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  1. #1

    ESPN - The Leader in Sports?

    Hate to beat a dead horse but after multiple errors all season long both by announcers and their graphics team, I didn't think it could get much worse.

    This was probably the worst televised game I've ever seen. I don't know if they have anything to do with this effort to fit a 7pm (east) game into 2 hours before 9 but I suspect they do. My locale (and I suspect all locales) tuned in nearly 5 minutes into the game. The constant "in-game" interruptions. The repetitive "advertising" of their other networks. And the repeated losing of a signal were quite embarassing.

    I've seen a real drop-off with this outfit since ABC took over.

    Perhaps I shouldn't complain b/c without them I'd see only about 1/2 the games but the quality sure has dropped.

  2. #2
    They have really dropped the ball with their broadcasts. Would they really lose that much money if they allowed 2 1/2 hours for ncaa games? Especially this late in the season? Poor performance by ESPN.

    I turned the volume off after the first half due to the 2 color commentators they employ as opposed to a real play-by-play and color guy. Only to have to listen near the end because of the technical difficulty. Unreal.

    Bad game. The slowskis were pretty tough tonight. They are a very athletic and experienced team, save Vasquez and Hayes from the experience. They'll be a tough out in the ACC and NCAA tourneys. I'd love to play them again though, get one more crack at them. Anyhow, time to turn our focus to that place right down the road. Should be a pretty tough game.

    GO Duke!
    GTHC!GTHC!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Detroit, Michigan
    I am just glad I got to hear Vitale give us his 2 cents about the lifestyles of Brittney, Lindsey, and Paris Hilton before the end of the first half.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Skinker-DeBaliviere, Saint Louis
    What I don't get is paying all this money for Duke-MD, promoting the mess out of it as your featured 9 EST game, and then not showing a bunch of it. That's what surprises me more than their lack of concern about fans getting angry.

    A movie is not about what it's about; it's about how it's about it.
    ---Roger Ebert


    Some questions cannot be answered
    Who’s gonna bury who
    We need a love like Johnny, Johnny and June
    ---Over the Rhine

  5. #5
    at least we got to see more of the game than their pathetic broadcast of the Duke Gonzaga game, where we missed the ENTIRE FIRST HALF. I dread every time I see us listed as the late game, when was the last time they actually got to show the tip of a 9 oclock game? When you've got 5 channels, why not start the Duke broadcast on one of the other ones, heck, use ESPNEWS, how many people are actually watching it at 9 oclock at night? I think its time for them to launch "the ocho"

  6. #6

    Vitale and Other Announcers

    You know, as tiresome as it is to listen to Vitale, at least he KNOWS how to pronounce players' names. There's really no excuse for Mike Patrick to keep referring to "Roberts" and Packer to keep saying "Schreyer". Same goes for Majerus and the rest of them. Good Lord, these guys are supposed to be professionals. And as much as I like (and have always liked) Len Elmore, he has a definite chip on his shoulder where Duke is concerned (and I have really tried to give him the benefit of the doubt).

    So I'd almost rather listen to Vitale rant about Britney than hear the name-mangling and bias of the rest of the "professionals".

  7. #7

    Thumbs down Espn

    what really ticked me off is on Direct Tv, Espn has alternative channels, so i flipped over to see if they would put the game on there until the Nova-Uconn game was over and they have that game on as well, it was ridicolous

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2007

    ESPN is pitiful

    They join the Duke-MD game at the 14:00 minute mark. We barely get to see the last 2:30 of the game because of technical difficulties. Absolutely pitiful.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Asheville, NC
    I must agree with the pitiful level of broadcasting we experienced last night. The technical difficulties aside, the constant promos during the action, the 30 @ 30 BS, another 9 pm start, the announcers, the shot selection by the ESPN crew, etc made me crazy. I could hardly watch the game at times. It was almost like visiting a sports chat board with lots of avatars with bouncy thingies.

    ESPN used to be a great place to watch sports. Now it is more like MTV than anything else. The business model that ABC brought to the ESPN networks has created a poor experience for us fans. ACC select is looking better and better.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Watching carolina Go To HELL!

    Brad Dougherty

    Quote Originally Posted by slower View Post
    And as much as I like (and have always liked) Len Elmore, he has a definite chip on his shoulder where Duke is concerned (and I have really tried to give him the benefit of the doubt).
    Watching the "Gone in 54 Seconds" game yesterday on Classic, it was good to hear Brad Dougherty doing the color commentary. I know he's a heel, but his appreciation of the comeback was very fair. Although he said something about never seeing such a big comeback (10 points) so quickly (54 seconds), I'm sure someone reminded him of the 1974 game in Carmichael... and no, I'm not going into painful details on that one. In fact, our comeback in Cameron in 1995 (the Capel shot game) was an even more amazing 10 points in about 18 seconds.
    Ozzie, your paradigm of optimism!

