Two Cents: Sports with Tom Jones

Rays outshine Lightning

2008-10-07T23:50:24-04:00

Wednesday's Two Cents ...

Bad luck of the day
The poor Lightning. It gets new owners, a new coach, a bunch of new players. It opens the season in Europe and hardly anyone is paying attention because of the Rays' magical playoff run. Then it gets worse. The Lightning opens its home schedule Saturday night at 7:30 -- just 37 minutes before the scheduled first pitch of Game 2 of the American League Championship Series between the Rays and Red Sox.

The Lightning did call Saturday's opponent, the Carolina Hurricanes, to ask about changing Saturday's game time to avoid the Rays-Red Sox game, but the Hurricanes said no. Carolina plays Friday night at home against the Panthers and the travel and turnaround would be too quick for a day game. Besides, league rules prohibit a team playing a day game after a night game. The earliest the league would permit a starting time Saturday would be 5 p.m. That's the starting time the Lightning wanted, but the Hurricanes still said no.

The Lightning wasn't upset and said it understood Carolina’s position, but, quite frankly, I don’t. With a short flight from Raleigh after Friday night's game, the Hurricanes would be in their Tampa hotel across the street from the St. Pete Times Forum by 1 a.m. -- some 16 hours before the puck would drop Saturday. That's plenty of time to rest up for a game, especially one so early in the season. And, honestly, two-and-a-half hours is going to be that much of a difference for the Canes?

In the end, it really is in Carolina's best interest, too, to change Saturday's game time. The NHL needs all the fanfare and attention it can get. Going up against the Rays is bad for the Lightning, which is, in turn, bad for the entire NHL -- an NHL that includes the Carolina Hurricanes.

TBS announces announcers
TBS has announced its announcing team for the American League Championship Series, which starts Friday at the Trop. Chip Carey will handle the play-by-play with Ron Darling and Buck Martinez as analysts. Craig Sager, he of the funky sports jackets, will be the on-field reporter. Harold Reynolds, who worked as an analyst on the Rays-White Sox series, will go into the studio to join Inside MLB host Ernie Johnson and analysts Cal Ripken and Dennis Eckersley. It would've been nice if Reynolds, who was excellent in the first round, could've stayed in the booth for the next series. That also would've allowed Tigers centerfielder Curtis Granderson to stay with the studio team for the ALCS. Granderson was the strongest of the studio analysts.

Thoughts on Inside MLB
TBS's pre- and postgame show, Inside MLB, has been consistently inconsistent. It has gotten a tad better as the playoffs have gone on, but it's still filled with too many awkward and unsteady moments.
Ernie Johnson does a solid job as host, just as he does as host on TNT's Inside the NBA. The problem is when he looks down the desk on the baseball show, the highly-entertaining Charles Barkley isn’t sitting there. With all due respect to Cal Ripken and Dennis Eckersley, neither brings the energy or humor that Barkley does. To be fair, if Barkley were to leave the basketball show, there probably wouldn't be anyone to replace him there either.

Without someone like Barkley, Johnson, it seems, is having a difficult time pitching ideas and topics for Ripken and Eckersley to run with because neither seems willing to run. Perhaps in the ALCS, Harold Reynolds will bring a little more life to a show that needs a lot more life to be entertaining.

All in the all, Inside MLB delivers all the information and insight, but in a way that's still a little too boring.

Ratings down
Through Sunday, TBS was averaging about 4.3-million viewers for the 13 playoffs games it has shown. That is a big drop from the 5.4-million average viewers TBS garnered for the same time period in 2007.
A few reasons for that. One, there were no New York teams in the postseason for the first time in 13 years. The other was the network took a big hit when one of its glamor games -- the Cubs vs. the Dodgers -- was aired at the same time as the vice presidential debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden, which drew about 70-million viewers and was one of the most-watched debates in political history. The final thought is none of the first-round series was really that competitive. All four started with a team taking a 2-0 lead and none went the full five games.

Bad idea of the day
So the word out there is actor Kevin Costner has met with movie writer-director Ron Shelton about making a sequel to the 1988 classic Bull Durham. In addition, the New York Post is reporting that actors Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon would be interested in reprising their roles. Can I just go on record right now and say this is a bad idea? Sports sequels do not work. Think about it.

Slap Shot is my pick for the greatest sports movie ever made, but Slap Shot 2 might have been the worst movie ever made. Well, actually Caddyshack II might be the worst movie ever made -- more evidence that sports sequels are a bad idea. Major League was good, but Major League II and Major League: Back to the Minors were awful. The first Bad News Bears was great, but both sequels were a mistake. The Mighty Ducks was kind of cute, but the sequels were kind of annoying. Same with Karate Kid. The only sports sequels that worked were a couple of the Rocky sequels. But as Times Outdoors Editor Terry Tomalin astutely points out, Rocky is more like a superhero and superhero sequels (Batman, Spider-Man, etc.) usually do work.

Bull Durham ranks No. 2 on my all-time sports movies. I don't know why, but I'm almost positive Bull Durham 2 will not be in my top 50. Don’t do it!

Three things that popped into my head
1. Doesn't it seem like all the baseball playoff teams are going a little too crazy with the champagne and all after winning their first-round playoff series?
2. He might not be the NFL's best running back, but the Saints' Reggie Bush in the most exciting. When you see him take the field, it's like seeing Barry Bonds or Reggie Jackson come to bat. You have to watch just to see what he might do.
3. Don't you just get the sick feeling that Jason Bay, who was the subject of trade rumors to Tampa Bay but ended up in Boston, is going to do something to hurt the Rays in the ALCS?

Sports Reporters has winning formula

2008-10-06T18:20:41-04:00

Shooting from the Lip
Looking back at a weekend of televised sports ...

Best show
The format is simple. Get a knowledgeable, likeable host. Surround the host with three sports writers with strong opinions. Bring up current sports events. Discuss. That's all ESPN's Sports Reporters is, and that format has worked brilliantly for 20 years. The show celebrated its 20th anniversary Sunday, and it continues to be one of the most watchable 30 minutes of television.

