"You can't predict baseball", that's what New York Yankees radio announcer likes to say. That's what I proclaimed yesterday before game 7 of a uncompetitive, boring World Series. However, last night's deciding game was anything but boring. It was from the first pitch until the last batted ball landed in San Francisco third baseman Pablo Sandoval's glove. The San Francisco Giants defeated the Kansas City Royals by only one run, 3 to 2. Kansas City got the tying run to third base, ninety short feet from home plate, in the bottom of the 9th inning.
Today, people are arguing whether the Royals' Alex Gordon could have scored all the way from the batter's box through the four bases on his base hit. Down to his team's last out, Gordon hit a low line drive to center field. Giants' center fielder Gregor Blanco ran in toward the projected landing spot of the ball, stopped, and allowed the ball to bounce in front of him. That was a safe decision but as he was stopping Blanco slipped and the ball deflected off his glove and rolled to the wall. The ball was four hundred feet away as Gordon touched first base. As the Giants outfielders picked the ball up and relayed it towards the infield, Gordon was already around second base and a few steps from third.
Could he have scored if he wasn't stopped by himself and his third base coach? Maybe, Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford had the ball in his glove with his back turned away from Gordon. Maybe not, Crawford was moving into throwing position even though his back was facing the base runner. I'll admit as I watched live, two things were in my head, I wanted the Royals to win badly and the Giants to lose. I wanted Gordon to keep running but there is a unwritten rule or base running fundamental, never make the first or third out at third base. What about home plate? The Royals had another hitter Salvador Perez coming up next. Perez had performed well in the Series compared to earlier in the playoffs. Well, there's one problem, Perez had to face Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner.
Bumgarner had pitched a complete-game shutout allowing only four hits on Sunday as a starting pitcher. He also won game 1 of the series and was a perfect 4-0 with a earned run average of 0.43 per game. Okay, maybe he's the best pitcher on the entire Giants team right now. Just a hunch. Now he was asked by his manager Bruce Bochy to be a relief pitcher for the last five innings on two days rest. Usually, a starting pitcher gets four days of non-game pitching action between starts. Is the move unusual? Yes. Does he (Bumgarner) have enough energy left to pitch? Well, he doesn't have to save any extra ammo. This is the last game. He's not pitching the next day, or the day after, or the day after the day after, or the day after the day after the day, or something like that. I lost track.
24 hours ago, social media was abuzz about whether baseball was dying. Now, we're arguing about plays in a game in a sport which we thought nobody cared about yesterday. We're some goofy people. As John Sterling says, "you can't predict baseball".
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Despite Blowout Ballgames, Baseball Is Better And Can Get Even Better
"You can't predict baseball," is a phrase used often by New York Yankees radio announcer John Sterling. It is so unpredictable like any other sport but especially in the 2014 postseason. Through six games of the World Series, the San Francisco Giants and the Kansas City Royals have won three games apiece. In terms of overall wins, the series is close but not the individual games. So far, there's only been a single game decided by one run, Kansas City's 3-2 victory in game 3. The other five games have been blowouts decided earlier in the game.
It's unfortunate and dumb luck. Major League Baseball has produced so many close and exciting games in the previous three rounds during this postseason, 14 one-run contests with 4 involving Kansas City and 5 involving San Francisco . There have been six extra-inning contests including 3 with KC and two with SF. This isn't World Wrestling Entertainment where there is a written storyline and everything is scripted with an exciting ending no matter who wins. For the record, we have no beef with professional wrestling. No, we're not going to throw any steel chairs at anyone. For goodness sakes, we can't body slam anybody even if we had dozens of other people helping us out. It just popped into our mind due to the comparison of scripted vs. non-scripted.
With non-scripted events like baseball, our fear of great expectations can be cancelled out by uncompetitive disappointing games. The Nationals lost to the Giants in the division series but those games were way more compelling. The scores in a three-games to one San Francisco series win were 3-2 SF, 2-1 SF in 18 innings (longest baseball playoff game ever), 4-1 WAS, and 3-2 SF. As a Nationals fan, I was ticked off because my team lost but at least the games were close. Neutral fans probably enjoyed that series more than Giants fans and even more than Nationals fans.
As a neutral fan in this World Series, the games are boring because they're uncompetitive, The scores from the six previous contests were 7-1 SF, 7-2 KC, 3-2 KC, 11-4 SF, 5-0 SF, and 10-0 KC. A lot has been made about the lower TV ratings in this year's World Series, I wonder why? Let's see, most of the games have been decided before the seventh inning. We think some people tune in expecting a close and exciting game but don't get it and fall asleep or change the channel. We don't know why some don't even bother watching but will watch the NFL's Super Bowl every year. This past February's pro football championship ended with a score of 43-8, Seattle over Denver.
The actual networks broadcasting baseball year-round and the mainstream sports media are both at fault for the decrease in viewers. FOX, ESPN, TBS, and MLB Network are Major League Baseball's broadcast partners and suffer too much from showcasing very few teams. It seemed like each week at least one game featured the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, or Los Angeles Dodgers. Usually, 2-3 games per week involved one of these teams.
The rivalry between the Yankees and the Red Sox is good but way overblown. You would think every meeting is baseball's version of the Civil War. I'm sorry I can't remember one significant game between these two teams since 2004 when the Red Sox beat the Yankees in the playoffs and finally won a World Series in 2004, the expectation was for the rivalry to be even better than before. Well, it's gotten worse. There is no good vs. evil or favorite vs. underdog angle anymore. Boston spends as much money as New York and has won more championships (2) than the Yankees (1) since 2004.
