Saturday, February 25, 2012

Sports Analysts-The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: ESPN Edition


I have reached the final part of my favorite/least favorite sports broadcasters list.  I've really been looking forward to this one because I have such mixed feelings about the mothership that is the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network.

ESPN has so ingrained itself in sports that it is impossible to talk about sports coverage and not bring up ESPN's greatness, like Michael Jackson with pop music or Ohio State with pizza deliveries.

On the surface, how can ESPN not be a good thing? 24 hours of non-stop sports coverage, from games to highlights, analysis to feel-good stories.  When it breaks news, it is always backed by good sources, which is saying something in our instant Twitter-news world (Rob Lowe anyone?).  There are also a number of talented analysts, especially on the ESPN.com, which still embraces some old school journalism (such as Grantland).

However, there is the evil side to constant sports coverage.  Over-saturation, over-analysis, causing the smallest issue get blown way out of proportion-these are all effects of a full time sports network.  This has led to things like LeBron's decision or Tebowmania.  At their base, they are probably good things, but they get talked about so much from so many different angles, fans get confused and angry.  Do people really hate Tim Tebow, or do they hate the media's version of Tim Tebow?

ESPN employs a ton of analysts, and each one wants to set themselves apart from one another.  This is a blessing and a curse.  On one hand, you get to listen to a variety of differing opinions and thoughts on your favorite sports and teams.  On the other, there are only so many points to cover, which leaves analysts stretching to put an original spin on a story.  But a story only has so many ways to look at it, and the analysts are left saying things just because they can.  Besides misinforming viewers, the analysts often say things without really thinking about them.  These things are often against ESPN's view, causing analysts to have to make forced public apologies.  These so-called apologies seem to have risen exponentially over the past decade.

We can't forget that ESPN is a major company-its main objective is to make money.  An article written by an IU sports journalist Jason Fry makes an excellent point:
"ESPN’s relationship with sports is like Google’s with search, or Microsoft’s with operating-system software a generation ago – the company will always be held to an impossible standard, yet is so important to its industry that doesn't feel unfair."
The Worldwide Leader in Sports holds huge power, and can wield it however they choose.  The avid sports fan must hope for, and even demand, that ESPN works to make its viewers more knowledgeable.  There is no escaping ESPN, but is there really is no desire to?  I myself can't imagine an ESPN-free world. I may complain about how overcoverage can kill the games, yet not a day goes by when I am not plugged in to ESPN or ESPN.com.

With all that in mind, here is my list for my favorite and least favorite ESPN studio personalities.



ESPN Studio - The Best
  • Scott Van Pelt:  Van Pelt is easily the best SC anchor in Bristol.  Although he isn't on as frequently as he used to, he has his own radio show every afternoon.  Van Pelt is funny, original, and in-touch with the sports fan.  He works through the highlights intelligently and is an excellent and adaptable interviewer.  I love that he is able to drop references that make the diehard sports fan appreciate that Van Pelt knows what he's talking about.

  • Buster Olney: I don't think that there is a guy in the baseball world who is more "in the know" than  Robert Stanbury Olney III, other than the GM's themselves.  Buster is always the guy breaking news on free agent signings and trades in the MLB, even with the most minor of moves.  He also does a nice job analyzing what each team needs and the guys that can be traded on each team.

  • John Kruk: Kruk is a former major league first baseman and is the best Baseball Tonight analyst ESPN has.  He breaks down the game vary well and has a great understanding of how the common man watches baseball.  During his playing days, he was quoted as saying, "I ain’t an athlete, lady, I’m a baseball player."  He is a likeable guy who is easy to listen to, which is more than can be said for a majority of the Baseball Tonight guys (see Singleton, Chris)

Same time tomorrow, knuckleheads
  • Mike Wilbon/Tony Rieali: Pardon the Interruption is the best show on ESPN.  You get intelligent insight on number of leading stories, and usually get a different spin that what you would get elsewhere on ESPN.  Mike Wilbon is the better of the pair of him and Tony Kornheiser.  Both guys started (and still are) sports columnists, so they bring some original and clear thinking to their viewers.  Wilbon is likeable and has much less radical views than is partner, and backs up his points with sound reasoning.  He is also a Chicago boy, so I gotta love him for that.  Rieali, or Stat Boy, is also the host for Around the Horn.  As the host he does a great job of directing the conversation and asking pertinent follow-up questions, and does it all with some great humor.