"We've always thought -- 20 years ago and still today -- it's the most intelligent conversation of its kind on television,'' said New York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica, a regular panelist. "Viewers don't feel we're talking down to them, and they certainly don't feel we're shouting at them. The viewer feels part of the conversation. That's the key.''

Lupica is right. There's no yelling (like on, say, ESPN's Around the Horn). There's no talking down to anyone (like on, say, Around the Horn). And viewers do feel a part of the show (unlike on, say, Around the Horn). Here's hoping for, and expecting, another 20 years of Sports Reporters.

Worst nightmare
CBS's worst nightmare came true Saturday night when the signature star of its mixed martial arts EliteXC, Kimbo Slice was knocked out 14 seconds into his fight with some guy who couldn't even cut it in the UFC. Unknown Seth Petruzelli filled in for Slice's scheduled opponent, Ken Shamrock, who was injured before the fight, and he stunned Slice, evidence that the EliteXC is miles behind some of other MMA circuits. The good news for us is maybe the EliteXC will run out of steam without Kimbo and CBS will stop airing it on Saturday night.

However, the result did produce a good line from announcer Gus Johnson, who screamed, "Rocky is here!'' after Petruzelli knocked out the heavily favored Slice.

Best debate
ESPN's Outside the Lines ran a thought-provoking piece on whether Major League Baseball should retire No. 21, worn by former Pirates star and humanitarian Roberto Clemente. As of now, only Jackie Robinson's No. 42 is retired across baseball.

"The combination of the man, the ballplayer and the soul of the man makes a very, very strong case that his number should be retired,'' Fox analyst Tim McCarver said. "If baseball decided to retire Roberto Clemente's No. 21, who would object to it?''

Actually, quite a number of people would. Some believe it would take away from the impact of retiring Robinson's number. Others worry it would open a Pandora's box of requests to retire other players' numbers. Personally, I think Clemente's number should be retired because of Clemente's off-field work and the impact he has had on the Latin community in baseball.

Strongest analysis
It's impossible not to be riveted by HBO's consistently excellent Boxing After Dark broadcasts. The team of Jim Lampley, Lennox Lewis and Max Kellerman is a master at covering a fight card, and in each broadcast, the announcers do something that puts them above and beyond other teams in other sports. What you have to respect is how strong their analysis is even when it makes the sport look bad.
Example: Saturday night they criticized the judge and the corner of light middleweight Andrey Tsurkan, who was getting pummeled round after round by Alfredo Angulo.
Lewis said, "There's a saying: Live to fight another day.''
Lampley followed: "That's the key word: live.''
Lampley then brought up the possibility that they could be witnessing a boxer being literally killed in the ring. "What does it take to stop this fight!'' Lampley screamed. Finally, Tsurkan's corner waved the white towel midway through the 10th, and final, round.

Funniest line
"Let's go rent The Longest Yard.''
NFL Network's Warren Sapp, talking about the movie with the prison football game, in previewing the Cowboys-Bengals matchup

Best point
Notre Dame football is improved, and its schedule is weak. And yet that might not matter. The Fighting Irish will head to a bowl game, but unlike 10 or so years ago, they won't even sniff the national championship picture, or the BCS picture, for that matter. CBS football host Tim Brando put it best: "It could be true. Notre Dame could win nine and still be irrelevant.''

Best Long point
You have to feel badly about the way the Oakland Raiders treated recently fired coach Lane Kiffin, but come on, is anyone surprised owner Al Davis wigged out again? That was the on-the-money point made by former Raiders lineman and current Fox analyst Howie Long on Sunday.

"It has been 15 years since I've been part of the organization, so I can't speak to the day-to-day operations,'' Long said. "But if you're Lane Kiffin, you should know what you are getting into. He has access to a guy like Jon Gruden, who coached there. Don't be surprised when the owner who coached in the league and built three world championships gives input on a day-in, day-out basis on the goings-on of the football team. Don't be shocked by that.''

Best local shout-out from a local announcer
"(The Lightning's Steven Stamkos) can shoot the puck as well as anyone in the league.''
-- Sun Sports Lightning broadcaster Bobby "Chief'' Taylor, during Saturday's Lightning-Rangers broadcast.

Best local shout-out from a national announcer
"Evan Longoria is the next great thing at third base.''
-- Boston Globe's Bob Ryan, on Sunday's Sports Reporters

It's Tampa BAY, not Tampa!

2008-10-01T14:30:32-04:00

Ugh, it happened again Tuesday night. Did you hear it? Moments after the White Sox had defeated the Twins to win the American League Central Division and earn a date against the Tampa Bay Rays in the playoffs, White Sox star Jim Thome mentioned his team's next opponent.

"We know they have a great team down there in Tampa,'' the slugger said.

TBS reporter Marc Fein ended the interview by telling Thome, "See you in Tampa.''

Unless the two have dinner plans at Bern's or something, the two will not be seeing each other in Tampa. They will be seeing each other in St. Petersburg. After all, that IS where the Rays play.

But get used to the rest of the country being geographically challenged for as long as the Rays are in the playoffs. ESPN, TBS, Fox, Web sites, bloggers, newspapers and talk-radio hosts will all join the parade of misinformation by referring to the team as the "Tampa Rays'' and will insist the games are being played in "Tampa.''

Fox's baseball pregame host Jeanne Zelasko was the worst offender. All season long she referred to the Rays as "Tampa,'' dropping the "Bay'' and never once uttering the words, "St. Petersburg.'' After being the constant target of columns in the St. Petersburg Times and being flooded with angry e-mails from Rays fans, she actually sent the fans an open letter in an e-mail to the Times apologizing for her mistake.

But Zelasko has hardly been alone. After the While Sox victory Tuesday night, a headline on the ESPN.com baseball page blared, "On to Tampa.'' Tribune Media Services syndicated a crossword puzzle -- which ran in our Baylink section -- with the five-letter clue, "Home of the Rays.'' Turns out, the only answer that fit was T-A-M-P-A.

Some do get it right. Jeopardy, proving once again why it is the best game show in the history of television, correctly named "St. Petersburg'' as the Rays' home. For every ESPN announcer that gets it wrong, one usually gets it right. Same with TBS and the newspapers and bloggers. For the next week or two or four, the team will constantly shift from Tampa to Tampa Bay to St. Petersburg back to Tampa.

