Fang's Bites

Thursday Night Football Begins This Week With A Stellar Matchup

Thursday Night Football on NFL Network returns this week with a matchup of 6-2 teams, the Atlanta Falcons hosting the Baltimore Ravens. Can’t ask for a better way to premiere an 8 game package of games. However, it also means the debut of motormouth analyst Joe Theismann who never passed the opportunity to talk into a microphone. With he and returning analyst Matt Millen together in the booth, play-by-play man Bob Papa may be lucky to get down and distance in before Theismann takes over.

We have a look at the particulars for NFL Network’s coverage this Thursday.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11 — 8:00 PM ET

BALTIMORE RAVENS AT ATLANTA FALCONS ON NFL NETWORK

Joe Theismann Debuts on Thursday Night Football

Deion Sanders Sit Down Interview with Baltimore Linebacker Ray Lewis On Thursday Night Kickoff Presented by Sears Pregame Show at 6 PM ET

“Your Weekend Starts Here”

NOTABLE & QUOTABLE…

• NFL Network and NFL.com add a handful of new members to its Thursday Night Football coverage team. JOE THEISMANN joins play-by-play announcer BOB PAPA and analyst MATT MILLEN in the booth as a game analyst. KURT WARNER is a new analyst on Thursday Night Kickoff Presented by Sears from Los Angeles, along with host FRAN CHARLES and analysts STERLING SHARPE, JAY GLAZER, and JIM MORA.

• “It’s a wonderful opportunity for me to get back where I always wanted to be and (where I) spent so many years in the booth.” – JOE THEISMANN on joining the Thursday Night Football broadcast as a game analyst

• “Now we’re getting to see Joe Flacco open up his game personally, throw the football around a little bit more. I think the emergence of (Atlanta wide receiver) Roddy White in Atlanta has really taken Matt Ryan to another level.” – JOE THEISMANN on the development of quarterbacks Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan

• Thursday Night Kickoff analyst DEION SANDERS sits down for an interview with Baltimore Ravens linebacker RAY LEWIS, the #18 player on The Top 100: NFL’s Greatest Players during the pregame show at 6 PM ET on NFL Network.

BALTIMORE RAVENS (6-2) AT ATLANTA FALCONS (6-2)

ANNOUNCERS: Bob Papa (play-by-play), Matt Millen and Joe Theismann (game analysts)

PREGAME (6:00 PM ET):  Thursday Night Kickoff

In Atlanta: Rich Eisen, Deion Sanders, Steve Mariucci, Marshall Faulk, Kara Henderson (on-site reporter); In Los Angeles: Fran Charles, Kurt Warner, Sterling Sharpe, Jay Glazer, Brian Billick, Jason La Canfora

PRE-KICK (8:00 PM ET):   Pre-Kick Show

Bob Papa, Matt Millen, Joe Theismann, Alex Flanagan, Rich Eisen, Marshall Faulk, Steve Mariucci, Deion Sanders

HALFTIME:  The Halftime Show

Rich Eisen, Deion Sanders, Steve Mariucci, Marshall Faulk, Kara Henderson

POSTGAME:  Postgame Show

Rich Eisen, Deion Sanders, Steve Mariucci, Marshall Faulk, Kara Henderson

NFL Total Access Postgame Show

Fran Charles, Jamie Dukes, Rod Woodson

WHERE TO WATCH:  DirecTV – Channel 212 (SD/HD), DISH Network – 154 (SD/HD)

Verizon – Channel 88 (SD) 588 (HD), AT&T U-Verse – 630 (SD) 1630 (HD)

Check your local cable listings

NFL.com LIVE – live “look-ins” at select moments of game

NFL Mobile Live on Verizon Wireless

LOCAL OTA SIMULCAST*:  Baltimore: NBC Ch. 11 (WBAL)/Atlanta: MyNetwork Ch. 36

Thursday Night Football

NFL Network begins its fifth year airing the Thursday Night Football primetime package. NFL Network presents eight games in the key stretch of the season as teams jockey for playoff berths and seeding. 

This week, Thursday Night Football travels to Atlanta where the (6-2) Falcons host the (6-2) Ravens at the Georgia Dome in a battle of two of the top teams in the NFL. The matchup marks the first time that third-year quarterbacks JOE FLACCO (Baltimore) and MATT RYAN (Atlanta) will face each other. Both quarterbacks were first-year starters for their teams, and this season each ranks in the top 10 in passing yards.

