FX's Broadcast and Gus Johnson / Charles Davis

[Lott's Bandana]

Of course, I came home last night and watched the game again, always wanting to see the perspective of the TV viewer.

- I thought Fox's quality was excellent. The still photographs montage they showed at the beginning of the 2nd half was breathtaking in HD.

- Although the coach on the sideline was a bit rah rah, I did enjoy the way he showed respect to the participating coaches and wasn't just a bimbette or dweeb in a flashy sportcoat.

- The overhead camera was wobbly, but did show an outstanding angle on one of Whaley's TD runs.

- Their camera angle showing Whaley's elbow down at the 1/2 yd line, and the super slo-mo repeating it, was technological superb-ness.

- Gus and Charles called a good game and will make a great team. LOVED their rundown of OU's great running backs over history. I think Charles Davis is one of the best students of sports history in any booth.

Finally, and what I think was the best thing about their coverage last night: Normally FSW's Game of the Week seemed very regional. Last night's production had the feel of a national telecast, and this was nice to see.


I just realized I didn't write anything really negative...I suppose that's a good thing.


What did you all think?

[BudSooner]

Enjoyed them both, they are an upgrade(to me at least)over Kirk/Brent and whoever ABC trots out to call games on THAT network, maybe it's just me but Mustyoldhamburger/Herbstreit just wear thin on me.

[Lott's Bandana]

Enjoyed them both, they are an upgrade(to me at least)over Kirk/Brent and whoever ABC trots out to call games on THAT network, maybe it's just me but Mustyoldhamburger/Herbstreit just wear thin on me.

Since you brought that up, it was refreshing to hear a broadcast without having to listen to ESPN announcers talking up how great other teams are...and how great other team's players are, and FX didn't feel compelled to talk about whorn all night either.

ESPN's talking heads are so caught up in how important they think their opinions are that they roam away from the game they are calling continuously.

[SoonerForever]

Sorry, but the tractor pull/destruction derby revved up voices of the announcers left me wanting to mute...couldn't get good reception of AM radio broadcast down here in Houston...

[BigTip]

Very acceptable. No complaints. Agree that it was "national level" quality. Loved the running back homage. Almost gave me goosebumps. Also liked the "I'll mention Whaley in my Heisman prospects" statement.

[Soonermagik]

I thought they did a great job. I dvr'd the game since I was there and I really enjoyed Gus Johnson!

[MichiganSooner]

I was very pleased with the broadcast. Before the game, they showed the Pride on the field for pregame; talked respectfully about both teams, coaches, and the players. It seemed more professional than the Fox Southwest broadcasts. Definitely better than listening to Herbstreit and Musberger going on and on about whatever team or Heisman candidate they are promoting.

[SanJoaquinSooner]

They weren't a distraction like so many announcers. But the camera men showed hardly any ***** shots in the crowd, between plays.

[virginiasooner]

I'm thankful that Mr. Immovable Forehead, Jim Knox, was stuck up in Columbia, Missouri, and not on the sidelines.

[Flagstaffsooner]

It was good. To bad we will be stuck with Herbie and Mushmouth in two weeks.

[badger]

Only complaint was that they sometimes didn't show the bottom of the field (the near-side, I guess). Argh.

[hawaii 5-0]

Overall I thought they did a good job.

One time, talking about JC Watt's kid, saying he wanted to honor his father with the same jersey number........Watts wore #1. Junior wore 22. Oops.

Whenever there was a official review of a play there was a guy on the left side of the screen who went over the official rule and what the correct call should be. He nailed it every time.

I'm so tired of Brent Mushberger sensationalizing every time out called, or every measurement, or every time a coach speaks into his headset. It wears so thin.

I'd give FX an 'A'.

5-0

[AlboSooner]

Much better than FSN

[SoonerMom2]

I DVR'd the game to watch and now when there is no football at night, I will watch the game after seeing these comments. I am to the stage anyone announcers but ESPN and the alphbet network affiliated with them is going to be 100 times better. Figure the cameras will get better the more experience they have. Cannot stand ESPN and their hype all during the game.

[Flagstaffsooner]

Whenever there was a official review of a play there was a guy on the left side of the screen who went over the official rule and what the correct call should be. He nailed it every time.

I'm so tired of Brent Mushberger sensationalizing every time out called, or every measurement, or every time a coach speaks into his headset. It wears so thin.

I'd give FX an 'A'.

