Phil Mushnick

Phil Mushnick

Sports

Same old, same old: Broadcasters ignore bad behavior

During Sunday’s game at the Jets, a few yards from the end zone, Patriots running back Stevan Ridley slowed — to rub it in, to show he’s “untouchable,” to show off. Immodesty is good.

And ya know what? CBS’s Dan Dierdorf, 64, showed his age. He called Ridley on it. He said that’s “not cool,” as in unprofessional, as in what professionalism used to mean.

Clearly, he missed the convention, years ago, when broadcasters were instructed to claim — if they value their gigs — to either ignore such behavior or to claim they love it, you love it, we all love it!

That got me to supposing. What would be the state of our sports if, say, 35 years ago, broadcasters distinguished right from wrong? What if they didn’t pander or play see-no-evil, speak-no-evil, all these years? What if they felt it important to try to retain some sports in our sports?

What if play-by-play men and analysts, all this time, had minimally tried to be deterrents to those who would do dirt, tried to let them know there’s a price to pay — some embarrassment, even some shame?

It’s too, late, I know. Years ago, bad became cool, worse even cooler. Heck, sports’ most selfish, uncivil acts still have the best shot at TV’s rewards — attention, adoration, commercial deals, and later, to be hired by TV.

Got that, kids?

Saturday on ESPNU, Baylor was beating Iowa State, 58-0, in the fourth quarter, when Baylor coach Art Briles gave his student-athletes the green light to kick ’em when they’re way down, to further humiliate Iowa State’s student-athletes.

Baylor continued to throw, then throw some more. When the Bears ran the ball, they didn’t run into the line to try to kill clock and end the slaughter, they ran misdirection plays. During a drive that made it 64-0 (in a 71-7 final), Baylor threw six times. And its student-athletes continued to dance and gesture their self-regard.

On ESPNU, play-by-player Clay Matvick and analyst Matt Stinchcomb, a former NFL offensive lineman, didn’t say a word about it. Not a blessed thing; not a damned thing.

At game’s end, sideline reporter Dawn Davenport hit Coach Briles with one of those, “You must be pleased” things. I stuck around because I was foolish enough to think that she might ask — one shot in 1,000 — “Why, Coach, at 58-0, were you so eager to make it 64-0?”

Also on ESPN on Saturday were the repetitive reports about allegedly destitute Grambling football, how its players essentially staged a wildcat strike, forfeited a game.

The reports were decorated with sorrowful words recalling, “The late, great Eddie Robinson, legendary coach of Grambling.” The NCAA’s Coach of the Year award was renamed for Robinson.

But what Briles allowed Baylor’s kids to do to Iowa State’s, Robinson had his kids do, week after week, season after season. He mercilessly, hideously — senselessly — ran up the score. You can look it up!

Naturally, the media ignored that, then, and still do.

A shard of candor did glow on Saturday. During the Auburn-Texas A&M game, CBS’s Verne Lundquist — nine years older than Dierdorf — mentioned the first-half, first-game suspension the NCAA and the Aggies imposed on quarterback Johnny Manziel, was “a slap on the wrist.”

Careful, now, fellas. Even this deep into your careers, better watch your mouths.

Graphic nonsense on ESPN

No more calls. We have a winner! In-Game Graphic of the Year goes to — who else? — ESPN!

Late in the Central Florida-Louisville Student-Athletics ESPN Friday Game of the Week (not to be confused with ESPN’s Thursday night edition), Louisville went for it on fourth-and-5. At that point, this appeared:

“UL — 4th Down Conv. (season) 0/1, last in the FBS.”

That’s right, Louisville, although 6-0, was dead last in fourth-down conversions among 120 teams, zero-for-one.

TBS won, last year, upsetting ESPN with a graphic in Game 1 of the ALCS. Beneath a photo of Willie Mays, TBS identified him as “Mayes.”

Perhaps in their eagerness to have us think of them as smarter than us, TV folks would have us believe they see better than us.

Saturday on Fox, Detroit’s Austin Jackson was picked off at first. It was close. A tape was shown. The first baseman’s legs blocked the view of the tag. But instead of “Can’t tell from that,” Joe Buck declared, “Got him!” Wow, X-ray vision!

It took Mike Mayock three minutes of game-clock to speak the six-syllable substitute for fumble — “put the ball on the ground” — during NBC’s USC-Notre Dame game.

Just another game played to meet with Mayock’s approval. When the Irish completed a short, first down pass for 4 yards, Mayock said, “I’ve got no problem with that play.” Then there were the usual, “I’m impressed with him, tonight” and other imperial observations.

Earlier, throughout the Auburn-Texas A&M game, CBS’s Gary Danielson analyzed plays in plain, applicable football English. No good?

Mike “Let’s Be Honest” Francesa did it again, Friday; pulled another Al Alburquerque. First, he trashed an intelligent caller as a know-nothing idiot. The caller had noted NBC now televises English Premier League soccer.

Later, obviously after he was informed off-air NBC does televise EPL matches, Francesa tap-danced, as if he already knew that — and everything else — and as if that caller didn’t expose Honest Mike for what he is.

Mets might make historic radio move

If the Mets land on WOR (710 AM), now owned by Clear Channel, New York sports radio historian David Halberstam tells us it’ll be the first baseball on WOR since Game 7 of the 1956 Yankees-Dodgers World Series.

NHL Network’s “In The Room” team update documentaries — Saturday’s tracked Penguins and Bruins players, coaches and front office staffs — are excellent. The Penguins were shown in a teamwork drill this summer at West Point.

Had no idea Bruins-Sabres was a big NHL rivalry until NBC advertised it.

Saturday on Fox, with Oklahoma State up, 17-0, over TCU in the third quarter, Gus Johnson was still screaming as if the booth was on fire. That’s what he was hired to do!

Coming soon: “NFL End Zone Somersaulting Contest on ESPN.” It’s like saying “walk-off” — one guy does it, then off we go, no matter how stupid.

Question of the Week, from reader Wendell Ramey: “Is there anyone in TV/radio who uses more words to make a single point than Stephen A. Smith, a point usually bereft of insight?” Answer: In a word? No.