This season marks the debut of new game analyst JOE THEISMANN, who returns to the broadcast booth after a successful stint with ESPN from 1988 – 2006. Alongside Theismann in the booth will be BOB PAPA, who returns for his third year as the play-by-play announcer for NFL Network, and second-year game analyst MATT MILLEN. Additional newcomers include producer ED FEIBISCHOFF and director ARTIE KEMPER.

RICH EISEN hosts NFL Network’s Thursday Night Kickoff from the stadium.  Eisen, a two-time Sports Emmy nominee in the Studio Host category, is joined by fellow Sports Emmy nominee STEVE MARIUCCI, a former NFL head coach with the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions who also served as Brett Favre’s quarterback coach in Green Bay; MARSHALL FAULK, who won a Super Bowl XXXIV ring with the Rams, earned 2000 NFL MVP honors and three Offensive Player of the Year awards (1999-2001) and has been selected to seven Pro Bowls; and DEION SANDERS, a two-time Super Bowl winner who was 1994 Defensive Player of the Year and an eight-time Pro Bowler who holds the NFL record with 18 career return touchdowns. Coverage also includes on-site reports from KARA HENDERSON, who begins her eighth season with NFL Network, and sideline reporter ALEX FLANAGAN, who is in her fifth season with NFL Network, first as a sideline reporter on Thursday Night Football.

Additional coverage will be provided from NFL Network studios in Los Angeles with host FRAN CHARLES and analysts KURT WARNER, a two-time NFL MVP and a Super Bowl MVP quarterback; STERLING SHARPE, a five-time Pro Bowl selection and a 16-year veteran NFL broadcaster; JAY GLAZER, FOX Sports NFL insider and senior writer for FOXSports.com; and BRIAN BILLICK, former NFL coach with the Baltimore Ravens who won a Super Bowl in 2000. NFL Network insider JASON LA CANFORA will also provide the latest updates.

NFL.com LIVE at 8:00 PM ET features live programming including live “look-ins” of Thursday Night Football, game highlights and instant analysis from NFL Network talent. From the NFL Network studios in Los Angeles, PAUL BURMEISTER, JAMIE DUKES, BUCKY BROOKS and MIKE MAYOCK provide expert analysis, commentary and fantasy information with contributions from Faulk, Mariucci and Sanders. Henderson and STEVE WYCHE will provide live reports from the stadium, while Mayock will return for a second season with ‘Instant Playbook’ from the NFL Films studios exclusively for NFL.com/LIVE: Thursday Night Football, which provides instant X & O analysis of key plays right after they happen.

Following the game at 12:00 AM ET, NFL Network analyst ROD WOODSON will join Charles and Dukes for a postgame edition of NFL Total Access Live.

And you have the details of NFL Network’s coverage.

The Fang’s Bites Awards for Olympics Coverage

Now that the Olympics in Communist China are over, it’s time for me to hand out my Gold, Silver and Bronze medals to the NBC Hosts and Announcers. In addition, those not deserving of medals will receive an infamous carton of Chinese cigarettes. Here we go. I’ll start with hosts and then move down to announcers and analysts.

HOSTS

Gold Medal

Bob Costas, NBC – No doubt. He took the standard set by Jim McKay of ABC Sports and has moved it up even higher. He was solid during the 16 days of action. His interview of President Bush and IOC President Jacques Rogge were among his highlights.

Melissa Stark, MSNBC – It was nice to have Melissa doing sports once again. Very solid.

Alex Flanagan, CNBC and USA – Alex was in New York and sometimes had to fill time when rain delayed events. She did quite well.

Lindsay Czarniak, Oxygen – Hosted the Olympics on Oxygen show. I can see why people in DC like her so much. Deserving of a network shot down the line.

Silver Medal

Jim Lampley, NBC – Host of daytime coverage, Jim is a great nuts and bolts host. However, he had to be up during the overnight hours in Beijing. During the second weekend of action, he began to show some wear and tear.

Bill Patrick, MSNBC – Also host of Versus’ NHL coverage, Bill is not bad. He was also on hand for soccer and baseball coverage. He was ok.

