Anyone calling itself ''the worldwide leader'' in anything is not suffering from modesty.

They rush to take credit for breaking stories, then overhype those stories and often use their various talk shows to keep the stories alive well beyond the public's attention span.

So, no one should be surprised that ESPN took time to salute its own 30th anniversary with a special ''SportsCenter'' on Sunday night, a 90-minute show repeated throughout Monday morning.

Chris Berman, Bob Ley and John Saunders, the longest-tenured ESPN anchors currently working, hosted the show.

The show was entertaining and when you look at it, you have to give ESPN its props for changing how sports is covered.

Before ESPN and its signature ''SportsCenter'' show arrived on Sept. 7, 1979, fans depended on local newscasts to give scores.

But you only got hometown team highlights.

It was a different world 30 years ago and ESPN, along with the Internet, has been at the forefront at carving out the vast sports information landscape we have today.

I admit the first thing I do when I check into a hotel in an out-of-town city is see where ESPN is on the local cable grid.

It's my first look when I'm out of the house for a full day or several hours. A flip to ESPN and the scroll at the bottom of the screen and you're quickly caught up.

ESPN has made itself indispensable when it comes to who won and why.

They can take the credit for the rise in popularity of college basketball and NASCAR and the blame for bringing poker and competitive eating into our living rooms.

They've also given us a multitude of personalities, some of whom have me reaching for the mute button the minute I hear them.

Dick Vitale owes his Basketball Hall of Fame plaque to ESPN, for instance.

The bottom line, however, is that ESPN has increased interest in sports and byproducts such as fantasy leagues.

And while we can do without some of the programming and people, there's no question we can't do without ESPN itself.

If you don't believe that, just ask them.