Saturday flashback: ESPN coverage of 1983 NFL draft; Who is going to get Elway?

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Covering off this year’s 30 for 30 documentary, it seems fitting to show how ESPN covered the 1983 draft.

Interesting to note at the top, Paul Zimmerman and Howard Balzer speculated about who would complete the trade for the Baltimore Colts’ No. 1 pick and thus get John Elway. Denver only gets mentioned as “a late entry.”

Then watch the stormy reaction when Pete Rozelle announces the Colts took Elway. The analysts include Bud Wilkinson.

Sorry about the quality of this clip, but still worth watching.

Video: CBS, Jim Nantz’s moving tribute to Pat Summerall

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I was talking to Jim Nantz the other day. He asked if I saw CBS’ tribute to Pat Summerall during Saturday’s telecast of the RBC Heritage.

I told him I was out Saturday and missed it.

“I really want you to see it,” Nantz said.

Nantz explained that he considered going to Summerall’s funeral in Dallas Saturday, but decided to be part of the tribute. Summerall would have wanted it that way, he said.

“The feedback has been tremendous,” Nantz said. “It was a collaborative effort. We all put a lot into this. We’re very proud of it.”

In case you also missed it, here is Nantz’s closing essay:

Posted in CBS

NFL needs to lift restrictions: Twitter is essential part of following draft

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Just minutes before the beginning of the NFL draft, Adam Schefter sent out the following tweet:

As one GM texted Tuesday, “Going dark.” As requested, we’ll resume tweeting after 1st round is complete. Enjoy draft on ESPN or @ESPNNFL.

That was it. The NFL reporter with the largest Twitter following at 2.24 million people shut it down during perhaps the biggest Twitter night of the year.

I can almost guarantee that won’t happen in 2014. If you’re ESPN, you can’t allow the NFL to place restrictions on your reporters and muffle your No. 1 Twitter guy.

Last night reaffirmed for me that being on Twitter is an essential part of following the NFL draft. If you’re not on Twitter when those picks start flying, you’re missing out. The tweets don’t detract from the coverage; they enhance it.

I followed CBS’ Jason La Canfora, Yahoo!’s Michael Silver, SI’s Peter King and many others. Their tweets definitely enhanced my draft experience.

As promised in an interview with me, La Canfora vowed to tweet out the upcoming pick (if he got it) before the official announcement on TV. Sure enough, beginning with Detroit’s pick of Ziggy Ansah at No. 5, La Canfora started tipping picks throughout the rest of the first round.

Did it ruin the drama for me? Hardly. In fact, there is something empowering knowing the upcoming pick before the analysts chirping on ESPN and NFL Network.

There was a point in ESPN’s telecast where they debated a Twitter question from a viewer asking if the New York Giants should take Manti Te’o at 19?

“I like this linebacker Manti Te’o for the Giants,” said Jon Gruden as only he can.

Meanwhile, those of us on Twitter learned several minutes earlier that the Giants already had taken Syracuse offensive tackle Justin Pugh. For once, the viewer knew more than Gruden.

Besides, what’s so special about hearing Roger Goodell announce the picks? He’s not that exciting. So you know a few minutes ahead of time? Big deal.

Where Twitter really shines with the NFL draft is in capturing the rapid-fire intensity of the event. There’s a real-time tick-tock of activity that has an even quicker pulse than what you see on TV. The ESPN and the NFL Network telecasts can’t keep up with all the possible trade scenarios that happen in an instant. Twitter is much better at giving you the behind-the-scenes.

For instance, if you were on Twitter, you learned Minnesota GM Rick Spielman was hastily called out of a press conference, presumably to complete a trade with New England.

Also, if you weren’t on Twitter, you missed out on the Onion Sports Network spoofing the draft. For example:

Manti Te’o Only Draft Attendee Sitting In Metropolitan Opera House

And perhaps Onion’s best of the night:

Bills Fans Actually Excited About Former Backup For Christian Ponder

While all this was happening, I almost could feel Schefter’s twitchy Twitter finger. It had to be killing him to be relegated to the Twitter sidelines last night as evidenced by this tweet shortly after the first round:

And as i was saying before I was so rudely interrupted at 8 pm….Bet Geno Smith, Manti Te’o and no RBs wind up going in round one.

Don’t worry, Adam, it won’t happen again. I’m betting you’ll be in full Twitter mode for next year’s NFL draft.

