This is so bad, I really don't even have words to describe it. During the second quarter, Oklahoma got a first down and goal at the 10 yard line. Well Thom Brennaman got confused at some point and began calling 2nd down as 3rd down, which in turn led to 3rd down down being called as 4th. The worst part though is he and booth partner, Charles Davis, both began yelling for Oklahoma to go for it on 4th down (actually 3rd) that neither was even ready for the Sooners actually going for it on the real 4th down. Here's the clip....

I poke a lot of fun at FOX's Bowl production, but there are literally 25 or so people involved in the broadcast. Someone please yell the f'ing down to these asshats! It says it right there on the damn screen you two!!!

I've never been so glad for ESPN to take something over, and I'm dreading FOX's final BCS offering next year.

Game: The BCS National Championship Game
Teams: Florida Gators (12-1) vs. Oklahoma Sooners (12-1)
Location: Miami, Florida, Dolphin Stadium
Start Time: 8PM EST (FOX)
Network and Announcers: Thom Brennaman, Charles Davis, Chris Myers
Favorite: Florida (-6), O/U 70
AA's Pick: Flordia 27 - Oklahoma 20

Okay folks, this is it! It's for all the marbles and the fun gets underway around 8 o'clock. I used the term "running quotes" above because this isn't going to be a specific live-blog (you don't need me telling you what you can see with your own eyes), but I will be updating this spot throughout the night. Feel free to leave your predictions in the comments, and I'll see you for the Championship Game later tonight!

Oh one more thing....your official "Band Shot" count will be at the top of the quotes starting at kickoff. Be sure to let me know if you see either and then....DRINK!
___________________________________

YOUR OFFICIAL BCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME BAND COUNT: 34

And herrrre we......GO!

"Super Sam beat out Superman for the Heisman"- Charles Davis (Via Grant)

And yes....FOX did miss the flyover. Bastards. Band....Band! Double drink at the kickoff.

"Our camera hovering above the field like a humming bird."- Thom Brennaman

"They had 4 games that hit the 500 yd rushing mark, Tebow was one of them." - Thom Brennaman (Via JG)

"Oklahoma won the turnover."- Thom Brennaman

"Brown on first and twenty picks up three."- Thom Brennaman on a first down after a personal foul penalty.

Still first and ten, big guy.

I'm at the 3D telecast. I don't know who the color guy is but he just said about Tebow...

"...he just took it up the A-Hole." (GuJo For God)

Wow.

"If you're fortunate to spend 5 or 20 minutes around Tim Tebow, you're better for it."- Thom Brennaman

"Maybe only South Florida traffic can slow down these two teams."- Chris Myers

"He comes right across the face of number ten."- Charles Davis

"These thoroughbreds, these Secretariats, it could tighten up at halftime" - Charles Davis (Via Anon)

7-0 Florida

"These teams have run everybody out of the gym." - Thom Brennaman (Via SS)

"Tebow steps out of major trouble to gain a yard..erm add 5 on top of that for a gain of 6."- Thom Brennaman (Via Anon)

7-7

"That was Louis Murphy, the son of a Baptist Miner...Minerster....stirring it up."- Thom Brennaman

Wow that was terrible. Both Brennaman and Davis spent five minutes debating a fourth down call, and it was still third down. Thank god ESPN has taken this s**t show over.

"Big decision time here...do you go for it on 4th down?"- Brennaman
"Go, go, go ,go go"- Charles Davis on third and goal

Terrible....just terrible.

"I got so excited, I thought they were going on 4th down twice!"- Thom Brennaman
"I should have been there to help you partner."- Charles Davis

7-7 at the half. How about that 70 point over/under

"When Major Wright hits you, you feel it in a major wrong way."- Thom Brennaman

"Architectural like precision from Bradford."- Thom Brennaman

As one commenter mentioned....it's usually said as "surgical precision".

"If this is a tennis match, those are two unforced errors."- Charles Davis (Via RJBO)

14-7 Gators

"He lost his shoe after losing a defender!"- Thom Brennaman on OU's TD

14-14

"The field goal is almost conceded where they are on the field of play."- Charles Davis

Really? The opponent's fifteen yard line? Doesn't matter anyway as Florida scores a TD to go up 10 with 3 minutes left.

"Has traveled to Croatia, Thailand, three times to the Philippines with his family on Mission trips."- Thom Brennaman

Or just Missions.

"You can't punt the ball away."- Charles Davis on a 4th and 4 with 2:30 on the clock and Oklahoma down 10.

"They're getting ready to unload on Urban Meyer."- Thom Brennaman on the Gatorade being prepped

FINAL: Florida 24 - Oklahoma 14

Annnnnnnnd finish whatever you're drinking for a band girl crying!

