Cheering from the pressbox

[MUrugger]

There were a lot of things that were tough to stomach in this game...and at this hour most of them have been covered...but to me it was painful to listen to the two Mountaineer homers on ESPN 360 gush at every WVU bit of good play/good fortune and grudgingly, disbelievingly give MU any of their due props.  They seemed disappointed it wasn't the WVU and Huggy Bear blowout that they anticipated.

[downtown85]

+1. I agree.  Totally biased calling of the game by the ESPN crew.

[GGGG]

I had the sound turned down because I was watching the Champs Sports Bowl on the television.

What annoyed me is that my wife said...."oh they're down by one!" but Butler had yet to shoot his FT.  Apparently ESPN360 is about 30 seconds behind actual time.

[TheButlerDidIt]

I swore that Wenzel cheered after a 1st half Ebanks dunk. He called the Pitt-DePaul game the night before and was pretty awful.

Maybe my memory's off, but didn't Homer and Mac call some Marquette home games on the Big East Network last year??

[TJ]

That wasn't just ESPN showing the WVU broadcast of the game?  Sure sounded like it.

[VegasWarrior77]

That's what it seemed to be.  Brutal!

[TJ]

I'm also getting quite tired of the bs "newcomer" (read "inferior") tag that still gets thrown at us when dealing with "old school" Big East people.  It's year 5 and we've more than proven that we can keep up.  Time to get over it.

[Marquette_g]

Just because the announcers say positive things about the other team doesn't mean they are "MU haters, homers for the other team, or amateur".  I thought they did a good job of being excited about a great college basketball game.  Numerous times they talked about how tough MU was playing.  Sure they said good things about WVU - they are the 6th ranked team in the country and a team that made a tournament run last year.  If you would prefer to hear people say positive things about your team, listen to the local feed. 

These guys were nothing compared with Len Elmore, they did a decent job for being the tertiary crew that they are.

[DJO's Pump Fake]

I disagree g

They would yell YES or O WHAT A PLAY or That's WV BBALL after anything WVU did.  After MU did something good they would just say wow, "they" hit a shot, yadda yadda yadda.

It was a great game to watch (minus the outcome) but an awful game to listen too.  Extremely biased announcers.

[GGGG]

Guys...our announcer's nickname is "The Homer."  Let's settle down here...

[mu-rara]

Guys...our announcer's nickname is "The Homer."  Let's settle down here...

What is rule #1 of Homerism?

[TJ]

Just because the announcers say positive things about the other team doesn't mean they are "MU haters, homers for the other team, or amateur".  I thought they did a good job of being excited about a great college basketball game.  Numerous times they talked about how tough MU was playing.  Sure they said good things about WVU - they are the 6th ranked team in the country and a team that made a tournament run last year.  If you would prefer to hear people say positive things about your team, listen to the local feed.  

These guys were nothing compared with Len Elmore, they did a decent job for being the tertiary crew that they are.

"Three pointer... Bending... Bending... Bending... GOOD!!!  Nice job by ____ to get the bounce.  What a great player! ..."

Other end of the floor, DJO swishes one: "Odom makes a 3 pointer."

There were so many examples of crappy one-sided announcing last night.  Just because they aren't as bad as Len Elmore doesn't mean they're good.

[TJ]

Guys...our announcer's nickname is "The Homer."  Let's settle down here...

Our local radio broadcast is not aired nationally on ESPN Full Court and produced by the Big East Network/ESPN.

[LON]

Our local radio broadcast is not aired nationally on ESPN Full Court and produced by the Big East Network/ESPN.

Exactly.  The non-MU fans I watched the game with were the ones that brought up how bad those two idiots were cheering for WVU.

I didn't get upset about it until we lost.

I mean, MU is burning the nets off with 3-balls and then Truck Bryant makes one decent play all night and Wenzel starts performing a Favre-like slurp job all over my TV screen.  It was bad.

EDIT:  I only remembered Wenzel's name, it could have been the other guy just as well.

[RubyWiscy]

Actually, I thought the bias was pretty funny. Ebanks makes a lightly contested layup and they go off like he is the second coming of Jerry Smith because he twisted he body a bit. "Are you kidding me!"

The announcing bias didn't really surprise me though.  Caught part of the WV vs. Seton Hall game. Early in the 2nd half WV was up by 6 to 10 points. The announcers kept talking about what SH needed to do to "get back into this thing."  They made it sound like WV was up by 25 points!

The best part was the brief interview with Huggins after the game.  He looked shell shocked, like he was still not convinced that they won. I actually thought he was going to argue with the announcers when they praised his teams play.

[MUfan12]

The color guy was Bob Wenzel, who IMO is one of the worst out there. Not because of any biases, he just gets way too amped up for ordinary plays. Then he raises his voice out of nowhere like he has tourette's or something.

