I'm glad I missed today's A's game. They got wrecked again, but I'm a lot more thankful that I didn't have to watch Rangers fan Shannon Stone fall reaching for a ball live. Tragically, Stone would die from the fall and our thoughts go out to his family, the Rangers, and their fans. Horrible...

My initial reaction upon hearing the news was wondering how it exactly happened and how it effected the broadcast and the game as I didn't really hear anything specific on those fronts. Here is the video of how it played out and unfortunately it features A's announcers Ray Fosse and Glen Kuiper being a bit too casual about the incident. The video below is not graphic but it is very morbid so view at your own discretion.

(***Ed Note: Because of the stated request of the Stone family, we have decided to take down the video footage and encourage all websites to do the same.  You can also place a donation here in honor of Shannon Stone for the Stone family.)

Eeesh. Not good. It's hard for me to gauge how upset to be about the light hearted nature they show about the incident. They do seem to show some concern but definitely have a couple of brief moments where they're dismissive and folksy about the fall...

Ah, the beauty of live television.  Boston Red Sox announcers Jerry Remy and Don Orsillo are somewhat known for their tangent taking abilities and not quite following the script on the local Red Sox telecasts on NESN.  In fact, it was just a couple weeks ago that a lady with a chicken hat captivated their attention for a couple minutes.  Well, tonight's episode was a bit more... well, risque is about the nicest way to put it.  Actually I'm surprised that this kind of thing doesn't happen more often during sports telecasts with how many thousands of crowd shots happen during live games.  After an extended crowd shot on two couples enjoying the game in Boston, one male Red Sox fan got a little grabby with his female companion.  It's not quite as subtle as this or as noticeable as this, but still enough to drive Don and Jerry into a Charley Steineresque breakdown.   Good times all around...



H/T to our friends at SportsGrid for the clip!
 

The best way to describe the next matchup would be old versus new, although anyone under the age of 60 might be considered "new" when going up against veteran play-by-play man Dick Stockton. While Stockton was once one of the greats, his game has significantly slipped over the past decade.  Meanwhile, his opponent Michael Irvin, has already had more stops as a tv personality than Keith Olbermann.  But, does he have enough awfulness on his resume to match Dick Stockton?  Remember, polls are open for a day on each of the first round matchups and you can come back every day through Tuesday to vote on new first round matchups as we cut the Joe Morgan Memorial field from 32 to 16!

 

Dick Stockton

Fact File: NFL and MLB play by play man for Fox, NBA on TNT play by play, MLB on TBS play by play

Why He's Here: Dick Stockton was once one of America's great announcers, sometime during the Reagan administration.  He's had a great career, but the games have passed Stockton by.  There are just too many botches and too many times where Dick seems lost.  His slow moves down the ladder at Fox and TNT show his current career trajectory.

Links:

Dear Fox, It's Time To Send Dick Stockton Out To Pasture
Both Dick Stockton And FOX Think That Dante Rosario Is A 5'8" Actress From New York
Dick Stockton Calls MVP Derrick Rose 'David' 

Michael Irvin

Fact File: NFL Network studio analyst

Why He's Here: The former Cowboys receiver is the poster child for the staged guffawing that has infested NFL studio shows.  Irvin has never lasted in one place too long, jumping from Fox Sports Net to ESPN and now to NFL Network.  Irvin can be sincere, honest, and moving when he wants to be (see his Hall of Fame speech), but it's rarely ever seen in his television work.

Links:

Michael Irvin Might Have A New Home
ESPN Fires Michael Irvin
Michael Irvin Says Something Stupid

Results:

Michael Irvin d. Dick Stockton 71.61% - 28.39%

In the next matchup of the Joe Morgan Memorial we have two controversial figures, and the shocking news is that the more recent figure embroiled in controversy isn't Deion Sanders.  First up, here's the results from yesterday...

Tony Siragusa d. Jack Edwards 71.55% - 28.45%
Thom Brennaman d. Jon Gruden 58.32% - 41.68%

That means 1/4 of the second round draw is complete - Skip Bayless, Rick Reilly, Tony Siragusa, and Thom Brennaman.

With revelations in the ESPN Book, Mike Tirico has suddenly become a polarizing figure in the world of announcing.  But will his dulcet tones and smooth delivery be enough to keep him from advancing?  Or will the overwhelming and overbearing presence of PrimeTime be enough to send him into the next round of awfulness?  Let's see how they stack up!

Mike Tirico

Fact File: ESPN play by play man for Monday Night Football, NBA, golf, and college football

Why He's Here: Aside from certain personal exploits, Tirico's play by play often sounds incredibly forced, especially for NFL and NBA games.  It's a phenomenon that is hard to put into words, almost as if his smoothnes feels over the top and phony.  The personality depicted in the ESPN book doesn't help his likability factor.

