MEDIA
SCOPE - WEEK 2
by David Hershorin
Friday
September 6, 2002
Hawaii at Brigham Young – ESPN at 7pm
Coverage Team: Jeff Hullinger, Todd Christensen, Alex Flanagan
Another
Friday game in prime-time. Friday night television is getting
a shot in the arm with these additional games early in the
season. If we get too spoiled with games on new nights we
aren’t used to, won’t the divorce rate go up?
As long as this crew is chewing our ears off, no. Any insightful
comments were offset by inane banter that went nowhere. My
favorite bit-o-ignorance was when Todd claimed “west-coast
offenses need small, speedy receivers to work well”.
Everyone in the booth agreed. I don’t - big, possession-type
WRs can give QBs confidence when quick-slants are needed.
Their size allows for a margin of error unavailable with smaller
targets. Jerry Rice seems small, but… And things went
further south when Hawaii’s end-run went out of bounds
at the one yard line. The home office pulled out to show us
a baseball highlight instead of running a timely replay. The
rain, along with this rivalry and its MWC implications, carried
the quality of this broadcast. Otherwise, the production itself
lacked. The booth team gets a C- for consistently being on
a different page than the viewers. The truck and producers
faired somewhat better in the challenging weather, but nothing
to e-mail home about…a C+ seems generous.
Saturday, September 7, 2002
Alabama at Oklahoma – ABC at 3:30pm
Coverage Team: Brent Musburger, Gary Danielson, Jack Arute
This game
wound up being the best game to watch from a production POV
and as a sports fan. Brent & Co. had their hands full
with this stellar match-up of two teams on divergent paths.
But, as usual, the announcing team was sharp, seeing subtleties
of the game way before replay confirmation. Some of their
shinier nuggets…Gary saw Sooner QB White’s knee
buckle on a keeper, knowing it wasn’t an opposing player…in
the 2nd quarter, explained how Bama’s new QB Brent Rawls
hadn’t played a down since he was a high school junior
(nearly two years)…Brent quickly informing us how Oklahoma’s
3rd quarter fumbled punt return was caused by another Sooner,
not a halo infraction…interviews of Tide players explaining
why NCAA sanctions/probation didn’t deter them from
playing out their eligibility in Tuscaloosa. The Xs and Os
were drawn often and effectively, especially with all the
big plays on special teams. Brent wasn’t overly amped
– he conveyed the game’s excitement, but employed
no more energy than was necessary. Give their football savvy
talk an A with the production itself close, but an A- for
a few missed replays (especially penalties).
Saturday, September 7, 2002
Miami at Florida – CBS at 5:00pm
Coverage Team: Verne Lundquiste, Todd Blackledge, Jill Arrington
This game’s
play-by-play announcing easily qualified itself as more insightful
than the color comments. Blackledge wasn’t missing too
much; he just seemed overmatched with the demand of this haughty
game. Even replays often gave us visual insight(s) sooner
than the booth could provide comment. Why wasn’t Miami’s
first FG (54 yard) highlighted, even though it sailed through
with 20 yards to spare? The good parts…spotting the
Cane’s DE #95 Jerome MacDougal stalking Grossman early
and often…a tracking shot of Florida’s 2nd quarter
TD, incredible camera placement and technique…interview
with Mike Kaplan – he lettered for Florida in ’42
and then Miami in ’43 & ’46, playing both
ways (T/LB)…piece on how Grossman nearly followed Spurrier
into the NFL. The bar was set high for this stellar match-up,
so the problems don’t reflect too badly on the announcers’
pigskin profiles. But with the national audience keenly focused
on the title implications this game carries, it seems now
they should have sent Jim Nantz to anchor the booth. Never
the less, it wasn’t too bad – a B-/C+ depending
on your definition of ‘hanging chad’. The crew
in the truck fared much better…a B+ earned for timely
replays and informative graphics. Hopefully Miami/FSU and
FSU/Florida will get better treatment(s).
Saturday, September 7, 2002
Colorado State at UCLA – Fox Sports Net at 10:15pm
Coverage Team: Steve Physioc, Tom Ramsey, John Jackson
Fox hasn’t
put together any superior announcing teams as of yet. This
cross-conference rivalry, though, received respectable treatment.
Too often, today’s talkative hosts supply us with banter
that (when not competent) can take the focus off the action.
But these guys knew when to let the football speak for itself.
We comfortably never had to deal with episodes of over-talking.
This novel effect is a welcome alternative to the standard
glib approach. Though enjoyable, their ‘give and take’
didn’t always penetrate the surface of many needed issues
(like CSU’s poor halftime clock management or the Ram’s
intimidating road record under Coach Lubbick). Lucky for us,
the producers covered all the game’s angles, so play-by-play
comments easily matched the replays supplied. But these slip-ups
are nit-picky at best. Their modest approach merits this entire
crew a B for solid coverage other networks need note. It all
begs the question: might we rather have a split screen (2
games at once) with no commentators? It seems like more football
would be a good thing, more talking a bad one. Hmmm……………………………
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