If you are an online poker player or just a fan of poker (who the hell is a fan of poker but doesn't play it?), then my condolences to you. Buried below the many headlines this Friday is news that the Debbie Downer FBI has charged the biggest three online poker companies with a multitude of crimes related to how they continue to operate and have US customers despite online poker and sports betting being illegal in the US.

"The founders of three of the largest Internet poker sites bribed and tricked their way past U.S. gambling laws, federal prosecutors said Friday.

Nearly a dozen people connected to international gaming sites PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker were charged with bank fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling - and their companies face over $3 billion in penalties and forfeitures, authorities said."

Lame.

Given ESPN has a ton of poker programming including the WSOP series which gets ample amount of run time on ESPN's family of networks, this was obviously a story they reported on and they did. But they forgot to mention one thing: ESPN takes in a likely 8 figure amount of advertising and sponsorship revenue from the companies now embroiled in legal controversy. 

   

The fact that ESPN takes handfuls of money from these companies is not really a secret nor really that surprising. I don't really think many people even care. I don't care. But they certainly have to acknowledge that relationship now that sh*t has hit the fan with these partner companies. ESPN.com did when running their story on the topic with a disclosure at the end of the article.

" Poker Stars and Full Tilt are sponsors of ESPN poker programming."

It's not a trivial relationship that is really a flash in the pan of ESPN's revenue. These companies buy ads in the magazine, on television (the Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu commercials), and have been some of the limited advertisers who have done front page road blocks off the website which is a rare occurrence on espn.com. If Neil Everrett and Sportscenter is going to put on their serious face /"we need to talk" camera angle then they should also cop to the relationship they had in place with the companies in question. When they mention news about ESPN personalities, they're always pretty good about disclosing their relationship and connection to the parties involved in any potential scandal. 

Craig Calcattera of NBC's 'Hardball Talk' posted on this sometime last week and I've been meaning to get something up on it. He noticed something, something I've also been picking up on more often while I watch MLB, and that's the broadcasters calling players by their first names. Here's what he had to say about it:

While watching the Marlins broadcast last night I noticed that the announcers for FSN Florida — I believe it was Rich Waltz and Tommy Hutton — were constantly calling Marlins players by their first name. ”Hanley is up with it…” ”Wes really got a hold of that one …” ”Chris had the green light on 3-0 …” But they’re not alone in this. The Braves are on a FOX regional station too, and Chip Caray is constantly calling Heyward “Jason” and Prado “Martin” and stuff. I figured it was just a Chip thing — fisted! — but now I can’t help but wonder if this is some sort of diktat from FOX central, demanding that announcers personalize the players with first names. If anyone knows if this is the case or, rather, if it’s just a coincidence, please chime in below.

Whatever the case, I’m not fan of unnecessary formality, but I’m struggling to think of something that transforms a broadcaster from an authoritative voice to a silly fanboy faster than constantly using first names like that. They’re ballplayers. Say that Shlabotnik was caught looking, not Joe. It’s what we expect and it’s jarring and somewhat silly to do otherwise.

First off, this is no order given by FOX Central; in fact it's pretty common across the entire MLB landscape, particularly with former player, homer announcers. Hawk Harrelson, for instance, is one of the most obnoxious announcers and he does this.  It's been going on for a long time, too.

I know Calcattera (or should I call him Craig?) isn't alone in feeling the way that he does, either. Matt Yoder actually wanted to write a post about ESPN calling UConn's Maya Moore "Maya" all game while referring to other players by their last name. He thought the announcers were displaying favoritism by doing this. We decided not to post it because we figured it was sort of a one-name branding thing with her - like Kobe and LeBron, or Madonna and Shakira. She's Maya of UConn Women's Basketball. Maybe we were overlooking a much bigger epidemic, though.

