I was really confused about the whole Jonas Brothers intro for the Little League World Series last week, but I have to say that the tune was kind of growing on me. That was until yesterday.

ESPN decided to rock out to the tune and splice in some lip-syncing/rapping from some of the network's brightest stars. I give you the ESPN Crew, Gary Thorne, Stacey Dales, Karl Ravech and THE Brent Musburger singing "Burning Up" by the Jonas Bros....REMIX!!!!!!

Good....God. I really have no idea where to start with this. First of all, it's one of those clips that is so terrible that it's actually pretty entertaining. I actually belly laughed when Musburger came on the screen. Second, the absolute best part of the whole thing is how pissed Karl Ravech looks during his spot. He did not appear to be having fun at all.

Sure it's ridiculously cheesy, and any thought of Gary Thorne dancing and/or saying "I'm Hot", makes me throw up in my mouth, but who cares? It's the Little League World Series. Those people in the truck and behind the scenes are usually working their asses off and probably rarely on camera. It's good they had a little fun with the whole thing. It's also much more PG than Orestes Destrade giving Pedro Gomez a massage while Pedro was sitting on his leg like "Santa Claus".

Now if you decide to do this for Monday Night Football....I might have a different response.

Really ESPN? The Jonas Brothers On The LLWS Intro??? (Awful Announcing)

I'm an unabashed fan of the LLWS, and I don't necessarily think broadcasting every game of it is a bad thing, but thirty two games across three platforms seems like a lot. Either way, that's the exact same total they did last year and they even have an entire show devoted to LLWS "Web Gems" this go around!

Welcome back to Williamsport, Brent Musburger, Gary Thorne, Karl Ravech, Orel Hershiser, and Orestes Destrade. Also say hi to Stacey Dales and Pedro Gomez (still getting the choice assignments now that Bonds isn't playing).

Here's your schedule in case you care to check out your state's game(s)....

Pool Play Round

Fri., Aug. 15

Midwest (Rapid City, S.D.) vs. Southeast (Tampa, Fla.)- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN, 2pm)
Canada vs. Latin America- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN2, 4pm)
New England (Shelton, Conn.) vs. West (Waipahu, Hawaii)- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN2, 6pm)
Mid-Atlantic (Hagerstown, Md.) vs. Great Lakes (Jeffersonville, Ind.)- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN, 8pm)

Sat., Aug. 16

Caribbean vs. Mexico- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN, 11am)
Europe vs. Asia-Pacific- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN, 1pm)
Midwest (Rapid City, S.D.) vs. New England (Shelton, Conn.)- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ABC, 3:30pm)
Japan vs. Middle East and Africa- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN, 6pm)
Southwest (Lake Charles, La.) vs. Northwest (Mill Creek, Wash.)- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN, 8pm)

Sun., Aug. 17

Europe vs. Mexico- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN Classic, Noon)
Canada vs. Japan- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN2, 1pm)
Great Lakes (Jeffersonville, Ind.) vs. Southwest (Lake Charles, La.)- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ABC, 3:30pm)
Latin America vs. Middle East and Africa- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN2, 6pm)
Southeast (Tampa, Fla.) vs. West (Waipahu, Hawaii)- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN2, 8pm)

Mon., Aug. 18

Northwest (Mill Creek, Wash.) vs. Mid-Atlantic (Hagerstown, Md.)- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN2, Noon)
Asia-Pacific vs. Mexico- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN, 1pm)
Midwest (Rapid City, S.D.) vs. West (Waipahu, Hawaii)- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN2, 3pm)
Caribbean vs. Europe- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN, 4pm)
Southeast (Tampa, Fla.) vs. New England (Shelton, Conn.)- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN2, 6pm)

Tue., Aug. 19

Latin America vs. Japan- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN2, Noon)
Northwest (Mill Creek, Wash.) vs. Great Lakes (Jeffersonville, Ind.)- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN, 2pm)
Canada vs. Middle East and Africa- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN, 4pm)
Caribbean vs. Asia-Pacific- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN2, 6pm)
Southwest (Lake Charles, La.) vs. Mid-Atlantic (Hagerstown, Md.)- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN2, 8pm)

Single Elimination Round

Wed., Aug. 20

International Semifinal #1- Gary Thorne, Orestes Destrade and Pedro Gomez (ESPN, 4pm)
U.S. Semifinal #1- Brent Musburger, Orel Hershiser and Stacey Dales (ESPN, 8pm)

Thu., Aug. 21

International Semifinal #2- Gary Thorne, Orestes Destrade and Pedro Gomez (ESPN, 4pm)
U.S. Semifinal #2- Brent Musburger, Orel Hershiser and Stacey Dales (ESPN, 8pm)

Sat., Aug. 23

International Championship- Brent Musburger, Orel Hershiser, Orestes Destrade, Stacey Dales and Pedro Gomez (ABC, 12:30pm)
U.S. Championship- Brent Musburger, Orel Hershiser and Stacey Dales (ABC, 3pm)

Sun., Aug. 24

Consolation Game- Karl Ravech, Orestes Destrade and Pedro Gomez (ESPN, Noon)
Little League Web Gems Special (ESPN, 2pm)
Little League World Series Preview (ESPN, 2:30pm)
World Series Championship- Brent Musburger, Orel Hershiser, Stacey Dales and Pedro Gomez (ABC, 3:30pm)
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I'm also hoping that this umpire is involved in the games somehow....