5-0xactly mushmouth and tosu herbie ruin the game.

[colleyvillesooner]

Wish the overhead cam and sideline cams would have been in HD. VERY noticeable when they would switch from one of those to one of the main cams.

[oudivesherpa]

I missed Bob Barry.

[bluedogok]

Fox moving what would normally be a regional broadcast game on FSN to their national FX channel is part of their plan to raise their profile of college football broadcasts against ESPN. I think they are planning on having a game on FX every week. Hopefully they will continue and become a true competitor to the monster that ESPN has become.

[GottaHavePride]

Yeah, I thought the "rules expert" explaining plays under review was a good touch. No overwrought hype, just a really clear explanation of the rule in question and which way the call is likely to go given the video evidence on screen.

[hawaii 5-0]

I missed Bob Barry.


Gimme a break. Puleeze. I still remember the time he jumped ship to go broadcast Aggie games. I never forgave him for being a traitor to Sooner Nation.

Plus.......he was plain awful in the booth. It really did OU broadcasting a disservice.

Of course, that's my opinion.
5-0

[sheepdogs]

The picture quality on their standard definition signal was very good, which is much unlike most others.

[B1rd]

It did take them a while to get the "right" coach when showing Blankenship.

[Midtowner]

My only complaint is that they still have not learned that our offense goes uptempo early on and they start putting up infographics which result in the viewers missing plays.

[stoopified]

Since you brought that up, it was refreshing to hear a broadcast without having to listen to ESPN announcers talking up how great other teams are...and how great other team's players are, and FX didn't feel compelled to talk about whorn all night either.

ESPN's talking heads are so caught up in how important they think their opinions are that they roam away from the game they are calling continuously.True dat

[EatLeadCommie]

I thought the announcers were so-so. The quality of the broadcast definitely had more of a national feel to it. It was like watching an NFL game.

They've got to get better at showing the starting lineups in a way that doesn't make us miss two plays in the game. The big Chick Fil A cow coming up on my screen was typical over-the-top FOX.

I thought it was dorky at first, but I kind of like how they went to the replay "expert" back in the studio. He was particularly helpful in explaining the fumble when the play is blown dead, as that was something I didn't know.

[bluedogok]

The "rules expert" was Mike Pereira, the former NFL head of officials, he has done the same thing on the Fox NFL broadcasts the past few seasons. He is a nice addition to those broadcasts.

[hawaii 5-0]

Early Saturday morning I was watching Gameday on ESPN. There had already been games on Thurs and the TCU/Baylor game on Friday.

Right as the broadcast was ending and ESPN was about to switch to the Ohio State game, I heard Herbstreit say, "..and now the college football season REALLY begins."

It took an hour to get the bile back down.

5-0

[ouwasp]

I thought they were fine; I still watched a lot of the game on mute though. But that's just me... I'm not a know-it-all, but then again I don't need these guys telling me what's happening either. Just one more thing to get anxious about during a Sooner game. Which is another thing I don't need!

Wish the graphics were larger for the down/distance. The score was fouled up SEVERAL times. Also wish there was a visual in place to show how many timeouts were left. I imagine they'll work on it and do better.

[King Crimson]

4 out 5 times the topic on ESPN is ESPN. that's how they do.

[Wishboned]

I thought the announcers were decent.

For some reason I thought there weren't as many different camera angles as on another network's broadcast.

And Marcus Allen is horrible as an in studio talent.

[VA Sooner]

Enjoyed the FX broadcast.

More so because it actually was broadcast here on the East coast for us lost Sooners a long distance from the promised land.

[GottaHavePride]

I thought the announcers were decent.

For some reason I thought there weren't as many different camera angles as on another network's broadcast.

And Marcus Allen is horrible as an in studio talent.

Absolutely right. They couldn't even do anything on replay for that one fumble recovery that they took forever to rule on, because they only had two angles on the ball there.

That's just down to budget, though. An FX broadcast of OU/TULSA isn't going to have as many cameras in-stadium as something like Oregon / LSU at JerryWorld.

[soonerboomer93]

Fox moving what would normally be a regional broadcast game on FSN to their national FX channel is part of their plan to raise their profile of college football broadcasts against ESPN. I think they are planning on having a game on FX every week. Hopefully they will continue and become a true competitor to the monster that ESPN has become.

There's one scheduled next week too. I made a comment about the difference in the game thread. It seems like they're definitely trying to bring these broadcasts to represent Fox Sports(since they use the updated score graphics and using the Fox theme music) and not foxsportnet.

