I couldn't help but take a step back and think about what we've seen this week in sports with two people that say a lot about the sports media and the way we view athletes.  Both have seen the entire spectrum of athlete superstardom.  They've been at the absolute top of their sport, and they've been kicked around with glee.  Those people are Tiger Woods and Tim Tebow.  The way these two athletes have been covered this week in particular has spoke volumes for the way the media covers superstar athletes and the way we view superstar athletes as fans.  Simply put, there's nothing we love more than the vicious cycle of building up and tearing down...

Let's start briefly with why these two are in the news.  Tiger Woods made another return after a lengthy layoff, this time from injury, at the WGC event at Firestone in Akron.  Firestone is where Woods has seen the most success in his career, but through the first two days of the tournament Tiger is a so-so (-1), seven shots out of the lead and tied for 36th. 

Presumably, Tim Tebow was going to be given the keys to Denver's offense going into the 2011 season as Kyle Orton was going to be traded to Miami (producing bizarre chants in Miami of "We Want Orton," wrap your minds around that).  Orton wasn't traded and outplayed Tebow in practice, creating the awkward situation where Tebow isn't exactly the starting QB anymore.  On top of that, Merrill Hoge woke up one morning and decided it was his mission to destroy Tebow, ripping him with a series of Tweets and subsequent interviews.

The changing narratives of Tiger and Tebow are stunning.  Take a look at their respective careers and where they are now.  They symbolize more than anyone else this manipulative and cynical need to continually build up and tear down athletes.  This shouldn't be a mystery to many of you, but it has truly flashed like a bright neon sign with sirens this week.  And we as fans should be able to see through it...

A former coach that Browns fans called "Mangina" and a former player with a last named of Woody. Somehow I veered away from an immature title to this article and played it straight.

Every year ESPN reshuffles their lineup of analysts covering a sport and this year have added former Jets and Browns coach Eric Mangini as well and former Jet's lineman Damien Woody. ESPN had this to say in regards to Mangini's particular role.

"He will appear on "NFL Live," "SportsCenter," "First Take" and other programs throughout the year and also will contribute analysis on ESPN Radio and other platforms. He is scheduled to start Aug. 17."

Woody will apparently have a similar beat although will not do radio and will spend some time on ESPN News as well.

ESPN has increasingly shown preference to adding recently removed head coaches as guys like Herm Edwards and Jon Gruden have been well received by viewers. Mangini's addition will give ESPN a second former coach as a studio analyst with Gruden mostly utilized on Monday Night Football.

Woody's addition had been speculated for awhile, even by himself when interviewed by the NFL Live crew last week in regards to the new CBA and if he'd play another year or would be wearing a suit as an analyst.

I'll let Stephen explain exactly why he has control of the MLB's twitter account for the day.

So far, Stephen has used this new platform to inform the MLB's 1.4 million+ followers on the score of the Seattle Salamanders vs. Albuquerque Balloons game (7 to aught) and instructed fans looking for highlights to follow his link that leads to this video of a ducky and a doggy playing. We can look forward to a day of hating on the Cubs (Colbert has a crippling fear of bears) and hopefully the first of a 30 part series as Colbert gets us to know the MLB teams better.

I give a tip of the hat to the MLB for having a sense of humor and giving me a reason to visit their twitter page for the first time ever.

Earlier this week, Ryan wrote about the ridiculousness of ESPN hyping their own QB rating system, furthering their desire to take over the world.  But we really don't need a new QB rating system, do we?  Especially one contrived by Trent Dilfer, no less.  158.3 isn't perfect, but we've learned to live with it.  Perhaps what ESPN should have done instead was to come up with a rating system to rank their endless array of NFL analysts, which now includes that media friendly, likable former coach, Eric Mangini.  We need a way to rank the most effective of the hundreds of ESPN NFL analysts right?  So with ESPN unveiling the new QB system tonight, here's what we would have done for the Total Analyst Rating...

First off, let's forget the complicated multiplications, divisions, exponentials, normalizations, and whatever other number crunching you want to do to make yourself look smart.  If you want to have fun, take the natural log of these points or whatever.  It doesn't really matter.  All you need to know is that the highest points total is the best NFL analyst, the ones that cross into negative territory... not so much...

