People Magazine has decided to piggyback on this whole Erin Andrews on Oprah thing, but they have a slight problem. They seem to think that Andrews is actually Heidi Watney. Via Deadspin....

I don't know if you remember the last time that Denis Leary and Lenny Clark took a spin in the NESN booth, but it was epic. They went on a rant about Youklis being a jewish first baseman, and after a great play by Youk, Leary yelled, "Where's Mel Gibson now?!" It was truly amazing. Well the two were back in the booth last night, and while the two weren't nearly as wild, they were certainly entertaining. They even took on Jerry Remy's replacement, Dennis Eckersley, at one point. Via Sox & Dawgs....

Denis Leary & Lenny Clarke Return To NESN Booth Together For First Time Since Mel Gibson Rant (Sox & Dawgs)

The Red Sox have owned the Yankees this year, so it came as no surprise that they shut the team out for their sixth win in the season series. The game was well in hand by the seventh inning, so much so in fact, that Jonathan Papelbon decided to take a cat nap. Via Sox & Dawgs....

Too funny. They should really just have a bed out in the bullpen anyway. It's not fair that players in the dugout have a whole clubhouse at their disposal, and relievers have to basically sit in the stands.

Papelbon Is Bored By The Yankees (Sox and Dawgs)

With the holiday weekend, I'm a little late getting to this, but this definitely deserved a post. Dennis Eckersley is filling in for Jerry Remy on NESN, and twice during last Friday's Mets-Red Sox game, the former major leaguer used some interesting commentary to describe the action. The first involves Eck using the "S" word, and the second is him somehow turning Justin Masterson's name, into "Justin Masterbates". Enjoy!

Now that is one heck of a bad night. I can just picture Orsillo rolling around in the booth, and making fun of him every single break. Too funny.

Dennis Eckersley's Golden Sombrero (CBSB Media)

Man, talk about a downer to start your Thursday. NESN's Jerry Remy has told the masses that he's taking a leave of absence because of a recurring problem, which was at one point cancerous. Here is his statement in full, via Sawx Heads....

In November I had a very small, low-grade cancerous area removed from my lung. I was fortunate that it was discovered at an early stage. Except for the surgery, I required no additional treatments. I left the hospital with a clean bill of health.

Unfortunately, following the surgery, I developed a bad infection further compounded by a case of pneumonia. It was the pneumonia and the infection that set me back. This all happened just as I was leaving for spring training.

In hindsight, it was a mistake to go and I am paying the price for it now. As NESN announced, I am taking a leave of absence so that I can fully recover.

First of all, I would like to thank all of you for the outpouring of concern you have given me recently. I honestly appreciate it. Secondly, I want to emphasize that I am in good shape now.

While physically I have no issues, the past few months have been emotionally draining, and exhausting for both my family and I. Along those lines, I would like to thank NESN and the Red Sox for allowing me to take as much time as I need. I am not certain exactly when I will return, but I will keep you posted. I want to make sure that when I do return I can be with the team all the way to the 2009 World Series!

I hope that by stating all this publicly it will emphasize the dangers of smoking to everyone, especially children. So, once again, I appreciate all your support and I would like to emphasize – if you don’t smoke, don’t start, and if you do smoke, try to quit! I don’t say that lightly because I know how difficult it can be.

Thanks,
Jerry

Man, well hopefully those of you who smoke can head his words, and hopefully Jerry gets better....and back in full on crazy action....real, real soon.

Personal Update from The RemDawg (Sawx Heads)

Jack Edwards has been giving us amazing soundbytes all year long, so why should the Playoffs be any different? Last night, as the Bruins were going up 3-0 on the Canadiens, Jack decided to lecture the listening audience on how the Bruins were "rag tag farmers" and the Canadiens were the "red coated" British. Via Puck Daddy....

Too funny. While the comparison isn't necessarily that bad, he just keeps going with and hammering it into the ground. Man, I love me some Jack.

Video: Announcer goes Revolutionary War crazy after Bruins win

One of AA's favorite announcers, the homerific Jack Edwards, was interviewed by Puck The Media, and not only did he say that he thinks ESPN won't give Hockey a good run, but he even called Disney execs "bozos". Here's a section of the interview....

Jack Edwards: We went from Toronto to Philadelphia, we were in (Bruins radio play-by-play man) Dave Goucher's room, having a couple cold ones. Now, the Sweet 16 is going on in college basketball at the same time, the only hockey we saw in the entire sportscast of "SportsCenter" was about 45 seconds of the UNH-North Dakota game, which was the one UNH tied with one-tenth of a second to go, that went into Overtime. That was 56 minutes into the telecast. There was nothing on the NHL in the entire show.

