As the season draws to a close, this is going to be an interesting Friday for the NASCAR on ESPN2 gang.
Beginning at 6AM, and running through until 10AM Eastern Time, the popular Mike and Mike in the Morning Show will be live at TMS. The show will originate from the cafeteria in the infield, and any NASCAR fan with a ticket for the infield can attend the show live. Both Jimmie Johnson the driver, and Jimmy Johnson the former NFL Coach of the Dallas Cowboys will be featured as guests. That should be fun.
At 1PM, ESPN2 shows the first NEXTEL Cup practice session live. This interesting twist is a positive one for the network. The normal ESPN NASCAR gang will be announcing, but I am not sure if they will be in the Infield Studio or in the booth. TMS is a tough place to call any on-track action from a studio in the infield.
A special early edition of NASCAR Now follows at 2:30PM for thirty minutes. Ryan Burr will probably be the host, but with this show....anything goes.
The Friday action is wrapped-up at 4:30PM with live NEXTEL Cup qualifying that is scheduled for two hours on ESPN2.
This is a big day of action for ESPN, and it certainly will lead up to one of the most exciting NEXTEL Cup races of the year.
This page will serve to host your comments about this big NASCAR Friday on ESPN2. You may add your comments about this programming before, during, or after the shows. The content of your post needs to reference this program day specifically, or it will be deleted. If you respond to another comment, please try to keep your opinion on-track with what is happening on ESPN2. General rules for posting are on the main page.
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103 comments:
Bruton Smith's press conference announcing his purchase of NHIS was supposed to be Friday at 3 PM EST. But the latest article on thatsracin.com says the announcment is now at 12:30 EST. Possibly it was moved to better accomodate the early edition of NASCAR NOW? That means the NASCAR Now folks should hopefully be all over it with video highlights and interviews at 2:30 PM EST, especially since there's no late edition tomorrow.
It should be very interesting to see how the networks handle that, and if it can migrate over to ESPN News.
JD
9:16AM and the closest they've come to talking about NASCAR is mentioning they are at TMS and a silly Greenie skit about things he doesn't know about NASCAR. Jimmie Johnson coming up next....
Nice job by M&M I think with the interview. They had fun with it and didn't try to pretend they know a darn thing about NASCAR. Nice job M&M!
Had the tv on for the show's last 90 minutes figuring any NASCAR content would be during that time frame. Jimmie Johnson's interview was good, but too bad they couldn't arrange for at least one other driver to come to the TMS infield and be interviewed. Or phone in from the motorcoach.
But they said it was Football Friday, so it wasn't false advertising.
Two things I learned from listening: this Sunday's race doesn't start until 3:30 PM Eastern -what's that about? (It also runs straight into the primetime schedule that begins at 7:30, hope it doesn't run over.) The other was that the NFL game between undefeated teams Patriots-Colts starts at 4 PM Eastern.
In other words, the Texas race is going to be crushed in the ratings. Be prepared.
"The other was that the NFL game between undefeated teams Patriots-Colts starts at 4 PM Eastern.
In other words, the Texas race is going to be crushed in the ratings. Be prepared."
I think we need to use something stronger than "Crush". That game should set record numbers only to Super Bowls.
"Jimmie Johnson's interview was good, but too bad they couldn't arrange for at least one other driver to come to the TMS infield and be interviewed. Or phone in from the motorcoach."
Got to believe they would have taken whatever they could have gotten from the track. I'll bet they tried to get more from NASCAR.
Daly Planet Editor said...
It should be very interesting to see how the networks handle that, and if it can migrate over to ESPN News.
JD
My prediction of how ESPN will handle of the Bruton Smith press conference:
- no live press conference coverage on ESPNNEWS
- A brief mention on NASCAR Now on Friday but no extensive coverage by any means, probably not even a wrap-up report from an ESPN reporter that attended the news conference. I'm sure they have plenty of "Driver Pick'em" segments and other fancy music videos to fit in to their 30 minute broadcast, so it will probably just be brought up briefly during the "other news and notes" segment.
- No more mention of this story during the entire weekend on ESPN. It would be nice to have Bruton on the ABC pre-race show on Sunday and have Suzy read him the obvious question of "did you plan on moving one or both of New Hampshire's dates to Las Vegas or one of your other tracks?" But of course that will never happen because ESPN doesn't believe in using their pre-race shows as a source of news. When they completely ignored stories like Gibbs going to Toyota there's no way a story like Bruton Smith buying NHIS will get any air time in between Aerosmith and whatever video packages ESPN produces for the fans this week.