I completely understand where Calcattera's coming from, but I don't have as much of a problem with it being done by hometown baseball announcers. These guys are calling upwards to 162 games a season, they see the players every day for more than half the year (during which they likely call them by their first names), and baseball is a much more laid back sport than all the others - ass taps, atta kids, and chewed up gum on top of the rookies' hats. Further, I can't think of a way to engage a casual baseball fan into an admittedly slow game more than by making them feel like they know the players on a personal level. Yeah, that might backfire a little when the favorite player is arrested for DUI and threatens to blow up a restaurant, but how many fans call players strictly by their last names anyway? I know I call some players by their last names because it sounds better than their first, or it's more distinctive, but I refer to plenty of my favorite players by their first name or nickname rather than the last name.

Craig (another Craig) at SB Nation's Fishstripes also responded to Calcattera, also defending the use of first names by broadcasters:

Using first names humanizes the players to the local fans. Not to mention, that is what the broadcasters call them when they are off the air. Being a fan of the Marlins, I do not expect the hometown broadcasters to be just an authoritative voice. We spend our time, energy and money in following the team and we do not want to watch a generic local broadcast of the Marlins. It's our team* and we want to the broadcasters to present it as such. In other words, it is the job of those in the booth to make the game and the Marlins as accessible as possible to the fans. And presenting the players in an informal manner is one way to do that. When a player screws up, sure I want them to say he screwed up. But they can tell me that using first or last names.

Also, the announcers are just using the names by which the fans already use to refer to the players. No Marlins fan's default is Ramirez, it is Hanley.I can only imagine the look on Logan Morrison's face if I walked up to him and said "Mr. Morrison...."And oh, by the way, if during an inning I'm walking to frig and I hear "Sanchez looks to be injured" my first thought is: which one? The Marlins have three.I would really be disappointed if we had to live in the mundane world of local broadcasting that Mr. Calcaterra thinks we should live in. Really disappointed.

What I think slips a broadcaster from an authoritative voice to a silly fanboy state is what Hawk Harrelson does on a nightly basis - actively rooting for the players, C'mon A.J., get a hit, bud, rather than calling the game. If he wants to use A.J. PIerzynski's first name to let viewers know he's up to the plate in a big situation, that's fine by me. But I'm not tuning in to listen to Harrelson be a cheerleader. That's when it really becomes bothersome, though I guess it could be just as bothersome if he said C'mon Pierzynski, get a hit, bud.

But these are just the opinions of a few fans. What do you all think? Do you care if your hometown announcer is calling all your favorite players by their first name? Does it bother you that hometown announcers do it, even though they should know neutral fans will be checking in - given modern day technology - and don't want to hear players they're not familiar with being referred to on a first-name basis? Other thoughts? We'd love to hear 'em in the comments.

If you're looking for an alternative to ESPN's NFL Draft coverage (and why wouldn't you with Chris Berman again hogging the main stage) and don't have access to NFL Network, you may want to check out a mysterious and intriguing venture by several top-flight NFL analysts.  Very rarely do top analysts or sports personalities from different networks come together, but some of the biggest names in NFL broadcasting are doing just that.  Analysts from each of the major boradcast networks - Cris Collinsworth (NBC), Howie Long (Fox), Boomer Esiason (CBS), and Phil Simms (CBS) are all coming together for an NFL Draft show.  The only trick is that it is entirely and exclusively online.  Here's the details from USA Today...

"Despite being prominent faces on different TV networks, Cris Collinsworth, Boomer Esiason, Howie Long and Phil Simms will appear together on a live NFL draft preview show that won't be on any TV network.

The idea: Market their brand names in cyberspace.

Their online-only draft show, to be formally announced Wednesday and air from a New York theater April 26, is meant to help announcers in a venture called The Expert Network — which also includes Nick Faldo and Cal Ripken Jr. — launch their own website (txnsports.com) and do more online shows."

Could this be a new direction for how we consume sports?  TXNSports is launching with Big Lead Sports as a place where many big name sports media personalities will appear.  Frank Vuono, who is heading up the project, told Technorati, “we do anticipate expanding our TXN membership to provide year-round content...  During Olympic years we are sure we will want expert analysis of that great sporting event.”  

