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Sports on TV
August 18, 2008
Post-Phelps: An Olympic sag?
Now that the Big Fish is gone, will interest in the Beijing Olympics wane?
Maybe. Probably. Michael Phelps has been the major draw throughout the first week. His pursuit of a record eight gold medals was the sharp focus on NBC and, apparently, the viewing audience.
Saturday night, when Phelps and his 100m medley relay team churned up the pool for the final gold, NBC’s prime-time audience swelled to 40 million. That peak came at 10 p.m. For the rest of Saturday’s prime time, an average of 31.1 million viewers tuned in.
Not even women’s gymnastics, usually an enormous draw in summer Olympics, could top Phelps.
We’ve still got a few more individual gymnastics events to go, and diving should heat up soon.
But track and field is the main focus from now on, and it isn’t likely to stir up the same passion as swimming. There’s no Phelps in the mix to make history.
And since most of America has been glued to their TV sets since 8/8/08, I’m expecting some Olympics fatigue to set in this week.
I might even change the channel, for the first time in a long time … but just for a minute.
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August 14, 2008
Big Olympic night: Swimming and gymnastics front and center
Last night I took an unscheduled break from the Olympics, and now I feel totally out of touch.
According to the Nielsen ratings, a gazillion people are watching the most-watched foreign-based Olympics ever, and I wasn’t among them.
I haven’t missed a single prime-time telecast on NBC since the Opening Ceremony last Friday — until last night. My flow has been seriously interrupted, but I’m jumping back into the swim of things tonight.
For the record, I’m not sick of Bob Costas yet, which surprises me. I had feared that would happen quickly. He really got on my nerves during the Athens Games, but for some reason, he’s a bit more zen now and thus is wearing better. Not as much hyperactivity and excessive bubbling.
Do you wonder what the tone of the coverage will be after the swimming competition is over? When the Michael Phelps phenomenon concludes and all the exciting American swimmers go home, where will the spotlight shine?
Track and field will be the next biggie, but there’s not really a blinding star among the men or women that will come close to the Phelps phenomenon. But that’s next week; this is this week.
Making up for lost time, I’m ready to hunker down for tonight’s entire 4-hour coverage, which mostly will bounce between swimming and women’s gymnastics. Here’s the scoop:
Swimming gold medal finals: Phelps renews his pursuit of Mark Spitz’s individual Olympic record in the 200 individual medley. Also men’s 200m backstroke, women’s 200m breaststroke and 100m freestyle.
Women’s gymnastics, individual all-around gold medal finals: Can the Americans rebound after slipping, falling and stumbling through the team competition? I’m betting wee Shawn Johnson will leap up and grab a gold or two.
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August 11, 2008
Olympics start with a bang; Austinite heading for NBC reality
I spent almost the entire weekend watching the Olympics, starting with the most spectacular opening ceremony I’ve ever seen (and I’ve been watching Olympics a long, long time) and concluding with last night’s gold-medal relay by the American male swimmers.
I’m not even a little bit ashamed of this sedentary weekend. Maybe I should be, but I’m not. The opening ceremony left me slack-jawed with wonder. How the heck did they do all that? Where did they keep all those costumes, and where did the performers go after each of their numbers? The whole thing was a logistical miracle.
Was NBC’s coverage perfect the whole time? No. There’s quite possibly too much hype about Michael Phelps, who looks like he’s definitely going to bust Mark Spitz’ gold medal record and bring home the projected eight bling things. But I’m not sure we need to hear about Phelps in the middle of a road race or during Chinese weightlifting.
During last night’s (taped) coverage of women’s gymnastics, the cameras spent waaaaaay too much time lingering on the giggling six pixies after they had had a semi-disastrous round that nonetheless boosted them into contention for the team finals. They were having some sort of circle pep rally, cooing at each other and squeaking positive things. About 10 seconds would have been fine; the camer lingered for well over a minute. The bobbing pony tails made me queasy after that long.
Can we stipulate that President Bush is in Beijing having a fine time? Do we need to focus on him at every event and interview him at every opportunity? Seriously.
And the promised on-screen NBC viewers’ guide, which was supposed to keep us posted on what’s coming up and when (an important perk in 4-hour coverage) rarely appeared.
Otherwise, I’m a happy camper. More swimming and gymanstics tonight. Can’t wait.
Hays High teacher to be on NBC reality show
Look for another Austinite to compete in a prime-time reality show soon.
Sandy Gabriel, 26, an algebra teacher at Hays High School, will be among the competitors on NBC’s new “America’s Toughest Jobs,” which premieres Monday, Aug. 25 at 8 p.m.
NBC describes “Toughest Jobs” as “an extreme competition series” that will shove 13 people out of their comfort zones and into “challenging, dangerous and demanding” jobs — such as logging and oil drilling. The annual salary of each contestant will be thrown into a pot and awarded to the winner in the finale. (Too bad Michael Dell isn’t one of the contestants.)
Gabriel, originally from Winnie, says on her official network bio that she’s looking for a new, more challenging career. If she survives “Toughest Jobs,” maybe she’ll get one in Hollywood. Stay tuned.
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August 8, 2008
Mascots of the Beijing Olympics
As we hunker down for tonight’s sure-to-be spectacular Opening Ceremony (6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. on NBC), we should get to know the Beijing mascots. They’re bound to be all over the place for the next 17 days, so let’s check ‘em out.