Recap of how the ESPN Family of Networks handled live coverage of the Bruton Smith new conference:
(empty space)
I had that one right, now let's see how NASCAR Now and the ABC pre-race show on Sunday handle it. So far I'm 1-for-1.
ESPN2's coverage of practice has begun. It started with a "One Race Ago" video package, a point standings graphic, a nice video of cattle and cowboys, and a full-screen shot of the guys in the pit studio yapping. All of this is going on with some kind of distracting background noise... could that be the cars practicing ON THE TRACK??? How dare they add background noise to ESPN's coverage of anything but the on-track action!
Now we get a full-screen look at some pit reporters and ESPN's ultra fancy opening video graphic of cars racing, and a full-screen graphic of ESPN's weekend coverage... and now a commercial! It's 7 minutes into the broadcast and we haven't seen a single car on the track yet!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a stunner, during all the on-screen mess a car hit the wall ON THE TRACK. I thought I saw a red flag in the background during the on-screen nonsense but I figured I must have been mistaken, because ESPN certinaly would have interrupted their nonsense to tell us what happened right? WRONG!!!
We finally got to see some video of the incident AFTER THE COMMERCIAL. The weekend is starting well!
ESPN seems to be at some special practice (that I did not know existed) where only the guys in the Chase are running.
When do the other drivers practice?
"Cattle is king" in Texas, Jerry?
If you insist on using a cliche to describe a huge, modern state, you'd probably be better off to talk about the "awl bidness."
ESPN2 just came back from commercial and showed us more cattle and added in some farmers too! Then they showed a full-screen graphic of the top 10 fastest speeds. What is the point of that graphic? If you were showing THE TRACK we could see a crawl showing all 48 speeds, not just the top 10.
Oh did I mention during all this nonsense that we had our second incident - Mike Skinner scrubbing the wall. Maybe these drivers are trying to send ESPN message... Hey TV network, there's stuff going on out here ON THE TRACK. You know, the place your cameras are supposed to be watching!!!!!!!!!
Full screen Monday Night Football promo, then full screen AFC North Standings graphic, then full screen shots of a bunch of drivers telling the world what their favorite NFL matchup is.
SHOW US WHAT IS GOING ON ON THE TRACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!
First question to Dale Jr. live in the garage area next to his car.. what is your favorite NFL matchup?
WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
"Only one or two crs on the racetrack," said Jerry.
Then it shouldn't be too hard to show them, should it?
But it must be, since we haven't seen them yet.
Dr. Punch:
"the track is almost empty right now, there's only 2 cars out there"
Yeah, you'd think those guys would get some TV time since the practice session is being televised live and they have the whole track to themselves... WRONG AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!
Is there ever going to be a follow-up on Kevin Lepage and Mike Skinner? How bad is the damage, are they going to get any more track time before practice ends, are they going to back-up cars, how bad does this hurt their chances of making the race? These are things that fans at home would like to know but these guys are "just" go-or-go homers on qualifying day so why should they get any TV coverage on ESPN? If a Chaser hit the wall the cameras would probably still be focused solely on the repair work going on in the garage area.
Oh my God, another video package recapping last week's race at Atlanta! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ESPN's "practice" coverage is downright ridiculous today. All we are seeing is video packages and nonsense. No real action of the cars on the track, no crawl of speeds. Way too much focus on last week, instead of what is happening now.
I hate to go off topic but
GO COLTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Andy Petree tried to give the fans an explanation of what Kyle Busch was doing on camera LIVE in the garage area. Unfortunately he was rudely interrupted by ANOTHER video package recapping Kyle Busch's woes at Atlanta last week. At least he tried to talk about something that was going on LIVE, unfortunately the guys in the truck had none of it.
It's only practice....unhappy, please just turn your tv off or change channel.
I liked the M & M show this morning. Jimmie did a good job, and both Mikes seemed appreciative of the fans who came at the crack of dawn to watch their show.
I must say that the NFL has done a great job to promote their 2 top teams. For 8 weeks we've been debating who is better and who would lose first. NO ONE HAS SAID IT"S BORING. The hype is so strong that every night, even in my local channel, they have been talking about about the Pats and Colts and how no one is as good as those 2.
Maybe ESPN reporters need to be told. If you say it's boring, it becomes a self-fullfilling prophesy.
Yes! We got to see a crew member struggling to put a gear into a container.
Then we "finally" get to see the "best average finish among Chasers at Texas" graphic. Denny Hamlin has the best average finish here among Chasers... yeah that will really help him make up a 424 point deficit with 3 races to go and win the Chase!!!!!!