 

 

 

 

Video: The showdown between Ken Harrelson and Brian Kenny on MLB Now

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Here is the sabermetrics debate between Ken Harrelson and Brian Kenny yesterday on MLB Now on MLB Network.

I took some flak in my analysis for saying that Harrelson got the best of Kenny. To clarify, I was basing my opinion more on how Harrelson, with some help from old-schooler Harold Reynolds, controlled the debate. To his credit, Kenny let Harrelson make his points.

Mike Oz, aka “Big League Stew” at Yahoo!, said it best:

They squared off — monitor-o y monitor-o — for a segment, that felt like a vegetarian trying to convince a meat-eater to give up the carnivorous life.

As I said, it was fun. I hope there’s a round 2.

 

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Hawk Harrelson vs. Brian Kenny on sabermetrics: And the winner is…

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I have to give the nod to Ken Harrelson mainly because Brian Kenny was out-manned in the Thursday edition of MLB Now. Not only did Kenny have to contend with his co-host Harold Reynolds, another old-school guy, but a fired-up Hawk was like the voice of three men.

This wasn’t about content; both men made good points. This was about Harrelson controlling the debate.

After the opening pleasantries, Harrelson opened by saying:

“Let me ask you a question. Did any of you guys see the movie Moneyball? Was there anything in there that struck you as funny or odd?”

Old-school Reynolds replied, “They didn’t talk about the pitching in that movie.”

Harrelson: “That’s exactly right, Harold. When you got Mulder, Zito and Hudson, you can write any kind of book you want to write, and it’s going to be successful. This game is a game of defense with pitching being the first line of defense.”

Obviously, Harrelson is right, but it does help to have some hitting. The team he watches, the White Sox, are hitting .160 with runners in scoring position, the worst in baseball. Yes, it has been painful to be a Sox fan thus far.

Harrelson then mentioned the one trait that can’t be measured in a player: “TWTW, the will to win.” Whenever Kenny tried to box him in a corner, Harrelson repeatedly fell back on “TWTW.”

“Harold is a good example,” said Harrelson, no dummy on how to get people on his side. “40-50 years from now, people will look at his stats and say Harold was a pretty good player. No, he was an outstanding player because you don’t measure the game with numbers only. Harold was the kind of the guy who would stand there and turn the double play when he knew he was going to take a hit from guys like myself or Kirk Gibson or whoever was going to knock him into leftfield….Those are things that aren’t put in numbers.”

Kenny tried to get some shots in when Harrelson brought up bunting late in a game.

Kenny said, “What gives us the best chance to score a run? If you knew that the odds were better not bunting, wouldn’t you not bunt, or visa-versa? Wouldn’t you want to know those percentages?…

“One thing I don’t get is, ‘Wouldn’t you want as much information as possible as a manager?”

Harrelson replied: “The more numbers you bring to the game, the more instincts you take out of the game. We’re inundated with too much numbers and sometimes you get bogged down. This is a kids game. It always has and always will be.”

Then as I wrote yesterday, Kenny brought up Harrelson’s career year with Boston in 1968 when he hit .275 with 35 homers and an AL best 109 RBIs in the year of the pitcher. Kenny used sabermetrics to adjust the numbers to show what they would be if he was playing for the Colorado Rockies in 2000: 49 homers and 187 RBIs.

“You were playing in a dead ball era,” Kenny said. “Sabermetrics puts things in their proper context.”

The debate then veered into the value of wins for pitchers and whether sabermetrics can be used to evaluate defense.

“It’s not ready yet,” Harrelson said. “Until it gets ready, it’s TWTW.”

Kenny tried to get in a last word: “Offensive metrics are extremely accurate. It’s been here for awhile, Hawk. I think you’d enjoy it.”

Not a bad closing shot. However, when the segment was over, Kenny, who boxed as an amateur, had a dazed look. You see, Harrelson also was a boxer. He controlled this bout simply by throwing punches and never letting up.

Hopefully, Kenny and Harrelson aren’t done. It was an enjoyable debate. Definitely would like to see a rematch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in MLB

How far has NFL draft come? Video of ESPN’s primitive coverage in 1981

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It really is amazing to see the current evolution of the NFL draft coverage on ESPN and NFL Network. These are mega productions with countless moving parts.

For a little perspective, it’s always good to see how ESPN covered the NFL draft in 1981. Thanks to Bob Ley for noting it was ESPN’s second draft.

It was all so primitive. Check out the guy who had to turn on Pete Rozelle’s microphone.

A favorite part is a young Chris Berman getting reaction from a restaurant in New York, complete with the checkered table cloth.