There’s no other way to say this than the NFL Network dominated ESPN on Day One of the NFL Draft this past weekend. They scooped ESPN on just about every pick and trade and when ESPN was going to commercial, the NFL-N had every single pick live. Adam Schefter was the star of this Draft, as the predicted pick after pick while ESPN’s talking heads were not even talking about the right position. Mike Mayock is arguably one of the smartest people in all of Football, and came off so much better than the bickering duo of Kiper and McShay. Even the two people I usually can’t stand, Rich Eisen and Charles Davis, added to an already great broadcast.

The NFL Network isn’t ESPN, which is good, but that’s to say they don’t still have flaws on their coverage of the Draft. Sure they are light years better than ESPN, but every so often they’ll do something to make you cringe. The first thing was the layout of their graphics on the screen. Maybe it’s because I’m so used to ESPN’s layout but having the pick revealed on the top of the screen just threw me off. They had a giant bar at the bottom with information on the team picking, but a tiny one at the top. Just didn’t look right. Also, I personally can’t stand Deion Sanders and Marshall Faulk. I think they add nothing to a broadcast and one or both should be sent to the studio or home for good. Steve Mariucci and Brian Billick, while not necessarily bad, seemed kind of useless to me.

Oh, and if I hear that Bravery song they used for their telecast, I’m going to shoot myself.

Grades:

Rich Eisen: B-
Mike Mayock: B+
Steve Mariucci: C-
Charles Davis: B-
Jamie Dukes: C+
Adam Schefter: A+
Deion Sanders: D
Marshall Faulk: D+
Brian Billick: C+

Overall: B-/B

If it wasn’t for the fact that I had to watch both broadcasts for the site, I would have never changed the channel away from NFL-Network on Saturday or Sunday. They need to trim their roster down and it's hard to tell if their telecast is good, or if it just looks good because ESPN's is so bad.

(ESPN's review coming shortly)

Who's ready to watch people running sprints, lifting weights and jumping up in the air to hit little sticks? I know I am! About the only thing I regularly watch on the NFL-Network every year is their coverage of the Scouting Combine. It's really not for everyone, and I can understand why most think watching it is stupid, but I just can't get enough of the combination of athelticism, awkwardness, and randomness.

Well I decided to look into how much coverage the NFL Network plans on bringing us Football Nerds starting this Thursday and the total hours is staggering.

Beginning Thursday, Feb. 21, fans will be given an all-access pass to more than 300 NFL hopefuls as they converge for the combine at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis for on-field drills, physical testing, exams and interviews with team personnel and the media.

From press conferences to weigh-ins, the 40-yard dash to the bench press, NFL Network goes live to follow the competition with high definition telecasts. Coverage will incorporate the use of a record 12 cameras, an on-screen graphics panel highlighting workout results, and interviews with participants following drills. In total, NFL Network will provide 26 hours of combine coverage.

Live Workouts: Host Rich Eisen is joined by analysts Charles Davis, Mike Mayock and Rod Woodson for daily reports on the prospects participating. Additional expert commentary includes Jamie Dukes on the offensive linemen, Marshall Faulk and Steve Mariucci on the quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers, and Deion Sanders on defensive backs. Airs live Saturday, February 23 through Tuesday, Feb. 26 beginning at 11 a.m. ET each day.

An entire day of televising absolutely nothing...I love it! Marshall Faulk should keep me busy all day Thursday and the thought of random white QB's running 7.3 40-yard dashes just leaves me giddy.

Here's the list of everyone invited if you're interested....

Players invited to participate at the scouting combine (NFL.com)

Like it or not folks the National Championship is upon us. I hope you're on-board for a great night of Football, and I welcome any and all to the comment section. I'm going to make this a little bit of both an open thread and live-blog because I think it's more fun that way. You already know who has the ball and where.

Ohio State fans....good luck. Contrary to popular belief I don't hate you....I think you are some of the best and passionate fans in the Country. I hope we can all get along tonight, laugh at FOX, and drink to some band shots.....Cheers! See you at around 7:30pm or so.





#2 LSU vs. #1 OSU
The BCS National Championship
8:00 PM ET, January 7, 2008
Superdome , New Orleans , LA

Weather: Dome
Spread: LSU -4, O/U 47
AA's Pick: A tough one to end the Season here. I'm praying this thing drops to -3.5 so you can buy the half, but if not I'd tease it. If you don't know what a tease is then just take LSU -4 (Record 17-10-2).
Announcers: Thom Brennaman, Charles Davis (FOX)

Team Leaders

LSU Passing: Flynn- 55.1%, 2233 Yards, 17 TDs, 10 INTs
Ohio State Passing: Boeckman- 64.5%, 2171 Yards, 23 TDs, 12 INTs

LSU Rushing: Hester- 204 Carries, 1017 Yards, 5.0 avg, 11 TDs
Ohio State Rushing: Wells- 254 Carries, 1463 Yards, 5.8 avg, 14 TDs

LSU Receiving: LaFell- 48 Catches, 641 Yards, 13.4 avg, 3 TDs
Ohio State Receiving: Robiskie- 50 Catches, 885 Yards, 17.7 avg, 10 TDs
_____________________________________

ESPN seems to be pretty high on Todd Blackledge (and rightfully so) after this Season. He's been on all the preview shows leading up to the big game and he's now on set with Chris, Lee, and Kirk for Gameday.