  • John Buccigross:  I like him as a SC anchor, but Bucci's real strength is in his hockey analysis.   Maybe it's because he is American, but he is by far the most unbiased analyst for hockey, especially when compared to the Overrated Mullet, Barry Melrose.  The guy knows the game, as he used to host "NHL 2Night" in the long, long ago on ESPN.  He is another guy who is fantastic on Twitter (which is becoming a must for analysts these days), and does his famous Bucci's Overtime Challenge,  where he has followers send him a player from each team that will score the game-winning OT goal, and he will retweet those who got it right.  He is genuinely interested in promoting the game of hockey and getting everyone involved in discussing the sport.


ESPN Studio - The Worst
  • Stuart Scott: Stuart is a guy who I have never liked.  He is ESPN's attempt to attract a young, hip crowd, which I saw through even when I was younger.  You can't help but feel that he doesn't actually know anything about sports.  His phrases were fun for about 5 minutes, but they only hid his apparent lack of sports knowledge.  This is a huge problem when you work for a sports network.  What do I think of ESPN dumping Stuart Scott as an anchor? Boo-yah!

Rumblin', bumblin', stumblin'
  • NFL Countdown:  I couldn't single out a single one of these guys to put on this list.  Mike Ditka is the most manageable and clear cut, but that may just the Chicago in me talking.  But the rest are poor analysts and just unbearable at times. It's partially EPSN's fault.  I get that the NFL is by far the most popular league in the US, but 3 hours of "breakdown" every Sunday is a bit much, especially when there are enough guys babbling to make the Occupy Wall Street folks jealous.  Tom Jackson is too old for today's NFL and no longer offers useful analysis.  Keyshawn Johnson was a prima donna as a player, and though he is getting better, he says a lot of things that are either very obvious or way off mark.  Finally, there's Chris Berman.  Boomer is Dicky V part 2.   His bit was once fresh and exciting, and made watching highlights a lot of fun.  But now, I could really do without his "He-could-go-all-the-way's" during every highlight.  He has become a persona of himself, and its very annoying.  And don't get me started on how awful he is at calling anything to do with baseball.

  • Colin Cowherd: To put it nicely, Colin Cowherd is a tool.  For those that don't know, Cowherd hosts a mid-morning  radio show, "The Herd," on ESPN Radio.  His main purpose is to make people angry, or at least I hope that's his purpose.  If it isn't, he maybe be one of the dumbest people in sports. He says so many baseless things it would make your head spin,and often in hyperbole.  I'd like to think his purpose is to get people talking  about the issues in order to prove what an idiot Cowherd is.  The worst is that he says everything in an I'm-better-than-you way.  Here's an example of Colin's wisdom: "Who cares if Braylon Edwards drops passes? Drops are overrated."  I bet Colin thinks they are even more overrated in the endzone.  
This actually makes him look smarter
  • Skip Bayless:  ESPN certainly has a type.  Just like Cowherd, Skip's MO is to get people raging about every single topic in sports.  I can count on one hand the number of times he took the majority view on anything.  He says incendiary things without evidence to back them up (aka Shock Journalism).  Instead he tries using big words and insults (which he tries to mask as wit)  to prove his point, which anyone who has a pulse can see right through.  I suppose that it's honorable that he sticks to his point, but he takes it to a whole new level.  I think he is just looking for story that ends up working out like he says, just so he can say, "I told you so." This is a very bad strategy when every other side you take is completely wrong and indefensible.  Going 1 for 100 is really nothing to be proud of (unless you're Thomas Edison).
  • Stephen A. Smith:  Stephen A. is exactly like Skip Bayless, except he brings race into about everything.  Worse, he is often paired with Skip on First Take, and the two fight about everything.   Where Skip insults the opposing point, Smith just screams at it.  He thinks that the louder and more passionately he speaks, the more correct his point is.  The thing is, he point is rarely correct, and often just angers multiple groups of people.  I don't think there is a guy at ESPN who sticks his foot in his mouth more than Stephen A.   I like a guy to speak his mind and all, but not when it's racial charged and meant to be inflammatory. 

ESPN - Special mention
  • Erin Andrews: An incredibly attractive woman who is great at her job, which just happens to be in sports (btw, I'm totally ok with her knowing more about sports than me). Need I say more?

