Soicher’s schtick tends to bewaste ofTVtime

longer the subject about who won and who lost. Today’s sports world runs the gamut from feel-good stories to negative reports of happenings on and off the field.

The televised time Soicher spends on gimmicks would be better served by commentary or news about what is hap-

Ratings roulette.

This wasn’t sports coverage. Itwas a feeble attempt at entertainment.

During its 6 p.m. sports segments Tuesday and Wednesday, KUSA-Channel 9 spent a total of five minutes showcasing an agile, masked U.S. soccer fan (dressed in red, white and blue) lamenting that Team USA had been knocked out ofWorld Cup competition by Belgium.

This masked man produced ongoing laughter from sports anchor Drew Soicher and other members of the news team.

It also produced a waste of valuable television time.

Sports segments on local television newscasts have become more personalitydriven because of the financial ratings competition among rivals and the growing intrusion of cable programming and the Internet.

Channel 9 isn’t the only offender.

But Soicher leads the way, seemingly backed by a station profile that praises him as “unconventional and unpredictable.”

His sports reports are regularly loaded with gimmicks, including his Broncos game predictions based on the performance of a sea mammal at the Denver Zoo.

In today’s environment, sports are a major part of news coverage— positive and negative. Sports are no pening in sports around the world.

There’s a curious reaction surrounding Soicher’s schtick. His companions on the Channel 9 news desk seemingly enjoy his antics— even when the humor quotient is low or nonexistent.

Is that part of a planned scenario?

Channel 9 continues to lead local TV stations in audience news ratings.

Is it possible viewers like the overall coverage of the news production and simply stay with Soicher at the end of the half hour?

World Cup soccer audience response continues to be solid on ESPN even though Team USA is no longer part of the competition.

Example: Brazil’s 2-1 victory over Colombia in a quarterfinal match Friday drew more than 6.34 million viewers.

Quarterfinal matches in 2010 averaged about 5 million viewers on the cable network.

The positive run of the American team whetted the appetite of U.S. fans previously not seriously interested soccer as a television attraction. missed.

“It made me look at everything differently,” he said.

After the Tulsa game, the Ramswent 8-4— including a thrilling comeback win in the New Mexico Bowl overWashington State. The quarterback who was searching for answers produced a record-setting season.

Now, Grayson is hopeful that a week with the First Family of Quarterbacks in Louisiana can open the door to even greater heights.

“It’s a dream come true,” he said. “I’m hoping to go down there and get my name out there and represent CSU the best I can.”