Another video package from Atlanta and a video package from the spring Cup race at Texas.
YIPPIE!!!! THIS IS GREAT (sarcasm)!!!!
Anonymous said...
It's only practice....unhappy, please just turn your tv off or change channel.
November 2, 2007 1:44 PM
You obviously have no idea what this blog is for. Please go away.
I have found that The Daly Planet is on the cutting edge of modern medicine - since it appears to be MUCH better for your blood pressure to read The Daly Planet than to be able to watch practice or qualifying live on EXPN.
Bruton's announcement of buying NH race track was on SPEED live, mostly, and he ducked the question of what he plans to do with NH's 2 dates. One would think that the prospect of losing 1 of 2 Cup dates in EXPN's backyard might get some attention by EXPN.
Why does Rusty have to always give drivers advice? Shut up!
He's just saying that Kyle needs to go to Jeff and JJ and find out what they are doning.
Rusty, get a clue, Kyle's crew chief probably makes $1M per year. I think we can trust him to do what he has to. He want to win.
Stop putting a negative spin that the 24 and 48 don't want to share.
elena
Anonymous said...
Why does Rusty have to always give drivers advice? Shut up!
He's just saying that Kyle needs to go to Jeff and JJ and find out what they are doning.
Rusty, get a clue, Kyle's crew chief probably makes $1M per year. I think we can trust him to do what he has to. He want to win.
Stop putting a negative spin that the 24 and 48 don't want to share.
elena
Rusty doesn't seem to understand that Kyle's driving style is completely different that Jeff's or Jimmie's. He could be using their infomation already - he just has to fit it to his style.
Anonymous said...
It's only practice....unhappy, please just turn your tv off or change channel.
November 2, 2007 1:44 PM
Uh.... yeah... what's the purpose of this blog again? Oh, that's right, to critique the TV coverage of NASCAR!!!!!!!!!
Silly me for having the audacity to critique the TV coverage of this event on a blog that's here for fans to critique the TV coverage of this event! If you don't like what we're doing here then please change the web site or turn your computer off!
It's only practice....unhappy, please just turn your tv off or change channel.
Yeah, it's only practice, so it's okay for ESPN to do a poor job of producing the show, right? Sure.
If you don't like what we're doing here then please change the web site or turn your computer off!
Now that's funny, I don't care who you are!
I have the VCR running but not watching (I usually fast forward through practices and or NASCAR Live on Speed after recording), so after reading the comments that they were asking the players about their favorite NFL matchups I rewound to see that part.
So odd. Supposedly Jerry and ESPN are hyping their MNF game with its "rivalry". But when they keep saying favorite football matchups, they're immediately going to remind the casual viewer -whom they're hoping to keep watching practice with football talk - about the Patriots/Colts game. Because right now, this weekend, there IS no bigger rivalry in sports.
Then to cap it off, they end their driver montage video with... Sadler talking about how great any game is between the Patriots and Colts.
So they just hyped their *direct* Sunday competition on CBS, and not MNF. Maybe they realize it's a bandwagon that can't be stopped.
Wouldn't it be funny if they played this same "favorite football matchups" video montage during Sunday's game, thus reminding everyone watching that a possibly more entertaining option -and the watercooler game of the year until the playoffs -is just a remote click away?
Wouldn't it be funny if they played this same "favorite football matchups" video montage during Sunday's game, thus reminding everyone watching that a possibly more entertaining option -and the watercooler game of the year until the playoffs -is just a remote click away?
It'd be even funnier if they played a Jeff vs. Jimmie matchup video during the MNF game.
That, of course, will never happen.
I think a better comparison would be to imagine CBS talking about NASCAR at 4:00 during Colts-Patriots and how great the Jeff Gordon / Jimmie Johnson battle for the championship is right now.
This is humorous to hear the Colts/Pats talk during NASCAR, since the Cup race on ABC airs directly against that game on CBS on Sunday.
stricklinfan82 said...
"Uh.... yeah... what's the purpose of this blog again? Oh, that's right, to critique the TV coverage of NASCAR!!!!!!!!!"
Yes, but you seem to not see the slight difference between a critique and just nitpicking bitching!
Ha, I was about to post the following during the commercial break:
Dr Punch: "the track is empty and everyone is in the garage making changes"
Uh... am I mistaken or do I still hear cars on the track in the background? I guess all the Chasers must be in the garage so that's why he said the track was "empty"
Sure enough, practice is STILL GOING ON and cars are still practicing, just as they were before the commercial break when Dr. Punch said the track was empty.