I'll just leave this right here

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Sports Analysts-The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Mixed Bag Edition

My football and baseball lists are in the books.  I hope I effectively imparted on you all just how much I hate Tim McCarver and what a travesty it is that he is still employed as an professional MLB analyst.  I also didn't hear any Sox fans stick up for their man Hawk Harrelson, so I will just conclude that I was 100% on the mark.

This post is my mixed bag of broadcasters, which covers college basketball and the NHL. I don't watch a great enough variety of these sports to have a favorites list.  There are names, though, that I want to mention because there is one in college b-ball commentator that is probably my favorite in all of sports.  I'll admit these lists are shorter than my football an baseball lists, but this isn't for lack of effort.  I haven't had a lot of

I'll also cover some Chicago sports broadcasters, most notably those that are part of sports talk radio shows on the Chicago dials.  Many of my readers aren't from Chicago and many from Chicago don't listen to the joy of sports talk, but I want to discuss them because I've spent so much time tuned into these stations.

NCAA Basketball - The Best
What a game! HA HA!
  • Gus Johnson: Gus, in my opinion, is the best announcer in the sporting world today.  No one brings more excitement to a call and no one enthralls his audience better than him.  Some people complain that he is too much for the broadcast, but I completely disagree.  Gus' enthusiasm is genuine, which is more than can be said for many other announcers.  You can see that Gus loves his job and he loves sports. His talent has spread across multiple sports, but college basketball has always been his best, especially the March Madness tournament.  The Gus Johnson factor is at play every time he is in the booth-games that he calls are much more likely to go down to the wire or head to OT.  He is the one guy who I would tune into watch just because he is on the call.  If you haven't really listened to him before, watch/listen to this clip, and then enjoy many more on YouTube (such as this hilarious mashup).
  • Jay Bilas: Bilas is one of the smartest men in the sport.  As a former college basketball player (4-year starter at Duke), he brings great insight into his analysis.  He can break things down for the casual fan, but provides lots of depth for even the most crazed college fan.  He has talent both in the studio and as a color man.  You can also tell he prepares for his games well.  He doesn't just speak about the best players, but has analysis for everyone on the team.  He also has some of the best tweets, so follow him if you are on Twitter
NCAA Basketball - The Worst
  • Dick Vitale:  15 years ago, I never would have considered putting Dicky V on the "worst" list for college basketball.  I used to love all his phrases and his childlike enthusiasm for the game.  However, that hasn't changed, and now that I listen to a color commentator for analysis, his shtick has gotten very old.  His Duke-UNC bias can border on the unbearable and he spends so much time on his catch phrases that he never really gets to any useful break downs.  "That's awesome, baby!" and "Get a T.O.!"  have lost their magic.  Vitale is an guy who was once great and fresh, but now he comes off as someone's goofy grandpa.  
I'm overkill, baby!

NHL - The Best
  • Mike "Doc" Emrick and Eddie Olczyk:  I'll pair these two since they are NBC Sports #1 team for its NHL broadcasts.  Doc was normally the play-by-play for the New Jersey Devils (until last summer) and Eddie O is the color guy for my Chicago Blackhawks.  Doc's call is great, adjusting to the tempo of the game while keeping an (mostly) unbiased view.  I love his goal call (ScccOOORReeesss!).  What's best is that he compliments the game well.  He understands what needs to be called and clarified, and does so without interrupting the rhythm of the game.  
"He didn't keep his stick on the ice there, Doc"
Eddie O is a former player who was never spectacular, but has done a great job breaking down the best in the booth.  He spots what happened before anyone has a chance to check out the instant replay.  What I like best is that he talks about and shows what the players do right and wrong.  He commonly uses the phrase, "For all you young hockey players out there," using the play of the best in the world to instruct the up and coming talent of the hockey world

NHL - The Worst

  • Matthew Barnaby: ESPN should be embarrassed that they every employed Barnaby as one of its lead analysts.  They recently let him go, but only after a DWI forced their hand.  The guy was a goon when he played whose only purpose on the ice was to headhunt the other teams' stars and take them down with some serious cheap shots.  He had no idea how to break down plays and frequently praised big/illegal hits as necessary play in the NHL.  I have no reason to listen to analysis of the NHL's best from a guy who spent his whole playing career yapping his mouth with no skill to back it up.

