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ESPN’s College Football Announcer Assignments

We have a whole slew of college football announcing teams on ESPN thanks to its various platforms. A couple of items of note. Beth Mowins will call games becoming the second woman to call college football for ESPN joining Pam Ward. Ron Franklin who had announced his retirement earlier this year citing frustration with ESPN, returns to call Saturday afternoon games with regular partner, Ed Cunningham. That’s good news.

Previously announced, Erin Andrews becomes a co-host of College Gameday for the first hour which will air at 9 a.m. Eastern on ESPNU.

I can write more, but this is a very long press release so let that speak for itself.

ESPN College Football Commentator Assignments

New elements: Tim Brown joins as ESPN 3D analyst; Herm Edwards on ESPNU primetime; Rece Davis adds Thursday night game; Bob Wischusen and Brian Griese on ESPN2 noon; Mike Bellotti to work West Coast ESPN and ABC telecasts; Erin Andrews on College GameDay; Danny Kanell joins as ESPNU analyst

Returning: Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit on ABC Saturday Night Football; Brad Nessler and Todd Blackledge on ESPN Saturday in prime time

ESPN’s 2010 college football coverage will feature a deep lineup of knowledgeable and experienced game and studio commentators in familiar and new roles, including the addition of Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown as an analyst for ESPN 3D games. ESPN 3D, ESPN’s newest outlet and the first 3D network to launch in the industry, will televise 13 college football games in 2010, concluding with the BCS National Championship. 

Every ESPN 3D game will originate from a game on an ESPN network but utilize a separate production and commentator crew.

Brown – a former Notre Dame wide receiver and 16-year NFL veteran — will also provide studio analysis on College Football Live, ESPNEWS, SportsCenter, various ESPN Radio programs and additional ESPN platforms. Brown will work ESPN 3D games with play-by-play commentator Joe Tessitore and Ray Bentley, who will provide analysis and reports from the field.

The assignments of returning commentator pairings are highlighted by Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit calling the Saturday Night Football  series on ABC, broadcast television’s only weekly primetime game (8 p.m. ET), for their fifth consecutive year.

The roster of analysts includes winners of several of the most prestigious honors in football:

• Seven members of the College Football Hall of Fame: Tim Brown, Bob Griese, Lou Holtz, Desmond Howard who will be enshrined in 2011, Mark May, Chris Spielman and Andre Ware;
• Six National Championship winners: Todd Blackledge (1982 with Penn State); Ed Cunningham (Washington in 1991), Brian Griese (Michigan in 1997), Lou Holtz (as head coach of Notre Dame in 1988), Danny Kanell (Florida State in 1993) and Trevor Matich (BYU in 1984);
• Three Heisman trophy winners: Tim Brown (1987), Desmond Howard (1991) and Andre Ware (1989);
• Six Super Bowl winners: David Diaz-Infante (two-time), Bob Griese (two-time), Brian Griese, Desmond Howard (also a Super Bowl MVP), Mark May (two-time) and Matt Millen (four-time).

Highlights of new assignments:

• Rece Davis, who will continue to anchor ESPN’s Saturday studio coverage with analysts Lou Holtz and Mark May, will add play-by-play duties for ESPN’s popular weekly Thursday night ESPN College Football Primetime game series with returning analysts Craig James and Jesse Palmer. Jenn Brown will join the Thursday team as the sideline reporter.
• Analyst Brian Griese and commentator Bob Wischusen will work the ESPN2 Saturday noon telecast. Last year, Griese and Wischusen called various games across the ESPN networks.
• Analyst Herm Edwards, who regularly works as an analyst on ESPN’s NFL coverage, will join Clay Matvick on ESPNU’s Saturday prime-time game.
• Erin Andrews will join an expanded three-hour College GameDay, anchoring several segments of the new first hour on ESPNU beginning at 9 a.m. and contributing reports, interviews and features during the ESPN portion of the show. Chris Fowler will return as show host with analysts Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard. As part of her role, Andrews will work as the sideline reporter on the game from which College GameDay originates, if the game is on an ESPN network (ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPNU, etc.).
• In addition to Andrews, reporters Holly Rowe, Heather Cox, Jeannine Edwards and Quint Kessenich will return to work the sidelines with specific game assignments to be determined weekly.
• Former Oregon coach Mike Bellotti and former Washington quarterback Brock Huard will team up with commentator Carter Blackburn to work ESPN and ABC Saturday games primarily featuring West Coast sites.
• Veteran ESPN play-by-play announcer Beth Mowins will call ESPN and ESPN2 midweek games with analysts David Norrie or Robert Smith.
• Former Florida State quarterback Danny Kanell will join ESPN as an analyst on the ESPNU afternoon game with announcer Pam Ward, who worked ESPN2’s Saturday noon telecast last year. Kanell will also serve as a studio analyst on College Football Live, SportsCenter, ESPNEWS and more.
• In addition to select midweek games, David Norrie will work the weekly ESPN Radio game broadcast with returning play-by-play announcer Bill Rosinski and reporter Joe Schad.
• Rob Stone will move from the studio to call play-by-play on the ESPNU noon telecast with former Georgia standout David Pollack, who also worked in the studio last year.

As part of ESPN’s year-round commitment to college sports and the Bowl Championship Series, Fowler — adding to his extensive duties with ESPN — will host College Football Live and contribute college football content to SportsCenter during the season. John Saunders, who will continue to anchor Saturday pregame, halftime and postgame studio segments on ABC with analyst Palmer, will also host College Football Live and studio coverage around game telecasts every Thursday and Friday on ESPN and ESPN2. Wendi Nix will return to anchor ESPN2’s Saturday day-long studio coverage with analysts Todd McShay and Robert Smith.  

Game commentators returning for their second season together include:

• Brad Nessler and Todd Blackledge working the ESPN Saturday primetime telecast.
• Matt Millen and Sean McDonough calling Saturday telecasts on ABC.
• Analysts Bob Griese and Chris Spielman working the Saturday noon telecast on ESPN with Dave Pasch.
• Veteran announcer Mike Patrick working Saturday afternoon games on ABC with analyst James.
• Dave Neal will call ESPN Regional Television’s Saturday SEC over-the-air syndication games with analyst Andre Ware and reporter Cara Capuano.