It seems as if these analysts are figuring out that their name power, recognition, and analysis need not be confined to the networks that are paying them.  With the vast universe of online content, these personalities can continue to further their own brand name and appeal through this venture (and cash in to some extent I'm sure) and also provide something new to sports fans.  Cris Collinsworth for one thinks it could be the future of sports media...

"With the site, you send it all out into the vapor somewhere. So it will be kind of fun to sit around with guys I know and have a studio audience. We're all trying to figure out the next step in sports media and entertainment. Maybe this is it."

I don't think this new site will become the next ESPN or Deadspin, but if all the top analysts are coming together in one place, I can't help but think it would be a preferable destination for sports fans.  While it's not going to immediately dominate sports on the internet, it will be very interesting to observe moving forward.

NFL analysts talk up online-only "Expert" venture - USA Today 

The 2011 playoffs are finally here, so we have the schedule for games 1-4. We'll update next weekend's Disney assignments when those become available to us. Enjoy the games, and those mid-week local broadcasts on NBA Network.

Saturday April 16

Game 1: Indiana Pacers @ Chicago Bulls (ESPN 1PM) Dan Shulman, Jon Barry
Game 1: Philadelphia 76ers @ Miami Heat (ABC 3:30PM) Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy 
Game 1: Atlanta Hawks @ Orlando Magic (ESPN 7PM) Mike Tirico, Hubie Brown 
Game 1: Portland Trailblazers @ Dallas Mavericks (ESPN 9:30PM) Dave Pasch, Doris Burke

Sunday April 17

Game 1: Memphis Grizzlies @ San Antonio Spurs (TNT 1PM) Matt Devlin, Kevin McHale
Game 1: New Orleans Hornets @ Los Angeles Lakers (ABC 3:30PM) - Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy 
Game 1  New York Knicks @ Boston Celtics (TNT 7PM) - Marv Albert, Steve Kerr
Game 1: Denver Nuggets @ Oklahoma City Thunder (TNT 9:30PM) - Ian Eagle, Mike Fratello

Monday April 18

Game 2: Philadelphia 76ers @ Miami Heat (TNT 7PM)  Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller
Game 2: Indiana Pacers @ Chicago Bulls (TNT 9:30PM) - Dick Stockton, Chris Webber

Tuesday April 19

Game 2: New York Knicks @ Boston Celtics (TNT 7PM) Marv Albert, Steve Kerr
Game 2: Atlanta Hawks @ Orlando Magic (NBA TV 7:30PM) Local Broadcast
Game 2: Portland Trailblazers @ Dallas Mavericks (TNT 9:30PM) - Matt Devlin, Kevin McHale

Wednesday April 20

Game 2: Denver Nuggets @ Oklahoma City Thunder (TNT 8PM) Dick Stockton, Mike Fratello
Game 2: Memphis Grizzlies @ San Antonio Spurs (NBA TV 8:30PM) Local Broadcast
Game 2: New Orleans Hornets @ Los Angeles Lakers (TNT  10:30PM) Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller

Thursday April 21

Game 3: Chicago Bulls @ Indiana Pacers (NBA TV 7PM) Local Broadcast
Game 3: Miami Heat @ Philadelphia 76ers (TNT 8PM) Marv Albert, Steve Kerr
Game 3: Dallas Mavericks @ Portland Trailblazers (TNT 10PM) Matt Devlin, Kevin McHale

Friday April 22

Game 3: Boston Celtics @ New York Knicks (ESPN 7PM) TBA
Game 3: Orlando Magic @ Atlanta Hawks (ESPN 2 8PM) TBA
Game 3: Los Angeles Lakers @ New Orleans Hornets (ESPN 9:30PM)  TBA

