Memo to ESPN: Keep Salisbury on NFL Countdown from now on, and fire that hack Irvin. Christ, a couple of weeks ago he was calling the Giants coach "Joe" Fassel.

Since the Ravens lost, we won't have to hear Michael Irving blathering on about Ray-Ray's house. This is great news. I wonder who he'll try to kiss up to next?

Well, it won't be the Cowboys since they are one and done.

Oh, surprise. With all due respect to Cowboys fans, that has to be the single worst 10-6 team in the history of the game. That is not a particularly good Carolina team that just sauntered past them, either, which just reinforces it.

And as for the coverage, it can't say anything good that I started off watching the games in a part of a bar where I could hear the commentary, then swiftly moved downstairs where the audio was drowned out by the awful pop music playing for the dancefloor.

As a Cowboy fan, I don't take offense because we looked horrible in that playoff game. However, in our defense I really think that the 'Boys were overwhelmed by the enormity moment. Our defense broke down immediately, followed quickly thereafter by our offense. We played Carolina tough in our first meeting, but they got theirs back on us this time. We've been losing for so long, I just think that the team just couldn't cope with the grand stage. We'll be back next season.

I think the Tuna wrung all he could out of that team this year, but you just aren't gonna win a bunch of games against good teams with Quincy Carter and Troy Hambrick.

Who wants to see Colts/Titans in the AFC Champ. game? Sure, Priest Holmes will run over that soft Indy run D, and McNair will freeze to death in New England, but still, it would be nice to see the co-MVPs against each other for a trip down here to H-Town. At least we'd get a definitive winner, as opposed to the college version of the game.

Oh, well, like the AFC matters anyway -- the Rams will win it all! After they run Carolina ragged and Favre pulls another miracle against Philly (sorry cheesesteak!), the Pack comes to the EJDome, and we all know domes are Favre's Kryptonite.

Topic? Let's put Michael Irvin, Deion Sanders, and Keyshawn Johnson on their own pre-game show. Let's put it on Comedy Central, which is the only network suitable for those 3 clowns.

Call me cheesy, but I really like how MNF has the players introduce themselves and say their school. You can tell who really is proud of their school, and BTW, Ohio State is really named The Ohio State University.

You can see their faces, etc. I hate how the other networks lump all the players together, particularly the lineman.

For those of you who saw the Panthers-Cowboys game, you may have seen the piece about the little girl, Hope, whose Make a Wish wish was to help the other sick children get their wishes.
Little Hope lost her battle with cancer last night.

Throw Terry Bradshaw in there.

As much as I love football, I can't wait for the season to be over so that I don't have to see Boomer until baseball season. I also need a break from Steve Young, Sean Salisbury and Tom Jackson. As a Cowboy fan, it pains me to say this, but I even need a break from Michael Irvin and his loud suits. The ESPN football guys I still like at this point are Mark Shlereth and Brian Cox.

RIP, Hope. There was a dinner party at my house on Saturday so we weren't paying close attention to the game but this was one of the segments that I caught. What an amazing kid, if that was her wish.

Agreed! Deion Sanders is beyond annoying, because it always has to be about him.

Sorry if this has already been asked, but does anyone get the feeling Boomer honest to God hates him and not in a "just kidding" sort of way?

Not necessarily. The Titans ran roughshod over Cleveland (yeah, I know, it was Cleveland) in a snowstorm a couple of years ago. You would have thought the Titans were the ones who played in freezing weather on a regular basis instead of the Browns.



Sounds good to me, although I'd rather they be on a cable channel I don't have so it would be impossible to even find them by accident.

I used to like this, but then I started thinking about it. Does it really matter that Mr. Star Athlete went to East Podunk University 13 years ago? Especially since most players are not standouts in college.

The thing that really bothers me though is when they pop players bios up during the game. They used to have photographs to go along with the stats and now they use the footage from those introductions. So the player is sitting on my screen, moving around, blinking, etc. They look like those animatronic dolls. Creepy.



