Of course, the biggest sports story to drop this week was the Yahoo report that demolished the Miami Hurricanes football program.  While the traditional sports media was caught with their pants down, Yahoo brought forward an unbelivably detailed and thorough report documenting the scandal at The U and cementing their status as the best reporting site around.  So, you could understand if the notable Cane alums in the media were a bit shellshocked by the report.

In fact, you can clearly see in interviews given this week that former U players Warren Sapp and Michael Irvin (of NFL Network) and former coach Jimmy Johnson (of Fox) are battling through the Five Stages Of Grief.  From the amateur psychologist's point of view it really is quite enthralling...

1) Denial 

Jimmy Johnson was on Mike & Mike this morning and had this to say...

"I know the people and the media right now are reading all these allegations.  Let's not forget this convicted felon, he cheated people out of over $900 million dollars.  And a little parasite, you know, his entire lifestyle was a lie.  So I'm sure some of these allegations are embellished.  I'm sure some of them are lies, so, let's wait until we get the facts before we start convicting anybody."

Mike Greenberg: "That's fair."

Way to hold Jimmy accountable Greeny, because, you know, it's not like these allegations are substantiated by any documentation anywhere.  Most of it is just mean and nasty rumors from a criminal with an axe to grind.  It's not like you can click on every player involved in the investigation and see evidence that this happened...

Oh, wait... you can do that?  Well, it's not on ESPN and Fox, so we have to wait and see before we start convicting anybody.  Yes, let's wait until the facts come out.  Good work Jimmy, you're on your way to coping with this...

IndyCar driver Will Power would like to give us a very special introduction to this week's Screengrab Snafus...



Oh my, come to think of it that's not very pleasant at all.  Let's move on, shall we?

In that same vein, one newspaper evidently had a bad encounter with tennis great Roger Federer.  I always thought he was quite the gentleman, perhaps I was wrong though...


Actually, I believe it's German for "The Bart The."

Can you spot the error in ESPN's Monday Night Headquarters, hyping the first matchup of the regular season?  This one takes a little effort to find...


And finally, you may have seen this obnoxiously horrifying video of those Alabama sorority girls.  Well, CNN.com chose to go in this unfortunate direction with their headline about the video...


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

For Fox's preseason broadcast of Steelers/Eagles in Pittsburgh last night the network decided to place studio analyst Terry Bradshaw in the booth with the A Team of Joe Buck (still suffering the effects of his vocal cord illness) and Troy Aikman. The result was... interesting, to say the least (I was watching reality TV for most of the night, so can't comment definitively either way... c'mon it's preseason football!).

Some viewers apparently loved the different element TB added. I have to say, if memory serves me correctly, Bradshaw did a Sugar Bowl in the booth with Howie Long when Fox had the college football package and did very well.  However, most viewers on Twitter thought TB sounded hammered, senile, or something a bit more disturbing.  Whatever the case, people were talking about preseason football and Bradshaw's booth cameo.  A sign of things to come... or an elaborate ruse from Fox to distract America from its apathy towards Joe Buck. If so, that didn't seem to work.

As always, these are Real Tweets from Real People...

ESPN just debuted their flashy, new, expensive Baseball Tonight set this week.  It's certainly impressive, but it looks like some of the studio personalities are strug-g-ling with their new toys.  Host Steve Berthiaume attempted to take viewers through some lineup changes the Twins were being forced to make on one of ESPN's touchscreen monitors (which are fullproof as we've seen in the past).  Amazingly, the touchscreen didn't work as orginially planned!  Stunning!  What ensued was Berthiaume and analysts Curt Schilling and Jamie Moyer suffering a traveshamockery of the highest order.  Thank goodness the world doesn't run on these reliable instruments of technology...



Surely, the ESPN guys went through that segment beforehand and tested it out (I hope) and the screen faltered during the live show.  Which begs the question, are all the touchscreens really that necessary?  What do they really add except for being an insanely expensive, sometimes working television monitor?  Can't ESPN just do these segments on a giant chalkboard.  There may be some available...

Thanks to @soccerkevin11 for sending us the tip on Twitter.  Don't forget to send us tips either on Twitter at @awfulannouncing or at our e-mail us at the addresses to your left.

I would tell you the details about this video from Deadspin, featuring a large man missing some of his teeth yelling about a high school football team for seven minutes straight like it was some sort of Ultimate Warrior promo... but that would take all the fun out of it.  No, this is something that you just have to see to believe.  Ladies and gentlemen, the shout out to the Knox City Greyhounds...

