ESPN has lost a number of talented people in the last year (with Brian Kenny, Bruce Feldman, and Pat Forde being some of the most notable examples), and they may be losing another on-air talent shortly: popular anchor and radio host Scott Van Pelt.

The Big Lead is reporting that the NBC Sports Network (freshly minted at the beginning of the year) is rumored to be going after Van Pelt, whose contract expires in April. On the heels of losing Jim Rome to CBS, losing Van Pelt would be huge, especially for ESPN Radio. Kenny's radio show was recently replaced by a show hosted by Mark Schlereth and Mike Hill, much to the chagrin of our staff. If Van Pelt were also to depart, ESPN would need to fill another hole in its radio schedule, but Van Pelt's sidekick Ryen Rusillo could be a tailor-made successor. If Van Pelt does indeed leave for NBC as speculated, it would give the network an extremely solid anchor to lead whatever coverage they're planning to go with. It's the kind of splash NBC Sports Network has to make coming out of the gates and would be a direct shot at ESPN.  

Another popular ESPN talent whose contract is expiring is the cohost of SportsNation, Michelle Beadle. Ken Fang is reporting that Beadle's contract is expiring this month, and she could be a huge get for a network that is looking to get a firm grip on a studio host that can attract a younger crowd. The brass at ESPN is quite fond of Beadle though, and I don't think they'd let her go without a fight. ESPN would probably have to increase her role on the network, though, which is something I don't think they'd really hesitate doing. It could be similar to the expanded role Erin Andrews has seen in the last couple of years. Many fans are of the opnion that Beadle has supplanted EA as the queen of ESPN, and a progression in her career past hosting SportsNation with Cowherd would seem logical at this point in time.

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I don't know what's more impressive about this clip - the three quarter court buzzer beater for the win, or the fact that Lindsey Wilson College from the NAIA (that's National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for the unaware) has their own YouTube channel and video coverage with slow motion instant replay capabilities!  In the footage below, #14 Lindsey Wilson is trailing rival #5 Georgetown College (both located in Kentucky) by two with just seconds remaining, 78-76.  After a missed free throw, Blue Raiders player Chase Spreen takes the rebound and heaves a prayer from inside his own free throw line.  The end result?  Nothing but net.  Even better than the improbable buzzer beater is the home play by play man absolutley losing his mind over the play...

"Spreen with the rebound, half court, full court shot... GOOOOOODDD!!!! OH MY GOD!! OH MY GOD!! HE HIT IT FROM THE FREE THROW LINE ON THE OTHER SIDE!!  UNBELIEVABLE!! IT'S THE MOST UNBELIEVABLE SHOT I'VE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE!!"

Indeed.  Believe it or not, that was Lindsey Wilson's only lead of the game. 

H/T LoneNutVolFan!

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Earlier this week, we published Part I of reader e-mails with your thoughts on TebowMania and the insane amount of coverage of Broncos QB Tim Tebow.  AA has always been an open forum for sports fans to voice their opinion on announcers and the sports media and with TebowMania so out of control, we wanted to give you a say.  With Patriots/Broncos tonight, TebowMania will either go into hibernation with a New England win, or we are transplanted into an alternate universe where Tim Tebow is the unquestioned master and ruler of the world with a Denver win.  I don't think that's an overstatement.  With that realization approaching, we asked you for your thoughts on TebowMania and the coverage of Tim Tebow.  As always, these are real e-mails from real readers...

I just wanted to comment on Tebow and the media's fascination with him. I really like Tebow and I have ever since he was at Florida. I think he is a great role model for kids and it's nice to see athletes who can be positive influences instead of the Pacman Jones' of the world. But I can't stand ESPN's non stop Tebow coverage. I don't watch Sportscenter or First Take anymore because of it. I find myself rooting against a guy who I normally would root for just because I don't want to hear about him. I'm a Panthers fan and there are many obnoxious Steeler fans in our area but I found myself rooting for them so that I wouldn't have to boycott ESPN for the next week.

I have no problem with Tebow's faith and I think it's pretty courageous that such a high profile athlete isn't scared to back away from his beliefs just because it's such a sensitive topic. I do have issues with fans who attribute all of his success to the fact that because he is deeply religious he is being rewarded. Being a Panthers fan I've had to watch another deeply religious man, Thomas Davis, suffer through 3 ACL tears in 3 years. He's not as high profile but it's kind of ignorant to say Tebow is only a winner because he is a true believer in God.