I guess that could mean that Dr. Punch was only watching the monitor just like the rest of the ESPN guys always do. If you were only watching the TV broadcast you'd be convinced that the track was empty too because they never show the track!!!! LOL
This is humorous to hear the Colts/Pats talk during NASCAR, since the Cup race on ABC airs directly against that game on CBS on Sunday.
Stricklinfan82, I think everybody's already aware of that since I've already seen it discussed in several posts. Just a friendly suggestion: You might want to read the other posts to go along with your own.
Anonymous said...
stricklinfan82 said...
"Uh.... yeah... what's the purpose of this blog again? Oh, that's right, to critique the TV coverage of NASCAR!!!!!!!!!"
Yes, but you seem to not see the slight difference between a critique and just nitpicking bitching!
Please. There have been big flaws in the practice coverage today, as documented above. Pointing them out - that is called a critique. If you don't want to read criticism on the TV coverage then don't come here.
ESPN is completely ignoring the on-track action that they are there to televise. Missing out on showing the live event on the screen seems like the most basic and simple thing to criticize about a TV broadcast. If that's nitpciking then I'm guilty as charged.
"Please. There have been big flaws in the practice coverage today, as documented above. Pointing them out - that is called a critique. If you don't want to read criticism on the TV coverage then don't come here.
November 2, 2007 2:24 PM"
Sorry, the picture I get of the steam coming out the ears as he types yelling at the TV is just too funny.
"Anonymous said...
This is humorous to hear the Colts/Pats talk during NASCAR, since the Cup race on ABC airs directly against that game on CBS on Sunday.
Stricklinfan82, I think everybody's already aware of that since I've already seen it discussed in several posts. Just a friendly suggestion: You might want to read the other posts to go along with your own."
Hey, don't stop him now, he's getting ready for the writer's strike.
Yes, but you seem to not see the slight difference between a critique and just nitpicking bitching!
Frustration at ESPN's failure to actualy show the cars running during practice is, in your mind, a nitpick?
Anonymous said...
This is humorous to hear the Colts/Pats talk during NASCAR, since the Cup race on ABC airs directly against that game on CBS on Sunday.
Stricklinfan82, I think everybody's already aware of that since I've already seen it discussed in several posts. Just a friendly suggestion: You might want to read the other posts to go along with your own.
November 2, 2007 2:23 PM
Ok, I saw one post before mine that pointed out precisely that the Cup race and Colts/Pats games are on competing networks and start at the same time. Forgive me for being "excessively redundant" by repeating the same thing one other person said.
Bravo on NASCAR Now's coverage of the Bruton Smith situation. I guess I assumed Erik Kuselias would be hosting the show.
15 out of 44 and 3-8
good average for the "stricklinfan82 Planet"
It does seem to me that some of the comments demonstrate a disconnect at EXPN. They (EXPN) appear to recognize that NASCAR fans might also be interested in the Colts/Patriots game - but do not seem to appreciate that substandard coverage of NASCAR might have a negative effect on viewership of other EXPN offerings.
I thought Ryan Burr's interview of Bruton Smith on Nascar Now was just plain rude.
I thought Ryan Burr's interview of Bruton Smith on Nascar Now was just plain rude.
I thought Bruton Smith was unnecessarily evasive.
It was clear from the get go that Bruton was not going to talk about switching dates. Ryan kept trying to trick him into revealing his plans and Ryan looked like the fool on this one.
That's how interviewing is done.
It is how you get answers.
Maybe you'd prefer if Ryan just asked him, "How do you feel?"
That's how interviewing is done.
It is how you get answers.
Maybe you'd prefer if Ryan just asked him, "How do you feel?"
November 2, 2007 3:13 PM
By asking the same question in a half dozen different ways sounds like baggering instead of interviewing.
The Bruton Smith interview was where NASCAR Now did not play to its strengths (and why wasn't Bruton looking into the camera, was the sun angle strong and he had to look off to the side?).
Ryan, being a newbie, does not understand that the cat and mouse game is part of Bruton's schtick. Terry Blount does -he and David Poole wrote articles this week capturing the way Bruton loves to cheerfully tease the reporters with bits of information. They're used to Bruton and Bruton -for better or for worse - is used to having "his" NASCAR reporters playing along. Ryan isn't used to it and Bruton left him floundering, causing him to be a little more persistent than he should have been. Because if he knew about Bruton, he would have known he wasn't getting an answer.
Point blank, I'm pretty sure Blount is at TMS right now and should have conducted that interview. I don't think Ryan was rude, just out of his element.