Additional returning announcer pairings to television’s deepest field of commentators include: Mark Jones and Bob Davie; Ron Franklin and Ed Cunningham; and Joe Tessitore and Rod Gilmore.

ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN 3D and ESPN Regional Television Game Pairings

Note: Additional commentators will contribute throughout the season 

Game Telecast	Play-by-play	Analyst	Reporter
Saturday Night Football (on ABC)	Brent Musburger	Kirk Herbstreit	*
ESPN College Football Primetime (Saturday)	Brad Nessler	Todd Blackledge	*
ESPN2 College Football Primetime (Saturday)	Mark Jones	Bob Davie	**
ESPNU SEC Saturday Prime Time	Clay Matvick	Herm Edwards
ESPN College Football Primetime (Thursday)	Rece Davis	Craig James and Jesse Palmer	Jenn Brown
ABC Saturday Afternoon	Sean McDonough	Matt Millen	*
ABC Saturday Afternoon	Mike Patrick	Craig James	*
ABC or ESPN Saturday Afternoon	Ron Franklin	Ed Cunningham	**
ESPN College Football (Saturday afternoons)	Dave Pasch	Bob Griese and Chris Spielman	**
ESPN2 College Football (Saturday afternoon)	Bob Wischusen	Brian Griese	**
ESPNU Saturday noon	Rob Stone	David Pollack
ESPNU Saturday afternoon	Pam Ward	Danny Kanell
ESPNU late Saturday (WAC)	Todd Harris	David Diaz-Infante
ESPNU late Saturday (HBCU)	Todd Harris	Eddie Robinson or Jay Walker
ESPN and ABC Saturdays (West Coast games)	Carter Blackburn	Brock Huard and Mike Bellotti	**
ESPN and ESPN2 midweek games	Beth Mowins	David Norrie and Robert Smith
ESPN and ESPN2 Friday games	Joe Tessitore	Rod Gilmore	**
ESPNU Thursday	Anish Shroff	Jay Walker or Eddie Robinson
ESPN 3D	Joe Tessitore	Tim Brown	Ray Bentley
ESPN Radio games	Bill Rosinski	David Norrie	Joe Schad
SEC Network (ESPN Regional Television syndicated games)	Dave Neal	Andre Ware	Cara Capuano
BIG EAST Network (ESPN Regional Television syndicated games)	Mike Gleason	John Congemi	Eamon McAnaney
ESPN Regional Television MAC Syndication	Michael Reghi	Doug Chapman

* Reporter to be determined weekly between Erin Andrews, Holly Rowe and Heather Cox
** Reporter to be determined weekly between Jeannine Edwards and Quint Kessenich

ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN Regional Television Studio Assignments

Show	Host	Analyst
College GameDay  (Saturdays: 9-10 a.m. on ESPNU; 10 a.m.-noon on ESPN)	Chris Fowler/Erin Andrews (9 a.m.)	Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard
Pre-game, halftime and post-game, College Football Countdown (Saturdays on ABC)	John Saunders	Jesse Palmer
ABC Saturday reports	Robert Flores
Pre-game, halftime and post-game, College Football Final (Saturdays on ESPN)	Rece Davis	Lou Holtz and Mark May
Pre-game, halftime and post-game (Saturdays on ESPN2)	Wendi Nix	Todd McShay and Robert Smith
Pre-game, halftime and post-game (Saturdays on ESPNU)	Lowell Galindo (prime time) and Dari Nowkah (afternoon)	Tom Luginbill and Matt Stinchcomb
College GameDay on ESPN Radio (Saturdays at noon)	Ryen Russillo	Trevor Matich and Brad Edwards
ESPNEWS Overdrive	Ryan Burr	Jon Ritchie
Inside the Polls (ESPNU)	Lowell Galindo	Tom Luginbill and Mike Bellotti
SEC syndication studio	Dari Nowkhah	Matt Stinchcomb
SEC Weekly (ESPNU)	Cara Capuano	Matt Stinchcomb and David Pollack
Big 12 This Week (ESPNU)	Melissa Knowles	Jon Berger

The 2010 college football season on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN 3D, ESPN Classic, ESPN3.com, ESPN Radio, ESPN Mobile TV, ESPN Regional Television and ESPN GamePlan will total more than 400 regular-and post-season games, concluding with the entire Bowl Championship Series, including the National Championship, on ESPN for the first time. The schedule will include weekly Saturday night games on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, weekly ESPN and ESPNU Thursday night contests and telecasts every Friday and select Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

I told you this was long.

My Take on The Top 25 Football Announcers

Lists by publications are made to stir debate and also give them a bit of publicity. The list that was published today by The Sporting News and sister publication Sports Business Daily/Sports Business Journal certainly does that. Already, I’m a bit perturbed that college and NFL announcers are mixed together as are play-by-play callers and analysts.

If it were up to me, I would separate the play-by-play men from the analysts. But that’s me. Just for kicks, here’s the list in full.

1. Gary Danielson, CBS
2. Cris Collinsworth, NBC
3. Al Michaels, NBC
4. Phil Simms, CBS
5. Kirk Herbstreit, ABC/ESPN
6. Troy Aikman, FOX
7. Ron Franklin, ABC/ESPN
8. Verne Lundquist, CBS
9. Joe Buck, FOX
10. Jim Nantz, CBS
11. Mike Tirico, ESPN
12. Brad Nessler, ESPN
13. Brent Musburger, ABC/ESPN
14. Jon Gruden, ESPN
15. Daryl Johnston, FOX
16. Ron Jaworski, ESPN
17. Greg Gumbel, CBS
18. Sean McDonough, ABC/ESPN
19. Todd Blackledge, ESPN
20. Dan Fouts, CBS
21. Bob Papa, NFL Network
22. Mike Patrick, ABC/ESPN
23. Chris Fowler, ESPN
24. Gus Johnson, CBS

25. Dick Enberg, CBS

I’m not enamored with this list. I’ll separate play-by-play and analysts and go from there.

Play-by-play and this includes college football and NFL.

1. Al Michaels – NBC’s Sunday Night Football
Probably the best all-around play-by-play voice ever. He’s called so many big games and rises to the occasion whenever there’s a big moment. Al does a tremendous job in doing football and yes, he does the wink-wink with the point spread, but there’s no one better at setting the scene, giving perspective and breaking down complicated moments than Al. Tops at play-by-play hands down.

