Televised sporting events are already a pretty big deal for most people, but when you factor in the event status of the Olympics or the Super Bowl or the World Series, they become juggernauts. So why is it that fictional TV shows about sports are so much less popular? The high school football drama Friday Night Lights is one of the best shows on TV, but ratings are only so-so, and it was moved from NBC to DirecTV in 2008 (it will return to NBC in April). Luckily, other sports shows are still plugging along: My Boys, about a female sportswriter, will get a fourth season this summer on TBS, and fantasy-football comedy The League will get a second on FX. And, encouragingly, new shows are still getting made: Spike recently launched college football comedy Blue Mountain State and is prepping Players, about the owners of a sports bar. But historically, sports shows tend to hover in a sparingly viewed grey zone between regular TV shows and actual sports. Here are some of the best shows about sports that have ever aired, and don't be surprised if you haven't heard of some them.

When we heard that Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence were getting their own sitcom, we thought of a few '90s family comedy stars who are even less deserving of their own shows, due to their ultra-campy acting and unforgettable awkwardness. So while we may have appreciated some of these folks back in the day, we're in no rush to see any of them again in starring TV roles soon.