I have to admit, that I got into Mayne Street a little too much last year, so hopefully this year I can curtail my addiction a bit. The second season launched this morning and in the first episode, Kenny tries to communicate only by "tweets". Look for cameos by Linda Cohn and THE Trey Wingo....

Pretty funny, but Linda....babe....that has to be the worst Pacino I've ever heard.

I've long been a fan of Trey Wingo on ESPN. Sure we've had our run-ins, but the guy is honest and cares about the Sport he covers. You can't really ask for much more. Well, Trey was "On The DL" today and talked about NFL rule changes, and ESPN's role within Sports, but it was the Cutler talk that seemed to stick out the most....

“You know what? Players lose in the NFL. That’s the way it goes. Everybody is a commodity...Everybody is tradable. If Joe Montana was tradable I’m pretty sure Jay Cutler is. And I think Jay Cutler is a very good quarterback -- I think he’s a top-10 quarterback in the NFL. I think he has an unbelievable arm and he’s got a great future.

“But you know what? Get over it. Things happen in the NFL. And players are treated as commodities and that ain’t changing anytime soon whether it’s you, or anyone else.”

Up until recently, I've been on the side of Cutler, but I'm starting to see why Denver may not trust in him. The guy does great things for the diabetic community, but couldn't be more of a baby at times. Anyway, great interview and you should certainly check out the rest.

Trey Wingo Talking Both Sides of the ESPN Sports Spectrum (On The DL)

ESPN has been doling out the radio shows and webisodes as of late (Brian Kenny, Kenny Mayne), and the latest to get a show is Trey Wingo. Not only is it a pretty entertaining, and somewhat funny, it's shot in the ESPN Cafeteria! Not because it has the best lighting but rather because "Fresh Take" is sponsored by Subway!!!

The Subway props are a little annoying, but overall....not bad at all. Good Sports talk, and we even got to learn about Tim Legler's moving going habits. That "Fresh Take" is a double threat, I tell ya!

NFL Live always puts on a great show, and I've said it's one of the best shows ESPN has, but yesterday they took it to a whole new level. Trey Wingo and company took a field trip outdoors to talk how weather affects play on the Football field. Watch closely in the background for an extra special guest who is keeping watch over the proceedings....

Whoever that was, played the role of Belichick perfectly. I thought it was John Clayton at first, but he had a little bit of a breakdown earlier in the show.

I have no idea what that was, but hopefully it wasn't anything serious like a seizure. I'm thinking it was an earpiece issue or perhaps a wicked migraine.

So last night's telecast was rather interesting. Monday Night Countdown had more analysts than ever, Tony Kornheiser complained about the heat in Arizona and Emmitt....well, Emmitt actually wasn't that bad (not THAT bad at least). The broadcast definitely got stale at times, namely the second half, but you can expect that in a preseason game. Let's break this out and do a paragraph on each element, shall we?
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Countdown: Your players were (from left to right) Trey Wingo, Keyshawn Johnson, Cris Carter, Tom Jackson and Emmitt Smith. The problem wasn't the content, in fact they all had solid contributions at one point or another, but rather just too many cooks in the kitchen (per usual).

The best segment of the show came when their collection of former players at the ready explained how Favre would help each individual offensive position for the Jets next season. Carter discussed how the offensive line should buy in right away, Key broke down how the receivers should be excited for not having just 6-yard routes to run, and good ole' Emmitt actually made sense when explaining how all of this would lead to a huge year for Thomas Jones.

Emmitt still had his moments, and while this pregame show wasn't bad, it still wasn't great. In all honesty a host (not Berman), Tom Jackson and Cris Carter would be solid, but with 80 people on the payroll that's probably not possible.

1st Half: Okay, what the heck happened to the whole nixing the sideline reporters thing? Michele Tafoya was all over this broadcast and Suzy Kolber was milling around during Countdown. As recent as a month ago, Tony Kornheiser confirmed that the two would likely be seeing less time but he wasn't sure of the reasoning.

Other than that obvious addition, or rather non-deletion, the first half was pretty spot on. Lots of Leinart and Bush talk, but that was expected, and amazingly....and I mean AMAZINGLY....very little Favre talk. The trio talked about the potential of the Saints offense, delved into the dicey acquisition of Shockey and had a few good interviews. It was a good mix.

Halftime: By far the best part of the program. It was just Wingo and Carter on the set (which looked insanely small with just them at the desk) talking highlights. The two even delved into Baseball and Golf and had a pretty good rapport that obviously developed over the Summer during NFL Live.

2nd Half: This is where things usually derail for the trio. Tony goes off on inane tangents, Mort forces stats talk and Tirico is left picking up the pieces. If the game is a blowout or a preseason game, it's even worse. Never fails.