Links:

ESPN Book Excerpt: Tony Kornheiser And Monday Night Football
Mike Tirico Is Really A Creep
The MNF Boys Aren't Impressed With College Football 

Deion Sanders

Fact File: NFL Network analyst

Why He's Here: Deion Sanders could be given a nightly two hour long show to talk about only himself, and fill it with 20 hours to spare (he would have to sleep some).  No other analyst is so self-aggrandizing than Primetime, who has carried that same swagger to his analyst positions.  To put it in perspective, CBS dumped Deion for Shannon Sharpe.  Ouch.

Links:

Deion Dropped By CBS
Deion Sanders' Extremely Awkward Appearance On Mike And Mike
Deion Criticizes Former Pupil Dez Bryant, In Other News, Pot Calls Kettle Black 

Results:

Deion Sanders d. Mike Tirico 69.59% - 30.41% 

In the newest edition of the Awful Announcing Podcast, we're joined by CNBC Emmy Award winning sports business reporter Darren Rovell.  Darren joined CNBC in 2006 after working at ESPN and has established himself as the most prominent authority on all things sports business.  You can check out his work at CNBC's Sports Biz or join almost 100,000 others by following him on Twitter in addition to checking him out on TV.  AA chats with Darren about a number of topics in this wide-ranging podcast including...

-The explosion of sports rights on television
-The Comcast merger with NBC, how it affects Versus, and whether or not they can compete with ESPN 
-Athletes and the impact of Twitter 
-The uncertain future of golf on television in a post-Tiger world
-The NFL and NBA lockouts

There are so many compelling possible topics in sports business worth talking about and Darren touches on a number of them in this interview, including some strong takes on both the NFL and NBA lockouts.  A huge thanks to Darren for taking the time to come on the AA Podcast, and we even gave him a question to ponder for his next appearance.

Funny or Die, the geniuses behind Gus Johnson announcing some of the greatest moments in history, has put together quite the three minute cinematic masterpiece putting the NFL Lockout in the context of the classic sports movie Field of Dreams.  The video stars several NFL players like Ray Lewis, Dwight Freeney, and Tony Gonzalez, original Field of Dreams co-star Ray Liotta, Pedro Cerrano, and some kid named Taylor Lautner.  And no, I'm not ashamed to admit I had to Wikipedia who that is because I've never seen one of those God forsaken Twilight movies.  Anyways, the video played a prominent role on SportsCenter and ESPN throughout the day as Funny or Die teamed up with the leader.  I don't think it's quite as good as Football Cops (there's nobody impaled by a football after all) but it comes close...

Evidently, Chris Berman and Huey Lewis go way back, back, back, back, back.  In fact, Berman has been invited on stage to sing with Huey Lewis And The News several times before.  So, when the band visited ESPN territory for a show at the Travelers golf tournament in Connecticut a couple weeks ago, it wasn't a surprise that Berman would make his traditional stage cameo.  However, this appears to be the first time that there is actually video evidence of a Berman stage appearance.  There's a longer seven minute video in case you are either a huge fan of Berman or Huey Lewis, but this shorter clip should suffice...



I'm shocked that Berman can carry a decent tune, what with his deep, rumbling, stumbling voice.  At least it's better publicity than those other Youtube videos of his.  But hey, good for him for having a shred of musical talent.  As an added bonus while he was at the Travelers, Berman stayed far away from the broadcast booth.  

H/T The Big Lead

Two underrated awful announcers come together in our 4th contest of Round 1 in the Joe Morgan Memorial Tournament.  In case you're just joining us, we're having a 32 person tournament to take the place of the not-announcing-anymore Joe Morgan on our Mount Rushmore.  Two first round polls go up every day and voting will close when the new polls go up the next day.  The tournament consists of not just announcers, but covers the spectrum of sports media personalities.  That being said, we have two announcers going head to head in this matchup with the love overflowing.  Tim Tebow lover Thom Brennaman takes on Human Being lover Jon Gruden.  

Thom Brennaman vs Jon Gruden

Thom Brennaman

Fact File: Play by play man for NFL and MLB on Fox,  Big Ten Network football, and the Cincinnati Reds

Why He's Here: Brennaman's national rep has never quite recovered from his creepy obsessive man crush on Tim Tebow during the 2009 National Championship Game.  His run at the top of college football lasted a short time (although Fox didn't exactly put him in a position to succeed with those 9,000 band shots).  