I'm liking the little swoop that Corso has his going on with his hair. Cute.

Corso just said he wouldnt be shocked to see dorsey "pull a hamstring" (dramatic air quotes are hard to express here) early in the game so that he doesnt get hurt and impact his draft status. (Via Mike)

Yeah I heard that. Makes zero sense. Eddie George is on the coverage again. Didn't know that.

Oh and BTW, I completely hope to lose another YouTube account tonight so prepare thyself for many videos.

Desmond says he looks at 3 phases when he looks at special teams: "The guys who kick the ball, the guys who return the kick, and then the coverage unit." Isn't that ALL the phases? (Via joepadon)

Ha...I listened to that and didn't even catch that, and those aren't really even "phases". Wouldn't phases be kicking, blocking, and running? Hey the LSU Band! Drink!!!

Picks:

ESPN
Desmond Howard- LSU
Todd Blackledge- Ohio State
Chris Fowler- LSU
Kirk Herbstreit- LSU.........psych, OSU
Lee Corso- OSU

Where did all this love for OSU come from all of a sudden? When the game was announced didn't everyone love LSU? (Via Smitty Lite)

I have no idea. I got $5 that says everyone on FOX is on LSU. How I've heard of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band before, but they are no Bonerama. Annnnnd the FOX team makes no picks whatsoever.

When did John Waters start singing national anthems? (Via Anon)

Winner! That's too funny.

"Trindon Holliday, a smurf and he can fly!"- Jimmy Johnson

VIDEO #1- Chris Rose is a dick and Jimmy Johnson probably just earned Urban Meyer an NCAA violation....

"If need be, we may have to extend ourselves" - Les Miles (Via Mal)

Les Miles: "Between these white lines it is about 11 players. They have 11 and we have 11." Uh, Les, that's 22 but the good news is with observations like that you have a possible career in broadcasting. (Via Tar Heel Fan)

Wow....that was quick. Beanie Wells right guard for 65 yards! Amazing. Reminds me of Ted Ginn (I kid!).....

7-0 OSU

"Don't let Jim Tressel's sweater vest fool you. He'll show a lot of sets."- Charles Davis

Huh?

10-0 OSU

Hmmm...Bo Pellini doesn't work for LSU anymore AND he is an OSU alum. (Via tndefender)

That was the first thing I thought of when they brought him up earlier today. I didn't even realize he was coaching tonight.

"It's amazing....It's....the mirrors."- Thom Brennaman doing sponsor spots with no inflection since 1992!

10-3 OSU.....and no band shot after the score. Not only does FOX love bands, but they show "band bias".

YES!!! LSU girls in skank-gear!!! (Via Anon)

Give the fans what they want FOX....for christsakes!

OSU band - break out the 12-sided dice. (Via Mal)

No comment. End of the 1st.

10-10 LSU.....Penalties helped them out big time on that drive. We've got a game.

Was that girl playing or eating her clarinet? (Via Anon)

Again.....no comment.

New Drinking Game.....Every time Charles Davis says Aggressiveness take a shot....

Current count Via Anon.....8

"When it comes to blood, blood is going to win over school.....when blood's involved in the contest."- Charles Davis

Drink for that nonsense too.

I sure do like pumpkins, Cotton. (Via Anon)

Another winner. Dodgeball quotes will get you everywhere. And a Blocked Kick....if you can block a kick you can dodge a ball.

Q: What are you drinking?
A: Captain and Coke with a Percocet (Via Anon)

That's a recipe for disaster AWESOME!

Beautiful pass from Flynn to LaFell......

17-10 Le Tigres

First, no OSU TD, now no penalty flag. Thom, you suck. (Via Ed)

Yeah, I was looking for that Penalty as well. Nowhere to be found.

Anyone know where I can find a Sven? (Via Anon)

Sven will be guest posting tomorrow in his pretty sweater.

24-10 LSU after Hester dives in.

"You're hading Bo Pelini a blank slate to dial up those blitzes."- Charles Davis

Okay?

24-10 at the half and almost 300 comments. Now we're having fun! See you right here for the Second Half....I'm going to replenish the fluids.

Bands shown at halftime... Waterfall!! (Via Chase)

Hilarious.

After an Alumni kicking contest and Thom Brennaman turing Trinity's "Game Changing Performance" into the most boring play ever.....we're ready for the 2nd Half!

Sorry for the delay folks....I'm working on getting some videos up. The awkward kicking challenge and Jamarcus' sweater are upcoming.

31-10 LSU.

Finally.....Straight Pimpin'.....



Whatever happened to The Butthole Surfers anyway? (Via Anon)

Shit....what did I miss?

Snow White ate too many apples (Via Anon)

Okay....now I'm caught up.

After a Jenkins pick OSU cuts it to 14....We've got a whole new ballgame.....

31-17.

