Barry Larkin Leaves MLB Network For ESPN
When it comes to baseball analysis (and coverage, although that's because they're on 24-7), MLB Network is far superior to ESPN's Baseball Tonight. Last year the scales tipped completely in MLB Network's favor when longtime ESPN'er Peter Gammons left the WWL to pursue other endeavors, which were at MLB Network. In a peculiar move, though, Barry Larkin is reportedly leaving MLB Network for ESPN:
Television analyst and former Reds shortstop Barry Larkin has left MLB Network to take a job with ESPN, according to a report by USA Today. It's unclear exactly what role Larkin will take on at ESPN, but he has experience both in the announcing booth and in studio. ESPN, of course, broadcasts several national games per week during the season along with its flagship nightly highlights and analysis show Baseball Tonight.
Larkin took a role with MLB Network shortly before it launched on Jan. 1, 2009.
The game announcing crews have been released, so it's reasonable to believe that Larkin's new role will be as an analyst on Baseball Tonight, doing some of the same, good stuff he did with MLB Network, and featured more prominently, too. Larkin was added to the lineup at MLB Network in December 2008, just before it launched, but the Network has been continuously adding on-air personalities and Larkin was starting to see less and less face time. That won't be the case at ESPN who have holes to fill with Bobby Valentine joining the broadcast booth after the network parted ways with Jon Miller and Joe Morgan.
For what it's worth, Larkin's no longer found on MLB Network's long list of on-air personalities.
Barry Larkin reportedly leaves MLB Network for ESPN [FanHouse]
I guess whoever had this concern was a golfer, or badminton, or f'ing bocce....can't follow a couple screens and kick outs....don't watch basektball......
Ok. It looks like I was definitely in the minority on this one. I guess it was just a bit overkill for me breaking down in detail what the 3rd or 4th option of the play should be doing in the 20 seconds he spent diagramming the play.
I blame my stupidity on Bon Jovi.
You're right...he should have drawn something simple like a pick and roll, oh wait that's exactly what he did
Wow, that was really not confusing at all. I was a big man who never made it above JV (in 1995) and am now disabled and haven't played in years, but I get it. Guard comes off the screen, big man rolls to the low block. Other big man flashes to the top of the key. Guard either shoots it (1), dumps it down low (2), or passes to the top of the key (3). It's a pretty nice play that gives the man with the ball three options, which is better than a lot of end-game isolation plays that force the ball handler to take the double-clutched shot and miss badly because someone's in his face.
Using a marker on a two-dimensional surface to show something that happens over the course of time WILL leave you with a fairly sloppy board that doesn't represent the play at the end of the diagram. Oh well. Performance art.
I like it. I played in high school, and that made perfect sense. Nice to see a commentator who knows what he's talking about instead of spewing cliches. Not everything on a broadcast has to be for casual fans.
Hah, I am sure it did then. Speaking as someone who last played basketball intramurals during college...very poorly I might add...that was a bit too much for me take in at that point in the game.
@Realfakesports not sure it was at all necessary, though. how about just announcing "look for a pick-and-roll or so and so open in the corner"? saves us from seeing him struggle to draw upside down and hearing him stutter through the explanation
