So last night I'm watching the 49ers-Bears pre-season game on FOX, with really no plans to watch any Olympics coverage. But thanks to a story and NBC's lack of reporting it in a timely fashion, I watched all 4 1/2 of primetime coverage last night, only to watch NBC fumble hard.
During the football game, FOX kept showing updated scores of the baseball games in-progress. At about 7PM Pacific time last night, the score flashed that the Mets had edged the Braves 5-4, to move 2 1/2 games past Philadelphia. So, I flipped over to ESPN, where Baseball Tonight was just starting and was actually showing the Mets highlights.
But at the bottom of the screen, on the ESPN crawl, something caught my attention. A report surfaced that the International Olympic Committee had asked the governing body of gymnastics to investigate further claims that surfaced on the internet in which the Chinese national team had used underage participants. This was apparently not the first inquiry about this, and I recall the NBC announcers talking about this during the competitions without stating that China was cheating.
So I started flipping around to first NBC, which was in local programming out here in Los Angeles, and then to the various news channels, seeking more info. There was none to be found.
I decided to lock onto NBC at 8PM Pacific, knowing that the primetime coverage was starting, expecting Bob Costas to lead the program with this breaking news. But to my disappointment, they didn't. In fact, it appeared as though we were given the exact same recorded coverage that NBC provided to the east coast some three hours earlier.
I stayed with NBC, waiting for them to announce this major news, but they didn't. By 10:30PM Pacific, which would have been 30 minutes on the east coast feed after the news broke on ESPN and was repeated in a crawl on CNN, still nothing from NBC. At 11PM, coverage of the men's beach volleyball followed for 75 minutes.
Finally, at 12:15AM Pacific time, two hours on the east coast feed after the news broke, and five hours in real time, Costas made brief mention of the investigation and the consequences therein.
So, where do we begin in assailing NBC on this? Assuming I'm correct and that NBC simply ran the programming on a 3-hour delay tape for the west coast audience, it is a black eye to NBC as a news organization for not providing this information in a timely fashion. After all, us sports fans have been led to believe in recent years that the Olympics are for "non-sports fans", which is why sports like gymnastics, track and field, and beach volleyball and swimming/diving get primetime coverage, while actual sports that regular sports fan enjoy such as basketball and baseball/softball and even to a lesser degree soccer don't even get a mention. Meaning, if a non-sports fan watches only the 4 hours of primetime coverage and nothing else, they are totally being denied any information about all of the other sports in play.
But what's worse here is that a major story concerning the integrity of one of those primary sports NBC has showcased in primetime was 'buried' until 4 1/2 hours into the telecast. It wasn't detailed when it happened just 2 hours into their broadcast to the east. What's worse, because they taped it as if it had to fit a pre-determined schedule, instead of coming on the air live at 8PM Pacific and detailing the story one hour after it broke, they made West Coast viewers wait 4 1/2 hours to get info about it.
I have a hard time believing that someone with the journalistic integrity of Bob Costas was provided the option to report the story in real time and decided against it. Which means one of two things, either: (1) NBC was too married to the taped version of their programming to break live with the info, or, (2) as many conspiracy theorists like myself might find more believable, they waited until 12:15 AM to run the story because they were asked to by the IOC and/or China, because of the embarrassment aspect of the story. After all, most people probably shut their TV's off after 11PM.
Overall, I think NBC has done well considering the time difference. The major problem I had with the coverage until now is that their two best play-by-play broadcasters, Al Michaels and Mike Emrick, were nowhere to be found. Maybe they didn't feel they had anything for Emrick to do, but having Michaels on your staff and not utilizing in the Olympics, for which he is best known for, it's incomprehensible. How do you not have a sport that needs covering for the man who asked if we believed in miracles?
Yet, this problem is not nearly as significant as NBC's unwillingness to break the gymnastics news within a reasonable timeframe. Of course, most damming for MSNBC is the fact that they have "24 hour news channel" in MSNBC that they didn't utilize at all. Throughout the period of the breaking story, the channel had a re-run of Keith Olbermann's show, a repeat of a Dateline "Catch a Predator" episode, and three episodes of them behind the scenes at a prison. Um, what? What the hell, MSNBC? Aren't you a cable NEWS channel? Oh, my bad, like many grocery stores back in the day, the "24-hour" label is a misnomer, in that they apparently mean 24 hours, but not all of then consecutive.