VIDEO #2.....The Most Awkward Kicking Contest Ever......



Okay I'm back on board after that video nonsense. That was so worth it!

"We talked about how important it was for Ohio State to establish a routine on offense well it's equally important for LSU to do so on defense."- Charles Davis

This was with 13 minutes left in the 4th.

The forecast says cold today, so bundle up. (Via Sven)

Thanks Sven!

"Whoever the Baseball Coach is at Ohio State needs to spend some time on Boeckman.........on sliding."- Charles Davis

"He had a stick in his pocket" - Thom Brennaman, Huh? (Via Mal)

Hahahahah....I thought he said "put it in his pocket", but you're right Mal.

VIDEO #3.....Jamarcus' Sweater......



Ah yes, the aerial coverage of a dome game...a classic (Via Matthew)

I also agree with the lights outside....entirely necessary.

"See in College as soon as the player breaks the plane of the endzone that's it."- Charles Davis

Umm right? Because that's different in the Pros how???

"I'm surprised Ohio State isn't going with a more huddle up offense here."- Thom Brennaman

About 3 minutes after everyone mentioned it in the comments.

"That's the the theme music from the old TV show Terry and The Pirates. Paul Ditzel pulled his defense....the defense name he had were the Chinese bandits."- Charles Davis

What the f**k is he talking about?!?!?!?!

"It's going to be close it depends where the foot went down on the spot."- Charles Davis
"It's going to depend on the spot."- Thom Brennaman

Thanks for that guys. Great job tonight.

Final 38-24 and Thom Brennaman tries to bring up Katrina at the end. Good shit Thom....good shit. Wait the whole game.

Thanks to everyone for breaking the commenting record set the other night for the Orange Bowl. Amazing! More videos and nonsense to come.....Congrats to the first "2 Loss" BCS Champions LSU! (I had to be the first to say it...come on)

I know I've posed this question in the past, but why would a National Network to trot out teams of announcers and hosts that haven't really covered College Football all year long? Seems to be a really bad idea, and if the first set of games on FOX are any indication......it's a terrible idea.

Yesterday started with Pat Summerall and Brian Baldinger on the call of the Cotton Bowl. Baldinger has obviously been on NFL coverage all season long, so he'd presumably have no time to take in any College Football. Summerall has only cracked the starting lineup for NFL coverage a few times this year and seems so out of touch that I don't think it would matter if he called games all year or not.

Joe Sports Fan cataloged their telecast yesterday and it was riddled with rule mix ups, mispronunciation of names, and just down right nonsense. My personal favorite quote being Summerall's, “Casey Dick will have some wild hog for me." (That needs to be added to the Post Season Pammies)

The Sugar Bowl on the other hand featured two individuals that at least worked some College Football games over the span of the season, but didn't fair much better. Don't get me wrong, I think Charles Davis is possibly the most improved analyst in the calendar year, but just working a Studio Show doesn't prepare you for a live game. Thom Brennaman worked enough Big Ten contests over the year to qualify him, but the play-by-play man seemed uninterested and almost combative towards his analyst and officials at times during the game. Obviously some of his ire probably came from the game being a blowout, but you still have to be professional throughout a contest.

Add to these pair of teams......games that don't end until 1am and a Pregame/Halftime Show which consists of a cheesy Sports Talk Show Host, an NFL Studio Analyst and Fran Tarkenton (umm why?), and you have a recipe for an awful telecast. Hopefully Matt Vasgersian, Pat Haden and Terry Donahue can give us a little more, but with FOX having the rights to the BCS games until 2010 it looks like we're going to be stuck with this same level of unpreparedness.

Summdinger goes to the Cotton Bowl (Joe Sports Fan)

I'll be in and out of this space all night adding the quotes below this space. I hope this game is a little bit more exciting than the Rose Bowl.





Hawaii vs. Georgia
The Sugar Bowl
8:30 PM ET, January 1, 2008
Superdome, New Orleans, LA

Weather: Dome
Spread: GA -9, O/U 69
AA's Pick: Hawaii +9....again, buy the half (Record 9-5-1)
Announcers: Thom Brennamen (FOX)

Team Leaders

Hawaii Passing: Brennan- 71.4%, 4174 Yards, 38 TDs, 14 INTs
Georgia Passing: Stafford- 55.4%, 2348 Yards, 18 TDs, 9 INTs

Hawaii Rushing: Pilares- 61 Carries, 362 Yards, 5.9 avg, 3 TDs
Georgia Rushing: Moreno- 239 Carries, 1273 Yards, 5.3 avg, 12 TDs
Hawaii Receiving: Grice-Mullen- 100 Catches, 1335 Yards, 13.4 avg, 12 TDs
Georgia Receiving: Bailey- 37 Catches, 597 Yards, 16.1 avg, 4 TDs
_____________________________________

Ladies and Gentleman.......BONERAMA!!!!!!!!

"With Nomar Moreno you never know whether he's down or not."- Thom Brennamen

Umm that's not his name Thom.

