04/16/24
January 09, 2014
SportsFilter: The Thursday Huddle:
A place to discuss the sports stories that aren't making news, share links that aren't quite front-page material, and diagram plays on your hand. Remember to count to five Mississippi before commenting in anger.
I'd be interested to find out how many prospective candidates for the position even agreed to take a call from the team (barring the need for any salary increase or facilities upgrade leverage at their current job).
Yeah, this is what I was thinking. And whether Bruce Allen told his boss how many people wouldn't even take his calls. "No, you don't want that guy. Just... trust me on this one. He's not really that good."
posted by Etrigan at 10:58 AM on January 09, 2014
If so, that will either give us a golden opportunity to find out just how lucky Washington is to have landed one of the best young football minds in the league today...or, Jon Gruden will spend the whole game being strangely subdued and non-committal.
I'm trying to think of examples of fathers being commentators of sports where their son/brother is a participant (athlete/coach).
I know that Darrell Waltrip was a commentator during the 2001 Daytona 500 when his younger brother Michael Waltrip won the race.
(He cheers when he crosses the finish line, but then things get sombre pretty quickly when everyone realizes that Dale Earnhardt Sr. had crashed.)
posted by grum@work at 12:09 PM on January 09, 2014
Bob Costas Rips Olympic Snowboarding Slopestyle, Calls It Jackass Stuff'
posted by BornIcon at 12:30 PM on January 09, 2014
Bob Griese called the 1998 Rose Bowl when his son Brian and Michigan beat Washington State (and Ryan Leaf).
That meant undefeated season, national championship, and I think Brian Griese was MVP of the game. Total storybook situation.
Bob G. was quite professional throughout the game and held it together pretty well until the immediate post-game commentary when Keith Jackson said to him something like "you must be so proud", at which point Bob lost it. As anyone would have.
(Except Nick Saban)
posted by beaverboard at 12:37 PM on January 09, 2014
And then there are the Waltons of hoops country, but I really don't want to go there. It's still cold as hell outside and if I start thinking about daddy Bill, it will only make winter seem more unbearable.
I'm sure that there are plenty of others I just can't think of at the moment.
posted by beaverboard at 12:45 PM on January 09, 2014
You thought Bill Walton was bad enough but it gets worse.
Did Craig James ever call a Texas Tech game (prior to the infamous Alamo Bowl)?
I need to stop thinking about this.
posted by beaverboard at 12:59 PM on January 09, 2014
Bob Costas Rips Olympic Snowboarding Slopestyle, Calls It Jackass Stuff'
Why slopestyle, just because it's new to the Olympics? I don't see how he's cool with halfpipe but slopestyle is Jackass stuff. Anyway, I'm far more interested in slopestyle competitions than halfpipe.
posted by tron7 at 02:47 PM on January 09, 2014
... but then things get sombre pretty quickly when everyone realizes that Dale Earnhardt Sr. had crashed.
I just watched the ending again, which is still a stunning moment in live sports. Waltrip calls the last three miles of the race as a complete homer, then has only 1 minute and 20 seconds of giddy celebration before the tone changes and concern for Earnhardt dominates the broadcast. (On the link the win is around 2:00 and the concern begins in full at 3:20.)
posted by rcade at 05:05 PM on January 09, 2014
Jay Gruden is headed to Washington to take over their professional football team.
The news isn't as good as I had hoped (I was blowing on the lucky dice for Kiffin, Neuheisel, Dennis Erickson, or Petrino...just because), but it's still fairly appropriate.
I'd be interested to find out how many prospective candidates for the position even agreed to take a call from the team (barring the need for any salary increase or facilities upgrade leverage at their current job).
In a few more weeks, we'll find out if the DC team has any Monday night games. If so, that will either give us a golden opportunity to find out just how lucky Washington is to have landed one of the best young football minds in the league today...or, Jon Gruden will spend the whole game being strangely subdued and non-committal.