For instance, Ebanks hit a little 4 foot leaner off the glass in the first half, and Wenzel raved about the play through the next possession. He's got a big time case of the "Gruden's," overhyping the ordinary.

[gumbyandpokey]

You guys have got to be kidding.  Those announcers were drooling all over MU when they came back from the seven point deficit early on and took the lead.  They were talking about an "upset" in the making and how gritty MU was.

One thing I've noticed and don't quite understand is why so many MU fans have an inferiority complex.  Whining about referees or announcers...why not worry that MU seems to have a number of players on their team that can't handle the pressure of a late-game FT?

The game had ebbs and flows last night.  The announcers got excited for both teams when they went on their respective runs.

[TJ]

You guys have got to be kidding.  Those announcers were drooling all over MU when they came back from the seven point deficit early on and took the lead.  They were talking about an "upset" in the making and how gritty MU was.

One thing I've noticed and don't quite understand is why so many MU fans have an inferiority complex.  Whining about referees or announcers...why not worry that MU seems to have a number of players on their team that can't handle the pressure of a late-game FT?

The game had ebbs and flows last night.  The announcers got excited for both teams when they went on their respective runs.

Agree to disagree I guess.  I thought the same sequence sounded more like a comment on how great WVU was and their amazement that Marquette was fielding a competitive team.  Either way, it had no bearing in any way on the game except for my (and others apparently) enjoyment of it.

Also, magically I can think about both the announcers and the late-game FT problems at the same time.

[TallTitan34]

I don't mind when local commentators go crazy for their team on local broadcasts, however, when the game is broadcast nationally I think they should tone it down.  You see a lot of this on FOX Saturday baseball when local guys get their own team for a national telecast.

If Homer does these Big East Network games I'm sure he does the same thing as the WV guys, so I can't complain.

[martyconlonontherun]

I don't really group TV announcers with reporters. Announcers are hired to entertain and provide excitement to the game. Sure the great ones provide analysis, but that's not the direction that networks like ESPN, TNT, and the Big East are going. WV is 6th in the nation and have a NBA lottery pick on their team, most fans nationally were watching it because of WV.

Didn't have sound on so I can't comment on these particular commentators.

[GGGG]

"Three pointer... Rolling... And he gets the bounce!!!  Nice job by ____ to get the bounce.  What a great player! ..."

Other end of the floor, DJO swishes one: "Odom makes a 3 pointer."

Really?  *This* is what bothers you?  OK...   

[TomW1365]

Actually, I thought the bias was pretty funny. Ebanks makes a lightly contested layup and they go off like he is the second coming of Jerry Smith because he twisted he body a bit. "Are you kidding me!"

The announcing bias didn't really surprise me though.  Caught part of the WV vs. Seton Hall game. Early in the 2nd half WV was up by 6 to 10 points. The announcers kept talking about what SH needed to do to "get back into this thing."  They made it sound like WV was up by 25 points!

The best part was the brief interview with Huggins after the game.  He looked shell shocked, like he was still not convinced that they won. I actually thought he was going to argue with the announcers when they praised his teams play.

I'm with you on this one... It was funny to listen to those regional announcers.  I don't think the Tuesday night game in Morgantown, WV is appealing to the big name announcers out there.   It's almost like ESPN has a news notes sheet that has to be mentioned every game... which is helpfull for guys who aren't on MUScoop everyday!  They had their generic MU references about the loss of the big 3 and Lazar's inside/outside talents... blah blah blah.  I haven't heard them on other broadcasts before so I'm sure they were guys that do some of the regional sports events/news.  That's not uncommon at all for ESPN to sub out the work to some local guys.  We get the same type of ESPN announcing at some of our home games against the lower echelon Big East teams where they sub the work out to Madison/Milwaukee/Chicago press guys.   

Bobby Hugs was furious at the way WV played that game... I wanted this win most too piss this guy off.  It would have been nice. 

[Tommy Brice for Coach]

Just to stir up the pot, WVU fans are saying they thought the announcers were homers...
http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=159&f=2509&t=5365609

[RawdogDX]

why not worry that MU seems to have a number of players on their team that can't handle the pressure of a late-game FT?

Are you freaking kidding me?  DO you know how many threads have been dedicated to FTs late in the game, if they should be practiced, and if fatigue is a factor.  We have plenty of people worrying about that.  Sorry that you decided to read the one thread that was about something else.

[TJ]

Really?  *This* is what bothers you?  OK...   

Sorry, replace "rolling" with "Bending... Bending... Bending... GOOD!"

Bother me?  It was kind of annoying to listen to.  Like watching a Duke game with Dickie V.  That was just one example of many that combined to bother me.

Obviously, given that there are multiple people agreeing, as well as corroboration from the WVU board, this was happening.  Congratulations on not being bothered by it.