Like the five Olympic rings from which they draw their color and inspiration, the Fuwa will serve as the official mascots of 2008 Olympic Games, “carrying a message of friendship and peace to children all over the world,” according to the official Chinese description.
Designed to express the playful qualities of five little children who are close friends, the Fuwa also embody the characteristics of four of China’s most popular animals (the fish, the panda, the Tibetan antelope, the swallow) and the Olympic flame.
Each of the Fuwa has a rhyming two-syllable name — a traditional way of expressing affection for children in China. Beibei is the fish, Jingjing is the panda, Huanhuan is the Olympic flame, Yingying is the Tibetan antelope and Nini is the swallow.
When you put their names together — Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni — they say, “Welcome to Beijing.”
The Fuwa also embody both the landscape and aspirations of people from China. In their origins and their headpieces, we see the five elements of nature — the sea, forest, fire, earth and sky — rendered to represent the traditional influences of Chinese folk art.
The Fuwa doesn’t come across as simply as a big old koala from Sydney, but the little quintet is definitely cute.
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May 2, 2008
Derby thunders onto NBC on Saturday
For no particular reason, I’m feeling sporty today, so this blog will trot in sync with my mood.
The Kentucky Derby promises to gobble up most of NBC’s afternoon schedule on Saturday. It’s not quite as excessive as the Super Bowl, but the 134th running of the million-dollar horses will start early and go late.
Post time (when the race is expected to begin) is 5:04 p.m. Central Time, but NBC is starting at 3 p.m. with a red-carpet segment, “Access at the Kentucky Derby,” hosted by Billy Bush of “Access Hollywood.” Look for a lot of rich people in big hats, as opposed to stars in skimpy clothes.
After the faux celebrity march, NBC will have its pre-race show at 4 p.m., highlighting the competing horses, their jockeys, their trainers and their owners.
For those of us who are not hard-core horsey types, this provides mandatory background so you can choose a thoroughbred to cheer for.
FYI: Among the unusually crowded field this year, Big Brown is favored, with Colonel John also considered worthy. With two-days’ worth of rain expected at Churchill Downs, look for a muddy, sloppy race.
Even if you’re not hosting or attending a Derby party, don’t forget to whip up some mint juleps. Basic recipe provided here. (Put enough mint and sugar in and you can barely taste the bourbon.)
Moving on to the Beijing Summer Olympics, NBC today announced it will have live Web coverage of 25 sports that otherwise wouldn’t be seen in TV coverage.
And the network will archive 2,200 hours of video from every day and every competition during the games, which begin Aug. 8.
Since August is by far the steamiest, scorching-ist month of the year in Austin, I’m guessing the Beijing Games will be a big draw here.
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February 1, 2008
Super Sunday: Are you ready?
Are you ready for some football? Boy, if not, you’ll want to avoid Fox most of the weekend — and especially Sunday.
In case you’ve been orbiting another planet, Sunday is the Super Bowl, allegedly a time for football but mostly a time to eat too much guacamole, drink too much beer and start the whole she-bang way too early in the day … considering the game itself doesn’t start until late afternoon.
Fox (KTBC Channel 7) gets the festivities underway at 9 a.m. Sunday. No, that’s not a typo. At 9 a.m. Sunday, a gaggle of reporters will gather to babble about politics and sports. Mostly sports. At 11 a.m., Fox does a re-cap of the entire 2007-08 football season in “The Road to the Super Bowl.” Lots of great clips, for those who haven’t seen a NFL single game.
The bloated “Pre-Game Show,” hosted by “American Idol” man-child Ryan Seacrest, starts at 1 p.m. This is the portion of the day that will have way more commercials than programming, but since the ads are the main reason millions tune in, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But keep in mind the hottest new ads won’t appear until the second half of the game.
The football game? That little thing? The Perfect New England Patriots take on the Surprising New York Giants at 5 p.m., with Troy Aikman and Joe Buck calling the action. Kickoff actually is scheduled for 5:18, but you’ll want to calm the rowdiness in your house before the serious stuff starts, so think of 5 p.m. as the start.
Super Sunday isn’t over until around 9 p.m., because Fox has to squeeze in more commercials and the “Post-Game Show,” scheduled for 8:30 p.m. but possibly later depending on time-outs and penalties and such.
The network that lands the Super Bowl always packs the day with promos for its prime-time lineup, and Fox is poised and ready to promote itself. “American Idol” will be everywhere, including the half-time show, when Paula Abdul is expected to sing and dance. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are the headliners, but Judge Paula is likely to get more attention from the network.
Super Sunday is a very long day, so plan accordingly. Take a trot around Lady Bird Lake on Saturday; get all your errands out of the way that day, too. If you’re a churchgoer, consider the early service you never thought you’d ever attend. Now, you’re ready for some football!
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January 16, 2008
Marion Jones, via satellite from Austin, on 'Oprah' today
Disgraced Olympic track star Marion Jones talks with Oprah Winfrey today about the shame and pain she felt after admitting to her family that she used steroids.
In her first TV interview since being stripped of her gold medals and sentenced to six months in prison, Jones spoke to the Chicago media mogul via satellite from her home in Austin.
“Oprah” airs today at 4 p.m. on KVUE Channel 24.
Jones, a media darling during her track heyday, was recently sentenced for lying to investigators about using performance-enhancing drugs and about her role in a check-fraud scam.
Although Winfrey might be a sympathetic interviewer, she is likely to ask tough questions about Jones’ repeated denials about steroid use over the years. Expect tears to flow.