    Go To Hell carolina, Go To Hell!
    9F 9F 9F
    https://ecogreen.greentechaffiliate.com

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington DC

    ESPNNEWS is worthless

    The 2 easy fixes:

    1. Tip the 9pm games at 9:15

    2. If the 7pm game runs over beyond that, move the feed to espnnews. Can't image there would be mass outrage if espnnews veiwers had to wait 10 more minutes to watch spring training highlights for the 5th time.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Northwest Ohio
    When the technical difficulties arose toward the end of the game, it would have been really good if Vitale would have just let the play by play go on without voicing his stuff. It seems as if Vitale does not care if the fans who are watching know what is going on as long as he can "entertain" them.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by mkirsh View Post
    2. If the 7pm game runs over beyond that, move the feed to espnnews. Can't image there would be mass outrage if espnnews veiwers had to wait 10 more minutes to watch spring training highlights for the 5th time.
    That sounds reaonsable, but you forget that this is the same outfit that thinks the people tuning into the NCAA games want to see their game put into a little window every thirty minues in order to get taped news that is hours old about unrelated sports.

    Please, please, please, give me picture-in-picture ONLY if something is happening live that is both exciting and related to the sport I have chosen to watch.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    York, PA

    Pagliuca's moment lost forever

    The real shame of losing the video feed is that Joe Pagliuca was sent in to play what will probably be his last minutes as a senior and none of his friends or family saw it. As I sat there staring at a full-screen graphic, my heart nearly broke when I heard Patrick announce that he was coming in.

    At one point, Patrick actually attempted to call the action like a radio feed but Vitale was totally oblivious and kept blathering on about peripherals.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington, DC
    Quote Originally Posted by lmb View Post
    The real shame of losing the video feed is that Joe Pagliuca was sent in to play what will probably be his last minutes as a senior and none of his friends or family saw it. As I sat there staring at a full-screen graphic, my heart nearly broke when I heard Patrick announce that he was coming in.

    At one point, Patrick actually attempted to call the action like a radio feed but Vitale was totally oblivious and kept blathering on about peripherals.
    Well the feed kicked back in just in time for us to see him foul somebody, so it wasn't all for nothing.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Hopkinton, MA

    ESPN Re-broadcast the next day

    ESPN replayed the game on ESPN-U the next day at 2:00 and it had all the footage that was missed due to the UCONN game. It also had most of the footage that was lost due to "technical difficulties".

    I do wish, when they rebroadcast a game, they would just rebroadcast the whole thing and not skip time and say "due to time constraints, we move ahead in our broadcast". Step up and commit 2.5 hours to the game, or cut out some of those ridiculous "Working from home has changed my life" commercials.

    I have ben collecting Duke games since 1986 and have converted much of my collection to DVD (over 200 games). I actually had to cut and paste from two different broadcasts to get something close to a complete game. Very frustrating.

  17. #17
    ESPN . . . sigh. There's so much incompetence there, it's postitively heartbreaking. I wonder how many regular ESPN viewers were aware that the largerst bicycle race in North America was going on last week, with one of the best international fields ever assembled on American soil. A race that drew over a million roadside spectators. A race with BOTH reigning road cycling world champions (road race and time trial).

    We were kept VERY well apprised, however, of NFL draft speculation. Thank goodness.

    Kudos to Mike Patrick for switching into radio play-by-play mode when the video feed cut out (something he did quite well, actually). Vital's absolute obliviousness was certainly not surprising, but does ESPN "management" need any more evidence that the guy's best years are DECADES behind him? How many years left on that godforsaken contract of his???

    Anyway, GTHC GTH.

    --D

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Northwest NC
    It makes no sense to me that they can split the screen for their preciouse 30 at 30 news updates, but they can't at least put a small picture of the 9:00 game in the upper corner of the screen. I almost went insane waiting for the UCONN game to go off. What are you going to do though?

  19. #19

    Agree Wholeheartedly

    Listening to Patrick & Dickie V try to do play-by-play during the outage was just hilarious -- Patrick even said something to effect that they were going to do it, and within 10 seconds it was obvious that neither were capable of actually reporting on the game.

    On a related note, I watched the 92 Duke-UK on ESPN Classic a couple weeks back and was struck by how little the announcers said, letting the game speak for itself. I do enjoy Majerus & Bilas & Daugherty, because they actually add some depth & understanding, but ESPN's compulsive need to fill every, single second with talking is killing their broadcasts.

    I'd also add that Len Elmore is drifting dangerously close to Dickie V land as far as blithering aimlessly. Used to like him, but this season has been a marked change in style.

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by DUKIECB View Post
    It makes no sense to me that they can split the screen for their preciouse 30 at 30 news updates, but they can't at least put a small picture of the 9:00 game in the upper corner of the screen. I almost went insane waiting for the UCONN game to go off. What are you going to do though?
    I have to wonder, does anyone out there actually like the :30 at :30? I mean anyone, anywhere, not just here.

    I suppose even if their market research is showing it to be an unpopular idea, they will continue it through the end of the season. I just hope it does not return next year.

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