Heh. Deion is good for a few one liners, but that schtick gets old after awhile. I wish he would shut it already.

I'm venturing into this thread, but I'm not the only chick here, right?

You're not alone, ExplainItAgain.

No you aren't the the only female sports fan here. This brings up a pet peeve of mine. Why do people assume that all men are sports fans and all women aren't? I'm a huge fan of football and Nascar and I'd rather read Sports Illustrated than Cosmopolitan any day.

Heh. Nope. But don't tell that to FOX, CBS, ESPN or their advertisers. They'll have a coronary.


Totally. But somehow I love the creepiness of it.

Alright, the gals are representin'!

I've been a sports fan since I was a kid - I went to my dad's hockey games as a baby. I played varsity sports in high school and college, and dated a pro tennis player. So I've been the athlete and the fangirl. I'm probably a bigger sports freak than mr. indybear. That's why all the complaints about female sports reporters honk me off - there's an automatic assumption that they don't know anything, that they're just there because of their looks, blah blah blah neanderthal-cakes.

Deion has grown on me, mostly for his spats with Boomer. But the one I can not stand is Keyshawn Johnson - especially on his first show when he played up how much of a "victim" he was for being cut. He's like a reality TV show contestant that will do anything for the spotlight.

I like it too, I thought it was really funny when Darren Sharper pronounced his name in some sort of french accent. Darren Sharpare lol


btw, Brett Favre did when one pretty big game in a dome, ya know the 97 Super Bowl.

I read more than I post, but I am another female sports fan (and former participant).

Yay :-)

I think it's okay, but it annoys me when people say THE Ohio State University. I know that's OSU's actual name, but I still find it annoying.

Isn't this the NFL on CBS, Fox, ESPN board? All this off topic disscussion of ABC's broadcast of NFL games has to stop. But seriously, I hate OSU and their drunk obnoxious belligerent fans. . . but I love when people say THE Ohio State University.

Nope. Count me in...

As for the players saying the school, I like it. You get to see the player's face. You hear their voice. You hear if they are proud of their school. Yes, the Ohio State players are a little obnoxious, but I think it's funny. You get a sense of their personality. It's publicity for the big and small schools. Call me nosy, but I'm curious about where they went to school. I think they should even include the punter and kicker.

ETA.. I think CBS and Fox should do it too. I hate their player intros. It's like a bunch of mugshots. I can't think of the last time the linemen weren't all lumped together.

So do I. It's always cool, especially when they wen to your school (Rich Gannon graduated from my Alma Mater) or when they went to some obscure college. It also emphasises one of the things I like about the NFL: the players are by far the best-educated professional athletes in a popular sport.

Virtually every player starting for an NFL team was THE star on his college team. Otherwise, they would not have been noticed or drafted. That's not to say that exceptions to the rule aren't out there.

Rich Gannon and I went to the same high school. I was a couple of years before him.

I agree. When Fox added Jillian Slutface to the NFL Pregame show, I wanted to throw something at the tv. It's a little bit of an insult to the women out there watching. While I normally don't mind the Fox Gang (including Bill Walton Junior, or, Terry Bradshaw), the addition of her and her useless info just bothers me.

Also, whats with all the "let's go stand around and chat 5 feet from the desk" as well as "let's run around a small astroturf spot and pass the balla round"? Stupid. I'd rather see more interviews! If it's a slow week, why not go and do a story on a local fan, or the stadium?

Why does NFL on Fox need to show me an icon of Tony Siragusa's ugly Sopranos-like mug at the bottom of my screen every time he speaks?

Word. She brings nothing to the show, she is just there for the horny males out there that find her attractive, I as a female do not see it though. She is fugly! All she has is some implants.