This game was no different with Tony's cheesy joke du jour being that it was ridiculously hot in Arizona. Who knew it was hot in the f'ing desert? I'm not sure how many actually enjoy his act at this point of the game, but it can't be many. He also added in a "Brett Favre has been traded to the Knicks" joke for good measure. Look for it around either the 3-minute mark of the third quarter or the 11-minute mark of the fourth of every game this year.

Tirico, on the other hand, was extremely good throughout the game and even made me laugh out loud at one point in the second half with this exchange....

“You have a incredible amount of facts at the ready. You knew that was the only first down of the half. I think no more than five people in the world knew that.”- Tony Kornheiser
“Enjoyable moments in play by play. Men dream of the fourth quarter in preseason games. These are the happy moments of the year.”- Mike Tirico

(I guess that's a good segue into the quotes)

Your Top Ten Quotes:

We're changing up this year. Going with both good and bad in the same spot....well, mostly bad.

10. “The question I have for Matt Leinart, does he love playing in the National Football League? Or does he love the benefits of being a player in the National Football league.”- Cris Carter (Great way to pose it)

9. “Jaws, this maybe as good a quarterback situation as any team in the NFL.”- Mike Tirico on the Cardinals (Ummm really?)

8. “Watch Terrell Smith here, this is one of those Chris Berman lines…..rumbling, bumbling, bullying to the endzone.”- Ron Jaworski (Huh?)

7. “This just in….Brett Favre has left Jets, he signed with the Knicks, I’m tired all the stuff the Jets said about me.”- Tony Kornheiser (Boooooooo!)

6. “440 Completions for Drew Brees.”- Ron Jaworski
“That was like five years for you right?- Tony Kornheiser (Now that's funny)

5. “This is the thing, Brett Favre is coming to New York and leaving Green Bay.”- Emmitt Smith (Thanks for the insight Emmitt!)

4. “He’s been the Most Valuable Internet Player for awhile with those beer pong photos. You want to say, hey dude....it’s not Entourage.”- Tony Kornheiser on Leinart

3. “I don’t know how they can truly be comfortable with Aaron Rodgers considering that the fact, that, he has only played in that number of games.”- Emmitt Smith

2. “I don’t know anything about Football, but I believe what Keyshawn says.”- Cris Carter (I'd rethink that)

1. “Where does Hochuli go to get his shirts made that tight?”- Tony Kornheiser (Come on, you knew an Eddie Gunz joke would make it in)
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In the end (I'm sure it doesn't read like it above) the broadcast wasn't bad. With the way the past two years have gone you have to know that this is a vast improvement. There were still some elements that were less than desirable, but that just comes with the territory. Again, it was the first preseason game of the year.

There is one final note I wanted to make though. For the first time ever, Jaws really got on my nerves in the second half. He was forcing things and his stance that the Packers were better off without Favre was laughable. Especially after Tony asked him why he'd pick Rodgers and he responded, "Because when you build a Football team you build it for the future. Right now they could probably win more games with Brett Favre." Huh? That makes zero sense. I understand he's the "nice" one, but he'd be better served by at least once talking bad about something or someone. Just a thought.

Overall Grade for the Night: C+/B- (I can't talk myself into giving out a solid B out this early in the season)

(Normally there'd be a video of the night in this spot but this post ran super long. Once I get the format down and/or figure out how to add a "jump" feature....it'll all go in the same spot. Stay tuned for your MNF Video of the Night coming in the next post. Oh and if you have suggestions on the "Review" format and/or a title for the brand new "Pam Ward Chronicles" of the NFL, let them be known in the comments.)

Well we now know where ESPN's allegiance is. The Baseball HOF Ceremony was relegated to ESPN Classic, but the NFL one on Sunday will be broadcast on ESPN Uno. We even get Chris Berman back as host!

ESPN will present live coverage of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2008 induction ceremony Saturday, August 2, at 6 p.m. ET from Canton, Ohio. NFL Live’s Trey Wingo will host the three-hour primetime telecast with analyst Tom Jackson. ESPN’s Chris Berman, entering his 23rd year as host of Sunday NFL Countdown, will emcee the ceremony that honors the six members of this year’s class – Fred Dean, Darrell Green, Art Monk, Emmitt Thomas, Andre Tippett and Gary Zimmerman. The telecast – which will re-air Saturday night at 11 p.m. on ESPN Classic – will review each inductee’s career with speeches from the inductees and their presenters.

Correspondent Bob Holtzman will also provide reports for SportsCenter and other ESPN programs throughout the Hall of Fame weekend, including coverage of Sunday’s Redskins-Colts game.

