Okay, I’ve got to talk about him. I cannot resist, it’s been too irritating too watch the news and see him plastered all over the screen so here it goes.
You know what that means…….
That mute button shall be working overtime.
Remember The Contender? It was a good idea that was wrongfully put on NBC for the first season, but was quickly revived for 2 more seasons, with the last episode getting nominated for fight of the year (Sakio Bika’s KO of Jaidon Codrington). Sadly, with the sport of boxing slowly dying, any hopes of another season on ESPN were crushed. But Mark Burnett doesn’t let anything die, so…..it will come back!
Versus has ordered a fourth season of the boxing competish, which previously aired on NBC for a year before moving to ESPN for two seasons.
Cabler has sealed a deal with Mark Burnett Prods. and DreamWorks TV for 11 one-hours and a two-hour finale, with the show to bow in December. As part of the deal, Versus has also acquired the U.S. premiere of “The Contender Muay Thai,” a spinoff skein originally produced for Asian TV audiences. “The Contender Muay Thai,” which includes 14 one-hour segs and a two-hour finale, was shot in Singapore and focuses on international Muay Thai kickboxers.
“Muay Thai” will bow July 31 at 10 p.m.
The fourth regular “Contender” will also be shot in Singapore and focus on 16 cruiserweights from around the world. The series will pit U.S. boxers against international fighters.
Here is part of my problem with the show. It’s always an x number of veteran fighters who cannot punch, can’t effectively hurt someone, and it just translates into less than average boxing at times. With MMA growing as we speak, I really hope that Muay Thai doesn’t turn out to be the same way.
The road to South Africa 2010 is absolutely pivotal, and ESPN snapped up the English language rights for the US only. Here’s a little journey through their big coverage of The Beautiful Game.
We saw their coverage in World Cup 2006, and I watched nearly every game, and I thought it was the worst coverage of a major tournament in history. The dumbed down approach towards the “casual soccer fan” backfired, and they ended up having millions, and I mean millions, of hardcore fans and casual fans listening to Pablo Ramirez yell “GOLAZO!” on Univision. Everything from the overbearing graphics that covered up the screen, the statistics aren’t even close to being correct (Australia qualifying for the 1990 World Cup, when it was actually Austria), to, most importantly, the commentators.
ESPN's decision to play to the casual soccer fan in the World Cup proved to be one of their biggest blunders. Dave O'Brien was heavily criticized by journalists and bloggers alike.
They treated one of the biggest sporting events in the world like crap. Dave O’Brien was basically given a few months to study the game and commentate on select US matches. He’s already, considered by many, to be a poor baseball and basketball announcer, and when I first heard O’Brien in the World Cup I lost it. He wouldn’t stop talking and talking and talking, bringing up pointless “human interest” stories, and his knowledge of the game was lacking. I mean, he called David Beckham “Michael Beckett”. ESPN thought it was a great idea to have O’Brien learn the game with everyone else! And frankly, the World Cup was just PERFECT! Alas, he was your lead play-by-play man, which leads me to……
Marcelo Balboa teamed up with Dave O'Brien to make up the nightmare broadcast team.
Marcelo Balboa. The former US International defender tortured us with his brutal contradictions and tired cliches. One minute he would talk about an Italian player doing a good job in selling a foul, and then the next minute say there is no place in the game for diving for an Australian player. Not just that, Babbleboa continued his logic with
“(player) had the better chance in that 50-50 ball.”
That’s right, one player’s 50 is bigger than his opponent’s 50.
“Hits the back of the post.”
Net anyone?
He did this over and over again to the point where I was off to Univision before the knockout stages. Me thinks him clearing crosses into the box took a toll on the noggin. That was your lead analyst, add him with Dave and you have 90 minutes of talk.
The bright light I saw from the coverage had to be Adrian Healey and Tommy Smyth. They seemed to be the sane ones there. They seemed less interested in Ivory Coast being in a civil war at the time (more on that later), and more interested on the game……great concept right?
