POSTSEASON A COMEDY OF ERRORS.Byline: KEVIN MODESTI One of the bosses at 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. said this week he hopes the Cleveland Indians  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. or the Florida Marlins The Florida Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami Gardens, Florida. The Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From to the present, the Marlins have played in Dolphin Stadium. sweep the World Series so that Game 5
won't preempt pre·empt or pre-empt v. pre·empt·ed, pre·empt·ing, pre·empts v.tr. 1. To appropriate, seize, or take for oneself before others. See Synonyms at appropriate. 2. a. the network's ``must-see'' entertainment programming on Thursday night. ``We're looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. four and out,'' NBC West Coast president Don Ohlmeyer Don Ohlmeyer (born Donald Winfred Ohlemeyer, Jr., February 3, 1945, in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American television producer and former president of the NBC network's West Coast division. He grew up in the Chicago-area and attended Glenbrook North High School. said. ``The faster it's over with, the better it is.'' Well, that attitude is just plain wrong. If Ohlmeyer paid attention to the first 27 games of the major-league playoffs, he would know that Game 5 is likely to be funnier than ``Friends,'' ``Union Square'' and ``Veronica's Closet Veronica's Closet is a sitcom which aired on NBC from 1997 to 2000. The show starred Kirstie Alley (Cheers) as Veronica Chase, the head of her own lingerie company (the show's title is a play on Victoria's Secret). ,'' and possibly ``Seinfeld,'' too. The postseason so far has been a comedy festival of bad umpiring, backfiring managerial moves, fundamentally sloppy fielding, weak performances by star hitters, and enough general weirdness to determine the outcomes of games and series. NBC's TV Guide listings should read: ``Baseball: World Series: Cleveland Indians at Florida Marlins. Hijinks hi·jinks pl.n. Variant of high jinks. Noun 1. hijinks - noisy and mischievous merrymaking high jinks, high jinx, jinks jollification, merrymaking, conviviality - a boisterous celebration; a merry festivity ensue.'' Maybe this is what happens when you let second-place teams into the playoffs. Standards slip. Quality suffers. When Cal Ripken Jr. was quoted saying, ``The playoffs are always exciting, but we may be taking them to another level,'' he must have been thinking about the tension of the 10 one-run games. But was he forgetting how weak some of the baseball has been? A content rating is in order: ``E-8 - defense may be offensive to some viewers.'' These are the images of the 1997 playoffs: Drawing-card hitters Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio of the Astros, Barry Bonds of the Giants, Ken Griffey Jr. of the Mariners, Bernie Williams of the Yankees and Kenny Lofton of the Braves flailing away and batting a combined .148. You could credit good pitching - but then explain Tony Eusebio, Mark Lewis, Rich Amaral and Greg Colbrunn batting a combined .625. Drawing-card pitchers Randy Johnson of the Mariners and Andy Pettitte of the Yankees going 0-4 with a 6.93 ERA. The Giants center fielder's throw bouncing off the mound to let the Marlins' winning run score in the ninth inning of Game 2. The Braves' supposedly unbeatable starting rotation allowing eight first-inning runs in their four National League Championship Series losses. The extra-wide strike zone of extra-wide umpire Eric Gregg contributing to - and detracting from - Livan Hernandez's 15-strikeout performance in the Marlins' Game 5 victory over the Braves. (Followed by umpires union chief Richie Phillips' claim that Gregg ``worked as perfect a game as any umpire can work.'') Braves teammates spending eight minutes not finding Michael Tucker's lost contact lens contact lens, thin plastic lens worn between the eye and eyelid that may be used instead of eyeglasses. Actors, models, and others wear them for appearance, and athletes use them for safety and convenience. on the warning track - after which, on the very next pitch, Greg Maddux's stiffening stiff·en tr. & intr.v. stiff·ened, stiff·en·ing, stiff·ens To make or become stiff or stiffer. stiff right arm served up the single that scored the Marlins' winning run in Game 5. Chipper chipper Drug slang An occasional user of illicit drugs. See Recreational drug use Tobacco A popular term for a person who smokes < 5 cigarettes/day, who may be resistant to nicotine dependence or addiction, and often born to non-smoking parents. Jones' lazy backhand attempt to stop a Moises Alou bouncer that went for a game-breaking double in the first inning of Game 1 and set the tone for the NLCS NLCS National League Championship Series (baseball) NLCS North Lawrence Community Schools (various locations, USA) NLCS National Landscape Conservation System . Jones twice getting caught overrunning second base, once short-circuiting a Braves rally. Braves manager Bobby Cox sticking with left-hander Tom Glavine with three right-handers due up after four straight Marlins reached base - and Glavine allowing two more runs in the 7-4 loss in Game 6. Two Indians runs scoring on an Orioles wild pitch in the 8-7 Indians win in Game 4. The Indians' winning run in Game 3 scoring on a 12th-inning ``steal'' of home in which (1) Omar Vizquel missed a squeeze-bunt attempt and (2) catcher Lenny Webster muffed the pitch. Even Charles Johnson, the flawless Florida catcher, making a wild throw, his first error of '97. If you care about baseball's future, don't let the kids watch any more of this. See, I subscribe to the quaint notion that a sport's health ultimately depends on the quality of its competition. Personalities and TV exposure might get the ball rolling, but that glamour must inspire the best athletes to take up the sport, and they must liTve up to their reputations in the marquee events. Hockey is rising because of the involvement of young U.S. players. Boxing and track and field are diminished by shrinking talent pools. Horse racing is plummeting because fewer thoroughbreds are being stretched over more racing days. The soccer boomlet can be sustained only if the level of MLS See multilevel security. play improves and the U.S. team succeeds on international fields. Likewise, Ken Griffey Jr.'s smile won't help baseball's revival that much if he keeps batting .133 with the kids watching. Give them an ``Ellen'' tape instead. Playoff series should be decided by the heroics of great players, not by lucky bounces and misplays. But when the Braves and the Orioles, proven best in their leagues in a 162-game regular season, don't make it to the World Series, the playoffs are not baseball at its best. Maybe NBC can tell us who's running these teams - Costanza? |
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