All in all, the whole thing seemed like a pointless exercise. Who would want to watch coverage of something as boring as the NFL draft? Right?

Twitter fallout: Harsh reaction to La Canfora’s plan to tweet picks; others say not a big deal

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I have been doing this site for little over a year, and I never had more traffic and feedback for a subject than the Twitter issue and the NFL draft.

You’re really passionate about this.

Monday, I did a Q/A with ESPN’s Adam Schefter and how he has been told to cut back on tweeting out picks during the draft.

Wednesday, I did a post in which CBS’ Jason La Canfora said he doesn’t have any restrictions and will be tweeting everything during the draft, including picks if he gets them before they are announced on TV.

I asked readers to weigh with in their views. And brother, did they ever.

I would say it was 70-30 against reporters tweeting picks, and thus spoiling some of the suspense and anticipation from the draft.

The anti-tweeting folks were very vocal and had some not-so-nice things to say about Mr. La Canfora.

La Canfora also heard from them, prompting this tweet: “To all the Tweets about people unfollowing me, I have a job to do and if you don’t want the info, that’s cool. I get it. No one has to follow.”

Here’s a sample of reader reaction:

DON’T TWEET

Aaron: F-you Jason La Canfora.

Nick: I hope he has 7 followers by draft day.

Jon: Boooooo this man!!! Trying to do something different to add excitement to the draft and you are trying to mess that up. You are a CBS tool.

Tony: Because we want it to be a surprise you idiot!!!!!

Sonny: WHYYY???? I am a hardcore football fan! But still I like the excitement of the commissioner saying the names. Not some wanna be who thinks he has all the facts. Just leave it alone for three nights. OH MY GOSH SO ANNOYING.

Michael: I understand they have to do their job but it takes all the excitement out of the event.

Will: No reason people can’t wait 20-30 seconds. Adds more drama, better for production.

Disappointed NFL fan: This year I was excited because no one was going to tip the picks and it was going to keep the suspense. but this A hole puts his try hard pants on to find a loop hole and exploit it. come on man….. Really??? please don’t do this… let the draft go back to being exciting rather than lame. I hope he is the only guy going to tip the picks and everyone else respects the agreement making him look foolish and like a selfish A hole he is.

Taigdh: Total bs, for the sake of waiting a extra few minutes on draft day there might be some tension and atmosphere about the event..the above statement by La Canfora is stupid.

Dan: Not a fan. I turn to Twitter to debate picks. Turn to TV to watch picks be announced. Don’t like when writers ruin surprise.

*******

BY ALL MEANS, TWEET

Ken: Good. I think all of the networks signed away a bit of integrity with that agreement. La Canfora still has his.

Jeff: Is it a necessity to have Twitter open while you watch it on TV? What about people who aren’t able to watch it live. They aren’t allowed to receive the info ASAP? I say to ESPN, NFL Network, La Canfora, go ahead and Tweet away till your heart’s content. If I don’t want it I’ll take care of it on my end. Ridiculous.

Gail: I don’t mind at all. It’s the world we live in now.

AJ: I love Adam’s draft updates I can’t understand how someone can complain about getting an update or reading a tweet that ruined a surprise. If you want to be surprised turn off your phone. If you want to be really surprised turn off your TV and wait to read about it in the paper.

******

Want to weigh in with your opinion? Drop me a line.

 

 

 

Podcasting: After stint on DL, Sports-Casters podcast returns; Yours truly on Sports Media Weekly

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If you follow sports media, then you likely know about the Sports-Casters podcast. Host Steve Bennett lands top reporters (present company excluded) to talk about coverage and sports in general. It’s a good listen.

You’ve also noticed that Sports-Casters hasn’t done a podcast since January. Bennett’s health issues have kept him on the sidelines. So it’s good to see Bennett and company back this week with a new podcast featuring Lee Jenkins and Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated.

I asked Steve for an update:

*******

I have been battling Crohns for 10 years now and a big reason I started the podcast was because I needed to find work I could do from home.In 2010, I had my fourth surgery since 2003 and it took over a year to recover. It was clear Crohns was going to prevent me from committing to a 9-5.

The week before the Super Bowl I woke up with a 103 degree fever. I went to the hospital and they said it was something viral and it had caused my Crohns to flare up. I was admitted and was treated with IV steroids and antibiotics. After about a month in and no improvement they decided on surgery. On March 4, I had my second bowel restructure. Basically, they remove the damaged parts of the colon and small/large intestine and then re-attatch. I got home after 10 days in the hospital post surgery and made it 4 days before I developed an infection. They ended up opening the wound and I have a nurse who comes every day to help with that.

