Okie35
8/29/2011, 02:47 PM
They really let Craig James have it :tears_of_joy: I didn't copy the whole article but it is a good read.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/richard_deitsch/08/22/collegefootball.television/index.html?eref=sihp
2. Which college football announcer's are the least appealing for you and why?
Mandel: Craig James and Jesse Palmer. James' glaring conflict of interest (more on that later) aside, it's still two ex-jocks glad-handing each other and spewing clichés for three-and-a-half hours. I feel bad for Rece Davis, a true pro, who spends Thursday nights wedged between those two and Saturdays moderating the Mark May-Lou Holtz circus act.
Staples: Craig James, because he adds very little to the broadcast, and ESPN has sacrificed much of its journalistic integrity to protect him in the wake of his campaign to get Mike Leach fired at Texas Tech. If ESPN replaced James with any random ex-jock, viewers wouldn't complain a bit. Yet for some reason the network has bent over backward to protect James. It makes no sense.
Schroeder: Other than Craig James? Even aside from the helicopter-dad/Mike Leach/Texas Tech stuff, I'm not a big fan. And how can we leave aside that stuff? Since he is still employed, can we at least eliminate the weekly weird-workout feature with James (and Jesse Palmer) and the home team's strength coach on those Thursday night games? We get it, James was a big-time athlete and he's still able to toss around big tires.There are a lot of forgettable announcers out there. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though. As much as I enjoy listening to him, Musburger walks a fine line. When he crosses it, he can override the game. I'll take a dialed-back, who-was-that-announcer broadcast and be more than satisfied.
Deitsch: That Craig James gets such prominent assignments remains a mystery on the D.B. Cooper scale. He is unpopular by any fan metric you choose, including performance and likeability. The fact that former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach is suing James merely adds noise here. ESPN management says it values James for his relationships with coaches but what that ultimately leads to for viewers is little more than backslapping commentary. The network deserves to get crushed for keeping him on the air. I'm not as bothered by Palmer as some of the other guys but I agree with everyone on Holtz, whose act wore thin around the time Ron Powlus graduated from Notre Dame. Again, Holtz is an example of Bristol management having a tin ear with a broadcaster whose name far exceeds his value. Same with James.
3. If you could change anything about ESPN's college football coverage, what would you change and why?
Mandel: It's far too late to stop, but ideally there'd be more separation of church and state between the programming and journalism sides. The Bruce Feldman incident and the Longhorn Network have shown that horse has left the stable for good.
Staples: Lately, it seems as if ESPN has tried to set the agenda for college coverage. This is a bad idea. The big story is what it is, and people will seek coverage of it even if it happens to be SEC coaches "Car Wash" day. There will be days when I turn on College Football Live and I wonder if I even cover the same sport. The fact that ESPN is in bed financially with all the conferences shouldn't affect its journalism choices. Really, ESPN is so massive that the business relationships don't have to affect journalism choices. At this point, the conferences need ESPN more than it needs the conferences. So it shouldn't kowtow.
Schroeder: See my answer to No. 2, and the weekly workout feature. But I'd also like to see more Rece Davis and less Dr. Lou. Rece Davis is really good. He's a big reason why, aside from the actual games, College Football Final is my favorite TV on fall Saturdays (although to be fair, I don't see as much of College GameDay as I'd like; out here in the Pacific time zone, the pre-dawn start interferes with my sleeping habits). With Holtz, it's not so much that I want less of the former coach, but less of the caricature he plays. Or maybe it's not a caricature? His interplay with Mark May often feels really forced.
On the subject of GameDay, I wish we could rewind a few years. I'm really glad Lee Corso has recovered so well from the stroke. The GameDay guys -- talent, producers, everyone -- have done a great job helping him. Against the odds, his weekly headgear choice turned into and remains must-see TV -- it's cheesy silliness, but it's somehow so right. If this is possible for a segment on a preview show, it has become iconic. I just wish we could have the old Lee back (wait, I guess I mean the younger Lee; ah, you know what I mean). When Corso finally retires, the show is going to take a huge hit.