Maybe there is only one way to solve this whole mess. The Rays can win the World Series and then announce it's victory parade route -- in downtown St. Petersburg.

Jeanne Zelasko continues to insist Rays play in Tampa

2008-09-21T23:45:38-04:00

Shooting from the Lip
Looking back at a weekend of televised sports ...

Worst host
That's it. From now on I’m calling Fox baseball host Jeanne Zelasko by another name. Let's call her Jean Zelasko. Or just J. Zelasko. Or how about Peggy?

As long as Peggy is going to keep calling the Rays by the wrong name -- as she does week after week after week -- then maybe we should just call her by the wrong name. Peggy did it again Saturday, calling the team the "Tampa'' Rays five times in the pregame and postgame shows. This is something I've written about four or five times already, and I'm not the only one who notices. My e-mail was flooded Saturday by readers complaining about Peggy relocating the team.

For most of this season I've thought she was just being lazy. But I'm starting to wonder if she's just incompetent. After the Rays clinched a playoff spot Saturday, Zelasko said, "A congratulation to Tampa the city.'' This is plain inexcusable because she does this every week. At some point, doesn't someone at Fox say something to her so she stops embarrassing herself? Please?

Best analysis
Once we got past Jeanne Zelasko's geographically challenged comments, Fox pregame analysts Kevin Kennedy and Eric Karros had good insight and high praise for the Rays. First Karros said, "I think … the manager, Joe Maddon, impacts this team more than any other club in baseball.''

Then Kennedy showed he really paid attention, reminding everyone of spring training when Rays prospect Elliot Johnson bowled over Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli, breaking Cervelli's wrist and drawing the ire of Yankees skipper Joe Girardi.

"I think it goes back to spring training with Joe Maddon backing up his guy … and saying, 'Hey, we play to win in spring training.' I talked to a lot of people, and they absolutely agree with that. That was the turning point, right there in spring training.''

Worst announcer
The unfortunate part about the Rays clinching a playoff spot Saturday was that longtime Rays TV announcer Dewayne Staats didn't get to make the call because the game was nationally televised on Fox. We were stuck listening to Fox's Mike Joy, who should be called Mike Joyless. Joy could not have been less dramatic if he tried. He called the entire game as if it were a spring training, split-squad game.
After Evan Longoria caught the final out, I couldn't tell if someone turned off Joy's microphone or Joy fell asleep. Too bad Rays fans were robbed of a thrilling final call.

Best letting up
After the Miami game, I criticized the Gators for kicking a late field goal. So it's only right that I point out they didn't run up the score, even though they could have, against Tennessee. On their final drive, they ran the ball up the gut even though they could've tacked on a field goal. But still, what is quarterback Tim Tebow doing in the game with three minutes left and the Gators leading by 24?

CBS's Gary Danielson thought the same thing. "I don't agree with this, I have to say,'' Danielson said as Tebow scrambled. "I don't care about the running up the score. It doesn't matter to me. But I just don't understand my quarterback getting hit in a game that's over.''

And even though coach Urban Meyer says Tebow was still in because his backup was hurt, Florida has only two quarterbacks?

Worst game
Florida State-Wake Forest on Saturday night might have been the worst college football game ever played. This could've been the game that turned Florida State's fortunes around, but it only reminded us of how far the Seminoles have slipped. "What's different about this Florida State team?'' ESPN2 analyst Bob Davie asked. "So far, nothing.''

Best coverage
Too bad that most of us around here were consumed by the Rays and Bucs all weekend because the coverage of America's victory in the Ryder Cup was outstanding. NBC, as expected, had its A game, showing once again it covers golf better than any network. And ESPN's coverage was thorough and thoroughly engrossing. ESPN also gets a pat on the back for its outstanding all-day coverage of the final game at Yankee Stadium on Sunday.

Best analogy
CBS's Gary Danielson is a pleasure to listen to each week, and he is maybe a half-notch better than Todd Blackledge and Kirk Herbstreit, both with ESPN/ABC, as the best of the college football analysts. His best line from Saturday's Florida-Tennessee game: "The anticipation of (Florida QB Tim) Tebow playing -- it's like a Mike Tyson fight when he was knocking out those guys in his prime. You gotta watch it. You can't take your eyes off this guy.''

Most forgotten event
The Davis Cup used to be as much a part of the sports landscape as any event. This weekend, if you didn't know the semis were being played, you wouldn't have known it at all. They were completely lost, at least in the United States, among baseball, pro and college football, NASCAR and the Ryder Cup. In case you missed it, and you probably did, the United States-Spain semi was played in what has to be the coolest stadium in the world, Las Ventas, which hosts bullfights. Oh, and the U.S. lost when Rafael Nadal beat Andy Roddick in singles.

Final thought
We tend to get caught up in the Rays, but Mike Lupica made a great point on ESPN's Sports Reporters: "There's nothing not to like about the Rays. There are so many parts about this that are like the ’69 Mets. But the Cubs winning the World Series -- when they win the World Series … is the last big thing in sports.''

Reasons to like the Red Sox

2008-09-17T00:28:34-04:00

Wednesday's Two Cents ...

The list
The last time the Red Sox were in town, I poked a stick into the beehive that is Red Sox Nation by listing 10 reasons to hate the Red Sox. Why 10 reasons? Because we didn't have room to list 20. (By the way, No. 11 on the list would have been: Because Red Sox fans can't take a joke.) Anyway, there are a few things about the Red Sox that are okay. So, in the interest of fairness, here are 10 things about the Red Sox and their history that are cool:
1. Bill "Spaceman'' Lee. The ace of the Cosmic All-Stars pitching rotation.
2. Fenway Park. Still the best digs in baseball.
3. Terry Francona. Sox skippers seems like a decent enough fella.
4. Jerry Remy. One of the better TV analysts in baseball. Should be on Fox's Game of the Week.
5. Fans take the game seriously. (Maybe a little too seriously, but at least they go to games.)
6. Actually, I'm going to have to stop here because that's all I can think of. Sorry.