I don't think there's a problem with asking drivers who they like for the games this Sunday. It shows they are normal Americans and are aware what's going on in America.
I was at the store. You would think it's Easter or something. People's shopping carts are brimming full with finger foods, ribs, chicken, beer, soda, etc. People in line are talking about the game.
What I wish was that is was a quid pro quo. Why is it that during other shows at ESPN (Like Outside the Lines), they talk about Jeff and Jimmie and really hipe it up?
by the way, not everyone not watching NASCAR is watching the Pats and Colts. Some are hunting. It was mentioned that Terry Labonte is hunting and won't be there.
@stricklanfan82--*giggle* I know...how dare those guys PRACTICE while ESPN is busy doing video montages and wrapping up the last 100 races.
@anonymous 1:16--Oh yes didn't you get the memo. Qualifying only has "name" drivers, Practice and the race only has the "it's not a playoff" playoff players. IF anyone else is mentioned it's because they snuck in the back door somehow. Because no one calling the show realized they were there for the last 3 freakin' hours! It was like on Saturday when Sterling won the race off Pit Road. Marty was like "we finally get to talk about Sterling". Uhm...did you NOT realize he's been in the race from the beginning! Was he NOT worthy of being mentioned at that time?
@anonymous 1:40--I hear ya! We actually get :gasp: LIVE practice scheduled for the middle of the day YET short of the sight of a car passing as the boyz in the studio yack on about tons of nonsense and people driving their brains out, we're NOT seeing any of it!
@richard in n.c.--wouldn't they have to realize that they HAVE tracks in their backyard first? As stated on the other threads, they broadcast in CT yet can't seem to send the "host" of their nightly show to *any* race so he MIGHT grab a clue as to what he's SUPPOSE to be talking about!
@anonymous 2:04--and that happens ALOT! I know Terry was old school all the way and some feel (aside from the conspiracy theory) that's why he struggled. J&J have both indicated that they have similar styles so it works for them.
@anonymous 3:20--YUP! It's how Dale was and how Tony is. They 'play' with the reporters. So you have to know how they operate so you can play along :)
ESPN needs to have a workshop on interviewing.
The Smith interview was awful. He was only going to give what information he wanted and that was it. Ever what Coach Billicheck interviewed? M & M were making fun of it this morning. The fact that he does not give reporters the information they want and all look foolish.
When Kurt was interviewed about Smith's purchase, he looked blank. You would think reporter would realize that he might just be out of the loop because he's consentrating on his own stuff. There was this horrible pregnant pause when no one said anything. Terrible reporter not to phrase the question correctly or give him the information he (Kurt), needed before he could give an opionion on the effect of the purchase. Even when Kurt said "My hometown is Las Vegas", the reporter still did not seem to get that Kurt had no idea what he was talking about.
elena
ESPN needs to have a workshop on interviewing.
No, they don't.
This is how interviews are done. You just don't usually see them.
Ever notice that nothing interesting ever comes out of a live interview? That's because the reporter is throwing softball questions so he'll look good to you, the viewer. But he's not really doing his job, which is to elicit new information.
Actual interviews--the ones you don't usually see--aren't done that way. They are much more like what you saw today.
And that, folks, is how we learn things that you read about on Jayski's site or he newspaper, or whatever.
@elena--YES! I forgot to mention that, I was rolling! He had no clue what they were talking about! Some drivers are into their own stuff but still be informed. Others stay clueless (or pretend to be). I learned about Jayski from a driver, so many do stay informed on what's going on :). The joke at the time was that you went to Jayski to see if you still had a job or not.
elena, I completely agree with you about the Kurt Busch interview, but IMO one part of it we can't blame on ESPN. That was a general press conference and I don't believe that was an ESPN person asking the question. I've already seen an article basically saying Kurt Busch must not keep up with the news because he didn't know about NHIS and a possible points swap situation with Hornish.
Where we can blame ESPN is for playing the video. I know there are articles about he didn't know what was going on, but TV image is more powerful than an article most times. It was uncomfortable to watch poor Kurt Busch -now that's a statement, poor Kurt Busch! - look so confused and hesistant and then you could hear some reporters laugh in the background. He finally figured it out what the connection was (Las vegas -NHIS) and had an answer, but they should have skipped that clip. Hopefully they won't show it again this weekend.
But the most important thing about NN was Marty Smith's hair. You posters here have some power, I smiled at (and agreed) with all the complaints about Marty's increasingly outrageous hair a week or so ago but didn't think he would actually change it.
A nice normal cut, super blond highlights are gone replaced with a normal solid color, spikes minimal. Indeed if he hadn't changed it, I would have never noticed his hair - which should be his goal.