2. Ron Franklin – ESPN College Football
Being forced out by ESPN after the college basketball season. Very classy. After Keith Jackson, one of the best ever to call college football. He’s a great fit at games. Why ESPN took him off the primetime package of games is beyond me. Ron is a very comfortable fit in the booth whether he’s calling the Big 12, SEC or other big conferences. ESPN is mistreating Ron this season.

3. Verne Lundquist – SEC on CBS
Calls a very good game. One of the announcer who just exudes college football. He wasn’t happy when CBS took him off the NFL after the 1998 season, but then he started on a tremendous run calling the SEC and he’s become quite comfortable calling the games. Whenever there’s a big game in the SEC, Verne is there and he’s very smooth. Love him and Gary Danielson.

4. Sean McDonough – ESPN/ABC College Football
One of my favorite announcers, his best sport is baseball, but he’s very good at college football and is unfortunately partnered with one of the worst analysts, Matt Millen. Sean is not afraid to call out bad plays and he’s also very good in spotting trends. Works extremely well with his partners to draw out the best analysis. Unfortunately, Millen’s credibility is shot.

5. Jim Nantz – NFL on CBS
He doesn’t scream. Jim gives the nuts and bolts of a game quite well. Has grown into a very good play-by-play man. He works well with Phil Simms. Jim won’t raise the decibel level on your TV. He’ll just provide you with the facts which is what you want.

6. Ian Eagle – NFL on CBS
He’s not on the list, but he should be. And he’s becoming a very good all-around announcer, calling the NFL, the NBA, college basketball and tennis. CBS would do everyone a favor in promoting him to the 3rd or 4th announcing team next season.

7. Dick Enberg – NFL on CBS
Dick has slipped over the past few seasons. One of the announcing elite, but he has made mistakes and miscalls. Still is better than many younger announcers.

8. Tom Hammond – Notre Dame Football on NBC
I think NFL Network should have hired Tom to replace Bryant Gumbel last season. He calls Notre Dame football quite well on NBC and only calls one NFL game a year, the Wild Card playoff game for the Peacocks. I’m glad he got to call 8 Notre Dames this season. He should have a full slate of games.

9. Sam Rosen – NFL on Fox
Sam is a very good nuts and bolts guy. He’s also a very good NHL announcer calling the New York Rangers on MSG Network. He’s always there with down and distance, who made the tackle and sets the scene very nicely. Sam should get more recognition for his work.

10. Gus Johnson – NFL on CBS
Yes, Gus yells. Yes, Gus screams. But yes, Gus can give you a signature call that gives the fan the exclamation point and proper perspective. The best case in point was during the Denver-Cincinnati game in Week 1. Tremendous stuff.

11. Mike Patrick – ESPN/ABC College Football
ESPN took Mike off the NFL when it lost the Sunday Night package and gained Monday Night Football. I thought Mike, Paul Maguire and Joe Theismann were perfect on SNF and should have remained the team for MNF, but what do I know? Mike is quite solid on college football. There are times when I wonder what hair color Mike is going to be from week to week, but that’s minor. He does get a tad too excited, but he’s very good.

12. Brad Nessler – ESPN/ABC College Football
There was a time I didn’t like Brad, but he’s grown on me. I can see Brad becoming a main guy for college football once Brent Musburger decides to retire from announcing. I like his style. He’s not forceful. His style is perfect for college football. I do hope to see him on some bigger games down the road.

13. Kenny Albert – NFL on Fox
A second generation announcer, Kenny has risen to the “B” team for Fox Sports. He’s been with Fox since the network got the NFL package in 1994 and he’s been a very good fit at the network. Another hockey guy who can call the NFL very well. I would take Kenny over Joe Buck any day.

14. Bob Papa – NFL Network
Bob does a great job calling the New York Giants on radio and does a very good job doing the games for NFL Network. Sometimes, the Thursday Night games are stinkers, but no fault to Bob as he doesn’t schedule the games. Bob is another guy who does multiple sports, NFL, boxing, basketball and does all of them well. He lets the action come to him and does a very good job in spotting trends. I’m hoping to see him get more games down the road.

15. Greg Gumbel – NFL on CBS
Greg was the #1 guy on the NFL on CBS and I liked he and Phil Simms. For some reason, CBS took him off, put him on the NFL Today for two seasons, then placed him on the #2 team with Dan Dierdorf. Greg is another guy who won’t go over the top. A very good nuts and bolts announcer and will give you the straight facts. Very good announcer.

16. Dave Sims – Westwood One Radio
Dave is one of the best announcers on radio, bar none. There was a time when he was so busy, you would see him doing Big East football on ESPN Regional TV, hear him doing the NFL on Westwood One Radio, basketball on ESPN and then perhaps a radio talk show guest spot. He calls Sunday Night Football on Westwood One and is a great listen. Calls the game well, spots the players, gives down and distance and is our eyes when we have to hear the radio call. Very good play-by-play man.

You may notice I’ve omitted Joe Buck who I think is horrible on the NFL. I’ve also left off Brent Musburger who I don’t think is a top notch college football announcer. He was a better host and is a better at doing college basketball, but I don’t think he belongs in the upper echelon of that sport either. Again, you can debate away.

Now to the analysts.

1. Phil Simms – NFL on CBS
I enjoy listening to Phil. He’s not afraid to admit he’s wrong. He studies tape every week and can spot things in the booth that other analysts cannot. I enjoy listening to his analysis whenever he calls a game.

2. Gary Danielson – SEC on CBS
I’ll agree that he’s the best college football analyst in the game today. He’s become an ardent apologist for the SEC which I find strange, but overall, Gary is an analyst who can spot a play before it happens. Very enjoyable listen. He and Verne Lundquist have become one of the best announcing teams on TV today.

3. Todd Blackledge – ESPN/ABC College Football
Todd and Gary traded positions a few seasons back. Remember Todd was teamed with Verne in the early aughts? He then left CBS to return to ESPN and then CBS hired Gary away from ESPN. Anyway, Todd has become a premier analyst in college football. Working with Brad Nessler, he’s an analyst who does a very good job in the booth. And his features finding great eating establishments in each town he visits have become must see TV.

