Hey, stuff happens: Fox experiences technical problems in Bears-Vikings game

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Nothing makes Twitter explode more than the signal going out during an NFL game. I contacted the Fox folks for the Chicago Tribune report.

Bottom line: Nothing is perfect. At least the right team won. Sorry, Minnesota readers.

Fox’s broadcast of Sunday’s Bears-Vikings game has been marred by technical difficulties, including several blacked-out minutes at the end of the first half.

The network missed the Vikings’ third touchdown and went to its halftime show with at more than a minute remaining in the half.

“We started to experience issues with the signal to the transmission lines into the truck and when we lost the signal, immediately tried to reboot the entire process to get the signal back as soon as we possibly could,” Fox spokesman Dan Bell told the Tribune. “We understand that it is unacceptable and we apologize everyone who was watching this game, especially those viewers in the Chicago and Minneapolis markets.

 “We certainly do our very best to avoid this situation but unfortunately, these things occasionally happen.”

 

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A good read: Keith Jackson still ‘ramblin’ at 84

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Chris Erskine of the Los Angeles Times caught up with Keith Jackson. Seven years after calling his last game, the legendary announcer still is spry and full of stories.

Erskine’s story provides a taste of what we’ve been missing all these years. He writes:

But I miss The Voice. As with Vin Scully, it became the signature soundtrack for a particular sport. And there are no apparent successors.

A few more observations from Jackson’s six decades in the booth:

—”The ’72 Trojans were the best football team I ever saw.”

—”Bo Schembechler was the best after-dinner speaker I ever heard. He’d even have the old boys in the back of the room snorting and jumping up and down.”

—Legendary innovator Amos Alonzo Stagg “studied the ministry but couldn’t deliver a sermon … he had heart palpitations. So he became a football coach.”

—”Knute Rockne’s wife wouldn’t come out West [with the Notre Dame team] till they arranged a lunch with Valentino.”

—”The very best place to take a nap is in the back of a cotton wagon.”

And there’s this:

Any other tips for today’s broadcasters?

“They talk too damn much,” he says. “You wear the audience out.”

And, even more importantly:

“You must tell the truth,” he says of both broadcasters and coaches. “You must be truthful to yourself and the values of the game that got you there.

 

Weekend wrap: The top college football announcer of all time? Whoa Nellie!

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Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sports media…

Keith Jackson: Dan Levy of the Bleacher Report ranked the top 25 voices of college football. He asked me and others for some input. You could debate some of his choices (Jesse Palmer at 23, but no Bill Flemming?), but there’s no doubt about No. 1.

Jackson was bigger than the game itself in many ways, helping to introduce the sport of amateur football to millions and millions of fans across two or three generations. 

If the history of college football were a storybook, Keith Jackson would be its narrator.

Just to prod your memory, here’s Jackson’s open to the 2006 BCS title game.

Johnny Manziel: Michael Bradley of the National Sports Journalism Center sees media hypocrisy in its coverage of the quarterback.

The mere idea of “Johnny Cam” demonstrates to what lengths networks will go to capitalize on Manziel’s allure. Chronicling a player’s every movement proves definitively that the game is less important than any potential drama Manziel can provide. If we need any further evidence that companies and individuals are making enormous sums of money by exploiting college athletes’ exploits, then we aren’t paying attention. Manziel is powerless to tell CBS that he is not interested in 360-degree coverage, and A&M is not about to turn down an opportunity to feature its most marketable asset.

ESPN’s competition: It’s not Fox Sport 1. Dave Warner at Awful Announcing writes that it is a la carte cable.

As one cable industry lobbyist told the Times, “On à la carte, there was no stronger opponent than Disney and ESPN.” Indeed, à la carte cable just might be ESPN’s biggest competition — certainly far bigger than Fox Sports 1. That’s because, thanks to the bundle, the 90 million or so customers who get Fox Sports 1 with their TV subscriptions still pay for ESPN, and at a rate of $5.54/month, according to the latest data from SNL Kagan, which far outpaces the $0.23/month that carriers forced Fox to accept last month.