+100 points for appearing on Mike & Mike, NFL Live, and the 6pm SportsCenter in one day. (+100 Bonus points if you also appear on the 11pm SportsCenter for the NFL Analyst Grand Slam.)
+50 points for being given a motivational speaking platform (Herm Edwards step on up).
+50 points for winning a season-long picks contest.
+25 points for having your own segment on Sunday/Monday Countdown or Primetime.
+20 points for getting to play on the virtual field.
+15 points for being interviewed from the NFL Films vault.
+10 points for having video shown of your playing/coaching career.
+10 points for appearing on PTI.
+5 points for being called by your recognizable nickname.
+1 point for having your "resume" being shown on screen.
0 points if you co-host a radio show with Mike Greenberg.
-1 point for bragging, "when I was a coach/player."
-2 points for saying "THIS GUY."
-5 points for being an ex-Cowboy or Patriot.
-5 points for interrupting someone.
-10 points for debating Skip Bayless.
-10 points for saying "THIS GUY" if you aren't Jon Gruden.
-15 points for appearing on The Herd.
-20 points for fake laughter.
-25 points for saying the name "Brett Favre."
-50 points for starting a needless national controversy with your "analysis."
-50 points for speaking louder and slower to sound more important (ahem... TRENT... DILFER...).
-50 points if you use the number of surgieres you had as a badge of honor.
-75 points if you hock your own line of green chili or other personal product.
-100 points for making a bogus prediction to motivate a team (we're looking at you Tom Jackson).
-150 points for being the worst GM in the league during your career.
-1000 points for using an ethnic slur to describe one of your colleagues.


And there you have it.  Judging by this criteria, who do you think will emerge this season atop the ESPN NFL Total Analyst Rating?  

 

NBC/Outdoor Life Network/Versus/NBC Sports Network looks to be beefing up their hockey coverage by adding NCAA hockey. In April, the NHL signed a 10-year extension to remain with the NBC family thus making this a logical move, in my opinion, to promote hockey since they've invested a Scrooge McDuck money pit of coin into the sport. Here are some of the rumored details.

"Versus is intending to reach agreement with all five current Division I leagues to air games on Friday or Saturday nights. Some of those deals have already been finalized. Versus is expected to make an announcement of its broadcast package once all of the deals have been completed."

If you are already a fan of the NHL, college hockey will be something you likely will enjoy as well. There really is not an overabundance of teams, so the talent level is not watered down. It's common to see multiple future NHL draft picks playing on a good team. Also, since it's college, you get that unique intensity and atmosphere that really results in some memorable games.

I was curious what kind of programming Versus runs on a typical Friday night so I looked ahead at tonight's schedule. I kid you not; a show called Elk Fever runs nonstop from 7 pm until 3 am. Elk Fever. 8 straight hours of... Elk... Fever. So, the bottom line here is Versus is replacing shows like that one with a likely higher drawing live sporting event that directly will promote the NHL while giving the viewers something new and exciting. This certainly seems like a win-win-win situation that Michael Scott would be proud of.

For those of you not buying in yet, just watch this University of Alaska Fairbanks video that the team takes the ice to.

If a polar bear flying a fighter jet that drops bombs into volcanoes causing the destruction of Earth doesn't get you excited for hockey, than it's likely nothing will.

Last weekend we had quite a bit of fun going through some of the funny gaffes of the previous week that may have shown up online or on the telly.  We're talking humorous misspellings, epic fails, or the math skills of Colin Cowherd.  This week we have an even better collection of Comical Graphics Screw Ups.  

First on the docket is one that comes from Joe Lucia, Managing Editor of Bloguin's The Outside Corner and Chop 'N Change, and all around swell guy.  The Braves made perhaps the best trade of the deadline in acquiring Astros CF Michael Bourn for a few pieces from the scrap pile.  According to the following ESPN.com headline though, they also acquired a CIA agent in search of his own identity...


Paul Menard won Sunday's Brickyard 400, but a little love needs to be given to the pit crew of Clint Bowyer.  Gaining 8 positions on a 255 tire change has to be the greatest pit stop of all-time, right?  It may even be the greatest car related feat, like, ever...

Throughout the summer months, the rumblings of a feud between attractive, blonde ESPN superstar Erin Andrews and attractive, blonde ESPN superstar Michelle Beadle has sent the internet, and 18-35 year old males particularly, into a frenzy.  It all started when Beadle admitted in the ESPN Book that she watched the infamous Erin Andrews peephole tape and more or less stated that a congenial relationship between the two was non-existent. 

Then came the rumors and reports pitting Beadle and Andrews against one another in some sort of cosmic tug of war over who was the fair-haired favorite inside Bristol headquarters.  Andrews is the wholesome celebrity figure who is as recognizable on Dancing With The Stars or Good Morning America as she is on College Gameday.  Conversely, Beadle is the upstart guys' girl who has burst onto the scene the last couple years on SportsNation and other outlets.  (Hey, I would look a lot better too sitting next to Cowherd five days a week.)

Well, wouldn't you know that rumors of the "feud" intensified when Beadle took on a starring role in the lead-up to this year's ESPY awards.  Deadspin, who has emerged as one of the go-to places for BeadleMania, went to her directly to refute rumors that Beadle was trying her best to relive the sex and drug filled early days of ESPN in Los Angeles after the ESPYs.  Beadle firmly denied the whispers going around the block that she had been involved with Packers stars Aaron Rodgers or Clay Matthews.