So, for those of you that hope that hockey gets back on ESPN, that's what you're gonna' get.

That's where it belongs in ESPN's hierarchy, because there are some bozos sitting in the accounting department in a bunker in Burbank, California running Disney, who look at the numbers and completely ignore the passion of hockey fans. They say "Poker gets better ratings because we can attract more compulsive gamblers to the screen than we can passionate hockey fans, so just for the sake of that number, we're gonna' run poker instead of hockey. We're gonna run women's basketball instead of hockey."

We saw highlights of the Division II NCAA basketball championship, we didn't see a single NHL highlight in that entire "SportsCenter". Case closed.

PTM: Well Jack, you're gonna' be a big hero to a lot of hockey fans when this goes up...

JE: I'm not a hero, I'm just telling you the facts. I mean, that's what it is and you know, this whole idea that hockey will do better if you put it back on ESPN is a delusion. It is completely delusionary [sic]. It's more convenient, certainly. But it's not going to be better for the sport, because it's going to be behind golf, it's going to be behind women's basketball and, you know, I'm not dissing those sports.

I'm not sure if I exactly believe all of that, but it certainly could be turn out to be true if the "Leader" gets Hockey back. Hockey ratings aren't anything to right home about, but the NBA hasn't been faring all that well either. There has to be a way to capture the extreme passion that Hockey fans have, but a network hasn't pulled that off besides the Winter Classic on NBC.

And just for good measure, here's Edwards giving it to Sean Avery over the weekend....



Puck the Media’s Interview with Jack Edwards (Puck the Media)
Jack Edwards says ESPN boosting NHL's fortunes is 'delusional' (Puck Daddy)

NESN's Jack Edwards, has been redefining homerism as of late, and today we have yet another fine addition to his resume. During yesterday's Flyers-Bruins game, Milan Lucic sent Philly's Randy Jones into the boards with a huge hit, and Edwards handled the situation the only way he knows how. By laughing maniacally!

Muhahahaha! Obviously there is some history between the two teams, Jones knocked out Bruins center Patrice Bergeron with a dirty hit in 2006, but that's just about as over-the-top as it gets.

Video: Bruins announcer laughs manically at hit against Flyers (Puck Daddy)

NESN's Heidi Watney has taken the Internet by storm, so much so that a video of her chronicling her gator problem at her home in Ft. Myers, Florida, has been making the rounds as of late. Here is said clip....

Obviously, it's an entertaining yet somewhat ominous clip, but there's a bigger problem that Watney has overlooked. While that gator is certainly not something to be ignored, she might not want to be telling message boarders, internet surfers, and men in general, where she lives.

Heidi Watney Has Gator Troubles (With Dramatic Video) (Deadspin)

NESN's Jack Edwards has been making headlines this year with his over-the-top calls, and now thanks to a Bruins Forum, he has his own game.


Looks fun! I don't know how many of you get the NHL plan, but if you do and want to try the game out tonight, let me know how it goes.

Jack Edwards hockey bingo: For the cliché lover in you (Puck Daddy)

Here is your schedule and as always, thanks to the work that The 506 puts in on these. If you have something or someone to share, please add it or them in the comments....

Monday, December 15th

Stony Brook @ Connecticut (Big East Network, 7pm)- John Rooke, Tom Brennan (Will Air on MASN, SNY, WCTX)
Cleveland State @ Syracuse (Time Warner-NY, 7pm)- Mark Lawson, Dan Liedke (Will Air on STO)
Charleston Southern @ Cincinnati (FS Ohio, 7:30pm)- Brad Johansen, Steve Wolf
Missouri-Kansas City @ Northwestern (BTN, 8pm)- Mel Proctor, Shon Morris
Florida A&M @ Texas A&M (FS Southwest, 8pm)- Greg Lucas, Jim Haller
Alabama State @ Auburn (CSS, 8pm)- TBD

Tuesday, December 16th

South Florida v. Vanderbilt (ESPN2, 7pm)- Brad Nessler, Jimmy Dykes, Jeannine Edwards
Tennessee Tech @ Florida State (FS Florida, 7pm)- TBD
North Carolina Central @ South Carolina (SportSouth, 8pm)- TBD
Texas Southern @ Texas (FS Southwest, 8pm)- TBD
Marquette v. Tennessee (ESPN, 9:30pm)- Brad Nessler, Jimmy Dykes, Jeannine Edwards

