Can we talk about the ESPN broadcasting crew?

[RunInRed 16,393]

Mark Jones and Rod Gilmore, who called the game from the booth, with Quint Kessenich reporting from the sidelines, delivered one of the worst performances by a broadcasting crew I've seen in some time.

Awful awful awful Saturday night.  Rob Pate nailed it ...

Quote

via http://auburn.247sports.com/Article/Rob-Pate-Giving-Auburn-offenses-keys-to-Rhett-Lashlee-is-the-rig-47797729 ($)

 

[#1AUFAN 1]

Absolutely the most biased I can recall! I remarked on the two points you mentioned during the game.

[autigeremt 6,599]

I was sick all weekend so I gave my tickets to my neighbor and her kid. I wish I had sucked it up and went so I didn't have to listen to that trash. It was horrible.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

I still can't believe no one had pointed out that one of them had a freakin' purple and gold tie on.  They weren't even trying to hide who they were rooting for.

[abw0004 10,110]

If you go on YouTube and watch the full game, go the the very end where the call of a touchdown is under review.  They were 110% convinced the time did not run out.  Even when it was shown in slow motion, and it was obvious, they still said LSU won the game.  

[LKEEL75 2,566]

Just now, abw0004 said:

If you go on YouTube and watch the full game, go the the very end where the call of a touchdown is under review.  They were 110% convinced the time did not run out.  Even when it was shown in slow motion, and it was obvious, they still said LSU won the game.  

I was so frustrated when you could clearly see the ball on the ground with 0:00 and they were continuing to say well you can tell if the ball has been snapped or not.

But at least it wasn't Verne!

[I_M4_AU 7,801]

Yep, the comment after they thought LSU scored was a little over the top.  I believe it was "AND THE TIGERS ROAR". 

[WeagleAU 594]

I don't usually listen to the television broadcast announcers.  I turn down the volume and listen to Rod and Stan.

However, when I watched a replay of the game on ESPN's website, it was blatantly obvious that the ESPN broadcasters were pulling for LSU.  The funniest part was at the end when they thought LSU won the game, just listen to their tone of voice, they were ecstatic.  They were actually saying that LSU got the ball off in time when it was obvious the replay was showing something different.

Also, this is why I rarely watch ESPN's SEC Network commentary.  As an Auburn fan, I don't care what the so-called "non-bias" crew of the likes of Booger McFarland, Greg McElroy, and Tim Tebow think about Auburn.  It's a joke. Did anyone actually see Booger dancing when he thought LSU won at the end?

Imo, ESPN broadcasters have been disappointing in their coverage and offer nothing beneficial to the telecast.  Seriously, I wish they would offer a channel with no commentary and that would just broadcast the sights and sounds of the game.

[JDUBB4AU 5,112]

Guys thank you for making this thread. Those two idiots were the absolute worst commentators I have ever watched. They openly rooted for LSU time after time. These guys make Gary and Verne look like the chick's from the Hardee's commercials. They sucked and I hope I never have to listen to them again. 

[LKEEL75 2,566]

They wanted LSU to win to get better ratings for the LSU & Turd game.  Oh well.  We ruined that party!

 

[abw0004 10,110]

3 minutes ago, WeagleAU said:

Imo, ESPN broadcasters have been disappointing in their coverage and offer nothing beneficial to the telecast.  Seriously, I wish they would offer a channel with no commentary and that would just broadcast the sights and sounds of the game.

I remember in 2010 for the National Championship you had 4-5 different options of how you could watch the game.  It was pretty cool.  They should bring that back.

[aujeff11 6,243]

I knew they couldn't get the play off in time but the announcers made it sound like they did...Which caused major heartburn. I saw Gus telling everybody to get back but I thought he was only wanting to review the WRs spot and I knew it was fine so I got major heartburn then.

 When the announcers reviewed the play clock, it was painfully obvious they considered it inconclusive only because they couldn't see the ball even though it was obvious that the ball had not been snapped yet. At that point I was scared the refs were going to think like the announcers.

At least the refs got it right.

[looney 794]

15 minutes ago, WeagleAU said:

Imo, ESPN broadcasters have been disappointing in their coverage and offer nothing beneficial to the telecast.  Seriously, I wish they would offer a channel with no commentary and that would just broadcast the sights and sounds of the game.

Bear with me as I think through this out loud.

What if all of the alternate SEC Networks allowed for something like this: Video from the ESPN crew, but synced-up audio from each team's radio crew? Would it cost SECN less if they didn't have to pay a play-by-play, color, and on-field announcer to be there? Would they be able to charge more in ad revenue if they had 2 separate 'channels' for each game, knowing they'd have a focused audience for each one? SiriusXM does something like this for NFL games, I believe (without the video, obviously). I feel like they'd see their subscriber and viewership numbers skyrocket if they worked this out.

How have we not thought of this before? (Or have we and I just missed it?)

[CleCoTiger 1,957]

Just now, lkeel75 said:

They wanted LSU to win to get better ratings for the LSU & Turd game.  Oh well.  We ruined that party!