Mary Carillo, NBC- Late night host, I liked Mary’s irreverent style. I could have done without her perky features.

Bronze Medal

Matt Vasgergian, USA – He’s a better baseball announcer than a studio host.

Fred Roggin, CNBC Boxing – I don’t know if it was his location or if he has a lazy eye, but Fred never seemed to look straight at the camera from his position at the Beijing Workers’ Gymnasium. Very distracting.

Carton of Chinese Cigarettes

Tiki Barber and Jenna Wolfe, MSNBC – Co-hosts of the Olympic Update abortion on MSNBC, they were awful. They talked over each other. Tiki made no sense at times. Jenna has been knocked for her behavior on the Weekend Today show and she can knocked for her demeanor on Olympic Update. The show was horrible. Tiki and Jenna were horrible. The show should have been scrapped after two days, but it kept on for ten. We viewers who watched this show cannot get those 20 hours back from our lives.

ANNOUNCERS

Gold Medal

Tom Hammond, track & field – When he was assigned track & field in 1992 over Charlie Jones, I was not happy, but I was quick to see that Tom was solid at what he does. He can call football and basketball well. He has great knowledge of horse racing. His calls of track & field are among the best. He was on top of Usain Bolt’s world records, and he kept the right tone when Lolo Jones lost her bid for the women’s 100 meter hurdle race and when the 4 x 100 relay teams had their disastrous runs.

Dan Hicks, swimming – Did Dan yell too much? Yes he did, but when you have the assignment to call Michael Phelps’ run at history, you have license to do so. Dan was able to use the computerized lanes to help call who was 1st and 2nd. I’ll give him the gold for his work at the Water Cube.

Mike Breen, basketball – Mike has had a good year, calling the Celtics’ championship for ESPN/ABC, then returning to his old home of NBC to call the gold medals in both women’s and men’s basketball. Solid announcer. Has come a long way from being Bill in White Plains on the Imus show.

Bob Papa, boxing – Brutally honest in what was a disastrous venue. He gave great explanations of the questionable scoring system and then was right on top of punches that weren’t scored or decisions that were just plain baffling. Bob is one of the up and coming announcers on network TV.

Ted Robinson, diving – Another good nuts and bolts announcer. Gives you the facts and is usually on target.

JP Dellacamera, soccer – JP was in New York having to call most of the soccer action. He did the best he could off the monitors at 30 Rock and still made it sound as if he was in Beijing or Shanghai. Best at his sport.

Tim Ryan, rowing and canoeing – Tim is another excellent nuts and bolts announcer. He’s called just about every sport and has done them well. He’s a pro’s pro.

Silver Medal

Craig Hummer, cycling, open water swimming, triathlon and canoeing – Too many sports to call. It showed.

Kenny Rice, equestrian – Called the event from New York. Knows horses, but sometimes a bit too verbose.

Bob Fitzgerald, water polo – Solid throughout.

Paul Sunderland, indoor volleyball – Sometimes not emotional enough during matches, he picked it up duing the medal round.

Andrew Catalon, handball – Called the games off a monitor, but I liked what he did. Handball is not very well known in the US and by the end, he was sounding like an expert.

Bronze Medal

Barry McKay, tennis – Called the matches from New York, he’s not bad, but because he wasn’t in Beijing, he missed several points.

Eric Collins, baseball – Picked up from ESPN, he again had to call the games off a monitor in New York and it wasn’t easy. I’m not high on Eric to begin with, but he did as well as he could.

Bill Clement, table tennis – Did pretty decently, especially in the gold medal singles matches.

Mike Corey, field hockey – From what I could see from DVRing various programs, he did fine.

Carton of Chinese Cigarettes

Al Trautwig – Not quite at the level of John Tesh’s overgushing in 1996, Al made every routine, every score and every moment seem life or death. Usually, Al is very solid, but these were not his best Games.

Chris Marlowe, beach volleyball – I enjoyed watching beach volleyball, but my enjoyment was tempered by Chris’ love of his own voice. Too melodramatic for my tastes.

ANALYSTS

Gold Medal

Ato Boldon, track & field – Honest, forthcoming and gave his opinions especially when Usain Bolt showboated in the last 15 meters of the 100 meter dash. Ato did his homework and was right on top of things. Has grown into a very good analyst.