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December 28, 2007
CBS and NBC yes! NFL Network no!
Score one for football fans, who have temporarily triumphed over NFL greed.
The 70 million homes, including mine, who do not have the NFL Network will get to see the New England Patriots wrap up their perfect 16-0 season Saturday night against the New York Giants. (OK, that’s the hope of this Pats’ fan; it’s POSSIBLE that won’t happen.)
If you follow football at all — and especially if you’re a Dallas Cowboys’ fan — you’re well aware of Jerry Jones and his NFL cohorts swiping games away from the general population this season. It’s been good for bars and satellite services, but bad for the rest of us.
The NFL Network got its greedy corporate hands on a few choice games this year (including the recent Dallas vs. Green Bay game) and attempted to push cable networks such as Time Warner into adding the network to its basic package — for an allegedly enormous price. Time Warner has politely declined and offered to add the NFL Network to its premium sports tier only — at an allegedly substantial cost to subscribers.
The impasse has become a public relations war that hasn’t been good for anyone, with the possible exception of newspapers that got to run full-page ads featuring Jerry Jones’ rants.
The pact for Saturday night’s historic Patriots’ game was reached after fans around the country and Massachusetts politicians such as Sen. John Kerry bombarded the NFL with complaints.
Thus the game will be simulcast on CBS (KEYE Channel 42) and NBC (KXAN Channel 36) at 7 p.m. That means pretty much everybody can see it — and they don’t even have to have cable, let alone satellite or NFL Network.
But don’t expect this largesse to be without a promotional blizzard for the NFL Network. I’m betting we’ll see more of Jerry Jones than we EVER wanted.
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October 26, 2007
Fox blows World Series coverage
I’m mad as hell, but I’ve got to take it some more. I have no choice if I want to watch the rest of the World Series. Which I do want to do because the Red Sox are playing.
The object of my wrath is the Fox’s baseball announcers, Joe Buck and Tim McCarver. Can we please pay attention to the game, guys?
It’s bad enough that Fox crams more commercials into any living sporting event than any other TV network. But do we have to cover home runs and double plays and other exciting baseball action with droning, never-ending dug-out interviews?
Assuming these pithy moments are absolutely imperative to the game, why not at least just play the audio over the game action? While the Colorado Rockies’ manager droned on and on last night, we could hear the crack of a bat and the Fenway Park crowd roar. Excuse me, can I please see that? Isn’t that why I’m watching the World Series?
There’s a time and a place for TV guys to yammer with baseball managers, but the middle of the action is not the time. Some of us actually watch the World Series to watch the players, not to hear the announcers and the managers try to make the sport sound like quantum physics. It’s baseball. Not matter what Fox or Ken Burns tries to tell you, it’s just a sport.
The producers of the Fox telecast seem hellbent on turning the games into productions — scripted with dialogue and cute features. If that gets in the way of the action, too bad.
Maybe when the Series shifts from Boston to Denver the altitude will cause Buck and McCarver to be too exhausted to yammer. Maybe they’ll fall asleep, and we can watch the World Series in peace.
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November 24, 2006
Post-Gobble Day football, last night's 'Grey's'
Who goes shopping at 5 a.m.? Several of my relatives did today, at a time I consider way more night than day. It’s still dark, for crying out loud. Is Wal-Mart really going to run out of toys before the more civilized shopping hour of, say, 9 or 10 a.m.? When the sun is up?
By the time today’s Big Game begins at 11 a.m. (on ABC), these pre-dawn shoppers are going to be too pooped to pay attention to pigskin.
In case you’ve forgotten (or possibly are among those who don’t care), the Big Game is the eagerly anticipated gridiron battle between the UT Longhorns and the A&M Aggies. It’s an orange vs. maroon day.
I’m struggling to understand the concept of tailgating for two days before the game — and then watching it on TV in a parking lot when it’s actually taking place in a stadium right behind you. There are some elaborate setups on the asphalt near the stadium: big-screen TVs hanging off campers with grills, easy chairs and gigantic coolers nearby.
If you’re going to watch football on TV, why not do it at home? I don’t get it.
The bloody round: Burke vs. Cristina
Last night’s intense and bloody episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” was almost too bloody and intense to watch, wasn’t it?
If you haven’t seen it yet, consider this your SPOILER ALERT.
The crisis of confidence and competence Burke (Isaiah Washington) has been suffering since getting shot in the hand boiled over. Cristina (Sandra Oh), you’ll recall, has been urging him to ignore the tremor and let her assist him in surgery. That “team operating” fantasy came to a spurting end last night.
The couple had such a heated, meltdown argument over who is ultimately responsible for the couple’s ethical misconduct that there seems to be no room to repair this romance. In real life such a passionate spat would surely deep-six any relationship.
But this is TV, so anything can happen. Still, I’m betting that the hay-rolling between Cristina and Burke is over.
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August 15, 2006
A sneaky new local sports channel
You’ve probably heard of a “soft launch,” but how about a covert launch?
When nobody was looking — or even suspecting — Time Warner’s News 8 Austin launched a 24-hour local sports headline service on Digital Channel 408.
Yep, on Aug. 8, News 8’s Non-Stop Sports, aka NSS, was born. Flip to 408 on your digital service and there it is, spewing out sports info day and night.
Brian Benschoter, general manager of News 8, describes NSS as “still a work in progress,” but he says we should think of the new channel as “a locally focused ‘SportsCenter.’ ” This month the focus will be on football previews for area high schools, the University of Texas, Texas State and Texas A&M.