 

Well, that may have been what they were after, but in the end with the firing of Miles and Orgeron being the interim HC and angling for the permanent job, I expect ratings for the bammer@LSWho game are gonna be through the roof.  I actually expect EO to do pretty well with the purple Tigers the rest of the way. He says he's learned from his mistakes at Ole Miss, and he did a pretty decent job after taking over on an interim basis for the fired Lane Kiffin at USC a few years back.

[tgr4lfe 220]

I didn't watch it until Sunday evening, as my son and i were camping with a church group, but the whole time about every 5 minutes, I was yelling out, "SHUT UP, Rod!"  They were absolutely awful.  SO bad, I'd listen to Lundquist and Danielson over them.  

[WeagleAU 594]

2 minutes ago, abw0004 said:

I remember in 2010 for the National Championship you had 4-5 different options of how you could watch the game.  It was pretty cool.  They should bring that back.

I totally agree with you.  That would be a nice option to have.

[Cbass4AU 2]

I remember back in the days before digital media, you could watch the game on T.V. and listen to Jim call the game....but now with the delay between the T.V. and radio, you always hear the call before seeing it. 

[BornAU76 397]

Glad I'm not the only one that felt like they were all over the LSU during that game, especially in the end.  

I saw the play clock go down to zero before the snap but then you have these 2 yahoos saying it won't be overturned.  My heart dropped because I assumed they had access to the replay before we did and just confirmed my worst fear...terrible commentating all night.

[imaolgatiger 523]

I had to turn them off and listen to Rod and Stan.   The downside was that our broadcast(via internet) was 2 plays behind.  Although annoying, I couldn't take the tv crew.  In my best Sir Charles voice, "TURRIBLE"!

[WeagleAU 594]

6 minutes ago, bryanlooney said:

Bear with me as I think through this out loud.

What if all of the alternate SEC Networks allowed for something like this: Video from the ESPN crew, but synced-up audio from each team's radio crew? Would it cost SECN less if they didn't have to pay a play-by-play, color, and on-field announcer to be there? Would they be able to charge more in ad revenue if they had 2 separate 'channels' for each game, knowing they'd have a focused audience for each one? SiriusXM does something this for NFL games, I believe (without the video, obviously). I feel like they'd see their subscriber and viewership numbers skyrocket if they worked this out.

How have we not thought of this before? (Or have we and I just missed it?)

I think you're on to something here.  SiriusXM definitely has the right idea.

[Auburn4life 24]

I can't believe no one from either team (all coaches) or the announcers noticed Auburn was supposed to be 3rd and 4 and the down showed up as 2nd & goal.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

9 minutes ago, bryanlooney said:

Bear with me as I think through this out loud.

What if all of the alternate SEC Networks allowed for something like this: Video from the ESPN crew, but synced-up audio from each team's radio crew? Would it cost SECN less if they didn't have to pay a play-by-play, color, and on-field announcer to be there? Would they be able to charge more in ad revenue if they had 2 separate 'channels' for each game, knowing they'd have a focused audience for each one? SiriusXM does something this for NFL games, I believe (without the video, obviously). I feel like they'd see their subscriber and viewership numbers skyrocket if they worked this out.

How have we not thought of this before? (Or have we and I just missed it?)

Great idea.  I think the real rub is that the don't have enough channels to do this for every game they have going at once.  

As for saving them money... that's a toss-up.  They would have to pay usage rights for both teams audio feeds.  That may or may not cost more than the talking heads they currently employ.  I'm not sure how they would handle commercial breaks, throwing to the studio, replays, etc.  The different teams crews would have to broadcast against the TV feed vs the live feed for it to make sense.

[api1957 1,783]

Rod's reaction to the Arden Key hit sent me into a another realm of pissed off.

[api1957 1,783]

4 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

Great idea.  I think the real rub is that the don't have enough channels to do this for every game they have going at once.  

As for saving them money... that's a toss-up.  They would have to pay usage rights for both teams audio feeds.  That may or may not cost more than the talking heads they currently employ.  I'm not sure how they would handle commercial breaks, throwing to the studio, replays, etc.  The different teams crews would have to broadcast against the TV feed vs the live feed for it to make sense.

Or we could ask really nicely for the radio stations to add a similar delay to their broadcasts for a better sync. 

[looney 794]

Sure, there are some logistics to work out.

In terms of streaming viewers, it's a no brainer. No need to create real "channels" within a TV provider's grid. Just give me an "LSU @ Auburn - Auburn Radio" link and a "LSU @ Auburn - LSU Radio" link, e.g.

I agree that the more traditional Comcasts and U-Verses of the world would have to open something up to allow for this.

I'd think you'd switch to the national ad spots on commercial breaks. The local guys would find ways to get in Yellawood snipits in there, though, I'm sure.

I don't know how much the replays would be an issue, actually. As long as they're generally talking about what's being shown on the screen (I guess they could have the "live feed" in their booth to know what the home audience is seeing...) I think we'd get the gist. The TV guys doing the video production, replay, slowmo stuff would do the same thing they always do, I'd think).

Man... This just feels like a gold mine to me. Whose congressman do we need to call?