CAN GRAY MATTER GET ANY WORSE?Byline: TOM HOFFARTH Halftime at NBC's ``Uncle Remus'' Olympics, where it's getting tougher each day to distinguish ``Pocket Hercules'' from ``Pretzel Boy:'' Most-needed graphic: For the top-left corner: ``Earlier today.'' Except, of course, NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. would have to put it up nearly every waking moment. On guard: NBC goons have enforced the network's fringe benefit fringe benefit Any nonwage payment or benefit granted to employees by employers. Examples include pension plans, profit-sharing programs, vacation pay, and company-paid life, health, and unemployment insurance. of keeping ``non-rights holders'' from airing any post-event press conference until 30 minutes after it ends. However, ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network and CNN CNN or Cable News Network Subsidiary company of Turner Broadcasting Systems. It was created by Ted Turner in 1980 to present 24-hour live news broadcasts, using satellites to transmit reports from news bureaus around the world. have been getting clips of athletes who flee to their corporate sponsor tent and give interviews. Touche. Soundalikes: Swimming's Dan Hicks and pseudo reporter Jim Gray. Which is no compliment to either whiny, dime-a-dozen broadcaster. Sideline stupidity I: Beth Ruyak, bending down to U.S. gymnast Kerri Strug as she was being wheeled out after her ankle-wrenching vault Tuesday: ``Do you know what it's like to be a hero?'' My response would have been: ``No, do you?'' Sideline stupidity II: Back to Jim Gray, who blindsided Irish swimmer Michelle Smith about drug allegations right after she won her second gold Monday. Gray, trying to show some uncharacteristic aggressiveness, instead had about as much tact as you'd expect from Albert Belle hocking Hocking may refer to:
Sideline stupidity III: Again, Gray. Again on Monday. He referred to U.S. swimmer Amanda Beard as ``America's sweetheart.'' Hey, she's just 14. Look up the word ``presumptuous pre·sump·tu·ous adj. Going beyond what is right or proper; excessively forward. [Middle English, from Old French presumptueux, from Late Latin praes .'' Or what about Gray when he blew off 800-meter winner Brooke Bennett and instead interviewed Janet Evans. Or the time Gray got in the middle of the Gary Hall-Alexander Popov feud . . . Cutest Costas comment: Thursday, he said Hungarian gold medal backstroker Krisztina Egerszegi was known as ``The Little Mouse'' when she was 14 because ``eger'' means ``mouse'' in her native language. We assume Gray reported earlier that ``eger'' translated to ``Hungary's sweetheart.'' First act of U.S. capitalism: Swimmer Tom Dolan, a self-styled rap-music DJ under the name MC Mass Confusion, has started showing up in MTV MTV in full Music Television U.S. cable television network, established in 1980 to present videos of musicians and singers performing new rock music. MTV won a wide following among rock-music fans worldwide and greatly affected the popular-music business. commercials that go: ``Tom Dolan, you just won the gold medal at the Olympics . . . what are you going to do next?'' Dolan answers: ``I'm going to watch `Beavis and Butt-Head on MTV!'' Unsolved mystery: NBC track analyst Carol Lewis and her brother, U.S. track star Carl Lewis, have this LaToya-Michael Jackson thing going. Ever see them in the same place at the same time? Miscalculation mis·cal·cu·late tr. & intr.v. mis·cal·cu·lat·ed, mis·cal·cu·lat·ing, mis·cal·cu·lates To count or estimate incorrectly. mis·cal award: In last Saturday's Chicago Sun-Times, columnist Jay Mariotti wrote about Muhammad Ali's appearance: ``No matter what happens the next 16 days and nights, you have seen the signature moment, a drama that likely cannot be topped.'' Kerri Strug can shrug that off. Beach volleyball was forced to sideout Thursday morning when NBC broke in for President Clinton's news conference on airline safety measures safety measures, n.pl actions (e.g., use of glasses, face masks) taken to protect patients and office personnel from such known hazards as particles and aerosols from high-speed rotary instruments, mercury vapor, radiation exposure, anesthetic and . Why couldn't NBC just tape it and show it later like everything else? Friday, however, it was just a decision to play it safe with coverage of the track prelims, but as a result, the highly intensive Karch Kiraly-Kent Steffes quarterfinal victory against Sinjin Smith-Carl Henkel received little air time. On NBC, Randy Rosenbloom and Kirk Kilgour called the match. NBC's Chris Marlowe, who was at the site scouting, described it as the ``best match on the beach I've ever watched'' because of the drama that went with the Kiraly-Smith feud. Marlowe and partner Paul Sunderland are in the midst Adv. 1. in the midst - the middle or central part or point; "in the midst of the forest"; "could he walk out in the midst of his piece?" midmost of a crazy 48-hour volleyball circus that started with Thursday night's stunning Cuba-U.S. men's indoor contest. Marlowe and Sunderland did Friday night's U.S.-Japan men's indoor match, will drive an hour back to Atlanta Beach for the men's beach semifinals this afternoon, then haul back to the Omni at the University of Georgia Organization The President of the University of Georgia (as of 2007, Michael F. Adams) is the head administrator and is appointed and overseen by the Georgia Board of Regents. for the U.S.-Brazil men's indoor match, which will be shown in tonight's late-night segment. MEMO: Staff Writer Tom Hoffarth's media column appears daily during the Olympics. His e-mail address is sptmediaaol.com. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion