THANK YOU NBC for Kara Goucher

I really really really do not like KG, but I have to admit she was good at the Olympics. She’s good at commentating. Like someone else said. Either you have or you don’t.

Awsi Dooger wrote:

200, not 800. There should be a brief edit function around here

I knew what you meant, but wouldn't Kerley and DeGrasse make for a hilarious 800?

not gna knock Des, but Kara has a knack for race commentary for sure. She does her research and is interesting and insightful. She also brings the energy.

I remember watching the Toyko Olympic marathon and Galen Rupp wearing "super shoes" in 2016 came up and I was like "uh oh, here we go" but Kara handled it completely professional and gave a totally unbias take about Galen being a pioneer in trying different technologies to try to gain performance.

Hmm gotta slam one woman to raise up another & do it as a backhanded compliment anyways (maybe she's good b/c I don't like the other woman,,,).

Kara has been fantastic. I like Des too. The reality is that commentating is bad in most sports, and should be bad to a hyperaware audience like this one. Commentating markets to newbies. They want to grow viewership and try to make things as simple as possible to follow. You're not allowed to show biases and that scares people off from showing excitement.

I would rather watch sports the way I do with my friends. More personality. More excitement. More insider knowledge. I would love if networks try alternative broadcasts.

Why are there so many threads about this? No doubt Kara and /or her posse are behind much of this. It is crazy. Kara is a pretty mediocre broadcaster. No need to praise her much nor to criticize her much. She is ver ordinary and vanilla. Yet all these repetitive threads pop up.

I can't listen to her knowing all the crap she said about Alberto. She should have to give a conflict of interest disclosure before each event involving any Oregon Project athletes.

Jimmkner wrote:

Why are there so many threads about this? No doubt Kara and /or her posse are behind much of this. It is crazy. Kara is a pretty mediocre broadcaster. No need to praise her much nor to criticize her much. She is ver ordinary and vanilla. Yet all these repetitive threads pop up.

The reasons these threads keep popping up is due to the fact that the distance commentary has been terrible in many meets over the years. There has been either a lack of knowledge or lack of personality (or both) for many (though not all) commentators.

I have no association with Kara whatsoever and I think she is great as a broadcaster. Very natural, at ease, knowledgeable.

Do you people really care about the commentary that much? I guess because Kara adds nothing for me she is not someone I would care to listen to, but she is far from alone. It almost seems to me that may some of you know so little that Kara adds something to your experience. Maybe that is why part of the reason that I cannot understand the praise for her.

Kara is a good announcer, among the best track announcers that I can recall. Along with Craig Masback. I mean, that's a low hurdle, but still ... full credit to her.

We need Josh Cox back on

You trippin. She made it her life's mission to say such damaging things as "he talked about my weight," etc. She has halted the freaky behavior becasuse they will cut her if she brings bad publicity now.

I'm a Kara fan but did not like her commentating at the Olympics and had to put her on mute. Just because none of them are that great doesn't make her better. She talks way too fast and never shuts up.

Whoever was comparing her to Rowdy Gaines with swimming is out of their mind....

Kara has been good enough at times to make me forget my personal thoughts about her. She was decent from the very beginning and has gotten better. Des is not horrible as some have said and neither is SRR, but she is not good and has not gotten better. Although Kara is dong a pretty good job commentating but that does not take away from the fact she is not a nice person.

She's pretty good at this. My favorites for distance have been Tim Hutchinson, Steve Cram, and of course the great old British announcer from the 1980s, who I think was David Coleman, although I see other suggestions of Ron Pickering and Adrian Metcalfe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhEO2tSQdMI

Trying to please the LRC gang is a no-win situation, because, as is sometimes said on this board, haters gonna hate, no matter what the reality is. Kudos to both Kara and Des for their noble, and worthwhile, and impressive successes. Des might agree that her voice is not as announcer-friendly as is Kara's (and the "haters gonna hate LRC posters will continue to carp about annoying voices), but what came out of each announcer's mouth was informative, from an expert's point of view, and observant.

So, Kara and Des, a tip of the hat to each of you.

No doubt, NBC will have their suits come up with their own reasons to either continue using you or to toss you aside, but sometimes such decisions are hardly based on common sense. So high-five your close friends (or fist-bump them, in these COVID times) and feel great about what you have accomplished in front of a mike.

passionate Paul wrote:

Zurich is exciting again. No more Des Linden.

Not sure if Kara is that good or that she just sounds good compared to how awful Des Linden is. Either way thank you NBC.

I thought Kara did a good job. She sometimes gets a bit carried away and overly excited, but overall she was very good. Did anyone else catch her Minnesota accent during the telecast?

I'm lukewarm on Kara. In this last meet she said during the women's 1500 that Hassan is impossible to beat in the final 100m. If she had done her homework she would know that we've seen Kipyego beat Hassan in the final 100m multiple times this season. She also said at some point in one race that it is going to come down to the final 150m. Well, duh. At the highest level like Diamond league finals, races are almost never decided with 150m to go. Kara is just OK. Like Des, she says some things that are just blatantly obvious that contribute nothing and other things that are just plain wrong that any serious track and field fan would know was wrong. My recommendation to NBC is to keep auditioning female distance commentators. We deserve better.