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Neil Best
November 13, 2007
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It is a SportsWatch tradition as rich and colorful as autumn itself: returning from an early November vacation to bore readers with the latest news on the NFL Network.
This time the stakes are higher than ever. Sunday's victories by the Cowboys and Packers were giant steps toward a Nov. 29 battle of once-beaten mega-brands with national followings - a game that would cause shut-out fans to bang their heads on cable boxes from San Antonio to Sag Harbor.
Friday, I will update you on the NFL vs. the cable industry, so prepare to turn that page if you have a low tolerance for disingenuous gazillionaires. (The network's first game is Thanksgiving night.)
For today, let's keep it simple and check in on play-by-play man/lightning rod Bryant Gumbel, the NFL Network's odd choice for the job and the weakest part of its game telecasts in '06.
"I thought we did a lot of things well last year," he said yesterday. "I'd be the first to admit I wasn't one of them."
Give the notoriously less-than-humble Gumbel credit for honesty, both over lunch a week ago and on a conference call yesterday.
He admitted on the former occasion he was unsure in January whether he would return, and that he was "disappointed" in his performance.
"On the other hand, I did feel that Game 8 was a far cry from Game 1 and I didn't want to walk away from something saying, 'Hey, you know what, I really didn't do it very well,"' he said.
Gumbel, a play-by-play novice, fell into the trap of obsessing over details and vowed to take a step back. "The reality is the way games are done today with the amount of graphics," he said, "it's less of a concern than storytelling and having a conversation."
We'll see what happens this season - those of us who actually can see the games, that is.
Gumbel is smart enough to improve, but he is decades behind his counterparts on other networks. Plus, he lacks their traditional vocal "pipes."
"Whatever my voice is or isn't, it's the only one I've got," he said. "I can't bring it back to God now and say, 'Trade me in."'
Giants dance Fox trot
The Cowboys-Giants game attracted a solid 17.1 percent of homes in the 56 largest markets, confirming the ratings power of those teams (especially the former).
The problem for Fox is it must share America's Team with other networks - Dallas is set for six prime-time games and two on CBS - so it might as well load up on Big Blue.
In three of the first four weeks of flex scheduling, Fox opted to protect Giants games - at the Lions, Bears and Eagles - from moves to prime time.
Fox made those decisions after only four games, when the Giants were 2-2.
FAN out of the Blue?
The Giants have had their feuds with WFAN's Mike Francesa and Chris Russo over the years - notably including Michael Strahan, Jeremy Shockey and Tiki Barber. And Tom Coughlin gave up his old Monday spot, preferring one later in the week that the station declined.
Could something now be brewing between the Giants and the new morning show of Craig Carton and Boomer Esiason? Is Big Blue shutting out the morning crew?
A few Cowboys joined Esiason and Carton last week, but no Giants. Hmm.
Carton's goofy, irreverent chats with the Jets' Thomas Jones - as well as other football figures - likely have not helped the cause.
"We have had a couple requests from them, and due to our schedule and other circumstances, we simply haven't been able to accommodate those requests to date," said Pat Hanlon, VP of communications for the Giants. "But I did enjoy all the Cowboys interviews last week."
Sound bites
The latest from HBO Sports' documentary mill, "Michigan vs. Ohio State: The Rivalry," debuts tonight at 10:30. Two highlights: film of the 1950 game in a snowstorm and a chat with Bo Schembechler the day before he died ... Earlier, at 8, ESPN Classic debuts "Triumph and Tragedy: The Ray Mancini Story," 25 years to the day since Duk-Koo Kim suffered fatal injuries in a fight against him. The show interviews friends of Kim in Korea and has footage of the fateful rounds not seen in a quarter century ... Ch. 9 has re-signed to show 21 Yankees games in 2008 ... Julie Donaldson, an original member of SNY's news team, will not have her contract renewed when it expires in January ... Give Gary Bettman points for bravery: He will become a rare sports talk radio host/league commissioner when he debuts Nov. 27 on the "NHL Hour" on XM. Cool. But David Stern is funnier.
