Your first question speaks to the problem with ESPN - but to answer the second question, OF COURSE they're publicity hounds. That's why THEY WORK AT ESPN in the first place. No one has ever applied there for an on-air position who was NOT a pub hound.
As for the first, this is the problem when you're on 3-4 different networks 24/7 to talk about sports. They run out of topics to talk about. And they run out of interesting things to say about the same old topics. So it's an environment ripe for idiotic statements….and ESPN is full of idiotic statements all day. They do some great work too, but to fill that air time, it gets pretty dumb sometimes.
God forbid they ever show an MLB game or something.