4. Cris Collinsworth – NBC’s Sunday Night Football
There are times when Cris makes me scratch my head, but overall, he’s a quite good. When he did Thursday Night Football on NFL Network, he had to carry Bryant Gumbel for two seasons and that wasn’t easy. Cris is so good that he could be a studio analyst or a game analyst and for three seasons was both! It’s not easy to replace John Madden, but after 10 weeks of the NFL season, Cris has made the transition quite nicely.

5. Pat Haden – Notre Dame Football on NBC
It’s too bad that Notre Dame has fallen off the nation’s radar because Pat Haden would be considered one of the elite analysts. Pat used to be the top college football analyst for CBS and also did Sunday Night Football games on CBS Radio. Did them both well. Pat is also not afraid to scold bad quarterback play when he sees it.

6. Troy Aikman – NFL on Fox
I never thought I would see Troy in the booth when he was a player. I didn’t think he had TV in him, but he’s become quite good. At first, he was brought along by Daryl Johnston and Cris Collinsworth as he rose up the ladder on Fox. Now, he can stand alone and I wish he weren’t teamed with Joe Buck so we can really hear some good analysis. Troy is one of the best analysts in the NFL and I enjoy his work.

7. Bob Griese – ESPN/ABC College Football
Ok, taco comment aside, Bob is one of the better analysts in college football. He was teamed with Keith Jackson for a very long time and they formed one of the better announcing teams from the late 1980′s through the 1990′s. Bob may have slipped a bit, but he’s still good at spotting trends, noting passing routes and good on the telestrator.

8. Dan Dierdorf – NFL on CBS
I like Dan’s work from his days on Monday Night Football through now. Still keeps up with the game and gives a good perspective having been in the trenches on the offensive line.

9. Dan Fouts – NFL on CBS
Dan can analyze the NFL or college football with the best. He’s worked with some of the best play-by-play men, Al Michaels, Keith Jackson, Verne Lundquist and his current partner, Dick Enberg. Dan also had to deal with the failed Monday Night Football experiment with Dennis Miller. But through it all, Dan has persevered. His analysis is quite good. He’s had broadcasting in his background thanks to his dad who worked for CBS in the 1960′s. It would be nice if Dan had the opportunity to call a playoff game or two for CBS.

10. Jon Gruden – ESPN’s Monday Night Football
In less than one season, Gruden has shown that he can be one of the better analysts if he chooses to remain on TV. The thing is that no one believes he’s going to stay in the broadcast booth for long, despite signing a multi-year deal with ESPN this week. There were times earlier this season when I could not tell him or fellow analyst Ron Jaworski apart, but now I can. Jon has shown some humor and he’s not afraid to do so at his own expense. He’s very good and if he decides to stay in TV he can be one of the best analysts ever.

11. Daryl Johnston – NFL on Fox
Daryl has done TV for so long, it’s hard to remember that he got his start with CBS in 1998. He’s very smooth and yes, he has to endure Tony Siragusa who interrupts him quite often, but Daryl is such a team player that he seems to have fun with it. Moose’s analysis is solid and while he won’t be on the “A” team on Fox, he does get to call one playoff game a season and does it well teaming up nicely with Kenny Albert and Goose.

12. Craig James – ESPN/ABC College Football
Whenever Craig is in the booth, I enjoy his work. When he was in the studio, especially for ABC with Doug Flutie, I didn’t. I can’t explain it. But Craig is a good listen.

13. Ron Jaworski – ESPN’s Monday Night Football
Ron has a tendency to overhype things, but coming into the booth to replace Joe Theismann two seasons ago was a good thing. To be honest, he didn’t wow me last season when he started with Mike Tirico and Tony Kornheiser, but with Jon Gruden, has formed a good analysis team.

14. Boomer Esiason – Monday Night Football, Westwood One Radio
He’s good in the studio on the NFL Today, but when he’s on radio with either Marv Albert or Dave Sims on Monday Night Football, Boomer really shines. I like listening to his analysis and he’s not afraid to speak out when he has to. He and Marv are a good team, but I did enjoy when Boomer worked with Howard David.

15. James Lofton – Sunday Night Football, Westwood One Radio
James and Dave Sims are a very formidable radio team. James can spot trends as well and can give perspective on routes from his wide receiver days. Plus, being a Hall of Famer gives him a lot of credibility.

So you have my list of top football broadcasters.

First Friday Megalinks of 2009, Part I

I’ll do the Friday megalinks in two parts today. I’m still trying to find out what happened with the launch of the MLB Network last night. I’ve now heard from a subscriber in Alexandria, VA who said he could not watch the channel through Comcast. Besides the problems with Time Warner Cable in Albany/Schenectady, NY as reported by Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette, much of the problems appear to be with Comcast. I do expect a statement from MLB Network and when I receive it, I’ll post it here.

Because I want to get to the links right away, I’ll do the Weekend Viewing Picks in the Part II of the Megalinks.

National

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand grades the NFL TV networks’ performance this season.

Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball reports on the confusion over the MLB Network launch.

Mark Newman of MLB.com liveblogged the MLB Network launch last night.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell responds to reader reaction to his post on imposing a salary cap in baseball. Darren says the NHL Winter Classic was a hit again this year. And Darren says Madoff memorabilia is hard to come by.

The Sports Media Watch finishes its look at 2008 by reviewing the ratings for the Olympics. Paulsen’s story of the year was the economic downturn affecting sports. The SMW reviews its predictions from last year. Now we get the SMW’s predictions for this year. The blog wonders if TNT should discipline Charles Barkley after his arrest this week. And the SMW says the NHL Winter Classic drew higher overnight ratings from last year.

The Big Lead says Mike Patrick might have gone overboard with an analogy during the Capital One Bowl yesterday.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Bruce Allen of the Boston Sports Media Watch reports that WBZ Radio has laid off sports anchor Tom Cuddy.

Neil Best of Newsday writes about the MLB Network launch. Neil says while MLB Network did well last night, it’s better to judge the channel when the regular season begins in April. Neil writes that Chris Carlin did his final stint on WFAN today. And Neil wonders how coaches and managers will fare in 2009.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick blames the media for enabling Charles Barkley’s behavior. That’s a pretty broad brush. The Post’s NBA writer Peter Vescey feels Barkley is out of control.