Very disappointed in the Peacock network.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
End of An Era
There have been many twists and turns in my life since becoming an adult 22 years ago. Changes in direction, changes in location, changes in attitude. Some changes were very minuscule in the big picture of life. Some changes were very significant, both that affect me personally and those from an observant standpoint.
Through this, however, there have been a few constants that I could always rely on. Family is certainly one of them. Many friends have changed, but some have remained constant throughout. And then there are the things that you could always count on to help entertain and inform, those outside sources that could, in the words of Jim Valvano, make you, "laugh, cry, and think" to make for a full day. Sadly, one of those constants is no more.
After 19 years together, the Mike and the Mad Dog radio program in New York has come to an end.
Maybe sports isn't your thing; that's okay. Maybe sports talk isn't your thing; I understand where you are coming from. But for someone who loves sports, and someone who has come to appreciate sports talk as a medium, today is a day of sadness for me. As someone who not only listened loyally for two decades two this show, but who also briefly engaged as a production intern at the station and got to know Mike Francesa and Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, it is a tough ending to a working partnership that not only revolutionized the sports talk genre, but has come to define the best of it.
I remember being a listener to the fledgling station in that first year of 1987 and early into 1988, and knowing that it was the ONLY sports radio station in the entire United States, most said the idea of 24-hour sports radio would never work. In 1989, the radio station decided to pair Mike, who had been working mid days with Ed Coleman, and Mad Dog, who had just moved over from WMCA, to takeover the afternoon drive time slot previously occupied by Pete Franklin, who was great in Cleveland but awful in New York.
It was always an uneasy partnership. Mike is perceived as a curmudgeon, a know-it-all who's opinion was the only one that matter, prickly and over-sensitive about his weight. Dog is perceived as a flighty and screaming know-it-all, who was always trying to out scream everyone that he was right, with a ridiculous laugh. They were often so steadfast in their opinions that they often fought, sometimes on-air.
Yet, through it all, it was a fabulous relationship. It was honest. It was funny. It was, at it best, as good as radio talk shows, not sports talk shows, but talk shows, could ever be.
And as a New York sports fan, we went through all the important moments with them. Whether it was the Giants Super Bowls, the Jets playoff run in 98, the Yankees playoff runs, the Rangers and Devils and Knicks title runs, the 9/11 tragedy, and so much more. Many of us like me experienced a lot of these moments with Mike and Chris right by our side.
They were the first to go broadcast shows during Super Bowl week - now hundreds of stations send their program hosts to "Radio Row" because of these guys. The concept of a two-man talk show, in sports and other topics, came about because of their success.
For anyone that grew up listening to them, and anyone who grew old listening to them, today is like the day the announced the break-up of the Beatles. I know this because every television station in New York City led last night with the news of their announcement.
Sports radio will never be the same for me. Sure Mike will continue in the drivetime slot for WFAN, and Chris will likely go onto other things. But it just won't be the same. It just won't be the same.
So, on behalf of the millions and millions of people that had the pleasure to listen to you guys, and to the smaller group of us that got to know you even a little bit, to quote the late great Bob Hope, "Thanks for the memories".
Through this, however, there have been a few constants that I could always rely on. Family is certainly one of them. Many friends have changed, but some have remained constant throughout. And then there are the things that you could always count on to help entertain and inform, those outside sources that could, in the words of Jim Valvano, make you, "laugh, cry, and think" to make for a full day. Sadly, one of those constants is no more.
After 19 years together, the Mike and the Mad Dog radio program in New York has come to an end.
Maybe sports isn't your thing; that's okay. Maybe sports talk isn't your thing; I understand where you are coming from. But for someone who loves sports, and someone who has come to appreciate sports talk as a medium, today is a day of sadness for me. As someone who not only listened loyally for two decades two this show, but who also briefly engaged as a production intern at the station and got to know Mike Francesa and Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, it is a tough ending to a working partnership that not only revolutionized the sports talk genre, but has come to define the best of it.
I remember being a listener to the fledgling station in that first year of 1987 and early into 1988, and knowing that it was the ONLY sports radio station in the entire United States, most said the idea of 24-hour sports radio would never work. In 1989, the radio station decided to pair Mike, who had been working mid days with Ed Coleman, and Mad Dog, who had just moved over from WMCA, to takeover the afternoon drive time slot previously occupied by Pete Franklin, who was great in Cleveland but awful in New York.
It was always an uneasy partnership. Mike is perceived as a curmudgeon, a know-it-all who's opinion was the only one that matter, prickly and over-sensitive about his weight. Dog is perceived as a flighty and screaming know-it-all, who was always trying to out scream everyone that he was right, with a ridiculous laugh. They were often so steadfast in their opinions that they often fought, sometimes on-air.