Every day I was sick I missed the podcast. The hospital is lonely. I have incredible support but their lives can’t just stop because mine did. My youngest brother plays D-I hockey at Yale and we would always say to each other, “Pittsburgh or Bust.” We both made it to Pittsburgh and to see him win a National Championship made every hour in that hospital worth it.

The podcast returns this week and we have a great show booked. Lee Jenkins on the NBA Playoffs, Richard Deitsch on all kinds of sports media stuff, and Anthony Day (my bro) and Kenny Agostino from the National Champion Yale Bulldogs. Next week, we have Dave Dameshek, Ed Cunningham, and Jonah Keri. We hope to be starting the podcast at Football Nation soon as well.

I have a lot of great stuff lined up and if there is one thing I know I am good at it’s booking a good show. We are going to have some great ones in the future.

*******

Thanks again to Keith Thibault and Ken Fang for having me on this week’s edition of Sports Media Weekly. We analyzed Twitter and the NFL, among other topics.

Also appearing is Dale Arnold, studio host for Bruins telecasts on NESN and sports radio host at Boston’s WEEI.  Fang spoke with Dale about last week’s bombing at the Boston Marathon and how the sports media took a break from sports and provided fans with an outlet to discuss the events of the week.

Ken Harrelson to face off with Brian Kenny Thursday on MLB Now; Debate likely to include Hawk’s career year

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Good timing.

During a conversation with Brian Kenny today, I asked about Ken Harrelson’s recent comments about him and his view of sabermetrics.

“Well, it just so happens that Hawk is going to be on the show tomorrow,” Kenny said.

Indeed, the White Sox play-by-play voice is set to be a guest on MLB Now Thursday at 4 p.m. ET on MLB Network. It definitely will be a lively discussion between Harrelson, Kenny and the show’s co-host Harold Reynolds.

To review, Harrelson said during a Sox game:

“You know, sabermetrics in my opinion, in the last decade, the last ten years, has been the most overrated thing to come into baseball. And it’s got a lot of people fired because it didn’t work.”

Kenny, whose baseball work is firmly grounded in sabermetrics, gave a strong response on his show. He said Harrelson “missed the revolution.”

Kenny issued an invitation for Harrelson to appear as a guest. Harrelson, who said he likes Kenny’s work, took him up on it.

Wednesday, Kenny returned the praise for Harrelson, saying he enjoys him as a play-by-play man. However, his view of sabermetrics is another story.

“I’m puzzled as to why he says those things, and why so many other people his age in baseball say those things,” Kenny said.

Kenny sounded as if he might make his case by referring to Harrelson’s career year in 1968. Harrelson hit .275 with 35 homers and a league-leading 109 RBIs with Boston. The stats are even more impressive considering it was the year of the pitcher.

“He had a .356 on-base in 1968,” Kenny said. “That’s pretty good, but I bet you that’s way above the league average for that year. And he slugged .518. If you slug .518 in 1998 (during the power crazy steroid era), you’re not catching a whiff of the All-Star game. You slug .518 in 1968, you’re one of the top players in all of baseball, which he was. All of those things are sabermetric thinking and principles, and you go from there.

“There’s nothing overrated about it. It’s wanting to know more and putting things in proper context to where you can pinpoint a perfect year in his career. The more you know, the more you like him in 1968.”

 

 

 

Posted in MLB

ESPN news: Czarniak becomes first woman to host Indy 500; Jon Hamm to host ESPYs

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Some announcements from the WWL:

******

Following in the footsteps of Jim McKay:

ESPN SportsCenter anchor Lindsay Czarniak has been named host for the telecast of the Indianapolis 500 on ABC on Sunday, May 26. ABC will be televising the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” for the 49th consecutive year, extending one of the longest-running relationships between a sporting event and a TV network, and Czarniak will be the first woman ever to host the telecast.

Also, former Indianapolis 500 winner Eddie Cheever will expand his role as an analyst in ESPN’s coverage of the IZOD IndyCar Series to work in the broadcast booth for all six races that will air on ABC this season.

Czarniak, who co-anchors the 6 p.m. SportsCenter with John Anderson, joined ESPN in 2011. She has a background in motorsports, having served as a pit and feature reporter and host for TNT’s telecasts of NASCAR Sprint Cup races and a pit reporter for NBC Sports prior to moving to ESPN. She also has hosted ESPN’s NASCAR Now program.

