Monthly Archives: May 2012

NBC’s Hammond: Kentucky Derby most complex to cover

Posted on by

It isn’t a stretch to say that 95 percent of the country couldn’t tell you the name of one horse in the Kentucky Derby Saturday. And maybe that number is low.

But many of us will watch simply because it is the Kentucky Derby. It is the oldest continous sports event (happy No. 138) in the the United States, held annually in the first Saturday of May.

Last year’s race drew an audience of 14.11 million people on NBC. Yes, there’s something to said about tradition. Long live the Run for the Roses.

NBC will have complete coverage, starting at 11 a.m. (Eastern) on NBC Sports Network and then at 4 p.m. on NBC.

Tom Hammond returns as co-host. The sport is in his blood. At one point in college, he thought he would have a career in horse racing.

Funny how things works out. As a broadcaster, he wound up with a front-row seat, playing an integral role in covering the biggest races.

I talked to Hammond yesterday. He made an interesting comment about the Kentucky Derby being the most complex event he covers. Hammond also calls Notre Dame football and will handle track at the Olympics for NBC.

Hammond: A football game takes place in a finite area. You know there’s going to be 11 on each team. Here, there is two minutes of action, and yet everything else is so important to capture what the Derby is all about. Somebody says, ‘It’s a horse race, it last two minutes.’ It’s so much more.

The Olympics is the king of the stories, with athletes from all over the world pursuing their life’s dream. In horse racing, there’s just so many different aspects to it: the owners, the jockeys, the trainers. The horse themselves have so many different personalities. To be able to weave all those stories together is a dream come true for a sportscaster. It’s a gold mine of stories to tell.

What about the unpredictability of the race?

Hammond: There are 20 horses in this race, and often the best horse doesn’t get through. It’s so complex in that way. The other great thing about it is that it’s an any man’s race. The owner with the most money doesn’t always win. Multi-millionaires have spent their whole life trying to win the Derby and haven’t been successful. There’s so many different possibilities.

 

 

 

Posted in NBC

A no-no: Angels announcers don’t talk about Weaver’s no-hitter

Posted on by

I know all about this fabled tradition in baseball: Don’t talk about a no-hitter in progress.

But you know what: I’ve stepped on many cracks and my mother never has suffered a broken back.

I am as superstitous as anyone, but I can’t agree with the approach Angels announcers Victor Rojas and Mark Gubicza took in calling Jared Weaver’s no-hitter Wednesday.

According to Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times, the TV announcers opted not to discuss Weaver’s no-hit bid. One word, they thought, and they could doom his chance to make history.

Said Rojas, the son of Cookie Rojas:

Some people say jinxes have no place in sports, but that’s just how I am. I didn’t move from my position after the third inning, I didn’t move any paper. I put my pens back in the same spot. That’s just who I am.

Gubicza said:

It’s a touchy situation. It’s a great discussion to have. There’s no set rule book. I don’t have an issue about saying it, but my job as an analyst is just to describe why Jered is pitching so well.

However, the problem with that approach is that we live in the age of the remote and a million TV channels. People are flipping all the time. You can’t assume everyone watched from the first pitch.

I wonder how many people missed out on Weaver’s bid because when they tuned during the eighth inning, they thought he only was pitching a shutout. The announcers didn’t tell the viewers otherwise.

Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County Star wrote:

(Rojas) tweeted about the game while it was in progress, but again he stepped all  around it without mentioning the no-hitter: “7th inning stretch time w Angels up  9-0. My suggestion to you is to find a TV or tune in a radio. Weaver w 8  K’s.”

And then later: “We’re headed to the 9th w/ a SoCal boy back on the hill to  try & finish this one off. 8 K’s/1 BB 9-0.”

Apparently, it was OK to mention that Weaver had eight strikeouts, but the  fact he had given up no hits was taboo. But the Twitterverse was full of Weaver  talk. Even the Angels themselves tweeted about it: “Jered Weaver has not allowed  a hit through 8 innings against the Twins.”

