Ever since Joe Buck joined Twitter (@Buck), I've been surprised as to how open he's been in discussing criticism of his announcing.  Almost since day one, Buck has engaged with, made fun of, called out, and hit back at critics of his.  Part of me believes this is a great idea for Joe Buck, someone that has always been unable to connect with viewers in any sort of likable way.  Being engaging on Twitter and answering those questions makes him slightly more human.  Anyone who is willing to publicly mention his career path and nepotism in his first Twitter salvo has to earn some points for being willing to put himself out there.

However, being so open about the critics is walking a delicate line.  To see what crossing that line looks like, check out this arrogant, childish tweet from Mavericks announcer Mark Followill to NBA blogger Sebastian Pruiti last week.  In following Buck's Twitter feed, it is clear that he is bothered by the avalanche of negativity sent his way and needs some forum to get it off his chest. 

The ultimate trump card for any Buck critic is his seemingly soulless delivery on one of the most exciting plays in the history of the Super Bowl - the David Tyree helmet catch.  Let's roll the footage...

If you weren't watching the clip, you may have thought that was the third quarter of a preseason game.  This clip has defined Joe Buck as a bland, unexciting, monotone announcer and it's going to take a Gus Johnson like explosion in another Super Bowl to escape from that label.  Fans haven't connected to Buck as an announcer because of it.  While that clip came four years ago, it must still haunt Joe Buck because he sent out a flurry of tweets last night about the call...

I'm not proud of this, but this is the first time Bulls announcer Stacey King has been featured on this website. Despite hearing a few of his games over the last few years and seeing many mentions on Twitter from our followers, we have yet to post on the former player turned announcer. It's time we give the third year color analyst some play here at AA.

On Monday night, as if subjecting myself to the Pistons wasn't bad enough, I was also stuck with the insufferable Bulls feed on NBA League Pass. That, of course, means Stacey King. There were times when I'd lose focus and minimize the game to do something else, only to be drawn back in by King's overdone homerism and "HOT SAUCE!" King tipped me over the edge, though, when he went berserk (with the rest of Chicago) for Brian "The White Mamba" Scalabrine, who is somehow still making a comfortable living in the NBA, because I guess it's hilariously entertaining [H/T Hot Clicks]:

To be fair, as a fan myself of Detroit's polarizing homer, I know plenty of Chicago fans love them some Stacey King like King loves him some White Mamba. Someone went as far as starting a "Stacey King is the greatest announcer" Facebook page, although nobody seems to be in it, and there's a Top 10 Derrick Rose plays called by King. But the most telling sign that an announcer is truly beloved (or at least entertaining) is possessing his own soundboard -- yes, Stacey King has his own soundboard, and even I have to admit, it's pretty phenomenal.

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As Blythe mentioned in bowling's fail of the year, Rob Stone is leaving ESPN bowling to cover soccer for FOX, which meant there was a vacancy to be filled. According to PBA.com, that will go to veteran Gary Thorne:

Thorne will do play-by-play for the three remaining PBA majors beginning with the Alka-Seltzer Plus Liquid Gels United States Bowling Congress Masters later this month in Las Vegas, continuing with the U.S. Open in February and the Tournament of Champions in April. Stone will continue to work the remaining World Series of Bowling ESPN-taped telecasts this season and will also do play-by-play for Thursday’s taping of the Chris Paul Celebrity PBA Invitational presented by Sheets™ Brand in Los Angeles.

PBA Hall of Famer Randy Pedersen will remain as ESPN PBA Tour color analyst.

Thorne is the distinct voice of many sports, including MLB, college football, and perhaps best known for calling the NHL. Personally, I think Thorne's best work is on the Major League Baseball 2k series, which he has voiced since MLB 2k9 when he took over for Jon Miller. 

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The ratings are in for the BCS National Championship Game and... well, they're about as ugly as the game was Monday night.  The rematch between LSU and Alabama drew a 13.8 overnight rating on ESPN, which was the worst in the history of the BCS title game.  It eclipses the dreadful Miami/Nebraska game from 2002, which was another game that had questionable circumstances surrounding the arbitrary selection of one of the participants.  Ratings were sure to be weakened with plenty of fans loathing the prospects of a rematch and were sure to continue going down as LSU didn't even get across midfield till the 4th quarter.

Let's face it, Monday's snoozer was an awful game to watch.  I've stood in DMV lines that were more exciting than the 2012 BCS National Championship Game.  This was like watching a Kris Humphries reality show without the Kardashians.  We suffered through five more Alabama field goals and had to wait almost the entire length of the game for a touchdown to be scored.  LSU had 534 yards FEWER offense than the Saints put up in the same building two days prior.  