My plan was to avoid the Taco Bell Celebrity game entirely, but with Gary Thorne and Rick Sutcliffe involved (and both potentially drunk), I couldn't help myself. The highlight of the contest was easily Kenny Mayne committing about 5 errors and then having Wade Boggs walked so that George Lopez could let him hit in the ninth. Sutty is obviously elated at the end of the game and drops this gem of a comparison on the viewing audience....

It's not one of the greatest transgressions but it still made me laugh. Also, during the game Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Crystal turned a pretty stellar double play and Chris Rock struck out looking (I didn't think that was possible in Softball). Good times.

Yes! I love when information surrounding "celebrity" games comes out. It's such a random collection of people and you can almost make out the bad jokes and terrible interactions ahead of time. Well lucky for us this year is no different. I give you the 2008 Taco Bell Legends and Celebrity Softball Game participants....

Celebrities scheduled to participate include Chris Rock, Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, Spike Lee, Andy Roddick, George Lopez and James Denton; legends include Hall of Famers Ernie Banks, Wade Boggs, George Brett, Goose Gossage, Ozzie Smith, Dave Winfield and more, along with Yankees legends Tino Martinez and Paul O’Neill. Kenny Mayne (miked during the game) will participate as a player/manager, with Gary Thorne (play-by-play), analyst Rick Sutcliffe and reporter Erin Andrews.

You know what? That's not a half bad group of people. Well, if you get rid of Billy Crystal. Also, it'll be interesting to see if Rick Sutcliffe keeps his eyes on the action as opposed to EA's dress choice. Good times! The action gets underway after the Home Run Derby (more info coming on this in the next post) next Monday.

(Via ESPN PR)

I guess it's the person saying the quote (not the quote itself that he gets wrong), but this was hilarious none-the-less. The O's and Yanks were in the midst of a homerun battle and the Orioles had comeback from down four once and were trying to do it again. Luke Scott came up after a Melvin Mora homerun and nails a pitch to centerfield.

Listen closely as Thorne, first goes crazy, and then tries to use the crowd in his call....

I can't stop laughing after that for some reason. Okay, a couple of things. First, if Luke Scott actually hit it back near the scoreboard at Camden Yards it would be somewhere around 550ft. Second, as every 80s nerd knows Darth Vader never would have said, "May the Force be with you."

I love how he starts the quote and then trails off at the end because he knows he screwed it up. Good stuff as always from the ever-clueless Thorne.

I really thought that the clip that I posted earlier today was by far the most confused and lost I've ever seen an announcer. I was wrong. Who would have guessed that the same announcer, in the same exact game, would best himself. Ladies and gentleman.....Gary Thorne via SbB....

“Pretty good international team.”- Gary Thorne

Okay Gary....getting confused by players who have never played in a Yankee uniform is one thing, but completely misunderstanding the spirit of the Civil Rights Game is an entirely different issue. See when Steve Phillips brings up players like Curtis Granderson and Jacque Jones being on the Tigers they're not exactly foreign. They're African-American and they were both born in this Country. Both Curtis and Jacque are from America (Chicago and San Diego respectively)......THUS the f'ing reason that Steve Phillips brought the team up in the FIRST DAMN PLACE!!!!!!

I hate to be this blunt, but someone who is this clueless should NOT be broadcasting to millions of people (I also hate to be this blunt....but I actually feel sorry for Steve Phillips for once).

Thorne Won’t Be Guarding Borders Anytime Soon (Sports By Brooks)
Gary Thorne Is Completely Clueless (Awful Announcing)

Update: Okay, for all of you people that think that Steve Phillips is the one to blame for this transgression you need to watch again.

So reader RB sent me an email telling me that I just HAD to find Gary Thorne and Steve Phillip's conversation about the Canseco book this morning. I searched Red Lasso and finally found it in the Top of the Third Inning and I don't think I've ever been this blown away by an Announcer's idiocy before (maybe Suzyn Waldman).

The talk starts with Gary Thorne mentioning "Jason Giambi's second book", and Steve Phillips corrects him right away. But does that stop Thorne? Of course not....

Okay, let's recap. First, Gay Thorne thinks Giambi wrote the book. Second (after being corrected), jokes about the throw from first to third. And finally, right when you think it's over he says that the two need to have a clubhouse meeting??? Canseco does not play baseball anymore and if memory serves I don't think he ever played First Base.

How clueless can you be? I mean jetlag is a bitch, but that was ridiculous.