Justin Terranova from the Post talks with Fox Sports’ Charles Davis and Barry Switzer about the BCS National Championship Game. And Justin has five questions for Fox Sports’ Brian Billick.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says Fox Sports’ Barry Switzer spent a lot of time defending his former Oklahoma Sooners team.

Ray Frager of the Baltimore Sun says TV could bring some good karma to the Ravens this weekend.

South

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes about ESPN’s Dick Vitale’s return to the NBA after 24 years.

Dave Darling from the Orlando Sentinel gives us the top sports media stories of 2008.

Kyle Hightower of the Sentinel writes that Magic fans will have to upgrade to digital cable to get Fox Sports Florida as Bright House cable recently added the channel to its lineup.

Ray Buck of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram also talks with Fox Sports’ Barry Switzer.

David Barron in the Houston Chronicle says a new sports radio station made headway in the ratings.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News tells us that Bill Cowher has signed an extension with CBS Sports. Barry says former Texas Ranger broadcaster Victor Rojas will be the answer to a trivia question. And Barry notes that 60 Minutes will interview Texas Tech coach Mike Leach on Sunday.

The Daily Oklahoman’s Mel Bracht talks with Fox Sports’ Charles Davis who will call the Florida-Oklahoma BCS National Championship Game next week.

That will do it for Part I of the Megalinks. Part II coming up tonight.

Some Saturday Linkage

I was out earlier today so it’s time to give some links on this Saturday night.

Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette writes that a local sports anchor is very deserving of a recent promotion.

Alan Pergament of the Buffalo News says fans are hoping the news about the NFL Network games moving to ESPN Classic is true.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that a local sports radio host has won a seat in the World Series of Poker.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News writes about properly using the term “legendary” for certain sports broadcasters.

From the San Antonio Express-News, Jerry Garcia reports that a local Sporting News Radio affiliate is giving way to country music.

Neil Best of Newsday writes that the Mike & the Mad Dog saga turned up to be a topic of conservation on SNY. And Neil reports that the producer of a minor league baseball show has pulled the series from SNY.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says Chicago Cubs owner Sam Zell has a dilemma whether to sell now or later. And Darren writes that the Arena Football League’s Philadelphia Soul may have pulled off the best sports promotion ever.

Joe Favorito says the Soul’s move is a bit risky, but a good idea nonetheless.

Jim Williams of the DC/Baltimore Examiner reports that Baltimore TV sports anchor Scott Garceau will no longer report five nights a week. Ray Frager of the Baltimore Sun spoke with Garceau about his decision.

William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail says Canadians have been watching the Euro 2008 soccer tournament.

The Sports Media Watch has its weekend ratings predictions. The SMW says the ratings for the College World Series were up for ESPN. And Euro 2008 has been a hit for the Alleged Worldwide Leader.

Jeff Hash of the EPL Talk blog says Spain-Italy was the highest rated match for ESPN’s Euro 2008 coverage.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News writes ESPN and ESPN2 scored their best ratings ever for the College World Series.

Scotty Thompson of the Dublin (GA) Courier-Herald feels ESPN’s Mike Patrick did not do a good job during the College World Series.

From the “I’m Permanntly Scarred for Life” Department, the Sox & Dawgs blog has the video of three guys streaking at a recent Cape Cod League Summer League game. From the “This is Much Better” Department, Sox & Dawgs has the farewell video NESN put together for Hazel Mae’s last sportscast.

The 38 Cliches blog keeps track of former Red Sox announcer Jerry Trupiano’s trip to Houston this weekend.

Michael David Smith of the AOL Fanhouse blog has the transcript of Bonnie Bernstein’s apology for statements she made on ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike show. Awful Announcing has the actual video of Bonnie saying Palestinian kids want to grow up to be suicide bombers. Bonnie was actually making a good point before she brought suicide bombers into the equation.

Mike DiMauro of the Bleacher Report says ESPN needs to showcase all MLB teams, not just a selected few. And in part 2 of his column, Mike writes that ESPN does not need to schedule games months in advance.

Bob Sassone of the TV Squad blog hates ESPN’s Wimbledon scoreboard graphic and I totally agree. It’s very confusing.

Craig Dolch of the Palm Beach Post says NBC did not show the U.S. Women’s Open much respect by not cutting away from Wimbledon coverage this afternoon and cutting into golf coverage. And what Dolch did not write is that NBC then cut away from the golf again at 6 p.m. ET, jettisoning the Open to ESPN2.

Paul Christian of the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin says NBC would love to have another U.S. Open playoff this Monday.

David Bauder of the Associated Press writes that NBC Sports is diving in head first into online streaming and live blogging for the Summer Olympics in Communist China.

Speaking of which, I’m watching the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials live on NBC Olympics.com while the Red Sox are on my TV. The picture quality through Microsoft Silverlight is excellent. If this is how the Olympics are going to look on my computer, then I have seen the future of sports television.

That will do it for now. I’m back tomorrow.

The Last Saturday Morning Links of the Year

Don’t worry, we’ll be back in 2008, I just felt like writing “last” as 2007 is approaching the end. I’ll do a Year Ender for you in the next couple of days, but let’s get to the links first.

Jerry Garcia of the San Antonio Express-News goes into the entire process to bring tonight’s Patriots-Giants game to CBS and NBC.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch looks at the year in sports media in the Gateway City.

Jim Williams of the DC/Baltimore Examiner writes in his Watch This! blog about how CBS and NBC were selected by the NFL to simulcast tonight’s game.

Joanne C. Gerstner of the Detroit News reports that local NBC affiliate WDIV will not carry tonight’s game due a conflict with the Pistons.

Martin Miller of the Los Angeles Times says the NFL is counting on the Patriots to increase ratings by putting tonight’s game on three outlets.

Bill Saporito writes for Time Magazine on how Cable sacked the NFL.

The lovely Jessica Heslam of the Boston Herald says the NFL has found a way to appease WCVB and WMUR after the two stations lost their exclusivity to carry the Pats-Giants game.