Every web site I've seen said A.J. Allmendinger drew last in the qualifying draw. ESPN just said he goes out fourth. What's the deal with that? It looks like ESPN is right and everyone else is wrong, surprisingly enough.
Anyone else having the problem of ESPN2HD broadcasting "Rome is Burning" (which is also on ESPN and ESPNHD)? Non-HD ESPN2 is showing qualifying but not ESPN2HD. Real nice ESPN...
I don't see much talk here about New Hampshire. If any one has mentioned the amazing comments of 'Punch and Rusty' about what a great thing this is for the fans in New England, I missed it. They said that Smith will do great things to upgrade the track, and how wonderful it will be.
I don't live anywhere near New England, or Las Vegas, and have no ax to grind, but if I were in the Northeast I'd be lots more worried whether a date, or at best only a chase date, will be lost, than excited about having them improve the track like they have in Charlotte.
One has to continually wonder on what planet those ESPN people reside.
Tom--I don't have HD but I *get* the channels and I have quals on the ESPN2HD channel. Are you on cable or satellite? I have Time Warner here in DFW--yes I know the track is an hour and a half away or so, yet I have no moola to go :(.
I really don't understand why ESPN finds it necessary to have these in-studio guests every single week of qualifying. The focus should be on providing information on the cars on the track and keeping us updated on the go or go homers, not interviewing whatever driver happens to be the guest that week. It is ridiculous.
Okay, the ESPN director had a choice of what to show the viewers on the screen:
a.) Jeff Burton talking in the Pit Studio
or
b.) Paul Menard's qualifying run
And the director chose to show Jeff Burton talking ON THE ENTIRE SCREEN.
As a NASCAR fan tuning in to watch qualifying I would prefer to see Paul Menard's run instead of looking at Jeff Burton's face.
If they HAVE TO bring drivers into the pit studio to talk about anything other than the event they are there to cover can you at least show the qualifying runs on the screen while we listen to the drivers talk???? We don't need to SEE the driver talk too!
It's as if ESPN has grudgingly agreed to show qualifying but they're still terrified of actualy showing the tuns themselves, so they try to cover them up with anything else they can find.
anonymous 3:35 wrote:
"I don't think there's a problem with asking drivers who they like for the games this Sunday. It shows they are normal Americans and are aware what's going on in America. "
I think that would have been fine if that's what they did. (Then again, it's direct competition, so maybe not.) But what they actually did was play a promo for their Raven-Steelers MNF game (not Patriots/Colts) and then proceed to ask drivers about their favorite football matchups.
They weren't asking who they thought would win on Sunday, they were just about the driver's favorites to watch play against each other in general. Dr. Punch never mentioned Sunday's game. It just so happened that one of the drivers, Sadler, was the Pats/Colts guy and gave them a plug as his favorites to watch.
It may have be intended to be an MNF promo to have drivers talk about football, but since Sadler's opinions ended the video, it ended up serving as a subliminal promo for the very game that is broadcast against the Cup race.
Do they ask the players on MNF which Cup driver they believe will win that week?
@anonymous 5:02--one would think!
Anonymous said...
It's as if ESPN has grudgingly agreed to show qualifying but they're still terrified of actualy showing the tuns themselves, so they try to cover them up with anything else they can find.
November 2, 2007 5:05 PM
Well said, ESPN can't understand that the fans just want to see the event itself. Anyone that saw ESPN2's debacle of practice coverage this afternoon can vouch for that.
Show us the track, that's all the viewers want to see. That's the most fundamental part of televising an event:
People watching a football game want to see THE GAME.
People watching a baseball game want to see THE GAME.
People watching the Spelling Bee want to see THE KIDS SPELLING.
People watching NASCAR qualifying want to see THE QUALIFYING RUNS.
This isn't rocket science. Show the event that you are there to cover!
OH dear. Human Error again?
Looks like ESPN lost its feed from Texas.
and fade to black...hmmmmmmmm
Right in the middle of Kasey Kahne's run, the TV goes black and then we see a commerical about a Disney cartoon movie. What's up with that?
I have ESPN on tv but with the sound off. Cannot take the announcing. Listening to PRN on Sirius and have Trackpass pulled up so I can keep up with the order.
OOPS the ESPN screen just went black. Things remain the same
Kasey interview and Reed's timing run, sorry bout that
What the hell? After the fade to black and the 5 minute long commercial break they come back on the air and we've missed 5 qualifying runs??????????????? Really nice ESPN!
Did I miss the explanation/apology or are they just ignoring what happened?