I am happy to see a guy like Tebow win but I wish ESPN would give more credit to the coaches and teammates for winning as a team instead of Tebow getting all the credit.

Josh Gainer

Here's an interesting note from this oddly football-centric interview from GQ with rapper Eminem on his favorite or least favorite announcer...

GQ: Is there an analyst on TV that you particularly like or dislike? 

 Eminem: I flip back and forth between ESPN and the NFL Network all day long. 24-7, those two channels are always on. As far as analysts go, I'm cool with most of them. When it comes to calling a game, though, Al Michaels is my favorite. By far. C'mon, everybody misses John Madden. It sucks that he's retired, but at least we've still got Michaels. He is the last of the true icons still calling games. Just hearing his voice, it's nostalgic, man. It brings you back to when you were a little kid. His voice is ill. I don't know how long Al Michaels plans on doing the Sunday night games for NBC, but if he retired tomorrow, it would really f*#$ing suck.

Good to know that one of the more popular rappers around has the same general viewpoint as the general public about Michaels being the man. He finished in our yearly Pyrotechnics awards voting for best play by play announcer and is generally recognized as the top play by play man in the National Football League. I don't know if his voice has ever been described as ill though. We can only hope that we get more Michaels this year on NBC's coverage of the Olympics in London this summer.

Now, if only Eminem would mention Michaels in one of his songs... or if Al would quote some Eminem lyrics in his announcing...

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Yes, the headline from Craig James' first debate performance this week and his introduction to the media before the debate was the admission of taking "$20 handshakes" while a player at SMU in the 1980's.  (Even though he had previously denied any involvement in SMU's checkered past.)  In the sports world at large, that might be considered the biggest story.  But, for those among us who just see Craig James as the joke that he is, the best of the rest of his quotes from the initial debate didn't dissapoint.  As expected, James sounded like a mix of the corrupt dope of an announcer he was with the caricature of the politician he is trying to be.  As Deitsch pointed out on Twitter, the following quotes seem like they belong on the Onion instead of in a legitimate political race.  Quotes come from the Texas Politics blog at the Houston Chronicle:

“I’m going up there to kick the skunks out of the bushes,” he said, adding later: “The game’s over, man.”

-Look out skunks in Washington!  Craig James is coming to flush the fish down the toilet that is Washington.  He's going to drive the rats out of the sewer that is our nation's capital.  Hmm, I better stop myself before I give James' brilliant metaphor writer more material.  

“I didn’t have the maturity to turn it away,” (On his taking improper benefits at SMU)

“Right is right; wrong is wrong. It’s never right to do wrong.”

-James claimed the benefits he took while at SMU were "insignificant"... so clearly they don't fall into the "right is right" category.  I guess wielding your influence at ESPN to get Mike Leach fired and that whole hooker thing also don't fall into the "wrong is wrong" category.  

Even while playing for the New England Patriots, James turned to real estate deals during the off-season “to prove that I was more than a football player, that I was a smart guy.”

-*shaking head in disbelief*

“I get what’s going on in the real world,”

-Do you Craig... do you really?  Because it sure seems like your "real world" and "real street" aren't in this little place I like to call REALITY.  

As if this stream of quotes that would be laughed at in a D-level political movie wasn't enough, Craig James is out with his newest television ad.  Go ahead and watch, but remember AA isn't responsible if you decide to shoot your computer in the process.

Let's see...faith, family, freedom, free enterprise.  I think Craig is missing a couple of other "F" words to describe himself.  Maybe the "F" theme is appropriate though, seeing as how that's the letter college football fans use to stamp his legacy as an announcer.

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In the newest AA Podcast, we talk with the man behind one of the most popular daily sports articles on the internet, Jimmy Traina of SI's Hot Clicks.  Jimmy talks to AA about how Hot Clicks has grown over time and his favorite kinds of stories and posts to share.  We also cover a multitude of topics in the sports world and announcing including...

