Thoughts about media types who don't have their own threads

dcmissle

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Phill Simms either is concussed, in the company of Chandler Jones, or Baghdad effin Bob. His comments re Peyton Manning and Big Ben were preposterous.

It was so bad that Nantz circled back to him by the end of the game to ask how Peyton did so Simms could back pedal a bit.
 

GeorgeCostanza

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At least he didn't suggest kicking a field goal on 3rd down in the first half like Aikman, though this is damning with faint praise. Gannon is far and away becoming my favorite former QB, and least concussed, analyst
 

nattysez

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I really can't get over how bad The Big Lead has become. TBL was a site I would check at least a couple of times a day. They have a daily "morning news roundup" a la Bruce Allen/BSG and usually were kind of a Deadspin-lite in terms of aggregating/commenting on the stories of the day. But they sold themselves to USA Today last year and the site is a mess. The layout is a disaster, the amount of advertising is overwhelming, and the quality of the writing has dropped. Too bad.
 

E5 Yaz

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Evan Drellich returns to the New England sports scene, coming from Houston replacing Scott Lauber at the Herald
 

Harry Hooper

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Tidbit from Phil Mushnick:

Distaste for Yanks’ TV, radio is eternal
The Postgame Report: Even the deceased can be a tough audience.

Sunday’s Asbury Park Press carried an obituary for Matthew Bartosh, a finance company executive from Manasquan, N.J., who died at 63. From the obit:

“Matt was an avid athlete, participating in many different sports. … He was a huge fan of the NY Yankees, but not their broadcast team.”
 

NDame616

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I do a lot of driving on weekends so I listen to TSH most then. I used to like Johnson and Flynn for what is was...good listening about a variety of topics, some easy listening, etc.

But many, everytime I listen now it's Flynn just talking....and talking...and talking (and not just about football) but he'll go on like 4 minutes on nothing and after he's done you think "wait.....what?"

It was much better when they were talking about old movies, craft beers and how much they hate doing "dad stuff"
 

Kliq

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Some of you have probably already seen this but Craig Sager gave a terrific speech at the ESPY's last night:
 

RedOctober3829

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deep inside Guido territory
I do a lot of driving on weekends so I listen to TSH most then. I used to like Johnson and Flynn for what is was...good listening about a variety of topics, some easy listening, etc.

But many, everytime I listen now it's Flynn just talking....and talking...and talking (and not just about football) but he'll go on like 4 minutes on nothing and after he's done you think "wait.....what?"

It was much better when they were talking about old movies, craft beers and how much they hate doing "dad stuff"
The shows before that are better. Adam Kaufman with Celtics at 7 and then Murray and Gasper are nice listens on a Saturday morning.
 

Buck Showalter

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Just watched the Sager speech again.....after seeing it live the other night.

It's quite possibly one of the best speeches - on any topic - I've ever seen in my life.

Not to highjack.....

But a good friend of mine - who has played Santa Claus for my kids for years - who we have spent Christmas Eve with told me on December 27th that he had pancreatic cancer and doctors told him he had six months to live.

On June 29th, I received a text from my wife (while on an international business trip) that he had passed after a tough battle.

That's six months and two days from the day he told me the bad news.

Between his fight.....his death.....and now Sager's speech.....(not to mention an international business trip that makes me thank God that I live in this country) --- I have a cleansed outlook on the days and hours that we enjoy.

That's a long-winded way of saying....thanks for reposting the Sager speech.
 

Vandalman

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Apr 23, 2010
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Good news for Christopher Price @ weei.com:


Alec Shane ‏@alecdshane
Absolutely thrilled to announce that I have signed @WEEI's own @cpriceNFL and can't wait to get his many book ideas out into the world!