E-mail of the day
NFL referee Ed Hochuli is getting bombarded with e-mails from angry Chargers fans after he blew a call that helped the Broncos beat San Diego on Sunday. Hochuli ruled an incomplete pass on a play during which Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler fumbled and the Chargers recovered, leading by seven in the final minute. Denver scored a touchdown two plays later then won the game on a two-point conversion. Anyway, here's the e-mail Hochuli sent to many of the fans who are writing him to complain:

I'm getting hundreds of e-mails -- hate mail -- but I'm responding to it all. People deserve a response. You can rest assured that nothing anyone can say can make me feel worse than I already feel about my mistake on the fumble play. You have no idea. … Affecting the outcome of a game is a devastating feeling. Officials strive for perfection -- I failed miserably. Although it does no good to say it, I am very, very sorry.
Ed Hochuli

Maybe instead of peppering Hochuli with e-mails, the Chargers fans should be writing their team complaining about losing two games by giving up last-minute touchdowns.

Word of the day
And today's word, boys and girls, is "awesomeness.'' That's the word Dale Earnhardt Jr. used to describe what winning NASCAR's Chase for the Cup would mean to him.

"It would improve my overall awesomeness,'' Junior said. Nice word.

"Yeah. I worked on greatness for a while, but I tapped it out,’’ Junior said.

What do you care?
This is not to defend the Rays' support this season, or lack thereof. The Tampa Bay market should be embarrassed by this season's attendance. But it still kind of rankles us when outsiders take swipes at us, such as Steve Buckley, the otherwise fine columnist from the Boston Herald, who wrote, "Now it's time for MLB to take care of another disaster: The so-called Tampa-St. Petersburg 'baseball market.' Seriously, if the plucky, exciting Tampa Bay Rays make the playoffs, shouldn't their games be moved to a place where fans actually care about the product?''

I thought I would just throw this out there. Led by rookie sensations Fred Lynn and Jim Rice, the Red Sox made the playoffs in 1975 for the first time in eight years. Know what their average attendance was that season for the plucky, exciting Red Sox? 21,857. Or exactly 7,915 fewer people than attended Monday night's Sox-Rays game. And was anyone suggesting playoff games be moved out of Fenway in 1975?

There are reasons to doubt this market, but let's give it more than one winning season before we start suggesting moving playoff games, don't you think?

Unnecessary apology of the day
ESPN's Monday Night Football marked the start of the NFL's celebration to honor Hispanic Heritage Month. So after the Cowboys' Felix Jones ran back a kickoff for a touchdown, ESPN aired a replay of the Spanish-language call of the run. Analyst Tony Kornheiser said, "I took high school Spanish and that either means, 'Nobody is going to touch him' or 'Could you pick up my dry cleaning in the morning.' It's one of those two.''

Then in the fourth quarter, Kornheiser apologized, saying, "I said something before I shouldn't have said. I apologize for it. Not my first mistake. Undoubtedly, it won't be my last, but a 100 percent apology.''

The apology wasn't necessary because there was nothing offensive about the comment. Tony K wasn't making fun of anyone except for himself for having not learned Spanish in high school. File this under: No Big Deal.

Three things that popped into my head
1. USF quarterback Matt Grothe was on the Jim Rome radio show Tuesday. He plays quarterback a tad better than he sounds on radio.
2. Let's say the Oakland Raiders eventually fire coach Lane Kiffin. Does anyone even want that job anymore? Would you?
3. It still seems so strange that the Bucs have started (and have a quarterback controversy), that the Lightning opened training camp with new coach Barry Melrose and that we have a nationally ranked college football team at USF … and the Rays, in September, are the story of the day.

USF Bulls off and running again

2008-09-15T00:12:02-04:00

Shooting from the lip
Looking back at a weekend of televised sports ...

Best team
Haven't we seen this before? USF's football season is looking eerily similar to last year's breakthrough season -- a fast start highlighted by an early season weeknight victory on national television. And, based on the Bulls' schedule, they might again run their record to 6-0 and move into the Top 5 in the polls. In fact, if they keep winning, they should be favored in every game going into the regular-season finale at West Virginia.

After watching USC destroy Ohio State on Saturday night, it's hard to imagine USF could compete with a team like that, but it does appear to be, so far, the class of the Big East. Two ESPN analysts are already singing USF's praises.

Todd Blackledge said, "South Florida has kind of positioned themselves now as the team to beat in the Big East.''

College GameDay's Kirk Herbstreit added, "For South Florida, this is huge. This is one of those years when everybody is trying to figure out early: Who's the team to beat in each conference? This team, I think, has established itself as the team to beat in the Big East.''

Worst pick
I hate to pick on College GameDay's Lee Corso, but he chose UCLA to beat Brigham Young on Saturday. Final score: BYU 59, UCLA 0 — the Bruins' worst loss since 1929.

Biggest criticism
No doubt that Yankees catcher Jose Molina was miffed about being hit with a pitch in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader with the Rays. And, yes, he did slide far outside the basepath while trying to break up a double play on the ensuing batter. But it seemed as if Rays announcer Dewayne Staats was a little hard on Molina while watching the replay.

"That's really cheap!'' Staats said. "That's terrible. That had personal rancor involved with that move right there.''

Maybe Staats was right. Maybe Molina was looking for revenge. Personally, I think he was just trying to break up a double play. My thought is if Staats is going to call out a guy for being dirty, he'd better be right -- and again, maybe he was -- because that's a pretty serious accusation.

Strongest comment
We probably all agree with what Rays TV analyst Joe Magrane said Saturday, but it was still a strong comment: "I think it has become obvious that Matt Garza has the best stuff on the staff.''

Nitpick of the week
Notre Dame honored former coach Lou Holtz and his 1988 national championship team over the weekend. Holtz even gave a pep talk to the Irish Friday night -- a pep talk that was broadcast by ESPN, Holtz's current employer. Holtz does a good job not showing any favoritism while broadcasting. Still, is it a good idea for ESPN to show one of its employees giving a pep talk to a team that he occasionally must analyze?

