When asked about women color commentators, Michael Strahan had nothing to say. I wonder if his gap has an opinion?
Harvey Levin’s crew struck again when they caught former NY Giant Michael Strahan, Atlanta Falcons Tony Gonzalez, and Jay Glazer outside of a restaurant and asked them why women aren’t allowed to do color commentary. None of the 3 guys saw fit to comment. They basically just looked goofy and gave no response. I’d actually love to hear what Strahan thinks about this-he obviously has an opinion on pretty much everything else under God’s green earth. I’m SURE he has some thoughts on this. Whether they’re sharable, who knows…
Women being relegated to the sidelines (literally, as sideline reporters) is something that bothers me. And I especially don’t like the fact that people are always talking about how these women bring nothing to the broadcasts. First of all, most sideline reporters (male or female) add nothing to the broadcast. And since this has been the case for years my assumption is that they’re not hired to bring anything to it. Sideline reporters are there to make the broadcast FEEL interactive, not to elevate the sports discourse.
I don’t think it’s fair to make an assessment of what hiring more women could potentially add to sports broadcasting by basing it on the performance of women who were specifically hired to do not much.
Not only are women not doing color during games, they’re not really giving analysis on sports shows either. Most are either hosts or anchors whose job it is to facilitate discussion, not to actually add their own opinion to the conversation. I am hoping, myself, to be one of the women that gets to opine about sports so that door needs to be busted wide open immediately.
Also, if the requirement is that all women sports broadcasters look like they belong on Sideline Hotties then the pool of candidates is automatically narrowed. That has nothing to do with women not being able to provide commentary. It’s all about what the viewing public prefers to see.
I thought it was pretty random that this seems to be a topic that got Harvey’s attention, although I didn’t understand his reference to Jackie Johnson. Maybe you guys do? If so, set me straight in comments.
Here's me, your favorite blogger (hee!) holding the book I'm giving away!
I love give aways! This week I’m giving away a copy of ”A sportscaster’s Guide to Watching Football” by Mark Oristano. This is a great book for newbies or those who have no real formal knowledge of football. Even if you’ve been watching a while there may be explanations for why things are the way they are in football that you’re unfamiliar with. I think a lot of people could benefit from this book.
It’s also very short and easy to read. So it doesn’t make learning a chore.
All you have to do to enter the contest is visit my you tube channel and comment under the video telling me why you want to get into football or why you want the book. No right or wrong answers, I’m just going to pick the answer that sticks out to me the most. The contest ends in exactly one week (November 7th) so get your comments in!
Football is a complicated sport, but never fear--all you need is the basics and you're up and running.
It only took me forever, but I finally wrote the post regarding the question I get most often…HOW DO I LEARN FOOTBALL.
I explain my tips for learning football in the vlog below, but I also wanted to get the thoughts of folks who know football better than I! So check out what they had to say…
Sheil Kapadia is one of my favorite writers. He really gets into the nuts and bolts of Philadelphia Eagles football. And when I say nuts and bolts I mean counting snaps, looking at how each member of the team performed in each game, and other meticulously executed things of that nature. I never miss a post from him. Find him at Moving The Chains.
Sheil’s advice:
Consume football in a variety of mediums. Watch games, listen to the announcers and analysts. But also read about football from many of the great writers out there. Listen to sportstalk radio as well. That would be a good start.
Patricia Traina is a really talented writer that focuses on the Giants for Inside Football. In fact, she’s the editor. She knows more about stats and the salary cap than I ever will.
Patricia’s advice:
My suggestions would include reading about the game — there are some really, really good books out there that describe everything from the fundamentals of each position (Pat Kirwan’s book “Take Your Eye Off the Ball” is excellent) to specific books on different coaching philosophies
The other thing I suggest is watching film of games — NFL and college. Listen to the commentators and take note of what they’re saying. Then go back and watch the play in slo-mo if you can. You can really see a lot when you slow down a play and reconcile what the analysts said vs. what you’ve seen.
It takes time to really get a good grasp on the game, but no one ever really learns every little detail. You might want to specialize in one side of the ball which would require a basic understanding of the other side, or maybe you just want to try to learn it all. Study, study, study. If you get a chance to ask a coach or player (at any level questions), do it.
Michael Felder is a former safety for the University of Chapel Hill. He has his own site and podcast where he gets deep into both the game and business side of college football. You can find his work on his own site In The Bleachers and on a host of other sites! He’s really good at breaking down the game. He’s also really nice and never complains when I bug him with questions about defenses.
Michael’s advice:
I’m going to assume you’re a fan already and understand the root of the game itself. With that out of the way the best process to learn more about the game is a two pronged approach; watching and reading. By watching I’m talking active watching, not just following the football around and staring at the screen. Pick out positions to observe during series and see what responsibilities they have in different down and distances as well as in various personnel sets.
Next step would be taking what you’ve observed and hitting the internets. Line up what you’ve seen with the copious amounts of diagrams, video clips and schematic write ups that are available for free all across the net. Don’t be afraid to ask questions because everything is not exactly easy to digest and often football-centric sites are written in the game’s vernacular which for folks not schooled in the lingo of smash routes, progressions, T-E games and inverted coverage might as well be in chinese.
The info is out there and any fan or writer that wants to learn about individual schemes, techniques or other nuances of the game definitely can. Personally when I’m not at games or watching them with my friends I tend to jot down odd things I see or diagram plays that pique my interest.