Jon Miller said in Pucin’s article an announcer has to talk about the no-hitter, jinxes be damned.

I feel like I have a responsibility to my audience, to the station, to the network, to say what’s going on. Plus, I want to maximize my audience. If someone hears from me about a no-hitter, he might call others or text or email and that helps my audience get larger. Some guys use all kinds of euphemisms, talking about ‘no runs, nothing at all,’ they make a game of it. I just think, if it’s a big story, mention it. But it’s a quaint old baseball thing. I don’t blame anybody for doing a game any way they want.

 

 

Posted in MLB

Lanny Wadkins makes (limited?) return with Golf Channel

Posted on by

Lanny Wadkins is back, but will it be a one-shot deal?

The 21-time PGA winner returns to television today after a five-year absence, serving as a lead analyst for Golf Channel’s coverage of the Insperity Championship on the Champions Tour. According to the release, “this will be the first of what may be more future Golf Channel tournament appearances by Wadkins.”

What exactly does “may be” mean? A spokesman said both sides want to see how this tournament goes and then make an evaluation from there.

Wadkins was CBS’ lead golf analyst from 2002-2006 before the network opted for Nick Faldo. Wadkins had his critics sitting in the big seat. However, he knows his golf, and it would be a nice addition for the Golf Channel to add him to its roster of analysts.

 

Mickelson takes jab at Woods’ video

Posted on by

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have a cool relationship. It’s not outright hatred, but they don’t really care for each other.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Mickelson had fun at Woods’ expense Wednesday. He obviously noted the furor created by Woods’ Q/A video with fans this week.

Rex Hoggard writes in GolfChannel.com:

Phil Mickelson is not one to ever miss the subtly of the moment, so when he entered the Quail Hollow press room Wednesday afternoon he deadpanned, “Didn’t you guys see my video?”

It was classic Lefty and a not-so-subtle jab at Tiger Woods, who skipped this week’s pre-tournament news conference at the Wells Fargo Championship and instead posted a video on his website answering questions he’d received from fans via social media.

Steve Elling of CBSSportsline.com did a tweet noting Hunter Mahan also piled on Woods:

“I was going to announce that I am doing this only on webcasts from now on.”

 

 

ESPN embarrassed by Phillips hoax

Posted on by

If you really want to make your head spin, check out all the stuff that’s been written about Sarah Phillips and ESPN.com.

Deadspin started it all with a 5,000-word opus, revealing a scammer using a fake identity who landed a column on sports gambling for ESPN.com.

The story has exploded from there, making my head spin even more. Fang’s Bites has compiled a nice digest of the reports if you have three hours to waste.

Frankly, I have little use for scammers. It happens in all walks of life, including journalism. Remember Janet Cooke of the Washington Post winning a Pulitzer Prize for a fictional story?

However, this story underscores the dangers of knowing exactly who you are dealing with in this often wacky Internet age. You could be sure at the WWL headquarters there will be a complete review of the hiring process here, and that changes will be forthcoming.

This whole episode is embarrassing to ESPN. And it should serve as a warning to other outlets that it also could happen to you.

 

ESPN doesn’t hate hockey, or so it claims

Posted on by

The question was direct.

“Why does ESPN hate hockey?” I asked Vince Doria, ESPN’s senior vice-president and director of news.

Doria tried to suppress a frustrated laugh. He protested, “We don’t hate hockey.”

Hockey fans, though, know ESPN definitely doesn’t love their sport. There’s a limited presence on SportsCenter since its networks no longer carry games. You won’t find the First Take guys talking much about the Phoenix Coyotes.

According to Deadspin’s Bristolmetrics, which tracks SportsCenter’s dedicated time to a particular sport, hockey accounted for 4.7 percent of its coverage from Jan. 7-April 26. The NBA, meanwhile, had 23.4 percent. Hockey couldn’t even beat “other,” which had 8.8. percent.