We all know the hosting and the USA bias was bad, Alexi Lalas thought Kasey Keller was the best goalkeeper in the world, and Julie Foudy seemed lost half of the time. Eric Wynalda would often make snarky comments about Ronaldo, really did a lot more whining than analysis, and he was also pretty annoying. It didn’t matter who was hosting (Rece Davis, Dave Revsine, etc.), it ended up being a train wreck.
Another criticism I had of ESPN’s coverage was their severe overkill of stories. They thought beating into my head the fact that Ivory Coast was in a civil war and that the US was playing on Wednesday in HD would be a great idea, but it was just another ploy to talk a little more. Take an example from the British announcers, they don’t go into detail about a player’s childhood problems, that is mostly a private issue, and frankly, it is irrelevant to the game.
To conclude, all of us were shaking when ESPN snagged the rights to Euro 2008, and in 2006, it was expected that O’Brien and Balboa would ruin another tournament.
Petitions were given to get ESPN off of soccer coverage, Dave O’Brien out of the booth, and something tells me the executives and producers got a hint in 2008.
Earlier in the year, O’Brien was doing a lot more baseball and college basketball work, and frankly something had to give……and it was soccer! He and Balboa were no longer the lead commentators for US games or tournaments, and instead were replaced by JP Dellacamera and John Harkes. A much more well received idea, and they haven’t done a bad job at all.
In comes Wynalda making a fatal mistake. Making comments like these lost him a job come the new MLS season this past March with the two mentioned above.
As we wait agonizingly to see what ESPN do, there is another option:
Rae has been the voice of the UEFA Champions League on ESPN for years.
The UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE COMMENTATORS!
That’s right, Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth usually handle UEFA Champions League games for ESPN in Bristol, calling games off of a monitor, with Adrian Healey and Robbie Mustoe as the 2nd pair.
The months go, and the press release reads…..
The landing of Sky Sports commentator Andy Gray was given much praise and really put ESPN's regulars like Julie Foudy and Tommy Smyth to shame with his opinions and knowledge.
ANDY GRAY!! The greatly respected Sky Sports analyst! Alright! Outside of the hosts, every one is from Europe. This may actually work, and then….
Let’s call all of the matches off of a monitor!
Things got off to a horrific start, uninteresting games, and sadly, Andy Gray doesn’t deserve to stoop to the level of his counterparts (Julie Foudy, Tommy Smyth). Foudy couldn’t go 10 words without stumbling or slobbering over Cristiano Ronaldo. Smyth went from being good for me to tolerable with contradictions and refusing to admit he is wrong. Gray was the shining spot of a pathetic studio show. Let’s not forget the presenters! Steve Bunin (or was it Dari Nowkah? Don’t remember) opened up with “the UEFA Euro 2000″, which sounds more like a toilet product, and at least get the year right please. Player pronunciations were way off, and I was prepared for another disaster.
But, like most bloggers out there, were pleased with everything else besides the pre-game and post-game shows, ESPN really showed some interest, no dumbing down of the game, and the only irk I had while watching the matches had to be the constant plug of the NBA Finals or a NASCAR event, not necessary. The graphics were good, not overbearing, stats were relevant, and to be honest, I thought they did a great job covering the event.
In an interview with World Soccer Daily, the chances of Andy Gray returning for World Cup 2010 were quite good.
Certainly we’ll have our trickle of American announcers like Dellacamera doing matches for the US should they qualify, but this is a step up for ESPN.
This is going to be the point where ESPN can’t afford a flub. I have confidence in them (yes, I DO!) that they will play to an audience of higher intelligence, and give us wall to wall coverage and useful facts that will make watching ESPN for at least one event pleasurable again.
The last team sport I could possibly imagine seeing a brawl is in the WNBA. But it is Detroit, and they can make things happen. Towards the end of the Sparks/Shock game, Candace Parker and Cheryl Ford were putting up some rough play. After Parker fouled Ford (to offset Ford’s hard foul against Parker), a melee ensues. Benches cleared, and…..wait…..is that RICK MAHORN?