[soonerboomer93]

I thought the announcers were so-so. The quality of the broadcast definitely had more of a national feel to it. It was like watching an NFL game.

They've got to get better at showing the starting lineups in a way that doesn't make us miss two plays in the game. The big Chick Fil A cow coming up on my screen was typical over-the-top FOX.

I thought it was dorky at first, but I kind of like how they went to the replay "expert" back in the studio. He was particularly helpful in explaining the fumble when the play is blown dead, as that was something I didn't know.

I'd give them a little leeway on at least OU's offensive starters. They don't exactly get a lot of time considering how fast our no huddle runs.

[Lott's Bandana]

There's one scheduled next week too. I made a comment about the difference in the game thread. It seems like they're definitely trying to bring these broadcasts to represent Fox Sports(since they use the updated score graphics and using the Fox theme music) and not foxsportnet.

Nevada v. Oregon

Should be fun to watch as both teams try to emulate Sooners offensive playcalling speed.

[soonerboomer93]

Yeah, and as I recall it's an afternoon game too, which is kind of suprising. You'd think they'd try to do only night games

[soonerpat]

I thought the announcers were good.

I did not like the graphics because they didn't show the down and distance consistently or the play clock (which I enjoy watching with OU's offense to see how fast we're getting the plays off).

The overhead cam was low definition it seemed like, so I didn't like that.

You could tell the graphics person and score display operator was a little rusty (or new?). Several times they double clicked the "add 6" button, and at least once they kept bringing up all kinds of odd frames during a replay.

In spite of this they did a good job and I hope they can do well through the rest of the year. ESPN needs some competition.

[bluedogok]

I thought they were fine; I still watched a lot of the game on mute though. But that's just me... I'm not a know-it-all, but then again I don't need these guys telling me what's happening either. Just one more thing to get anxious about during a Sooner game. Which is another thing I don't need!

Wish the graphics were larger for the down/distance. The score was fouled up SEVERAL times. Also wish there was a visual in place to show how many timeouts were left. I imagine they'll work on it and do better.
The time out indicators are on the far outside of the score/time graphic. Three white or yellow marks (they looked like a pale yellow on the OU game) on the outside curve indicate three timeouts remaining and they countdown from there. They used one similar to the NFL broadcast shown here but without the down/distance and play clock. You can see the graphic on HolaKyle's highlights thread (http://www.soonerfans.com/forums/showthread.php?158445-Tulsa-Highlights!!!&p=3332700#post3332700)

http://junction-creative.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/GameScreen.jpg

[GrapevineSooner]

I thought Gus Johnson was quite mellow last night, when you consider he made his mark for his dramatic calls during the NCAA Basketball Tournament on CBS.

Not that that's necessarily a bad thing. It shows that he doesn't try to sensationalize the way other broadcasters on other networks can. He lets the action come to him.

And then he delivers.

And I didn't have any issues with Charles Davis, either.

Granted, this was after I suffered through Dick Stockton and Tim McCarver calling the Rangers-Red Sox game. Anything compared those two bozos would have been palatable.

[JiminyChristmas]

Overall I thought they did a good job.

One time, talking about JC Watt's kid, saying he wanted to honor his father with the same jersey number........Watts wore #1. Junior wore 22. Oops.

Whenever there was a official review of a play there was a guy on the left side of the screen who went over the official rule and what the correct call should be. He nailed it every time.

I'm so tired of Brent Mushberger sensationalizing every time out called, or every measurement, or every time a coach speaks into his headset. It wears so thin.

I'd give FX an 'A'.

5-0

I really liked the FX crew and broadcast. Definitely had a national feel.

By the way, when they were talking about JC Watts, Tony Jefferson had just made a tackle on Trey Watts I believe, and they were referring to Tony's # as the one that JC wore. They got it right.

[oudivesherpa]

[QUOTE=hawaii 5-0;3332597]Gimme a break. Puleeze. I still remember the time he jumped ship to go broadcast Aggie games. I never forgave him for being a traitor to Sooner Nation.

Plus.......he was plain awful in the booth. It really did OU broadcasting a disservice.

of course, that's my opinion.



Sorry I didn't put out the Sarcasm Alert!

[UTgradOUfan]

It was nice they made mention of our incredible RB tradition. They even included Elvis Peacock, Buster Rhymes and Lydell Carr.
But they did forget to mention Steve Owens, only a Heisman winner.