Rowdy Gaines, swimming – I had been down on Rowdy for yelling too much in past Olympics, but during his eight days of analysis in Communist China, he was very good. There were times when Rowdy’s voice went up a few octaves, but for the most part, he was on top of the action. Very good on replays especially when Michael Phelps outtouched Milorad Cavic in the 100 meter butterfly.

Wolf Wigo, water polo – He made the sport understandable without talking down to the audience. I liked him.

Cynthia Potter, diving – She seemed to know every trend, every way the judges would score dives and used NBC’s Stromotion to perfection when explaining why dives were good or bad. Very good at her sport.

Karch Kiraly, beach volleyball – As bad as Chris Marlowe was in calling the sport, Karch was excellent in not going over the top in rooting for Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh. Karch is an innovator in the sport and did not come off as arrogant. Very good in explaining replays.

Doug Collins, basketball – The best NBA analyst did not show any signs of jet lag in Beijing. He was on top of the sport throughout the Olympics. Great moment when the US team came to his broadcast position to shake his hand at the end of the gold medal game against Spain. Wonderful moment. And Doug was very good throughout the Games.

Paul Sherwin, cycling – I wish he had been teamed with his regular partner, Phil Liggett, but 7 Network in Australia gobbled him up for its coverage. Paul is a great analyst and also can call play-by-play when necessary.

Teddy Atlas, boxing – Again, one of the best analysts in his sport. He had to deal with the worst judges of all time. Teddy’s Corner was one of the better features of the Olympics as he and Bob Papa went into the ring to explain what would happen in bouts and they would become true. Teddy should be used on HBO, but unfortunately, he’s not.

Bela Karolyi, gymnastics – Sure he was a walking, talking conflict of interest, commenting on action coached by his wife, but he was honest. Many times, he was difficult to understand, but Bela was not afraid to give his opinion and seeing him in the studio rooting for Nastia Liukin during the all-around competition was priceless. I hope NBC uses Bela more often. He’s great.

Silver Medal

Melanie Smith-Taylor, equestrian – Was hampered by being in New York. She preferred being on-site in Hong Kong for the competition and said so. But she knows her sport extremely well.

Elfi Schlegel, gymnastics – I would give her the gold had Tim Daggett and Al Trautwig not talked so much. She could barely get “good routine” or “Nice vault” in before being stepped upon.

Lewis Johnson, track & field – Overshadowed by Ato Boldon, there were times I thought his analysis was Ato’s.

Kevin Barnett, indoor volleyball – Like Paul Sunderland, was unemotional at times, making the matches seem dull. But he was good on the replays. Didn’t talk over Paul and played the analyst role well.

Yaz Farooq, rowing – Her voice was soothing. Sometimes so soothing, I fell asleep, but that could have been the sport itself.

Ann Meyers, basketball – Sometimes she was a bit too forceful. Knows her sport, but I prefer Doris Burke.

Joe Magrane, baseball – Maybe it’s because he calls Tampa Bay Rays games and I’m a Red Sox fan that I dislike Joe’s analysis, but I thought he was honest during Olympic baseball. Another analyst hampered by having to call the games off a monitor.

Brandi Chastain, soccer – I thought she did quite well analyzing the women’s matches and giving foresight on her experiences being on the women’s team. However, she could not see trends as she was in New York and the action was in Beijing or Shanghai.

Sean O’Neill, table tennis – Was pretty good.

Bronze Medal

Tim Daggett, gymnastics – Overgushed, overdramatic, didn’t take moments to let the action breathe. And he didn’t allow Elfi Schlegel to talk.

Jimmy Arias, tennis – Hampered by being in New York. Not the best tennis analyst. Were Patrick McEnroe, John McEnroe or Darren Cahill not available?

Dawn Lewis, handball – Sounded confused at times.

Carton of Chinese Cigarettes

Marcelo Balboa, soccer – He made statements that made you scratch your head. I saw why ESPN dropped him from its soccer coverage.

Carol Lewis, track & field – Yelled too much.