Wednesday, December 17th

Canisius @ Syracuse (ESPNU, 7pm)- Dave Ryan, Tim Welsh
Citadel @ Michigan State (BTN, 7pm)- TBD
North Carolina-Asheville @ Duke (ESPN2, 7:30pm)- Terry Gannon, Stephen Bardo
Tennessee State @ Alabama (CSS, 8pm)- TBD
Southern Methodist @ Texas A&M (FS Houston, 8pm)- TBD
Oral Roberts @ New Mexico (MTN, 8:30pm)- TBD
Jacksonville @ Ohio State (ESPNU, 9pm)- Jim Barbar, Mike Kelley
Siena @ Pittsburgh (ESPN2, 9:30pm)- Bob Wischusen, Doug Gottlieb, Tom Brennan
St. Mary's @ Oregon (OSN, 10pm)- TBD (Will Air on CSN California, Northwest)
Northern Arizona @ Stanford (CSN Bay Area, 10:30pm)- TBD (Will Air on FCS Central)
Santa Clara @ Nevada-Las Vegas (MTN, 10:30pm)- TBD
Loyola Marymount @ UCLA (Prime Ticket, 11pm)- TBD (Will Air on FCS Pacific)

Thursday, December 18th

Mississippi State v. Cincinnati (ESPN2, 6:30pm)- Dan Shulman, Bob Knight, Allen Hopkins
Evansville @ North Carolina (ESPN, 7pm)- Terry Gannon, Stephen Bardo
Charleston Southern @ Florida State (FS Florida, 7pm)- TBD (Will Air on SUN)
Mississippi v. Louisville (ESPN, 9pm)- Dan Shulman, Bob Knight, Allen Hopkins
Texas Southern @ Gonzaga (KHQ, 9pm)- TBD (Will Air on FS Northwest)

Friday, December 19th

Wake Forest @ Richmond (ESPNU, 7pm)- John Castleberry, Larry Conley
Radford @ George Mason (MASN, 7pm)- TBD
Western Carolina @ Marquette (Big East Network, 8:30pm)- TBD (Will Air on MASN, SNY, CST, TWC Sports 32)

Saturday, December 20th

Miami (OH) @ West Virginia (ESPNU, Noon)- Quint Kessenich, Bob Wenzel
Appalachian State v. Kentucky (SEC TV, Noon)- TBD (Will Air on FS South, SportSouth)
Iona @ Ohio State (BTN, Noon)- TBD
Mount St. Mary's @ Georgetown (Big East Network, 1pm)- TBD (Will Air on MASN, SNY)
Michigan State v. Texas (CBS, 2pm)- Carter Blackburn, Bill Raftery
Duke v. Xavier (CBS, 2pm)- Verne Lundquist, Clark Kellogg
Louisville v. Minnesota (FSN, 2pm)- TBD (Will Air on FS Arizona, Detroit, Houston, North, Northwest, Pittsburgh, Rocky Mountain, South, Southwest, CSN Bay Area, Chicago, Mid-Atlantic+, SUN, MSG+, FCS Central)
Virginia Tech v. Columbia (MSG, 2pm)- TBD (Will Air on FCS Atlantic)
North Carolina v. Valparaiso (ESPNU, 2pm)- Clay Matvick, Dickey Simpkins
Wofford @ Georgia (CSS, 2pm)- TBD
Temple @ Kansas (ESPN2, 2:30pm)- Dave O'Brien, Jay Bilas
Arizona @ Nevada-Las Vegas (Versus, 3pm)- TBD
Belmont @ Tennessee (SportSouth, 3pm)- TBD
Davidson v. Purdue (CBS, 4pm)- Don Criqui, Jim Spanarkel
Connecticut v. Gonzaga (CBS, 4pm)- Gus Johnson, Greg Anthony
Iowa @ Drake (ESPNU, 4pm)- TBD
Providence @ Boston College (NESN, 4pm)- TBD
UC-Santa Barbara @ San Diego State (MTN, 4pm)- TBD
Michigan v. Oakland (FS Detroit, 4pm)- TBD
Auburn @ Virginia (FS South, 4pm)- TBD (Will Air on CSN Mid-Atlantic, SUN)
Brigham Young v. Arizona State (FSN, 4:30pm)- TBD (Will Air on FS Arizona, Detroit, Houston, Midwest (JIP), North, Northwest, Pittsburgh, Rocky Mountain, South, Southwest, CSN Bay Area, Chicago, Mid-Atlantic+, SUN, MSG+, FCS Central)
Marist @ St. John's (MSG, 4:30pm)- TBD (Will Air on FCS Atlantic)
Citadel @ South Carolina (SportSouth, 5pm)- TBD
Syracuse @ Memphis (ESPN, 6pm)- Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale
Weber State @ Utah (MTN, 6pm)- TBD
Tennessee Tech @ Vanderbilt (CSS, 6pm)- TBD
Coppin State @ Wisconsin (BTN, 6pm)- TBD
Nevada @ California (CSN Bay Area+, 6pm)- TBD
Central Florida v. Florida (FS Florida, 6:30pm)- TBD
Eastern Kentucky @ Cincinnati (FS Ohio, 6:30pm)- TBD (Will Air on SNY)
Colorado State @ Denver (FS Rocky Mountain, 6:30pm)- TBD (Will Air on FCS Central)
Stetson @ Missouri (Mizzou Sports, 7pm)- TBD (Will Air on FS Midwest)
American @ Maryland-Baltimore County (MASN, 7pm)- TBD
Rhode Island v. Oklahoma State (ESPN Classic, 7:30pm)- Ron Franklin, Fran Fraschilla
Detroit @ Illinois (BTN, 8pm)- TBD
Portland @ Oregon (OSN, 8pm)- TBD (Will Air on CSN Northwest)
Arkansas State @ Arkansas-Little Rock (Sun Belt TV, 8pm)- TBD (Will Air on CSS, CST)
Virginia Commonwealth v. Oklahoma (ESPN2, 10pm)- Ron Franklin, Fran Fraschilla
Eastern Washington @ Washington (FS Northwest, 10pm)- TBD (Will Air on FCS Pacific)
Mercer @ UCLA (FS West, 10:30pm)- TBD (Will Air on FCS Atlantic)