Alec Shane is an agent at Writers House, one of the more prestigious agencies in the country. I've been rejected by him and his fellow WH-ers many times.
 

nattysez

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I don't think this merits its own thread in the Omar section, so I'll drop it here. I read Drew Magary's new novel, "The Hike," over the weekend. I really enjoyed "The Postmortal," Magary's first novel, and generally like Magary's writing, so I was looking forward to The Hike. It's terrible. It is essentially a highly condensed version of King's Dark Tower series by a far, far, far inferior writer.
 

Kliq

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I just want to point out that I could listen to Pablo Torre talk about anything; maybe the best young talent at the WWL.
 

Kliq

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I was thinking about starting a new thread on Chris Collinsworth, but I'll post it here instead.

What has happened to this guy? When he replaced Madden I thought he was the best color guy in the business, but now he is almost unbearable. A lot of the talk has been as his obsession with hyperbolic expression; every play of consequence is labeled as someone outstanding play of athletic achievement, and once you start noticing he does that; it ticks you off for the rest of the game as Collinsworth continues to fawn over things like 5 yard out routes and proper punt coverage. This reached a high point last night when he declared Sam Bradford's competent QB play as "one of the most impressive things I have ever seen on a football field."

Was he always this bad, or is this a new trend? I suppose fatigue could be setting in, I certainly listen to him more than any other football color guy and maybe his shtick is just getting old. He fell out of my good graces when he decided the game winning drive of SB 49 was a good time to bring up Deflategate "look me in the eyes Tom" and all that bullshit.
 

edmunddantes

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Have you ever gone back and watched a Madden or McCarver broadcast when they first started out, and then compared it to what they became later in their careers.

It was startling to me. By the time I came of age with sports McCarver and Madden were well into their self-parody stages, but man those early years were pretty impressive. However, I just might be grading that on a scale compared to what I knew them as.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Have you ever gone back and watched a Madden or McCarver broadcast when they first started out, and then compared it to what they became later in their careers.

It was startling to me. By the time I came of age with sports McCarver and Madden were well into their self-parody stages, but man those early years were pretty impressive. However, I just might be grading that on a scale compared to what I knew them as.
The trouble is none of the networks have the courage to give these guys the boot before they start going downhill. Color analysts should have a finite shelf-life. Give them 2-3 years minimum on the C or D team to get their legs under them, elevate deserving candidates to the top spot for 5-6 years at most, then move on to the next guy.

Whether it's former players or former coaches, the further they get from their days on the field (or sidelines), the worse they get in terms of their analysis.
 

H78

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Jul 22, 2009
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Good Morning Football on NFLN is a good show. I really like the entirety of who they roll out there, they're a good mix of sarcastic, knowledgable, new, and entertaining.
 

ElUno20

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Jul 19, 2005
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During the playoff games on FS1 they run spots for their daytime shows, they have two shows with the following people debating sports topics: Shannon Sharpe, Skip Bayless, Colin, and Whitlock.

That is just awful. I can't believe people sit and watch those guys blow everything out of proportion and say a bunch of (crazy car salesman voice) wild and crazy things. Brutal.
 

Leskanic's Thread

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During the postgame coverage of game 7, Frank Thomas takes a fun jab at the Hit King while talking about Dexter Fowler:


"He bet on himself -- no pun intended, Pete..."
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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Pete Rose not saying, "Frank, that was a Big Hurt, right there." and then mugging for the camera was a missed opportunity for the Hit King.

BTW, the entire Fox production was excellent this postseason. From Buck and Smoltz to the ARod, Rose, Thomas and the other dude, I thought that they all did a pretty great job. Especially Smoltz, he was amazing. The one thing that I enjoyed about Buck and Smoltz was that they didn't have to talk during every second of every game. I hope someone in the NESN front office was watching and taking notes.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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Agreed, Smoltz was very, very good. Even Arod was good on the panel.
Here's something that I never thought that I'd say, but I enjoyed ARod and everything that he brought to the table. His takes were solid and he didn't seem to give a shit about hurting people's feelings (at least from what I saw).
 

mauf

Anderson Cooper × Mr. Rogers
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Pete Rose not saying, "Frank, that was a Big Hurt, right there." and then mugging for the camera was a missed opportunity for the Hit King.

