Decision Time

Joe Buck, of course, was the great broadcaster for the St. Louis Cardinals and Marty Brennaman is a great broacaster for the Cincinnati Reds. Both men complement(ed) the games they called rather than overshadowing them.

I bring this up b/c Jack and Marty are/were the dads of Joe Buck and Thom Brennaman. The latter two are both so entitled, bombastic, and just generally loud that I can barely stand to watch them call a game. It is indeed easy to be cynical once one of those guys has been yelling at you through your tv for three hours while a dancing robot shills tonight's Fox Sports-GE-Budweiser postgame show featuring the erudite commentary of Carlos Mencia and Carmen Electra.

A playoff isn't going to address any of the complaints listed here.

The only problem I have with them going to ESPN the year after next is that I won't get then in HD unless I pay more $$$. Right now FOX is free (though pretty terrible at football coverage). I really hope that ESPN will broadcast the games on ABC ... any chance that will happen?

I find myself missing Keith Jackson more than ever today.

You can move me over to the column of the recently converted, too, but I'm filled more with fear than anything else. Think about how badly they screwed up the BCS. Think they won't immediately go to a hastily constructed 16-team playoff bracket when they do finally make the switch? Anyway, I wrote a bit about it here, before yesterday's game.

What's worse is I stayed up until 3am (Argentina time) to sit through imbecilic hyperbole to see the team I didn't think deserved to be there lose to the team I can't possibly root for as long as the same dickhead is coaching them. Um, yeah, a little tired and cranky at the office today.

Brian, *Juaquin Iglesias* ... not Julio Iglesias ... unless ... you know ... you meant the 65 year old singer...

(http://awfulannouncing.blogspot.com/2009/01/ny-post-knows-why-ou-lost-ju...)

I like the bowl system. I don't believe I will ever see a college football playoff (and no, I'm not planning on dying soon).

But, I think the argument for and against the playoff is about as productive as an argument over which religion is the best.

However, I'm more than happy to talk about football as a television package. Anyone remember the game a couple a season or two ago where Adrian Peterson ran for about 300 yards against the Chargers? I downloaded that game as a torrent after the fact. The copy I have has sound...but no announcers. You can hear Fox's intro and outro music. You hear all of the little sound fx they play when a stat comes up or goes away. You can hear the crowd and the PA announcer, but you can't hear the broadcasters. Occassionally, they'll show a replay and the announcers will highlight something with a telestrator...you just can't hear it.

FANTASTIC. It's wonderful. It's an absolute joy to watch.

We seriously need to revisit the wisdom of putting announcers in the booth. Yes, it's great when you have a really great announcer like Jackson (in his prime) or someone like Vin Scully. But there are far too many broadcasts these days that are in dire need of silence.

Have you ever considered the possibility that the reason that Tim Tebow is so big on Jesus is because he in fact IS Jesus? Yep, you heard it here first. I mean, the guy is a modern day miracle worker, so don't be surprised if you see Tebow lead God's army against the legions of hell, let alone walk on water. The real reason that Mrs. Tebow never got the abortion is because that was God's baby in her uterus, not Mr. Tebow's (unless "Mr. Tebow" is actually one of God's hidden names). See how it all makes sense?

I just never knew that Jesus just had such an inflated opinion of himself.

Thank you Brian for articulating what so many of us are feeling. When the field reporter asked Percy Harvin how it felt to be a "Fed Ex national champion" I turned my TV off. As if I hadn't sat through a million commercials already...

And yes! How did the BCS ever think it would be a good idea to let the "best games" of the year be announced by people who DON'T COVER COLLEGE FOOTBALL THE REST OF THE YEAR. Those announcers blew.

Yes Mat, a playoff isn't going to fix everything. But the bowls are meaningless and riddled with big money interests. They're a farce. At least a playoff would allow that farce to used for something meaningful.

Don't let up Brian. I'm counting on you and Obama to bring special interests down and restore some dignity to my favorite sport.

Last night felt like the corporate NFL monster had swallowed our beloved College Football and spit it back out, all covered in goo.

And, of course, that goo is FOX.

