Apparently, every TV and radio entity has a copy of it. You’d think, by now, it would have been leaked. Clearly, a national survey was conducted that showed sports fans to be so brain-deficient that piles of pure, untreated nonsense should regularly be presented as fact, and it will be accepted as fact.
Mississippi State-Auburn, an SEC Network telecast on MSG Saturday, included a sideline interview with Auburn man Charles Barkley. When it was over, play-by-player Dave Neal said: “What an ambassador for this university he has been!”
Geez. Barkley’s an excessive boozer, gambler and night crawler who has done time for DUI after hooking up with a hooker. As a Nike peddler, he was selected to tell the nation: “I am not a role model.” More recently he admitted to accepting illegal cash while playing basketball at Auburn.
If Auburn had more “ambassadors” like Barkley, it would be a medium security prison.
Yesterday, after Eli Manning threw the ball out of bounds after he was hit — duly noted by Fox’s Joe Buck — one pass after Giants receiver Victor Cruz dropped a pass — also duly noted by Buck — Buck noted Manning is “now oh-for-three” passing. And that didn’t prevent Fox from later posting Manning’s wildly misleading passer rating.
ESPN’s voices, all weekend, announced the debut of the “New, expanded, three-hour Sunday NFL Countdown Show!” — as if it’s good news, as opposed to what it is: another ESPN exercise in absurd excess.
All week, on TV and radio, we heard from players, coaches, team owners who were asked to describe where they were and what they felt on Sept. 11. Turns out their recollections and feelings weren’t much different from many of us, but, as usual, the media suppose that tragedy hurts sports figures more.
On local radio shows, might it have been better to have heard the 9/11 recollections of local listeners?
Yesterday, two minutes into Eagles-Rams, Fox twice told us Michael Vick was last season’s Comeback Player of the Year — as if that’s a wonderful thing. Comeback from what, a bad season? In other words, NFL standards now allow players who are released from prison to be eligible to win an award. Go get ’em, Plax!
Mets reliever Manny Acosta added to his stats on Friday, with a blown save and a win!
WCBS-AM Saturday reported the Yankees, also heard on WCBS-AM, “are on a crucial 10-game road trip.” Yeah, about as crucial as catcher indifference.
On “Pro Football Weekly,” seen all week on MSG, expert panelist and ex-Bear Dan Hampton pointed to a full-screen graphic and repeated it to emphasize its significance: “Only one-tenth of a percentage point kept [Dolphins quarterback Chad] Henne’s 75.4 2010 passer rating from being the worst in the AFC, just ahead of Mark Sanchez.”
Oh, so a not-so-good quarterback was rated a tad better than a good quarterback. Regardless, there it was — a ridiculous stat presented to the nation as solid gold.
And thank goodness Mike Francesa yesterday declared the Meadowlands “safe” for last night’s Jets game, said it as with authority, as if he again knows something that you don’t. Still, what a relief. Then again . . .
Boomer & Carton would Rather not be serious
ON FRIDAY, Craig Carton and Boomer Esiason had Dan Rather on to discuss 9/11.
The WFAN/MSG morning hosts were circumspect and polite. But as soon as Rather was gone, it was back to the Pee-Pee and Poo-Poo show.
Amazing how they can perform turn-on-a-dime 180s!
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Not that we’re supposed to notice or recall such things, but turnovers weren’t the only way Rutgers was able to keep it close at North Carolina on Saturday. A late hit on a third-and-long with :24 left in the half allowed RU to score a touchdown to turn 14-6 to 14-12 on the next play.
The Eagles, yesterday, scored their first touchdown much the same way.
Unsportsmanlike conduct fouls continue to be among the biggest factors in games, yet continue to go under-reported and under-emphasized.
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Ron Darling did play-by-play (John Smoltz, the analyst) on TBS’s Phillies-Brewers yesterday. From the little I heard, not bad.
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Startling development at ESPN on Saturday. A crawl noted that Met Justin Turner, the night before, hit a “game-ending double.” Imagine that! ESPN passed on an op to use “walk-off”!
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WFAN’s Steve Somers may think he’s being Catskills clever when he references Notre Dame football as “the goyim” — a Yiddish expression for non-Jews. But not only is that not clever, it comes off as bigoted. Besides, Notre Dame long has had Jewish football players.
Jenkins a keeper for SNY
FOUR stars, raves New York Post: Ex-Jet Kris Jenkins‘ official debut as a panelist on SNY’s “Jets Game Plan” showed him to be, as suspected, a keeper. He was relaxed, relevant and he seems disinclined to be a Jets’ spokesman.
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Arizona State, school colors maroon and gold, Friday for ESPN wore its new Nike-issue black uniforms. As more and more big-time college coaches are beginning to admit, there’s no better way to recruit kids who would choose a college based on uniform colors. Express elevator down.
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This from Jets linebacker Bart Scott in Friday’s Star-Ledger: “I think the last stadium was a lot louder. I think maybe the diehard fan can’t afford tickets anymore.”
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Odd start to Fox sideliner Laura Okmin‘s third-quarter report during Eagles-Rams: “I’m going to talk about what everyone wants to know.” Really? She then said running back Steven Jackson is likely out the rest of the game with a pulled muscle.
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Thursday in Baltimore, Joe Girardi pulled starter Ivan Nova in the sixth. Reader Gary Ferster asks how Mike Francesa then had the gall to say: “Nova’s leaving, so Girardi had the same idea I did.” Gall? It’s a gift! If you were scoring at home, it was God, to Francesa, to Girardi.
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In yesterday’s column I identified Grover Cleveland as a 300-pound president. Wrong. While Cleveland was heavy, William Howard Taft was the 300-pounder.
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Would Fox please move its Fox box with the score, quarter and time a little bit to the right so we can read more than half of it? Thank you.