Human error. As usual.
This is inexcusable. We just had the runs of THREE go-or-go homers completely skipped (55, 10, and 34)!
More "human error", an ESPN exclusive in 2007!!!!!!!
According to ESPN master control, they lost power at the uplink. The uplink site backed up the TIVO and re-ran everything. They just mentioned the problems. As much as the coverage has sucked this year... they handled this one ok
@anonymous 5:29--Dr. Jerry (almost 10 minutes later) just did. He apologized saying they had technical difficulties earlier and reminded us that they were live at Texas :p
They didn't back up and re-run everything!!!!!!! We missed 4 qualifying runs - the 10, 55, 34, and 7! Three go-or-go homers!
Striklinfan, I watched them back the tivo back to the previous break. If they weren't shown it had nothing to do with the power outage.
The power outage started right at the conclusion of Reed Sorenson's 1st lap and coverage picked back up when Ricky Rudd's run was underway. In between those two events 4 consecutive cars made their qualifying runs, so don't tell me we didn't miss anything thanks to the outage. They should have rewound back to the 41's qualifying run, not the most recent transition from a commercial break. By going back to the last commercial break we missed 4 runs so they did not "show us everything we missed".
Yep...missed Mikey's run completely! Drat!
Anonymous said:
'But the most important thing about NN was Marty Smith's hair. You posters here have some power, I smiled at (and agreed) with all the complaints about Marty's increasingly outrageous hair a week or so ago but didn't think he would actually change it.
A nice normal cut, super blond highlights are gone replaced with a normal solid color, spikes minimal.'
November 2, 2007 4:08 PM
Just getting to that on the DVR. Amen to your comments about it finally looking normal. Like you said, hopefully Marty's hair will stay like most other reporters hair, in that I couldn't tell you much about it from this point forward. For those jobs, non-flashy hair is good.
And why was Bruton turned to the side during that interview? it was like he couldn't be bothered to look at the camera.
Can Juan hold onto the Pole..let's hope
oh well, so much for that..thought it would be Gordon who would beat him, not Truex.
I have to say the Ryan Interview with bruton was rude and ignorant. I sat there CRINGING as the new announcement had just happened...I hardly think Bruton was going to share any 'secrets' with ESPU.
My 87 year old mom happened across the same interview and called me immediately to see if I thought it was horrible. I said yes...i was watching SPEED and during commercial switched to ESPN to see Ryan ask similar questions repeatedly.
Dang... I have decided he does really bad interviews...I don't like this NN host either...Sorry I didn't stay with SPEED's show. Glad to see a couple other posters felt the same way
I couldn't figure out why Punch was saying AJ's name every other sentence. My, my he's a studio guest. Red Bull must have paid some "advertising fee".
Summary of "ESPN's Big NASCAR Friday":
Practice Coverage - pathetic
For an entire practice session ESPN constantly showed us everything and anything but what was going on on the racetrack. Tons of fancy graphics, tons of video packages, and more air time for cattle than race car drivers. A complete debacle.
Qualifying - Not Bad, Until....
The qualifying coverage started out well. We saw every car's run for quite a while. Then the ESPN producer decided it was more important to see Jeff Burton's face than it was to see Paul Menard's qualifying run so we missed that entire run. Then things went well for a while longer until ESPN2 had some sort of problem. The screen went black during the 41's run, and then after a 5 minute long commercial break they came back on the air, 5 cars later in the qualifying session.
Despite the claims of a poster who claimed to be an insider that physically saw ESPN's uplink center rewind the TiVo back to the spot where they left off so fans wouldn't miss anything, this of course did not happen. After the technical difficulties the coverage resumed with Ricky Rudd's qualifying lap, and in between the 41 and 88, completely omitted 4 qualifying runs - and most importantly 3 go-or-go homers! If this "insider" is truthful that he saw ESPN rewind the TiVo back, then they rewound it back to the wrong spot! The 55, 10, 34, and 7 cars made their runs in between the time Sorenson ran and the commercial break immediately preceding Ricky Rudd's run, so ESPN did not make up for their problems and show the fans everything we missed! That would have only been accomplished by rewinding to the 41's run, not to the 88's run. Either that or ESPN consciously stopped recording their TiVo style broadcast for 10 minutes in between the 41 and 88 cars ran, and consciously decided to skip over those 4 cars and planned all along on the schedule of showing the 41's run, going to commercial, skipping over 4 straight runs, and then coming back from the break with the 88's run. Either way, ESPN dropped the ball. Pre-meditated or not, they skipped 4 consecutive qualifying runs, 3 of them being go-or-go home cars, which is completely inexcusable.
