OT: gus johnson...

im not black, and ive successfully run from the cops...

as you'll be in from the grammar police for that wonderful double negative you got going there.

Another example of feeling too familiar with your audience. Maybe its ok to say with your friends, but you can't assume people won't take that racially. People have different experiences with racial intolerance, and some are, justifiably, more sensitive to comments that can be viewed as racially motivated. I don't think it was, nor do I think there was any malicious intent, but you have to do something to gus to prevent future situations like that.

Yes, not only would a short apology be necessary but it'd be all over the front of ESPN and people would be calling for his head. I'm not saying it's right or wrong I'm just basing that off of previous results. Ya know, results based charting and all that.

Granted I'm biased because I think Gus Johnson is one of the best play-by-play announcers anywhere. But... are you freakin' kidding me? It's sad that this needs to be broken down. a) How many movies and TV shows have been made with somebody trying to run away from a cop? How many times has the writer/producer/director been asked to apologize or to be suspended or fired? Is the NFL THAT much more important an entertainment medium than TV or movies? b) Most announcers of professional sports leagues are aware that the athletes on the field have some college education, and are not the type of common thugs that actually run away from cops in real life. c) The practice and fine art of running away from the cops are not limited to, or perfected by, one race. d) If a simple metaphor to describe an offensive player escaping from a group of defenders can't be made without somebody getting bent out of shape, they should just have robots call the game, or somebody punching a series of pre-recorded phrases for playback as the action unfolds. It's not much different than most announcers do already, and at least the FCC doesn't get involved that way. e) Mike Valenti is a boob.

There are two sides to this: 1. It's probably not politically correct to say this on the air. 2. Almost no one would have a problem if it wasn't said on the air. There are a few people these days that would say something like that and actually mean, "That guy is clearly fast because he has to be to run away from the cops because he is black," but they have got to be pretty rare. There are also two solutions to this: 1. Think about stuff like this before you say it. People will always take stuff out of context, but if you don't just blurt out the first thing you think, you'll avoid a lot of grief. 2. The public in general needs to calm down. Good heavens, there are much bigger issues than a quick joke that might or might not have sounded just slightly racist. (Even though the guy that said it is also black.)

would he make the same comment about a fast white RB? I think it's getting ridiculous with how sensitive people are with what's said on TV but that is a somewhat racially charged comment. If Chris Rock made that comment it would be funny but as soon as old white guy makes the same comment it's racist. I do believe a short apology and nothing further would be plenty of compensation for the remark.

Running away from cops speed... how is this racial? The only person that would think that is racially insensitive is the one that thinks only a certain group of people run from cops in our country. That makes the inferring party bigoted, not the messenger. I've run from Ann Arbor's finest, people all over the world run from cops, and they run real fast... probably as fast as Chris Johnson.

Would he make the same comment about a fast white RB?

Yes I think he would. I'll give another example: In NASCAR the teams and announcers always say "Drive it like you stole it." Considering 99.99% of the time these are white men using it to white men, is it a racially-charged comment? When said to Bill Lester (black) or Juan Pablo Montoya (Latino), is it still racially-charged? Plus to my knowledge, the anti-grand-theft-auto lobby has yet to condemn its use.

Yea that Montoya comment was crazier. Gus Johnson's comment doesn't seem bad at all. Just something for people to complain about, because for the next few weeks before college football regular season wraps up we are in a bit of a dead zone in sports now that baseball is done and the long seasons of hockey and basketball are underway.

I also look forward to Brent Musberger games and admit it freely. I'm not a liar. (Nope, still not struck by lightning bolts.)

That Montoya comment drove me insane. Griese should know better. Anyways, Gus Johnson went to U-D Jesuit HS. Little known fact.

should not judge others. He is not qualified to do so.

Gus Johnson is the man... YES. . . That is all. Boom-TheKnowledge'd.