Links:

Thom Loves Tim Tebow
Thom Brennaman Narrates D-Day
Bad Reviews For Fox College Football
Brennaman Doesn't Quite Get Viral Marketing


Jon Gruden

Fact File: ESPN Monday Night Football analyst and host of Gruden's QB Camp

Why He's Here: The field in this tournament loves to see THIS GUY amongst the contenders.  Whether he's trying to play it safe for a future job, or he's just the most positive man on the planet, Jon Gruden loves everybody.  Gruden's love for QB's would be a bit more tolerable if he didn't love Terrelle Pryor with the same violent love as he did Drew Brees.  And somehow he turned "this guy" into a go-to catchphrase.

Links:

Jon Gruden Nicknames New York Giants Wide Receivers 'Jet Blue'
Jon Gruden Saying Weird Things To Terrelle Pryor
Jon Gruden Drinking Game
Gruden Gushes Over Pryor 

Results:

Thom Brennaman d. Jon Gruden 58.32% - 41.68%

Thanks to everyone who made Day 1 of the Joe Morgan Memorial Tournament a rousing success!  We had over 5700 total votes in both polls.  Here's your results from the first two matchups:

Skip Bayless 77.91% defeated Woody Paige 22.09%
Rick Reilly 58.7% defeated Hawk Harrelson 41.3%

Who will join those two in the last 16?  There's still plenty of great battles in the first round to come, including two more today.  Up first is a duel between hockey and football, local and national, play by play and analyst.  The maniacal genius of the microphone, Boston Bruins play by play man Jack Edwards, squares off with the swollen sideline specialist, Tony Siragusa.  Whose unique brand of announcing is more awful though, Jack's crazy homerism or Siragusa's... wait, what does he do exactly on a broadcast...

Jack Edwards vs Tony Siragusa

Jack Edwards

Fact File: Boston Bruins play by play man

Why He's Here: Edwards reached a new realm of internet fame after leaving ESPN to become play by play man for the Boston Bruins.  His unique brand of homerism shaped with just a tinge of mental instability leaves viewers either entertained, bemused, or fearing for their own safety.  Edwards can rant, scream, laugh maniacally at opposing players, or give an American history lesson with the same level of panache and insanity.

Links:

Jack Edwards Is Crazy Top 13
Jack On Breastfeeding
Jack Edwards Soliloquy 

Tony Siragusa

Fact File: NFL on Fox sideline reporter and analyst

Why He's Here: Siragusa has been one of the pioneers of the field level analyst.  Hockey has gone to an analyst/reporter inside the glass, but Siragusa's role in Fox's coverage is basically the same thing.  The idea in theory isn't bad, but in practice it usually disappoints.  Siragusa is much more useful telling bad jokes, talking about food, or wasting time rather than providing anything of substance.... like analysis.

Links:

Tony Siragusa Is Serious About Honey
#5 Worst Announcer Of The Year
Irritating Habits Of NFL Announcers

Results:

Tony Siragusa d. Jack Edwards 71.55% - 28.45%

 

NFL Pundits are becoming more confident that the owners and the players are working out their differences and heading towards an agreement. Ultimately the game has never been healthier, so it seems like both sides are motivated to keep the momentum going and potentially even make inroads with the NBA diehards who may be without a sport to follow this winter.

So if training camp is really going to be starting in less than a month it's a bit worrisome that HBO hasn't been able to finalize a deal with a team for a 2011 season of Hard Knocks. There hasn't even been any rumblings of late on that front which has me worried given my affinity for the show.

In previous years, HBO has made the announcement of which team they'll feature for the upcoming season anytime from March to late May. While it's not certain if and when training camp will begin, HBO has been pursuing a new featured team for months. Per various reports HBO has been turned down by the Broncos, Lions, and Bucs. Most of those reports came in that March-May time frame.

The Carolina Panthers were the last rumored team to be in play to appear on the show with Cam Newton taking a starring role. Those rumors were debunked shortly after and it's been eerily silent since.

PFT, SBJ, ESPN, or any other media outlets who have covered HBO's Hard Knocks in the past have been silent on the subject.

There are some reports from earlier in the year that the Cowboys and maybe even Jets would do it again and that the Seahawks and 49ers would be candidates, but most of those reports were flimsy at best and mostly conjecture.

Given there are a lot of contractual, logistical, and production issues in play in securing all access to training camp, I'd imagine we're fast approaching a deadline to get a deal done if the show is actually going to cover the beginning of training camp. If the NFL announces a deal in the next 10 days and HBO remains quiet on the future of Hard Knocks in the 72 hours after a new CBA is announced, I'd be very pessimistic of a new season airing.

So what's really going on behind the scenes? Given HBO seems to have some former teams interested, I'd imagine there are a handful of scenarios that are playing out...