JimBob
09-16-2010, 08:40 PM
The best and worst of media in football season
By The Picker
Published: 9/16/2010 3:21 AM
Last Modified: 9/16/2010 8:53 AM
TODAY IS Media Day.
Question: What's wrong with sports talk radio?
Answer: Most of it is like watching a horror movie right before going to bed - it doesn't feel healthy.
The lack of humor is astounding - there's more wit in the slammer.
Q: What's the best thing about sports talk radio?
A: The fact that its chief ingredients are anonymous callers and "unnamed" sources, now there's some humor of an ironic sense.
As is the case with any of the media outlets, what's good is creative, or original, what's lousy is the same old stuff presented with boring arrogance.
Q: What's been the biggest disappointment in the TV football coverage so far?
A: The Musburger-Herbstreit team on the lead college games.
They're playing more favorites than losers at the horse races - they announce only between leading cheers.
Here's some more accidental humor: the upset alerts on ESPN.
Last week's top upset alert of the modern era was Florida State over OU.
Q: What's the best the media has to offer?
A: The Sunday night pro recap show on the NFL channel is terrific - it's much better than Chris "Can of Corn" Berman.
Two of the reviewers are Deion Sanders and Michael Irvin, and somehow they work well together.
Also "Monday Night Football" with Jon Gruden is good.
There's nothing better on television of any kind than "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel" on HBO.
Q: Since OSU-TU is not on television, which radio broadcast will be just the ticket?
A: After a Cowboy touchdown, sometimes only canines can pick up the tone; color is done in black and white.
With TU announcer Bruce Howard, you know where the football is and how it got there.
Sometimes you might think TU leads the nation in rotten ref calls.
But the easy pick here is the TU verbiage.
PICKS
Tonight
Cincinnati (-2) at North Carolina State: Once-feared OU foe Cincy flopped in Fresno.
Little hard to take a city over a state, home team by 3.
Saturday
Tulsa at Oklahoma State (-7½): When it comes to TV, OSU orange is seen more often on the nation's golf courses than it is on the football fields of the land.
Fluke? Mistake? Or diabolical master design?
Tickets for this one cost about the same as a good Maroon 5 seat.
TU returned 3,000 of the $90 tickets, who wouldn't.
The OSU AD is probably right in demanding a sellout before putting games on the tube.
But the price is not right at $90 a pop.
Both of these have nice offenses, frail defenses.
OSU isn't a big enough favorite to get all uppity.
Open field day for Hunter.
OSU by 9.
Air Force at OU (-18): Focusing on the phraseology in a song, it sounds like OU has looked over, under, around and past Air Force.
The BCS is its same old lucky self with Boise State dispatched to the bowl news below the fold.
In the champ game, the SEC winner will take on the best or the luckiest of the of the Big Ten, Big 12 or Hang Ten conferences - Oregon is the least likely to get there, OU the most likely, the Mich-Ohio State winner in the middle.
AF throws and plays defense better than you might think - beat so-called mighty Houston by about 50 in a bowl last season.
OU by 17.
Arkansas at Georgia (-2½): Some good news is between the headlines at Ark: no scandals.
Slightly hard to believe that Georgia and Tennessee are dragging the SEC down a little in the middle.
Sissy pre-league slate no help to Ark here.
Georgia by 1.
Iowa State at Kansas State (-5½): Playing this one at the new neutral grand site in KC is a little like booking some karaoke at Carnegie.
K-State by 7.
Nebraska (-4) at Washington: All the lip out of Lincoln, you'd think Nebraska was back instead of being on the service road leading to the freeway that brings you back.
Comparing Wash to Washout State is a little like comparing apples to lemons, but this whole state (including the Seattle) isn't going anywhere.
Nebraska by 3.
Texas (-4) at Texas Tech: Sudsy site.
Mack's new macho rush game has everything but talent.
OU would be favored seven-plus over this shell of former Longhorns.
Lubbock field haunting to Tex.
Tech by 3.
Mississippi State at LSU (-9½): Loopy Les continues sideline search for a clue.
LSU by 10.
Notre Dame at Michigan State (-3): ND may not be back. But Mich State was never there.
ND by 3.
Iowa (-1½) at Arizona: Mike Stoops might not be the most conservative side of this one.
Iowa by 3.
Sunday
Chicago at Dallas (-9): The first weekend of the season, four Pro Bowl stars were injured, as were dozens of regulars and scrubs.
And they want to play 18-game seasons?
With what, replacement players?
Dallas by 10.
Kansas City at Cleveland (-3): Paging a quarterback. Any quarterback. Report to a huddle.
Cleveland by 4.
Steelers at Tennessee (-5): Vince is no longer out of pocket.
Tennessee by 7.
New England at the J-e-t-s, Jets, Jets, Jets (-1): Now Rex Ryan has plenty of good reasons to cuss like a convict.
NE by 4.
Giants at Indianapolis (-5½): Family Feud.
One hundred people were asked to name a Manning family expression.
Survey said: scowl, 96; pout, 1; sulk, 1; puzzlement, 1; neutral, 1.
Sunday night games seem better than Monday night.
Indy by 6.
Monday
New Orleans (-5) at San Francisco: In defense of his side of the Players versus Owners possible strike, NO quarterback Brees said that many NFL buddies were worried because their wives were pregnant and the baby-delivery benefits could run out if a new deal heaping more money onto the players wasn't signed.
NFL multimillionaires can't afford babies?