She was as sports anchor and reporter at WRC-TV (NBC4) in Washington, D.C., from 2005-2011. During that time, she also worked for NBC covering the 2006 Winter and 2008 Summer Olympic Games as well as NASCAR.

Czarniak will be positioned on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s iconic Pagoda during ABC’s one-hour Indianapolis 500 pre-race show at 11 a.m. on May 26. She also will contribute to the race telecast.

Cheever, a former Formula One driver who won the 1998 Indianapolis 500, will join lap-by-lap announcer Marty Reid and analyst Scott Goodyear to call the six IndyCar Series races on ABC. Cheever has been an analyst for ESPN since 2008 but has primarily worked only on the Indianapolis 500 telecast.

The Arizona native made 132 starts in Formula One from 1978-89, the most by any American driver in the history of the sport. He returned to the United States in 1990 to pursue his dream of winning the Indy 500, racing in the former CART series and then in the IndyCar Series when it launched in 1996. He scored five wins in the IndyCar Series and last raced in 2006.

The Indianapolis 500 will be the first of the six races ESPN will be producing to air on ABC. Others will include a doubleheader at Detroit’s Belle Isle on June 1 and 2 and a Saturday night prime time race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth on June 8. Races at Iowa Speedway (June 23) and the return of IndyCar racing to Pennsylvania’s Pocono Raceway (July 7) will complete ABC’s schedule.

ESPN’s IZOD IndyCar Series team also will include pit reporters Rick DeBruhl, Jamie Little and Vince Welch, with Dr. Jerry Punch joining as a fourth pit reporter for the Indianapolis 500.

*******

This will go over well with Mad Men fans:

The 2013 ESPYS will be hosted by actor Jon Hamm, widely celebrated for his role as Don Draper on AMC’s award-winning series Mad Men.  The announcement was made during Hamm’s appearance this morning on LIVE with Kelly and Michael.  Hamm has earned numerous accolades for his performance on the series including a Golden Globe Award, Television Critics Association Award and a Critics’ Choice Television Award, as well as multiple Emmy and Screen Actors Guild nominations.  The 2013 ESPYS will be televised live Wednesday, July 17, at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPNHD from Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles.

Hamm will be joined by an all-star lineup of top athletes and entertainers to celebrate the best sports stories of the last year, leading fans through the year’s best plays, biggest upsets and most outstanding performances across all sports.  Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Hamm considers himself a passionate sports fan and he fervently follows the St. Louis Cardinals and the St. Louis Blues, as well as the NFL.  Hamm played in the Taco Bell All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Games in 2009 (St. Louis) and in 2012 (Kansas City), where he played third base next to his childhood idol Ozzie Smith.

“The ESPYS is designed to showcase the year’s best sports moments in a sharp, fun and entertaining manner and Jon’s the perfect host for this year’s show.  His appearances on shows like 30 Rock and SNL show that humor and creativity are two of his main strengths,” said Maura Mandt, the show’s executive producer.  “The combination of Jon’s dry wit with his passion for sports will give fans a unique and original view of the year in sports.”

“I’m very excited to be hosting the ESPYS.  As a longtime sports fan and a marginally successful high school athlete I feel my skill-set jibes well with a host’s duties,” said Hamm.  “I now have to figure out what cleats to wear with a tuxedo.”

This summer, Hamm will film the baseball drama Million Dollar Arm (Walt Disney Pictures and Mayhem Pictures) about a disillusioned sports agent who seeks professional pitching talent through the staging of a reality show in India.  Last year, Hamm starred in and produced Friends with Kids for writer/director/star Jennifer Westfeldt.  His previous film credits include Bridesmaids with Kristen Wiig, Ben Affleck’s The Town, Zack Snyder’s fantasy thriller Sucker Punch, Howl with James Franco, and Shrek Forever After, in which he voiced the character Brogan.  On the television side, Hamm’s appearances on the comedy 30 Rock have earned him three Emmy nominations for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, and he has hosted Saturday Night Live three times to critical-acclaim.

As previously announced, The 2013 ESPYS will recognize the strength and courage of Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts by honoring her with this year’s Arthur Ashe Courage Award.  The Arthur Ashe Courage Award is presented each year to individuals whose contributions transcend sports.  A selection of past honorees include: Jim Valvano (1993); Howard Cosell (1995); Muhammad Ali (1997); Billie Jean King (1999); former president Nelson Mandela (2009) and women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt (2012).