And then you had Brent Musburger doing his best to make the previously awesome "Honey Badger" nickname totally unusable for the rest of time.  (Although the "Jesus Christ Lizard" is still available for Tim Tebow in case you were wondering.)  The only redeeming aspect of the game was seeing Bruce Feldman make ESPN airwaves without getting blurred out and then listening to Bobby Hebert rant at Les Miles during the postgame press conference.

(Is this a good time to mention my first ever Halloween costume was a mini Bobby Hebert Saints uniform?  Unfortunately, I don't remember giving people a possibly drunken 48 second diatribe for only giving me pennies and Sweet Tarts.  I was 4, cut me some slack.)

Obviously, the entire BCS shift to cable explains much of the drop compared to pre-2011.  Even though ESPN is in 100 million homes, there's still less viewers to go around on cable.  And, even though the numbers across the BCS are down from last year, BCS games are still major winners in the ratings compared to other cable programs as they were three of the five highest rated shows this past week.

But the decline from 2010 to 2011 is still worrisome for the BCS, which makes me absolutely giddy because bad news for the BCS is good news for us...

We reported a week and a half ago about ESPN baseball columnist Keith Law interviewing with the Houston Astros, possibly for the position of scouting director. Then, we heard nothing about it for a while. Yesterday, Law tweeted that he'd be staying with ESPN and not taking a job with the Astros.

The internet rejoiced at the news, mostly because it means that we won't get deprived of Law's blunt, sometimes harsh, but always generally truthful analysis of MLB transactions. Plus, we're getting close to the time of year where many fans renew their Insider subscriptions: top 100 prospect time! Law's lists are usually among the best and most informative amongst baseball analysts.

It's a shame that a MLB team won't be able to have his unique blend of sabermetric and scouting knowledge in their front office, but its fantastic news for fans of his work, because we'll still get access to it on a regular basis. Here's hoping ESPN gives him a more elevated role in 2012 and bring a more advanced statistical analysis to their multi-platform television coverage too.

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What's the meaning of life? Who's my father? Am I gonna get sick? Does Tim Tebow really exist?

For centuries, people have turned to one man for life's great mysteries -- like Spencer Hawes averaging 15 points, 12 rebounds, and over two blocks per 36 minutes -- and that man is ... Philadelphia 76ers analyst Malik Rose?

If you're not familiar with the Chappelle's Show skit, that could've been construed as a really awkward comment by Rose and may or may not have caught his Emmy winner sidekick Marc Zumoff off guard a little bit. But if you caught it, then you likely enjoyed it as much as Sixers' fans are enjoying their current little five game winning streak. 

I have a few questions for the Negro-damus. Malik Rose, why did Eric Snow fall asleep during a broadcast last year? Malik Rose, why do the Pistons suck so bad? Malik Rose, whatever happened to Geena Davis? 

H/T - Buzz on Broad

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Hill & Schlereth... or is it Schlereth & Hill?  Whatever the case, the random pairing of SportsCenter anchor Mike Hill and NFL analyst Mark Schlereth are debuting tonight on ESPN Radio as the new primetime show weeknights from 7PM-10PM.  There's a fancy video up on ESPN's PR propaganda website blog introducing listeners to the new pairing.

Great, so from what I gathered from that video the show will be part barber shop, part Alaskan fishing trip.  For some reason, the decision makers at ESPN Radio have decided their latest offereing absolutely has to fit into the mold of Mike & Mike by combining one ex-jock with one non-descript anchor.  Another "Odd Couple" premise, how original!  But, can Hill & Schlereth develop the chemistry of Greeny & Golic?  Who knows.  Mike & Mike isn't the gold standard of sports radio by any stretch.  But, they've been a success by appealing to a broad range of sports fans, even if their old, campy schtick and vanilla opinions doesn't motivate most passionate sports fans.

So why would this pairing of Hill & Schlereth succeed in replicating the formula? Personally, I find Mark Schlereth to be one notch below Trent Dilfer on the totem pole amongst ESPN analysts.  Schlereth is barely tolerable when he's talking NFL on TV or making appearances on ESPN Radio.  Will anyone nationally want to listen to his inflated views and ill-informed opinions for three hours?  Can he talk about anything besides football and his son's baseball career?  Mike Hill has actually impressed me when I've heard him on ESPN Radio on SportsCenter in the evenings, but why saddle him by making him play second fiddle to Schlereth?

On a larger scale, Hill & Schlereth could be doomed to be another bland radio copycat.  For once, ESPN had a chance to be bold and develop a new Dan Patrick or Scott Van Pelt.  Instead, they've decided to go to an overused formula once again.  The new pairing likely won't be able to fill the intelligent shoes of Brian Kenny, who left his primetime radio show and ESPN as a whole to go to MLB Network.  But, I'm sure it will be heavy on formulaic jokes and hijinx centered around the kooky chemistry between a washed up athlete and a hip sports anchor...