Now to be fair, ESPN has raised its hockey allotment during the playoffs. Last week, hockey rose to 15 percent. However, a big part of that might have been due to the New York Rangers winning their series in seven games. Nothing like an iconic New York team to get ESPN excited.

Doria admits ESPN won’t ever get too pumped up about hockey. In a recent Q/A with Doria, he explains why hockey doesn’t move the meter in Bristol.

Why does ESPN hate hockey?

Doria: We don’t hate hockey. When I worked in Boston (as sports editor of the Boston Globe), I probably went to more Bruins games than Celtics. There’s probably not a better in-the-house sport than hockey. Watching it live. My own personal feeling is that it never transferred well to television. I’m not exactly sure why that is.

Why does hockey get a limited presence on SportsCenter?

Doria: It’s a sport that engenders a very passionate local following. If you’re a Blackhawks fan in Chicago, you’re a hardcore fan. But it doesn’t translate to television, and where it really doesn’t transfer much to is a national discussion, which is something that typifies what we do.

Baseball fans are interested where Albert Pujols is going. NBA fans are interested in the Miami Heat. For whatever reason, and this is my unsubstantiated research on it, hockey doesn’t generate that same kind of interest nationwide. You look at national talk shows. Hockey rarely is a topic. People in Boston aren’t that interested with what’s going on with the Blackhawks.

Would it be different if you were a rights holder?

Doria: Well, we were at one time. It wasn’t that different. Listen, I guess if we were rights holder, there probably would be a little more attention paid to it. It’s typical that would happen. We might throw it to commentators who were inside the building. Now we’re not inside the building.

Even though ESPN doesn’t have hockey, you decided to keep Barry Melrose. Why?

Doria: When we lost it, we wanted to keep a hockey presence. We wanted to keep Barry, the best there is in my mind. But now the only place to put Barry is on SportsCenter. If you look at the first few years, after we lost hockey, Barry probably was on SportsCenter more after we lost it than when we had hockey.

Before, he would appear on NHL Tonight. Sometimes, we’d put him on SportsCenter. But there was no real demand to put him on SportsCenter. NHL Tonight was his job, and they’d do all the highlights.

NBC Sports Network has locked up hockey for a long time. What’s going to be ESPN’s approach to the sports going forward?

Doria: We’ll be out at the Stanley Cup. If you watch our show, we do highlights and report scores.

But if you go to our radio and television shows, there’s not a lot of hockey talk. It doesn’t seem like there’s a lot of yammer out there to give us hockey talk.

 

 

Sun-Times reporter’s woes demonstrates danger of Twitter

Posted on by

When illustrating a point during a baseball game, former Cubs and current White Sox TV analyst Steve Stone likes to say, “For all you youngsters out there….”

Well, for all you journalists out there, young and old, there is a valuable lesson to be learned from what happened to Sun-Times reporter Joe Cowley in recent days. Twitter can blow up in your face.

Robert Feder of TimeOut Chicago reports Cowley is on “final notice” following his sexist tweets that went viral Sunday. Feder writes:

Cowley’s reporting continued uninterrupted as his editors ultimately decided to issue a final warning through the guild process. “If he does anything again, it’s pretty much a fireable offense,” a source said.

Cowley may have a job, but his reputation is battered. Cowley has been vilified on Twitter and many high-profile sites, including Deadspin, which started the pounding with the initial posts on Sunday.

Prior to Sunday, Cowley had to be considered a success for what he accomplished via social media. His edgy tweets gave him more than 10,000 followers. He seemed to enjoy provoking and ticking off people.

I actually saw his initial tweet on Sunday morning, where he complained about a delayed airline flight:

Flight delayed because of “Mandatory Crew Rest.” God forbid anyone strains themselves handing out orange juice off a cart for an extra hour.

I then left my computer, and Cowley should have too. From there, a tweet about a “chick pilot” led to him engaging in a Twitter dialogue with sports reporter Sloane Martin. It led to the ultimate tweet that pulled the pin out of the grenade.

