I really just wonder what ESPN execs have going through their brains. I mean, they're paid big bucks to make decisions. It may or may not be the right move market-wise to dumb down sports, but I can see the logic on their end...

Eric Young? Tino Martinez?
Can't they at least hire people that are able to speak moderately well when saying stupid ####?

The Baseball Tonight Drinking Game

Drink when:
- Eric Young starts a sentence “I tell you what.”
- John Kruk shouts over someone.
- Steve Phillips says/does something that makes you wonder why he ever was hired as a major league GM.

I think Josh Hancock was playing that game.

Scott Long better watch out or he will be added to the Josh Hancock lawsuit.

On ESPN radio, take a shot every time Tim Kurkjian responds "That's a great question..."

Eric Young? Tino Martinez?
Can't they at least hire people that are able to speak moderately well when saying stupid ####?

What I'd like to know is how they chose these guys for what are their first jobs in broadcasting. Tino makes some sense since he's a former All-Star with the Yanks who probably makes his home in Connecticut (I imagine a huge stumbling block is the fact that to work for ESPN you need to commute to Bumfucksville, Connecticut).

Young's from Jersey, but what about him screams "future analyst!"? If the requirement is ballplayers from the North East, why not go harder after Al Leiter or someone else who can speak a sentence? And shouldn't ESPN be considered one of the higher levels an analyst can get? Why are they hiring schnooks straight out of the majors? And where *is* Buck Showalter?

And where *is* Buck Showalter?

Indians front office

For years I always joked about how you could get completely bombed if you did a shot every time Jeff Brantley said, "help the ball club." Or hell, any time he said "Ball club."

This one might be better.

This would all be avoided if they just gave us what we demanded; MORE PETER GAMMONS!

EY's got nothing on Troy Aikman and his adding unnecessary "what's" in the middle of sentences.

More of this kind of banter is needed on Baseball Tonight.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzuuTn4GSuA&eurl=http://www.deadspin.com/

EY's got nothing on Troy Aikman and his adding unnecessary "what's" in the middle of sentences.

Or starting sentences with "I'm not so sure..."

Kruk and Young are horrible, but Hershiser isn't bad.

Drink when:
- Eric Young starts a sentence “I tell you what.”
- John Kruk shouts over someone.
- Steve Phillips says/does something that makes you wonder why he ever was hired as a major league GM.

Are you trying to kill people via alcohol poisoning?

And where *is* Buck Showalter?

Doing better than Max Showalter.

What if I don't drink?

They're all stupid and we're all smart.

The NHL and NBA panels suck, now, too.

ESPN sold it's soul to the NFL and the rest of it just sucks.

"ESPN sold it's soul to the NFL"

I don't know about the rest of what you said, but this is definately true. Even College football gets hosed by the NFL (Except for College Gameday, which is amazing).

I liked the crew NBC had when the Rangers beat the Sabres in OT that game. Brett Hull and a couple other guys.

How is it not possible that ESPN has not hired Doug Glanville to be on Baseball Tonight? He is absolutely perfect for that job.

MORE PETER GAMMONS!

With cowbell.

Isn't Glanville doing something a little more intellectually demanding than shooting the #### for ESPN?

Gammons always starts with "Well, I mean..."

[Isn't Glanville doing something a little more intellectually demanding than shooting the #### for ESPN?/quote]Mowing lawns? Working at a drive-thru? Manicurist? What isn't more intellectually demanding?

I said when he first got hired, right here on Primer, that Eric Young was the worst thing that had yet been inflicted on BBTN. He seems stupid, his voice is actively annoying, and he has no presence.

I liked the crew NBC had when the Rangers beat the Sabres in OT that game. Brett Hull and a couple other guys.

I hate you.

The Sabres are the greatest thing ever.

Ever.

But um, you're talking about Bill Clement, Brett Hull and Ray "Winner Winner Chicken Parm Dinner" Ferraro.

The dynamic that is so good between Ferraro/Hull is that they actually hate the hell out of one another.

NBC also has the only national hockey announcer who's worth anything in Mike Emrick, so they have a good thing going there. It's just a shame nobody watches any of it.

As I was ch-flipping, I'm pretty sure it was EY that blurbed in ultra-high pitch..."Eeee paddlepuddle" (?) or some odd noise like that...which, if I'm not mistaked, is an old B-side by Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs.

Drinking while watching BBTN isn't a game. It's self-preservation.

Next year Don Cherry will be on NBC. It will be interesting to see if he tones it down from his routine on Hockey Night in Canada.

And if Ray Ferraro hates Brett Hull that is another reason to like him, other than the fact he is a former Brandon Wheat King.

ian Posted: May 26, 2007 at 06:10 PM (#2379770)
I really just wonder what ESPN execs have going through their brains. I mean, they're paid big bucks to make decisions. It may or may not be the right move market-wise to dumb down sports, but I can see the logic on their end...