Then, a Youtube video came out of Beadle and Matthews... WALKING TOGETHER!!!!  Because you know, when people walk together, there's bound to be something bigger and much more salacious going on.  But the intriguing aspect to the whole Beadle/Packer/ESPY story was that some naughty, nosey person was sneaking around ESPN mongering up all these rumors to begin with.  Beadle expressed her displeasure on Twitter yesterday...

At AA, we are always looking for more ideas to get our readers involved and stay true to Brian Powell's original mission for the site to make it a forum for sports fans to talk about their most and least favorite announcers and as a central place for sports media news and opinion.  The Joe Morgan Memorial Tournament was our way of doing just that, having our readers vote and vote often to place Craig James on our Mount Rushmore.

So now that the Joe Morgan Tourney is over and the Pammies still a month away, we are introducing a new feature at AA - the AA Fan Forum.  This is another way to give you a voice on Awful Announcing.  Most of our work is done on the national scene, but we want to give a spotlight to some of the local professional announcing teams that we may not be able to cover in-depth.  And since we're still rolling through the summer months, we want to focus on the local baseball broadcast booths.

We want you to tell us why you're local MLB announcing teams are either great... or of course, awful.  Tell us why your favorite team's play by play man or analyst, radio booth or TV booth, is the best or worst in the sport.  We want to give you a platform to help us cover these broadcasters in a way that we wouldn't be able to on our own.  Vin Scully not your type?  Tell us why.  Do Thom Brennaman and Jeff Brantley cause you to pour gasoline in your ears and light a match?  Feel free to send in a rant!  Tell us how Len Kasper and Bob Brenly help you cope with another season of Cubs losing.  We'll run your responses periodically throughout the month of August in fan forum posts.  Here's the specifics of what we need from you...

*Send e-mails to awfulannouncing @ gmail.com 
*Include MLB AA Fan Forum in the message subject heading (we get a ton of spam, it's annoying)
*Keep your responses between 150-300 words.
*Remember to keep it clean and your submissions may be edited for spelling, grammar, etc.
*If your submission fits these criteria, it will be considered to be published in the AA Fan Forum.

We're calling fans, bloggers, and even legitimate reporters or sports media people to write in and take part in the AA Fan Forum.  Hope to hear from you soon.
 

Time for your daily episode of The Young & The Bruceless.  In this week's episode, we find out that Lou Holtz is the real father of Adam James, Victor and Jack battle for the future of Newman Enterprises, and Mike Leach continues his scorched earth policy against the "leader."  Leach has been relentless in his continuous mission to blast Bristol, Craig James, James' PR firm, and Texas Tech brass in every way imaginable during the publicity tour for his new book.  In a recent stop, Leach went on Tony Bruno's show and brought out the heavy artilery once again... this time going after ESPN for the neverending controversy surrounding his co-author, Bruce Feldman.  Larry Brown has the full audio from the interview, but it's Leach's choice of words for the [insert pseudo-disciplinary word here] of Bruce Feldman that is most interesting.  Here's Leach's quotes...

“Every step of the way he had permission from ESPN to write it,” Leach said of Feldman. “He has written permission. The chapters they’re sensitive about are all in the words of the perpetrators, so that’s what makes it powerful. Evidently ESPN didn’t like the way it came out — they’re not comfortable with the facts — so [Bruce] did what any journalist would do he wrote the facts down in the appendix of the book.

“ESPN claims they didn’t suspend him. We’re just arguing definitions there. Bruce virtually disappeared, hasn’t written anything, didn’t go to SEC media day. They don’t like the word ‘suspended’ [they] tell you he was never suspended. Perhaps they like the word ‘kidnapped’ better.”

Leach is sticking up for the man that helped him write his book... but ouch... kidnapping might be a little too harsh for the reasonably minded individual.  Although now that I think about it, Dan Akroyd and Daniel Stern very well could have been off camera during Feldman's Pac 12 media day cameo.  

While stories like this continue to trickle out, Bruce Feldman's induced Twitter silence is approaching a month.  With college football season rapidly approaching, this story is going to have to break one way or the other and reach some kind of resolution.  (We hope.)  Either Bruce comes back and truly "resumes his assignments" or he fades away into the Bristol night for good.

While we're at it, let's hope Mike Leach "resumes his assignments" in the broadcast booth this fall as well.

[Larry Brown Sports] 

 

According to the title of this video, the crazy man you'll hear is Atlanta radio personality Beau Bock.  Beau's quite optimistic about the chances of the Atlanta Falcons this season and takes extreme personal offense to anyone that disagrees with him.  When a Falcons fan calls in to try to reasonably take the opposite point of view, Beau goes on a breathless rampage defending his own blatant homerism (DON'T YOU EVER CALL ME A HOMER!!!).  Evidently any Falcon fan that doesn't believe Harry Douglas will be the second incarnation of Jerry Rice this year isn't really a Falcon fan.  What ensues is radio chaos that "Mad Dog" Russo would be proud of...



Beau Bock - TELLING THE TRUTH SINCE 1973 ON ATLANTA RADIO!!!

[H/T Jimmy Traina]