"That's quite a car, the Nissan Murano" -Thom Brennamen
"Kinda like a Knowshon Moreno. They've both got the same kind of pickup!" -Charles Davis
(Via Willmott)

"They were in the Sugar Bowl two years ago but had to play that in New Orleans because of Katrina" - Thom Brennaman
"Atlanta" - Charles Davis
(Via SS Reporters)

"We've talked about how Hawai'i has come back frequently this season - or at least a handul of times" - Thom Brennamen (Via Gibbon Jockey

"First Down for the Gators..."- Thom Brennaman (Via Anon)

"I can't believe they're spending this long on a challenge in a 38 to 3 game with 24 seconds to go in the third quarter."- Thom Brennamen

Amen Thom. This is ridiculous......it's been about 5 minutes and it's Midnight here on the East Coast.

"Plenty of people woke up looking like UGA this morning. Happy New Year, everyone!" - Thom Brennaman (Via S2N)

Hahaha....they're already naming the game's MVP.

"In Basketball, when know that's a technical and loss of posession. In Football, I just checked with Dave Katea the Supervisors of Officials for the Pac-10, it's no foul. It just gets waved off and you start the down again and play. That's why there was no flag."- Charles Davis

Again....if you don't know the rules. Please don't call the game. Doesn't everyone who watches Football know that the refs just don't acknowledge the player when they're calling a timeout?

"I tell you Charles, we've got 10 minutes left in this game."- Thom Brennamen

Thankfully Thom is wrong again. There's only 8 minutes left.

"Just bringing you back to the Sugar Bowl. Better than as 'War and Peace' because it will never end." - Scott Van Pelt (Via The Unreliable Narrator)

Ha....that about sums it up. Bonerama to you all and to all a good night. See you tomorrow for a full day of AA.

FOX came out with their Announcing pairings for the BCS games today, and basically nothing's different from last year's teams. It really bugs me that FOX has the BCS in the first place because they're just throwing people out there who haven't called a College Football game all season, and Barry Alvarez could challenge Bryant Gumbel for the World's Most Boring Commentator, but anyway here they are....

Orange Bowl: Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Barry Alvarez
Fiesta Bowl: Matt Vasgersian, Pat Haden and Terry Donahue
Sugar Bowl: Thom Brennaman and Charles Davis
BCS Championship: Thom Brennaman and Charles Davis

FOX gets 4 of the 5 BCS contests with ABC getting the 5th, and that is almost certainly going to be covered by Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit.

Below are a few of the highlights from FOX's BCS Games last year and hopefully they can improve on what was a terrible Bowl Season for the network. The production was awful as they had mics cutting in and out, and the only good team from last year (Kenny Albert, Terry Bradshaw and Howie Long) won't be back. I laid into Charles Davis pretty hard last season, but he's been pretty good on the BCS Show they have on FOX after the NFL Games on Sundays. Hopefully they can do better this go around.

"Oh yes indeedy....Jack Bauer would be most pleased by this Florida effort."- Thom Brennaman
"It feels so good. And he doesn't mind flash dancing out of there."- Charles Davis
"Are the Gators just going to win everything this year? Football, Basketball.....Dancing with the Stars?"- Charles Davis

Update: For those of you wanting background on the "Mangina" moniker for Davis you can head here.....

BCS National Championship Live-Blog: Florida/OSU- 3rd Quarter (Awful Announcing)

I really don't know what the purpose of having a total of 7 teams for a brand new network that hasn't even aired a game yet. But I guess they'll need this kind of coverage. Here's the list in case you care....

1) Thom Brennaman and Charles Davis
2) Wayne Larrivee and Chris Martin
3) Mark Neely and Glen Mason
4) Roger Twibell and Mike Tomczak (the ex-QB)
5) Jim Kelly (not the ex-QB) and Richard Baldinger
6) Scott Graham and Derrick Walker
7) Ron Thulin and Butler By'not'e

(Special thanks to reader SS for sending the tip.)

This post will probably matter to about 3 of you, but I don't discriminate. The newly formed Big 10 Network released it's announcing and studio teams and a few AA favorites (sarcastic) made the cut.

The studio team will be ex-ESPN anchor Dave Revsine, Gerry DiNardo (an ex-Notre Damer and XFL coach) and former Bronco Howard Griffith.

The in-booth festivities will be led by Mr. Thom Brennaman and analyzed by an AA staple...."Mangina" himself....Charles Davis! Oh joy!!! The backup team consists of Chris Martin (?) and is backed by Chicago Bulls Announcer Wayne Larrivee and ex-Minnesota Coach Glen Mason.

(Source: Big Ten Press Release)

I had a conversation with the roommate the other day about why it was ultimately a great (but not planned) idea for me to do a site about something as general as announcing. It's year-round and there are Awful Announcers in every league. It's gotta be tough for some blogs now that football is over. Hell it's tough on me, and I have basketball to fall back on.