Parker, Delisha Milton Jones, Plenette Pierson, and Mahorn were all ejected.
I will leave it there, because they may raid my home and punch me out.
No more Sonics means no more Kevin Calabro right? Wrong! He’s a local broadcasting legend, he’s one of my favorites, and now he’s going to take a crack at soccer!
As some of you know already, the next MLS franchise will be Seattle Sounders FC, they have a geographical home at Qwest Field, and a broadcasting affiliate (KING 5 NBC, KONG 6/16), but no play by play announcer. A possible candidate was Brian Davis, voice of select Portland Timbers USL games on FSN Northwest. Thankfully though…..
Kevin Calabro, the voice of the Sonics for 21 seasons, will become the voice of Seattle Sounders FC broadcasts as the team debuts in Major League Soccer next season.
The team and BELO also reached a multiyear television partnership to broadcast Sounders games on KONG (6 and 16) and King (5).
“I’m thrilled to be part of Sounders FC soccer in a city that I know will embrace it,” said Calabro. “Seattle is blessed to have devoted ownership as well and I know people will be excited about the possibilities.”
I have no idea of Calabro’s soccer background, I don’t think he even has any, so I’m pretty much crossing my fingers that this is not a repeat of the Dave O’Brien disaster, but I think he’s smart enough to study up on the game as the MLS opener for Seattle is 9 months away.
There is no news on who the analyst will be, but Mr. Calabro will definitely bringing out those funny catchphrases that Seattleites have come to know and love.
So the basketball team formerly known as the Seattle SuperSonics has been renamed the Oklahoma City Thunder. This is their first step in becoming an NBA franchise, with the logo to come later. KOCO reports:
Calls to team officials were unreturned Friday afternoon and evening. However, KOCO.com confirmed that the registrar for all of the NBA’s Internet domain names reserved okcthunderbasketball.com and okcthunderbasketball.net on July 10.
CSC Corporate Domains, an offshoot of Corporation Service Company, describes itself as a domain name management company for corporations, law firms and intellectual property professionals. It is the registrar of record for nba.com and all other domains managed by NBA Media Ventures, LLC.
Was that the best they could come up with? The Wranglers, the Twisters, the Outlaws, the Sterns? Will they make a lot of noise but not make the actual impact like lightning does? Will the team logo just be clouds?
Yeah, we’ll go with the Sterns, and I have the logo!
I know I know, it surprised me too. In a friendly/warm up match for West Ham United and the Columbus Crew as the MLS All-Star game nears, a fight broke out! About 100 Crew Fans and 30 Hammer fans got into it at the section where the Crew’s loudest supporters (laughs) stand:
Crew supporters began directing chants toward the rival fans, and fights quickly broke out between more than 100 Crew fans and at least 30 West Ham fans. Columbus police officers and Crew Stadium security staff eventually separated the groups.
Highway Patrol officers arrested one fan outside the stadium for disorderly conduct, Patrol spokeswoman Anne Ralston said. A dispatcher didn’t know whether Columbus police had made any arrests inside the stadium.
I’m reading on the forums around Big Soccer that the Crew fans began chanting “USA! USA!” to Hammer fans and that’s when the fight started. They have photos and everything so if you go to http://www.bigsoccer.com and search for the Crew forum then you’ll get a better picture.
Riots happen all the time, but this seems rather silly, it’s just a friendly guys, and West Ham pounded the Crew 3-1 in case you completely skipped over the fight to figure out who won.