The St. Louis Cardinals are the TV team in the Midwest region. There isn't any thing really objectionable about the Cardinals outside of opposing fan jealously. St. Louis has won 2 World Series and played in every National League Championship series since the end of 2010.
The L.A. Dodgers are the worst of the bunch because they haven't even participated or won a World Series since 1988. I was five years old at that time, I'm 31 as I write this. Damn, that's a long time, 26 years. We've gone to the war in the Middle East twice with two different presidents named Bush and pulled out both times. Gas was a nickel in 1988! Okay, not that cheap but only a couple bucks per gallon. Compare that to today's "hey it's under four dollars" garbage and you have a bargain.
Meanwhile, general sports reporters not assigned to a specific sport move around between events during the season. It's NFL and College Football in the fall into early winter, a NBA-College Basketball-NHL mix through the winter into early spring, NBA and NHL playoffs in late spring and baseball in the summer into early fall. That's what it's supposed to be. As much as we love baseball, March Madness trumps Spring Training and NBA-NHL postseason takes priority from April to mid-June. Something odd happens after the indoor pro sports leagues finish their seasons, people seem to forget baseball is taking place. I can put up with soccer's World Cup and the Summer Olympics being publicized but not NFL practices. Training camps and preseason games in the NFL are viewed as more important than regular season MLB games.
Somebody cue former NBA star Allen Iverson, "WE TALKIN ABOUT PRACTICE! NOT A GAME! NOT A GAME! WE TALKIN ABOUT PRACTICE!". Was that quote taken out of context? Yes. Do I care? No. Does the general sports media take the NFL too seriously? Um....yes. The Redskins won all four of their preseason games last year. How many games did they win in the regular season? Three...OUT OF SIXTEEN GAMES! They were 4-0 in the practice ones and 3-13 in the real games.
Also, a lot of these mainstream media people are talking about how baseball is dying because fewer viewers are watching this year's World Series. The main topic of NFL discussion during their preseason and into early regular season was players beating their wives/girlfriends and the individual teams plus league looking the other way. Yes, this makes perfect sense...if you had a bunch of beers, a diehard football fan, or a clueless member of the media. Baseball is fine, nobody is getting beat up by their husband/boyfriend, no one is getting memory loss or broken bones from taking too many hits to the head, nobody is cheating using performance-enhancing drugs and treated with kid gloves. Baseball is doing good, it could be better on national TV but the sport is alright for now. MLB has stepped up its drug policy after looking the other way for years. They're looking to improve the game experience by making it faster. Better games would equal better TV ratings. However, as John Sterling says "you can't predict baseball".
It's unfortunate and dumb luck. Major League Baseball has produced so many close and exciting games in the previous three rounds during this postseason, 14 one-run contests with 4 involving Kansas City and 5 involving San Francisco . There have been six extra-inning contests including 3 with KC and two with SF. This isn't World Wrestling Entertainment where there is a written storyline and everything is scripted with an exciting ending no matter who wins. For the record, we have no beef with professional wrestling. No, we're not going to throw any steel chairs at anyone. For goodness sakes, we can't body slam anybody even if we had dozens of other people helping us out. It just popped into our mind due to the comparison of scripted vs. non-scripted.
With non-scripted events like baseball, our fear of great expectations can be cancelled out by uncompetitive disappointing games. The Nationals lost to the Giants in the division series but those games were way more compelling. The scores in a three-games to one San Francisco series win were 3-2 SF, 2-1 SF in 18 innings (longest baseball playoff game ever), 4-1 WAS, and 3-2 SF. As a Nationals fan, I was ticked off because my team lost but at least the games were close. Neutral fans probably enjoyed that series more than Giants fans and even more than Nationals fans.
As a neutral fan in this World Series, the games are boring because they're uncompetitive, The scores from the six previous contests were 7-1 SF, 7-2 KC, 3-2 KC, 11-4 SF, 5-0 SF, and 10-0 KC. A lot has been made about the lower TV ratings in this year's World Series, I wonder why? Let's see, most of the games have been decided before the seventh inning. We think some people tune in expecting a close and exciting game but don't get it and fall asleep or change the channel. We don't know why some don't even bother watching but will watch the NFL's Super Bowl every year. This past February's pro football championship ended with a score of 43-8, Seattle over Denver.
The actual networks broadcasting baseball year-round and the mainstream sports media are both at fault for the decrease in viewers. FOX, ESPN, TBS, and MLB Network are Major League Baseball's broadcast partners and suffer too much from showcasing very few teams. It seemed like each week at least one game featured the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, or Los Angeles Dodgers. Usually, 2-3 games per week involved one of these teams.
The rivalry between the Yankees and the Red Sox is good but way overblown. You would think every meeting is baseball's version of the Civil War. I'm sorry I can't remember one significant game between these two teams since 2004 when the Red Sox beat the Yankees in the playoffs and finally won a World Series in 2004, the expectation was for the rivalry to be even better than before. Well, it's gotten worse. There is no good vs. evil or favorite vs. underdog angle anymore. Boston spends as much money as New York and has won more championships (2) than the Yankees (1) since 2004.
The St. Louis Cardinals are the TV team in the Midwest region. There isn't any thing really objectionable about the Cardinals outside of opposing fan jealously. St. Louis has won 2 World Series and played in every National League Championship series since the end of 2010.
