

I always enjoy seeing the pro fighters as captains on the show.

Now you might not have heard of this show outside of Canada.

But the mockumentary-style show was about a junior Canadian hockey team.

It dealt with behind-the-scenes stuff and the journey of the team as they competed for a title.

Think of it as The Office on ice.

The Sports Reporters is a must-watch show for me on Sunday mornings.

I just love the panel discussion, and I think it's one of the best shows ESPN has ever done. It's got a lot of experienced, talented journalists on it and it's great insight.

If you haven't seen it, you're missing out.

One of the biggest sports shows going right now, Eastbound and Down is about the story of former pitcher Kenny Powers and his journeys after life as a baseball player.

It's one of the funniest shows on television. Since it's on HBO, the show can get away with a lot more, and they make the most of it.

Make sure to check it out and catch up.

Before Ari Gold, there was Arliss.

Arli$$ was a show about a sports agent and all of the behind-the-scenes stuff that no one ever really sees.

There were a lot of famous guest stars, so you can think of it as Entourage before there was Entourage. It only ran for 80 episodes, but it has continued to be a favorite show long after it is gone.

While not traditionally about sports, one of the characters on the show was a sports writer, and sometimes the show revolved around the profession.

OK, did I stretch the concept a little? Yeah, I'll admit it.

But it doesn't change that the Odd Couple was a great show.

The White Shadow was a show about a former basketball player who has to retire because of an injury and ends up coaching basketball in a minority neighborhood.

It was one of the first shows to use a largely African-American cast, and was great drama to watch on television.

I wish TV shows took more risks like this now, but I suppose it was a different time.

Hard Knocks has turned into one of the shows that you have to watch as a football fan during the summer.

To get to see all of the ins and outs of something that is normally so boring in training camp, makes the process enjoyable to watch.

Even if you don't like the team that is featured, you need to check it out next summer.

Friday Night Lights is a TV drama based off of the book and the film of the same name that details the trials and tribulations of a high school football program.

It has a very loyal following, even though it has avoided cancellation in its past. Clearly the executives in charge realized what they have on their hands.

It's one of the best sports shows made in recent memory.

Coach is one of my favorite sports shows of all time.

It's awesome—there's no other way to describe it.

Craig T. Nelson is Hayden Fox, a college football coach of a struggling program. The show follows his journey towards making it a respectable program.

I loved it, although when he became a pro coach, I liked it a little less.

How could you not put SportsCenter on this list?

No morning would be complete without the iconic theme music and all of the highlights the show has to offer.

If you're a sports fan, you need to watch this show. It's just that simple.

Playmakers was about a fictional pro football team and all of the struggles these players go through as professional athletes.

It was so edgy and raw that the NFL had ESPN cancel the show or risk having their rights to NFL games being pulled.

The show was that good.