Monday night doubleheader: Brad Gagnon at Awful Announcing enjoyed seeing two games on Monday night. He wishes it was a regular occurrence.

And every year in Week 1, we get an extra serving of prime-time, nationally-televised football when ESPN turns Monday Night Football into a doubleheader. Football from 7 p.m. until 1 a.m. ET is just glorious, which has me wondering why that hasn’t become a weekly staple yet. 

It makes sense for everyone. You’d only be stealing a total of a handful of games away from CBS and FOX, but another permanent prime-time national spot would give teams and players more exposure while giving fans more football to watch and adding to the league’s profit margin. Because I can guarantee ESPN (or anyone) would be willing to pay big bucks for the extra 15 games (they’d be much more valuable Monday night than Sunday afternoon).

Randy Moss: Phil Mushnick of the New York Post is not a big fan of Fox Sports hiring the ex-receiver.

Even by current, sorrowfully diminished TV standards — the hideously thoughtless identification, rewarding and marketing of sports’ worst acts as the most preferred — FOX’s hiring of Moss as a studio analyst is extraordinary, a sick, twisted parody come real.

There was a reason, after all, that Moss, an enormously talented wide receiver, was treated as an expendable by six different teams until kaput. So antisocial, selfish and dismissive of the most rudimentary sense of right from wrong was Moss that even after the Vikings assigned him his personal baby-sitter, fellow WR Cris Carter, he was unable to lift himself from his own, self-brewed extract.

That FOX even considered Moss for any kind of on-air gig, let alone handed him a pen to sign on, is a kick in the groin to all of us who still hope that some sport — any sport — might one day be returned to our sports.

Brian Urlacher: Vaughn McClure of the Chicago Tribune talks to the former Bears LB about making the transition to TV.

Gradually, Urlacher has adjusted to his new occupation as an analyst for Fox Sports 1. He will be a part of the “Fox NFL Kickoff” crew Sunday morning.

“I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do TV because the media side gets a little tricky,” he said. “But I wanted to try it out. And I’ve actually enjoyed myself a whole bunch.”

Marty Glickman: This ran a few weeks ago, but wanted to note Phil Mushnick of the New York Post on what made Glickman so great.

Glickman worked — and worked hard — to provide radio, TV and even newsreel calls that were rich in practical descriptions and phrases. His “style” — what still distinguishes him in the minds of those who used manhole covers for second base or swapped NYC bus transfers to save 15 cents — was that he simultaneously could inform, hold and enthrall an audience with brevity and accuracy.

His “shtick,” you should excuse the term, was that he worked shtickless — unless one counts phrases that he alone developed for only their immediate clarity and usefulness.

Thus, while calling Giants’ games on WNEW-AM, Alex Webster, Ernie Wheelwright and Ernie Koy would “take the handoff and go off left tackle for a couple-or-three yards.” We could “see” Phil King and Steve Thurlow straining, falling forward for those last three feet.

Bev Norwood: Joe Logan of MyPhillygolf.com remembers the long-time golf PR man for IMG, who was quite a character.

He was diminutive man, wiry and wry, with a drawl from having grown up in North Carolina. He was also the source of a constant stream of commentary and wisecracks on golf and golfers, life in general and anybody who happened to wander into his field of vision. At tournaments, in the media center, Bev wouldn’t so much hold court as he would walk from one writer of cluster of writers to another, confirming or debunking rumors, or delivering the latest Tiger news that was suitable for public consumption, or just catching up on gossip.

One of his best friends was the legendary Dan Jenkins and the two of them (and oftentimes one or two others) would find a corner in the dining room of the media center, a couple of old-timers watching the world go by.  You could see them people-watching, then nodding in apparent agreement over something or somebody, or perhaps just over the absurdity of it all.

 

 

Yom Kippur: The day Sandy Koufax said he wouldn’t start a World Series game

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Today is Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year for Jews. As a result, I will be posting my Weekend Wrap tomorrow.