It wasn't too long ago that MLB took the somewhat controversial step of adding a Wild Card play in game for both leagues.  This extra game was spawned to create a true one game playoff and add some extra spice to what could be pedestrian Wild Card races.  With the memorable drama of the last day of the regular season this past year and the usual drama of a one game playoff to make the postseason (ahem, Chip Caray), baseball instituted the new play in games.  The merits of a one game playoff between two Wild Card teams after the 162 game season has been heavily debated and certainly has its detractors.

According to Sports Business Journal, MLB is looking to rush the new playoff system to incorporate it into the 2012 season.  With MLB's main contract with Fox coming up soon, the question naturally arises as to which network might televise the new play in games.  Turner Sports has televised playoff tiebreakers in the past and SBJ reckons Turner would be in line to televise the new play in games...

Under the league’s media contracts, Turner has held the right to carry tie-breaking games at the end of the regular season. Those rights came into play most recently when Minnesota and Detroit played for the AL Central Division crown in 2009. 

In accordance with Turner’s contract, media industry sources expect the network to land the rights to the new round of play-in games, but they are waiting to hear definitively that the games are covered by Turner’s current deal.

Here's hoping the new MLB play in games aren't put on Tru TV like the NCAA Tournament's play in games.  One has to think if these games were somehow put on ESPN if they would benefit from the 24/7 hype machine Bristol is capable of creating.  TBS's postseason baseball coverage has drastically improved throughout the life of their contract, though and baseball fans would probably be content either way as long as it doesn't go to Fox.

The striking element to me out of these new playoff games is the motivation for MLB in launching these play in games.  The fairness of the play in games, or lack thereof, has been well documented.  Also, the way baseball has struggled in postseason ratings without the Yanks or the Sawx has been well documented.  The fact that MLB is trying to move the 2012 schedule around and implement the new postseason immediately tells me the sport is desperate to create some extra juice in spite of how flawed the system may be.  Is MLB sacrificing the sanctity of their regular season in a desperation move to create some sense of "win or go home" excitement?  Whatever opinion you have, at least we all know Bud Selig will have his finger on the pulse of what baseball needs for another two years.  Hooray...

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The ratings for this weekend's NFL games are in, and one thing is clear from looking at them: America loves Tim Tebow.

Sunday's Steelers-Broncos game drew an insane 25.9 rating, which was the highest for an NFL wild card playoff games since the Oilers and Seahawks playoff game in the 1987 season. It might have been more than just Tebow, because the game drew a 56.2 in Pittsburgh compared to just a 49.0 in Denver, both of which are insane numbers.  That means over half the homes in Pittsburgh were tuned into the game.  An average of 42.3 million people tuned into the game according to CBS, which is just shy of the last State of the Union Address.

As for the rest of the NFL playoffs, it was a mixed bag. Sunday's Giants-Falcons game, which turned into a blowout in the second half, drew just an 18.9, the lowest for a wild card game on Fox since 2008. The pair of NBC games, Lions-Saints and Bengals-Texans, were also down compared to last year's games, The Bengals-Texans game was down 16% from last year, and couldn't crack a 40 rating in either market. As for the Lions-Saints game, it was still down, albeit only 7% from last year and 2% from 2010. New Orleans and Detroit both supported their teams though, with New Orleans pulling in a 58.2 rating (which beats both the Pittsburgh and Denver numbers), and Detroit coming in at a solid 41.1.

Just one more note about Tebow and the ratings to add to the irony factor of everything. We all saw how Tebow threw for 316 yards, and how that just seemed appropriate, right?

The quarter hour overrun for the game that featured the game-winning touchdown from Tebow to Demaryius Thomas on the first play from scrimmage did a 31.6 rating. Now that's just a little too eerie.

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Rule #1 in the athletic sport of bowling has to be “when completing a wind up, make sure to LET GO of the ball.”

Josh Blanchard, a rookie in the Pro Bowling world, apparently did not want to follow that rule as he made one of the most embarrassing, but yet entertaining, gaffes of this new year.

While in the 9th frame with a score of 121, it’s clear Josh was having a bad day. Number 1, if you are a professional bowler, a 9th frame score of 121 is dreadful. But what’s worse is to create the rookie moment of the season at the World Championship qualifier by having his fingers get stuck in the ball, stepping over the foul line onto the slick lane, and falling only to land in the gutter.

As if that wasn’t enough, announcer Rob Stone (who's leaving ESPN bowling, etc. for Fox's soccer coverage) decides to rub salt in the wound by responding with shouting “OH MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS” and then follow that up by stating the obvious, [Josh went] “from bad to worse to miserable.”

Thankfully, the only thing that came away hurt was Josh’s pride. Here’s to hoping that he can pick himself up (literally) from this mishap and carry on his pro career.

Until then, the internet laughs at your expense...

H/T Deadspin

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