BTW, the entire Fox production was excellent this postseason. From Buck and Smoltz to the ARod, Rose, Thomas and the other dude, I thought that they all did a pretty great job. Especially Smoltz, he was amazing. The one thing that I enjoyed about Buck and Smoltz was that they didn't have to talk during every second of every game. I hope someone in the NESN front office was watching and taking notes.
I've always thought Joe Buck was underrated; not that he's great, but he's solidly average, which is better than his rep. And after a full year of DOB, I think we all realize how underappreciated "solidly average" can be.

An elite PBP guy like Don Orsillo might be able to salvage a decent broadcast paired with a clown like end-stage Tim McCarver. Joe Buck can't do that. But Buck has demonstrated that he'll help a good color commentator shine -- he's been doing it on football for years with Troy Aikman, and now he's doing it with John Smoltz too.
 

allstonite

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Not sure where to put this but Curt Menefee was on the Pardon My Take podcast and he wrote a book about people on the losing end of some of the most famous games (Ehlo, Schiraldi, etc.).

He said he interviewed Rodney Harrison about the Game That Shall Not Be Mentioned. Paraphrasing but he said on the Burress TD Harrison was in charge of the D and wanted to call off the blitz to get Hobbs help. But Seau, who had taken Rodney under his wing as a rookie in San Diego, was the one that was supposed to blitz and wanted to keep it on. Harrison kept the blitz on because it was Junior and he had never won a Super Bowl before that.

I had never heard that story before and it's fascinating. He said if anyone else had wanted to keep the blitz he wouldn't have listened but he kept it on for Seau because of their history.
 

TFP

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Not sure where to put this but Curt Menefee was on the Pardon My Take podcast and he wrote a book about people on the losing end of some of the most famous games (Ehlo, Schiraldi, etc.).

He said he interviewed Rodney Harrison about the Game That Shall Not Be Mentioned. Paraphrasing but he said on the Burress TD Harrison was in charge of the D and wanted to call off the blitz to get Hobbs help. But Seau, who had taken Rodney under his wing as a rookie in San Diego, was the one that was supposed to blitz and wanted to keep it on. Harrison kept the blitz on because it was Junior and he had never won a Super Bowl before that.

I had never heard that story before and it's fascinating. He said if anyone else had wanted to keep the blitz he wouldn't have listened but he kept it on for Seau because of their history.
I heard that last night as well, was fascinated by it. Menefee was also an interesting guest, he's not someone I normally think about but I definitely plan to pick up his book after hearing that interview.
 

Ralphwiggum

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Not sure where to put this but Curt Menefee was on the Pardon My Take podcast and he wrote a book about people on the losing end of some of the most famous games (Ehlo, Schiraldi, etc.).

He said he interviewed Rodney Harrison about the Game That Shall Not Be Mentioned. Paraphrasing but he said on the Burress TD Harrison was in charge of the D and wanted to call off the blitz to get Hobbs help. But Seau, who had taken Rodney under his wing as a rookie in San Diego, was the one that was supposed to blitz and wanted to keep it on. Harrison kept the blitz on because it was Junior and he had never won a Super Bowl before that.

I had never heard that story before and it's fascinating. He said if anyone else had wanted to keep the blitz he wouldn't have listened but he kept it on for Seau because of their history.
Rodney told the same story in his episode of "A Football Life" on NFL Network. Must watch if you are a Rodney/Patriots fan.
 

ifmanis5

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Sep 29, 2007
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I'm not asking Greg Gumbel to wave pom poms or act like the Pats are his home town team. That's not his job nor is it his place to do that (although that *never* stopped Nantz with Peyton and a few other obvious examples). But you're calling a big moment in NFL history, at least raise your voice to match the occasion. Total wet blanket approach made it sound like sour grapes. Terrible call to close out the game. Or, if you're really that indifferent about the whole thing then just retire already and let someone who gives a crap on the mic. That was horrible.
 