@SloaneMartin And when you come back, hottie up that pic a bit more. You look like the Russian icy villain from a 70s Bond movie. XOXO.

Cowley’s “Jimmy The Greek” moment eventually had him taking down his Twitter account. But it was too late. His tweets had gone viral.

What happened to Cowley is why editors are having special seminars about Twitter. They are asking–pleading–with their staffs to be careful about their tweets.

This isn’t a freedom of speech issue. Cowley’s Twitter handle was CST_Cowley. He wasn’t just representing himself. He also was representing the Sun-Times. Its editors don’t want to be known as the kind of paper that uses the phrase: “Hottie up that pic.”

As Feder notes, the Cowley controversy overshadowed news that the Sun-Times actually had an increase in circulation.

The lesson for all you youngsters: Exercise a certain degree of caution when it comes to Twitter. Know there’s a line, especially if you’re representing a news organization. And know that if you cross that line, you are risking your career, and more importantly, your reputation.

Just ask Joe Cowley.

 

 

 

Stephen A. to join Skip B. full time on First Take

Posted on by

This makes too much sense.

Stephen A. Smith will join First Take on a permanent basis. USA Today reports the deal isn’t finalized, but host Jay Crawford disclosed the new set-up on the air.

Smith and Bayless know the drill for the show better than anyone. Crawford should look into increasing his health insurance.

 

Eli Manning’s promos for Saturday Night Live

Posted on by

It’s a big week for the Manning franchise. Eli Manning will host this week’s edition of Saturday Night Live.

Unlike his brother, Peyton, Eli had to win a second Super Bowl before being awarded  the hosting duties.

NBC has released the series of promos for this week’s show. Manning does one with Jason Sudeikis and then several with Kenan Thompson.

Judging from the promos, Eli likely won’t rival Peyton’s performance on SNL, which might have been the best ever for an athlete.

But as Seth Meyers noted on David Letterman Tuesday, it doesn’t matter how Eli does Saturday.

That’s the best thing about athlete hosts is they don’t stress out because nothing on our show is like harder than being chased around by a 300-pound man. And you can’t lose your day job. Like you can’t go back to camp and Tom Coughlin’s not going to be like, ‘Hey, we saw you on ‘SNL.’ We’re going another direction. We found a younger quarterback who’s better at accents.

 

Posted in NBC

Manchester Premier League showdown does big rating for ESPN

Posted on by

Only a few years ago, it would have been inconceivable for ESPN to knock out afternoon programming on the Mother Ship to air a soccer game from Europe.

ESPN did it Monday, and the result is yet another sign of how the sport is growing in this country.

Monday’s Manchester derby, a 1-0 home win for Manchester City over Manchester United in a 2011-2012 Premier League showdown, was seen on ESPN by an average of 1.033 million viewers (832,000 television homes), based on a 0.8 rating, making it the most-watched Premiership telecast on U.S. cable television, according to Nielsen.

The Manchester derby telecast out-delivered the previous high, an ESPN2 telecast of Arsenal vs. Chelsea, seen by an average of 610,000 viewers on Monday, Dec. 27, 2010.

To attract that large of an audience on a Monday afternoon is a huge deal for soccer. And for the networks who continue to track the rising numbers.

Here is a list of the top-rated PL games in the U.S.

Date Matchup Viewers – P2+ Network
Mon, April 30, 2012 Manchester City vs. Manchester United 1,033,000 ESPN
Mon., Dec. 27, 2010 Chelsea vs. Arsenal 610,000 ESPN2
Sat., Feb. 11, 2012 Liverpool vs. Manchester United 588,000 ESPN2
Sun., Feb. 6, 2011 Liverpool vs. Chelsea 579,000 FOX Soccer
Mon., Dec. 13, 2010 Arsenal vs. Manchester United 570,000 ESPN2

The news definitely is encouraging to Fox Sports. On May 13, its networks will show nine games simutaneously from the PL’s “Survival Sunday.”