Thank you Brian for articulating what so many of us are feeling. When the field reporter asked Percy Harvin how it felt to be a "Fed Ex national champion" I turned my TV off. As if I hadn't sat through a million commercials already...

And yes! How did the BCS ever think it would be a good idea to let the "best games" of the year be announced by people who DON'T COVER COLLEGE FOOTBALL THE REST OF THE YEAR. Those announcers blew.

Yes Mat, a playoff isn't going to fix everything. But the bowls are meaningless and riddled with big money interests. They're a farce. At least a playoff would allow that farce to used for something meaningful.

Don't let up Brian. I'm counting on you and Obama to bring special interests down and restore some dignity to my favorite sport.

Apparently Fox figured that since they only broadcast 4 college games a year, they might as well jam in as much corporate schilling, idiotic hyperbole, and horrendous announcing as a whole season. Just a horrible job by Fox and the announcing team, but I guess I never expected anything else.

As for Tebow, he's a football player who does some commendable missionary work (oh yeah, and these two awesome photos). He doesn't speak for a generation, and while I don't think he pursues this type of abject fawning, it drives me crazy that certain people have turned him into a demigod. If I want to hear about morality and righteous life, I'll go to church or watch the 700 Club. I watched last night to see two teams who probably shouldn't have been in the MNC game battle it out for an increasingly-corporate and biased title. As sad as it is, I'm actually looking forward to watching the games on ESPN in a few years, since at least their announcers try to be objective when calling games, and focus on what happens in between the sidelines more than every 5 minutes or so.

One final note - Can people stop talking about how great Florida's defense was last night? The two picks of Bradford were on flukey plays (the first INT was juggled by half of UF's defense, and the other was as much on the WR not keeping his hands on the ball as the Florida DB making a great play taking it away), and OU was generally able to move up and down the field as they pleased until the very end. I mean, OU still had 363 yards of offense, and left at least 6 points on the field because of first-half miscues.

I think the Hype machine has gotten out of control. This happened during the SEC championship game, where the announcers made it seem like everything was the best thing ever. Wow that "slant was just a great throw", "Best Punt Ever". It's getting to be overloaded, where you just get mad and say ok this is obnoxious, especially when it is two teams you are less than fond of.

On Tebow, the hype has gotten so out of hand, I think many people dislike him, the person, while the media hype is to blame. As a society, we are cynical because every celebrity, or person who is in the media' eye so much, has a PR person behind them, making sure when they do charity work that the media knows and everyone sees it. So when we see someone like Tebow getting such good media attention all the time, we are conditioned to think that there is someone in the background pulling the strings.

We get even more annoyed when Tebow makes average plays, and the announcers blow them completely out of proportion. Although Fox did not blame either INT on the receivers, (especially the first)which was shocking to me.

So because of the hype, we begin to hate the person,which is unfair because I don't think he asks or manipulates the media to do so.

Think about this, everyone has gotten sick of the Tebow speech after the Mississippi game. However, if Henne did the same thing after Appy St. last year, and then backed up his words, we would be having parades for him in Ann Arbor. We would all follow him into a battle. The problem is when you see it during every pregame and every game you get sick of it, and the hype of it.

"So, yeah, I'm tired of all hype."

Playoffs are all about endless hype. That's why tv loves playoffs -- there's more to hype.

"Pretty frickin' cool" is how Boomhauer described the Rambox, prompting a discussion in the room about whether this was the first commercial to actually use the phrase "frickin." That Dodge Ram commercial was high on the list of things that needed to shut the hell up last night. An obnoxious and irrelevant spot where Men in t-shirts with their Man Professions printed on them do Man Things like yelling and grunting and Carrying Shovels Around and Driving Through Fireballs. I imagine this has to do with the Ram Challenge they promote; I don't really care to check.

he got out of jail to announce the BCS Title game last night?

How Fox, which does a respectable job doing the NFL, can be so awful on college football defies sense. Is it that they use their NFL bench guys for pre-game and announcing? Harly matters because I agree it was horrible. But nothing about their coverage or Brennaman;s comments will be solved by a playoff, that part does not compute.