E5 Yaz

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Not sure where to put this but Curt Menefee was on the Pardon My Take podcast and he wrote a book about people on the losing end of some of the most famous games (Ehlo, Schiraldi, etc.).

He said he interviewed Rodney Harrison about the Game That Shall Not Be Mentioned. Paraphrasing but he said on the Burress TD Harrison was in charge of the D and wanted to call off the blitz to get Hobbs help. But Seau, who had taken Rodney under his wing as a rookie in San Diego, was the one that was supposed to blitz and wanted to keep it on. Harrison kept the blitz on because it was Junior and he had never won a Super Bowl before that.

I had never heard that story before and it's fascinating. He said if anyone else had wanted to keep the blitz he wouldn't have listened but he kept it on for Seau because of their history.
Always have a fall guy ... especially if he's dead
 

NDame616

will bailey
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Jul 31, 2006
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While we all know Jones is awful, having Johnston in there with him makes it much better radio. I've only listened to him a little since the switch, but Johnston's voice to counter Jones' weird cadence is much better.

EDIT: Meant Jones, not Keefe
 
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Omar's Wacky Neighbor

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Leaving in a bit to the studio :)

NortheasternPJ

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WhIle we all know Keefe is awful, having Johnston in there with him makes it much better radio. I've only listened to him a little since the switch, but Johnston's voice to counter Keefe's weird cadence is much better.
You mean Adam Jones?
 

runnels3

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Once again Ned Martin loses out on the HOF Frick award, though he had some stiff competition this time around (Ken Harrelson notwithstanding! can you believe he was a finalist??). I have no qualms about the winner this year, Bill King. But when you look at some of the past winners -- Garagiola, Jimmy Dudley, Bob Murphy, Jerry Coleman, Tim McCarver -- one wonders whether Ned will ever make it in. Due to restructuring of the voting process he won't be eligible for another three years. All we fans of his can do for now is just say it...Mercy!
 

Hildy

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Chris Gasper namechecks BBtL--I was amused.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/patriots/2016/12/13/gasper/JAsAbrpy0iRLwJYCa57mYI/story.html

Pertinent quote:
"That’s what this game was about for the Patriots, finding a way to win when confronted with a quarterback with a Super Bowl ring and a team that possessed both the skill and mental toughness not to wilt under the weight of the Patriots’ aura or be blinded by the gleam coming off the Patriots’ four Lombardi Trophies."
 

jacklamabe65

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Once again Ned Martin loses out on the HOF Frick award, though he had some stiff competition this time around (Ken Harrelson notwithstanding! can you believe he was a finalist??). I have no qualms about the winner this year, Bill King. But when you look at some of the past winners -- Garagiola, Jimmy Dudley, Bob Murphy, Jerry Coleman, Tim McCarver -- one wonders whether Ned will ever make it in. Due to restructuring of the voting process he won't be eligible for another three years. All we fans of his can do for now is just say it...Mercy!
This is an absolute travesty. I have constantly contacted people such as Peter Gammons and Gordon Edes to keep the ball going in the air for Ned - but to no avail. In my mind, he's the second best baseball announcer in history - just behind ol' Vin - and yet, he's never gotten the Hall of Fame induction he so richly deserves. To add to the injustice, Ned's son, Rollie, an old friend from high school, died much too young of cancer a year-and-a-half ago. His surviving daughter, Caroline, lives on the Cape and would be thrilled to see her father finally recognized. What the fuck? I can't think of any reason why he's never been honored. Chad Finn - can you weigh in on this?
 

Harry Hooper

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Maybe some of it is Ned didn't do radio work on a mega-watt station that reached big swaths of the country (think Detroit or St. Louis).
 

NortheasternPJ

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Bert Breer and Gary Meyers of the NYDN in an epic Twitter fight. Starts here:


And it keeps going and going.