Richard Martin of Information Week writes in his blog that the NFL should make the NFL Network an online subscription service. I agree with this.

Marianne Paskowski of TV Week says cable is the big winner in this.

David Humphreys of the Attleboro (MA) Sun-Chronicle says local sports bars are gearing up for a big crowd for tonight’s game even though fans can now watch at home.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes a column for Pro Football Weekly on the Best and Worst in NFL broadcasting. You can expect to find Bryant Gumbel’s name in this.

Evan Bevins of the Marietta (OH) Times writes that the game is now on for all to watch.

Rob Longley of the London (Canada) Free Press says the Pats-Giants game is now on for everyone to see, even in Canada.

In an editorial, the Evansville (IN) Courier & Press criticizes the NFL Network for not putting Monday’s Insight Bowl involving Indiana University on a wider platform. Matt Doyle of the Tulsa (OK) World says Cox Communications will carry the Insight Bowl locally.

Michael David Smith of the AOL Fanhouse blog liked the work of the NFL Network’s Mike Mayock on last night’s Texas Bowl.

Jeff Brooke of the Toronto Globe and Mail has his 12 viewing picks for the holiday weekend.

Thank goodness for Awful Announcing. ESPN’s Mike Patrick was caught talking about Britney Spears again.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch talks with former Dallas Cowboy Everson Walls about his friend, Ron Springs who’s still in a coma. You may remember the Real Sports story on Everson giving his kidney to Ron.

Former New York Yankee Jim Leyritz who was doing work with MLB.com last season is charged with DUI in a crash that killed a woman on Friday.

Those are the links for now. Check back later.

The 1st Annual Fang’s Bites College Football TV Awards

Every year, sports media columnist Rudy Martzke of USA Today would hand out his silly “Rudys” to announcers and sports show he felt were the most deserving. I will not call my awards the “Fangies” or something stupid like that. I’m just going to say “Best”, “Worst” or create a category and that’s it. I forgot to do them for MLB after this past season, but I’ll have to remember to do them after next season. I’ll also do this for NFL, NHL and College Basketball, the other sports I follow closely. NBA? I don’t care, but you can do one on your own.

Let’s get started.

The College Gameday Best Pregame Show Award goes to: College Gameday – ESPN. Who else? This has set the standard for pregame shows, both college and pro. I’m a critic of ESPN, but I’m also willing to give it praise when the network does something right and College Gameday is done right. Chris Fowler, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit are a well oiled machine. I like the addition of Desmond Howard in small doses and of course, the atmosphere from the college campuses is a bonus. Fox NFL Sunday tried to copy the formula last season when it took its show on the road, but it was a dismal failure. College Gameday basically wins this until it goes off the air. Honorable mention: College Football Today – CBS. Tim Brando and Spencer Tillman do a bang-up job on their show and aren’t afraid to be critical of the BCS.

The Keith Jackson Award for Best Play-by-Play Announcer goes to: Sean McDonough -ESPN. Sean has basically been the announcer-in-exile ever since the Boston Red Sox took him off play-by-play for its broadcasts and for some strange reason, ESPN put him on Friday night games. He deserves to be doing the main games for either ESPN or ABC. I know Sean can’t go back to CBS because President of Sports and News, Sean McManus unceremoniously dumped him after the network hired Dick Enberg in 2000, but really, the guy should be on the main announcing team. Honorable mentions: Ron Franklin – ESPN and Verne Lundquist – CBS.

The Frank Broyles Award for Best Color Analyst: Named after Frank Broyles who did a great job for ABC in the 1980′s, we give this to Gary Danielson – CBS. He’s been one of the best college football analysts ever since ESPN teamed him with Brad Nessler in the 1990′s. Then he was pitted with Brent Musberger, but in 2006, he went to CBS to be teamed with Verne Lundquist on SEC games and this team has clicked very well. Gary has done very well on the SEC and has had the opportunity to call some big games this year including LSU-Arkansas and Georgia-Florida. In both instances, he was on top of trends and did a fantastic job. If CBS ever gets the BCS or the NCAA football tournament if it’s ever created, Danielson would be excellent on the lead team. Honorable mentions: Todd Blackledge – ESPN, Pat Haden – NBC and Charles Davis – Big Ten Network.

Best Overall Announcing Team goes to: Thom Brennaman and Charles Davis – Big Ten Network. They worked together for the first time last season on two NFL games, then the Fiesta Bowl featuring the Boise State upset of Oklahoma, then the BCS Championship Game so their chemistry wasn’t down. But they had a chance to really work together this season and have become a very good team. This season, they didn’t have to be saddled with a third wheel in Barry Alvarez, so they’ll work in an easier and more enjoyable two man booth. They did a fantastic job all season long. Now if the Big Ten Network can sign some more agreements for next season, Thom and Charles will get some more exposure. Honorable mention: Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson – CBS.

The Jim Lampley Award for Best Studio Host goes to: Rece Davis – ESPN. He’s in his element hosting the studio show and handing off to Mark May and Lou Holtz. ESPN does miss Trev Alberts, but Lou isn’t bad. But I digress. Rece also hosts College Football Live for ESPN. He does a tremendous job, especially starting in the morning and being in the Bristol campus sometimes staying until 2 a.m. on College Gameday Final. If Fowler ever leaves College Gameday, Rece could step in quite seamlessly. And for those of you who don’t know, yes, Lamps hosted the College Football studio for ABC in the 1980′s and probably is the best ever. Honorable mentions: Tim Brando – CBS & John Saunders – ESPN/ABC.

Best Studio Analyst: We don’t have anyone to name this after, but we give this award to Mark May of ESPN, by default. Spencer Tillman of CBS isn’t bad and Lou Holtz is ok, but I’ll give this to Mark May.

The Jack Arute Award for Best Sideline Reporter goes to: not Jack this year because he was doing NASCAR duties, but Bonnie Bernstein. Assigned to Brad Nessler, Bob Griese and Paul McGuire, Bonnie has sometimes had to fight for airtime, but whenever she’s on, she has solid information and can banter especially with Paul. Happy Hanukkah, Bonnie. Honorable mentions: Erin Andrews – ESPN & Charissa Thompson – Big Ten Network.