Sunday, December 21st

VA TECH/COLUM loser v. MARIST/STJOHN loser (MSG, Noon)- TBD (Will Air on FCS Atlantic)
Vermont @ Quinnipiac (NESN, Noon)- TBD
Delaware @ Boston (CN8, Noon)- TBD (Will Air on CSS)
VA TECH/COLUM winner v. MARIST/STJOHN winner (MSG, 2pm)- TBD (Will Air on FCS Atlantic)
Lafayette @ Penn State (ESPNU, 4pm)- Scott Graham, Mike Kelley
Pittsburgh @ Florida State (FSN, 5:30pm)- TBD
Clemson @ Miami (FSN, 7:45pm)- TBD

I have no idea why (or where for that matter) Jerry Remy is singing Christmas carols, but according to Red Sox Monster (via Sawx Heads) he really loves Christmas music and was also not under the influence of alcohol when recording this clip of "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer". Take it away Jerr!

I would love to provide you with more context and background, or perhaps even more wonderful clips like the one above, but apparently it's nowhere to be found as of today. If anyone knows where to pick up the whole album, or has more info to share, please do so in the comments. If not....we'll just continue to enjoy it on its own.

Jerry Remy enjoys Christmas carols, officially out of his tree (Red Sox Monster)
Remy Sings (Sawx Heads)

Former ESPN Sports Center Anchor, Jack Edwards has been the Bruins play-by-play guy for a few years now, so you could understand some level of attachment to the team. On Saturday though, he was probably a bit over-the-top. The Bruins were in the midst of a handful of fights following several cheap shots by the Dallas Stars, and for eight minutes, Jack completely loses it. Watch for such highlights as Edwards calling a player a "scud", the announcer mentioning the Hanson Brothers and actually using the words, "having his kisser rearranged"....

While there were a lot of cheap shots in there, calling players cowards and flipping out like that was just a little too much. I've gotten a few emails saying people complained to NESN, so Jack just might want to reel it in a bit.

Jack Edwards Enjoys Hockey, Beating Up Dallas Stars (Puck The Media)

More often than not Rain Delays are going to be the most boring things on the face of the Earth. You sit under the upper deck overhang and watch old blooper videos or TWIBs while you wait for the rain to die down. Well the Red Sox have a new video to keep you in the ballpark and NESN decided to air it last night.

Sox & Dawgs and Center Field give us Manny Delcarmen and Jonathan Papelbon as Fab and Rob of Milli Vanilli. Blame it on the Rain....

There aren't very many things that can leave Orsillo and Rem Dawg speechless and I think this one takes the cake in that department. You have to be somewhat nuts to be a closer but Paps might have a little more crazy in him than the required amount.

