Is and should Poker be considered a sport?

Poker is game. Not a sport. It is not so much to do with physical talent and as mental/physlogical talent. Yes every sport does have a mental aspect to it. But the main difference there is no combination of both mental and phyiscal skills. People watch so ESPN puts it on. If there was something better to put they would. The thing is there is not too much on at 1:00 in the afternoon on a weekday. Its not like they are putting it in prime time instead of a basketball game or something.

I guess the best answer is this: ESPN, while being a "sports" network, actually stands for "Entertainment and Sports Programming Network." That being said, ESPN is not just for sports, but it is an entertainment entity as well. Also considering that ESPN is under the ABC/Disney umbrella, then you realize the tie-in with other things that are not sports. Fact is, poker is just like bowling, billiards, and spelling bees that ESPN airs. While it's not necessarily a sport (or it is, that's a different discussion for a different time), it is on ESPN because it is a part of it's programming... and no, I don't consider poker a sport.