DOMINATE!!  ANNIHILATE!!  ASSASSINATE!!!!!



In case you haven't had enough, there's another video, too.  I think I just became a Knox City Greyhounds fan.

[Deadspin]

It's possible, when/if basketball ever returns, we may never have to hear TNT analyst Reggie Miller talk over a game again. The word is, according to Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski, that Larry Bird is working his final season with the Pacers and sees Miller as his replacement:

Indiana Pacers owner Herb Simon has heeded Larry Bird’s private and public proclamations that Bird is working his final year as the team’s president, that his staying through the lockout had been a favor to his boss. As Simon investigates possible succession plans, there’s one candidate emerging over everyone else: Pacers legend Reggie Miller.

Simon has been canvassing people he respects – including his longtime former general manager Donnie Walsh – for opinions about how they believe Miller would do with the transition from television to management. Several people with longstanding ties to Miller and the Pacers are pushing Miller to pursue the job, and as one tells Yahoo! Sports: “He’s going to look hard at this, if it’s presented in the right way.”

He certainly can't do worse.

Now, Woj mentions that Miller may be reluctant to leave his stable gig at TNT and risk his image as a Pacer great to take a job that will undoubtedly have him scrutinized by the fans in a whole new way. Fair point, but I'd say he's already doing that as a truly awful analyst. It's not that he doesn't know basketball - OBVIOUSLY he knows basketball - it's just that he doesn't present it in a way that's at all enjoyable or easy on the ears. I've said it before and I'll say it again, he sounds like the babbling love child of Bill Cosby.

Do us a favor, Reggie; take the job, no matter how it is presented to you.

The second leg of the preseason Spanish SuperCup was played yesterday, continuing perhaps the biggest and best rivalry in world sports - Barcelona vs Real Madrid.  Barcelona continued their recent dominance over Real with a thrilling 3-2 win at home in the second leg after a 2-2 draw in the first leg.  But as much as I'd love to talk more about the soccer, we're here to talk about a man whose stature is growing in the blogosphere - GOLTV's Ray Hudson.  Hudson, who we talked about earlier this week in the first leg, was again at his eccentric and excitable best on two absolutley brilliant Lionel Messi goals.  Transcripts follow both videos, the first a goal before halftime to give Barca a 2-1 lead and the second goal the cup winner in the 88th minute.  Enjoy these scrumtrulescent soundbytes of soccer sanctification...

Messi Goal #1



"AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!.... Excuse me for being excited people, but we've just witnessed a goal that would wake up a catatonic!  Astonishing skill that literally takes the breath away.  Phenomenal football and there's no answer to that.  You can't coach against this.  It's pure genius is what it is!"

"Look at his balance, better balance than a whaler on a very rocky cruise ship.  He stays upright and then he can dink it over the top.  Pique plays it into him beautifully but he's got it all to do... backheel is magnificent imagination in 3D!  Astonishing chip home... his right foot comes out, he doesn't need the Strativarius left, he gets his violin out and plays the sweetest music for the go ahead goal right before half time and suck the air out of Real Madrid."

Messi Goal #2



"A truly genius goal, not just from the executioner, not just from Lionel, but his teammates.  And Cesc Fabregas is a big part of this people... it's brilliant Barcelona interplay and it's wonderful finish.  And Lionel Messi is like a clown's pocket, he just keeps bringing more and more out of it!!"

"And it's an emphatic finish!  Astonishing!  No chance for Casillas, no chance for the Real Madrid defenders!  Cut apart and absolutely made into confetti by Barcelona!"

If I'm NBC with the new MLS/USA soccer package, I'm on the phone with Phil Schoen and Ray Hudson immediately to come be my #1 commentary team.  The two have worked together for years, built up chemistry, and compliment each other well.  Schoen is the straight and solid pbp man who knows when to step away and let Ray do his insane/entertaining thing.  It would be fun to see this booth get some more national exposure and wake up the other catatonic broadcasters out there...

[Zygo Soccer Report]

The Bombshell Yahoo article covering Miami didn't even make ESPN's Top Stories....

If you're a college football fan or even just a fan of good journalism, Charles Robinson's bombshell of an article chronicling nearly a decade of rampant rules violations was potentially one of the best reads and most gripping investigative pieces in quite some time. It's a thing of beauty, and very refreshing considering a lot of the fluff that passes for news these days.