Go 49ers.
SF by 3.
By The Picker
Published: 9/16/2010 3:21 AM
Last Modified: 9/16/2010 8:53 AM
TODAY IS Media Day.
Question: What's wrong with sports talk radio?
Answer: Most of it is like watching a horror movie right before going to bed - it doesn't feel healthy.
The lack of humor is astounding - there's more wit in the slammer.
Q: What's the best thing about sports talk radio?
A: The fact that its chief ingredients are anonymous callers and "unnamed" sources, now there's some humor of an ironic sense.
As is the case with any of the media outlets, what's good is creative, or original, what's lousy is the same old stuff presented with boring arrogance.
Q: What's been the biggest disappointment in the TV football coverage so far?
A: The Musburger-Herbstreit team on the lead college games.
They're playing more favorites than losers at the horse races - they announce only between leading cheers.
Here's some more accidental humor: the upset alerts on ESPN.
Last week's top upset alert of the modern era was Florida State over OU.
Q: What's the best the media has to offer?
A: The Sunday night pro recap show on the NFL channel is terrific - it's much better than Chris "Can of Corn" Berman.
Two of the reviewers are Deion Sanders and Michael Irvin, and somehow they work well together.
Also "Monday Night Football" with Jon Gruden is good.
There's nothing better on television of any kind than "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel" on HBO.
Q: Since OSU-TU is not on television, which radio broadcast will be just the ticket?
A: After a Cowboy touchdown, sometimes only canines can pick up the tone; color is done in black and white.
With TU announcer Bruce Howard, you know where the football is and how it got there.
Sometimes you might think TU leads the nation in rotten ref calls.
But the easy pick here is the TU verbiage.
PICKS
Tonight
Cincinnati (-2) at North Carolina State: Once-feared OU foe Cincy flopped in Fresno.
Little hard to take a city over a state, home team by 3.
Saturday
Tulsa at Oklahoma State (-7½): When it comes to TV, OSU orange is seen more often on the nation's golf courses than it is on the football fields of the land.
Fluke? Mistake? Or diabolical master design?
Tickets for this one cost about the same as a good Maroon 5 seat.
TU returned 3,000 of the $90 tickets, who wouldn't.
The OSU AD is probably right in demanding a sellout before putting games on the tube.
But the price is not right at $90 a pop.
Both of these have nice offenses, frail defenses.
OSU isn't a big enough favorite to get all uppity.
Open field day for Hunter.
OSU by 9.
Air Force at OU (-18): Focusing on the phraseology in a song, it sounds like OU has looked over, under, around and past Air Force.
The BCS is its same old lucky self with Boise State dispatched to the bowl news below the fold.
In the champ game, the SEC winner will take on the best or the luckiest of the of the Big Ten, Big 12 or Hang Ten conferences - Oregon is the least likely to get there, OU the most likely, the Mich-Ohio State winner in the middle.
AF throws and plays defense better than you might think - beat so-called mighty Houston by about 50 in a bowl last season.
OU by 17.
Arkansas at Georgia (-2½): Some good news is between the headlines at Ark: no scandals.
Slightly hard to believe that Georgia and Tennessee are dragging the SEC down a little in the middle.
Sissy pre-league slate no help to Ark here.
Georgia by 1.
Iowa State at Kansas State (-5½): Playing this one at the new neutral grand site in KC is a little like booking some karaoke at Carnegie.
K-State by 7.
Nebraska (-4) at Washington: All the lip out of Lincoln, you'd think Nebraska was back instead of being on the service road leading to the freeway that brings you back.
Comparing Wash to Washout State is a little like comparing apples to lemons, but this whole state (including the Seattle) isn't going anywhere.
Nebraska by 3.
Texas (-4) at Texas Tech: Sudsy site.
Mack's new macho rush game has everything but talent.
OU would be favored seven-plus over this shell of former Longhorns.
Lubbock field haunting to Tex.
Tech by 3.
Mississippi State at LSU (-9½): Loopy Les continues sideline search for a clue.
LSU by 10.
Notre Dame at Michigan State (-3): ND may not be back. But Mich State was never there.
ND by 3.
Iowa (-1½) at Arizona: Mike Stoops might not be the most conservative side of this one.
Iowa by 3.
Sunday
Chicago at Dallas (-9): The first weekend of the season, four Pro Bowl stars were injured, as were dozens of regulars and scrubs.
And they want to play 18-game seasons?
With what, replacement players?
Dallas by 10.
Kansas City at Cleveland (-3): Paging a quarterback. Any quarterback. Report to a huddle.
Cleveland by 4.
Steelers at Tennessee (-5): Vince is no longer out of pocket.
Tennessee by 7.
New England at the J-e-t-s, Jets, Jets, Jets (-1): Now Rex Ryan has plenty of good reasons to cuss like a convict.
NE by 4.
Giants at Indianapolis (-5½): Family Feud.
One hundred people were asked to name a Manning family expression.
Survey said: scowl, 96; pout, 1; sulk, 1; puzzlement, 1; neutral, 1.
Sunday night games seem better than Monday night.
Indy by 6.
Monday
New Orleans (-5) at San Francisco: In defense of his side of the Players versus Owners possible strike, NO quarterback Brees said that many NFL buddies were worried because their wives were pregnant and the baby-delivery benefits could run out if a new deal heaping more money onto the players wasn't signed.
NFL multimillionaires can't afford babies?
Go 49ers.
SF by 3.