Deitsch: This won't happen but I'd like to see the hiring ethos change from former college coaches to information gathers. There's value in hiring ex-coaches but not if they provide vanilla commentary as they bide time for their next job. The Holtz-May shtick is bad television and the truth is the segments make May, who is a bright guy, look silly and less credible. If you want me to believe that Jenn Brown was the best candidate in America for such a high-profile gig, I'm going to have to see something resembling journalistic instincts soon.
8. Do you trust Craig James when it comes to reporting on the Big 12?
Mandel: I wouldn't trust Craig James to report on sixth-grade volleyball. It's been established, via documented emails, that he not only encouraged a sitting Big 12 football coach's dismissal but hired a PR firm to intentionally manipulate coverage. And yet he's still walking into Big 12 coaches' offices every week to break down tape. Now he's running partisan political advocacy ads, which you would think would be a no-no for a television analyst (I seem to recall Lou Holtz getting in trouble simply for endorsing a candidate). How he's still on television (and in prominent time slots at that) is one of the great mysteries of modern civilization.
Staples: No. But I don't trust him when it comes to reporting on anything.
Schroeder: Does he report? I'm not sure how ESPN justified keeping him around. But he's still around. And now that Leach is no longer at Texas Tech, the immediate storm has passed. It would be unthinkable to have James in the booth for one of Leach's games (when Leach inevitably returns to coaching). Which is why it will probably happen. Until then, did you know James was a big-time athlete and he can still toss around big tires?
Deitsch: (Laughs).
10. Give us your three TV games of the year and why.
Mandel: You never know before the season what will be the big games at the end, but right now I'd say:
1. LSU vs. Oregon at Cowboys Stadium (Sept. 3, ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET)
2. Oklahoma at Florida State (Sept. 17, ABC, TBD)
3. Nebraska at Wisconsin (Oct. 1, ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET)
Staples:
1. Oregon vs. LSU at Cowboys Stadium (Sept. 3, ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET): Because SEC people love to say the Pac-12 is soft, and everybody else loves to see an SEC team get challenged. Why ESPN scheduled this game against Georgia-Boise State -- another intriguing bragging rights game -- remains baffling.
2. Oklahoma at Florida State (Sept. 17, ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET): The game atmosphere in Tallahassee has gotten a lot better as the Seminoles have improved. On the evening of Sept. 17, the heat index should still be in the mid-90s when the game kicks off. That should make for some fascinating crowd shots.
3. Nebraska at Wisconsin (Oct. 1, ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET): It's Nebraska's first Big Ten game. It's at night at Camp Randall Stadium. Everything will be bathed in red.
Schroeder:
1. Oregon vs. LSU at Cowboys Stadium (Sept. 3, ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET): When was the last time we a matchup of top five teams in a season opener? But wait, it gets better: at a neutral site. The winner is in prime position for a run at the BCS championship game. The loser isn't out of it. Off-field distractions aside, it's the kind of nonconference matchup we don't see nearly often enough. Could there be a better kickoff?
2. Nebraska at Wisconsin (Oct. 1, ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET): I love the Huskers' move to the Big Ten, for their sake and the Big Ten's. Even as I hate to see them leave behind all their old rivalries, they're a great fit. And this isn't just Nebraska's first Big Ten game, it's also a gauge of whether the league's hierarchy has been immediately altered by the expansion.
3. Oklahoma at Oklahoma State (Dec. 3, ABC, TBD): The Sooners have won eight straight in the series, but in Stillwater, it's actually Bedlam. See last year, when the fourth quarter might have provided the best action of the season -- high-stakes riveting stuff. With the Big 12's reduction to 10 members and the resulting scheduling tweaks, the Cowboys somehow get a shot at the Sooners at home for the second straight year. It's probably the game of the year in the Big 12 -- and potentially an elimination matchup in the national title race.
Deitsch:
1. Nebraska at Wisconsin (Oct. 1, ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET): Nebraska's first Big Ten game comes at SI's No. 2 top Game Day experience in college football. Camp Randall and its House of Pain will be rocking.
2. Texas A&M at Oklahoma (Nov. 5, ABC, TBD): I love the Aggies this season and I smell an epic here that will be the game of the year in the Big 12.
