But Joe Buck sucks at the art of talking.

But he's pretty good at righteousness.

It seems like HBO is a good fit.

good fit for whom? Certainly not the people who subscribe to HBO.

you canceled Deadwood, you deserve Joe Buck.

Ick...

I wouldn't want to do anything less than listen to Joe Buck for "pleasure". When he calls a series game, I am darn near obligated to listen. When he's on the TV machine blabbing about sports as a side gig? No thanks, my ears don't deserve that kind of torture.

Good. Hopefully he splits his time between HBO and the MLB Network; that would mean he isn't darkening the doors of channels I actually get.

If this happened, Buck wouldn't be doing baseball games on Fox, right? I think so. And that's good, right? I think so.

It’s no secret Buck shot a pilot for his own Fox variety show.

I hope the variety show was heavily reliant on the "slamma lamma... DING DONG!" catchphrase.

The only thing more obnoxious than listening to Buck prattle on about god-knows what would be Kennedy/Zelasko doing the same thing.

BTW, talk about addition by subtraction--I'm so glad FOX finally got around to axing those two idiots.

Joe Buck doing sports on HBO? LLLLllllllet's get ready to GRUMMMMMMMMBLLLLLLLLLLE!!!

If this happened, Buck wouldn't be doing baseball games on Fox, right? I think so. And that's good, right? I think so.

Maybe. But then he'd probably be replaced by Thom Brennenman.

After The Wire ended, I hesitantly canceled HBO, now I'm not regretting that decision so much.

"Everybody's talking..."

Unfortunately, that includes Mr. Buck.

Also, it’s no secret Buck shot a pilot for his own Fox variety show. That project was put on hold.

Your mission, son, is to find that tape and terminate it. Terminate with extreme prejudice.

Replacing Costas doesn't seem like a very tall order to me.

Baf!

Also, it’s no secret Buck shot a pilot for his own Fox variety show. That project was put on hold.

Your mission, son, is to find that tape and terminate it. Terminate with extreme prejudice.

Aw, hell no. That could be The Chevy Chase show level of awesomeness. Maybe even The Magic Hour level of fun.

We know what it's Costas, but Buck makes no cents.

Flight of the Conchords is the only good thing on HBO right now.

Also, it’s no secret Buck shot a pilot for his own Fox variety show. That project was put on hold.

Anonymous sources say Buck was upset over the "All That Maz" tribute number for Bill Mazeroski and Bob Fosse.

Maybe they'll hire Buck to replace Lampley on their boxing broadcasts, and have JB do those gigs in the middle of the ring.

At least Costas likes sports and seems to care about what is going on. Joe Buck? He only cares if someone is doing something stupid (especially in Football) or if the cast of "Bones" or "Lie to Me" happen to be sitting in the seats. Oh, or if a game-winning hit happens, in which case it is like he just got a IV full of drama.

Buck's internal monologue is probably the most predictable among all national broadcasters.

"Romero sets. And sets and sets and sets, this is so boring. The two-two. Pitch the damn ball already. Fouled back. $%#*%*$%!!!111!!! They'll do it again."

not that i don't have some problems with maddon/michaels, i can't tell you how upset i am that this year cards/steelers fans got two people who are actually, you know, alive to call the exciting plays in their super bowl. bucks pathetic non-call of eli's scramble/tyree's catch is one of the most bittersweet moments of my sports watching life.

not that i don't have some problems with maddon/michaels

"This is an amaaaaazing turn of events! Amaaaaaazing! What an amaaaaaaaazing end to the first half!"

"This is an amaaaaazing turn of events! Amaaaaaazing! What an amaaaaaaaazing end to the first half!"

even michaels repeating that over and over again woulda beat what buck actually said.

Flight of the Conchords is the only good thing on HBO right now.

"Big Love" is decent. But yeah, they've hit a lull in terms of good programming.

bucks pathetic non-call of eli's scramble/tyree's catch is one of the most bittersweet moments of my sports watching life.

I watched the White Sox win their first postseason series since 1917 in the 2005 ALDS. I had to listen to Chris Berman talk about how awesome the Red Sox were and how sad it was that they weren't advancing.

And then Joe Buck announced the World Series. Ugh.

I watched the White Sox win their first postseason series since 1917 in the 2005 ALDS. I had to listen to Chris Berman talk about how awesome the Red Sox were and how sad it was that they weren't advancing.

i feel for you, i really do. and damn, berman really did that? i always felt like there were times that the media in general/espn specifically would have preferred the red sox winning, but i tended to keep my trap shut in fear that it was really only my immature, bitter yankee fan talking. and of course berman doing it once does not a media-wide conspiracy make, but still, it's pretty low.

was it 2001 that buck/mccarver started the world series together? i can't remember now which years specifically costas did it for nbc, but wow, was he a lot better.