It's not just the story itself, but the depth of the reporting which apparently spanned almost a full year. This isn't Yahoo's first splash on the investigative front as they've delivered on accurately reporting and breaking stories surrounding UCONN, USC, Oregon, and to a lesser degree Ohio State whose own internal investigation seemed to find it's way to Yahoo ahead of major developments.

Yahoo is so proud of their investigative track record, they have a great landing page showcasing their past investigations as well as a more thorough breakdown of the brewing Miami scandal. If you click on that link, you'll find UNIQUE links to 65 current and former Hurricanes and the evidence tied to each one's alleged role in the scandal. There are also links with findings and evidence tying in 7 players who signed to play football elsewhere as well as findings for 10 Miami coaches, managers, and various personnel. You have to wonder what may have been on the table for the 7 players who chose not to go to Miami given they were already tapped into a booster giving them illegal benefits. 

Not only is the featured article extremely potent but the 82 individual breakdowns are all very impressive. Frankly speaking I don't even think NCAA formal investigative documents have been this well organized, researched, and corroborated. 

This got me thinking about just how poor of a job traditional media has become in doing investigative reporting, especially reporting on powerful programs and leagues that are a huge part of their content strategy. In fact, I contend that now more than ever, independent digital voices are the only reason any movement has occurred at all on this front.

I'll go into more details but will start with this except from Robinson's article...

Cuteness sighting! I swear I never watch 'Live with Regis & Kelly' but thankfully our friends at Sportsgrid captured Erin Andrews' appearance in place of Kelly Ripa on the show this morning.

In addition to the screencap above, Sportsgrid provides the following videos. In the first, you can hear Regis lie about his height and call Andrews a "hunk of woman" and "a great tight end" (the football position, I think - not her butt). The second video has Andrews playing with puppies, during which the world stood still. Unfortunately, there was no segment of Andrews and Regis eating ice cream.

Re-gosh-darn-diculously adorable, right?

The news just never stops coming out of Bristol in relation to their brigade of NFL analysts.  Already this offseason, the "leader" has added Damien Woody and Eric Mangini, Bill Parcells (for the 77th time), and Jerry Rice.  Well, it turns out that ESPN has let go of one of their NFL analysts to make room...


Yes!  I can hear the kazoos and sense the exuberant dancing from all around the country!  Matt Millen has been eliminated from ESPN's NFL coverage!  No more stupid arguments with Steve Young!  No more "draft expertise!"  Hip hip hooray!!  

Wait, wait a second... he's still sticking around to contribute to the network's college football coverage??  Dang.  Sorry, didn't mean to get you all worked up...

In other news, former QB Trent Dilfer is in for a "promotion" also according to USA Today, taking Millen's spot on the MNF on-site set next to Stuart Scott and Steve Young.  I don't know about you, but sitting next to those two seems more like punishment than anything else.  I actually thought Dilfer's best role was in the SportsCenter studio for the MNF postgame when he didn't have to battle guys like Steve Young for airtime.  Oh well, I guess this just means he'll have to talk even more louder and slower than normal to get Steve's attention.  It's strange to hear someone publicly talk about one of these analysts a promotion from ESPN.  Clearly there's a pecking order in Bristol, but rarely is one of these guys singled out from the pack, unless you're THIS GUY and you get your own TV special.

And that's not all for Trent Dilfer, he and Brad Nessler will return to the booth to call ESPN's second Monday Night Football game in Week 1, which is Raiders/Broncos.  If you also include his key role in the world changing, mountain moving, life altering Total QB Rating, it's clear that he is the one analyst that ESPN wants to hitch its wagon to.  How much longer before he takes a spot on the main set of Countdown and co-hosting PTI?

By the way, here's your running updated list of ESPN NFL analysts...

Jon Gruden, Ron Jaworski, TRENT DILFER (note the all caps promotion), Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson, Keyshawn Johnson, Matt Millen, Steve Young, Eric Allen, Tedy Bruschi, Mike Golic, Herm Edwards, Tim Hasselbeck, Merril Hoge, Antonio Pierce, Mark Schlereth, Marcellus WIly, Darren Woodson, Andrew Brandt, Lomas Brown, Derrick Brooks, Warrick Dunn, Jon Ritchie, Kordell Stewart, Ross Tucker, Damien Woody, Hugh Douglas, Eric Mangini, Bill Parcells, Jerry Rice, The San Diego Chicken, Red Grange, Rich Kotite, He Hate Me, Leon Taylor, Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder, Terry Tate Office Linebacker, William "The Refrigerator" Perry, and Coach Tony D'Amato

[USA Today]