Saturday April 23

Game 4: Chicago Bulls @ Indiana Pacers (TNT 2:30PM) Dick Stockton, Mike Fratello
Game 4: Dallas Mavericks @ Portland Trailblazers (TNT 5PM) Matt Devlin, Kevin McHale
Game 3: San Antonio Spurs @ Memphis Grizzlies (ESPN 7:30PM) Terry Gannon, Tim Legler
Game 3: Oklahoma City Thunder @ Denver Nuggets (ESPN 10PM) Dave Pasch, Doris Burke

Sunday April 24

Game 4: Miami Heat @ Philadelphia 76ers (ABC 1PM) Mike Tirico, Hubie Brown
Game 4: Boston Celtics @ New York Knicks (ABC 3:30PM) Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy
Game 4: Orlando Magic @ Atlanta Hawks (TNT 7PM) Marv Albert, Steve Kerr
Game 4: Los Angeles Lakers @ New Orleans Hornets (TNT 9:30PM) Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller

Monday April 25

Game 4: San Antonio Spurs @ Memphis Grizzlies (TNT 8PM) Matt Devlin, Kevin McHale
Game 5: Portland Trailblazers @ Dallas Mavericks (NBA TV 8:30PM) Local Broadcast
Game 4: Oklahoma City Thunder @ Denver Nuggets (TNT 10:30PM)  Dick Stockton, Mike Fratello

Tuesday, April 2

Game 5: Atlanta Hawks @Orlando Magic (NBA TV 7:30 PM) Local Broadcasters
Game 5: Indiana Pacers @ Chicago Bulls (TNT 8:00 PM) Marv Albert, Steve Kerr
Game 5: New Orleans Hornets @ Los Angeles Lakers (TNT 10:30PM) Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller

Wednesday, April 27

Game 5: Philadelphia 76ers @ Miami Heat (TNT 7PM) Marv Albert, Steve Kerr
Game 5: Memphis Grizzlies @San Antonio Spurs (NBA TV 8:30PM) Local Broadcast
Game 5: Denver Nuggets @ Oklahoma City Thunder (TNT 9:30PM) Dick Stockton, Mike Fratello

Thursday, April 28

Game 6: Orlando Magic @ Atlanta Hawks (NBA TV 7:30PM) Local Broadcasters
Game 6: Los Angeles Lakers @ New Orleans Hornets (TNT 8PM) Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller
Game 6: Dallas Mavericks@ Portland Trailblazers (TNT 10:30) Matt Devlin, Kevin McHale

H/T Sammy

It's truly a black day at Awful Announcing folks.  As SI.com's Richard Deitsch reports (catch his AA Q&A here and here) Matt Millen and Joe Theismann will be removed from the NFL Network's broadcast booth and replaced by Mike Mayock.  This news brings about a mixed bag of joy, fear, and maybe a little indigestion.  On one hand, fans of even borderline tolerable announcing should be ecstatic to finally have these two blockheads removed from game telecasts. No matter your opinion of Mike Mayock (personally, I feel he's overrated as a game analyst, but is superb in the studio), he can't have smaller shoes to fill than those left by Theismann and Millen -- perhaps the worst analyst pair in the history of sports on television. Unfortunately, that is more fact than exaggeration. Remember their bizarre canonization of Randy Moss last season?  Or this Pro Football Weekly article highlighting some of their "finer moments"?  

Time will tell if the No. 1 and No. 3 worst announcers, as voted by our AA readership, will inflict as large a path of announcing destruction without combining their forces in the NFLN booth.  But, while our ears will undoubtedly bleed less next fall, this rumored change at NFLN does mark a day of mourning for us here at AA. Just think of all the potential soundbytes, YouTube clips, and articles that are now lost without Millen and Theismann announcing together. No more Real Tweets from Real People, with such gems from the Twitterverse like the following:

RumfordJohnny If you harnessed the mental energy of Theismann and Millen, you could toast some bread...lightly.

j_cynic Matt Millen and Joe Theismann? Ugh. Even Joe Buck's ears bleed at that thought.

christiankwest Part of my brain oozed out of my ears after listening to that last Millen-Theismann exchange.#mutebutton

Heck, I was even considering pitching the idea to rename the Pammies the Theismanns, or the Millens...or the Millimanns.  But, at least Theismann and Millen will still be on the air plenty during football season on NFLN and ESPN, respectively, to make us laugh and cry simultaneously.  

