Fox Rox, Disney Sux

[soonerspudman]

Did anyone else enjoy the breath of fresh air that was Fox's Sugar Bowl Coverage? No politics, no spin, no stupid claims about Texas being in the championship game, no melodrama, no third-quarter phone interview during the game with Pete Carroll asking if SC should be number 1, no mindless chatter while you tried to watch the game, just a couple of guys calling the game and staying out of the way as it unfolded.

I hate ABC and ESPN, God help us when they have full control over the BCS games.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

Kinda like the government taking over the economy.

[OUstud]

Who knew we'd ever be complimenting Fox Sports?

[More_Cowbell]

F-O-X F-O-X F-O-X

[Soonerfan88]

Amazing how much more enjoyable the games are. Both Fox and NFL Network (KU game) have been a wonderful change from the campaigning/spin job and plain old idiocy of the ESPiN/ABC hacks.

[Piware]

Absolutely agree. It was a sports broadcast, not a dissertation. Just a breath of fresh air not to have to listen to Herbie and Co. and Barry/Johnson at half time was just the best.

AND, I have always disliked that damn mouse.

[BoulderSooner79]

You're right and I hadn't noticed. Not noticing, especially not getting annoyed is a good thing when it comes to coverage. I can imagine how steamed the Penn State fans must have been watching the Rose bowl and ABC pulls Keyshawn Johnson into the booth for what seemed like forever. After he finished re-living his god-like performance from the last century, he helps the other guys sing the praises to USC's greatness. Gag.

[OUmillenium]

Yes, espin/abc have reached an all time low this year in biased "reporting"...and maintained that low. Thanx FOX!

[SteelCitySooner]

Agreed...although FOX can work at improving their camara work during the game, it was a nice breath of fresh air! Plus, we get to hear from The King. :D

[BermudaSooner]

The Cotton bowl coverage was amateur hour though. Those sideline reporter women didn't have a clue. Summerall (sp?) seemed lost without Madden.

[tulsaoilerfan]

The Cotton bowl coverage was amateur hour though. Those sideline reporter women didn't have a clue. Summerall (sp?) seemed lost without Madden.

Naw, he was probably drunk. :D

[WileyCoyote]

After:

1)Listenin’ to Herbutt Backstreet pimpin Mushburger dancin’ with Clorox Leachface (a reason NOT to have HD).:eek:

2)Seein’ poor ol’ Joe Pa peerin’ through the glass. (Doesn’t PSU have a mascot already ?):(

3)The Doobie Brothers attempt a comeback. (A reallll lonnnng trainnnn runnin’)

4)The shaky old woman (god bless her, she might be someone’s great-grand ma) apprehensively toss the Cotton Bowl coin.

5)Pat Summerall (C’MON MAN !!!!) fumble & stumble along with good intentions.

6)A Big 10 ref, that redefines “You Gotta Be Blind” “What Game Are U Watching?” (ECU vs KY on 2 consecutive kickoff returns).:confused:

7)At least 400 Dodge Hemi Ram commercials.:mad:


I thought Barry, Jimmy (Hair & Co.), Eddie and that other guy did a great job for FOX. The FOX game coverage announcers stayed out of their own way.

BOOOOMER !!!!!:pop:

[King Crimson]

watching an ESPN/ABC broadcast is like watching the NBA where the "announcing team" feels the need to turn everything into a psychological melodrama that they *somehow* think is crucial to your understanding of the deeper levels of sport or soap operas.

"the story behind the story".....vomit. i just want to watch the game....though even that gets harder and harder these days.

[SoonerLB]

Best laugh I had was when Summeral was going through stats at the start of the game and got to Harrell's page. After stating that Harrell's career stats at TT were pretty impressive, his announcing partner had to break it to him that those were the stats for just this year, LOL! Hang it up Pat, it's over, that performance should be your swan song, you were a good one, but it's time to hit the recliner.

I'm with you guys on the FOX and NFL announcers though, it was like a breath of fresh air compared to the ABC/ESPN asshats and their agendas.

[Johnny Utah]

The Cotton bowl coverage was amateur hour though. Those sideline reporter women didn't have a clue. Summerall (sp?) seemed lost without Madden.

Summerall deserves a little break though since the guy is like 90 years old and at least he didn't pull a Keith Jackson with some obvious bias for one of the teams. IMO the FOX broadcasts were refreshing because there was little or no conference or player hype, just a relatively unbiased (fair and balanced ;) ) broadcast. Like all the rest of you here I'm sick of all the SEC and USC bs that the Disney networks continuously shill.