The L.A. Dodgers are the worst of the bunch because they haven't even participated or won a World Series since 1988. I was five years old at that time, I'm 31 as I write this. Damn, that's a long time, 26 years. We've gone to the war in the Middle East twice with two different presidents named Bush and pulled out both times. Gas was a nickel in 1988! Okay, not that cheap but only a couple bucks per gallon. Compare that to today's "hey it's under four dollars" garbage and you have a bargain.
Meanwhile, general sports reporters not assigned to a specific sport move around between events during the season. It's NFL and College Football in the fall into early winter, a NBA-College Basketball-NHL mix through the winter into early spring, NBA and NHL playoffs in late spring and baseball in the summer into early fall. That's what it's supposed to be. As much as we love baseball, March Madness trumps Spring Training and NBA-NHL postseason takes priority from April to mid-June. Something odd happens after the indoor pro sports leagues finish their seasons, people seem to forget baseball is taking place. I can put up with soccer's World Cup and the Summer Olympics being publicized but not NFL practices. Training camps and preseason games in the NFL are viewed as more important than regular season MLB games.
Somebody cue former NBA star Allen Iverson, "WE TALKIN ABOUT PRACTICE! NOT A GAME! NOT A GAME! WE TALKIN ABOUT PRACTICE!". Was that quote taken out of context? Yes. Do I care? No. Does the general sports media take the NFL too seriously? Um....yes. The Redskins won all four of their preseason games last year. How many games did they win in the regular season? Three...OUT OF SIXTEEN GAMES! They were 4-0 in the practice ones and 3-13 in the real games.
Also, a lot of these mainstream media people are talking about how baseball is dying because fewer viewers are watching this year's World Series. The main topic of NFL discussion during their preseason and into early regular season was players beating their wives/girlfriends and the individual teams plus league looking the other way. Yes, this makes perfect sense...if you had a bunch of beers, a diehard football fan, or a clueless member of the media. Baseball is fine, nobody is getting beat up by their husband/boyfriend, no one is getting memory loss or broken bones from taking too many hits to the head, nobody is cheating using performance-enhancing drugs and treated with kid gloves. Baseball is doing good, it could be better on national TV but the sport is alright for now. MLB has stepped up its drug policy after looking the other way for years. They're looking to improve the game experience by making it faster. Better games would equal better TV ratings. However, as John Sterling says "you can't predict baseball".
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Redskins turn Monday Night Masterpiece in Dallas
On Monday Night, the Washington Redskins overcame the doubters, the officiating, and the Dallas Cowboys to win their biggest game of the season. The Redskins' 20-17 overtime victory over the Cowboys in Dallas was their 3rd victory of the 2014 season and second in a row. It was their best performance so far this year. They played with emotion and intensity from the opening kickoff until the last Tony Romo pass was on the ground. The Redskins played a complete game getting contributions from all three areas of their squad, offense, defense, and special teams.
The offense, shockingly, was led by third-string quarterback Colt McCoy. McCoy came in relief during the second half last week for backup Kirk Cousins. McCoy threw a TD pass and was effective in a game-winning FG drive against Tennessee. This week, McCoy was starting as the regular QB on the road versus the 1st-place Cowboys, 6-1 record coming into Monday. McCoy looked nervous throughout the first half. He threw an interception in the endzone during the first quarter and underthrew a long pass to Desean Jackson, complete for 49 yards, which should've been an 87-yard touchdown.
However, he got better as the game got later. He didn't make any mistakes after those earlier ones. McCoy ran 7 yards for a touchdown early in the 4th quarter to give the Redskins a 20-17 lead. In overtime, McCoy showed great elusiveness to get away from Dallas defenders before floating a perfect pass to Jordan Reed for a 16-yard catch to the Dallas 29. It set up Kai Forbath's go-ahead 40-yard field goal. For McCoy, it was a special night. He played high school and college football in the state of Texas and with his family watching in the stands. Considering the circumstances, he played the best game of his life, 25 completed passes in 30 attempts for 299 yards and a rushing touchdown.
The defense was the key part of the Redskins success in the first half. They limited Dallas' high-powered offense to 7 points through 30 minutes. That was important because the Redskins offense only scored 3 points in the first 2 quarters. Jim Haslett, the defensive coordinator, has drawn a lot of criticism from local media and Redskins fans for the defense's poor play. Last season, they were 30th out of 32 teams in yards allowed per passing attempt at 7.1 yards and last out of 32 in allowing rushing touchdowns at 23.
This year, the defense has improved although they still struggle at times. They only allowed three rushing touchdowns entering Monday, second fewest. However, they surrender 15 passing touchdowns for the season before the Dallas game, fifth highest. Monday, the Redskins were much better against the pass while conceding rushing plays to the Dallas offense. The Redskins gave up only 278 passing yards. In addition, they sacked Dallas QB Tony Romo five times for 54 yards. The net total passing for Dallas was only 224 yards. In fact, the pass rush was so strong that it knocked Romo out of the game for a while with a back injury.
Keenan Robinson was the man who hammered Romo to the turf in the third quarter. Brandon Meriweather had a tremendous game with 2 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. Perry Riley and Ryan Kerrigan each had one sack. The defensive star was rookie Bashaud Breeland. Breeland was matched a lot of the game against Dez Bryant, the Cowboys top receiver. Bryant only caught 3 passes for 30 yards. Breeland also had four passes defended away from receivers including Dallas' last pass on 4th down in overtime.