Not that anyone was specifically criticizing him here, but there does seem to be a bunch of anti- Tebow sentiment out there, I think driven by the over the top platitudes showered on him. I would only say that it's not his fault that every college football announcer is trying to saint him, and even though you'd be forgiven for thinking he has a personal publicist, he doesn't, other than the job the networks and ESPN are doing for him. Simply on a football basis, the dude is one of the best college players i've ever seen though.

the way they were talking up Tebow parallels how Brent and Kirk were all over USC's nuts during the Rose Bowl. Halfway through the 2nd quarter when they called the game and anointed USC the National Champs.

Did anyone else hear Brent's awkward comment during a lull in the action,

[depressed tone]
"Well, Kirk, let's just hope 2009 is better than 2008."

[silence]

It wasn't just during this game with the goofy hyperbole. It's almost become standard. I had to sit and listen to Shon Morris and that BTN play by play guy talk about what a great game the UM/IU game was and how exciting the play was. Guys, it was a terribly played game. Sure, it was close, but that doesn't make it *good*. And to listen to these guys blather on about how great it was just destroyed their credibility. It is the Vitalification of sports annoucing. But he's at least being mostly authentic.

just wait to see what is said about Tebow if he comes back for 2009.

They will probably roll back a big stone for him to run onto the field for his last home game.

just wait to see what is said about Tebow if he comes back for 2009.

They will probably roll back a big stone for him to run onto the field for his last home game.

just wait to see what is said about Tebow if he comes back for 2009.

They will probably roll back a big stone for him to run onto the field for his last home game.

how do they mess up what down it is. it's on the screen. all you gotta do is count up from 1. you don't even have to go past 3 usually

The big thing is that it wasn't a great game, not every game is going to be USC/Texas 2006, nor does it need to be, but don't try to tell me that this game is something it isn't.

Similarly, I want to enjoy the player on his own merits. I want to believe that Tim Tebow is a great player, and I think he may very well be a great college player, but I do not need Fox selling me a bill of goods on MORE reasons why I should like him. Let me make my own decisions.

I sometimes suspect that Fox presumes that because they have not aired any college football leading in to the BCS bowl games, that no one else in the country has watched any college football either. It's just maddening.

Also, I realize that these are times calling for greater fiscal responsibility, but DirectTV could you not at least make two different versions of the ad showing you that you can DVR things from your computer so I don't have to believe the guy in that meeting has recorded Hellboy 2 approximately 74 times during BCS season?

That is worse than the NASCAR mouthpieces telling their audience that Dale Earnhardt was a 4 (5maybe i dont know) time SPRINT cup champion.

FOX, and all the networks, know that we are going to watch the BCS title game. It doesn't matter who plays or what channel it is on - we are pretty diehard football fans and will be tuning in. Same with a lot of us and the Super Bowl. So they do nothing to cater to our tastes, because hey, what are we gonna do, watch Office reruns?

So the whole broadcast is designed to appeal to the people who only watch the "big game". That's why they slurp Tebow - it's an easy storyline for your grandma or cousin that doesn't like sports or uncle who pretends to like football to digest and understand. And that's why the Super Bowl commercials are popular - so 38 year old middle manager at your office who doesn't watch football can talk about "the big game" with you without having to watch the actual football, and instead focus on Terry Tate, Office Linebacker.

We're all delusional if we think ESPN is going to handle it much better. Sure, Brent and Herbie probably won't get 3rd and 4th down confused and we might have an actual playclock instead of a retarded clock ticking up to the next OU snap, but the hype and the catering to the casual fan will still be there. A playoff won't change that either.

The announcers couldn't get enough of the comment made that Tebow would be the 4th best QB in the Big Twelve. I believe the exact response was, that is the most idiotic statement ever made (I may be off but it was definately along those lines). Really!?! That's the dumbest statement ever made?!?

I will say I think Sam Bradford is totally overrated, and that Threet would be close to a Heisman candidate with that o-line. Sam didn't do anything once there was a hint of pressure, if he didn't get 6 seconds in the pocket then the play was done. Looks like we got another Jason White (who?) on our hands.