Yet, through it all, it was a fabulous relationship. It was honest. It was funny. It was, at it best, as good as radio talk shows, not sports talk shows, but talk shows, could ever be.
And as a New York sports fan, we went through all the important moments with them. Whether it was the Giants Super Bowls, the Jets playoff run in 98, the Yankees playoff runs, the Rangers and Devils and Knicks title runs, the 9/11 tragedy, and so much more. Many of us like me experienced a lot of these moments with Mike and Chris right by our side.
They were the first to go broadcast shows during Super Bowl week - now hundreds of stations send their program hosts to "Radio Row" because of these guys. The concept of a two-man talk show, in sports and other topics, came about because of their success.
For anyone that grew up listening to them, and anyone who grew old listening to them, today is like the day the announced the break-up of the Beatles. I know this because every television station in New York City led last night with the news of their announcement.
Sports radio will never be the same for me. Sure Mike will continue in the drivetime slot for WFAN, and Chris will likely go onto other things. But it just won't be the same. It just won't be the same.
So, on behalf of the millions and millions of people that had the pleasure to listen to you guys, and to the smaller group of us that got to know you even a little bit, to quote the late great Bob Hope, "Thanks for the memories".
Thursday, August 14, 2008
KFL Draft Lottery Update
So the main fantasy football league that I am a part of as commissioner, the Kokua Football League, set the draft order this past week with the draft lottery. Last year, I was 3rd and moved up to 2nd with a draft day trade. However, I took Steven Jackson (who was injured most of the first half of the season), gave up 2nd and 4th round picks as part of the deal (for 5th and 7th), and suffered through a horrible year. In my other league, I won the championship, which luckily balanced out my football year.
Here's the draft order for the first round this year. We used the snake method (1-12 in odd rounds, then reversing it 12-1 in even rounds), and our draft is on August 28:
(1) Nice Marmots - Ryan Mac, one of 3 new team owners in the league this season. Jessica Biel (LaDanian Tomlinson) or Jessica Alba (Adrian Peterson) - can't really go wrong there.
(2) Unnamed Franchise - Raj M. He had #1 pick last year and took LDT - maybe he gets to grab him again, but I hear he wants to move down in the order.
(3) Northridge Bungals - Ken B. Ken, are you really thinking about taking Ocho Cinco with the #3 overall pick? Just kidding, I'd take Brady here.
(4) Silver Lake Cubs - Dean M. Live and let Addai, right Dean?
(5) Runaway Guides - Adam S. Too high to grab Clinton Portis there... you might hate it, but Brian Westbrook is a steal at 5
(6) Los Feliz Navy Dads - Jonathan H. Brady's probably gone, but if not, I'm sure you'll take him again and try to ride to the finals for a 2nd straight year.
(7) Park La Brea Freemen - Travis O. Now it gets hinky, perhaps Willie Parker or Steven Jackson here?
(8) Wicked Playas - Andrea J. Another newbie - she's from Boston, so I'm guessing Moss if he's still there, which he might be.
(9) Everybody Loves Ray - Ray M. The defending champ - Frank Gore perhaps?
(10) Heartland Transplants - "Budke". Last of the newcomers - can we con him into taking Favre 7 rounds higher than he should be? Probably not - Portis here or even T.O.
(11) Montvale Whalers - ME. Be glad to take best player available here; does anyone think Larry Johnson is '06 version or '07 version?
(12) Palms Sundaes - Evan B. With Westbrook long gone, and Peyton a question with knee, I'm guessing best RB available if he doesn't trade up to get Westbrook.
I can't wait for the draft - just two weeks away!
Here's the draft order for the first round this year. We used the snake method (1-12 in odd rounds, then reversing it 12-1 in even rounds), and our draft is on August 28:
(1) Nice Marmots - Ryan Mac, one of 3 new team owners in the league this season. Jessica Biel (LaDanian Tomlinson) or Jessica Alba (Adrian Peterson) - can't really go wrong there.
(2) Unnamed Franchise - Raj M. He had #1 pick last year and took LDT - maybe he gets to grab him again, but I hear he wants to move down in the order.
(3) Northridge Bungals - Ken B. Ken, are you really thinking about taking Ocho Cinco with the #3 overall pick? Just kidding, I'd take Brady here.
(4) Silver Lake Cubs - Dean M. Live and let Addai, right Dean?