“But as we move into September, it will evolve into more sports-news-of-the-day, with a perpetual score ticker,” Benschoter says.
Like News 8, NSS is a “wheel” format, updated throughout the day, but unlike News 8, which has updates on the hour and half-hour, the sports wheel will vary in length. On a slow sports day, it could be as short as 15 minutes; on a big sports day, such as Texas-Oklahoma University game day, it could expand to an hour.
Benschoter says the sneaky launch was to give the channel time to work out technical glitches.
“Now we feel comfortable enough with the new technology to go public and ask for viewer feedback and suggestions,” he says. “I’m amazed by how many people have already found it. It has been the talk of the Texas State Bobcat fan site already.”
Take a look at News 8’s NSS and then post your comments online.
Emmitt can run, but can he dance?
First it was poor Jerry Rice, stumbling through the tango and other impossible-to-execute ballroom dances. Now it’s going to be former Cowboy Emmitt Smith.
ABC has announced the celebrity participants in the new season of “Dancing with the Stars,” and Emmitt is among the wannabe hoofers.
Also on the roster — and destined to make Emmitt look pretty good by comparison — are bow-tied boy-child Tucker Carlson, the conservative pundit of of MSNBC, and noted over-the-top talk-show host Jerry Springer. Maybe Springer will just throw a chair.
The new season of the show, which begins Sept. 12, also will feature Vivica A. Fox, Harry Hamlin (his wife, puffy-lipped Lisa Rinna, danced last season), Joe Lawrence, Mario Lopez, Sara Evans, Willa Ford, Monique Coleman and Shanna Moakler.
Thankfully these dubious dancers will be paired with genuine professionals, who somehow will transform a few of them into a semblance of grace and passion.
Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba return as judges. A combination of judges’ scores and viewers’ votes will determine who wins the big mirror ball trophy.
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February 20, 2006
Turin Olympics melting on NBC
As we head into the second and final week of the Winter Olympics, NBC’s hope of turning around its low-rated season have collapsed like over-hyped alpine skier Bode Miller.
The prime-time coverage, anchored by Bob Costas, has succumbed to regular series on a regular basis. Last week it was trounced on Thursday night by Fox’s “American Idol” and soundly beaten by ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” and CBS’s ancient “Survivor.”
On Sunday night, “Desperate Housewives” and “Grey’s Anatomy” were way more popular than bobsledding or ice dancing.
The first week of the Olympics averaged 20.8 million viewers each night — down a dramatic 35 percent from Salt Lake City in 2002. Home games traditionally perform better than “away games,” but the Turin-based Olympics also are down more than 20 percent from the ‘98 games in Nagano, Japan.
The sagging interest can only partly be blamed on Michelle Kwan’s precompetition departure. Or Miller’s implosion. Or speedskaters Shani Davis and Chad Hedrick’s playground feud. Or snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis’ ill-timed hot-dogging.
As I’ve whined about before, the biggest complaint I’m hearing this time around is the packaging of the time-delayed events. It’s impossible to get excited about speedskating or even the normally wildly popular figure skating when the heats and individuals are interrupted by other sports. A downhill here, a cross-country there, a skeleton and luge sprinkled in between.
There’s no flow to this coverage, and people are no longer willing to sit through three or four hours of other stuff to get to what they want to see. There are too many options — nonrerun programming on other networks and Olympic results all over the Internet.
The days of Olympics dominance are gone, and NBC needs to factor that into its coverage. Show two or three competitions from start to finish, a plan that is exceedingly simple because everything is tape-delayed anyway.
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February 15, 2006
Dogs beat skaters at my house
Now that Rufus, the bull terrier who looks like the Target dog(except that he’s tan and white instead of all white), has won the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, I can return to juggling the Olympics and my regularly scheduled programming.
It’s been a rough week up until now, with Westminster airing Monday and Tuesday nights on USA Network. I’m actually developing a throbbing sensation in my hand from overuse of the remote.
Last night, in spite of frequent flipping, I missed weird Johnny Weirs’s second-place skate in the short program but managed to see the whole sporting group on parade at Madison Square Garden. Took a break from dogs and Olympics to catch “Boston Legal,” one of my favorite comedy-dramas, but returned to see the herding group interspersed with a Belgian and a German skater landing on their butts. Dizzying.
In non-Olympic years, the Westminster Dog Show is something I wallow in for two solid days. From the sublime (Brittanys and German pointers) to the ridiculous (Chinese cresteds and toy anythings), the pups and their handlers put on a highly entertaining show.
Rufus, almost 6 years old and now retiring from competition, beat out six other best-in-group dogs (who got into that competition by being best-in-breed) last night to become the 2006 best-in-show champ. The bull terrier is the first of his breed to win the top honor. The judges were impressed with Rufus’ “perfect egg-shaped head.”
Gotta love a dog with an egglike noggin who, as handler Kathy Kirk pointed out, “likes to jump up and bang his behind into doors.” Normal dogs with absolutely no breeding whatsoever have bizarre habits like that, which is why we love ‘em.
Plus, Rufus beat out a beloved golden retriever, a mean looking Rottweiler, an adorable pug, a perky Dalmatian, a puffy English sheepdog and a regal Scottish deerhound many considered to be the favorite.
So, congrats, Rufus … now it’s back to Turin (with a sidetrip to “Lost”) for me tonight.