By the way, Deitsch also mentions another ray of hope for the AA fan base and the NFLN broadcast booth.  The possibility that NFLN may reach out to Mr. Gus Johnson to fulfill the play-by-play duties starting next fall.  HA HA!  Even if it's only a rumor, we can still dream.

NFL Network adds Mike Mayock to coverage; Gus Johnson next? [Sports Illustrated]

Fans of the Kings and any NBA fans with neophobia gathered last night to say their final goodbyes to the Sacramento Kings, who are rumored to be moving to Anaheim for next season, if there is a next season.

The Kings wound up losing to the defending champion LA Lakers, but not before overcoming a 20-point deficit and forcing OT (well, Kobe forced OT, but the fact the game was extended was nonetheless fitting for a fanbase that didn't wind up leaving the arena until well after the final buzzer sounded).

I tuned in for the drama and found myself getting a little choked up over the fact yet another dedicated fanbase was likely seeing the last of its beloved NBA team. I always knew this to be the case, but I fully realized while watching it play out that if one of my teams (Detroit) were ever relocated out of the state, I'd 100-percent bawl like a baby missing its pacifier. I never watched the Shock dominate the WNBA -- I watched the clinching game of their first championship, actually -- and I was still legitimately and kind of inexplicably sad when they were moved to Tulsa. I can't imagine what it's like for Kings fans. To wit: I'll defer you to someone who can articulate it much better than I can, a great read from one of the best Kings writers I ever did read, Tom Ziller.

And, for relevance, here are Grant Napear and Jerry Reynolds, longtime Kings announcers (23 seasons and 25 seasons, respectively) saying their teary goodbyes as the crowd chants "GRANT AND JERRY!" in the background:

Sacramento Kings again show us heartbreak and loyalty, perhaps for the last time [SB Nation]

Folks, this is "Love Song":

H/T to Sammy!

no comments

The Lewiston MAINEiacs broke a 1-1 tie with five seconds left in regulation of a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League second-round playoff series game over the weekend, causing their announcer to shriek mercilessly and nearly shatter all glass within five miles. It's not on the clip below, but after the call he told viewers it'd be really cool if they didn't tell anyone he screamed like that. (Okay, that's probably not true.)

Anyway, the announcer's name is D.J. Abisalih. He lives a pretty chill lifestyle, loves Sudoku, was an amazing street hockey goaltender, and has the dream to one day be the voice of the Boston Bruins. (That's actually all fact.)

Have a listen ... it gets exciting around the 25 second mark:

DJ gets a little excited about a Maineiacs goal [Pine Tree Pucks]

Courtesy of the outstanding Fang's Bites, we have the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs announcing schedule for First Round games through April 24th for NBC & Versus.  Of course, the schedule with the later games in Round 1 is subject to change depending on which series will go longer.  It looks like the NHL is featuring glamour matchups like Blackhawks/Canucks, Rangers/Caps, Wings/Coyotes, and Bruins/Habs for the opening round.  Surprisingly, no sign on the telly of the Penguins as they take on the Lightning in Round 1, or Kings/Sharks and Ducks/Preds on the national TV schedule.

Wednesday April 13
Game 1: Phoenix @ Detroit, 7 pm, Versus - Mike Emrick, Darren Pang
Game 1: Chicago @ Vancouver, 10 pm, Versus - John Forslund, Brian Engblom

Thursday April 14
Game 1: Montreal @ Boston, 7 pm, Versus - Dave Strader, Darren Pang

Friday April 15
Game 2: New York Rangers @ Washington, 7:30 pm, Versus - Ken Daniels, Daryl Reaugh, Darren Eliot
Game 2: Chicago @ Vancouver, 10 pm, Versus - John Forslund, Brian Engblom