Anywho, imagine my surprise when I found out today that the NFL Network has decided to run a 30-minute show every weeknight on the NFL Draft (The Path to The Draft). I like the NFL-Network just fine, but when does this all become overkill? By my count that's around 1500 minutes of draft coverage over 50 days. Add to that the Combine the end of this month and we're talking countless hours. Here's the rundown...

The 50-episode series, “Path to the Draft,” is scheduled for weeknights at 6:30pm ET. Paul Burmeister will host, and Mike Maycock and Charles Davis will provide analysis. Tonight’s show will have former Titans GM Floyd Reese and Cowboys QB Tony Romo in studio to analyze available quarterbacks in this year’s draft.

So in the essence of the above statement about blogs I was thinking that this move is quite a stretch (Hell, it's a stretch to have Charles "Mangina" Davis involved in anything.) Well that was until I saw this.....

Execs at NFL Network, which is looking to broaden its football offerings with college events, are trying to find a way to break away from the glut of games already on broadcast and cable networks. To that end, the network is looking into highlight-driven studio shows.

NFL Network President & CEO Steve Bornstein said, “Twenty years ago, ESPN did more — and probably made more money — than anyone covering the Super Bowl actually did, but they never had the game. We’re going to take that same approach with college.”

Whoa. Really??? I don't know how that's going to play out when almost no one gets your network to begin with. Remember the Rutgers incident? The reason why ESPN still succeeds is the simple fact that they have probably upwards of 80% of all games aired across the dial. You simply can't take on the Leader with such a narrow view.

I loved the double network coverage of the draft last year. Maycock is better than Kiper, but I found myself hanging around ESPN more on draft day because Rich Eisen is a dick. Good luck NFL-N, but I don't see this ending good for you.

Oh....by the way....Happy 30,000th Show Sports Center. I can't believe my entire life is pretty much encapsulated within those 30K of shows.

So we're at the point in our short little blog history where it appears that actual announcers/sportscasters are seeing/reading the site. I know of at least a few college announcers who have emailed me to say they "get" the whole thing. But now two "big time" announcers have made their presence known (and by "made their presence known"....I mean "someone left cryptic comments in old posts that could be from anyone"). But hey....let's pretend it's really them....it could be right?

There's a good and there's a bad, which do you want first? The bad??? Okay you got it.

In a throw-away post on a game that should have been live-blogged.....A commenter mistakenly identified Spencer Tillman (FYI-I agreed with the commenter) as an annoyance during the game. Well come to find out it was Charles "Mangina" Davis on the call, and Spencer Tillman is NOT happy about our comments....

Someone from the CBS crew thought this was so funny, and I agree, I had to write you guys.

We all are intitled to our opinion and I respect that 100%. Your evaluations on Charles Davis, AKA Spencer Tillman is absolutely ignorant. Charles is a first rate announcer. You may not like what he says but he is as prepared as anyone broadcasting today. Again, you may prefer another broadcaster but to suggest that he brings nothing to the broadcast is just uninformed. By the time you figured out that it wasn't Spencer Tillman I could ease up a little. Not only are you ignorant, you're blind.

Spencer Tillman

Wow Spence. First, let me apologize for following the commenter and misplacing you in the booth that night. Second, intitled as you say.....is spelled entitled (not that I'm one to talk about spelling mistakes). Third, hey that's great Charles is prepared....he should be....it's his job. Just like it's my job to be ignorant and blind.

Whether he's prepared or not is irrelevant (and no one even actually brought that up in the comments, so I don't know why I'm even arguing this). Charles just comes off unprepared. It happens a lot in fact.....to some more than others. Maybe he felt the pressure to say something because Barry Alvarez WAS actually prepared a bit? Not sure, but it was a bad broadcast for him......as most of them are. The truth is hard to hear sometimes. It's noble to stick up for him though....especially through the comments of a blog.

Please tell CBS to keep passing around articles for me though, and to also invest in a spell-checker.

As far as the good........

SnapperJones has left a new comment on your post "Super Bowl Announcing Preview- The Booth":
Just wanted to add a vote of support from a serial lurker to your site. You're right up with my favorite sports blogs AA, and don't forget it.

Is this just because I said I liked you Snapper? You will get no preferential treatment from me though (okay, maybe a bit....I'll let you slide on the next mistake or two).

Cheers,
AA

So FOX and the NFL Network tried to throw their respective hats into the BCS ring this Bowl Season, and I'm here to show you the damage. The reviews were mixed depending on the Bowl, so let's see the teams.

Texas Bowl Spero Dedes, Mike Mayock, Sterling Sharpe, & Marshall Faulk
Fiesta Bowl Thom Brennaman, Barry Alvarez, Charles Davis, and Chris Myers
Orange Bowl Matt Vasgersian, Pat Haden, Terry Donahue, and Laura Okmin
Sugar Bowl Kenny Albert, Howie Long, Terry Bradshaw, and Jeanne Zelasko
Championship Thom Brennaman, Barry Alvarez, Charles Davis, and Chris Meyers

Best Announcing Team- Albert/Long/Bradshaw

It has been a long, long, long time since I've been able to stand announcers during a blowout. I normally can't stand Kenny Albert, but he did a good job of sticking with the game, and keeping up with Howie and Terry. I'll overlook the fact that he kept calling Chevis (pronounced Shh-EV-is) Jackson.........Cheeeeeeevis.









