Did ya see where Edvard Munch’s 1893 painting, “The Scream,” is on loan to the Museum of Modern Art?
Scream me a river, Edvard. You want something to scream about? As of just this past Friday night, try some of these:
On ESPN, Cincinnati led Louisville, 17-7, with 8:05 left in the second quarter, when analyst Rod Gilmore, who could have said nothing, said, “Still plenty of time left in this football game.”
Same telecast, a graphic: “No OT Games In Series History.” It might have been left at that — a needless notation of an irrelevancy — but then, because ESPN’s ESPN, the graphic added “51 Games.”
That OT in college football didn’t begin until 1996 — thus more than 35 of those games could not possibly have gone to OT, didn’t matter. Such things — insight, context, knowledge — never matter to ESPN.
Wanna scream, Edvard?
Saturday, during the Big East Network’s telecast of Kent State-Rutgers (SNY, here), play-by-player Mike Corey told us, “This is exactly the position Kent State wants to put Rutgers in, today — third and long.”
He cracked the code!
But oddly enough, on ABC/ESPN’s telecast of Notre Dame-Oklahoma, a duplicate game plan was identified by Kirk Herbstreit: “The goal for [ND coach] Brian Kelly is for [ND QB Everett] Golson not to have to face too many third-and-long situations.”
Need we write/say it? Forcing and avoiding third-and-long is every team’s goal, every game!
Hear that scream, just there, Edvard?
Saturday, Game 3 of the World Series on Fox. Omar Infante, Detroit’s No. 9 hitter, a righty, is at bat, a 1-2 count, when he hits a 92-mph pitch for a bloop single to the opposite field.
During a slo-mo replay, Tim McCarver said, Infante was “going to right [field], all the way.”
Really? Infante had a choice? He chose to pop a 1-2 fastball to right, thus succeeded in his plan? And he did it against a pitcher who, until then, was making the Tigers’ best hitters look sick? If Infante could do that — wherever he chooses when he chooses — he’d bat lead-off, no?
It looked more as if Infante was just trying to hit the ball; not strike out. Yet, McCarver claimed he “was going to right, all the way.”
Same telecast, a graphic noted that Tiger Quintin Berry was “21-for-21” on stolen-base attempts. Such a stat speaks for itself. And should have been left at that. But Fox added, “best by a Tiger since 1920.”
“Best by a Tiger since 1920?” He’s tied for the best stolen-base percentage in the history of baseball!
And everything’s a con, an ugly sell. Fox promos, all day Saturday, couldn’t have made it any clearer to an unsuspecting national audience that Game 3 began at 7:30 ET. But the game began, as scheduled, at 8:07. Fox told a 37-minute lie.
Even the national anthem now must be exploited for network promotion. Saturday, it was sung by Zooey Deschanel, identified in a graphic and by the p.a. announcer as, “the star of the hit Fox comedy, ‘New Girl’.”
Munch on that, Edvard.
Lou Holtz, star of ESPN’s college football studio show, once again showed up to shout and spout some stat sheet-borrowed numbers and wave his arms. At ESPN, that passes for expert analysis.
On ABC/ESPN, Arizona was about to punt, up three against USC, a minute left, when Matt Millentold us that Arizona “doesn’t want to give up the big play.”
Late in Iowa-Northwestern, ESPN2 play-by-player Beth Mowinssaid, “Northwestern’s 4-2 in games this year that came down to the fourth quarter.” At 6-2, Northwestern apparently played two games that ended after the third.
In that same telecast, Quentin Williams was flagged for a late hit on Iowa quarterback James Vandenberg.. The replay clearly showed that Williams was guilty; he shoved Vandenberg backward and to the ground, well after he had thrown the ball. Williams was not seen to protest, nor anyone on the Northwestern sideline.
Yet, analyst Joey Gallowayasked that we dismiss what we — and the official standing right there — plainly saw: “Nice acting job by Vandenberg to fall to the ground.” Geez!
With 2:05 left in the first half, Rutgers down, 21-3 and in Kent State territory, it stood to reason that RU would go hurry-up. But as the RU pass was intercepted, the Big East Network telecast was in a replay of the previous play.
Don’t know if you’re much into football, Edvard, but this past weekend, no one made a first down, they “moved the chains.” No team was down 10 or 12 points, they had to “overcome a 10 or 12-point deficit” — as if any of these broadcasters would say that in off-air conversation.
Or, as Big East TV analyst and ex-NFL RB Rene Ingoglia suggested, “Rutgers needs to go vertical.”
Jet PSLs throw fans for a loss
Yesterday’s Dolphins-Jets game served as a special salute to our sports “culture.” For starters, despite commissioner Roger Goodell’s claim that PSLs “are good investments,” how many Jets’ PSL owners would settle for, say, 65 percent back — a 35 percent loss — on their PSL investment?
In the second quarter, Miami’s Cameron Wake was so busy running to open space to best be seen doing a sack dance tribute to himself, he didn’t notice that Mark Sanchez had lost the ball.
And, while there’s no good time to demonstrate immodesty, being down, 20-0 didn’t prevent several Jets from showboating after small successes. Later, down 27-3, Clyde Gates made a catch then rose, gesturing as if he had just conquered Spain. Nauseating.
* Throughout the playoffs and now the World Series, ESPN-Radio’s Dan Shulman has been an audio oasis. No slick-talk or gimmicks, just straight-ahead play-by-play, concise, vivid descriptions, useful parenthetical info added.
Not only did YES televise Columbia over Yale Saturday, but Jack Ford, the TV personality, former Yale DB and Saturday’s analyst, actually used a replay to correct himself. Is that allowed?
Giants’ WFAN radiocasts are starting to resemble Yankee radio. More and more in-game particulars attached to Bob Papa reads of sponsors.
We did spot a good graphic Saturday. Rutgers’ regular wide receivers are 6-foot-4, 6-3, 6-6, 6-6, vs. Kent State’s starting defensive backs, who are 5-foot-11, 5-8, 5-10 and 6-0.
* Seems one of the by-products of an eight and now 10-team eligible World Series, is that postseason starting lineups and pitching staffs are loaded with MLB transients — come-and-go expendables in the right place at the right time.