Special teams for the Redskins was actually special, okay maybe good. Good is great for a unit that has been one of the worst in pro football in recent years. Earlier this year, they gave up a blocked punt against Houston for a touchdown and a 102-yard kickoff return TD. Last year versus Kansas City, the Redskins allowed a 74-yard punt return and a 95-yard kickoff return for touchdowns in the same game. Last night, the special teams units gave up only 63 yards combined on four punt/kickoff returns. Four other kicks were boomed all the way into the endzone for touchbacks and one was not returned at all. Kai Forbath was solid again kicking field goals. He missed a key go-ahead 33-yard attempt in a loss at Philadelphia. However, Forbath was money on Monday night. He booted a 44-yard field goal in the first quarter but more importantly nailed a 40-yard attempt in overtime for the winning margin.
In addition to battling the Cowboys, the Redskins had to fight adversity with a few controversial official calls not in their favor. On McCoy's interception, Cowboys cornerback J.J. Wilcox made a leaping catch but bobbled the ball as he tumbled down. Then in one motion, he stood up and was hit by Pierre Garcon which knocked the ball out of the endzone. It was ruled an interception. Replays showed the ball moving a little bit on Wilcox's stomach as he landed. NFL rules maintain a receiver or defender must hold onto the ball throughout the catch. This interception ruling was dicey. Late in the fourth quarter, Dallas had the ball at their own 5-yard line with a third and 8 yards to go. The Cowboys near their endzone decided to pass. Romo dropped back into the endzone and was rushed by two Redskins. He moved up and threw a completed pass to Terence Williams at the 23-yard line. However, replays showed Redskins defensive lineman Trent Murphy being held and taken down by Cowboys offensive lineman Tyron Smith inside the endzone. A penalty by the offensive team in their endzone is a safety and two points for the defense. The Redskins didn't get the call. They played through it though, forcing the Cowboys to punt after three plays and then stopping them in overtime.
The Redskins proved a lot of national critics wrong with their predictions as well. On CBS-TV's "The NFL Today" online preview for CBSSports.com, analyst Bill Cowher said Dallas turnovers were "the only thing that gives Washington a chance...is if...Dallas somehow hands them the opportunity and turns the football over". Fellow analyst Tony Gonzalez explained that the new starting QB Colt McCoy, "if he can do what he did last week, means no turnovers, he can be efficient with that ball, MAYBE, they have a chance". Cowher couldn't hold back laughter and commented back to Gonzalez, "you say Colt McCoy as if they have a chance". Gonzalez continued, describing the Dallas Cowboys stellar play until co-analyst Boomer Esiason shouted, "so does that mean they have no chance?". Gonzalez responded by saying, "I think they have no chance", which was met by laughter and smiles by everyone including Gonzalez.
On ESPN, a promo during the week for Monday night's matchup focused primarily on the Cowboys. Redskins defensive back Ryan Clark told reporters that the commercial was used as extra motivation. In addition, all of ESPN's nine pregame studio commentators picked the Cowboys to win the game. Teams always say nobody believes they can beat the opponent they're playing. In this case, it was true.
The offense, shockingly, was led by third-string quarterback Colt McCoy. McCoy came in relief during the second half last week for backup Kirk Cousins. McCoy threw a TD pass and was effective in a game-winning FG drive against Tennessee. This week, McCoy was starting as the regular QB on the road versus the 1st-place Cowboys, 6-1 record coming into Monday. McCoy looked nervous throughout the first half. He threw an interception in the endzone during the first quarter and underthrew a long pass to Desean Jackson, complete for 49 yards, which should've been an 87-yard touchdown.
However, he got better as the game got later. He didn't make any mistakes after those earlier ones. McCoy ran 7 yards for a touchdown early in the 4th quarter to give the Redskins a 20-17 lead. In overtime, McCoy showed great elusiveness to get away from Dallas defenders before floating a perfect pass to Jordan Reed for a 16-yard catch to the Dallas 29. It set up Kai Forbath's go-ahead 40-yard field goal. For McCoy, it was a special night. He played high school and college football in the state of Texas and with his family watching in the stands. Considering the circumstances, he played the best game of his life, 25 completed passes in 30 attempts for 299 yards and a rushing touchdown.
The defense was the key part of the Redskins success in the first half. They limited Dallas' high-powered offense to 7 points through 30 minutes. That was important because the Redskins offense only scored 3 points in the first 2 quarters. Jim Haslett, the defensive coordinator, has drawn a lot of criticism from local media and Redskins fans for the defense's poor play. Last season, they were 30th out of 32 teams in yards allowed per passing attempt at 7.1 yards and last out of 32 in allowing rushing touchdowns at 23.
This year, the defense has improved although they still struggle at times. They only allowed three rushing touchdowns entering Monday, second fewest. However, they surrender 15 passing touchdowns for the season before the Dallas game, fifth highest. Monday, the Redskins were much better against the pass while conceding rushing plays to the Dallas offense. The Redskins gave up only 278 passing yards. In addition, they sacked Dallas QB Tony Romo five times for 54 yards. The net total passing for Dallas was only 224 yards. In fact, the pass rush was so strong that it knocked Romo out of the game for a while with a back injury.