Worst Announcing Team- Thom Brennaman, Barry Alvarez, Charles Davis, and Chris Meyers

Every single one of these cats botched something at one point. I was extremely surprised that they were tabbed for the Championship game. TB just seemed mad in both games and couldn't get the correct yard-line on any play. Alvarez and Davis just yelled stupid stuff over each other. And Chris....well Chris ruined a marriage proposal. I guess about the only thing they did right was give me a nickname for CD......Mangina. (It's a shame that Wikipedia had to change the CD entry)

Lowlights-

"Oh yes indeedy....Jack Bauer would be most pleased by this Florida effort."- TB
"Didn't they make Waiting to Exhale in Arizona?"- CD, in response to TB talking about the up and down pace of the game.
"It feels so good. And he doesn't mind flash dancing out of there."- CD
"Are the Gators just going to win everything this year? Football, Basketball.....Dancing with the Stars?"- CD












(Don't even ask me what this logo is for. And DO NOT ever google Mangina....it's not fun at all.)

Best Supporting Actor (Best Color Guy)- Terry Bradshaw

Highlight- Terry's diatribe about Dwayne Bowe's girlfriend from the Sugar Bowl.....

"He had dropped a lot of passes, so they took him in and checked his eyes and said, ‘You need surgery.' He got the surgery," The first thing he did when he opened up his eyes and he could see, I asked him, I said, 'Did you have a girlfriend going in?' He said yes. I said 'When you opened up,' I said 'What happened after you could see?' "Well, when he opened his eyes up and he finally could see, he said he broke up with her. "That’s not a good story to tell on national television, but that’s what he did."

Best Supporting Actress (Best Sideline Reporter)- None of them....they all sucked.

I hate sideline reporters.....well Except Erin Andrews. Screw it, she wins again. I don't care if she worked these games or not.

Best Bowl Game- Come on....do I even have to tell you?



God....I could watch that all day.

AA's Final Grade:

Well as far as announcing goes it was pretty much a 50-50 split between good and bad. One team really good.....one team really bad. The NFL Network wasn't that bad, but I thought Sterling Sharpe would have been better (he stammered a hell of a lot).

The real problem with FOX was on the production side. In multiple games...including the championship....they had audio problems. Mics cut out, talking coming in and out of commercials, and the worst.....Trying to make a joke while unaware that they had just started the National Anthem (Ahem! Mangina.)

NFL Network: C+
FOX Announcers: B+ (KA,TB, HL) & C-Minus (TB, CD, BA)
FOX Production Trailer: D-Minus

It's Mangina Time! Charles Davis pictured.

So I'm not about to shrink that picture, so I'm going to just type random thoughts to get out of these small paragraphs. OSU's offense is not good. Florida is playing tentatively in the second half. Type Mangina into google images into google and tell/show me what you get.

Troy Smith is absolutely hammered on 3rd and long, and the Bucks look like garbage. I'm done with the formalities here.....how do you let a player go unblocked in the 4th quarter. Florida gets the ball at about the 35, and I'm calling it now for the Gators.....just go up top and end this mess.

Good play by Leak to throw the ball away when no one was open. Didn't try to force it like he normally does. He then runs the ball for a first down......Heisman who?????

"He's minutes away from silencing those who have ridden him so HARD this entire year. And there are many who will hop on his bandwagon now!"- TB, yelling at us for no apparent reason. Dunh nah nah nah nah nah.....GO GATORS!

Tebow has way too much energy for any human being.

One More Dying Quail said... Huh, huh - They're gonna jump on Chris Leak's bandwagon tonight.Yes, I'm sure they are.

Great point. He's a damn senior! How the hell do you hop on a player's bandwagon after they've graduated. Root for him to be drafted in the third round?!?!?!

Wow....crazy call by the Gators. I personally would have kicked it and taken a four possession lead, but it doesn't matter. Tebow destroys the OSU line.

41-14.....f'ing blowout.

Ah Steve Spurrier....my hero. More penalties for OSU. In my life I've never seen a team that was supposed to be THIS good......look THIS bad. Maybe the USC game did tell us about the Big 10. Smith escapes a sack....as it matters now to NOT force things.....and then falls on his ass.

"They didn't come right to him on that play. They had to go around a few guys."- CD, Mangina Davis.....they call those people the offensive line. You have to go around them every play.

"Are the Gators just going to win everything this year? Football, Basketball.....Dancing with the Stars?"- CD, I hate you Mangina.....I hate you.

I don't even have the words to describe this destruction. Yes I hate the Buckeyes, and most people will harp on the Buckeyes "failing", but you cannot say enough about this Florida Team. They just demolished the Buckeyes on every level. Can't wait for the riots.