LINK
November 13, 2007
Article tools
E-mail Share
It is a SportsWatch tradition as rich and colorful as autumn itself: returning from an early November vacation to bore readers with the latest news on the NFL Network.
This time the stakes are higher than ever. Sunday's victories by the Cowboys and Packers were giant steps toward a Nov. 29 battle of once-beaten mega-brands with national followings - a game that would cause shut-out fans to bang their heads on cable boxes from San Antonio to Sag Harbor.
Friday, I will update you on the NFL vs. the cable industry, so prepare to turn that page if you have a low tolerance for disingenuous gazillionaires. (The network's first game is Thanksgiving night.)
For today, let's keep it simple and check in on play-by-play man/lightning rod Bryant Gumbel, the NFL Network's odd choice for the job and the weakest part of its game telecasts in '06.
"I thought we did a lot of things well last year," he said yesterday. "I'd be the first to admit I wasn't one of them."
Give the notoriously less-than-humble Gumbel credit for honesty, both over lunch a week ago and on a conference call yesterday.
He admitted on the former occasion he was unsure in January whether he would return, and that he was "disappointed" in his performance.
"On the other hand, I did feel that Game 8 was a far cry from Game 1 and I didn't want to walk away from something saying, 'Hey, you know what, I really didn't do it very well,"' he said.
Gumbel, a play-by-play novice, fell into the trap of obsessing over details and vowed to take a step back. "The reality is the way games are done today with the amount of graphics," he said, "it's less of a concern than storytelling and having a conversation."
We'll see what happens this season - those of us who actually can see the games, that is.
Gumbel is smart enough to improve, but he is decades behind his counterparts on other networks. Plus, he lacks their traditional vocal "pipes."
"Whatever my voice is or isn't, it's the only one I've got," he said. "I can't bring it back to God now and say, 'Trade me in."'
Giants dance Fox trot
The Cowboys-Giants game attracted a solid 17.1 percent of homes in the 56 largest markets, confirming the ratings power of those teams (especially the former).
The problem for Fox is it must share America's Team with other networks - Dallas is set for six prime-time games and two on CBS - so it might as well load up on Big Blue.
In three of the first four weeks of flex scheduling, Fox opted to protect Giants games - at the Lions, Bears and Eagles - from moves to prime time.
Fox made those decisions after only four games, when the Giants were 2-2.
FAN out of the Blue?
The Giants have had their feuds with WFAN's Mike Francesa and Chris Russo over the years - notably including Michael Strahan, Jeremy Shockey and Tiki Barber. And Tom Coughlin gave up his old Monday spot, preferring one later in the week that the station declined.
Could something now be brewing between the Giants and the new morning show of Craig Carton and Boomer Esiason? Is Big Blue shutting out the morning crew?
A few Cowboys joined Esiason and Carton last week, but no Giants. Hmm.
Carton's goofy, irreverent chats with the Jets' Thomas Jones - as well as other football figures - likely have not helped the cause.
"We have had a couple requests from them, and due to our schedule and other circumstances, we simply haven't been able to accommodate those requests to date," said Pat Hanlon, VP of communications for the Giants. "But I did enjoy all the Cowboys interviews last week."
Sound bites
The latest from HBO Sports' documentary mill, "Michigan vs. Ohio State: The Rivalry," debuts tonight at 10:30. Two highlights: film of the 1950 game in a snowstorm and a chat with Bo Schembechler the day before he died ... Earlier, at 8, ESPN Classic debuts "Triumph and Tragedy: The Ray Mancini Story," 25 years to the day since Duk-Koo Kim suffered fatal injuries in a fight against him. The show interviews friends of Kim in Korea and has footage of the fateful rounds not seen in a quarter century ... Ch. 9 has re-signed to show 21 Yankees games in 2008 ... Julie Donaldson, an original member of SNY's news team, will not have her contract renewed when it expires in January ... Give Gary Bettman points for bravery: He will become a rare sports talk radio host/league commissioner when he debuts Nov. 27 on the "NHL Hour" on XM. Cool. But David Stern is funnier.
LINK