It is an insult to the female audience out there that is watching, and it reminds me of the insulting comment Andy Rooney had to make about "those damn women on the sidelines.." or something to that effect; he was basically saying people like Melissa Stark, Jill Arrington, and Lisa Guerro know nothing about the sport. Is that so Andy? Really? I guess not, since the sport is usually understood at least by neanderthal at home. @@

Fox's insistence on "flashing" the score bar as the ball is snapped for every play is extremely distracting. The bar is there, the ball is hiked, and all I focus on is the red "Playoffs" logo at the top of the stupid screen. I keep thinking that there is a penalty or something and that's why I see something flash at the top of the screen. Do the Fox numbskulls think we're stupid enough to not know it's the playoffs?

CBS's field-level camera view is killing me. They kept doing it during the Pats/Titans game tonight and half the time I had no idea what was going on.

Other than that, I love the Patriots.

Deion Sanders is an idiot! He was the only one to pick the Titans. How come people complain about Lisa Guerro being useless on the sidelines but noone says anything about Tony Siragusa? He doesn't add anything to the game either.

This is so annoying! I too thought there was a penalty every time that thing started flashing. Oh well, Fox has always chosen style over substance, like going with tiny pictures of the teams' logos instead of their city abbreviations this season.

Just a side note - it's Lisa Guerrero. There's another 'er' in her name.

Lisa Guerrero....hmmm. Talk about someone much improved. At the beginning of the season I would have guessed she didn't know a damn thing about football. She was flustered and nervous and generally came off in a poor light. And her outfits! You're a professional reporter (albeit for sports, but still)...a beret?

I guess I don't get the "sideline" reporter thing. Maybe for injury updates. I guess the thought is to give interesting commentary and interviews but most of the time I'm just yelling at them to shut up. Especially during the coaches interviews. They recap the game in a sentence, ask a predictable question and get a predictable answer.

Tony Siragusa. Shut. Your. Trap.

Deion Sanders. Shut. The. Fuck. Up.

And, in keeping with the jingoism of our times, CBS is probably going to find one hundred ways to equate football to the "war" on terror. Yippee. I can, however, thank them for making me watch "Nature." I've learned a great deal about leopards thanks to you imbeciles.

And don't get me started on Fox and how much I'd like to strangle their entire freakin' crew.

GM Hot Buttons of the Game??? Why don't they have corporate sponsorships of injuries? "This back-breaking, career-ending hit brought to you by Kia!"

When my dad and I were watching the Titans and Patriots game yesterday, we both noticed that comments by the announcers were made just for the sake of talking, and not to say anything relatively important.

HOw about when Shannon Sharpe's cell phone started ringing on air during the halftime report. Like Jim said, dude, it's TV--cell phones OFF!

I agree on this, he brings nothing to the game, whereas Lisa does somewhat. What his is purpose? Is he just there to be the fat, former football player that everyone can joke on/with?

Rush Limbaugh can almost rest comfortably, because he now has company in the single dumbest thing said during football analysis this season.

During today's Packers-Eagles game, Joe Buck argues that Brett Favre is underrated, and has been throughout his career. This is the most asinine thing I've ever heard on Fox. That includes Paula Abdul's judging on American Idol. In the past ten years, there has been no professional athlete who has garnered more good ink- about his on-field exploits and off-field- than Brett Favre. To claim he has been in any way "underrated" is plain ol', flat out, stupid. Shut up, Joe Buck.

And to top it off, he followed that with the "bombshell" that Favre was considering retirement if he won the SuperBowl. What hall of fame athlete hasn't thought about going out on a championship note?

Joe Buck is just like Bob Costas, they like to hear themselves talk. As a matter of fact I hate that whole announce team of Troy, Chris, and Joe. I hate every single one of them. And if there was ever an overrated QB it was Troy Akiman.

Well one thing that I can say is at least Tim Mc Caver does not do football with Joe Buck. If that were the case my ears would bleed with those two jackoffs calling baseball and football on FOX.