[bluedogok]

One good thing about the Keyshawn segment, when they asked him about a USC MNC and not being in the title game, he stated they have no excuse, they should have beat Oregon State.

[GottaHavePride]

4)The shaky old woman (god bless her, she might be someone’s great-grand ma) apprehensively toss the Cotton Bowl coin.

Um, she's the widow of the guy responsible for the Cotton Bowl getting built in 1936. Mad props to her for being there for the final bowl game in her husband's stadium.

And nice avatar.

[Lott's Bandana]

Yeah, I posted this during the Orange Bowl:


First of all, I am a big fan of Charles Davis.

Now, having listened to a NORMAL announcing crew...play by play and analyst, it really magnifies how incredibly ARROGANT anything labeled ESPN is, when it has anything to do with NCAACF.

How nice to hear the game being called instead of incessant politicking. We are DOOMED when ESPN gets the BCS.

................
More and more I find myself HATING the ESPN formula.

[jage]

Couldn't agree more. The game experience felt more like watching football should be.

[badger]

If ESPN hadn't told everyone over and over to vote for Texas and Tebow we might have different Heisman and BCS Championship guys this year... but as we all know, there are many people that hate being told how to think.

[Josh Eisenteith]

Did anyone else enjoy the breath of fresh air that was Fox's Sugar Bowl Coverage? No politics, no spin, no stupid claims about Texas being in the championship game, no melodrama, no third-quarter phone interview during the game with Pete Carroll asking if SC should be number 1, no mindless chatter while you tried to watch the game, just a couple of guys calling the game and staying out of the way as it unfolded.

I hate ABC and ESPN, God help us when they have full control over the BCS games.


I agree, and FOX also has a better HD signal and sound than ABC. We can't even get ABC on digital signal at my workplace, but FOX comes in loud and vis.

[WileyCoyote]

Um, she's the widow of the guy responsible for the Cotton Bowl getting built in 1936. Mad props to her for being there for the final bowl game in her husband's stadium.

And nice avatar.

Well...ignorance is my biggest stability on her...and I wasn't tryin to be disrespectful....so I apologize for not knowing....She and her late husband have my respect for establishing the venue...as for the NEW one with JJ...well I already stuck my proverbial foot in my mouth.....

BOOMER !!!!!!

[The Remnant]

ESPN= cheesy cable network. Their broadcasts are designed for those who have a very short attention span. There are endless sideline interviews and split screens of other athletic events in progress. I have worn out the mute button on my remote control watching any football game broadcast on ESPN. Plus, Tony Kornheiser is just awful on Monday night football.

[TopDawg]

FOX is getting better with their production of college football games. In the past it's been much more clunky.

I'm not so sure it's fair to compare the Sugar and Rose bowls as good indicators of which network is better equipped to do the BCS games. The Sugar Bowl was a competitive game and I imagine most of us were happy with the result. The Rose Bowl was a ridiculously uncompetitive game and I imagine most of us were unhappy with the result. Two identical broadcasts will come across completely different if you like the way the game is going in one and don't like the way it's going in another.

Now, having said that...FOX and ESPN/ABC both have their pros and cons in regards to how they cover college football. I thought ESPN/ABC was ridiculous with their Mack Brown stunt during the Bedlam game, but I think they usually do a pretty good job with the games.

[SoonerBoognish]

For me, I'm done with announcers completely if I'm watching a game alone. It sucks to not hear the crowd and stuff, but the game doesn't get ruined by two idiots rambling on about beyonce in the booth. It's simple, they're awful. They don't really break down any plays, they just draw lines next to schedules and "keys to the game" with their telestrator.
The key is , they never, ever stfu. The game is never more important than rehashing contrived plots which barely involve the actual game. Next thing you know, we'll have another ticker in the middle of the screen reminding us of what Musberger just said.

[007sooner]

If you have a local station covering the game, imo it's best to have that on and mute the tv. it varies, but typically that's just crowd noise and play calling - almost never any of the bs you hear from the idiots on tv.

also, no :texan: during bedlam.

[TopDawg]

For a few years now I've thought it would be awesome to have a station that had mics around the stadium (near each band, the sidelines, the public address, etc.) that just gave you sounds of the game. Ya know...more like if you were actually at the game.