Chicago Sports Talk - The Best

This is how I imagine them looking
when taking 3/4 of the calls on the show
  • Dan Bernstein: Like Dicky V, I thought very differently about Bernstein 10 years ago.  He seemed to spend the entire time making eloquent jokes and demoralizing callers.  But as a listened more, I came to realize that he is probably one of the smartest guys in Chicago sports.  He never says anything without having sound reasoning to back it up.   Even if I disagree with his view, I know exactly where he is coming from.  His tweets and comments indicate that he has a good to great understanding of major sports.  He also demands a high level of intelligence from the callers to his radio show, Boers and Bernstein, which is refreshing in this ESPN-era of sport.  Fans often call with baseless claims and opinions, which he immediately sees through (which makes him seem like a total jerk).  Dan simply asks that you have a way to back up what you say with some sort of common sense. Though I'm not a fan of Terry Boers, he is my favorite talk show host in Chicago, and I hope that Chicago fans can learn from his methods, especially in this generalizing, throw-it-and-if-it-sticks-keep-it world we live in.
  • Matt Spiegel:  After being a behind the scenes producer for the Score and hosting a nationally syndicated sports radio show, Spiegel rejoined 670 alongside Dan McNeil.  The reason I like him is that he makes listening to McNeil manageable.  Mac, as you will see below, spends his time trying to demonstrate how experienced he is, but never actually proves he knows anything.  Matt actually has a great historical knowledge of sports.  Also, unlike McNeil, he is actually funny.  Spiegel is one of the reasons why 670 the Score is much better than ESPN 1000 in the realm of Chicago sports talk.

Chicago Sports Talk - The Worst

  • Dan McNeil:  Mac has his fingerprints all over the Chicago sports talk radio scene.  When I first heard him, he was on ESPN Radio 1000 on the show "Mac, Jurko, and Harry."  It started out as my favorite show, but as time passed and I gained sports knowledge, I realized that they never really said anything useful.  Harry was a former comedian, and I'll get to Jurko later.  In the end, he came of as a major jerk, and worse, a jerk that was hypocritical.  He didn't actually prove a caller or a co-host wrong, but would insult them as a means of shutting them up.  Mac was let go by ESPN after multiple on-air fights with Harry and was taken back by 670 the Score, where he started his broadcasting career.  He's become somewhat less of a jerk, but still flaps his head without any meaning.  He is also a Sox fan, so he can't really be trusted, can he?
  • John Jurkovic: Jurko is the loveable idiot of the "Afternoon Saloon" on ESPN 1000.  He is a former NFL defensive lineman who grew up in the Chicagoland area.  He is another man who says nothing of value, but just tries to be funny in the Homer Simpson sort of way- he is not smart and he knows it. His personality was funny at first, but now it is just annoying.  He actually reminds me a lot of Mike Golic of "Mike and Mike in the Morning."  He just says really general things that anyone can figure out, but they are somehow masked as intelligent talk because he used to be in the NFL.  As I said with McNeil, "Mac, Jurko, and Harry" was once my favorite show which I listened to every day, much to the chagrin of the people I drove home from high school.  However, as my desire to grow my sports knowledge and acumen, I liked the show less and less.  Jurko's mindless banter had a lot to do with that.
My final list will cover the mothership, ESPN.  I hope you are enjoying reading these lists as I have had writing them.  Leave some feedback via the comments or Facebook (or any social media really [or by owl if you are a wizard]) and we can compare our respective lists.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Sports Analysts-The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Baseball Edition

Now that I have hopefully cleared the air and calmed my Blackhawk fan readers, I can get back to my favorite and hated sports broadcasters.  Maybe some of you agreed with my choices for the football world, or maybe some of you are part of Craig James' campaign team for Texan senator.  Either way, make sure to leave your opinion in the comments section.  I'd really love to get a good back and forth going with you kids, since I know you are knowledgeable sports fans.

I'll move onto the world of baseball. This is my favorite sport and involves my favorite team.  Baseball is the only sport I was ever respectable in playing-wise, and even that is debatable.  I did, however, pick up quite a bit of baseball acumen over the years of playing and watching the sport.  Because of this, I hold baseball analysts to the highest standard, since I know exactly when they are spewing B.S.

