As I was saying in today's newspaper column, the epic battle between the NFL Network and the cable companies is heading for an iceberg Nov. 29, when the Cowboys and Packers tussle on the network nearly 80 million American homes are without.
Which side will the announcing team of Bryant Gumbel and Cris Collinsworth be on? Neither, or both.
"You're looking at two guys who have two paychecks from the two warring parties,'' said Gumbel, referring to the fact he and Collinsworth work for HBO, which is owned by cable giant Time Warner, and the NFL Network, which is owned by the NFL.
Collinsworth said the dispute is "not even on our radar screen. I work for Time Warner, too, so it’s a subject much better avoided by us. What are we going to say? 'Good luck guys, I hope it all works out.'''
It's all part of a strange relationship between Gumbel/Collinsworth and the league. Given their outspoken natures, Collinsworth was surprised when he first learned of the plans for the announcing team.
"They don’t have to have Bryant and me on that show,'' he said. "There are about 400,000 broadcasters out there that would not have some of the opinions that we have. But I have great respect for the league and the network, the fact they were willing to have people that would challenge them occasionally.''
Collinsworth admitted to some awkwardness with the commissioner on the NBC set earlier this season after he expressed blunt opinions about the Patriots and "Spygate.''
"There was one moment where I said, he is my boss in a way,'' Collinsworth said. "Fortunately, I have a few more bosses I have to answer to, too.''
Gumbel hinted, though, that he has a better relationship with Roger Goodell than he did with his predecessor, Paul Tagliabue.
Asked to describe the difference between the two, Gumbel laughed and said, "Boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. You know what, Paul is gone and I wish him well in retirement. I just think Roger is doing a great, great job.''
Comments (11)
I'm actually on the side of the cable companies in this war, Neil. If it's true that the league wants up to 3 times the amount ESPN charges cable companies per subscriber, I can't see how the cable companies can put NFLN on anything other than a premium tier. The league needs to reduce its demands if it wants to have distribution on basic cable. Doesn't the league have enough money as it is?
Since I could not find out anything about your comments on the Giant Cowboy game other then the ratings, I wanted to get my two cents in about Troy Aikman. If he was not pulling for the Cowboy's in broadcating the game Sunday, no one was. I know he was a great QB with the Boys and generally is one of the top broadcasters (when the Cowboys are not playing), however Sunday you knew where his heart was while calling this game. He keep on beating up on the Giants even in the first half when the game was still up for grabs. On the two holding calls both Joe Buck and Troy just called the penalties with out a comment noting as the talk shows (WFAM and ESPN) did and most thought the calls were pretty close to none existing. These calls played a big part in the game and both never showed a slow replay of the holding penalties. I replayed them on my DVR and the penalty on the kickoff return was not even close. Also, a quick mention was made that a Ref left the game because of an injury. I am not sure if this was before the penalties or after they were called. If he left before the penalties maybe Troy or Joe should have mentioned that having lost one Ref it was possible that the refs were not in there normal position to make such a call (I guess they were having too much fun beating up on the Giants to notice). By the way any time Joe Buck calls a Giant game over the last few years we seem to lost and I get the feeling he enjoys it.
Just giving you some of my ideas.
Charlie
Can you do an entry on who you think is the best play-by-play and color commentator on the major sports?
Tom: The NFL Network charges less than a quarter of what ESPN does per subscriber per month.
Charlie: Every fan in every market in every sport thinks the national announcers are biased in favor of the other team.
Carl: Good idea. I'll start with this: I think Buck and Aikman are the best football announcing duo on the networks.
I think in basketball Mike Breen is one of the best. Baseball is a tough one. I wish Bob Costas still called games. Hockey is a no-brainer as far as play-by-play, Doc Emerick is in a league of his own.
When Gary Cohen and Howie Rose were radio partners, they were definately the best radio duo in sports let alone baseball. The Holy Trinity of Cohen, Mex, and Ron are definately the best booth of course with Vin Scully in a league of his own. I liked Marv Albert with JVG/Steve Kerr but basketball is my least favorite of the major sport and those guys are no longer together. Doc Emrick rules but Chico is annoying. I personally can't stand Buck in either baseball or football though he's stuck with McCarver which handicaps his announcing in baseball. Overall he's better with baseball IMO. Aikman's pretty good but he defends the QBs to a fault. Michaels and Madden are still the best but Kevin Harlan and Rich Gannon are a very underrated group currently.
I stand corrected, Neil. Thanks for the clarification.
Also, regarding these announcing teams, any type of grading or ranking is purely subjective; it all revolves around what each viewer likes to see/hear when watching a sporting event. I can disagree with all the commenters who chose their favorites, as most of those named grate on me. However, in my opinion, Marv Albert is the best play-by-play announcer who has ever lived. His versatility, knowledge of all the sports he has covered, and humor and quick-wittedness he brings to each game while closely detailing the action is hands above anyone else now doing games.
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