*Trying to explain TebowMania and why Tim Tebow has become America's most talked about athlete.
*Jimmy's favorite and least favorite NFL announcers.
*Comparing the networks and their coverage of the NFL.
*Joe Buck as Fox's lead baseball and football announcer.
*Rapid Fire: What one word does Jimmy use to describe everyone from Erin Andrews, CM Punk, and Chris Berman?
*NFL Divisional Picks

All that and a lot more on this edition of the AA Podcast.  Don't forget to check out all of our podcasts on iTunes and follow Jimmy on Twitter @JimmyTraina.

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In live television, there's always a danger of saying something that seconds later you know was a terrible idea.  Enter ESPN's Marcellus Wiley.  As he was discussing the upcoming 49ers-Saints playoff game  with Kevin Negandhi on SportsCenter (wait... you mean there are other playoff games this weekend besides that one happening in New England!  Who knew!), Marcellus had one of those "oh sh*t" moments.  Not the kind that Shaq experienced last night, but the kind where you know you exercised terrible word choice on national television in front of hundreds of thousands of people.  

Marcellus, who I actually like amongst the neverending stable of ESPN NFL analysts, describes the 49ers defense as "terrorists."  As a Saints fan, this not only scares me that Drew Brees and the New Orleans offense may be slowed down and lose the game, but that they also might not manage to make it out of San Francisco alive.  Marcellus obviously meant to say that the Niners defense "terrorizes" opponents, but yea, this just came out bad.  The awkward pause and look on Wiley's face is also priceless...

"Sometimes you go out there in two gap like a Justin Smith and you know you got those terrorists behind you." - Marcellus Wiley

(video via SportsGrid)

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ESPN NBA reporter Chris Broussard obviously graduated summa cum laude from the Tim McCarver School Of Spelling Excellence In Broadcasting.  If the late Tim Russert only knew what his groundbreaking use of a whiteboard on television would produce over a decade later. 

The LSU-Alabama BCS title game deserved a snafu of this level.  If only LSU could come close to scoring one point, let alone nine, this game could have been remotely interesting.  This flip-flopped picture and a rant from a former Saints QB were the most exciting things about the national title game.  S-E-C!  S-E-C!  S-E-C!

From JamFan41: "This went under the radar. When did Mel Kiper become a doctor?"  

And finally, well, this is just one of the greatest screengrab snafus I have ever seen.  Hats off to bubbaprog for catching this one during a random bowl game between two random teams you weren't watching anyways.  Just remember, Line 1 goes here...

That was your week in Screengrab Snafus, next time be careful out there!

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Check out this clip from Inside the NBA tonight, where Shaq slips up and says shit before commercial. This just adds to the legend of Shaq as a studio analyst, who is already developing quite a rapport with Charles Barkley on the panel. We had high hopes for Shaq coming into the year when TNT released this teaser ad for him joining Inside the NBA, and it's been all aces so far.

Now, I know that swearing on TV isn't much of a huge deal nowadays (and Shaq has never cared), but it's still one of those things that gets our blood running. I mean, hell, it happened last week during the Winter Classic with Mike Milbury calling the New York Rangers the Blue "Shits." But on the downside, it wasn't nearly as good as this rant from the end of the Wagner-Santa Clara game in December.

Keep fighting the good fight, Shaq!

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I don't speak Arabic, so I can't translate this. But this Arab hoops announcer goes absolutely bonkers calling this dunk as Al Haji Mohammad completely destroys a defender "with no regard for human life!" A quick Googling tells me that Mohammad plays for the Al Kuwait team, and is an alumni of Louisville, where he was a bench player for three seasons. In his 2003-2004 senior season, he averaged 15.6 minutes and 4.6 points per game. Al Kuwait was playing Al Sahel in this game, but I can't make out the number of the player who Mohammad dunks on.

Back to the dunk. There is so much to like about this clip. First, Mohammad pretty much smashes his defender in the face with a flying knee. Then, the defender does a full back roll before standing up.

And of course, the announcing. It's just not enough for our announcer friend to go crazy for the dunk, but he has to do it while invoking a 1990's TLC song ("shoop shoop shoop"), his choice in deity ("Alllllllah!"), and mentioning Al Haji no less than 15 times during this clip.

Announcers of America, take note. You've got a hell of a call to beat in 2012.

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