[sooner2b09]

Thats how football should be called, no politics, just straight football

[sooner ngintunr]

Guess you guys missed it during the cotton bowl on FOX when they stated that TT trailed at half only twice this year (aTm and Baylor), and they came back and won both of those games!!:rolleyes: wow!! ole miss must be goooood!!

Fox aint all that.

[bluedogok]

For a few years now I've thought it would be awesome to have a station that had mics around the stadium (near each band, the sidelines, the public address, etc.) that just gave you sounds of the game. Ya know...more like if you were actually at the game.
That was tried in 1980 during a Dolphins-Jets game.


From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFL_on_television)
On December 20, 1980 NBC made history by broadcasting a game between the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins with no announcers.

[Jacie]

Guess you guys missed it during the cotton bowl on FOX when they stated that TT trailed at half only twice this year (aTm and Baylor), and they came back and won both of those games!!:rolleyes: wow!! ole miss must be goooood!!

Fox aint all that.

Maybe they meant, ummm, let's see, of games they trailed at half and won, it happened only twice. In fine print it should read, games TT trailed at half and lost, just once . . .

[cheezyq]

I agree about the Sugar Bowl. I've always kind of liked Daryl Johnston. Unfortunately for us, we are getting the Orange Bowl crew of Charles Davis and Thom Brenneman. Brenneman was worse than BBS with his mistakes during the game, and Charles Davis just annoys the heck out of me. Sure, he will say some nice things about OU and Bradford, but I have the feeling the Tebow love will get well out of hand.

What I like about Fox Sugar Bowl coverage is that it was just plain professional. None of the personality quirks of the ESPN/ABC crews.

[Johnny Utah]

The FOX crews were also head and shoulders above the "sec on cbs" crew, especially Gary Danielson who has such man-love for the sec qb's that it's pathetic.

[sooner ngintunr]

Maybe they meant, ummm, let's see, of games they trailed at half and won, it happened only twice. In fine print it should read, games TT trailed at half and lost, just once . . .

How good are your stat guys when they say **** like that though??? I'm sure they meant to say "TT trailed 3 times at half all year, and won 2-3" But no, it came on the screen "TT trailed only twice at half the entire season, and they won both of those games" Announcers said nothing.

I prefer radio brodcast announcers for this very reason, they actually have to watch the games.

If they don't have that kind of stat correct, what else are they missing/lying about? Sometimes program directors have an agenda too.

[MikeInNorman]

To be fair, one thing you can say about the ESPN pimps and shills is that they are consistent in their pimping and shilling. The reason that ESPN/ABC determined that the ONLY bowl worth watching was The Rose Bowl Game Sponsored By Citi (sheesh) was very simple: ESPN/ABC did not have the broadcast of the others. If the Pimp and Shill network had had the BCS National Championship game, the Herbie/Brent broadcast might have gone like this:

BRENT: Boy, Herbie, Pete Carroll's charges are playing really well in The Rose Bowl Game Brought To You By Citi!

HERBIE: Yes, Brent, but you also have to play this well during the season or you just can't make it to The BCS National Championship Game, January 8, 8 p.m. Eastern, right here on ESPN on ABC.

BRENT: Pete would say that his bunch can't be beat, just like Penn State is not beating them in The Rose Bowl Game Powered By Citi!

HERBIE: Well, go tell the Oregon State Beavers that! They beat USC HEAD-TO-HEAD! You can't get to The BCS National Championship Game, which you and I will be covering on ESPN on ABC, by losing to teams like Oregon State! You can't play on January 8 at 8 p.m. Eastern on ESPN on ABC unless you take care of business and beat the teams you should beat. Pete Carroll knows that as well as anyone.

BRENT: What time was that game again?

HERBIE: January 8, Brent, eight o'clock right here on ESPN on ABC!

BRENT: Well folks, there is a time out on the field while we take a break for this preview of The BCS Championship Game on ESPN on ABC! Herbie, I have a trivia question for you: When is the last time Florida Quarterback Tim Tebow did NOT wear his Superman jammies before a game? And folks, stay tuned, we expect a phone call from Urban Meyer after the break!

[TopDawg]

I think that it's very seldom that any kind of overt agenda comes across during a broadcast. These producers and announcers aren't biased, they're just...in a lot of cases...bad. The announcers that are former athletes might be able to break down plays or give insight into what's going on, but they're not (most of them) gifted communicators or solid researchers and a lot of times what they're trying to say comes across completely wrong...or IS completely wrong. The other announcers/talking heads cover so many different teams, it's nearly impossible...unless one really commits oneself to being thorough...to do due diligence on all the teams they cover.

