Are you freaking kidding me?!? I wouldn't want Fenton, or any of the Flotrack folks calling meets on network, much less, cable TV.
Lenny leonard wrote:
Terrible decision. Hutchings and Cram are the best announcers in the sport.
Fenton should break his contract and go big time with NBC. He and Chavez will be very influential for decades to come
coach d wrote:
Nobody cares about distance events: As soon as they show a distance event, my wife (a former D1 varsity tennis player) immediately changes the channel. Ato Boldon, Trey, and Sanya will suit most TV viewers just fine.
Lots of people here are also not that thrilled with stupid doping sprinters from the US and Jamaica who fill up all the lanes that were for clean sprinters from other countries (because there might be some clean sprinters from some of the other countries…but I am not sure.)
Tom Hammond is horrible for both sprints and distance events.
Your argument is irrelevant regarding Tom Hammond.
coach d wrote:
Nobody cares about distance events: As soon as they show a distance event, my wife (a former D1 varsity tennis player) immediately changes the channel. Ato Boldon, Trey, and Sanya will suit most TV viewers just fine.
Why do you routinely come to a website dedicated to distance running to post about how much you dislike distance running?
P.S. Jim Ryun was on the cover of Sports Illustrated 7 times, more than any other track athlete ever.
http://www.si.com/vault/search/covers?term=jim+ryunsmile wrote:
coach d wrote:Nobody cares about distance events: As soon as they show a distance event, my wife (a former D1 varsity tennis player) immediately changes the channel. Ato Boldon, Trey, and Sanya will suit most TV viewers just fine.
Why do you routinely come to a website dedicated to distance running to post about how much you dislike distance running?
P.S. Jim Ryun was on the cover of Sports Illustrated 7 times, more than any other track athlete ever.
http://www.si.com/vault/search/covers?term=jim+ryun
Good one. That is really going to get him mad and he will make some statement about Bolt or doping Gay, doping Powell, doping Gatlin, or doping Dennis Mitchell or how he is in love with Ms. Hightower.
Sadly, the ardent fan base has been given yet another reason to not watch or watch even less of Olympic track coverage--exception being Jager's steeple. Realized that i get as much joy watching locals compete in an all-comers 5k.
Gills Foiled wrote:
Gvl wrote:Hutchings relegated to only Marathon duty.. NBC selects Masback over Hutchings. Awesome news, focus groups proved out, and Sanya Richard-Ross is the future,
http://www.nbcumv.com/news/four-time-olympic-gold-medalist-sanya-richards-ross-and-olympic-medalist-trey-hardee-join-nbc?division=1&network=33131Masback is a PC hack, always making excuses for runners of color if they somehow lose to a paleface. The 800 OT final was hilarious with his remarks on Boris Berian's "inexperience" and such after he was run down by Murphy. Berian certainly has more experience than Murphy. If you think otherwise you're as filled with PC blindness as Masback. The number of errors and minsinfo remarks this guy makes is staggering. .
Murphy ran at a World Championship last year and was 4th last year at the USA championships. Plus he had college experience as he wasn't a dropout.
So Yeah, Masback was correct and you were wrong.
I like Masback better than Hutchings.
Hutchings comes off a bit pompous and opinionated.
Though he did a good job with the women's hurdles world record.
Masback is more positive about the runners and he does have a lot of knowledge and experience announcing.
Someone mentioned Steve Cram.
I do like the calls from him that I have heard.
Gills Foiled wrote:
Gvl wrote:Hutchings relegated to only Marathon duty.. NBC selects Masback over Hutchings. Awesome news, focus groups proved out, and Sanya Richard-Ross is the future,
http://www.nbcumv.com/news/four-time-olympic-gold-medalist-sanya-richards-ross-and-olympic-medalist-trey-hardee-join-nbc?division=1&network=33131Masback is a PC hack, always making excuses for runners of color if they somehow lose to a paleface. The 800 OT final was hilarious with his remarks on Boris Berian's "inexperience" and such after he was run down by Murphy. Berian certainly has more experience than Murphy. If you think otherwise you're as filled with PC blindness as Masback. The number of errors and minsinfo remarks this guy makes is staggering. He must have been brought in to soften any possible drug stories that may pop up during the games.
Who the hell was in those focus groups? Skinny pants SWJ's no doubt. lol Trey Hardee is ...OK for a newbie and Sanya..well, she's vain and self-centered enough to blend in with other TV personalities. Hell, Ralph Boston and Bill Toomey from the old days would be better than this horror show NBC has lined up.
I don't know how "PC" plays any part in this. I despise PC culture but you're overusing a word you a phrase you don't understand.
Spaghettimonster wrote:
Gills Foiled wrote:Masback is a PC hack, always making excuses for runners of color if they somehow lose to a paleface. The 800 OT final was hilarious with his remarks on Boris Berian's "inexperience" and such after he was run down by Murphy. Berian certainly has more experience than Murphy. If you think otherwise you're as filled with PC blindness as Masback. The number of errors and minsinfo remarks this guy makes is staggering. He must have been brought in to soften any possible drug stories that may pop up during the games.
Who the hell was in those focus groups? Skinny pants SWJ's no doubt. lol Trey Hardee is ...OK for a newbie and Sanya..well, she's vain and self-centered enough to blend in with other TV personalities. Hell, Ralph Boston and Bill Toomey from the old days would be better than this horror show NBC has lined up.