Keenan Robinson was the man who hammered Romo to the turf in the third quarter. Brandon Meriweather had a tremendous game with 2 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. Perry Riley and Ryan Kerrigan each had one sack. The defensive star was rookie Bashaud Breeland. Breeland was matched a lot of the game against Dez Bryant, the Cowboys top receiver. Bryant only caught 3 passes for 30 yards. Breeland also had four passes defended away from receivers including Dallas' last pass on 4th down in overtime.
Special teams for the Redskins was actually special, okay maybe good. Good is great for a unit that has been one of the worst in pro football in recent years. Earlier this year, they gave up a blocked punt against Houston for a touchdown and a 102-yard kickoff return TD. Last year versus Kansas City, the Redskins allowed a 74-yard punt return and a 95-yard kickoff return for touchdowns in the same game. Last night, the special teams units gave up only 63 yards combined on four punt/kickoff returns. Four other kicks were boomed all the way into the endzone for touchbacks and one was not returned at all. Kai Forbath was solid again kicking field goals. He missed a key go-ahead 33-yard attempt in a loss at Philadelphia. However, Forbath was money on Monday night. He booted a 44-yard field goal in the first quarter but more importantly nailed a 40-yard attempt in overtime for the winning margin.
In addition to battling the Cowboys, the Redskins had to fight adversity with a few controversial official calls not in their favor. On McCoy's interception, Cowboys cornerback J.J. Wilcox made a leaping catch but bobbled the ball as he tumbled down. Then in one motion, he stood up and was hit by Pierre Garcon which knocked the ball out of the endzone. It was ruled an interception. Replays showed the ball moving a little bit on Wilcox's stomach as he landed. NFL rules maintain a receiver or defender must hold onto the ball throughout the catch. This interception ruling was dicey. Late in the fourth quarter, Dallas had the ball at their own 5-yard line with a third and 8 yards to go. The Cowboys near their endzone decided to pass. Romo dropped back into the endzone and was rushed by two Redskins. He moved up and threw a completed pass to Terence Williams at the 23-yard line. However, replays showed Redskins defensive lineman Trent Murphy being held and taken down by Cowboys offensive lineman Tyron Smith inside the endzone. A penalty by the offensive team in their endzone is a safety and two points for the defense. The Redskins didn't get the call. They played through it though, forcing the Cowboys to punt after three plays and then stopping them in overtime.
The Redskins proved a lot of national critics wrong with their predictions as well. On CBS-TV's "The NFL Today" online preview for CBSSports.com, analyst Bill Cowher said Dallas turnovers were "the only thing that gives Washington a chance...is if...Dallas somehow hands them the opportunity and turns the football over". Fellow analyst Tony Gonzalez explained that the new starting QB Colt McCoy, "if he can do what he did last week, means no turnovers, he can be efficient with that ball, MAYBE, they have a chance". Cowher couldn't hold back laughter and commented back to Gonzalez, "you say Colt McCoy as if they have a chance". Gonzalez continued, describing the Dallas Cowboys stellar play until co-analyst Boomer Esiason shouted, "so does that mean they have no chance?". Gonzalez responded by saying, "I think they have no chance", which was met by laughter and smiles by everyone including Gonzalez.
On ESPN, a promo during the week for Monday night's matchup focused primarily on the Cowboys. Redskins defensive back Ryan Clark told reporters that the commercial was used as extra motivation. In addition, all of ESPN's nine pregame studio commentators picked the Cowboys to win the game. Teams always say nobody believes they can beat the opponent they're playing. In this case, it was true.
Monday, October 27, 2014
Local fan bias vs. National broadcast bias, PART 1
Sports fans complain constantly when listening to national TV broadcasters because of perceived bias. Usually, these are outlandish claims made by biased rooters of particular teams. Yours truly even feels there are some announcers who hate his teams. For this writer, the teams are the NFL's Washington Redskins and the NHL's Washington Capitals. In part one of this series, we examine TV coverage of the Washington Redskins.
With the Redskins, the perceived announcer bias varies depending upon the individual not one group. This stems from that particular person's use of the team's controversial nickname, "Redskins". By definition, it's a racial slur insulting Native Americans. The problem is the nickname was created in 1936 and just recently there's been a huge negative outcry.
On CBS-TV, lead game analyst Phil Simms went as far as proclaiming in an interview with Sports Illustrated that he wouldn't say "Redskins" during the network's Sept. 25th Washington-New York Giants telecast. That was enough to raise some eyebrows but throw in Simms is a former Super Bowl MVP quarterback with...the New York Giants. It was infuriating to listen to on a national broadcast. In addition, CBS' rules expert, former head referee Mike Carey previously asked the NFL not to assign him to Washington Redskins games as an official but worked this game as part of CBS and NFL Network's Thursday night series schedule. Play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz did use the "Redskins" nickname in a normal manner as with other NFL teams.
Meanwhile, CBS has televised two other Redskins contests this season with different broadcast crews in each case. Spero Dedes and Solomon Wilcots called the Week 2 game versus the Jacksonville Jaguars. There was nothing out of the ordinary with regard to the announcers favoring or opposing the name. It was used freely within the context of the game. The same holds true for the broadcast of last Sunday's game versus the Tennessee Titans featuring the team of Kevin Harlan and Rich Gannon.