As far as any bias goes...like I mentioned before...it usually depends on how the game is going. If you're watching a game, there's a pretty good chance you care who wins. When that team does good, you're happy and if the announcer reflects your happiness, you don't really notice. But when that team does bad, the announcer reflects the other team's happiness and it's like pouring burning coals on your head. Not only are you mad that the other team made a big play, but now the announcer is rubbing it in. Forget that the fans of the other team felt the same way earlier when your team made a big play.

That's why so many people like the radio broadcast better. It's biased, but biased toward the team you want it to be biased toward. And the radio broadcast team certainly knows your team better than just about any other broadcast team because they do actually watch all of the games. And in most cases they're in closer contact with the football players and staff during the week. There's no doubt (and should be no surprise) about the fact that they're more knowledgeable about your team than a national team.

[TopDawg]

If the Pimp and Shill network had had the BCS National Championship game, the Herbie/Brent broadcast might have gone like this:

In other words, a lot like the FOX broadcast of the Orange Bowl.

Anybody know who was covering the Cotton Bowl?

[Lott's Bandana]

I think that it's very seldom that any kind of overt agenda comes across during a broadcast. These producers and announcers aren't biased, they're just...in a lot of cases...bad. The announcers that are former athletes might be able to break down plays or give insight into what's going on, but they're not (most of them) gifted communicators or solid researchers and a lot of times what they're trying to say comes across completely wrong...or IS completely wrong. The other announcers/talking heads cover so many different teams, it's nearly impossible...unless one really commits oneself to being thorough...to do due diligence on all the teams they cover.




Dawg, well put.

However, you touched above on exactly why many of us are upset. There has been a fundamental change from announcers that have personal biases, yet try to remain neutral in their coverage/analysis...to announcers that have their personal biases, yet also have professional biases dictated to them in continuous production meetings aimed at the greater good of their network. In other words, "Today we will focus on Texas' absence from this CCG because controversy sells Dodge Trucks."

Advertising and ratings have always been a part of sports coverage.

However, ABC/Disney/ESPN's arrogance led to a conscious decision to manipulate a sport we love...and it appears there isn't any pulling back.


These "bad" announcers have replaced research and journalism with having to learn the latest production-meeting talking points. You hear it all the time, it is like a Sunday round of political shows...the Wonks all using the same phrasing.

[OUstud]

To be fair, one thing you can say about the ESPN pimps and shills is that they are consistent in their pimping and shilling. The reason that ESPN/ABC determined that the ONLY bowl worth watching was The Rose Bowl Game Sponsored By Citi (sheesh) was very simple: ESPN/ABC did not have the broadcast of the others. If the Pimp and Shill network had had the BCS National Championship game, the Herbie/Brent broadcast might have gone like this:

BRENT: Boy, Herbie, Pete Carroll's charges are playing really well in The Rose Bowl Game Brought To You By Citi!

HERBIE: Yes, Brent, but you also have to play this well during the season or you just can't make it to The BCS National Championship Game, January 8, 8 p.m. Eastern, right here on ESPN on ABC.

BRENT: Pete would say that his bunch can't be beat, just like Penn State is not beating them in The Rose Bowl Game Powered By Citi!

HERBIE: Well, go tell the Oregon State Beavers that! They beat USC HEAD-TO-HEAD! You can't get to The BCS National Championship Game, which you and I will be covering on ESPN on ABC, by losing to teams like Oregon State! You can't play on January 8 at 8 p.m. Eastern on ESPN on ABC unless you take care of business and beat the teams you should beat. Pete Carroll knows that as well as anyone.

BRENT: What time was that game again?

HERBIE: January 8, Brent, eight o'clock right here on ESPN on ABC!

BRENT: Well folks, there is a time out on the field while we take a break for this preview of The BCS Championship Game on ESPN on ABC! Herbie, I have a trivia question for you: When is the last time Florida Quarterback Tim Tebow did NOT wear his Superman jammies before a game? And folks, stay tuned, we expect a phone call from Urban Meyer after the break!

:D As it is now:

(OFFENSE is driving slowly, converting some third and 6s, etc.)