The Barclays Premier League is only 1 month away and I’m totally excited to watch Fulham finally drop and Manchester United romp to another title. Fox Soccer Channel (otherwise known as what I stated in the title of this post) and Setanta Sports North America have given us an early peak at their schedule, and for some reason, not that many Fulham games, and FSC got a steal with Man Utd/Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. This is via EPL Talk:
Saturday, August 16
Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion, 7:45am ET, Setanta Sports
Middlesbrough v Tottenham, 10am ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Aston Villa v Manchester City, 10am ET, Setanta Sports
Hull v Fulham, time TBD (either 10am on Setanta Xtra or that afternoon on tape delay), Setanta Sports
West Ham v Wigan, time TBD (either 10am on Setanta Xtra or that afternoon on tape delay), Setanta Sports
Sunderland v Liverpool, 12:30pm ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Everton v Blackburn, 2:30pm ET (tape delay), Fox Soccer Channel
Sunday, August 17
Chelsea v Portsmouth, 8:30am ET, Setanta Sports
Manchester United v Newcastle United, 11am ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Saturday, August 23
Liverpool v Middlesbrough, 10am ET, Setanta Sports
Tottenham v Sunderland, 10am ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Newcastle v Bolton, time TBD (either 10am on Setanta Xtra or that afternoon on tape delay), Setanta Sports
West Brom v Everton, time TBD (either 10am on Setanta Xtra or that afternoon on tape delay), Setanta Sports
Fulham v Arsenal, 12:30pm ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Stoke v Aston Villa, 2:30pm ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Sunday, August 24
Wigan v Chelsea, 8:30am ET, Setanta Sports
Manchester City v West Ham United, 11am ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Monday, August 25
Portsmouth v Manchester United, 3pm ET, Setanta Sports
Saturday, August 30
Everton v Portsmouth, 10am ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Middlesbrough v Stoke, 10am ET, Setanta Sports
Sunderland v Man City, time TBD (either 10am on Setanta Xtra or that afternoon on tape delay), Setanta Sports
West Ham v Blackburn, time TBD (either 10am on Setanta Xtra or that afternoon on tape delay), Setanta Sports
Arsenal v Newcastle, 12:30pm ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Sunday, August 31
Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur, 8:30am ET, Setanta Sports
Aston Villa v Liverpool, 11am ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Saturday, September 13
Liverpool v Manchester United, 7:45am ET, Setanta Sports
Blackburn v Arsenal, 10am ET, Setanta Sports
Game TBA, 10am ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Fulham v Bolton, time TBD (either 10am on Setanta Xtra or that afternoon on tape delay), Setanta Sports
West Brom v West Ham, time TBD (either 10am on Setanta Xtra or that afternoon on tape delay), Setanta Sports
Man City v Chelsea, 12:30pm ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Sunday, September 14
Stoke City v Everton, 8:30am ET, Setanta Sports
Monday, September 15
Tottenham v Aston Villa, 3pm ET, Setanta Sports
Saturday, September 20
Sunderland v Middlesbrough, 7am ET, Setanta Sports
Game TBA, 10am ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Blackburn v Fulham, 10am ET, Setanta Sports
Liverpool v Stoke, time TBD (either 10am on Setanta Xtra or that afternoon on tape delay), Setanta Sports
Bolton v Arsenal, 12:30pm ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Sunday, September 21
West Bromwich Albion v Aston Villa, 7am ET, Setanta Sports
Chelsea v Manchester United, 9am ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Hull v Everton, 10am ET, Setanta Sports
Man City v Portsmouth, time TBD (either 10am on Setanta Xtra or that afternoon on tape delay), Setanta Sports
Saturday, September 27
Everton v Liverpool, 7:45am ET, Setanta Sports
Game TBA, 10am ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Aston Villa v Sunderland, 10am ET, Setanta Sports
Fulham v West Ham, time TBD (either 10am on Setanta Xtra or that afternoon on tape delay), Setanta Sports
Man United v Bolton, time TBD (either 10am on Setanta Xtra or that afternoon on tape delay), Setanta Sports
Arsenal v Hull City, 12:30pm ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Sunday, September 28
Portsmouth v Tottenham Hotspur, 8:30am ET, Setanta Sports
Wigan Athletic v Manchester City, 11am ET, Fox Soccer Channel
For the remainder of the schedule, the TV schedules haven’t been announced yet except for the following matches:
Saturday, October 4