Why would you want to dumb it down? I have never really understood the reason why. Most people that I know that are interested in sports pre-game/post-game shows are pretty smart. They want an expert to explain to them what happened in key situations.

Honestly if anyone, Ian?, can explain why they cater to morons please explain it to me.

I think what happens is too often there are cliche spouting idiots, screamers, or complete homers doing these types of shows and only the most fawning or belligerent fan can stomach them. "We'll the Royals really hustled out there tonight but they let so opportunities slip away as they narrowly lost 9-2." What reasonably rational or intelligent person could take that for very long?

Its why I love Ron Jaworski, he shows me the play, highlight why it works they first time and then the adjustment that was made to stop it.

Its why I love Chad Bradford wanna be's blog, I don't know sic 'em from come here about most of that stuff, but he breaks down so nicely.

Its why I like the scoreboard at Fenway when it show the MPH on the pitch and what type it was. I might be able to tell if it was a curve if I was in a good seat, but out in right field I have no idea what the pitch was.

I know most of you have never heard Stan Webber - no relation unfortunately - Kansas State's colot analyst for football. He is so much better and works so much harder than the guys you see on network broadcasts. He's homer, but he really explains what is going on well.

Eric Young just said, "I tell you what" twice in the same sentence when talking about Mark Reynolds.

Oh, it's going to be a long night........

this eduardo guy sucks too

I like the Brent Musburger drinking game better.

"I tell you what, Adam Eaton takes batting practice everyday like he's a regular position player."

I tell you what, Eric Young sure says I tell you what an awful lot.......

while reading the comments on here and watching the BBTN (basically about 4 minutes maybe less) I honestly heard two I tell you whats. I'm somewhat shocked.

He probably just watches too much King of the Hill. Cut the guy some slack. Hank Hill is my hero.

I was setting up a Slingbox just now and happened to run across BBTN, I think. How do the Yankees -- Derek Jeter's Yankees -- have leadership issues?

I was setting up a Slingbox just now and happened to run across BBTN, I think. How do the Yankees -- Derek Jeter's Yankees -- have leadership issues?

I tell you what, it's simple.

Derek Jeter, with whom I've never played, nor probably ever talked to, he leads by example. I know this because, I tell you what, don't ask me how I know this. Somebody else needs to lead this club vocally.

Jorge Posada is raking. He's the only one who is raking, and the only one who is raking, besides Alex Rodriguez, who is also raking. They're both raking. Rakers, who rake, they don't want to lead the team because guys will get the idea that you only want to lead because you're raking. You need somebody who has one or two or three or four rings being vocal. But Jorge Posada, well, he's just raking.

Bernie Williams, now he is the missing link. This guy, or Roger Clemens. Roger will come in, you know, being so high tempo, and he will say, "Let's get this thing going guys," and it will make, like, a total difference and stuff.

I tell you what.

That's what I figured.

Dick Vitale likes to say "I'll tell you one thing" a lot (and then doesn't stick to his promise). Maybe that's the source.

Jorge Posada is raking. He's the only one who is raking, and the only one who is raking, besides Alex Rodriguez, who is also raking. They're both raking. Rakers, who rake, they don't want to lead the team because guys will get the idea that you only want to lead because you're raking. You need somebody who has one or two or three or four rings being vocal. But Jorge Posada, well, he's just raking.

Bernie Williams, now he is the missing link. This guy, or Roger Clemens. Roger will come in, you know, being so high tempo, and he will say, "Let's get this thing going guys," and it will make, like, a total difference and stuff.

If I didn't see it for myself I would think this was just a joke, but unfortunately that's a pretty accurate transcript. Who knew all the Yankees need is for someone to tell them they have to win?

Oh, and Young and Perez have annoying voices.

I'll put it out there now, and if I'm wrong, I'll eat crow: Aaron Boone would/will make a great BBTN analyst. I've seen him in interviews, and I've seen a couple of phone-in segments with him on BBTN, and the man knows how to talk in front of a camera. You'd think this would be required, but apparently I'm in the minority.

He probably just watches too much King of the Hill. Cut the guy some slack. Hank Hill is my hero.

I tell you what, Texas men don't say this.

No discussion of baseball announcing can be complete without this Great Moment in Broadcasting:

Today (5/27) Anaheim's at Yankee Stadium. Extra Innings has the YES feed. It's the bottom of the ninth, Halos up 4-3, two out, man on third, K-Rod & Jeter, 3-2 count. Michael Kay, fulfilling the broadcaster's dictum that no important moment in a baseball game may go unspoken-over, tells his viewers that this is the kind of at-bat even ball players would stop to see.

Rodriguez throws an up-and-away fastball, likely ball four. Jeter fouls it away. Kay pauses and then says ...

"Neither man wants to lose."

Happy Base Ball

The BBTN hiring practices are directly tied into the talking sports out of ... ignorance promotion. **VIDEO LINK**. Luckily the show is taped so they get to lip sync the visuals later and avoid the dreaded talking out of your ass mic placement problems.