To be fair, you may spot some Cubs bias in my analysis. But this is my list, so I get to be biased.  I'd like to think that my hometown announcers are as good as a think, so you'll just have to tell me if I'm way off base.

MLB - The Best
Pat and Ron were the perfect pair for
the Cubs
  • Pat Hughes: To me, this is the voice of baseball.  Pat is the WGN radio play-by-play man for the Cubs, and one of the top broadcasters in the game.  He has an uncanny ability to paint a clear picture of what is happening and brings the perfect amount of excitement to the game without going over the top.    He also had the task of babysitting working alongside late Cubs legend Ron Santo.  Ron was basically the biggest Cubs fan watching the game, and he just happened to be mic'ed.  Pat did a great job of setting Ron up for some analysis or another one of Ron's stories.  I rarely say it is a joy to listen to someone call a game, but with Pat Hughes it truly is.
  • Steve Stone: Stone is probably knows the most about Chicago baseball than any other analyst. Not only did he pitch for both the Cubs and the White Sox in the 1970's, but he has spent the past 29 years in the booth for one of the Windy City's teams.  He does an incredible job of predicting plays before they happen, using a deep understanding of baseball strategy to explain his predictions.  He also isn't afraid to criticize mistakes made by the team, which actually got him fired from the Cubs booth in 2004.  He made this extremely accurate statement that year, which ultimately led to his dismissal- "The truth of this situation is [this is] an extremely talented bunch of guys who want to look at all directions except where they should really look, and kind of make excuses for what happened."  He joined the Sox booth in 2007, which makes the games somewhat bearable to listen to.
  • Vin Scully: The legendary Dodgers radio man truly deserves his place among the baseball immortals.   He is now 84 years old and has been calling games for 62 (!) years, starting back when the Dodgers were still in Brooklyn.  Not only has he called the games for 6 decades, but calls the games by himself, using his skill as an analyst to breakdown the play as he calls it.  He is well known for getting to games 3 hours before game time to prepare. I have gotten MLB Radio for the past few seasons and sometimes I will tune in to his broadcasts just to listen to a master at work.  
  • Bob Brenley: Brenley is one of the most underrated color guys in the league.  The former Diamondbacks manager has developed quite a rapport with Len Kasper, and the two are probably the best booth in any of the Chicago sports.  Like Steve Stone, Brenley has great insight on the game, especially since he played catcher in the bigs.  He balances his praise and criticism very well, and is not afraid to admit a mistake.  He actually has been my top choice to be the Cubs manager since Lou Piniella stepped down.  He has shown in the booth that he knows baseball well, and more importantly, he understands what it would take for the Cubs to win it all.
    "Juuuust a bit outside"
  • Bob Uecker: Uecker is probably best known for his work in Major League, when he played announcer Harry Doyle and delivered some memorable lines that are still quoted today.  You may not know that he has been the Milwaukee Brewers radio play-by-play since 1978 and that he is just as hilarious in the booth as he was on-screen.  He keeps his calls light, but doesn't let his joking take away from the game.  He has plenty of great self-deprecating quotes about his time as a player, but this is one of my favorites- "The highlight of my career? In ’67 with St. Louis, I walked with the bases loaded to drive in the winning run in an intersquad game in spring training."