Most Valuable Network Award goes to: CBS for its SEC package. The games got consistent ratings every weekend often beating ABC’s 3:30 p.m. regional coverage. The games were certainly more compelling than the others in the same timeslot. Plus, CBS’ production of the games was top-notch. It’s no wonder why the SEC plans to renew its contract with CBS after next season.

Best Overall Coverage Award goes to: Yes, ESPN. The Worldwide Leader has this sport covered from beginning to end starting with College Gameday in the mornings all the way until College Gameday Final late at night. CBS and NBC sign off when their games are done with hardly any time for a postgame show. ESPN goes from 10 a.m. ET Saturday until 2 a.m. Sunday and it works. And the addition of College Football Live during the week has only solidified its position. If you’re a college football fan, ESPN has it covered.

Best Debut of a Network goes to: The Big Ten Network for having the biggest upset in college football history, Appalachian State over Michigan in the Big House. Unfortunately, its dispute with the major cable providers, Comcast, Time Warner, Mediacom and Charter has prevented many across the Midwest from seeing it. But I give you the final moments of the game here.

And the interview of Appalachian State coach Jerry Moore leads me to the following award.

Best Ingénue goes to: Charissa Thompson – Big Ten Network. She did a great job on the sidelines for BTN. The lovely Charissa will be seen on Fox’s BCS coverage during the Sugar Bowl and the BCS Championship Game. She’s been given a bigger role on FSN so expect to see a lot of her in the coming months.

The Phil Stone Award for Worst Play-by-Play: Named after Phil Stone who did a few NFL regional games for NBC back in the 1980′s, Phil was horrible. He yelled and screamed, but never could quite get the feel for the games. He was just plain awful. Phil was a sports anchor for the San Diego NBC affiliate in the 1980′s. Some sports anchors are not suitable for play-by-play and Phil certainly wasn’t. So I give this award to, in a tie Pam Ward – ESPN and Brent Musberger – ABC. I’ve tried to give Pam the benefit of the doubt over the last two years, but I don’t think she’s good at calling a game. I have no problem with women doing play-by-play, but I don’t think Pam’s voice is good enough.

As for Brent, he’s slipped a lot over the years. He’s getting close to Phil Stone in yelling. Brent was very good at one time, but right now, he’s past his prime. Plus he has to travel to NASCAR locations right after games so his concentration has been off. Brent and Pammy share the award.

Worst Sideline Reporter goes to: Lisa Salters – ESPN/ABC. Not impressed by her work at all. Lisa is usually a solid journalist, but sideline reporter is not a role that suits her well.

Most Bizarre Moment goes to: ESPN’s Mike Patrick asking Todd Blackledge about Britney Spears right before Georgia beat Alabama in overtime. Todd was incredulous and asked, “Is she here?” I still shake my head.

Dishonorable mention: Last weekend’s Les Miles controversy when ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit announced on College Gameway announced Miles would leave LSU for Michigan. Then Miles had to call a press conference right before the SEC Championship Game to announce he was staying put at LSU. CBS’ Tracy Wolfson interviewed Miles about his plans and finally, Tim Brando throwing a shot at ESPN. Great stuff.

The Network Disappearing Act Award goes to: NBC for its Notre Dame games. Because Notre Dame had a 3-9 season, the ratings for Notre Dame home games fell into the toilet. Not even the win by Navy, the first in 43 years could save the ratings. But it wasn’t the fault of Pat Haden, one of the better college football analysts and he’s not afraid to be critical of Notre Dame.

Worst Studio Show Award goes to: ABC’s pre-game show. Surprising because it’s produced by ESPN and John Saunders is a very solid host. However, Craig James and Doug Flutie don’t mesh very well. There’s hardly any chemistry between the two. James was very good as the original co-analyst with Lee Corso on College Gameday, but he’s ill-suited in this studio. And it seems disconnected from the Worldwide Leader because the show is produced at ABC’s studios in New York instead of the ESPN headquarters. Plus, the show isn’t even in HD! What’s up with that?

Worst Debut by a Network Award goes to: Versus. It signed a contract with FSN to pick up ten Big 12 and Pac 10 games from TBS. However, like the Big Ten Network, it suffers from a lack of carriage. It had the big upset of Stanford over USC, but most of the country only saw the highlights and that’s too bad. And its coverage of the games was next to horrible. And Rod Thulin of Versus even got the game winning touchdown wrong. Listen as he calls the touchdown for USC.

And there you have it. Let me know what you think, if you agree, if you disagree. I certainly would like to hear from you.

Tuesday Afternoon Links Update

Time for some new links today.

CBS Sports is crowing about its college football ratings. The South Carolina-LSU game on Saturday was way up from last year at the same time.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today looks at the ratings of selected events from the weekend.

Looking at the weekend overnight ratings listed by the Sports Media Watch, Fox may have stemmed the tide for the NFL pregame shows. Fox NFL Sunday registered a 3.3/9 while the NFL Today on CBS mustered a 2.6/7. We’ll see what the final ratings register later in the week.

From the Daily Cardinal, the University of Wisconsin’s school newspaper, Charles Brace writes that two state legislators are calling on the state’s two major cable companies to provide the Big Ten Network to consumers.

John Ryan in his Morning Buzz blog at the San Jose Mercury News says it was quite an interesting weekend on the college football front for ESPN (Erin Andrews kissing West Virginia QB Pat White and Mike Patrick talking about Britney Spears). And Ryan notes that the San Jose Sharks are bringing back “Rock ‘n Roll, Part II” for goal celebrations after a one year absence.

Is the Commonwealth of Virginia piling on? A state grand jury has indicted suspended Atlanta Falcons QB Michael Vick on dogfighting charges. He faces 10 years if convicted.

In the Washington Post, Leonard Shapiro criticizes Comcast SportsNet for allowing Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to be interviewed by his close friend, George Michael, formerly of George Michael’s Sports Machine.

The Biz of Baseball’s Maury Brown writes that NBC’s Tim Russert will host the Red Sox Nation Presidential Debate that will air on NESN Friday night. Don’t ask. I’m a Red Sox fan and I’m embarrassed about this.

Tom Hoffarth of the LA Daily News has some stuff in his Farther Off the Wall blog on the Mike Gundy-Jenni Carlson incident from the weekend.