Best feature
ESPN's College GameDay showed part of a touching piece on the Iowa football team, which spent part of its summer helping rebuild the high school football stadium in Parkersburg, Iowa, which was hit by a monster tornado in May. Be sure to check out the entire piece on Tuesday night's E:60 at 7 on ESPN. Bring tissues.

Worst sport
Anyone notice how the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez acted like he was backing out of the batter's box and got Rays starter Matt Garza to balk in the Saturday night game? A-Rod was the first one to start yelling for a balk, meaning he knew what he was doing. And it was a cheap thing to do. What is this, Little League?
Of course, this is the same A-Rod who once slapped a ball out of a player's glove and once yelled, "Mine!'' on a popup and confused the fielders into letting the ball drop, so it really shouldn't be surprising he would pull a stunt like that. But still, he's way too good of a ballplayer to continually do stuff like this.

Boldest prediction
"Drew Brees is your NFL MVP and the New Orleans Saints are going to make it to the Super Bowl. I also believe that the Arizona Cardinals are going to make it to the playoffs as well.''
-- CBS's Boomer Esiason

Worst performance
Swimmer Michael Phelps might have been the worst host in Saturday Night Live history. Not just worst athlete-host. Worst host ever. Poor guy. He's a swimmer, not a comedic actor. He proved that in painful fashion Saturday night, not that the writers did him any favors. His one good line was, "This is like the ninth greatest moment of my life.'' Phelps, of course, won eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics.

Best joke
Saturday Night Live did offer up the best joke of the weekend. During the "Weekend Update''’ segment, Seth Meyers said, "Injured New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will be replaced by Matt Cassel, an untested, inexperienced backup -- earning him the nickname 'Sarah Palin'.''

Best insight
East Carolina's hot start (3-0, including victories against West Virginia and Virginia Tech) means one thing: Don't expect coach Skip Holtz to be there a long time. CBS college football pregame host Tim Brando said, "Let me tell you something about Skip Holtz. He's the hottest commodity in coaching right now and when an SEC job opens up, he is going to be the first one called.''

Three good quotes
"They honestly looked like an NFL team against a college team.''
-- ESPN Sports Reporters' Mitch Albom, talking about USC's 35-3 victory against Ohio State.

"I'm not positive he can get that locker room back.''
-- NBC's Peter King, talking about the Titans' troubled quarterback, Vince Young.

"It would be one of the great baseball stories of all time.''
ESPN Sports Reporters' Mike Lupica, talking about the Rays making the postseason.

Three things that popped into my head
1. If you were Rays manager Joe Maddon, wouldn't you be tempted to put David Price in the starting rotation?
2. If you are an Ohio State fan, aren't you tempted to ask if coach Jim Tressel might be a tad overrated, especially when it comes to big games? Not only do the Buckeyes lose these big games, they get crushed.
3. If you were Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez, wouldn't you be tempted to call West Virginia and ask the Mountaineers if they would take you back?

Rays are fun even when they lose

2008-09-07T22:57:13-04:00

Shooting from the Lip
Looking back at a weekend of televised sports ...

Best and worst weekend
This weekend should've been right up there among the best sports weekends of the year. The Rays are in a pennant race. The Bucs opened the season. A good U.S. Open was coming to a close. And there was college football. Then the whole thing crumpled.

The Rays? Swept. The Bucs? Losers. The U.S. Open's Super Saturday? Ruined by rain. Instead of watching sports all day and night, you probably turned to Oxygen, half-hoping to run into a Snapped marathon. The killer was the Rays' heartbreaking loss Saturday, when they rallied to tie in the ninth, took the lead in the top of the 13th, then lost on a two-out grand slam in the bottom of the inning. That was followed by a maddening 1-0 loss Sunday.

But here's the thing: No matter what the Rays do from here on out -- even if they completely fall apart and miss the playoffs -- they have made this year, and even the past weekend, special for the Tampa Bay area. All you really want from the team you follow is more good days than bad, more days of pleasure than frustration, or worse, apathy.

The Rays have certainly given that. And when was the last time you whipped a pillow at the TV screen during a Rays game in September? When you think about it, that's a good thing.

Worst call
The excessive celebration penalty called Saturday against Washington was a joke. Quarterback Jake Locker scored with two seconds left to cut Brigham Young's lead to 28-27, but he was penalized for flicking the ball over his shoulder and hugging teammates. He wasn't taunting or drawing attention to himself but was still flagged. The extra point became a 35-yard kick, which was blocked.
"This could be a job-loser game for (Washington coach) Ty Willingham — bottom line,'' ESPN's Mark May said. "The officials took this out of the players' and coaches' hands and put it in their own, and that's wrong. It should've never happened.''

Fox's Jimmy Johnson said, "You have good coaches, you have bad coaches. You have good officials, you have bad officials. This official is an idiot for making that call!''

But ESPN's Lou Holtz had the best line: "What scares you when see officials make that call is (knowing) they can vote.''

Best and worst sight
The Cowboys' Terrell Owens scored Sunday against the Browns and celebrated by lining up like track star Usain Bolt. Then, daggumut, he was hit with a penalty. Come on, it was funny. The NFL needs to lighten up. And if you're an opponent who doesn't like seeing him celebrate like that, here's a solution: Don't let him score.

Best exchange
Fox NFL Sunday weather person Jillian Reynolds congratulated analyst Howie Long and his wife, Diane, because the Long's son, Chris, made his NFL debut Sunday for the Rams.
Reynolds: "I’m nervous. I can only imagine how Diane is feeling.''
Long: "She has been in two fights in the parking lot already.''

Favorite quote
In a feature on ESPN, Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said that character is more important than reputation.
"Your reputation, that's a photograph,'' he said. "Your character is your face. Your reputation is what people say about you. Your character is what God knows about you.''

That's really good, although I didn't think a whole lot of his character or reputation when he tagged on a touchdown with a minute left Saturday night in a 69-0 beat down of I-AA Western Carolina. Then again, the Seminoles have been so bad the past few years that they probably removed the "take-a-knee'' play out of their playbook.

Strongest quote
"Kansas City is the worst team in football.''
-- Sports Illustrated's Peter King, during halftime of NBC's coverage of Notre Dame and San Diego State.