REPORTERS

Gold Medal

Bob Neuemeier, diving and track & field
Jim Gray, boxing
Andrea Kremer, swimming
Lindsay Soto, tennis, volleyball

Silver Medal

Heather Cox, beach volleyball
Andrea Joyce, gymnastics
Craig Sager, basketball

Bronze Medal

Marty Snider, cycling, triathlon, baseball

Carton of Chinese Cigarettes

Cris Collinsworth – What exactly was he doing in Beijing?

And there you have it. Some announcers and analysts are missing. That’s due to the fact I was not able to watch their respective sports.

I give a gold medal to NBCOlympics.com and the Microsoft Silverlight technology used to stream action. When it worked using the correct bandwidth, the picture was clear, crisp and close to HD quality. When the bandwidth was low, the picture would freeze causing the player to buffer. Best seen at an extremely high speed.

I also give a gold medal to CBC’s coverage of the Opening Ceremonies. I got to watch the Opening Ceremonies at work through a site on Justin TV. Ron McLean and Peter Mansbridge of CBC News set the right tone during the ceremonies. Unfortunately, the International Olympic Committee went through any site showing Olympic action and forced many channels to shut down. I understand copyright and rights fees, but it would have been nice to watch CBC’s coverage to compare it to NBC every once in a while.

That is all.

A Monday Morning Link Thing

Back to the work grind, but for me, I felt I was at work all weekend long. No fun. But you don’t care what I do. You want linkage and so do I. Let’s get to them.

We already have some interesting buzz on this Monday morning. Will Leitch will be joining WEEI.com as a contributor. That’s right, formerly of Deadspin, currently of New York magazine, now joining WEEI.com. David Scott of Boston Sports Media Watch has more on this hire and what else WEEI is up to as it continues to hire writers and bloggers to expand its website to a legitimate newsgathering operation. As David mentions, WEEI.com has done a soft relaunch of its website.

Thanks to Awful Announcing for the next link. T.J. Simers writes that Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent feels Vin Scully talks too much. Even if Jeff has his tongue-in-cheek, that’s a battle he won’t win.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand says now that swimming’s over, NBC is looking for something else to help its ratings in the second week of the Olympics.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News says NBC will miss Michael Phelps this week.

Kurt Kragthorpe from the St. Lake Tribune says NBC has to find something to promote now that Michael Phelps’ Olympics are over.

Dusty Saunders in the Rocky Mountain News says Phelps swam NBC to great ratings during Week 1 of the Olympics.

Jonathan Landreth of the Hollywood Reporter says after 8 days, NBC’s ratings for Beijing are on a pace to beat the audience for the 1996 Games in Atlanta.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell talks about Phelps Mania in China.

Ben Grossman from Broadcasting & Cable says the Olympics prove that people will watch big events on television.

The Washington Post picks up a story from Matt Kapko of MocoNews.net who talks with the Senior Vice President of digital media at NBC Sports and Olympics.

David Colker of the Los Angeles Times writes a story about a sports bar that is finding an audience for the Olympics.

Rick Kushman of the Sacramento Bee asks NBC not to rub it in that Olympics coverage is not live on the West Coast.

Patrick Finley of the Arizona Daily Star profiles NBC Olympics host Alex Flanagan who’s been seen on CNBC and USA during the overnight hours.

Ron Judd of the Seattle Times live blogged both CBC’s and NBC’s coverage on Sunday. And Ron in his column facetiously looks at what NBC showed on the East and West Coasts during the first week of the Olympics.

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star likes CBC’s online coverage of the Olympics.

William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail feels CBC dropped the ball Sunday as Canadian athletes were winning medals in rapid-fire fashion.

Newsday’s Neil Best writes while Mike and the Mad Dog will get more cash, Neil got pizza for his scoop that the pair would split.

Ray Melick of the Birmingham (AL) News says the new CBS/SEC 15 year deal is a win for the fans.

Thad Nation writing a blog for the Small Business Times says despite public outcry, the large cable TV monopolies are not providing the Big Ten or NFL Networks for their customers.

Allison Moore of TVPredictions.com calls ESPN’s Erin Andrews its HD Hottie. I could not agree more.

From Friday’s edition of the Boston Herald, Scott Van Voorhis looks at the ratings for Red Sox games on NESN which have been down this season.

Pink Hat Hell kills NESN’s Sox Appeal again. Thanks to Bruce Allen of the Boston Sports Media Watch for that link.

That’s all for now.