MLB - The Worst
  • Tim McCarver:  This is actually the guy who inspired this post.  It really is a shame that he is still involved with baseball, especially as the color man for Fox's so-called #1 MLB broadcast team alongside Captain Monotone, Joe Buck.  More people spend the World Series discussing how awful it is to listen to McCarver than the teams actually playing.  Fox should be embarrassed that they put this moron on the national stage every week and during the World Series. I can point to so many stupid calls by Tim over the years, but here is one that I caught while during the 2011 All-Star game.
Buck: "Where does Scott Rolen rank all-time as a defensive 3rd baseman?"
McCarver: "Well he's a great baserunner."
I can haz competent analyzt?
That is just the perfect excerpt from McCarver.  He often has no idea what is actually happening in the game, spending his time talking about what he thinks is correct.  He is almost never on mark, and I fear for the casual baseball fan who thinks that listening to him is making them more baseball savvy.  I know it has become the cool thing to hate on McCarver, but it is the most deserved hate all of sports.  I can say that in the history of my involvement in sports, he is the worst broadcaster I have ever heard. 
  • Joe Morgan: Thankfully, Joe Morgan is no longer on the air after being let go from Sunday Night Baseball in 2010.  I think what I hated most about Morgan is that he carried over his playing career into the booth (not that I was alive to see it).  He really was a great second baseman and was large cog in the Big Red Machine. However, he spent all his time reminding us of it, trying to prove how much he knew about baseball. Instead, he spent a ton of time arguing with Jon Miller over insignificant things and often times came off as a big time jerk.  He was usually unprepared for games, which caused him to either get things wrong or say very obvious things, such as, "He thought that pitch was outside...that's why he didn't swing".  Thanks Joe. Now you bring up why baseball was much better when you were a player.
  • John Sterling: Sterling is the radio play-by-play guy for the MLB's flagship franchise, the New York Yankees.  He is a prime example of an announcer who may have been good at one time, but now gets by on gimmicks and catchphrases.  You'll see more of this in later posts when I get to ESPN.  He gets so excited to use phrases he is well known for that he misses what is happening in the game, and instead comes off as arrogant.  I have spent very little time actually listening to his broadcasts, but each time I do it is painful.  He is at his most annoying point at the end of the game if the Yankees win.  If you have never heard it, take a listen below and tell me you don't hate the Yanks more than you already did.

  • Hawk Harrelson/Ed Farmer:  Ah, yes.  You didn't think a White Sox broadcaster or 2 would escape my most hated list, did you? I'll start with the Hawk.  This man is easily the biggest homer for the team he calls in all of baseball.  While I support letting you allegiance for a team leak into the call, Harrelson  takes it too far.  He often misses plays because he is spewing his feeling on the Sox play all over the place. Like Sterling, he relies on mannerisms to cover up his poor ability to describe what is happening on the field (aka do his job).  His "He Gone" and "Stretch!" calls are plain obnoxious.  I will say that I do like one of his catchphrases- "You can put it on the board, Yes!"- which my dad uses during Indians games on many occasions.  Ed Farmer is the Sox radio man and is the opposite of Hawk.  He has absolutely zero emotion and sucks all the energy out of his broadcasts.  It's hard to tell who is winning when he is calling the game, and he makes you not want to listen because he makes you sad, even if your team is winning.
That takes care of my baseball list.  Did I miss anyone?  Do you completely disagree? Leave your thoughts here.  (Disclaimer: White Sox fans will never win an argument against me concerning the Hawk-he blows).

Next list to come will be my mixed bag, which covers NCAA b-ball, the NHL, and Chicago analysts.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Rational Blackhawks Thoughts: Beating Down the Meatheads

Alright, I need to interrupt my list of my most loved and hated sports broadcasters so that I can return to the Blackhawks.  The Hawks are in the midst of a 5 game skid, including tonight's 3-1 loss to Calgary.  The bigger news was the 8-4 thumping the took at the hands of the lowly Edmonton Oilers, which comes just 2 and a half months after a 9-2 beatdown from the Oilers.  Since I am in Seattle, I haven't been able to actually watch these games, which means I usually follow the progress on Twitter and some live blogs.

It was the response on Twitter that prompts this response from me.  While a 8-4 loss is embarrassing, it is certainly not the end of the world.   This is not what the majority of the Hawks fans and bloggers that I follow thought.  I saw such tweets as:




After reading those, I was more embarrassed to be a Hawks fan than I was in the team.  It was this one that really got me in the end:


So, the Blackhawks are struggling right now.  I guess that means it's time to blow up the whole team and start over.  I mean, really, this team is full of total crap.  No one on the team is in Hart trophy consideration at age 23.  No one has won the Norris in the past 2 years.  And the core certainly didn't win a Stanley Cup 2 years ago.

What's that?  Oh, those are all actually true?  Silly me.  Oh, there's more?  Wait, this team is just 6 points out of  FIRST PLACE FOR THE FREAKING WESTERN CONFERENCE?  This last point makes this suggestion from a Hawks fan totally ridiculous:
"I base a lot of what you said [on a very negative Hawks blog post suggesting they need to 'climb out of hell'] on the decision to encourage the Hawks to become SELLERS and not buyers."
I think what Blackhawks fans (can I call them fans right now) forget is that the NHL has a hard salary cap that is set at $64 million.  The Hawks managed to win the Cup with a lot of youth (which equals cheap) and bunch of role players that were great value.  Some of these players, like Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien, have gotten considerable raises since leaving the Hawks.  The cap also explains the trade of Brian Campbell in the offseason.  That's why that last tweet made me so made.  The Hawks can make as much money through tickets as they want-only $64 million can go back into the team.

