It's hardly news that sportscasting, MSM-style, offers no respite from liberal politics. Particularly so when it comes to the ABC/Disney owned ESPN, the sports network that pressured Rush Limbaugh to resign from its Sunday NFL Countdown pregame show for saying what was on his mind about media treatment of Eagles QB Donovan McNabb.

Even so, it came as something of a shock to observe that one ESPN personality is turning his on-screen appearances into an opportunity to promote the candidacy of a Dem presidential contender. Many sportscasters have their signature calls. From Stuart Scott's "boo-yah!" to Chris Berman's "back-back-back gone!," several of the ESPN announcers utter idiosyncratic phrases to underline signal athletic accomplishments. Fair enough. But watching ESPN's Kenny Mayne over the course of the last few days, I was surprised to notice that he has coined a new call. Home run at a crucial moment? Three-pointer to take the lead in a basketball game? "Obama!", exclaims Mayne.

This is the second sign that Mayne leans left. He is also a celebrity endorser for "Progressive" Insurance, owned by Peter Lewis, a billlionaire who has donated millions to Moveon.org and other far-left organizations.

I like Mayne. In a world of screamers and rah-rah types, he's a refreshingly quirky change-of-pace. But does he need to inject his personal politics into his sports work? For that matter, would ESPN let a Republican host [if there are any at the network] shout "Ch-Ch-Ch-Cheney!" to mark an outstanding feat?

Come on, Kenny. How about ditching the "Obama!" and going back to wryly observing that a baseball was slugged "over some fencing they set up in the outfield"?

Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net

—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.