Funniest line
ESPN's Mike Ditka when asked what he thought of the Bengals' Chad Johnson changing his name to Ocho Cinco: "I'd like it better if it was Ocho Stinko.''

Best answer
East Carolina appears to be this season's USF after stunning upsets of Virginia Tech and West Virginia in the first two weeks. Immediately after Saturday's victory against West Virginia, as fans stormed the field, ESPN's Holly Rowe asked East Carolina coach Skip Holtz how he planned on keeping his team grounded and not too excited.

Holtz gave the right answer: "I don't plan to. Right now, I want them to get excited. This is awesome!''

Best analyst
HBO's Max Kellerman blasted away Saturday night after calling Juan Diaz's split-decision victory over Michael Katsidis, and because of it, he showed again why is among the finest analysts in sports. He isn't afraid of anyone or anything.

First, during an interview broadcast in the arena with Katsidis and his trainer, Kellerman bravely disagreed with their view of the fight and their strategy heading into the later rounds. Then he scolded the pro-Diaz audience in Houston for booing Katsidis. In his best moment, he blew up at the judges for a scoring the fight so closely, even though it appeared to be a lopsided bout in Diaz's favor. Really, it appeared Katsidis won maybe three or four rounds.

"That's one of the worst jobs of scoring I've ever seen,'' Kellerman said. "It goes beyond just bad scoring. It makes you question whether there was a corruptive influence in the scoring.''

Three things that popped into my head
1. Sorry, I know he's come through most of the time, but Troy Percival still makes me nervous.
2. The Dodgers are going to win the NL West. They don't play a team above .500 for the rest of the season.
3. Which college football team had the best weekend? Southern Cal ... and the Trojans didn't even play. But they did watch next week's opponent (Ohio State) struggle against Ohio and then spent the rest of the day licking their chops.

10 reasons why it's cooler to be a Rays fan than a Bucs fan

2008-09-02T19:02:23-04:00

Maybe it is cooler to be a Rays fan these days than a Bucs fan. Check out Jason Burtch. He's a 29-year-old Tampa Bay sports fan from Port Charlotte. Burtch wants Rays tickets so badly that he’s willing to give up Bucs tickets for Rays tickets. Friday, Burtch, a 29-year-old who lives in Port Charlotte, posted a message on a Rays message board wanting to trade Bucs tickets for Rays tickets.

Tampa Bay always has been and probably always will be football-first town. But, actually, it is cooler to be a Rays fan than a Bucs fan at the moment. Here are 10 reasons why:

1. You can feel good about the Rays
Delmon Young is a head case and the Rays trade him. Elijah Dukes is a trouble-maker and the Rays trade him. B.J. Upton loafs and the Rays bench him. Meantime, the Bucs re-sign a player (Jerramy Stevens) who has been in one legal shenanigan after another, and use a first-round pick to draft a guy (Aqib Talib) who was caught smoking marijuana on multiple occasions in college and then got into a fight with a teammate at the NFL rookie symposium.

2. The Rays treat players better
Rocco Baldelli comes down with a mysterious illness and what do the Rays do? Stand behind him, help him, show patience and eventually work him back into the lineup. Chris Simms loses a spleen and what to the Bucs do? Bad-mouth him, bench him and, ultimately, release him.

3. It literally is cooler
Rays home game: 72 degrees, no rain, no wind, no boiling sun. Bucs games: 90 degrees, maybe a wicked thunderstorm, searing sun. At Rays games, you settle in with a cold drink and a bag of peanuts that you can bring from home. At the Bucs game, you cram into an oven and need 70 SPF and a bottle of water to just keep from passing out.

4. Rays are more family friendly
In general, the difference between a Rays game and a Bucs fan is like the difference between a movie that's rated PG and another that’s rated R. The Bucs draw more fans, but that also means more of them are drunk, obnoxious and swear like they're in David Mamet play. In short, if you have the choice to take your 8-year-old to a Rays game or a Bucs game, it's no contest.

5. The Rays owners seem like regular guys
The Glazers are probably nice people and they do wonderful charity work. But when was the last time you saw Joel and Bryan Glazer or GM Bruce Allen serving as ushers at a game like Rays owner Stuart Sternberg and executives Matt Silverman and Andrew Friedman? The Rays boys just seem more accessible and their sole focus is a baseball team in St. Petersburg. (They have nothing to do with a soccer team in England.) Plus, Sternberg gets extra points for being a Springsteen fan. We don't know what kind of music the Glazers listen to because they are so private, but something about them screams "Yanni.''

6. You don't have to sit in traffic
See, there's one advantage to small crowds at Rays games. You don't have to fill up your gas tank, leave your house four hours early and inch your way along the final five miles just to arrive two hours before the game starts. Then repeat the whole thing after the game. The Rays are a pleasant evening out. The Bucs are a hard day's work.

7. Joe Maddon seems like a nicer guy than Jon Gruden
The Bucs coach isn't paid to make friends, but to win games. I get that. But I go back two years ago when Maddon took two games off to attend his girlfriend's graduation from law school. I just don't see Gruden doing something like that. Maddon sips wine after a game. Meantime, when we think of Gruden, our first thought is seeing how many times he can use a word that starts with "F'' on the sidelines.

8. Free parking
When I see the word "free,'' my next thought is "cool.'' Cars with four or more people can still park for free at a Rays game. The Bucs charge 25 bucks a pop no matter how many people are in your car. Plus, you can get a ticket to a Rays game for a mere $9. Nine dollars can't get your front wheels into the parking lot at Raymond James.

9. Post-game concerts and giveaways
LL Cool J, Loverboy and more bobbleheads than you can shake a stick at. That's what you get at a Rays game. What do the Bucs give away? Posters that turn into flying airplanes about midway through the fourth quarter of their games. And, this has nothing to do with giveaways, but here's another reason -- there's more offense at a Rays game.

10. You can hang out after a Rays game
Okay, so downtown St. Pete isn't exactly midtown Manhattan. But at least you can walk to a couple of dozen places to grab a bite to eat and a drink, maybe even listen to a little music. There are a few popular places within walking distance of Raymond James. Sure, you can listen to music at these, uh, establishments, but you better not grab anything or a guy named T-Bone will snap your spinal cord.