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February 13, 2006
In Kwan's wake, NBC chases "passion"
The motto for the Winter Olympics is “passion lives here.” Unfortunately for NBC, viewers aren’t heading for passion’s Italian home.
Friday night’s opening ceremony was seen by 22.8 million people. While that sounds like a sizable audience by today’s splintered audience standards, it’s only half the number who watched the opening ceremony for the Salt Lake City games in 2002.
Saturday night’s telecast (tape-delayed because of the 7-hour time difference here) of the pairs figure skating competition ticked up to 23.6 million viewers, but that’s way below the second night of the previous Winter Olympics, which drew 29.4 million.
Sunday night ratings aren’t in yet, but it’s safe to assume that ABC’s powerhouse lineup of “Desperate Housewives” and “Grey’s Anatomy” will take a big bite out of the Olympic audience.
The Winter Olympics sink or sail based on personalities — specifically American personalities — and Sunday’s announcement that figure skater Michelle Kwan was heading home due to injury is bound to pull viewership down.
NBC must have also had a corporate heart-sinking when downhill racer Bode Miller failed to live up to gold-medal expectations, along with speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno. Of all the super-hyped American personalities on NBC’s menu, only snowboarder Shaun White, aka The Flying Tomato (because of his abundance of red hair), won gold.
In something of a sad and desperate attempt to keep Kwan attached to the Turin Olympics, NBC offered her a job in the broadcast booth less than an hour after her emotional press conference announcing her withdrawal. Kwan politely (and smartly) declined, citing her continued involvement as “a distraction” to the attention that should be paid to the other skaters.
Because “ladies” figure skating is the most popular Winter Olympic sport, we can expect to see lots of hype now on American front-runner Sasha Cohen, Kwan’s replacement Emily Hughes and the practically ignored Kimmie Meissner.
Losing Kwan is a disaster, like losing an evening news anchor or Kiefer Sutherland on “24.” Sure, there are plenty of other exciting competitors to watch, but Kwan was a true star.
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February 6, 2006
Super Bowl Sunday a super snoozer
Loved the outcome, hated the game. Yea, Steelers!!
But boy, was it just me or was last night’s Super Bowl really that boring? Not much happened — except for that spectacular gadget play late in the game, a flea-flicker from Antwaan Randle El to Hines Ward, that resulted in a Steelers touchdown.
But just about everything else was a snoozer, including most of the flashy commercials, which went for $2.5 million a pop this year.
There weren’t really any ads that were so memorable that I actually remembered them this morning. I took notes last night, which is probably the only way I could write about them.
My co-workers think I’ve finally gone ‘round the twist, but I actually loved the big musical production number with the dancing meat patty, bun and assorted burger ingredients. It was a Burger King spot, and it reminded me of those wonderfully cheesy dance numbers that used to spice up the Academy Awards.
Anheuser Busch stepped up to the plate with one funny spot featuring a sheared lamb “streaking” a football game played by the Budweiser Clydesdales (“I did not need to see that,” a cowpoke observer says shaking his head in disgust) and another funny spot with a group of beer-hungry slackers awed by a “magic fridge” that spins into their apartment from the wall next door.
Federal Express had a clever spot about the challenges of doing business during the cave-man age, and Hummer had a funny ad in which a dinosaur and a robot fall in love and produce a baby, the H3.
Obviously any ad featuring monkeys in people suits is funny, and careerbuilder.com had a bunch of ‘em.
ABC stuffed the afternoon and evening with lots of promotional spots touting their programming, especially last night’s action-packed episode of “Grey’s Anatomy,” which followed the game, and the upcoming debut of an unscripted sitcom called “Sons & Daughters.”
An in-house spot for “Desperate Housewives” with Shaquille O’Neal shedding a tear over Gabby losing her baby, was first rate.
But overall it was a lackluster Super Sunday for football and the much-ballyhooed ads that usually carry the day.
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January 12, 2006
Olympic skating drama starts tonight
Tonight’s the night when I begin my pre-Olympic hysteria.
The Turin Winter Olympics don’t begin for a month (Feb. 10-26 on NBC), but tonight is the beginning of the figure skating championships that will determine at least two-thirds of our female team and all of our male team.
And let’s face it, figure skating is what the Winter Olympics are all about. Unbelievable feats, Vegas-style costumes.
“The U.S. Figure Skating Championships”, dubbed “the nationals” by fans and insiders, arrives on ESPN2 tonight at 6:30 with the short programs for both the men and the women, live from St. Louis.
The long programs, which will decide medals and thus who goes to the Olympics, airs Saturday night at 7 on ABC.
If you’re a fan, you know that the women’s side is in a bit of a tumult right now because favored Olympic contender Michelle Kwan withdrew from the nationals with a hip injury. She has petitioned Olympic officials to award a berth anyway, based in part on her record of winning nine national championships, five world championships and silver and bronze medals in the most recent two Olympics.
Doll-like Sasha Cohen is favored to win the nationals in Kwan’s absence, despite battling the flu for several days. Other contenders include Alissa Czisny, Kimmie Meissner and Emily (sister of gold medalist Sarah) Hughes.
There always seems to be a world of drama surrounding women’s figure skating, peaking with the knee-whacking of Nancy Kerrigan involving Tonya Harding and cohorts in 1994.
Tonight’s short programs on ESPN2 will prep us for Turin — and give us a peek at the supreme melodrama to come.
