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Review from past weeks: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
#15
Michigan 27 #8 Wisconsin 10
Sideline
reporter Dave Ryan delivered some good information late in the
first quarter, noting that a "divot crew" was replacing
missing clumps of grass during each stoppage in play. He talked
with Michigan coach Lloyd Carr just prior to kickoff but didn't
ask any insightful questions. Back
to the top #2 Kansas State 40 #11 Nebraska 30 To
read about the production problems, click
here. By George Stahl It’s time to end the lockout now because you’re embarrassing yourself. No, I’m not talking to Billy Hunter, David Stern and the NBA – frankly, my dears, I don’t give a damn when you guys settle – rather I'm speaking to Disney/ABC, who have locked out their technicians for the past couple weeks in a contract dispute. And it is really affecting the network’s coverage of sporting events. Production problems Saturday ruined the entertaining and exciting contest between Nebraska and Kansas State, a game rich with story lines and big plays that deserved to be recorded better for history, Kansas State fans and ESPN Classic. It will be interesting to see if the Disney-owned network that shows old games will ever replay this telecast given the disgraceful manner in which ABC covered it. No football game – college or pro – done by a major network’s top team should contain this many production mistakes. Let’s start with the biggest one – ABC missing the game-winning touchdown catch by Kansas State. The traditional press box camera shot showed Kansas State quarterback Michael Bishop throwing the ball, followed the ball and then stopped short of showing the Kansas State receiver who caught the ball. Viewers had to depend on announcer Keith Jackson’s call and the fans’ reaction to determine it was caught! I don’t know why the cameraperson didn’t follow through because the receiver was wide open in the back of the end zone! That is why highlight shows later had to use camera shots from the field to show the clinching score. Earlier, near the end of the first half, ABC missed a fumble by Bishop at Nebraska’s one-yard line. ABC, assuming the play was over when Bishop was tackled, switched to a shot of Kansas State coach Bill Snyder. I don’t blame the network for initially switching to a shot of Snyder. Grant it, there seemed to be more than the normal amount of activity going on at the scene of the tackle, but it wasn’t clear that it was a fumble. I will, though, tear into ABC for not going back to the one-yard line when the officials ruled a fumble. It was clear by Jackson’s description and the reaction of Wildcat players behind Snyder on the sidelines that something was happening on the field. However, the network stayed with its shot of Snyder until the Wildcat offense was off the field. A terrible, terrible job. And these were just the big mistakes. Throughout the game, the sound quality was uneven, there was static at times and the camerapeople were consistently faked out by play-action and misdirections. Now, I don’t know for sure how much this can be blamed on the lockout, but I’m willing to put a lot of it on the labor dispute. ABC’s college football coverage, especially on those games with Jackson and Bob Griese, is usually much better. As Jackson thanked the production people at the end of the game, he wished them well on Monday night’s telecast in nearby Kansas City of the Denver Broncos-Kansas City Chiefs game. Let’s hope they improve dramatically and that this lockout ends soon. As for the announcers, Keith Jackson was fine, while Bob Griese continues to have a tough season. There is no other announcer – with the possible exception of NFL outcast Dick Enberg – that I would rather hear call a college football game than Jackson. As Florida State coach Bobby Bowden says, you know it’s a big game when the Ol’ Hoss is there. And while he wasn’t at his sharpest Saturday, I can’t hide my bias and my enjoyment in listening to Jackson. College football won’t be the same without him for many of us next year. One of the unique qualities about Jackson that will be missed is his homespun phrases. Some classic Jacksonisms from Saturday’s game:
Sometimes, though, Jackson was a bit premature with his phrasing. In the third quarter, after a Nebraska interception that gave the ball and even more momentum at the time to Kansas State, Jackson said “I think you might go look for the sack of briquettes and start thinking about party time.” The next play, Kansas State fumbled, Nebraska recovered and ran it back for a touchdown. Game tied. Jackson had made the worst mistake a play-by-play guy can do – he started, as he might put it, counting the fish before they were fried. He also made a few other boo-boos. For example, at the end of the game, Kansas State knelt down on fourth down. The clock stopped with 15 seconds left on the change of possession. However, Jackson said “the clock is running [and then even as the teams were changing players on the field, Jackson added] … and running.” Nonetheless, though, Jackson was on more than he was off. The veteran announcer was quick, as always, to credit the “Big Uglies” like he did on Bishop’s first touchdown. He also noted right after Kansas State went ahead for the first time in the game that it was the Wildcats first lead over Nebraska since 1991, and later, when Nebraska kicker Kris Brown missed an extra point, he said immediately that it was his first miss in 125 straight extra points. Finally, when the officials missed an obvious face mask on a Nebraska fourth down with 2:40 left, Jackson immediately started calling for it. In that instance, Jackson reacted like a fan, which is probably one reason he has remained so popular with viewers throughout the years. Even when he backs himself into a corner, he slides out smoothly. After a Kansas State turnover in the first half, Jackson said, “And here come the Cats … to the defensive side of the ball.” So smooth. He’s still the best after all these years. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about his partner, Bob Griese, who made only a handful of insightful points (see below) during the game. Griese annoys me when he doesn’t know his facts. For example, he said an 18 yards per completion average by Kansas State receiver Darnell McDonald “probably leads the country.” Well does it or doesn’t it? Griese said Kansas State kicker Martin Gramatica “has missed four or five this year.” (he’s missed six.) He also talked about a previous play being “second and eight or nine” when it was second and ten after an incompletion on first down. It will be interesting for me to see what happens to Griese next year after his partner leaves. Here are the other highlights and lowlights from Saturday’s telecast: Missing
In Action: 1. Lynn Swann was in the hospital, not on the sidelines,
for Saturday’s game. Jackson said Swann had stomach pains and that
it wasn’t critical. But while he was explaining this and introducing
Swann’s replacement, ESPN’s Steve Cyphers, Nebraska fumbled the
ball. Cyphers then had to give his first report while ABC was showing
Kansas State celebrating the fumble recovery. Cyphers was only heard
from a couple times and didn't leave an impact either way. Good shot: Bishop talking to his teammate that missed a block which led to a Bishop fumble. As Bishop spoke, the teammate was looking away. Good
stats: 1. Nebraska has scored 82 points off of turnovers this
year. Good
points: 1. Griese said much of Nebraska’s problems this year
is due to the fact that the school graduated six five-year seniors
on the offensive line last year. Griese later noted another Nebraska
problem was that new coach Frank Solich is still learning how to
call the offense, while former coach Tom Osborne was a master at
running the option offense. More
glitches: 1. On a graphic about the current drive, it showed
“00:00” next to time. Grade: C+. I love Jackson, but the production problems were just too much. Back
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