Let the record show the Jets’ season opened to the lengthy but unintelligible sounds of Fox sideline reporter Erin Andrews trying to be heard just before, during and after the kickoff. Why would Fox cut to a sideline reporter at kickoff?
Kevin Burkhardt, in his NFL regular-season debut, was spotty. He was concise, but failed to note who made important open-field tackles, and, in the first half of the season’s first game, got hung up telling us who had his “first sack of the year” and scored his “first touchdown of the year.”
NCAA Builds Character Play of the Week: In its 83-14 win over Campbellsville (Ky.) on Saturday, Murray State starter Parks Frazier was still in there throwing, including a TD pass — on fourth down from field-goal range — to make it 69-14. The officials might’ve been nauseated, too. They called the game over six minutes into the fourth quarter.
J. R. Smith, who has had serious criminal driving issues, must’ve been smoked up to have purchased that $450,000 car/armored truck/toy. Its resale value must be, chopped, oh, $4,500. What’s the chance that soon after Smith’s done in the NBA we hear/read that he’s broke?
Matt Vasgersian came loaded with clichéd nonsense for Fox’s Red Sox-Yanks. “The Red Sox are hitting home runs with reckless abandon!” and “the hometown faithful” were two. And without first having told us Brett Gardner was going, he said to “credit Gardner with a stolen base.” He then amended that, telling us he reached second on a wild pitch.
Texas’s Katy HS football team, which Thursday night played on ESPNU, played 16 games last year.
Think Nike founder Phil Knight’s selection to the Basketball Hall of Fame, last year, might have had to do more with money than good deeds? Saturday on NBA-TV, inductee Rick Pitino addressed the media from a Hall backdrop covered with Nike logos. But before Nike, everyone played in bare feet.
Nice stuff from Fox’s truck, Saturday at Yankee Stadium, showing Yankee rookie J.R. Murphy’s family reacting to his second MLB hit.
The Bag We’re In: Both Fox games, here, Sunday — Bucs-Jets, Packers-Niners — in large part were determined by misconduct penalties.
Saturday, UNC wore its traditional “Carolina Blue” uniforms, but replaced its traditional white with Nike black numerals, striping and logos.
Ken Singleton now identifies Alex Rodriguez fly-ball outs as “just-misses.” A single up the middle must be “a complete miss.”
Tim McCarver, Saturday, reasoned catchers, instead of passed balls, should be assigned errors, like everyone else. OK, but who else has to handle 70, 80 or more chances per game?
Who’s Buried in Grant’s Tomb: Keith Hernandez, Friday on SNY: “How long would Lou Gehrig have played if he hadn’t contracted Lou Gehrig’s Disease?”