[LRoss]

I really like Gus Johnson, his enthusiasm always seems genuine to me, and as noted he didn't go over the top last night when there was really nothing over the top going on. I still remember how shocked I was when I learned he was black. . . .

I imagine a lot of us watched the Baylor/TCU game -- did anybody else want to throat-punch whoever the guy was who kept screaming "RG3!!!" None of that last night -- basically they stayed out of the way of the game. Good enough.

[Lott's Bandana]

It was nice they made mention of our incredible RB tradition. They even included Elvis Peacock, Buster Rhymes and Lydell Carr.
But they did forget to mention Steve Owens, only a Heisman winner.

Charles Davis did say Steve Owens, it was the last name he said as the next play started.

[LASooner]

I heard Herbstreit say, "..and now the college football season REALLY begins."


It was in reference to Corso putting the head on.

[Sooner_Tuf]

I thought it was a refreshing change in that either they really understand fans want to watch the game and not them or they just don't have all the props in place yet. I wish the cameras stayed out wider. I want to see more of the field. They miss a lot of the game trying to zoom in on just a few players.

I did enjoy them a great deal more than any ESPN broadcast I have seen for a number of years. Musberger seems so insincere that it sounds like he's just talking to talk. Lots of noise not much substance. Herbie is not as bad but he should do games for the conferences he's a homer of. By the end of the game you get the feeling he doesn't really want to be there and you really don't want him to be either.

As mentioned the replay guy is cool as all get out. He knows what he is talking about. Explaining the rules accurately helps everyone enjoy the game even more.

I actually will miss BBS. BBS didn't jump ship. What happened has been posted so many times before I don't feel the need to type it out.

[Sooners78]

I was very pleased with the broadcast. Before the game, they showed the Pride on the field for pregame; talked respectfully about both teams, coaches, and the players. It seemed more professional than the Fox Southwest broadcasts. Definitely better than listening to Herbstreit and Musberger going on and on about whatever team or Heisman candidate they are promoting.

Agree with this. Herbie definitely thinks a lot of himself and his opinion.

[Breadburner]

I thought they did a good job as well.....

[SoonerofAlabama]

I liked it a lot. Cameras were fine, and I like Gus Johnson. He is a good announcer.

[hawaii 5-0]

It was in reference to Corso putting the head on.


I saw it in reference to his alma mater taking the field. He's always been a Buckeye homer.

5-0

[NorthernIowaSooner]

I saw it in reference to his alma mater taking the field. He's always been a Buckeye homer.

5-0

That's not entirely accurate. I'm pretty sure he moved to Tennessee within the past year or two due to reactions in Columbus to the things he has said or when he picks against tOSU. I think he tells it like it is with Ohio State but roots for them, and why wouldn't he? Remember when the Boz was doing TBS games in like '03 or somewhere around there? He was a huge homer for OU, bet you didn't care then, or you weren't watching.

[SoonerofAlabama]

It was nice they made mention of our incredible RB tradition. They even included Elvis Peacock, Buster Rhymes and Lydell Carr.
But they did forget to mention Steve Owens, only a Heisman winner.

Just rewatched it. They did mention Steve Owens.

[hawaii 5-0]

That's not entirely accurate. I'm pretty sure he moved to Tennessee within the past year or two due to reactions in Columbus to the things he has said or when he picks against tOSU. I think he tells it like it is with Ohio State but roots for them, and why wouldn't he? Remember when the Boz was doing TBS games in like '03 or somewhere around there? He was a huge homer for OU, bet you didn't care then, or you weren't watching.


Gotta call it like I saw it. You're entitled to your onion. No I didn't see The Boz on TV Saturday rooting for the Sooners.

5-0

[Fraggle145]

Marcus Allen was ****ing awful. Everything else was fine or better than the other guys.

[bluedogok]

Marcus Allen was ****ing awful. Everything else was fine or better than the other guys.
I concur.....

[NorthernIowaSooner]

Marcus Allen was ****ing awful. Everything else was fine or better than the other guys.

During the pregame he seemed really nervous and couldn't get anything out right. I didn't watch the halftime show.

[Sooner J]

Did you Know... that Gus Johnson is the voice on the Madden game? I was wondering all last night where I heard that voice recently.

[C&CDean]

Better get used to it. FX has us for at least 2 more home games this year. I like it.