I don't know how "PC" plays any part in this. I despise PC culture but you're overusing a word you a phrase you don't understand.
Found the SJW everybody! Sorry, does that non-PC word offend you, whitey?
All the NBC commentators are saccharine cheerleaders. They never have anything critical or insightful to say at all. Totally uninteresting. I watch the games on BBC now.
coach d wrote:
Nobody cares about distance events: As soon as they show a distance event, my wife (a former D1 varsity tennis player) immediately changes the channel. Ato Boldon, Trey, and Sanya will suit most TV viewers just fine.
Ato is great and I can't understand those who dislike him as an announcer. Sanya was attrocious for the trials although for the recent American track league event in Houston I was impressed by Trey. I think Trey could be a solid addition but Sanya tries to make everything a feel good story about the athletes and the way she just keeps blabbering on about nothing increases the lack of professional those watching the events percieve for Track and Field.
Once every four years I get to laugh at you suckers who live places with decent weather and/or jobs while I watch the Olympics on Canadian TV.
Gvl wrote:
Hutchings relegated to only Marathon duty.. NBC selects Masback over Hutchings. Awesome news, focus groups proved out, and Sanya Richard-Ross is the future,
http://www.nbcumv.com/news/four-time-olympic-gold-medalist-sanya-richards-ross-and-olympic-medalist-trey-hardee-join-nbc?division=1&network=33131
Hardee? I didn't watch the whole ESPN thing this weekend but on our staff conference call this week the conclusion was that he was horrible as an announcer.
NBC, I'm available to do it. :) I had recently decided to skip Rio due to Zika concerns but will fly down there and do it for free so that I don't have to pull the hair out of my head. My Ivy League broadcast partner - Bill Spaulding - is already doing some other coverage for you.
Here is our demo tape from the Ivy League outdoor champs;
http://www.flotrack.org/video/977439-mens-1500m-final#t=1http://www.flotrack.org/event/253061-2016-ivy-league-outdoor-championships/videosHammond's back? The article claims that Hammond "has won acclaim" for "memorable calls. What memorable calls? I have trouble staying awake every time he's on a distance event.
TOM FEUER OR BUST.
Regardless, I'll be watching the Olympics on the BBC. Thank god for VPNs.
Lenny leonard wrote:
. Hutchings and Cram are the best announcers in the sport.
My feelings are hurt. Please listen to my demo tape ;)
On a serious note, the guy I did the Ivy broadcasts with is unreal. Bill Spaulding. Hopefully he can take over for Tom Hammonds soon.
"Tom Hammond, who has won acclaim for his memorable calls at the last six Summer Olympics, will once again call NBC Olympics track & field coverage."
Seriously? Can anyone point me to any "acclaim" Tom Hammond has won at previous Olympics? He's a complete boob and ignorant about the sport. Having Ato Bolden doing commentary - who is almost always good and knowledgeable- is the only thing that keeps me from turning off the sound when Hammond is on.
Masback is definitely worse than Hutchings. He's a complete bland, beige snoozefest. Hammond and Masback is a terrible combination. I would completely replace Masback with Hutchings.
I thought SRR was pretty good and Hardee was okay considering their lack of experience as broadcasters. I like them both as athletes so I suppose I'm willing to cut them some slack. However, the Olympics isn't the place for NBC to give them on-the-job experience.
Come on rojo, you stutter way too much to do broadcasting!!!
NBC's 2016 press release:
"Tom Hammond, who has won acclaim for his memorable calls at the last six Summer Olympics, will once again call NBC Olympics track & field coverage."
NBC's 2012 press release:
"Tom Hammond, who has won acclaim for his memorable calls at the last five Summer Olympics, will once again call track & field."
NBC's 2008 press release:
"Tom Hammond, who has won acclaim for his memorable calls at the last four Summer Games, will once again call track & field."
Don't strain yourself, NBC!
Star wrote:
I like Masback better than Hutchings.
Hutchings comes off a bit pompous and opinionated.
Though he did a good job with the women's hurdles world record.
Masback is more positive about the runners and he does have a lot of knowledge and experience announcing.
Someone mentioned Steve Cram.
I do like the calls from him that I have heard.
Are you kidding?? Forget all other factors (which Hutchings has hands down on Masback), if you know or don't know track and field, when you listen to either one of these guys call a race, which race is more exciting? HUTCHINGS HUTCHINGS HUTCHINGS (get up Jager!!).
When they put Tom H on oxygen during the last weekend of the trials, it was the best NBC commentating and most exiting meet they have broadcast in a very long time.
I don't even know where to start, but if any one has the name of the NBC person responsible for making this horrible decision, please publish, i think we could get a few 100 emails to him / her, so at least they know how horrid their decision is.
(side note: me and a friend stopped Masback in the stands at the 1996 Oly Trials and asked him what we could do, as a sport, to get NBC to show distance races (things are actually better now than they were then), he was a bit of an ass and essentially said, since americans suck above 800 meters, why should the networks show any of "those" races. Nice to meet you too, mr horrible commentator Masback!!)
oh, BBC crew makes NBC look like kindergarten commentating!!