[spongyfungy]

Originally Posted by limufujuan

that is very easy win for us.what happen for Kirk?he didnt play whole the 4th.did he pick up some injury??

He tweaked his hammy.

[jnrjr79]

Originally Posted by ScottMay

-- Nakedly and unashamedly rooted for the Bulls throughout the entire game, including a Caray-esque "come on, let's get rolling here" from Dore.

I agree that Tom/Johnny/Wayne are pretty darn bad. I find them annoying in this order:
1. Wayne
2. Tom
3. Red

However, on a local (not national) broadcast, and I don't count NBA TV because I'd bet more people were watching the local game than the NBA TV game by a factor of 10, I expect outright homerism. In fact, I want it. I mean, look at local baseball games. Nobody cares that the announcers are rooting for the team. It's expected. You don't get that in football on tv, b/c it's not local. You do on the radio, because it is. So I have no complaint that Tom and Red are actively rooting for the team. I do have a problem that they seem largely clueless and Tom is the biggest Yes Man for the franchise.

[ScottMay]

Originally Posted by jnrjr79

I agree that Tom/Johnny/Wayne are pretty darn bad. I find them annoying in this order:
1. Wayne
2. Tom
3. Red

However, on a local (not national) broadcast, and I don't count NBA TV because I'd bet more people were watching the local game than the NBA TV game by a factor of 10, I expect outright homerism. In fact, I want it. I mean, look at local baseball games. Nobody cares that the announcers are rooting for the team. It's expected. You don't get that in football on tv, b/c it's not local. You do on the radio, because it is. So I have no complaint that Tom and Red are actively rooting for the team. I do have a problem that they seem largely clueless and Tom is the biggest Yes Man for the franchise.

Well, I would argue that the homerism and the cluelessness are pretty closely linked.

Obviously, in most markets the announcers are either actual employees of the team or, at the very least, need to be approved by the team. You're not going to find a lot of announcing crews ripping on the home team (although Marv Albert sure did the last couple of years, which led to his departure). But there's a good balance -- a guy like Mike Breen or Kevin Calabro or Chuck Swirsky will happily and willingly read promos for "Miller Lite Cap Nite," but still call their respective team out when it's warranted.

And I know announcing crews aren't journalists, but the blatant "let's dig in and get a stop here" type of press-box fanship is just wrong and really unenjoyable. In my mind, it instantly separates the dumb from the knowledgeable. It's not a coincidence that the guys around the league who engage in rampant boosterism -- Dore/Kerr, Eric Reid (Miami), Ralph Lawlor (Clippers), Heinsohn (Boston), the Houston play-by-play guy (Bill somebody) -- are my least favorite guys to listen to (and are rarely praised by critics).

We used to have an outstanding, even-handed play-by-play guy named Jim Durham. I think installing shills like Dore and Larrivee is an insult to the fans, most of whom know better and deserve better.

[Wynn]

Quoting Hawks Head Coach Mike Woodson

On his Hawks:

"We're awful young, man. Our young guys are playing better than they played earlier in the season and they are playing better than they played earlier in the summer when we first got them. But, they got to get better for us to be better."

This may be the first time I've seen the opposing coach use their own youth as an excuse for losing. It's nice to see that we aren't using that excuse, even in losses. Gotta love the attitude.

[jnrjr79]

Originally Posted by ScottMay

Well, I would argue that the homerism and the cluelessness are pretty closely linked.

Obviously, in most markets the announcers are either actual employees of the team or, at the very least, need to be approved by the team. You're not going to find a lot of announcing crews ripping on the home team (although Marv Albert sure did the last couple of years, which led to his departure). But there's a good balance -- a guy like Mike Breen or Kevin Calabro or Chuck Swirsky will happily and willingly read promos for "Miller Lite Cap Nite," but still call their respective team out when it's warranted.

And I know announcing crews aren't journalists, but the blatant "let's dig in and get a stop here" type of press-box fanship is just wrong and really unenjoyable. In my mind, it instantly separates the dumb from the knowledgeable. It's not a coincidence that the guys around the league who engage in rampant boosterism -- Dore/Kerr, Eric Reid (Miami), Ralph Lawlor (Clippers), Heinsohn (Boston), the Houston play-by-play guy (Bill somebody) -- are my least favorite guys to listen to (and are rarely praised by critics).

We used to have an outstanding, even-handed play-by-play guy named Jim Durham. I think installing shills like Dore and Larrivee is an insult to the fans, most of whom know better and deserve better.

I would make the distinction between rooting for the team and being clueless (or a total sucker for the organization). I like my local announcers to root for the home team. I don't want them to blatantly ignore or explain away problems with the players or the team, which Tom/Wayne/Red do all the time. That is what ignores me. The see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil routine is what annoys me. When a player screws up, point it out. When a coach makes a questionable decision, say that it's questionable. If the team sucks, acknowledge it. Don't act like we're still in the game when we're down by 20 with 3:30 to go. This is the stuff that bothers me.

If you watched the Cubs over the years, they had complete outright homerism combined with good analysis and criticism on their tv broadcasts. I guess that my argument is flawed, however, b/c last year's criticism seems to be what ultimately led to the broadcast team's departure. That is how I'd want my Bulls games called though.