In honor of this very solemn holiday, where Jews spend the day in synagogue asking for atonement for the sins of the past year, it always is fitting to invoke the name of Sandy Koufax. Among Jews, he is remembered as more than a great pitcher because of what he did, or more accurately, didn’t do on Yom Kippur in 1965.

The passage below is from Jane Leavy’s excellent biography on Koufax. By the way, if you haven’t read Leavy’s best, you should. One of the best sports books ever.

********

In 1961, Yom Kippur began at sundown on September 19 and ended at sundown September 20. Koufax, as usual, fasted during the holiday. On the night of Sept. 20, though, he was on the mound and pitched the Dodgers to victory with a 13-inning, 15-strikeout, 205-pitch performance.

In 1965, the Dodgers had a big lead in the National League. It was announced that Oct. 6 would be game 1 of the World Series. Oct. 6 was Yom Kippur. They asked Koufax what he would do. He said,

“I’m praying for rain.” He also said he would consult a Rabbi. He never did.

Koufax told a Rabbi: ‘I’m Jewish. I’m a role model. I want them to understand they have to have pride.”

Thousands of Jews said they saw Koufax at various synagogues in Minneapolis. In fact, he never left his hotel room.

Don Drysdale, a Hall of Famer, pitched Game 1. He got bombed, giving up 7 runs. When the manager went out to pull him, he said, “Don’t you wish I was Jewish too?”

*******

Always loved that Drysdale line. I got to know Don when he was the White Sox play-by-play voice in the 1980s. Like Koufax, he was a Hall of Famer way beyond the pitcher’s mound.

 

 

Upon further review, paper says columnist can cover South Carolina

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Jim Romenesko has the update on the story he first reported:

Mark Lett, executive editor of McClatchy’s The State in Columbia SC, tells his staff that “no subject or individual is off limits for examination” by sports columnist Ron Morris and other columnists at the paper.  The editor says Morris was “asked …to focus first on coverage other than the USC football program.”

Romenesko posted the publisher’s letter to the staff. An excerpt:

As with any relationship, it sometimes helps to step back and allow conditions to cool. In recent months, we asked Ron to draw upon his considerable sports knowledge and experience to produce highly readable, relevant columns and enterprise features. The work has been outstanding and has given sports fans much to enjoy and to think about.

During this time, we asked Ron to focus first on coverage other than the USC football program. Moving forward, all topics — including USC football — are in play. As always, this is a newspaper committed to accuracy, fairness and holding accountable the news makers and institutions that serve our community and our state.

Question: Why was it necessary to “allow conditions to cool?”

 

Sports Illustrated defends Oklahoma State coverage: ‘Stands behind the work’

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When the dirt starts flying during one of these big investigations, it isn’t unusual for the news outlet to find itself on the firing line.

Such is the case with Sports Illustrated and its five-part series on Oklahoma State football.

Deadspin has done posts knocking down the SI package. Yesterday, ESPN’s Brett McMurphy also did a story that questioned the veracity of statements by one of the key players quoted by Sports Illustrated.

McMurphy writes:

Some aspects of the story of former Oklahoma State safety Fath’ Carter, who was quoted extensively in Sports Illustrated’s series about improprieties within the Cowboys’ football program, are inconsistent with information obtained by ESPN from a number of university documents.

Carter was one of the main sources quoted in SI’s five-part series that alleges players were paid by coaches and boosters and had an academic coordinator complete school work for them while at Oklahoma State.

Among the claims by Carter that are not supported by university documents were that he graduated from the school and attended classes in 2004 with running back Tatum Bell in which the professor gave them failing grades because their eligibility had expired.

Another discrepancy was from running back Dexter Pratt, who told SI that in his first semester, in 2009, every course he took was online. According to university records, Pratt took three online courses and two actual classes.

In response, Sports Illustrated issued the following statement.

“In its 10-month investigation of the Oklahoma State football program, Sports Illustrated spoke independently with more than sixty former players and eight former assistant coaches as well as members of the University’s administration. Interviews were recorded and subsequently reviewed by a team of editors and fact checkers. Sports Illustrated stands behind the work and the investigation.”

