The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

I was reminded the other day by a former colleague that yes, indeed, the media is the message and nowhere is that more important than over the airwaves.
Here, then, without undue contemplation, is my version of The Good, The Bad, The Ugly.

The Good

Wilbon/Kornheiser, PTI, ESPN: You never know what to expect...nonetheless, increasingly in danger of wearing thin through overexposure.

Ryen Russilo, ESPN radio personality: Young guy on the rise who knows his round ball.

Mike Tirico, ESPN personality: A pleasure to listen to whenever he's on the radio.

Howard Cosell, former TV announcer: If anyone ever set himself up to be hated, it was Howard, and, yet, you had to love him because he was Howard being Howard.

Howie Meeker, CBC hockey analyst: 'Good golly, gee whiz', the antithesis of the late Howard Cosell, but knows hockey. For my Canadian friends, SCTV missed a real bet by not having a segment: Howard meets Howie, along the lines of Godzilla meets Bambi.

Tim McCarver, former catcher turned baseball analyst: Many hate him yet he's one of the more astute analysts around. In an age when too many reps seem to be made, based on 20-20 vision after the fact, his call before the last play in the 2001 World Series stands out in stark relief. At the time he noted that Yanks' shortstop, Derek Jeter, was upset because manager Joe Torre had motioned him to play in with the winning run in scoring position. McCarver observed that Jeter was perturbed with where Torre had positioned him because reliever Mariano Rivera often jammed batters, producing harmless pop flies that Jeter would catch if playing his position at normal depth in the infield. Batter Luis Gonzalez immediately looped what should have been an out if Jeter had been in the proper position. Instead, it became a game-winning hit.

Foster Hewitt, pioneer hockey broadcaster: Epitomized concept of not letting one's self get in the way of the game.

The Bad (Canadian Content)

Danny Gallivan, former hockey broadcaster: A narcisist, who loved hearing himself talk about 'cannonading drives, spinerama moves and paraphernalia on the ice.' Oh, my.

Fergie Olver, TV announcer, personality: He was clueless as a sports commentator but apparently proved to be pretty shrewd when it came to personal financial growth. Interestingly, most references to him on the Internet deal with his hosting a 1980s children's game show, which speaks volumes about his sports rep.

Pat Marsden, sports broadcaster, voice of the CFL in its halcyon days: A nasty piece of work which became increasingly evident during his stint on the morning show of the FAN 590. Around our household, he was known as 'Pap' Marsden.

Bob McCown, radio personality: No one loves Bob more than himself and it shows. Gets some brownie points for not interviewing jocks but then throws them all away by pretending to be a business expert.

Ward Cornell, Hockey Night In Canada (HNIC) intermission host: Defines bland for all time.

Don Cherry, HNIC intermission host: Done more to destroy hockey in his Coach's Corner segment, than could ever be imagined.

Ron MacLean, HNIC intermission host: Scariest eyes on TV; a Cherry wannabee.

Stephen Brunt, sports columnist/reporter masquerading as a radio personality: Insipid at best.

Bob Cole, HNIC broadcaster: Big voice, little substance; likes to carry on conversations with himself in the course of describing the action.

Peter Puck, HNIC segment: An embarrassment to any self-respecting hockey fan.

The Ugly

Jim Rome, radio show host: The most obnoxious person ever allowed behind a mike.

Colin Cowherd, hosts The Herd on ESPN: Goes on and on and on and on and -- you get the idea. Often guilty of changing previously well-established viewpoints to suit current situation. His Spanning the Globe segment is a shameless use of well-respected ABC program title --particularly since few, if any, of the segments ever seem to deal with events that happen outside of the continental U.S.

John Madden, football analyst: To paraphrase Charles Barkley, 'turribly, turribly' overrated.

Dick Vitale, basketball commentator: Seems to know what he is talking about but is exhausting to listen to.

Jim Nanz, football, basketball and golf commentator: Unctuous and obsequious to a fault on broadcasts and, yet, can be a compelling interview when on the other side of the mike.

Peter Aliss, golf commentator: Brit bag-o-wind.

Three Kings?

A few short observations on stories that have dominated the media of late.

The LeBron James saga had become a disgusting spectacle long before the infamous ESPN hour-long special. Nothing he does in the future can ever make up for the unnecessary cruelty he inflicted on the Cleveland-Akron area.

All of the stories about George Steinbrenner's supposed gentle side and previously unpublicized acts of generosity cannot disguise the fact that he was a boorish lout.

Regardless of his continued ranking as the number-one pitch man in the field of endorsements, you have to wonder if Tiger Woods is starting to feel the pressure of needing to make some money. After all, in addition to his failure to win a tournament this year, there's the pending divorce settlement, payouts to numerous bimbos, significant betting losses and the bailout by several substantial sponsors. It all adds up to a lot of cash going out the door with little coming in. Keep in mind that throughout his professional career, Tiger has been accustomed to having lots of dough. Before he even made a putt, much less played a hole, Tiger already had several lucrative sponsorships from the likes of Nike, Titleist and others in place to pay him a princely sum for a number of years, alleviating any need, other than self-imposed determination, to win.