3. Alabama at Auburn (Nov. 26, CBS, TBD): Sure, Auburn isn't expected to contend for a national title but given the drama of last year's game (no team had ever beaten Alabama after trailing by 24 points) and the Harvey Updyke case, the Iron Bowl is going to be compelling television for all.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/richard_deitsch/08/22/collegefootball.television/index.html?eref=sihp
2. Which college football announcer's are the least appealing for you and why?
Mandel: Craig James and Jesse Palmer. James' glaring conflict of interest (more on that later) aside, it's still two ex-jocks glad-handing each other and spewing clichés for three-and-a-half hours. I feel bad for Rece Davis, a true pro, who spends Thursday nights wedged between those two and Saturdays moderating the Mark May-Lou Holtz circus act.
Staples: Craig James, because he adds very little to the broadcast, and ESPN has sacrificed much of its journalistic integrity to protect him in the wake of his campaign to get Mike Leach fired at Texas Tech. If ESPN replaced James with any random ex-jock, viewers wouldn't complain a bit. Yet for some reason the network has bent over backward to protect James. It makes no sense.
Schroeder: Other than Craig James? Even aside from the helicopter-dad/Mike Leach/Texas Tech stuff, I'm not a big fan. And how can we leave aside that stuff? Since he is still employed, can we at least eliminate the weekly weird-workout feature with James (and Jesse Palmer) and the home team's strength coach on those Thursday night games? We get it, James was a big-time athlete and he's still able to toss around big tires.There are a lot of forgettable announcers out there. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though. As much as I enjoy listening to him, Musburger walks a fine line. When he crosses it, he can override the game. I'll take a dialed-back, who-was-that-announcer broadcast and be more than satisfied.
Deitsch: That Craig James gets such prominent assignments remains a mystery on the D.B. Cooper scale. He is unpopular by any fan metric you choose, including performance and likeability. The fact that former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach is suing James merely adds noise here. ESPN management says it values James for his relationships with coaches but what that ultimately leads to for viewers is little more than backslapping commentary. The network deserves to get crushed for keeping him on the air. I'm not as bothered by Palmer as some of the other guys but I agree with everyone on Holtz, whose act wore thin around the time Ron Powlus graduated from Notre Dame. Again, Holtz is an example of Bristol management having a tin ear with a broadcaster whose name far exceeds his value. Same with James.
3. If you could change anything about ESPN's college football coverage, what would you change and why?
Mandel: It's far too late to stop, but ideally there'd be more separation of church and state between the programming and journalism sides. The Bruce Feldman incident and the Longhorn Network have shown that horse has left the stable for good.
Staples: Lately, it seems as if ESPN has tried to set the agenda for college coverage. This is a bad idea. The big story is what it is, and people will seek coverage of it even if it happens to be SEC coaches "Car Wash" day. There will be days when I turn on College Football Live and I wonder if I even cover the same sport. The fact that ESPN is in bed financially with all the conferences shouldn't affect its journalism choices. Really, ESPN is so massive that the business relationships don't have to affect journalism choices. At this point, the conferences need ESPN more than it needs the conferences. So it shouldn't kowtow.
Schroeder: See my answer to No. 2, and the weekly workout feature. But I'd also like to see more Rece Davis and less Dr. Lou. Rece Davis is really good. He's a big reason why, aside from the actual games, College Football Final is my favorite TV on fall Saturdays (although to be fair, I don't see as much of College GameDay as I'd like; out here in the Pacific time zone, the pre-dawn start interferes with my sleeping habits). With Holtz, it's not so much that I want less of the former coach, but less of the caricature he plays. Or maybe it's not a caricature? His interplay with Mark May often feels really forced.
On the subject of GameDay, I wish we could rewind a few years. I'm really glad Lee Corso has recovered so well from the stroke. The GameDay guys -- talent, producers, everyone -- have done a great job helping him. Against the odds, his weekly headgear choice turned into and remains must-see TV -- it's cheesy silliness, but it's somehow so right. If this is possible for a segment on a preview show, it has become iconic. I just wish we could have the old Lee back (wait, I guess I mean the younger Lee; ah, you know what I mean). When Corso finally retires, the show is going to take a huge hit.
Deitsch: This won't happen but I'd like to see the hiring ethos change from former college coaches to information gathers. There's value in hiring ex-coaches but not if they provide vanilla commentary as they bide time for their next job. The Holtz-May shtick is bad television and the truth is the segments make May, who is a bright guy, look silly and less credible. If you want me to believe that Jenn Brown was the best candidate in America for such a high-profile gig, I'm going to have to see something resembling journalistic instincts soon.
