YES they are good!
Net voices not shy about gushing over KD, Kyrie in preseason
The pent-up anticipation of seeing Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving play together wearing Nets uniforms in Brooklyn last Sunday night, resulted in a Gush Festival from the voices calling the game on the Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network.
Yet even we can understand why waiting for the debut of Irving/Durant in an exhibition game against the Wizards, led YES’ Sarah Kus
and Ryan Ruocco to eventually exhale platitude after platitude at a high decibel level. They got carried away watching the two superstars perform. Even Ruocco and Kustok sheepishly admitted they were operating in an over-the-top fashion.
Fortunately, they didn’t embarrass themselves. Sure, there was good reason for the two voices to jam on, verbally genuflecting to the two players, but are viewers going to be force fed a groupie-like symphony game after game? There’s good reason for YES’ Nets crew, which also features Ian (The Bird) Eagle and Richard Jefferson (the number of games he will do has yet to be determined) to ditch the carnival barker hype.
While both Irving and Durant are always capable of pulling off something spectacular not even the home team broadcasters can predict when a move in the first quarter will be topped later in the game. If a voice releases an awestruck call early, setting an emotional high bar, how do they top it when either player delivers a higher form of mind-bending artistry early in the fourth?
That’s hard to do, even if the voice is known for screaming or gratuitous analysis. A constant flow of gaga from the Nets voices won’t do anything for them in the credibility department either, especially if the Nets don’t live up to the media’s sky-high expectations. Nothing is guaranteed when two players, like the media-sensitive Durant, and the unpredictable Irving, can change the equation and disrupt all chemistry in the space of 24 hours — or less.
If the YES Nets voice’s mission becomes deifying Irving and Durant, are they going to be inclined to put the same energy and focus on either player if they do not deliver the goods? Will they openly discuss any off the court controversy during the game telecast or give it short shrift, relying on the studio show to do the “dirty” work for them?
Oh well, at least the pictures will ultimately tell the much-anticipated story. And as usual, if all else eventually fails, there’s always the mute button.
VANILLA VILMA
As the analyst on the scene, working Cardinals-Giants on Fox with Kenny Albert, Jonathan Vilma, as usual, could not stop yakking.
He had plenty to say. Some of it insightful. Some of it fluffy and repetitious. Unfortunately, he waited much too long to get to the heart of the matter, tackling the subject of whether Daniel Jones should have even been playing with the bad hamstring. He should’ve addressed it early in the game. Did he agree with Judge’s decision?
Vilma didn’t totally ignore it, but he danced around the subject. When he saw Colt McCoy warming up before the second half, Vilma indicated the Giants backup QB would be coming into the game.
But when Jones ran back on the field, Vilma didn’t express surprise by Judge’s latest decision, nor did he say if it was the right decision.
What separates the primo analysts from the vanilla variety is their ability to be definitive. On this occasion, Vilma was anything but.
RIPPING REX
In another example of ESPN on ESPN “crime,” Don La Greca, one of the Gasbags on 98.7’s “The Michael Kay Show,” verbally anesthetized one of Bristol’s marquee NFL analysts, Rex Ryan, for the former Jets coach’s rip job on Sam Darnold. The Jets QB appears weekly on the K-Show.
Stopping short of making any feet references, DLG waxed Ryan. La Greca did allude to how Ryan short-circuited Mark Sanchez’s Jets career by bringing him into the meaningless Snoopy Bowl during garbage time. The QB played long enough to injure his throwing shoulder against the Giants in the August 2013 exhibition tilt.
ESPN’s national talent, like Ryan, provides a conga line of daily guests (mostly repeating the same analysis) for the local ESPN radio outlets. Nonetheless It was a bit hypocritical for DLG to bust on Ryan knowing that AFTER a recent K-Show interview with Darnold, La Greca criticizes the Jets QB, saying: “You sound like a programmed mannequin.”
So, maybe Ryan and DLG do have something in common.
It’s all so confusing.
FOX TURNS SERIOUS
Considering the history of Fox Sports, where having fun and entertaining has always been the trademark, the hiring of reporter/ essayist Tom Rinaldi, who made his mark at ESPN, is surprising.
Face it, when your go-to guy in Fox’s Thursday Night Football studio is Cousin Sal and Sunday’s NFL studio show features the stylings of actor/comedian Rob Riggle, it seriously indicates Fox Sports doesn’t have any Peabody Awards in its trophy case.
Fox Sports did not hire Rinaldi for his comedy writing skills. He’s the serious, human interest type, more apt to make you think and feel, often bringing tears to your eyes while watching one of his emotional pieces. Rinaldi has also shown an ability to get close to his subjects, especially on the college football beat.
He will work all the Foxies big events in an attempt to bring more depth to the coverage. Could Rinaldi actually bring a more serious tone to Fox Sports? That’s a long shot. One thing is certain, Terry Bradshaw won’t be asking Rinaldi to test ride some whoopee cushions with him._