What's wrong with Bob Costas? I consider him the best play-by-play guy, and the most intelligent man, in the business, even if I can't recall him doing anything besides his HBO show in the last couple years. Many people are saying Buck is the next Costas; I don't agree, and I resist him because FOX has made him the face of its sports division, but I don't think he totally sucks, either. (Let me also add that as a sports announcer wannabe you hear stories, and I hear that Mr. Buck is actually a very good man, but that's another tale to tell another day.) My main objection to him is that too often he comes off as the nerd trying to show off because he desperately wants to be accepted by the jocks at his high school (in this case the two retired football/color guys flanking him in the booth). Too eager to please with breaking down a play when he should be seeking command of the action, and cracking too many jokes that fall flat and create a perception of insecurity.

I won't trash him for his analysis on Favre, although he's been telling the media he's been thinking about retiring for the past 20 years. Now, if I had to name the first active QB off the top of my head it'd be Favre, so I won't call him underrated by any means. Maybe I don't think that comment was stupid because Rush's were a lot more dumb.

I don't mind Troy Aikman; he's pretty good for a recent retiree. And I don't have a problem with McCarver, either. Hell, I might as well start a flame war and say that Dan Dierdorf and Joe Theismann are pretty good color commentators. If you disagree, who would you rather have? And since everybody seems to hate analysts, what do you look for in one?

I more or less started this thread so I could complain about Fox's flashing, way back at the beginning of the season. Truth is, I kind of have gotten used to it after seeing it all year.

I kind of feel the same way about CBS's spinning helmets, although those fortunately aren't on the screen as much as the Fox flashing. Remember, TV graphics designers, just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.

I notice Fox did have the city abbreviations instead of the logos on this week's games. Seems a little strange that they would change now...maybe they think there are a lot of "casual" fans who are only watching because it's the playoffs, and they wouldn't necessarily know the teams by logo?

OK, now you're just being silly. Troy is probably one of the five most accurate passers in the history of the game and he was nothing short of brilliant in the postseason. And he's a surprisingly good color guy. I never thought he'd even be interested in broadcasting after his playing days were over, but I'm glad he did, 'cuz he's excellent.

They need to move Chris Collinsworth back to the studio, though. Three-man booths just don't work.

As a UCLA alum, I vehemently disagree, but then, I'm biased...

As for a color guy, I've been pleasantly surprised by Troy. I think he's very insightful, but he does have a tendency to favor the QBs in his chatter. I thought it was sort of funny when Cris complained about how hot it was in the booth, and Troy reminded him in no uncertain terms that the rest of the folks in the stadium were not sympathetic.

I don't know why they insist on cramming Cris and Troy together. I think both are strong enough individually to go solo as the color guy.

Word to all the comments about the stupid flashy thing Fox does with the score.

As a woman, I'd admit some of the female sideline reporters are better eye candy than others, while some are more knowledgeable about football than others. However, if you ask me, the whole sideline reporter thing is stupid.

There's no need to call BK1978 silly GooberPyle. Quite a few non-silly football loving people agree that yes, Troy Aikman is an overrated QB and can make numerous non-silly arguments to defend their case.

On topic though, I don't mind T.Roy in the booth. Though he did pick all 4 home teams to win this weekend. Sheesh. I guess not everybody can have a perfect post season bracket record. Ahem.



Yeah, that is pretty bad. I've gotten over the stupid ass robot, the random blinking, Bradshaw's hillbilly shtick, 50 million commercials for Fox's bad reality tv shows, but Siragusa is really too much for me take.

I think the trouble is with national broadcasts analysts have a tough role to play. For local a crews a good color guy like John Davidson for the NY Rangers or the best IMO Jerry Remy for the Red Sox is a link between current players, the team as an istitution, and the fans.

A good national analyst should be knowledgable, unbiased, and excited about the sport. The worst is when analysts are clearly rooting for a player to suceed. Phil Simms does an excellent job, and John Madden was good once. Dan Fouts was good as long as Dennis Miller wasn't in the booth. Theismann wants to send everyone to Canton.