Harlan, the play-by-play announcer, is an interesting case. Through his assignments on CBS-TV and Westwood One Radio for Monday Night Football, Harlan has called 2 Redskins games already this regular season. In fact, he has also called a preseason game on local TV as a substitute for regular announcer Kenny Albert in each of the last two seasons for the Redskins Broadcast Network. Whether locally on NBC4 and Comcast Sportsnet during preseason or nationally on CBS during the regular season, Harlan calls the Redskins games with no change in philosophy as far as stating the team's nickname. Washington, led by owner Daniel Snyder, has fiercely defended the name against opposition from national voices. Harlan, along with his CBS partner Rich Gannon, Spero Dedes, Solomon Wilcots, and Jim Nantz do not choose to give an opinion or hint at one through their commentary.
On FOX-TV, there were mixed viewpoints displayed. During the week 1 Washington-Houston game, play-by-play announcer Thom Brennaman frequently referred to the team as "Washington" while limiting "Redskins" mentions. For the broadcast of week 3's contest against the Philadelphia Eagles, FOX's top broadcast crew was assigned to the matchup. Main color analyst Troy Aikman was also asked before the season about the situation and said he would use "Redskins" as long as it remains the official team's nickname. Aikman is a Hall-of-Fame quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, the Redskins arch rival. In this case, Aikman is in a difficult position as a national voice of the NFL but a former player of an Redskins divisional opponent. He elects to provide a neutral, unbiased statement.
On ESPN, Lead analyst Jon Gruden has said publicly he would still say "Redskins" as long as that was the team's name. Washington has appeared almost regularly at least once a year for the last decade. Play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico has called all of ESPN's Redskin games since 2006. Starting this year, Tirico has referred to the team more as "Washington" than "Redskins". Tirico can sympathize with the plight of Redskins fans. Tirico's college alma mater Syracuse University changed its mascot from a warrior to an orange and the school nickname from Orangemen and Orangewomen to Orange.
According to the Syracuse University Archives website, the warrior mascot was created through a fake story in the student newspaper during the 1930s. Apparently, false remains of an Indian chief named Big Chief Bill Orange were found during an on-campus excavation. The story was untrue but the Saltine Warrior was a celebrated figure in Syracuse lore until Native Americans protested. The mascot was abolished in 1978. In 2004, the school modified its nicknames for male and female sports to create one uniform color, Orange.
Here are a couple of links with detailed explanations:
(Syracuse University Mascots)
http://archives.syr.edu/history/mascots.html
(The Daily Orange: Syracuse changes nickname, logo)
http://dailyorange.com/2004/06/syracuse-changes-nickname-logo/
In summary with the Redskins, the perceived negativity is more toward a racist slur which is, unfortunately, part of the official name of the team. The anti-Redskins coverage towards Washington's team and fans is out of a mission for equality in a journalistic community where unequal representation leads to accusations of bias.
With the Redskins, the perceived announcer bias varies depending upon the individual not one group. This stems from that particular person's use of the team's controversial nickname, "Redskins". By definition, it's a racial slur insulting Native Americans. The problem is the nickname was created in 1936 and just recently there's been a huge negative outcry.
On CBS-TV, lead game analyst Phil Simms went as far as proclaiming in an interview with Sports Illustrated that he wouldn't say "Redskins" during the network's Sept. 25th Washington-New York Giants telecast. That was enough to raise some eyebrows but throw in Simms is a former Super Bowl MVP quarterback with...the New York Giants. It was infuriating to listen to on a national broadcast. In addition, CBS' rules expert, former head referee Mike Carey previously asked the NFL not to assign him to Washington Redskins games as an official but worked this game as part of CBS and NFL Network's Thursday night series schedule. Play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz did use the "Redskins" nickname in a normal manner as with other NFL teams.
Meanwhile, CBS has televised two other Redskins contests this season with different broadcast crews in each case. Spero Dedes and Solomon Wilcots called the Week 2 game versus the Jacksonville Jaguars. There was nothing out of the ordinary with regard to the announcers favoring or opposing the name. It was used freely within the context of the game. The same holds true for the broadcast of last Sunday's game versus the Tennessee Titans featuring the team of Kevin Harlan and Rich Gannon.
Harlan, the play-by-play announcer, is an interesting case. Through his assignments on CBS-TV and Westwood One Radio for Monday Night Football, Harlan has called 2 Redskins games already this regular season. In fact, he has also called a preseason game on local TV as a substitute for regular announcer Kenny Albert in each of the last two seasons for the Redskins Broadcast Network. Whether locally on NBC4 and Comcast Sportsnet during preseason or nationally on CBS during the regular season, Harlan calls the Redskins games with no change in philosophy as far as stating the team's nickname. Washington, led by owner Daniel Snyder, has fiercely defended the name against opposition from national voices. Harlan, along with his CBS partner Rich Gannon, Spero Dedes, Solomon Wilcots, and Jim Nantz do not choose to give an opinion or hint at one through their commentary.
On FOX-TV, there were mixed viewpoints displayed. During the week 1 Washington-Houston game, play-by-play announcer Thom Brennaman frequently referred to the team as "Washington" while limiting "Redskins" mentions. For the broadcast of week 3's contest against the Philadelphia Eagles, FOX's top broadcast crew was assigned to the matchup. Main color analyst Troy Aikman was also asked before the season about the situation and said he would use "Redskins" as long as it remains the official team's nickname. Aikman is a Hall-of-Fame quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, the Redskins arch rival. In this case, Aikman is in a difficult position as a national voice of the NFL but a former player of an Redskins divisional opponent. He elects to provide a neutral, unbiased statement.