Mommy, make them stop!
My heart sank when I watched the preview of ABC’s new sitcom “Crumbs” (debuts tonight at 8:30) and witnessed Jane Curtin, William Devane and Fred Savage acting like cartoon characters on meth. Stop it. Please.
Whoever told them to adopt this style of super-duper-overacting should be taken to the shed and spanked hard.
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January 5, 2006
Rose Bowl's blockbuster ratings!
Austin, we have a blockbuster!
More people in Central Texas watched the Longhorns win the Rose Bowl than watched last year’s Super Bowl.
According to local overnight Nielsen ratings provided by ABC affiliate KVUE, Wednesday’s championship game between the University of Texas Longhorns and the University of Southern California Trojans racked up a 48 rating and a 74 share.
That means about half a million people in our 13-county viewing area watched UT quarterback Vince Young single-handedly bring home the trophy with his last-minute touchdown. And that 500,000 doesn’t even include group gatherings in homes and bars, of which there were many.
Last year’s Super Bowl, won by the New England Patriots, pulled in about 470,000 Central Texas viewers.
Last year’s Rose Bowl — which also featured a Longhorns victory but not for the national championship — had a 35 rating and a 63 share locally. That was a Saturday afternoon game, which is traditionally a smaller audience than prime time.
National ratings were not Austin-caliber strong but they were strong, beating the combined five-network competition with a 21.7 rating and an estimated 35,713,000 viewers. That’s a 58 percent increase over ratings for last year’s national championship game at the Orange Bowl (which USC won).
What did Central Texans watch last night if they were not tuned into the Rose Bowl? Not much. The second-most watched program of the night, with a tiny 5.2 rating, was a rerun of NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”
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January 4, 2006
TV tonight: Nothin' but Rose Bowl
If tonight’s Rose Bowl is like last night’s Orange Bowl, I’m calling in sick tomorrow. Just so you know.
Weeknight football games — especially those of the college persuasion — are not supposed to be that good or last that long. I’m exhausted. Totally spent.
But who can turn away from Penn State and Joe Paterno? The man and his team are legendary … and exemplary. They actually care about academics and athletics. Plus, reading Paterno’s lips as he barks at officials and players on the sidelines is one of life’s great X-rated pleasures.
By the time Penn State finally pulled out a 26-23 field-goal victory over Florida State, the thought of another equally exhausting contest in tonight’s Rose Bowl had me quivering.
In case you’ve been touring Thailand for the past month or so, the UT Longhorns and the USC Trojans are doing battle in Pasadena tonight to determine college football’s national champ. The rain has finally stopped. Most alleged experts expect USC to win, but Vince Young and a few other Longhorns disagree.
We’ll see. Kickoff is around 7:20 tonight on ABC. Keith Jackson, The Voice of College Football, will be at the helm. ABC Sports says half-time will be exactly 22 minutes long, so if you’re making a food-and-beverage run, plan accordingly.
The 19-year-old boy in my house, who attends a Boston college that has no football team, is an obsessive UT fan and makes the following prediction: If the Longhorns win, which he thinks they will, it will be a squeaker. If the Longhorns lose, it’ll be a blow-out. Sounds logical to me.
As long as the game is over before midnight, I’ll be relieved. Or, as previously mentioned, I’ll be calling in tired.
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October 21, 2005
Saturday is for couch potatoes
Big TV weekend coming up — for anyone who cares about sports and hurricanes. And isn’t that all of us, really?
Not that Florida’s pending weather disaster can be construed as entertainment.
But for millions of weather nerds, Wilma is big excitement.
Weather nerds? Yes, those of us who find ourselves watching the Weather Channel more than we should and plotting the longitude-latitude course of every single storm. We’re weather nerds. We know that orange is worse than yellow, red is worse than orange and purple is the worst of all on color weather radar.
I’m counting on plenty of updates and “crawls” throughout tomorrow’s important sporting events, so maybe I won’t have to wear out the Weather Channel numbers on my remote.
Saturday looks like a true couch potato marathon. I guess I’ll get up early and get all those troublesome chores out of the way — like exercising, grocery shopping, Halloween decorating, communing with the spouse.
First up for this TV spud is ABC’s coverage of the University of Texas and Texas Tech. The Nation’s Best College Quarterback, Vince Young, takes the field at 2:30 p.m.
Not long after the Longhorns crush Tech, the Houston Astros will begin their march to a World Series championship. Fox has that game, starting at 6:30 p.m. in Chicago, where the perpetual also-ran White Sox will be pumped for the challenge.
It’s going to be an eye-exhausting day, but I’m ready.
Nick fights fat
Nickelodeon is waging war against the kiddie bulge, committing $30 million and joining the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation in an effort to slim down the upcoming pudgy generation.
You won’t find a better introduction to this story than the one Lisa de Moraes wrote in the Washington Post, so check it out. First sentence is a classic.
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February 14, 2005
Westminster: The haute couture of dogs
The dogs are coming, the dogs are coming!
Yes, it’s time for the “Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show,” the prestigious canine beauty contest that takes over Madison Square Garden and cable TV for two nights each year.
USA Network is devoting its entire prime time (7-10 p.m.) tonight and Tuesday night to the competition that was famously spoofed in the 2000 Christopher Guest film “Best in Show.”
Actually, people in the know have told me that film is more documentary than spoof. Watch for owners, trainers, groomers, judges and TV commentators tonight to be hilariously similar. The Fred Willard character, of course, was “inspired by” Joe Garagiola’s stint as TV host for the dog show.