Obviously as a Skins fan, it's going to be a great day for me, but when you add in the game the next night it's just an awesome weekend of all things Football. I should be around most of the weekend with vids if you want to stop by. Football is here people....let us rejoice!

(Via ESPN PR)

Okay, first let me first say that I normally really like NFL Live. It is one of the last shows that didn't rely on ESPN's tactic of getting a handful of people yelling at each other over nothing. Make that was.

It starts out as a normal debate between Kiper and Hoge and then it just falls apart. Please try to understand one word that these jokers are trying to say throughout these two and a half minutes....

I love how Trey Wingo says he's asking the question with "trepidation". Riiiight. Whether it was or wasn't, the whole thing came across planned which is a running theme for ESPN these days. It's a shame when every program, but one on a network has turned into a "Made For Bayless Segment."

I'm sorry but this is not good TV, and I don't think there are many out there who think that it is.

You know it’s a bad omen for a review when I have no idea where to even start when picking apart a broadcast. ESPN’s Day One coverage of the Draft was probably only slightly behind the 100+ Band view broadcast of last year’s Orange Bowl, as the worst telecast I’ve ever seen. They missed picks, talked over picks and each other, had 40 people trying to chime in, got into fights with each other, and had more commercials on-air than the Draft itself. I was listening to Sporting News Radio late last night and I think their host Matt Spiegel summed it up best by saying, “I was begging for more Mike Tirico.”

Chris Berman is now on the short list of people that should be banned from ever touching the mic again and it’s kind of a shame. We all grew up with the guy but somewhere along the way the schtick overtook any semblance of Sports knowledge he had. He was so lost the entire broadcast that he would have to occasionally pause and rethink his own cheesy nicknames before blurting them out. I’m no Rich Eisen fan, but in this capacity he is head and shoulders above the “has been” Berman. I still think he works well on clip shows and gimmicks like the Homerun Derby, but too many people take the Draft seriously and he’s just a joke at this point. It’s time to phase him out as soon as you can.

As far as the other analysts what can you say? I don’t know when Ron Jaworski got the where with all to argue every single prediction from his partners, but he might possibly be more annoying than Berman. It’s okay to debate the picks and trades but when you’re shouting over top of your “teammates” you just look like a fool. I love his football knowledge and he knows the QB position like no other, but he needs to just settle down and pass along his knowledge calmly. Cris Carter really added nothing and while Mel Kiper’s player knowledge is unprecedented the staged on-air feuds with Todd McShay were unbearable. You need to pick either one or the other and be done with it. The last bad thing I’m going to say about their coverage is that Chris Mortensen should never be on live television. He’s like a deer in headlights out there.

Okay, now that the negatives are out of the way let’s get into what they did well, so they can improve for next year. Trey Wingo should be the host. He leads one of your main NFL shows during the season and offseason and his Football acumen is on par with anyone ESPN has. Adding Kirk Herbstreit on the coverage (presumably for Emmitt Smith) was a good decision and while Michael Smith is a work in progress, he has some promise. Overall the Day Two coverage was actually pretty good and the interview with Caleb Campbell, although somewhat over-the-top, came off as a good addition late in the Draft (even though Jaws almost fell of the stage trying to stand up and shake his hand).

Grades:

Chris Berman: Z-
Trey Wingo: B
Ron Jaworski: C-
Cris Carter: D
Mel Kiper: C+
Chris Mortensen: D
Mike Tirico: B
Kirk Herbstreit: B
Todd McShay: C+
Michael Smith: B-
Producers: F (For deciding it was okay to miss about 10% of the first round)

Overall: D- (only because of Day Two)

You can’t miss live picks, have more commercials than coverage, and have people constantly bickering, and expect to get good reviews. I’m more than positive that there won’t be one major writer in the Country that would give ESPN a passing grade for Day One, and if you see one let me know. Just a horrible, horrible attempt at something they’ve done well in the past.

Video of the Weekend: McShay vs. Kiper (DING!)

NFL Draft Media Review: NFL Network
Weekend Tube Review: NFL Network vs. ESPN (The Sporting Blog)

It's always good when you're in the business of guys arguing on television for no reason, to have a guy who has no idea what to say when posed with a question. I don't know whether Chris Mortensen was trying to cater to NFL Live guest Maurice Jones-Drew, but he went out on a limb and was taken to task by Cris Carter and Trey Wingo....