8. Do you trust Craig James when it comes to reporting on the Big 12?
Mandel: I wouldn't trust Craig James to report on sixth-grade volleyball. It's been established, via documented emails, that he not only encouraged a sitting Big 12 football coach's dismissal but hired a PR firm to intentionally manipulate coverage. And yet he's still walking into Big 12 coaches' offices every week to break down tape. Now he's running partisan political advocacy ads, which you would think would be a no-no for a television analyst (I seem to recall Lou Holtz getting in trouble simply for endorsing a candidate). How he's still on television (and in prominent time slots at that) is one of the great mysteries of modern civilization.
Staples: No. But I don't trust him when it comes to reporting on anything.
Schroeder: Does he report? I'm not sure how ESPN justified keeping him around. But he's still around. And now that Leach is no longer at Texas Tech, the immediate storm has passed. It would be unthinkable to have James in the booth for one of Leach's games (when Leach inevitably returns to coaching). Which is why it will probably happen. Until then, did you know James was a big-time athlete and he can still toss around big tires?
Deitsch: (Laughs).
10. Give us your three TV games of the year and why.
Mandel: You never know before the season what will be the big games at the end, but right now I'd say:
1. LSU vs. Oregon at Cowboys Stadium (Sept. 3, ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET)
2. Oklahoma at Florida State (Sept. 17, ABC, TBD)
3. Nebraska at Wisconsin (Oct. 1, ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET)
Staples:
1. Oregon vs. LSU at Cowboys Stadium (Sept. 3, ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET): Because SEC people love to say the Pac-12 is soft, and everybody else loves to see an SEC team get challenged. Why ESPN scheduled this game against Georgia-Boise State -- another intriguing bragging rights game -- remains baffling.
2. Oklahoma at Florida State (Sept. 17, ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET): The game atmosphere in Tallahassee has gotten a lot better as the Seminoles have improved. On the evening of Sept. 17, the heat index should still be in the mid-90s when the game kicks off. That should make for some fascinating crowd shots.
3. Nebraska at Wisconsin (Oct. 1, ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET): It's Nebraska's first Big Ten game. It's at night at Camp Randall Stadium. Everything will be bathed in red.
Schroeder:
1. Oregon vs. LSU at Cowboys Stadium (Sept. 3, ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET): When was the last time we a matchup of top five teams in a season opener? But wait, it gets better: at a neutral site. The winner is in prime position for a run at the BCS championship game. The loser isn't out of it. Off-field distractions aside, it's the kind of nonconference matchup we don't see nearly often enough. Could there be a better kickoff?
2. Nebraska at Wisconsin (Oct. 1, ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET): I love the Huskers' move to the Big Ten, for their sake and the Big Ten's. Even as I hate to see them leave behind all their old rivalries, they're a great fit. And this isn't just Nebraska's first Big Ten game, it's also a gauge of whether the league's hierarchy has been immediately altered by the expansion.
3. Oklahoma at Oklahoma State (Dec. 3, ABC, TBD): The Sooners have won eight straight in the series, but in Stillwater, it's actually Bedlam. See last year, when the fourth quarter might have provided the best action of the season -- high-stakes riveting stuff. With the Big 12's reduction to 10 members and the resulting scheduling tweaks, the Cowboys somehow get a shot at the Sooners at home for the second straight year. It's probably the game of the year in the Big 12 -- and potentially an elimination matchup in the national title race.
Deitsch:
1. Nebraska at Wisconsin (Oct. 1, ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET): Nebraska's first Big Ten game comes at SI's No. 2 top Game Day experience in college football. Camp Randall and its House of Pain will be rocking.
2. Texas A&M at Oklahoma (Nov. 5, ABC, TBD): I love the Aggies this season and I smell an epic here that will be the game of the year in the Big 12.
3. Alabama at Auburn (Nov. 26, CBS, TBD): Sure, Auburn isn't expected to contend for a national title but given the drama of last year's game (no team had ever beaten Alabama after trailing by 24 points) and the Harvey Updyke case, the Iron Bowl is going to be compelling television for all.