Blame It On The Rain (Sox & Dawgs)
Blame It On The Rain (Out In Center Field

Hazel Mae has been a fixture on NESN programming for the past four years, and even though the network had recently hired some more "eye candy" in Heidi Watney, she remained a favorite among Boston fans. That was until it was announced she was leaving last night....

“After four incredible and exciting years at NESN, I’ve decided now was the right time for me to make this difficult decision to leave,” she said in a statement released by NESN. “It has been both a personal and professional privilege to be a part of NESN and the dedicated SportsDesk team. During my time with the network, I’ve had more than a few once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, including the chance to cover two World Series and a Super Bowl. I am grateful to the Red Sox and Bruins ownership groups, NESN president, Sean McGrail, and all the players and staff who have supported and challenged me. Most importantly, I’d like to thank the amazing and passionate sports fans of New England, who have welcomed me into their homes and given me a chance to do the kind of work I enjoy.”

I don't know much about Hazel but Bostonians seemed to enjoy her (I can see why). The Sports Desk anchor will end her duties at the end of the month.

Hazel Mae Is Leaving NESN (Sox & Dawgs)

(posted by OMDQ)

It's no "Mike Patrick pondering life's big questions" moment, but following tonight's Red Sox game, NESN committed a gaffe that tickled my funny bone.

With the Red Sox clinching a spot in the postseason, someone decided it would be a good idea to whip up a graphic listing the players on the team who have never appeared in a playoff game. The pitchers section read roughly as follows:

Clay Buchholz, Bryan Corey, Devern Hansack, Jon Lester, Javier Lopez, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jon Lester, Hideki Okajima, Kyle Snyder, Jon Lester.

It took a few seconds, but I eventually realized that Jon Lester was listed three separate times, a discovery that kept me from continuing on to the section for position players. Less flustered was studio host Tom Caron, who smoothed over the moment with a "Jon Lester has never played in the postseason A LOT" type comment. Well played, TC. You made my wife smile, and she holds a very unhealthy level of hatred for you (long, boring story; maybe I'll explain someday).

Almost every game now a Red Sox fan emails me, and tells me about something crazy that Remy and/or Orsillo did that game. Well, this one takes the cake. I'll let resident NESN correspondent Ben explain....

Oh crap, I'm gonna die laughing here. I'm watching the second game of the Sox-Tigers doubleheader, and here in the top of the 2nd inning, Orsillo mentions something about a potential disaster or injury occurring in the box earlier in the day. And so the camera cuts to some footage from earlier in the day, and it shows Remy playing air guitar and bouncing along, and he keeps bouncing back further and further, and all of a sudden he loses his footing and almost falls out the window into the seats below. He manages to grab the top of the window frame and then falls down behind the desk.

Oh, you think he's kidding? Head to either....NESN's Main Page, or MLB.com for the video (main page of each).

God they have so much fun. Your team's in first place and you're playing air guitar....just rub it in d***!

Just found the vid via Random Thoughts...Enjoy the Air Guitar Nationals!

Posted by Awful Announcing- at 1:09 PM 2 Comments  

Labels: NESN, Rem Dawg

AA Hearts: NESN Broadcasts

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

When I briefly ran through the AA list of the Top Homer announcing teams in baseball yesterday, I completely skipped over the NESN Broadcast Team of Orsillo and Remy.

Now I know Homerism has a bad connotation, but it really isn't that bad of a thing. As long as they are having fun with it, and giving the other team its due respect, then I'm cool with it (this is why I think YES broadcasts are terrible).

Well Don and Jerry are taking this to a new level. First there was the pizza incident, and yesterday we had the head rubbing fiasco....well now we have the Paper Airplane Experience (great band name!). I'll let reader Ben explain.....

I'm watching this blowout in Toronto, and the fans are obviously getting bored. During the bottom of the eighth inning, with Big Hurt up to bat, a plane comes sailing onto the field from high up in the stands. As the inning continues, more planes make their way down through the stadium. Remy and Orsillo are talking it up, and finally, Orsillo decides he's going to make a plane with NESN on the side, and send it down. Well, he does, and while he's folding it, Remy starts cracking with him that it's an awful plane (and from the camera on him, it's clear that it is a really bad plane.) So Orsillo gets it folded up and lets it fly, and as soon as it goes two feet it just starts falling like a sheet of paper in the breeze. It was pretty hilarious.

I imagine it was. I'll be here praying for the video to show up on the tubes. Bravo NESN....keep having fun.

Update: In my haste to get this post up I forgot perhaps the greatest NESN moment ever involving the two.

Posted by Awful Announcing- at 9:26 AM 9 Comments  

Labels: AA Hearts, Boston, NESN

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