That’s it for now. Primetime Viewing Picks coming up.

Tuesday Morning Linkage

Let’s give you some links.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that CBS’ Jim Nantz lost sight of the big picture in the Chargers-Packers game on Sunday.

Neil Best of Newsday writes about TBS coming into the MLB postseason game and he mentions the strange exchange between Mike Patrick and Todd Blackledge on ESPN. And Best has ESPN’s spin of Patrick’s comments in his blog.

Mark McCarter of the Huntsville (AL) Times tackles the Mike Patrick comments.

The Chicago Sun-Times says Cubs fans without cable won’t be able to see their team in the playoffs because TBS has the League Division Series and the League Championship Series and neither will be available on free TV. Paul Sullivan blogs in the Chicago Tribune that Chip Carey and Steve Stone could be re-teamed on the Cubs playoffs games for TBS. Carey and Stone worked Cubs games on WGN until 2004.

The New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman praises SNY’s Mets analyst Keith Hernandez for being honest about the team.

Jim Williams of the Baltimore/DC Examiner has his regular Tuesday column.

Anthony Crupi in Mediaweek writes that while the ratings for Sunday and Monday Night Football are down, there’s no need for panic.

Dave Del Grande of the Oakland Tribune says the Bay Area CBS and Fox affiliates don’t understand the NFL TV blackout rules which prevented both from airing a late game even though the Raiders were not shown locally.

Motor Sports TV critic John Daly writes in his Daly Planet blog that ESPN on ABC’s Nextel Cup broadcasts are still a work in progress.

The TV Voice of the Portland Trail Blazers, Mike Barrett, says there will be 76 regular season games combined on the new Comcast SportsNet Northwest and KGW-TV.

David Naylor in the Toronto Globe and Mail blogs that Canadians can be seen on American college football broadcasts.

William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail writes about Sherali Najak who will oversee Hockey Night in Canada on CBC. Najak has a very interesting story on how he got to Canada from Uganda.

The Canadian Press has a story on NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman including his statements on the cable TV contract.

That will do it for now. Check back for possible updates.

Monday Night Links

I just finished watching the second installment of Ken Burn’s The War on PBS. Just like The Civil War, Baseball, Jazz, Mark Twain, Empire of the Air, and The West, this epic is excellent. I saw bits and pieces of the first installment on Sunday and all of tonight’s and Ken Burns’ storytelling is second to none. The interviews from those who experienced World War II whether on the front lines, from the air or at the home front cannot be duplicated. Plus, the footage that Burns has found from the War in Tunisia, Sicily and Rome is amazing. The newsreels can be seen over on Burns’ The War site which is linked above. This is compelling television and I will be recommending this in the Primetime Viewing Picks for Wednesday and Thursday.

Darren Rovell of CNBC has the outcome of the bet he made with Texas oilman and big-time Oklahoma State booster Boone Pickens.

Over to the Sports Media Watch blog where Paulsen has the broadcast teams for TBS during the MLB Division Series (as I told you last week, NESN’s Don Orsillo will be involved). And here are over the overnight ratings from the weekend. An offshoot from Paulsen’s story about the weekend TV ratings is this press release from NBC Universal touting the numbers for Sunday Night Football for Dallas-Chicago.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle in his Four DVR’s, no waiting blog says the Colts-Texans cleaned up in the ratings for the CBS affiliate. And Barron reviews the Sunday NFL pregame shows.

This is the official press release from Turner Sports about the announcer assignments for the MLB Postseason on TBS/TNT.

William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail has his take on the latest ESPN/MLB dispute.

Newsday’s Neil Best is also blogging tonight! My goodness! He talks about the 9.9 seconds of silence viewers had to endure during the halftime of tonight’s Monday Night Football game as Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser had trouble hearing each other for their mini-Pardon the Interruption segment.

The networks have selected the games and times for October 6. The Kansas-Kansas State game will be played at noon (11 a.m. local time) on FSN. Tim Griffin of the San Antonio Express-News reports that the Red River Shootout between Oklahoma and Texas will played at 3:30 p.m. on ABC and FSN will pick up the Oklahoma State-Texas A&M game for 7:30 p.m. Mike Dearmond of the Kansas City Star reports that ESPN has selected Nebraska-Missouri for a primetime 9:15 p.m. ET slot. CBS will air Florida at LSU, also in primetime. From the Detroit News, Eric Lacy reports that the Big Ten Network will pick up the Michigan-Eastern Michigan game. Minnesota at Indiana will also be on BTN.

GoDaddy.com has announced that Cincinnati Bengals’ WR Chad Johnson will appear in its ads on ESPN college football games.

Bill Ordine of the Baltimore Sun blogs about the bizarre Mike Patrick comments about Britney Spears during the Georgia-Alabama game.

John Consoli of Mediaweek writes that advertisers are flocking to the NFL on the league’s TV partners’ broadcasts.

Nick Daschel of The Columbian (WA) interviews long time Pac 10 Commissioner Tom Hansen about his years as the Commish and the conference’s TV contracts with ESPN and FSN.

Jason Buhrmester of Wired magazine writes about NFL Films digitizing its extensive library and if you know the history of NFL Films, this is a huge project.

David Goetzl of Media Daily News reports that in exchange for carriage on basic, the Tennis Channel gave an equity stake to DirecTV.

Congratulations to LC who has got his old 38Cliches site back so again, adjust your bookmarks accordingly. You can put 38cliches.com in your bookmarks again and you’ll be able to see his entire site in its original glory.

A lot of links for you tonight. I’m heading to bed as it’s close to midnight, but I’ll catch a bit of Letterman before I do. I’ll see you Tuesday morning.

"Why do we care…? Is she here?"

Thanks to the Sports Media Watch Blog which got it from the Awful Announcing blog, this almost became the Video of the Week. For some strange unknown reason, ESPN’s Mike Patrick decided to bring up Britney Spears during the overtime of the tense Georgia-Alabama game. I’ll say it again, during the overtime of the tense Georgia-Alabama game.

Listen to Patrick as he brings up Britney and how analyst Todd Blackledge responds rather incredulously. On the next snap, UGA wins the game. I mean, how can you go from the game to Britney? Where was the transition? And what was Mike thinking?

It’s a great video. Rather strange as well.