Awful GF would you like to say anything?

"Hey football....rugby....whateva. Hahahahahahah."- CD, not funny.

awful gf said... well....hmmm...there will probably be riots in columbus tonight....I wish Ted Ginn wasn't hurt....but yeah it was bad tonight.

Hmmm not quite the reaction I was looking for, but okay........

"It feels so good. And he doesn't mind flash dancing out of there."- CD, Umm what?

Everyone give it up for your National Champions the Florida Gators. Chris Meyers can only get Dallas Baker as an interview. So much for the Big Ten. "You're not going to propose or anything?"- CM, very smooth.

Final 41-14. I'm sick of the Gators.....how bout you?

So I guess I should tell you the winner of the Bowl Pick'em Contest.....drum roll......

Well it's a tie......(not really). Mini Me from WBRS Sports and Bosox Siobhan from Opposum-Palooza both win a t-shirt and a post on the site. The crazy thing was that both of them.....including The DC Sports Chick (who finished second) picked Florida.

Mini-ME wins the tiebreaker with a total of 51 over BoSox's 48. Don't think it could be any closer, so they both win. Congrats, and thanks to everyone for playing. We'll most certainly be back with another competition for March Madness.

Oh wait.....we're not done. The FOX outro from someone who sounds like Ceiline Dion is HORRIBLE. "ITTTTTT'S TIIIIIIIIME TO SAAAAAAY GOODBYE!". And then some dude cuts in (I can't believe I'm live-blogging an outro but this is horrible) "I TOOOOOOOOO SAY GOOOOOOODBYE!"

ONE SHINNING MOMENT YOU ARE NOT! That was so horrible....I don't even have words. I'll just show you how it should be done.....

Wow....what can you say? I've never seen Jim Tressel this flustered before.....he appears to be back peddling. As far as Charles Davis......well I give you his Wikipedia entry.......

Charles Davis is a former, football player for the University of Tennessee. He
currently works as a commentator for college football on TBS. Charles was a
defensive back in the South Eastern Conference ([SEC]) and went on be a National
Football League (NFL) player. After missing out in training camp to the Dallas
Cowboys, Charles started coaching. He moved through different administrative
levels of athletics and now works as a sports commentator for various channels,
including; Golf, TBS, and Fox. Charles is known for his big dong (15 inches) and
spray techniques during sexual advances.

Hahahahaha......I didn't even notice this, but that last sentence read, "Is the worst announcer ever." about 10 minutes ago. That is too funny.

Hahaha.....it keeps changing, "He prefers the company of men."

The Pontiac Game Changing performance contest is announced....ANNNNNND......no one cares. F-Auburn.

Florida ball to start the half......Chris Meyers describes Tressel as "confident and cordial". Third and Long for the Gators. Great tackle by Freeman and it's three and out for the Gators. Buckeyes come out looking good. Terrible kick....

"You gotta wonder why you're getting cute. You have a twenty point lead!"- TB, someone bet on the Gators.

Pittman goes nowhere on first down. More pressue on Troy Smith and OSU punts.

"They blitz one more guy than OSU can block."- BA, Barry, come on. Everday a defense records a sack it's one more guy the offense "couldn't block. Just dumb.

I still cannot get over this Wikipedia Entry.

3rd and two and Florida converts. Just put Tebow in for good. Ted Ginn is out for good in this game, and that suuuuuucks for OSU. 3rd and long and a sack....first of the night for OSU. Do you see a pattern folks? 3rd and short....conversion.....3rd and long stop. Another late flag on the punt return and it's a foul on the "ticking keam" (So says the ref).

Hahahahaha back to the Charles Davis entry (is someone f'ing with me?)- "He was the first man to tuck his penis between his legs so that he would have a mangina."

I like the way TB prounounces GON-ZAAAAA-les.

Hey....a Pittman first down! How about that.

Awful pass by Smith....he looks like garbage tonight. Maybe there is something to this whole SEC Defense thing. I can't believe that the third quarter is almost over. OSUck's offense sucks tonight.

"Let's see where the spot is....it looks like the 20...21 yard line."- TB, or the 14 yard line Thommmmmmm.

Wynn picks up a quick 17 as the starters were out on the OSU line. Another great call Tressel.....now's not the time to send a message. 3rd and somewhat short, and the linebackers are about 10 yards away from any receiver....first down.

Commercial break...."I was looking at".....well whoever said that FOX doesn't care.....they're going to f'ing commercial and you'll like it!

pedro said... who the hell works for Direct TV and thought "you know who would sell more directv's? Christopher Lloyd?" Whoever it is should be fired.

Is this a trick question? The answer is obviously Robert Zemekis.

"Oh yes indeedy....Jack Bauer would be most pleased by this Florida effort."- TB, excellent seguy.

The ref teases us all with the touchback as the Florida Gators play a little volleyball. See you after the jump wait.....what the hell is a jump?????? Put your 4s up!