Yesterday, when the various stories came out, I heard from several people who said Jason Whitlock was right to question the credentials of Thayer Evans, who shared the double byline. However, as I wrote earlier, Whitlock was wrong to zero in on Evans, because these stories are much bigger than one person.

Pulitzer Prize winner George Dohrmann is the lead writer and executive editor Jon Wertheim is overseeing the project. Two of the best in the business with impeccable credentials.

Yet beyond them, Sports Illustrated, like any major magazine, goes through an extensive fact-checking process for all of its stories. Facts are examined many times, and I’m sure you could multiply it by three for this package.

Also, for a story of this nature, SI’s lawyers played a major role in vetting a package that includes major allegations. Lawyers are rigorous gate-keepers.

So no, this doesn’t validate Whitlock and other critics of SI here. I think the stories are strong.

Anyone who is shocked that a major college football program is skirting the rules should get a reality check.

 

 

 

 

Notre Dame-Purdue in primetime? UCLA-Nebraska better game, but ABC won’t pass on Irish

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In the no-surprise department, ABC selected Notre Dame-Purdue for its primetime 8 p.m. (ET) showcase game Saturday. It would be a bigger surprise if it didn’t.

With the Irish home games locked in with NBC, ABC/ESPN is going to make the most of its opportunities to exploit its rights to any Notre Dame road game on its menu. So of course, ABC asked them to turn on the lights in West Lafayette Saturday.

It doesn’t matter that the Boilermakers were pummeled by Cincinnati 42-7 in the opener, and then squeezed out a 20-14 victory over Indiana State last week. That’s Indiana State, not Indiana. The Boilermakers are playing Notre Dame. The Irish could be playing at Lou Holtz Middle School and Brent and Kirk would be on the call in primetime.

To be fair to ABC/ESPN, beyond Alabama-Texas A&M, which is on CBS, it is a weak Saturday for college football. It underscores how few good games there are in non-conference play. The big teams are bent on ripping off fans by scheduling easy wins. And they complain about preseason games in the NFL.

However, from a quality standpoint, No. 16 UCLA at No. 23 Nebraska is a much better game. It also features two well-known programs that have some national appeal.

Yet ABC is airing that game at noon ET.

It should be pointed out that the decisions on early-season primetime games were made in the spring. So it wasn’t a matter of ABC choosing ND-Purdue over UCLA-Nebraska in the last couple of weeks..

But safe to say, ABC would have gone the same way if they made the decision this week. It’s an easy choice for ABC/ESPN. The Irish pull in big ratings, as evidenced by last week’s Michigan-Notre Dame game.

So turn on the lights for Notre Dame. Again.

 

 

 

 

 

USA Today’s Brennan: It’s time I stopped calling team ‘Redskins’

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Christine Brennan is the latest high-profile writer to say she won’t be using the nickname for the Washington team. However, the USA Today columnist likely will catch a little more flak than the others. She lives in the DC area and used to cover Washington for the Washington Post.

Brennan writes:

I live in Washington, and for three years, from 1985-87, I was the Redskins beat writer for The Washington Post. Then, and even now, saying “Redskins” has always come naturally to me. That word has been a significant part of my life – my professional life anyway – and a very happy, proud, fulfilling part of it. In talking about the team, or my career, I’ve used the name so often that I’ve never given it a second thought.

But when I said the nickname this summer during a panel discussion, I stopped myself. For the first time, it didn’t seem right to say it.

Why then? Why not last year? Or five years ago? Or when I covered the team? I think it was the cumulative effect of all the reporting on the issue in the past year or so, solid journalism that continually brings to the surface just how racist the term is to many in the Native American community. And even if only some Native Americans think it’s racist, here’s news for the rest of us, whether we want to hear it and deal with it or not: it’s racist.

Brennan concludes:

So, if Goodell is true to his word, and I think he will be, he is going to start “doing the right things to address” the issue.

Someday, hopefully very soon, the team will get a new nickname. Things are changing. How do I know? Here I am writing this column.

Meanwhile, Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News asks if media people should be taking stands here. He writes it falls under the category of media making news, a no-no in our business.