Anyhoo, “Westminster” is one of USA Network’s most popular programs, a testimony to the loyalty of dog-lovers to their furry friends. It’s a chance to scope out silly-looking breeds — what’s with those semi-bald Chinese crested?
And it’s a chance to cheer on our own favorites. I have a 13-year-old Brittany (no longer officially called Brittany spaniel now) who’d rather stalk squirrels and grackles in the back yard than trot in a circle for judges, but it’s informative to see what a breed champion Brittany is supposed to act like. These dogs do not sniff inappropriate parts of the human body or lick their privates in public.
Tonight’s Best of Group competition, which includes those itty-bitty pooches I’m always afraid I’ll step on and squash, features:
Working — Akitas, mastiffs, boxers, Rottweilers, Doberman pinschers, St. Bernards
Terrier — Airedales, bull terriers, miniature schnauzers, Scottish and Jack Russell terriers
Toy — Brussels Griffons, King Charles spaniels, Chihuahuas, Chinese cresteds, toy poodles
Nonsporting: Bichon frises, Lhasa apsos, bulldogs, Shar-Pei, miniature and standard poodles
Tuesday night’s Best of Group, which has the big furry hounds and herders that only the very wealthy can afford to feed, features:
Sporting — Pointers, spaniels, retrievers, setters, Brittanys
Hound - Afghans, bassets, beagles, greyhounds, dachshunds
Herding — Australian shepherds, collies, German shepherds, Old English sheepdogs, Welsh corgis
The grand finale is the crowning of Best in Show, which is always the most ridiculous apples-and-oranges judging in the world. Enormous beasts go up against teacup cuties and squat-legged wienies.
Former CBS weatherman Mark McEwen, who replaced Garagiola as TV host of the dog show, has been replaced this year by MSNBC and “Weekend Today” anchor Lester Holt, best known for his melodramatic headline shouting during times of crisis. This, my dog-loving friends, should be fun.
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October 19, 2004
Fatigue and confusion of a baseball couch potato
The Red Sox-Yankees series is killing me — on so many levels.
No sporting event should last more than four hours. Last night’s game started in the afternoon and ended past my bedtime. It lasted longer than “Gone With the Wind” and longer than it takes to cook a 20-pound turkey, come to think of it.
I’m not inherently a baseball fan, but for reasons beyond my control, I’ve become a Boston Red Sox fan. My husband is a lifelong Sox fan (which means he’s spent many springs and summers in a deep depression), and our son is a freshman at Boston University.
So here I am, glued to the television for hours on end, listening to Tim McCarver babble on and on and ON about sliders and knuckles and minutiae that only stats nerds care about. Here I am learning all about Johnny Damon — who apparently was a good player until this series but now can’t make his bat find the ball except for a muffed bunt. I’ve been sucked into baseball against my will.
And watching these games has turned me into my late grandmother. She was a diehard Dallas Cowboys fan who never understood the concept of instant replay. She would leap up and down when a touchdown was replayed, thinking her beloved Cowboys had scored twice in a matter of seconds. Then she would cuss like a maniac when she thought a fumble had happened multiple times.
Now I’m more sympathetic to her confusion than I was back then. Watching the Red Sox-Yankees games on Fox has been a struggle to figure out what’s happening NOW and what happened, oh, a few minutes or a few years ago. Fox tosses in replays from previous games and earlier plays with frantic abandon.
Who sits down and watches a five-hour game continuously? I can’t be the only viewer who occasionally gets up to do laundry or cook dinner or pay a bill or two. When you suddenly hear raucous cheering and see David Ortiz slamming a home run over the green wall at Fenway, you think, finally, that interminable 4-4 has been broken. Then you realize it’s a clip from a previous game. Bummer.
To make it easier on us fair-weather baseball fans, they should limit the playing time to three or four hours (whoever is ahead at that point wins) and either label the live shots “live” or the replays “replay.” It’s just too depressing to realize I’m turning into my grandmother, screaming for joy in the kitchen when the only thing that just happened was a replay.
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August 17, 2004
Good times in Olympics prime time
NBC is offering a gazillion hours of Olympics coverage on seven channels, but most of us are getting the Athens Games from NBC in prime time.
I work in a newsroom, so I already know the outcome of these tape-delayed competitions. But I’m watching anyway, because knowing the results and seeing them are two entirely different things. Plus, I’m a fiend for the Olympics.
So far, swimming and gymnastics have been the best to watch. NBC promised to cut back on the jingoism, and they’ve kept that promise. We’ve actually seen wee features on Australian swimmers and Japanese and Romanian gymnasts. It’s a relief to see coverage that reflects the worldwide nature of the games, and not just the Americans.
It’s also nice to see competitors who are happy to be there and thrilled to win whatever they win. Despite NBC’s constant shrieking about swimmer Michael Phelps’ challenge to Mark Spitz’s seven golds, Phelps has refused to feel like a failure because he’s won medals of a different color.
“I just wanted to win one gold medal, and I’ve done that,” a grinning Phelps told a despondent reporter after one non-gold race. “I’m just here to do well and have fun.”
And the U.S. men’s gymnastics team was positively giddy about winning a silver medal last night, even though NBC had a running wake for the death of the gold.
Bob Costas is satin-smooth as host, and most of the analysts are doing a good job, too. Swimming commentator Rowdy Gaines and gymnastics commentator Tim Daggett need to calm down, though, or they’re going to hyperventilate on the air.
