Derek Jeter's 3,000th Hit Was So Inspiring John Sterling Thought It Counted For 2,000
Both of the calls of Kay and Sterling are actually pretty good and not too over-dramatized for the moment. Shocking, I know. I laughed out loud though at just how ridiculously over-the-top the gushing praise of Jeter is once the celebratory aspects kick in. Suzyn Waldman describing Jeter waving to the fans actually moves me to reach for the tissues as I write this. Evidently, the monumental emotion for the magnificent Yankee carried to the postgame where John Sterling was running down the particulars of what happened at the new Yankee Stadium. He was so moved by the afternoon that he thought Jeter's home run actually counted for 2,000 hits instead of 1. Again, understandable, he is the Yankee captain after all, but if my math is correct, he won't really be approaching 5,000 hits until 2027. Listen closely...
Given NBC makes tons of money off today and, at best, breaks even on Wimbledon, you are not going to see NBC making any changes. You will prolly see one of two things happen when then net contract is signed. Either NBC gets the entire kit and caboodle with cable coverage moving to Versus or ESPN winning the rights. My money is on NBC for two reasons. First, a relationship going back to 1968. (Wimbledon has had multiple cable partners and England's must show on free tv rule makes cale less important to the All England Club.) Second, I think NBC wants the rights more than ESPN.
As an avid tennis fan and faithful reader of this blog I was very happy to see some analysis of tennis coverage, especially considering how spot on I believe you are.
You say that tennis coverage is underrated; this could not be more true. NBC's tennis crew is great. Ted and John have great chemistry in the booth. Ted is great at allowing what's happening to speak for himself and also recognizes that John is very talkative and allows him to dominate. John is a great analyst. Mary Carillo is a great analyst; however, in the booth with John and Ted she is very quiet, primarily (I believe) due to John being so talkative.
However, ESPN's coverage is my favorite. I've said it time and time again, ESPN's tennis crew has the best chemistry in ALL of sports. Your analyis of PMac and Brad Gilbert was accurate, but don't stop there. PMac and Gilbert (especially the latter) have very strong chemistry with Fowler as well. Fowler is really the leader of the team and he excels at the role. Darren Cahill has been an incredible find. Originally, the brought him on after Gilbert left to coach Murray, but he has been really excellent and so they kept both upon Gilbert's return. Mary Jo is a good analysis, although she probably has the least personality of the entire group. Shriver is both funny and smart. Finally, I completely agree with your comment about Evert- she has been great. Putting Shriver and Evert, once rivals, in the booth together made for a great duo. (Note: For the US Open, Johnny Mac joins ESPN's coverage.)
Not much more needs to be said about the bad/ugly. I just hope that Wimbledon realizes the problems its TV contract causes and rectifies the situation. Personally, I hope that ESPN gets full weekday coverage. I prefer their coverage during the week as they do a better job of showing all the courts and it would make for a much simpler schedule. This is what happens at the US Open where CBS takes over on the weekend.
Great post! Thanks for incorporating tennis into the blog.