The core of this team is one of the best in the league and, even better, it's young.  Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Duncan Keith have yet to reach the prime ages on their careers.  Patrick Sharp is in the middle of his, and Marian Hossa is still a force to be reckoned with.  Years of poor play and losing all the players they have in the past 2 years has left the farm system stockpiled with talent.  Stan Bowman built this team to win with speed and solid defensive play.  The latter is struggling right now, but a trade for a 2nd pair d-man can fix that.  We can't expect them to go out and be super physical, or have our goalie steal multiple games for us.  It's just not how the team was built.

Then there is the insane call for trades.  I saw multiple suggestions that Patrick Kane should be traded.  Really?  Kane is probably the most talented Hawk we will see for the next decade, and you want to trade him off because he is in the middle of a scoring drought?  Can no one make mistakes?  My favorite Hawks blog, Second City Hockey, puts it best:
"Not every play that happens during a game warrants yet another trade suggestion. This is getting ridiculous. It seems like with any turnover, that guy's gotta go for this guy. Good god. It is most likely that the guy the Hawks bring in to shore up the defense will not be a name that will set your balls on fire." 
This is not football, Chicago.  Bears fans have a tendency to overreact to every little thing, especially a poor performance.  This is somewhat understandable, since it is a Bears town and their are only 16 games in the regular season.  Hockey is an 82 game season, and more than half the teams from each conference make the playoffs.  As we saw from Philadelphia's run in 2010, all you need to do in the NHL is get in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  It's okay for a guy, even a star, to have an off night.

If I do have an issue with this team, it's in Joel Quenneville's coaching decisions.  I think he is too quick to change up lines in-game, and chooses to play John Scott on a frequent basis.  Somehow, guys get in his doghouse for reasons that are not apparent to the fans.  But the man won a Stanley Cup 2 years ago, so I will trust him to get it done in the stretch.
"The distance between them and another Stanley Cup is deceptively far, despite what anyone tells you."
Is that right? Well, let me tell you differently.  This team is a Stanley Cup contender. They have played the top teams in the West close all season, often coming out on top.  While the goaltending doesn't blow you away, it can be solid when the team puts the effort in on defense.  You also need to expect mistakes when you play a 20 year-old defensemen, but as I said, we can trade for one of those.

In the end, I want Hawks fans to know that it's going to be okay.  There is no reason to mortgage the great future we have in the minors for aging goalie like Tim Thomas or Ryan Miller. The bi-polarity of Chicago's fanbase is unreal.  I'm sure if the Hawks win 2 games by 3 goals, they'll all be talking about a Stanley Cup sweep.  We have a core and a plan in place.  Unless we see some major meltdown that includes multiple 5 game losing streaks, you are looking at a playoff team.  Hockey is a game of who's hot, who's not.  I encourage rational Blackhawks fans to ignore the meatheads and make your own conclusions on this team.

Let's go Hawks.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Sports Analysts-The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Football Edition


I will admit that I listen to an insane amount of sports talk. While I am in Chicago, my friends and family will tell you that my car radio is always dialed to 670 The Score. I love talking sports, I love listening to sports, I love listening to people talking about sports. Over the years, I've grown accustomed to certain voices calling and analyzing the games I love, and as I've gotten older, I've grown to respect these voices that I grew up with.  There are also those that I just can't stand, those that I actually argue with even though they can't even hear me. In high school, my mom would actually have to mute the TV because she couldn't listen to me yell at the mindless banter that was coming out of these so-called sports experts.

I find myself quite often talking with my good friend Andrew Seid at length about a wide variety of sports topics. Besides my dad, he is my favorite person to talk sports with, and it's amazing how many times we agree on things. Some readers maybe remember that Andrew and I did sports talk radio together for WBCN at Michigan.  A common theme of our conversation is providing each other lists of our favorite (or least favorite) things and constantly trying to one up each other.