What’s going on after prime?
Geez, I was out of town for four days, and late-night television underwent a major earthquake.
In case you haven’t heard (maybe you decided to welcome Hurricane Charley, too), Craig Kilborn up and quit. Out of the blue he marched into his CBS boss’s office and announced the end of his 5-year reign as host of “The Late Late Show.”
Kilborn’s program is regularly beaten in the ratings by NBC’s “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” but CBS apparently was not unhappy with Kilborn. In fact, he was expected to renew his contract, which expires later this year. Even more surprising, Kilborn was not asking for a monumental pay raise.
“The Late Late Show” is produced by David Letterman’s production company, and Letterman will be intimately involved in hiring Kilborn’s replacement.
Speculation is rampant that Letterman and CBS will make a serious run at NBC’s O’Brien, offering him tons of money. And possibly guaranteeing him Letterman’s job when he steps down.
Letterman has not indicated that retirement is near, but most people believe he’ll leave late-night long before workaholic Jay Leno does. And O’Brien has made no secret of his desire to shift to a time period when more than a handful of groggy viewers can find him.
The trickle-down effect in late-night talk shows is legendary. Letterman, who hosted NBC’s late-late program for years, wanted Johnny Carson’s job. But when he was passed over in favor of Leno, Letterman jumped from NBC to CBS.
Kilborn will depart as soon as a replacement is found. No word on what he plans to do, but his resume includes a stint on ESPN and Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.”
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August 9, 2004
August football? Yuck.
Feh! Football in August!
I’m well aware that this is Texas, and Texans love their football, but I just can’t get in the mood for pigskin when it’s 90-plus degrees. At night.
Tonight at 7, ABC has its annual Preseason Hall of Fame Game, which really is just a chance to give the “Monday Night Football” guys a chance to practice. The Denver Broncos play the Washington Redskins. So on top of being too hot— and too early — for a football game, the teams aren’t exactly the hot ones to watch.
Football is a fall sport and should be played when leaves fall and temperatures dip beneath body temperature. It should be played when sweaters, not tank tops, are worn outside and when the swimming pool doesn’t feel like bath water.
The seasonal calendar has been out of whack for years, and somebody should lead the charge to fix it. Maybe TV and the NFL should step up to the task. Maybe if football didn’t start during summer heat waves, other fall things wouldn’t start in summer either.
Like school. OK, I’m beginning to sound like Andy Rooney, but I’m on a roll, and my eyebrows really aren’t as bushy as his.
Anyway, school should start after Labor Day and end after Memorial Day. Back-to-school clothes should be long pants and long sleeves, and sweat should have dried up long ago.
And the fall TV season should start in a big burst the week of the Emmy Awards, not dribble out in July and August. This year, that would be Sept. 19. Let the networks pursue their year-round seasons — with summer series that end after Labor Day — but keep fall premieres intact.
Fall isn’t supposed to be an extension of summer. It’s unnatural. I say we start correcting the problem by taking football off TV in August.
Just a thought …
The Shame!!
My DVD player recently died. It swallowed up one of my fall previews and refused to spit it out. The gulped object was NBC’s pilot for “Joey.” Wonder if that’s a sign …
Anyway, the DVD player is dead, so when my husband and I decided to rent a movie last weekend, we had to wander through the pitiful and mostly empty aisles of tapes. I have strong anecdotal evidence now that VCRs are on the road to extinction.
All the shiny new movies are out on DVD; the also-rans and ancient flicks are on tape. Standing in the check-out line with a tape is like wandering into an electronics store and asking for a Hi-Fi. Sad, sad, sad.
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June 28, 2004
Sulking Longhorns bolt from TV
It was all sports all weekend at our house. Between the Wimbledon tennis matches, gymnastics Olympic trials and the College World Series, we logged many hours in front of the television.
We sat, we watched, we ate. I didn’t feel as guilty as I might have because it rained pretty much the whole time. That’s my excuse for being a slug of a couch potato for two solid days, and I’m sticking to it.
Watching the fresh-faced fellows of UT and Cal State-Fullerton was an agonizing joy both days. In spite of fielding errors and unimpressive hitting, the Longhorns were fun to watch — until they lost on Sunday.
The sour post-game performance wasn’t reported on local TV news, so it wasn’t until this morning, when I read American-Statesman sports columnist Kirk Bohls’ piece that I was embarrassed for our home team. And angry.
As the parent of a teenage boy, I’ve been involved in team sports for many years, and I’ve always been a strong believer that sports participation does more for kids than keep them physically fit. Learning to win and lose gracefully is vital, and the athletic fields provide plenty of opportunity for both.
In case you missed it, the Longhorns “declined” to accept their second-place trophy Sunday. Instead, they slipped away to the locker room and bolted the door. NCAA rules require both sides to be available for locker-room interviews, but the Longhorns “declined” that, too.
Of course the Longhorns were disappointed, but it’s not like they were cheated out of the championship. The Titans played better and won. The Longhorns should have accepted defeat gracefully and congratulated the winners. They did neither. They were bad sports.
Coach Augie Garrido failed as a leader by enabling the Longhorns to react the way they did. As the NCAA ads kept proclaiming throughout the games, the overwhelming majority of student athletes will turn pro in nonsports fields after college.
What life lessons will the Longhorns take from Omaha to their work and family lives as adults? When the going gets tough, run away and sulk.
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