Fox baseball's lost weekend in Tampa BAY

2008-08-31T22:47:46-04:00

Shooting from the Lip
Looking back at a weekend of televised sports ...

Worst camera
So, we had a look at what postseason baseball might look like from the Trop as Fox was in town Saturday for its Game of the Week. Anyone notice how off-center the camera angle was from centerfield? It looked like the camera was set not in center, but in left-center. Home plate was shoved against the right portion of the screen, and it was just unsettling enough to be a distraction for the entire game. And I'm convinced the reason for the off-kilter angle was to get the advertising sign behind home plate into the picture. Let's hope that gets fixed if (when?) Fox does return to St. Petersburg in October.

Poorest choice of words
Fox baseball pregame host Jeanne Zelasko was attempting to be clever when talking about Major League Baseball adding instant replay, but she showed poor judgment or, at the least, proof she hasn't picked up a newspaper or watched a news show in a few days. In a bubbly voice, a smiling Zelasko said, "In the name of progress and disaster preparedness, instant replay has arrived.''

Considering that people were literally fleeing New Orleans and the Gulf Coast with a major hurricane barrelling down, the phrase "disaster preparedness'' was an awful choice of words.

More misspeak
Meantime, Zelasko, as she has all season, keeps insisting the Rays play in Tampa. Two more times in Saturday's pregame she called the team the "Tampa Ray'' and in the postgame introduced the highlights from the game "in Tampa.'' Every time she says it, it's like nails on a chalkboard. Her studio partners, Mark Grace and Kevin Kennedy, get it right. Saturday's play-by-play man Kenny Albert got it right. Pretty much everybody gets it right. Why can't she?

Best show
The best part of college football starting again? The return of ESPN's College GameDay -- the best sports show on television. Chris Fowler, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit are in the zone -- so knowledgeable, quick and incredibly comfortable with each other without flooding the viewers with "inside'' jokes or comments. Even weak-link Desmond Howard seems to be growing into his role and had a strong debut Saturday, speaking with more confidence and authority than in the past.

GameDay ignored USF on Saturday but talked plenty about Florida. Corso had the best point about the Gators, saying: "The one thing that worries me about the Gators, if you're a Gators fan, is this: Only six teams in the nation committed more penalties than they did in 2007. There is no excuse for that. … They will not beat SEC teams if the don’t (commit fewer) penalties.''

Then again, it should be noted that when Florida won the national championship two seasons ago, it was the most penalized team in the country.

Best feature
ESPN's College GameDay recycled an Outside the Lines' piece on Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, but every time you see it you can't help but get a tear in your eye. The kid could easily spend the summer at the beach chasing good times, but instead he does missionary work. Even if you hate the Gators, you can't help but respect Tebow.

Best announcers
This needs to be repeated over and over: If there is a better baseball announcing crew than Dewayne Staats and Joe Magrane, I haven't heard them. Here's what I love about them. On Sunday, Jason Bartlett was hit by a pitch that looked intentional in the eighth inning. The first thought in my mind, and I'm betting most who were watching, was: "Hmm, do the Rays retaliate? Should they retaliate?''

And then Staats and Magrane addressed that very issue in the top of the ninth. And it was Magrane coming strong when it was apparent the Rays would not retaliate.

"I'm sorry,'' Magrane said, "you got to protect Bartlett.''
"Yes,'' Staats said, "He's the one guy you don't want anybody messing with.''

Bartlett was Todd Kalas' guest on the postgame show, but wasn't asked about it.

Best and worst tennis news
Tampa had a good news/bad news match over the weekend. Tampa's Mardy Fish won a big third-round match at the U.S. Open. That was good. "Fish played the best match of his life,'' CBS analyst John McEnroe said. "And if he can play like that … look out.''

The bad part was the victory came against Tampa resident James Blake, who continues to fall short in the Grand Slams. Blake will be 29 in December and, unless something drastically changes, he is never going to make a major impact in a major. He has never reached a semifinal of a Grand Slam tournament and, in fact, he has reached the quarters only three times. Not to pick on Blake too much, but even Anna Kournikova reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam once.

Most surprising show
Ch. 13, the local Fox affiliate, produced a half-hour show on the Rays before the national coverage Saturday afternoon. Chip Carter hosted and, though it was nothing more than catching up with the Rays' season, it was a nice idea and well executed. The show included interviews with Evan Longoria, Joe Maddon, Carl Crawford, longtime fan Dick Vitale and TV announcer Dewayne Staats.

Five things we learned in the first weekend of college football
1. Either Clemson is really bad or Alabama is really good. It's probably a little of both, but if I'm an SEC coach, I'm suddenly a little worried about the Crimson Tide, especially if QB John Parker Wilson is going to play like that.
2. Missouri better fix its defense if it hopes to contend for a national title.
3.Told you Pitt was overrated.
4. With Clemson and Virginia Tech looking so bad, Florida State might actually have a chance in the ACC.
5. Georgia might be ranked No. 1, but Southern Cal is the best team in the country … right now.

Best line
The Boston Globe's Bob Ryan, on Sports Reporters: "Haley Joel Osment isn't the only one claiming to see dead people. I think I just saw Carl Pavano win two games for the Yankees.''

Strongest line
College GameDay's Chris Fowler, who is good for one I-don't-care-who-I-tick-off zinger a week, took a sledgehammer to LSU, saying, "LSU has the softest nonconference schedule of any SEC team, and that's an embarrassment for a defending national champion.''
Fowler is right. LSU's nonconference schedule: home against Appalachian State, Troy, North Texas and Tulane.

Three things that popped into my head
1. Wonder who enjoyed Utah's victory over Michigan more, Utah fans or West Virginia fans?
2. Many complained when the Rays did not make a move at the trade deadline. Turns out, they did get a key late-season acquisition -- Rocco Baldelli.
3. Who would've thought before the season that this week's three-game series between the Rays and Yankees would feature a first-place team and another team 12 1/2 games back, and that the Yankees would be the team 12 1/2 back?

Best Olympics ever

2008-08-24T23:12:32-04:00

And I'm baaack.