Aw, hell no. That could be The Chevy Chase show level of awesomeness. Maybe even The Magic Hour level of fun.

Can't remember where I saw it, but there were a few episodes floating around the Web recently. Premise of the show: Buck rides around in a taxi (the driver is sidekick) that picks up celebrities/sports personalities for brief interviews. HBO had a promo vehicle like this a few years back.

Fantastic television all around.

damn, berman really did that?

Oh yeah. He treated the '05 ALDS like a coda to the '04 championship season. The White Sox didn't even register on his radar.

i know sports writers always say they root for the best storyline, but in what way was the white sox possibly winning the world series for the first time in 88 years not a great storyline? i could never understand the sympathy the red sox got when both chicago teams were even more long suffering. i used to like to point out to people that, yeah, it sucked for red sox fans that they hadn't won since 1918, but that they should keep in mind the team the red sox beat that year.

Buck rides around in a taxi (the driver is sidekick) that picks up celebrities/sports personalities for brief interviews.

"Haha, that guy over there smoking a cigarette he picked up from the gutter looks just like Jim Leyritz. Hey, cigarette guy, come on over here! Did you know you look just like Jim Leyritz?"

"Yeah, look like."

i know sports writers always say they root for the best storyline, but in what way was the white sox possibly winning the world series for the first time in 88 years not a great storyline?

Because sports writers, like other journalists, are liars. They root the most for what they're biased for. For whatever reason, the ChiSox are not sexy enough for the sports media.

For whatever reason, the ChiSox are not sexy enough for the sports media.

i'd love to sit down and get their take on this. huge media market, long tradition, passionate fans, haven't won since a notorious scandal (which is much more legitimate than made up curses.) sounds like a helluva story to me.

there's no white sox nation, duh

i could never understand the sympathy the red sox got when both chicago teams were even more long suffering.

In the 1000m speedskating events in the Olympics, why did Dan Jansen get so much sympathy, but Nick Thometz didn't?

sounds like a helluva story to me.

Of course it's a helluva story. However, that's just not enough, unfortunately.

there's no white sox nation, duh

You joke, but you've probably hit pretty close to the truth. The White Sox's fan base is pretty regional - they don't get the national support that the Yankees, Red Sox, and Cubs do. That means their story gets buried.

Maybe the President can spread the gospel.

i'd love to sit down and get their take on this. huge media market, long tradition, passionate fans

Boston outdrew them in 70% of seasons since 1940 - in a much smaller ballpark, in a much smaller city. That's not to say White Sox fans aren't passionate; rather, it suggests they're not as similar as you think.

i know sports writers always say they root for the best storyline, but in what way was the white sox possibly winning the world series for the first time in 88 years not a great storyline?

Sample conversation that I've had too many times:

Idiot: You're a baseball fan, huh? Do you root for the Yankees?
Me: No, I hate the Yankees.
Idiot: Oh, so you're a Red Sox fan?
Me: No, I hate the Red Sox.
Idiot: *bewildered*

Boston outdrew them in 70% of seasons since 1940 - in a much smaller ballpark, in a much smaller city.

Of course, Chicago's a two-team town, and Boston isn't.

Of course, Chicago's a two-team town, and Boston isn't.

Of course, until 1953 Boston WAS a two-team town, and has never had the population that Chicago has.

Why were Rome and Deadwood terminated? Ratings? Too expensive?

I enjoy Big Love. Flight of the Conchords does nothing for me. Joe Buck would do even less.

Why were Rome and Deadwood terminated? Ratings? Too expensive?

Too expensive, both of them. I don't know if they even track ratings for the pay channels.

The fact that "Rome" and "Deadwood" were too expensive makes me nervous that they won't do "A Song of Ice and Fire" well.

The history-based mini-series' HBO runs out once or twice a year are pretty good too:

John Adams was all sorts of good, and Hanks/Spielberg have their pseudo-followup (don't you dare call it a sequel) miniseries to Band of Brothers coming out later this year: The Pacific.

I have ridiculous expectations for "A Song of Ice and Fire" on HBO. For its quality, anyway. I'm still not convinced that it will ever make it on air and I fear that it will be very difficult for it extend beyond three seasons if HBO does air it. Deadwood was damn near perfect and they had to end it after 3 seasons despite the network presumably raking in the dough from The Sopranos. I expect a similar career path for ASOIAF.

If there's anybody on here with even a slight inclination towards enjoying science fiction or fantasy, do not hesitate to check out the first novel A Game of Thrones in George RR Martin's tremendous series. I'm an experienced fantasy nerd and it's my favorite series by a long shot. It's also the most accessible fantasy series for those who do not care for the genre. Definitely not kiddie stuff.

"Carnivale" certainly looked expensive. Why was it NOT terminated?

it’s no secret Buck shot a pilot for his own Fox variety show.

It was to me. Really? No kidding? A Joe Buck-hosted variety show?