Joe Briggsis a jack-of-all trades who wears the best bow ties you have ever seen. He’s the founder of IMPACT, and organization that fosters civic engagement and enhances empowerment opportunities for young leaders. He’s also a lawyer and works on finance issues for the NFL Players Association. He’s quickly become one of my favorite folks to tweet with.
Joe’s advice:
To start watching football you need to know the basics.
1. Google the teams! don’t be out here talking about the Denver Nuggets got Tim Tebow on the bench?
2. Check in on ESPN Monday Morning either online or Sports Center for the first couple weeks of the season. This will help you get used to the lingo and give you talking point for the conversations with others about football
3. When you want to get deeper, Google Walter Camp and The History of Football.
4. Fantasy Football helps! it gets you deeper into your involvement with players. Put those facebook stalking skills to use finding bits of information about which player may be better each week.
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And there you have it! I hope this post was helpful!
**oh funny note: I asked a 2 NFL players and 1 former NFL player what they would suggest, and they all came up blank except for saying you should watch. *faints* I thought that was funny.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dr. J is being sued by his bank over a 200K loan and 1 million dollar line of credit. The AJC lists the auctioning of his memorabilia (which starts Friday) as a separate matter, but who really believes that?
In an unrelated matter, many of Erving’s basketball memorabilia items, including his 1983 Philadelphia 76ers World Championship ring, will be up for bidding Friday, SCP Auctions said Tuesday. Other items on the auction block include Erving’s ABA championship rings from 1974 and 1976 with the New York Nets, MVP trophies from both the NBA and the ABA, and jerseys.
The minimum bid is $25,000 for the NBA championship ring, and $20,000 for each ABA title ring and the NBA MVP trophy, the auction house said. In a statement released by the auction house, Erving said he plans to donate a portion of the auction proceeds to the Salvation Army.
HE’S AUCTIONING HIS 1983 PHILADELPHIA 76ERS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RING? As a 6ers fan I’m a little hurt! That was the very last championship we won.
I wasn’t going to put up a post about this, but blame T.O. for the fact that I did. I was just thinking yesterday, if you were a huge fan of Terrell Owens, yesterday was HEARTBREAKING FOR YOU. A few months back I wrote a post about watching my childhood heroes fall. So I know reading about Dr. J will be difficult for some people.
Speaking of which, for a fairly small market paper, the AJC does a great job breaking news about celebs in Atlanta. Their stories on Allen Iverson’s comings and goings in Atlanta pretty much single-handled crushed the 2000s for me. Dr. J apparently moved to Atlanta last summer.
Buffalo Bills Safety Bryan Scott Wants Kids to Pick Their Passion!
I’ve always wanted my own “tv” show and so I’m making those dreams come true on you tube. Starting this week I will be vlogging regularly and interviewing quite a few players and football journalists.
First up was Buffalo Bills Safety Bryan Scott. Bryan is extremely talented, he plays the piano and tenor saxophone (like me!) among other instruments. He co-produced his own song called “Dedicated” as part of the relaunch of his charitable organization that helps kids pick and fund their passions.
To boot, he is giving away an ALL EXPENSE paid trip to the Super Bowl. So check out my interview with him-he’s a lot of fun. Download “Dedicated” on itunes (which you can hear playing in the video) and visit showyourdedication.com to enter the contest. Good luck!
ABOUT THE “SHOW YOUR DEDICATION” CONTEST
The “Show Your Dedication” Video Contest is an open call for people to create their own video that showcases their personal passion—for music, sports, theater, fashion, cooking, family, a career, community service, or any other hobby or interest that is the subject of their dedication.
Here’s how the contest works:
1. Produce your own ad or promotional video. Create an advertisement or promotional video (up to one minute) that showcases photos, video footage and/or natural audio of you experiencing your passion.
2. Upload your video on ShowYourDedication.com. Visit and join ShowYourDedication.com by December 5, 2011 to upload your video and complete an entry form explaining your passion and what you would do with the $5,000 donation to support your passion.
3. Promote your video during General Submission voting. All video submissions will be screened and, upon approval, posted on ShowYourDedication.com for the general public to view and vote for their favorites. Invite your friends and family to view and vote for your video during this time. The general public will have unlimited votes during this General Submission voting period before December 5, 2011. The TeamBScott review panel will select ten finalists based on the video’s creativity, dedication to the passion and total number of votes. Ten finalists will be announced and posted on ShowYourDedication.com on December 20, 2011.
4. Promote your video during Finalist voting. The final winner will be selected out of ten finalists based solely on votes. So, if you make the final 10, you will need to promote, promote, promote. Ten votes will be allotted per person during this Finalist voting period. Encourage as many of your friends and family, as well as their friends and family, to view and vote for your video.
Video submissions for the contest will be accepted on October 27, and voting for videos will begin November 4. The finalist who receives the most votes by January 3, 2012 will be selected as the Show Your Dedication Video Contest Grand Prize winner. The winner will receive a Big Game Prize Package, including two tickets to the Super Bowl 2012 in Indianapolis, plus round-trip airfare and hotel accommodations. The winner will also receive a donation up to $5,000 to directly support the pursuit of his/her passion and a feature in the compilation music video for the single Dedicated.