Vacation is over. I finally got bored with sleeping in and staying up late and taking naps and ... actually, I didn't get tired of that. But I'm also not tired of drawing a paycheck and so I'm back at work. Here's a look back at NBC's coverage of the Olympics, as well as a couple of odds and ends from the weekend.

The Olympics
The Olympics came to a close Sunday, and NBC's coverage was worthy of a gold medal. The network set the standard for all future Olympics broadcasts.

The coverage wasn't perfect. Yes, the network did tend to concentrate on American athletes, then again, the last time I checked, this is America. Maybe NBC could've shed more light on the political issues of these Games, but those topics are the responsibility of all media, not just NBC, and it's a topic that has been, generally, well covered. There were issues with the 12-hour time difference, yet NBC did the best it could with those and cannot be blamed for any complications because of it. In fact, whittling down a long night of track and field and/or gymnastics into a tight hour segment made it more enjoyable. There was no standing around, so to speak.

So, in the end, NBC gets an A-plus. Here were some of the best parts of NBC's coverage.

Bob Costas
The late Jim McKay will always be known as the pre-eminent Olympics host, but Costas' performance, particularly during interviews, was outstanding, and Costas deserves to have his name mentioned right alongside the legendary McKay. There is no better sports broadcaster on the planet right now than Costas.

Best announcers
Gold medal: The track-and-field trio of Tom Hammond, Ato Bolden and Lewis Johnson were, by far, the stars of NBC's event coverage, especially Bolden. It also helped that Hammond proved he wasn't just some polished broadcaster who brushed up on track and field on the plane ride to Beijing. Hammond showed throughout the Games that he knew as much about the sport as his two broadcast partners.
Silver medal: Doug Collins' work on the U.S. basketball team's redemption was not biased in the least even though his son was a member of Team USA's management and many of the players dedicated the gold to Collins. (Collins was a member of the 1972 team that was robbed of a gold medal. In fact, after Sunday's gold-medal victory, many players raced over to shake hands with Collins.) Collins was critical of the team during Sunday's title game against Spain, and his analysis through the tournament was spot-on.
Bronze medal: Gymnastics color analyst Tim Daggett did a splendid job breaking down how routines are judged, pointing out where deductions occurred and even took the judges to task on more than one occasion for fishy scores.

All events coverage
In most Olympics, we are flooded with coverage of swimming, track and gymnastics. Certainly, those events were the highlights of NBC's prime-time coverage, but thanks to additional coverage on USA, MSNBC and CNBC, we were exposed to heavy coverage of all sports, including table tennis, water polo, field hockey and, still the coolest event in the Olympics -- team handball. No event was left out in the cold. In addition, sports such as beach volleyball, regular volleyball and softball got the best rides they've ever been given in coverage.

Profiles
The "Up Close and Personal'' features have long been a staple of Olympics coverage, going back to the days when ABC showed the Games. NBC took the microwave approach -- limiting most such features to only a couple of minutes. The profiles remained effective without chewing up large chunks of time.

What didn't work
NBC did have a few hiccups on its coverage.
Cris Collinsworth is one of the better football analysts around, but his "Gosh, golly, shucks, ain't the Olympics great?'' routines in studio grew tiresome.
Bela Karolyi seemed cute at the start of the Games, but his outright cheering -- as well as NBC's bizarre decision to play up his cheerleading -- quickly became annoying.
Andrea Joyce should be ashamed for her interview with U.S. gymnast Alicia Sacramone, whose subpar performance cost the women's team a gold medal. Asking a question or two about Sacramone's failure is Joyce's job. Pestering Sacramone until she teared up seemed sadistic.

And now for sports other than the Olympics ...

Most annoying announcer
Someone please tell Fox pregame baseball host Jeanne Zelasko that the Rays go by Tampa Bay, not Tampa. Zelasko said "Tampa'' three times in a 15-minute pregame show. Hey, it isn't the "Los Dodgers'' or "New Yankees,'' and it isn't the "Tampa Rays.'' It's "Tampa Bay Rays.” How hard is that? Even partner Mark Grace mentioned the team played in St. Petersburg, yet that didn't stop Zelasko from continuing to refer to the team as "Tampa.''

Best analysis
The Rays certainly got some nice play on Fox's Game of the Week on Saturday. Announcers Josh Lewin and Eric Karros seemed to have a pretty good grasp of the Rays and the afternoon was a proud moment for local baseball fans, especially after the Rays rallied to win. Anyway, in talking about the Rays out-of-nowhere season and how they don't appear to be going away, Lewin had a nice line: "What was, initially, just kind of thought of as a novelty act, like 'Oh, isn't that nice? They're off to a good little start.' Now, they are absolutely the gum on your shoe.''

Best anger
The Rays announcing team didn't hold back tearing into Doug Eddings after the umpire's controversial interference call helped the White Sox beat the Rays on Sunday. Kudos to the Rays TV production team for showing several replays, and one would have to agree with the Rays broadcasters that Eddings blew the call, although postgame host Todd Kalas seemed to let some anger show, calling it "the worst call that has gone against the Rays in their 11-year history.'' (Based on reaction from the booth last week, I thought B.J. Upton being called out at first against the Angels was the "worst call'' ever.) Announcer Dewayne Staats also deserves credit for pointing out that the Rays had a chance to close the game out in the ninth and that the controversial play should've never happened in the first place.

Chipping away
The Tampa Bay region didn't get TBS' Game of the Week coverage of Sunday's Rays-White Sox game, but here's what announcer Chip Carey said about the controversial call that went against the Rays: "Here is the spot where you really do wish you have replay so the umpires could see the unbelievable acting job that A.J. Pierzynski just turned in. I mean you talk about Academy Award-winning. Polish the statue and mail it to 35th and Shields because A.J. Pierzynski just stole 90 feet on the base paths and may end up stealing a win in this 10th inning.''

Little League World Series
Don't ask me what I thought because I didn't watch it. It's my own little personal boycott. I've beaten this drum before so no need to repeat myself. Bottom line is I don't think Little League games should be on television because these kids are too little to have that kind of pressure put upon them.