So, lets put these last 2 things together. I am going to give you my favorite and least favorite sports announcers and analysts. I'll break it down by sport, and then give ESPN its own category (there is a lot more hate toward ESPN than love). I know there are plenty of lists like this out there, but obviously not from me, and I know how much you want to know my love/hate list, since many of you have had the pleasure (or misfortune) of watching a game with me.  Since there are so many on my list, I will break this into a couple of separate posts. This will let you all have a few days worth of procrastination via reading.

NFL/NCAA Football - Best
  • Kirk Herbstreit: This may seem like an odd choice coming from a Michigan fan, but the former tOSU quarterback has an excellent feel for college football. It may be hard to forgive him for the whole Les Miles fiasco, but in the end he may have done us a favor. He does a good job of explaining the game, but doesn't talk down or get excited about menial things. Also, his reaction to Lee Corso's F-bomb was priceless. (PS-Mute the video if swearing upsets you)
  • Troy Aikman:  One of the smartest QB's ever to play the game is now one of its smartest color guys. He brings great insight into the game and breaks down what players are looking to do on each play, even with the boring play call of Joe Buck.  Some accuse him of being a homer for his former team, the Cowboys, but I don't see it.  I think it's just because everyone hates the Cowboys.
  • Verne Lundquist/Gary Danielson:  This is the best duo calling a college football game.  There SEC love does get a little old, but it is the best conference in the NCAA.  Verne has a smooth delivery and sets Danielson up well, plus has an outstanding laugh that puts a smile on your face.  Gary has the uncanny ability to spot something in real time before everyone else does during instant replay, and can break it down very well. 
  • Al Michaels:  I saved my favorite for last.  Al is one of the greatest play-by-play men of my life, and I'm sure many would agree it extends beyond this.  He has a magical ability to keep you engrossed in the game, and has a plethora of stories to share.  Of course, his greatest moment wasn't even calling a football game, but the 1980 Miracle on Ice.  Of course, I wasn't alive for this, but of all the sporting moments I would want to live, the USA's victory would be it (yes, I'd take it over the 1908 Cubs World Series).  His call, "Do you believe in miracles? YES!", gives me chills to this day, and I wasn't even there to live it. 
NFL/NCAA Football - Worst
  • Jon Gruden: While he well-liked by many others, I'm going to go hipster here and share my dislike of the former coach.  My problem with him is that he makes everything vanilla.  Every player he see's is the latest and greatest, which he shares with a " Now this guy here, boy."  Guys do things wrong, Jon, and a guy like  John Beck is not the next Hall of Famer.  
  • Ron Jaworski: Let's move to Gruden's MNF partner, who is lovingly referred to as Jaws. There is just a way he talks, they way he inflects his tones, that makes me feel like like he is talking down to me.  He was probably once skilled as an analyst, but these days it seems like he gets in analyzing matches with Gruden (and the other ESPN NFL guys). He tries to break down every single thing, but instead states points that are obvious even to casual fans. 
  • Tom Hammond:  I may be biased here, since he is the Notre Dame play-by-play man, but I simply cannot listen to him call a game.  He is a huge ND homer, but that isn't the problem, since NBC is basically the Irish's own network.  My problem is that he spends the entire time bending over backward for ND instead of calling the game.  This causes him to mess up multiple times during the game, which is a problem on TV when everyone can see what is happening.
    You're welcome for the nightmares you will now have
    due to this picture
  • Craig James: What more can you say about a guy who was part of the SMU shenanigans that got them the death penalty?  James spews some serious ignorance when analyzing college football.  He gets caught up in his own misstatements, and then tries to defend them using zero common sense instead of realizing he was wrong.  He also was responsible for getting Mike Leach fired from Texas Tech when he completely falsified reports that Leach was mistreating James' son.  The site Awful Announcing says it best-"James represents the idea of using power and privilege to corrupt and mislead."
  • Mike Patrick/Joe Theismann/Paul Maguire: Thankfully, this former Sunday Night Football crew is no longer on the air.  When they were, however, my least favorite booth when they actually were calling games.  Theismann and Maguire would focus on one meaningless or completely wrong topic for the whole broadcast, never providing any real analysis on what was actually happening on the field.  The Texans inaugural game comes to mind, when Joe and Paul spent the whole time gushing about David Carr and what a promising career he would have (we know how that turned out).  Patrick wasn't awful, but his play-by-play got dragged down the the crappy commentary, and he wasn't good enough to save us from the idiocy happening next to him.