(5) Runaway Guides - Adam S. Too high to grab Clinton Portis there... you might hate it, but Brian Westbrook is a steal at 5
(6) Los Feliz Navy Dads - Jonathan H. Brady's probably gone, but if not, I'm sure you'll take him again and try to ride to the finals for a 2nd straight year.
(7) Park La Brea Freemen - Travis O. Now it gets hinky, perhaps Willie Parker or Steven Jackson here?
(8) Wicked Playas - Andrea J. Another newbie - she's from Boston, so I'm guessing Moss if he's still there, which he might be.
(9) Everybody Loves Ray - Ray M. The defending champ - Frank Gore perhaps?
(10) Heartland Transplants - "Budke". Last of the newcomers - can we con him into taking Favre 7 rounds higher than he should be? Probably not - Portis here or even T.O.
(11) Montvale Whalers - ME. Be glad to take best player available here; does anyone think Larry Johnson is '06 version or '07 version?
(12) Palms Sundaes - Evan B. With Westbrook long gone, and Peyton a question with knee, I'm guessing best RB available if he doesn't trade up to get Westbrook.
I can't wait for the draft - just two weeks away!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Rocking TMZ as a savant
Okay - in case you missed it - here is my appearance on TMZ this past Friday afternoon answering sports trivia questions. It was a blast getting to meet Harvey and the whole crew - especially Christie and Tyler! Anyways, it was a lot of fun, and I guess I answered more correct than incorrect - so I guess I didn't implode, which was my only real goal. Enjoy:
BTW - Kirk Gibson was not traded to the Dodgers. He was awarded free agency due to the 1987 Owners Collusion case and left the Tigers as a free agent.
BTW - Kirk Gibson was not traded to the Dodgers. He was awarded free agency due to the 1987 Owners Collusion case and left the Tigers as a free agent.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Putting the "Idiot" in Idiot Savant
ITEM ONE: ON TMZ FRIDAY: Britney, Paris, Lindsay... and Crief?
Well boys and girls, the moment has arrived. Like Kato Kaelin and others before me, I'm about to make a total fool out of myself in front of the whole world.
On Friday August 8 at 5PM Eastern Time, (that's 2PM for those of you here in LA), I will appearing as a guest on a live webisode of something called "Idiot Savant Friday" on the popular celebrity rumor site TMZ. I answered an ad for people who think they are significantly proficient in sort of inane trivia, and took a phone quiz with 2 of their producers this week on the subject of sports. I went 50% on a few football questions, then answered 14 of 15 baseball questions, and they decided that I would be their guy this week. Last week, they some guy who successfully claimed he could sing the lyrics to any popular song from 1965 to 2000. Not only was he able to answer every challenge, he actually sang them. That's the act that I get to follow.
So for about 30 minutes tomorrow, I will stare down the barrel at people logging onto the TMZ website at their home page and answer sports trivia questions. I believe that for this episode they will limit questions to major league baseball and the Super Bowl, but I'm not 100% definite on that. What I do know is that I will be at the TMZ World Headquarters tomorrow afternoon to get a tour of the facilities before the show begins.
Having already been a former alternate for ESPN's Stump the Schwab sports trivia show, I am not nervous about answering the questions. I just hope I don't flake under the pressure of millions of Internet viewers watching me tomorrow. In any event, I will have a full report on how it went from the inside on Saturday morning for you.
I hope you all will tune in to check it out at this page: http://www.tmz.com - hopefully I won't need witness protection afterwards :)
ITEM TWO: J-E-T-S! Brett! Brett! Brett!
So, it turns out, I was half right. If you look at an earlier version of this blog, you'll see my post from a two weeks ago where I suggested the Jets trade for Brett Favre and then ship him to Minnesota. I had the first part correct, but not the second.
I think this is the best move for all concerned, except I wonder if the Packers won't be trying to acquire a veteran QB on waivers to back up Aaron Rodgers. In watching the talking heads discuss the Pack "post-Brett", none of them discussed the worst case scenario for them - a season ending injury to Rodgers before the season starts or during the first game. That would leave them with rookie Brian Brohm as their option. Yikes!
With the improvements the Jets had already made in the off-season, I already had them at 8-8 this year. Remember, they had a ton of injuries last season, a QB in Chad Pennington who's arm was so weak that he couldn't break a pane of glass with a throw, and still they almost beat New England in Foxboro late in the year, (of course, it was another New York team that finally, and thankfully did beat them). Adding Favre could get them, with a weaker schedule than most, to 10-6 and maybe a wild card birth. From a fantasy football standpoint, the happiest in the league right now is probably Thomas Jones, the Jets starting running back. Because Pennington could throw the ball down field last season, teams stacked 8 and 9 guys in the box to shut down the running game. Defenses won't be able to do that with #4 under center, which should open up a lot of running lanes for Jones.