Hoffarth writes:

The media will call out current team owner Daniel Snyder to change his franchise’s name. It’s ultimately his decision, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell meekly says. Yet Snyder recently told USA Today: “We’ll never change the name. It’s that simple. Never — you can use caps.”

Thwarted with that tactic, the media also has the ability to take it upon itself and change its own editorial policy, subtle or not.

Have an epiphany and take a number. The line’s getting longer by the day.

 

 

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Deadspin calls me ‘useless,’ ‘ESPN’s favorite media reporter’

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Many thanks to Deadspin’s John Koblin for the publicity.

His post on ESPN reprimanding Jason Whitlock included a few shots at me.

Useless Ed Sherman, ESPN PR’s favorite media reporter, didn’t like what he’d heard from Whitlock, and he rang up the Worldwide Leader to get its thoughts on the matter. ESPN apparently agreed with Sherman. The statement reads: “We have discussed Jason’s comments with him. They were personal in nature, they do not represent ESPN and they are not acceptable based on the standards we have set.”

No surprise here, as Sherman would write.

OK, here’s the deal. Deadspin generally likes Whitlock. He’s done long interviews with Deadspin. Whitlock also has praised Deadspin many times, including during an interview on the first Olbermann show.

On the other hand, I have had the audacity to criticize Deadspin, namely on its coverage of the Manti T’eo story. Actually, I praised the reporting, especially how they used social media to undercover the sordid tale.

However, I knocked them for going with an “80-percent sure” quote from a source saying T’eo was in on the fake girlfriend thing. I hardly was alone in making that point.

Deadspin, though, took offense at that view and a few other things I’ve written. As a result, I now get labeled “useless” and ESPN’s PR guy.

I’m sure Koblin also heard from many ESPN staffers yesterday who were upset about Whitlock’s comments, calling them a double standard given the network’s policy. The resulting statement wasn’t about me making a call to Bristol. It was to quell the internal fire within Bristol, and to remind all, including Whitlock, that there are guidelines in place about these matters.

But if Koblin wants to make me a focus in his post, that’s great. Best publicity I’ve gotten in a long time.

 

 

 

 

Has CBS changed its policy regarding sideline reporters for NFL games? Wolfson to work Broncos-Giants

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Last week, Tracy Wolfson worked as a sideline reporter for CBS’ coverage of the New England-Buffalo game. This week, after reporting from the sidelines for the Alabama-Texas A&M game, Wolfson will hop on a plane to work Sunday’s Denver-New York Giants game.

Is this a change in approach for CBS? The network hasn’t used sideline reporters for regular-season NFL games in recent years.

“It’ll be week to week,” Wolfson said. “If it’s a big NFL game, and there’s a reason for me to be there, we’ll make the effort to make that happen. I can get to Atlanta easily (from a Saturday SEC game). If there’s a Saints game and I’m at LSU, I can get there. If the schedule works, I think you’ll see us utilize me in that role if it is possible.

“Potentially, later on in the season, when our SEC games are over, if there’s a need for a reporter, I can fill that role as well.”

As a sideline reporter, Wolfson obviously is an advocate of CBS using her services and others for regular-season NFL games. Last April, in an interview with me, she said:

“You have access down there. You can see things that you don’t necessarily get from a PR person. In college you can hear things. You have relationships where you can get information.

“It’s great to hear from a coach. It always brings to life the emotions, especially in tight games or when upsets are happening. I think that access is huge.”

As for this weekend, Wolfson is looking forward to the biggest game in college football on Saturday followed by the biggest NFL game Sunday.

“It’s a sports fan’s dream,” Wolfson said. “Logistically, we get back from A&M in the morning. It’s a 4 p.m. start on Sunday. I live in the New York area. So it does allow me to go from one to the other.

“It’s a little challenging not to be in on those meetings on Saturday with the NFL teams. It’s also preparing for two games in the same week, which always is difficult as well. I’ll focus on both of them at the same time. I’ll cover A&M-Alabama and hopefully the airlines allow me to get there on time on Sunday.”