I mean picking Jacksonville to win the AFC South over Indy isn't THAT big of a stretch, but at least have an answer to simple questions when they're posed to you. Oh and what the hell is with MJD being on every ESPN show over the past few days? I understand getting athletes to comment on the goings on during the offseason but the kid has been on (by my estimation) NFL Live, Sports Center, every Draft special, Mike and Mike, First Take, NFL Primetime and NASCAR Now (that last one might be wrong).

Don't get me wrong, Jones-Drew hasn't been bad at all, but I don't know why they're trying him out on every single show.

God that title works on so many levels, but I'm referring to this quote specifically, "I'm not gonna do what everyone thinks I'm gonna do and... FLIP OUT... all I wanna know is one thing... who's coming with me?"

Why do I bring that up? Well ESPN will have it's entire "New" Studio Team at the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony this Saturday. And guess who's emceeing again....It's our good friend Chris Berman!

Trey Wingo will be your host and he will be joined Tom "Retard" Jackson, and newest analyst Emmitt Smith. Smith will no doubt kiss Irvin's butt, but I'm really hoping for Irvin to fly off the handle and start yelling "He Stole My Job!" (a la John Turturro in Secret Window..."You Stole My Stories!")

NFL Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony- Saturday, 6PM, ESPN

Other Inductees Include: Gene Hickerson, Bruce Matthews, Charlie Sanders, Thurman Thomas and Roger Wehrli.

P.S.- Cocaine is a helluva drug.

P.P.S.- I will be boycotting this ceremony until Art Monk is a member. I will then attend said ceremony and beat the crap out of Peter King. I don't care if he voted for him last year.

Not only is Trey a terrible debater, but he's now officially crazy. From The Akron Beacon Journal....

"I think we (ESPN) see it as a growth sport. It has taken off the last 10-15 years," Wingo said from his Cleveland hotel. "And quite frankly, the numbers through the regional final are astounding. There is a real audience out there that wants to see this product, and it gets better and better every year."

What sport is he talking about? Women's Basketball. (I call Shenanigans!)

Well however you feel about Women's Basketball the Championship is still tonight. And if you have access to any ESPN outlet....you can see/hear it.

The worldwide leader is blanketing the showdown between Tennessee and Rutgers across all of its networks. ESPN and ESPN2 will present high-definition versions of the game with commentary from separate teams of broadcasters. Its college outlet, ESPNU, also will have the game with smaller boxes superimposed onto the larger picture and featuring alternative angles. Also getting in on the fun: ESPNNews, ESPN360.com, ESPN International and ESPN Radio.

What no ESPN Desportes?!?!?! Mierda! Seriously though...how much does money does ESPN waste for these things? I was watching their pregame last night and they had 11 people working a game they weren't even airing themselves (Katz, Vitale, Bilas, Digger, Gottlieb, Rece Davis, Hubert Davis, Rick Majerus, Steve Lavin, and a tall/lanky weird looking guy who wasn't Ed Werder).

And holy cow....two different sets of Announcers? Very innovative Leader. Mike Patrick and Dorris Burke are one team, so who is the other??? Well I'm not sure, but I'm hoping for Pam Ward in some capacity.

It's Time to be Real about Women's Basketball (Lion In Oil)
National Clean Out the Garage Night (SbB)

So I know you are getting back from a three day weekend, and you want to get back into the swing of things. But there's something that's just killing you. Who are the announcers for ESPN's coverage of the upcoming Arena Football League season? Well that's what I'm here for.....drumroll please......

Your Backup Teams:

Trey Wingo-Mark Schlereth
Ron Jaworski-Merril Hoge

I'm stoked for Jaworski finally getting a shot, and Wingo-Schelereth isn't bad, but Merril Hoge?!?!?! Shoot me in the face. I wonder which 40,000 Yard, 82 TD QB he'll make fun of this season?

Your #1 Team, and Announcers of Arena Bowl XXII!!!!!!

Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic














Umm what did you just say? Wait....really??? Yep it's true (and awkward).

Greenberg and Golic, who will take their “Mike & Mike in the Morning” radio show on the road each Monday and Tuesday when they work games, will call ArenaBowl XXI.

God I don't even know how to feel about this. On one hand I will be throwing stuff at the TV, but at least I'll be able to watch some football after the SuperBowl is over. I need an AFL team though.....can someone make suggestions? I'm thinking the Colorado Crush because they just signed Peter Warrick and/or Bon Jovi's Philadelphia Soul.

Quick story. I worked for the Philadelphia Charge of the WUSA when JBJ first purchased the Soul. I sat in the back of a meeting that he was involved in and he was a dick. He was yelling at people for not meeting deadlines and embarrassing people by having them stand in front of the group. It was awkward, and I can understand him wanting a smooth start to the inaugural season, but Jon.....it's the Arena League.....calm down.