Thanks for nothing today ESPN. If wish they would follow TNT's lead and leave practice and qualifying coverage to the professionals at Speed Channel.
I was a little sad to hear all the boos for Juan Pablo Montoya when he got the pole, compared to the raucous cheers when Martin Truex (hardly the most popular guy in the world with fans, especially with Dale Jr leaving DEI and taking a lot of his fans with him) took it away from him.
I could see a Truex pole being wildly popular at the Dover or NH track, but Texas? I think there's something underlying there that I'm not liking, but I better get used to it since JPM is just going to get better. So boos it is!
Other than that, I can't add a lot to the comments other than Dr. Punch is trying very hard to add excitement to his voice. maybe it doesn't work all the time, but I still appreciate the effort.
The camera people had some strange shots -the most strange was Carl Edwards mom, who even had her name under her camera shot. Kudos for the studio crew for not mentioning her. Unless it was her birthday or something, why was she on camera as Carl made his run? Maybe Dr. Punch and co. were as confused as I was and that's why they were silent.
Enough!
I've gone to SPEED to wait.
start an interview with Bono then go to black and then end the broadcast........ are these rookies
Re: Marty Smith's hair on NASCAR Now -
It does look much better, but I feel a little sad for Marty, he probably feels like some of his personality -which comes across so well in his writing - is gone. First he has to wear suits, now fix his hair? I guess it's the price you pay for ESPN-dom because it truly didn't fit on NN like it did when he was on nascar.com.
Plus to make matters worse, Kasey Kahne dyed his hair black this week, he dyes it at some point every season. You know Marty wishes he could still do that.
I was a little sad to hear all the boos for Juan Pablo Montoya when he got the pole, compared to the raucous cheers when Martin Truex (hardly the most popular guy in the world with fans, especially with Dale Jr leaving DEI and taking a lot of his fans with him) took it away from him.
JPM's being called Juan Problem Montoya, and not for nothing. You shouldn't be surprised when he gets booed.
The uplink site backed up the TIVO and re-ran everything.
...just not on the air, apparently, since no one at home saw it!
Thanks modman for the info, it always is best to get the technical issues out in the open.
What a wild day of NASCAR on ESPN2.
I missed practice and the first few qualifying Cup cars, so my comments are limited to qualifying.
With the exception of the mystery technical glitch, I thought that the program was OK. I liked Burton and AJ as guests.
I don't understand why ESPN has been experiencing so many technical difficulties, but they are compounded by terse apologies that do not explain anything. It would be more considerate to viewers to at least recap who was skipped. Those of us who follow qualifying on the 'Net may know, but TV viewers are not updated properly.
At this point, we all know that there is no wizard behind ESPN's curtain. They could regain some much needed credibility by facing glitches head on and explaining the situation properly.
I would not take the boos for Juan Pablo to seriously. They have been booing my guy Jeff since he was The Kid.
This morning on Mike & Mike, Jimmie told a story about having a young cancer survivor with him for driver introductions (She was from Make A Wish). He told the guys that he had to warn her not to get upset when they walked out on stage, because he would be booed.
So, Juan Pablo is in good company
elena
ESPN's qualifying coverage was ridiculously bad. Everyone has already noted the glitch, and the fact that they never went back and replayed those four cars, or even gave us an update on what happened!
It wasn't just the glitch, though. ESPN still doesn't grasp the importance of the GOGH cars. They have a decent graphic that shows who's locked in, who's on the bubble, and who's locked out, but they don't show that graphic consistently! Sometimes they'll use the graphic or just verbally tell us the implications of a particular GOGH'ers run, but more often than not, they'll just leave us in the dark! To top it all off, they never even bothered to give us a GOGH recap at the end of qualifying, and they had 20+ minutes of extra time to do so!
In addition to all these problems, Punch seemed to be completely out to lunch all night. Saying things like "Mayfield will try to get this 66 car in the field". Ummm, Jerry - the 66 car is locked in, it's in the Top-35! This is just one example of the good Doctor's mis-statements and confusion. I think he's just mailing it in at this point. Very sad...
I happened to turn on right at the end of Cup qualifying Friday night -- they were going to a couple of interviews and before they did said that the full race lineup would scroll across the bottom of the screen.
It started to scroll, then it disappeared for several seconds then it reappeared. Then, when they cut to an interview with Mark Martin, it switched to be at the top of the screen
I had to go to NASCAR.com to see who was where.
Bizarre behaviour. It was like watching graphics for a local telethon.
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