Saturday April 16
Game 2: Phoenix @ Detroit, 1 pm, NBC - Mike Emrick, Ed Olczyk, Darren Pang
Game 2: Montreal @ Boston, 7 pm, Versus - Dave Strader, Darren Eliot

Sunday April 17
Game 3: Washington @ New York Rangers, 3 pm, NBC - Mike Emrick, Ed Olczyk, Darren Pang
Game 3: Vancouver @ Chicago, 8 pm, Versus - Ken Daniels, Daryl Reaugh, Darren Eliot

Monday April 18
Game 3: Philadelphia @ Buffalo, 7 pm, Versus - Kenny Albert, Pierre McGuire
Game 3: Detroit @ Phoenix, 10:30 pm, Versus - John Forslund, Brian Engblom

Tuesday April 19
Game 4: Vancouver @ Chicago, 8 pm, Versus - Dave Strader, Daryl Reaugh, Darren Eliot

Wednesday April 20
Game 4: Washington @ New York Rangers, 7 pm, Versus - Mike Emrick, Darren Pang
Game 4: Detroit @ Phoenix, 10:30 pm, Versus - John Forslund, Brian Engblom

Thursday April 21
Game 4: Boston @ Montreal, 7 pm, Versus - Kenny Albert, Darren Pang

Friday April 22
Game 5: Phoenix @ Detroit, 7 pm, Versus - John Forslund, Brian Engblom

Saturday April 23
Game 5: New York Rangers @ Washington, 3 pm, NBC - Mike Emrick, Ed Olczyk, Darren Pang
Game 5: Montreal @ Boston, 7 pm, Versus - Dave Strader, Darren Pang

Sunday April 24
Game 6: Philadelphia @ Buffalo, 2 pm, NBC - Mike Emrick, Ed Olczyk, Darren Pang
Game 6: Vancouver @ Chicago, 7 pm, Versus - TBD, Darren Eliot
Game 6: Detroit @ Phoenix, 10:30 pm, Versus - John Forslund, Brian Engblom

Huge tip of the hat to Ken at Fang's Bites for the schedule!

Back in February, a very specific group of friends (you know who you are) each sent me the same bit of news.  Comedy Central had ordered 8 episodes of Sports Show with Norm MacDonald, which was then described as "part Daily Show, part Tosh.0 and part Onion SportsDome."  If you're a fan of Norm's, you might have fist pumped a little, knowing that 1) he'd be back on TV for you to laugh at and 2) he would be doing what he does best: reading the news.  Fast forward to April, when we started seeing Norm MacDonald's face on the late night circuit, hearing his 5 am slur on the Stern Show, and tonight, watching the series premiere. 

Now there are 2 types of people in this world, people who find Norm MacDonald hilarious, and those who don't.  It seems his "funny for being unfunny" act doesn't go over with everybody, and even though I have a VHS copy of Dirty Work at my parents' house, I get that.  But if you're in the "don'ts," let's get it straight right now - you're probably not going to like "Sports Show."  If you're a fan, you'll feel right at home from the first segment, which is pretty much a Weekend Update of the sportsworld, highlighted by Norm's repeated enunciation of the name "Charl Schwartzel."  After that, Norm had Blake Griffin help out with a taped bit in which the host himself barely appeared.



Clever workaround by the guy who said he was "right to be fired [from Saturday Night Live] because "I couldn't f****** act."  He took time to have some fun with Jim Nantz's historic putt calls and offered his opinions on Tiger Woods "lying down with ladies" in a segment called "What the H?" reminiscent of fellow Weekend Update Anchor Dennis Miller's HBO show in the 90s (which he worked on).  

All in all, the format is definitely designed to put Norm in his element, although I'd like to see some guests in future shows. Reading the news is how his awkward cadence and dry delivery just work, and Norm of course takes opportunities to throw out some jokes to remind us that after all, he's just a hilarious old hack at heart. 

“I’m excited and look forward to doing this series,” said Macdonald. “On this show, we plan to put the central back in COMEDY CENTRAL."