BRENT AND HERBIE: rabble rabble head to head rabble rabble Texas (quick pause by BRENT to say "pass complete, gain of 8"; continued rabbling

BRENT: We now send it to Rece in the studio for a Sportscenter 30 at 30.

RECE (split screen with HIGHLIGHTS, not the GAME): rabble Today's Big Sports Thing Usually Involving T.O. rabble Now back to (GAME SITE, followed by A BRIEF JAB at either BCS or the ANNOUNCERS).

(BRENT AND HERBIE FAKE CHUCKLE FOR AWHILE. OFFENSE IS NOW INSIDE THE 20. BRENT AND HERBIE START ACTUALLY CALLING THE GAME. TOUCHDOWN. GO TO COMMERCIAL)

BRENT: When we get back, we'll have (COACH who is not BOB STOOPS) on to plead his case via phone rabble Dancing With the Stars rabble

HERBIE: belch

[badger]

I think the biggest difference in a Fox broadcast as opposed to an ABC/ESPN broadcast is that Fox treats the games like a truely spectacular sports event, whereas ESPN/ABC treated the Rose Bowl and other bowl games like yet another football game that they broadcast. Fox gave their BCS bowls near-Super Bowl treatment with new features on the schools, the players, the coaches. They went all-out to make it a good show whether you were a fan of either school or just a football fan tuning in.

When ESPN gets the games back, they're just going to have their regular commentary guys, rehash all the file video they've been showing all season and maybe even bring out their "Comin' to yer ci-tay" song.

I really, REALLY hope FSN or Versus or even the Neffel Network steps up their college coverage so that ESPN has a reason to put more effort into their coverage. They have utterly sucked lately.

[TopDawg]

Advertising and ratings have always been a part of sports coverage.

However, ABC/Disney/ESPN's arrogance led to a conscious decision to manipulate a sport we love...and it appears there isn't any pulling back.

Well, I know I may be in the minority, but I don't think it was a conscious decision to manipulate a sport. I think ESPN let their people speak their minds. Is it ESPN's fault that most of their commentators thought that Texas' head-to-head win should've propelled them above us in the rankings? Well, maybe...but I vividly recall that there were still multiple ESPN personalities that spoke up for OU's claim and argued that in a three-way-tie, head-to-head shouldn't be the deciding factor. So if it was an ESPN mandate, did they mandate that 3 out of 5 analysts would side with Texas and the other two would side with OU?

The Mack Brown thing was in poor taste, but I put that on Mack Brown as much as on ESPN. They gave Stoops his chance and he denied. Maybe they should've denied the opportunity to Brown because of Stoops' refusal, but I don't think the way that panned out was an indicator of an agenda that ESPN had to get Texas into the national title game. I think it was just an indicator that they realize the more controversy there is, the more viewers they get. And, as the nation's biggest provider of college football coverage, I think they felt that the #1 issue in college football (who should go, OU or Texas) deserved ample coverage. It seemed to me that most of the things we saw showed that the nation felt Texas should've gone over OU...should we be surprised if that same sentiment was reflected in the ESPN personalities?

And before we get too enamored with how FOX is covering things, let's watch Texas in their bowl game. I have a sneaking suspicion that many OU fans will not be too happy with a lot of the things that are said. (Although, it's important to note that just as what's happening in the game can affect how we hear the announcers, hearing that Texas "should have gone" ahead of OU is not nearly as frustrating as hearing that Texas "should go" ahead of OU. The fact that we already know the outcome helps make it easier to listen to dissenters.) Now, I may be pleasantly surprised, but I'm expecting more than a little talk about the OU/Texas controversy now that FOX has their opportunity to talk about it.

Now, let me also say that I'm not a fan of the (somewhat) recent trend in ALL sports coverage toward opinions and predictions and whatnot. I think a little is good, but it's gone way too far. This isn't just ESPN, it's everybody. ESPN seems worse, but that's because ALL THEY DO IS SPORTS (and spelling bees) so of course they have more opinion-based programming. But people will watch, so we're as much to blame as they are.

So, basically, I'm not convinced that there's an ESPN bias against OU or for Texas or whatever. I'm just convinced ESPN and FOX and everybody else has bad announcers/talking heads that either don't communicate well, don't research well, or both. And as frustrated as I get when Rod Gilmore or Chris Spielman say something stupid or repeat one of their ridiculously tired phrases, I'm not so much upset with them as I am with ESPN for employing them. But, hell, I'm upset with OU for employing Bob Barry Sr., too...so whaddya gonna do?