BTW, ESPN was the only network covering the press conference tonight. CNN thought the Cafferty Files about weight gain were more important? Headline News thought more rehashing about the missing girl (with no new details in a 4-hour window before or after) was more important? FOX News thought O'Reilly misleading people about the energy situation was more important? MSNBC thought 5 people talking about "Shillary" wanting to speak at the convention was more important? I didn't think the main networks would interrupt programming, but isn't cable news supposed to cover news when it breaks? There wasn't any mention of it on the bottom of screen crawls either. Bad job of them.
See you on TMZ tomorrow! Hey, I'm going to meet Harvey Levin in person! Whoo-hoo!
Well boys and girls, the moment has arrived. Like Kato Kaelin and others before me, I'm about to make a total fool out of myself in front of the whole world.
On Friday August 8 at 5PM Eastern Time, (that's 2PM for those of you here in LA), I will appearing as a guest on a live webisode of something called "Idiot Savant Friday" on the popular celebrity rumor site TMZ. I answered an ad for people who think they are significantly proficient in sort of inane trivia, and took a phone quiz with 2 of their producers this week on the subject of sports. I went 50% on a few football questions, then answered 14 of 15 baseball questions, and they decided that I would be their guy this week. Last week, they some guy who successfully claimed he could sing the lyrics to any popular song from 1965 to 2000. Not only was he able to answer every challenge, he actually sang them. That's the act that I get to follow.
So for about 30 minutes tomorrow, I will stare down the barrel at people logging onto the TMZ website at their home page and answer sports trivia questions. I believe that for this episode they will limit questions to major league baseball and the Super Bowl, but I'm not 100% definite on that. What I do know is that I will be at the TMZ World Headquarters tomorrow afternoon to get a tour of the facilities before the show begins.
Having already been a former alternate for ESPN's Stump the Schwab sports trivia show, I am not nervous about answering the questions. I just hope I don't flake under the pressure of millions of Internet viewers watching me tomorrow. In any event, I will have a full report on how it went from the inside on Saturday morning for you.
I hope you all will tune in to check it out at this page: http://www.tmz.com - hopefully I won't need witness protection afterwards :)
ITEM TWO: J-E-T-S! Brett! Brett! Brett!
So, it turns out, I was half right. If you look at an earlier version of this blog, you'll see my post from a two weeks ago where I suggested the Jets trade for Brett Favre and then ship him to Minnesota. I had the first part correct, but not the second.
I think this is the best move for all concerned, except I wonder if the Packers won't be trying to acquire a veteran QB on waivers to back up Aaron Rodgers. In watching the talking heads discuss the Pack "post-Brett", none of them discussed the worst case scenario for them - a season ending injury to Rodgers before the season starts or during the first game. That would leave them with rookie Brian Brohm as their option. Yikes!
With the improvements the Jets had already made in the off-season, I already had them at 8-8 this year. Remember, they had a ton of injuries last season, a QB in Chad Pennington who's arm was so weak that he couldn't break a pane of glass with a throw, and still they almost beat New England in Foxboro late in the year, (of course, it was another New York team that finally, and thankfully did beat them). Adding Favre could get them, with a weaker schedule than most, to 10-6 and maybe a wild card birth. From a fantasy football standpoint, the happiest in the league right now is probably Thomas Jones, the Jets starting running back. Because Pennington could throw the ball down field last season, teams stacked 8 and 9 guys in the box to shut down the running game. Defenses won't be able to do that with #4 under center, which should open up a lot of running lanes for Jones.
BTW, ESPN was the only network covering the press conference tonight. CNN thought the Cafferty Files about weight gain were more important? Headline News thought more rehashing about the missing girl (with no new details in a 4-hour window before or after) was more important? FOX News thought O'Reilly misleading people about the energy situation was more important? MSNBC thought 5 people talking about "Shillary" wanting to speak at the convention was more important? I didn't think the main networks would interrupt programming, but isn't cable news supposed to cover news when it breaks? There wasn't any mention of it on the bottom of screen crawls either. Bad job of them.
See you on TMZ tomorrow! Hey, I'm going to meet Harvey Levin in person! Whoo-hoo!
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