On ESPN, Lead analyst Jon Gruden has said publicly he would still say "Redskins" as long as that was the team's name. Washington has appeared almost regularly at least once a year for the last decade. Play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico has called all of ESPN's Redskin games since 2006. Starting this year, Tirico has referred to the team more as "Washington" than "Redskins". Tirico can sympathize with the plight of Redskins fans. Tirico's college alma mater Syracuse University changed its mascot from a warrior to an orange and the school nickname from Orangemen and Orangewomen to Orange.
According to the Syracuse University Archives website, the warrior mascot was created through a fake story in the student newspaper during the 1930s. Apparently, false remains of an Indian chief named Big Chief Bill Orange were found during an on-campus excavation. The story was untrue but the Saltine Warrior was a celebrated figure in Syracuse lore until Native Americans protested. The mascot was abolished in 1978. In 2004, the school modified its nicknames for male and female sports to create one uniform color, Orange.
Here are a couple of links with detailed explanations:
(Syracuse University Mascots)
http://archives.syr.edu/history/mascots.html
(The Daily Orange: Syracuse changes nickname, logo)
http://dailyorange.com/2004/06/syracuse-changes-nickname-logo/
In summary with the Redskins, the perceived negativity is more toward a racist slur which is, unfortunately, part of the official name of the team. The anti-Redskins coverage towards Washington's team and fans is out of a mission for equality in a journalistic community where unequal representation leads to accusations of bias.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Hockey unites in America for support of Canada
Sports are a big business and a large aspect of the social lifestyle. It's a gathering place for different people of different sexes of different ethnic backgrounds. What is the same is the joy and passion showed based upon a particular team's or individual's performance. As fans we care, probably too much at times. There are much more important things going on in the world, like yesterday.
In the capital city of Canada, Ottawa, a terrible shooting took place inside the National War Memorial. Two people were killed, a soldier standing guard and eventually the deadly shooter. At three others were taken to a local hospital with injuries.
Later that night, the Ottawa Senators professional hockey club was scheduled to play a few miles away in suburban Kanata. The Senators were going to host the Toronto Maple
Leafs, their biggest and closest rival, in a National Hockey League game. The contest was postponed yesterday and rescheduled for November 6th by agreement of the NHL, the Senators, and the Maple Leafs.
Ottawa and Toronto are rival cities in the same province of Canada, Ontario. Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are rival cities in the same state in America, Pennsylvania. Last night, the Pittsburgh Penguins played host to the Philadelphia Flyers. The two teams and cities have such a hatred toward each other that NBC Sports, the American NHL TV rightsholder, scheduled them on their Wednesday Night Rivalry broadcast. "Wednesday Night Rivalry" is promoted by NBC as "the night you love to hate". However, before the game, it was all about love for Canada.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4FlJi84XDQ
First, O Canada, the Canadian national anthem was played by piano organ. For games involving two American-based teams except in U.S./Canada border city Buffalo, the American anthem is only sung. Buffalo is an exception due to its close proximity to Canada and the amount of Canadian fans of the Buffalo Sabres.
Only in special events like the All-Star Game and Winter Classic do you hear "O Canada" sung by the anthem singer.
Second, it was amazing to hear the Pittsburgh crowd sing the anthem themselves. While the anthem singer Jeff Jimerson performed "O Canada", the arena crowd could clearly be heard in the background. It was touching, great to watch, and more importantly, fabulous to listen.
In the capital city of Canada, Ottawa, a terrible shooting took place inside the National War Memorial. Two people were killed, a soldier standing guard and eventually the deadly shooter. At three others were taken to a local hospital with injuries.
Later that night, the Ottawa Senators professional hockey club was scheduled to play a few miles away in suburban Kanata. The Senators were going to host the Toronto Maple
Leafs, their biggest and closest rival, in a National Hockey League game. The contest was postponed yesterday and rescheduled for November 6th by agreement of the NHL, the Senators, and the Maple Leafs.
Ottawa and Toronto are rival cities in the same province of Canada, Ontario. Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are rival cities in the same state in America, Pennsylvania. Last night, the Pittsburgh Penguins played host to the Philadelphia Flyers. The two teams and cities have such a hatred toward each other that NBC Sports, the American NHL TV rightsholder, scheduled them on their Wednesday Night Rivalry broadcast. "Wednesday Night Rivalry" is promoted by NBC as "the night you love to hate". However, before the game, it was all about love for Canada.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4FlJi84XDQ
First, O Canada, the Canadian national anthem was played by piano organ. For games involving two American-based teams except in U.S./Canada border city Buffalo, the American anthem is only sung. Buffalo is an exception due to its close proximity to Canada and the amount of Canadian fans of the Buffalo Sabres.
Only in special events like the All-Star Game and Winter Classic do you hear "O Canada" sung by the anthem singer.
Second, it was amazing to hear the Pittsburgh crowd sing the anthem themselves. While the anthem singer Jeff Jimerson performed "O Canada", the arena crowd could clearly be heard in the background. It was touching, great to watch, and more importantly, fabulous to listen.
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Baseball's Wild Card World Series Is Too Wild
Major League Baseball's championship round, the World Series began last night. The San Francisco Giants and the Kansas City Royals are the two best teams after six months of regular season games and one month of postseason contests. The caveat is neither team were the best in their during the regular season.
Of the five playoff teams in the National League, San Francisco had the worst record. In the American League, Kansas City had the second worst record among playoff qualifiers. It isn't an insult toward the franchises or their respective fanbases. The Giants and Royals were in the top ten in wins during the season.