Blackburn v Man United, 12:30pm ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Sunday, October 5
West Ham United v Bolton Wanderers, 8:30am ET, Setanta Sports
Everton v Newcastle United, 11am ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Saturday, October 18
Middlesbrough v Chelsea, 7:45am ET, Setanta Sports
Man United v West Brom, 12:30pm ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Sunday, October 19
Stoke City v Tottenham Hotspur, 11am ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Monday, October 20
Newcastle v Man City, 3pm ET, Setanta Sports
Saturday, October 25
Sunderland v Newcastle United, 7:45 am ET, Setanta Sports
Blackburn v Middlesbrough, 12:30pm ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Sunday, October 26
Chelsea v Liverpool, 7:30am ET, Setanta Sports
West Ham United v Arsenal, 10am ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Tuesday, October 28
Stoke City v Sunderland, 2pm ET, Setanta Sports
Wednesday, October 29
Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur, 2pm ET, Setanta Sports
Saturday, November 1
Everton v Fulham, 6:45am ET, Setanta Sports
Tottenham v Liverpool, 11:30am ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Sunday, November 2
Bolton Wanderers v Manchester City, 11am ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Monday, November 3
Newcastle v Aston Villa, 3pm ET, Setanta Sports
Saturday, November 8
Arsenal v Manchester United, 7:45am ET, Setanta Sports
Liverpool v West Brom, 12:30pm ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Sunday, November 9
Blackburn Rovers v Chelsea, 8:30am ET, Setanta Sports
Fulham v Newcastle United, 11am ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Saturday, November 15
Bolton Wanderers v Liverpool, 7:45am ET, Setanta Sports
Sunday, November 16
Everton v Middlesbrough, 8:30am ET, Setanta Sports
Hull City v Manchester City, 11am ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Saturday, November 22
Aston Villa v Man United, 12:30pm ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Sunday, November 23
Tottenham Hotspur v Blackburn Rovers, 8:30am ET, Setanta Sports
Sunderland v West Ham United, 11am ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Monday, November 24
Wigan v Everton, 3pm ET, Setanta Sports
Sunday, November 30
Manchester City v Manchester United, 8:30am ET, Setanta Sports
Chelsea v Arsenal, 11am ET, Fox Soccer Channel
Monday, December 1
Liverpool v West Ham, 3pm ET, Setanta Sports
I’m counting down the days to November 30th, as Chelsea/Arsenal is probably my favorite non-United rivalry in the Premiership because of the pace and scoring chances.
Hull City are getting quite the exposure in their first ever trip to top flight football in England, and it should be another great season.
Phillip Daniels getting injured is perhaps the best thing to happen to the Redskins this offseason. Yesterday the team traded away a 2nd round pick in next season’s draft and a sixth rounder in 2010 for the rights to the Miami Dolphins star:
According to ESPN.com’s John Clayton, Taylor told the Redskins he did not need to renegotiate and was willing to play for the final two years of his contract. He is scheduled to make $8.1 million this season. With around $9 million of cap room, the Redskins were able to work the trade quickly.
The Dolphins had been waiting for an opportunity to trade Taylor, who asked to be moved to a playoff contender at the beginning of the offseason. Before the draft, the Dolphins were asking for a first-round draft choice. They lowered the demand later to a second-rounder.
Taylor didn’t exactly win over Miami executive vice president of football operations Bill Parcells. The veteran missed all of the team’s offseason work while competing in ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars.”
A six-time Pro Bowl defensive end and the 2006 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Taylor fell out of favor in Miami after spending his offseason on the TV show rather than working out with teammates.
Frankly the Taylor story was getting out of hand and Miami had to make the trade, but for them, still without an offense and now losing both Zach Thomas and Taylor means we can probably guess which place they will finish in the AFC East.
Washington definitely got an improvement in their front 4, but the fact of the matter is, it’s just one player and they still haven’t figured out how to fix that fickled offensive line, or how Clinton Portis will fare at running back this time around.
Now if only Ben Obumanu can get injured and the Bengals give the Seahawks TJ Houshmanzadeh…….
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