Ten out of thirty teams make the playoffs in Major League Baseball, one-third. To be exact, 33 percent of the league qualifies. This percentage is the lowest of the four major professional sports. In the National Football League, 37.5 percent are eligible for postseason play, 12 out of 32 clubs.
North America's two major professional indoor sports leagues, the NBA and NHL, are even worse in terms of separating good from bad (or mediocre). In both sports, 16 teams make the playoff rounds and 14 do not qualify. For those of you scoring at home, more teams are in then out, 53 percent of them play in the postseason.
The L.A. Kings have won the NHL's Stanley Cup in two of the last three seasons. In 2012, the Kings were the eight and last seed in the Western Conference and ranked 14th out of 16 playoff teams. In 2014, they had the sixth best record in their conference and tied for only tenth in the entire regular season but won the playoff rounds. Essentially, the regular seasons in the NHL are becoming more meaningless.
MLB is not at this stage yet but getting closer. Getting back to this year's World Series, neither league champion won 90 games during the 162-game regular season. San Francisco, champions of the National League, won 88 ballgames. Kansas City, champions of the American League, compiled 87 wins. It's the first time ever in the modern era of baseball.
Both teams won "wild-card" games before advancing through the division series and league championship series. Again, this isn't an indictment on the Giants or the Royals. The Giants eliminated the NL's best team, the Washington Nationals, 3 games to 1 in the division series round. Then, they beat the third-seeded St. Louis Cardinals, four games to one. The Royals completed a three-game sweep of the L.A. Angels, the team with the record in the AL and a four-game sweep of the second-seeded Baltimore Orioles.
The problem is the "wild-card" games are an extra round of playoffs added in because of one baseball event and one competing sport.
Thanks to St. Louis and Tampa Bay completing historical comebacks to win the single wild cards in each league on the last night of the 2011 regular season, MLB decided to add another wild card spot and a special game. 2011 was unique, STL and TB had to win their respective games while Atlanta and Boston had to lose. It was a once in a lifetime scenario. Now the new playoff game round seems out of place. It's only one game compared 5,7, and games for the following rounds.
Also, baseball wanted to take the spotlight away from the National Football League. To be fair, casual fans' minds shift from baseball to football beginning in August and right through September, baseball's ending to its regular season. There is too much football talk during baseball's homestretch. Football should be front and center starting in November for non-hardcore football fans and the general sports media.
Major League Baseball needs to be careful of trying too hard to make their end of season worthwhile and losing focus on the beginning and the middle. In addition, they should stop worrying about football. MLB must watch and act swiftly if the new playoff format starts to devalue the six months of regular season.
Of the five playoff teams in the National League, San Francisco had the worst record. In the American League, Kansas City had the second worst record among playoff qualifiers. It isn't an insult toward the franchises or their respective fanbases. The Giants and Royals were in the top ten in wins during the season.
Ten out of thirty teams make the playoffs in Major League Baseball, one-third. To be exact, 33 percent of the league qualifies. This percentage is the lowest of the four major professional sports. In the National Football League, 37.5 percent are eligible for postseason play, 12 out of 32 clubs.
North America's two major professional indoor sports leagues, the NBA and NHL, are even worse in terms of separating good from bad (or mediocre). In both sports, 16 teams make the playoff rounds and 14 do not qualify. For those of you scoring at home, more teams are in then out, 53 percent of them play in the postseason.
The L.A. Kings have won the NHL's Stanley Cup in two of the last three seasons. In 2012, the Kings were the eight and last seed in the Western Conference and ranked 14th out of 16 playoff teams. In 2014, they had the sixth best record in their conference and tied for only tenth in the entire regular season but won the playoff rounds. Essentially, the regular seasons in the NHL are becoming more meaningless.
MLB is not at this stage yet but getting closer. Getting back to this year's World Series, neither league champion won 90 games during the 162-game regular season. San Francisco, champions of the National League, won 88 ballgames. Kansas City, champions of the American League, compiled 87 wins. It's the first time ever in the modern era of baseball.
Both teams won "wild-card" games before advancing through the division series and league championship series. Again, this isn't an indictment on the Giants or the Royals. The Giants eliminated the NL's best team, the Washington Nationals, 3 games to 1 in the division series round. Then, they beat the third-seeded St. Louis Cardinals, four games to one. The Royals completed a three-game sweep of the L.A. Angels, the team with the record in the AL and a four-game sweep of the second-seeded Baltimore Orioles.
The problem is the "wild-card" games are an extra round of playoffs added in because of one baseball event and one competing sport.
Thanks to St. Louis and Tampa Bay completing historical comebacks to win the single wild cards in each league on the last night of the 2011 regular season, MLB decided to add another wild card spot and a special game. 2011 was unique, STL and TB had to win their respective games while Atlanta and Boston had to lose. It was a once in a lifetime scenario. Now the new playoff game round seems out of place. It's only one game compared 5,7, and games for the following rounds.
Also, baseball wanted to take the spotlight away from the National Football League. To be fair, casual fans' minds shift from baseball to football beginning in August and right through September, baseball's ending to its regular season. There is too much football talk during baseball's homestretch. Football should be front and center starting in November for non-hardcore football fans and the general sports media.
Major League Baseball needs to be careful of trying too hard to make their end of season worthwhile and losing focus on the beginning and the middle. In addition, they should stop worrying about football. MLB must watch and act swiftly if the new playoff format starts to devalue the six months of regular season.
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