After the Atlanta NASCAR Sprint Cup race was over, TV viewers had a place to go when the live Fox coverage was done.
It was not SPEED Channel. It was not NASCAR Now on ESPN2. It was not the local news. The new player in post-race live NASCAR programming is the ESPNEWS Network.
Since the first race weekend at Daytona it was clear that things had changed with a lot of elements in the ESPN portion of the NASCAR TV package. One change that flew under-the-radar was ESPN's own sports news network returning to an on-air practice they once did regularly several years ago.
After the races, the key players stop by the Infield Media Center and talk with the assembled media. The entire thing is uplinked by the NASCAR Media Group, and is available to stations and networks to record.
This live TV is golden for ESPNEWS, and that was never more apparent than immediately after the Sprint Cup race in Atlanta. From the moment that Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Junior sat down as the second and third place finishing drivers, things got interesting.
Not only were Stewart and Earnhardt's comments live, the best part is the ability of the TV viewers to hear national NASCAR reporters and writers in the Media Center ask the questions. This give-and-take with a group of people who see each other for forty weeks a year is fascinating.
The ESPNEWS anchors were amazed by the frank comments and the anger toward Goodyear exhibited by Stewart and Earnhardt. Each in their own way put Goodyear through the ringer because of the hard tires and bad racing.
ESPNEWS stayed with these comments until the end, and then added additional recorded footage of race winner Kyle Busch moments after it happened. Even Joe Gibbs and his son JD were on-the-air, talking candidly about their racing business.
This was a side of NASCAR that fans wanted to see, and was missed when ESPNEWS stopped this practice last season. To have the network make a new commitment to this coverage, and then come through with flying colors so far this season is wonderful.
If you watched this coverage, please feel free to share your opinion. If you did not, the same thing will be done for each Sprint Cup race throughout the season. To add a comment, just click on the COMMENTS button below and follow the directions.
Thanks for stopping by, the rules for posting are on the right side of the main page.
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ReplyDeleteWhile I was pleased with ESPN News and add my thanks, I have some concerns. Many folks at the end of the live thread were discussing ESPN NEWS and if Stewart and Earnhardt's frank comments caused ESPN NEWS not to carry Kyle's press conference live or may cause them not to carry them live in the future. JD, the question I asked in the live thread is in bold.
ReplyDeleteI found it odd that Kyle was on tape and not live like Ryan from Daytona. When they cut away for commercial at Daytona, they came back and went back live and not to tape. Tonight, do you have any indication that Kyle, the winner, was on tape because of the frankness of the tire comments made by the other two? Thanks.
Anonymous said...
I don't believe what they just showed of Kyle was live, especially since it cut away at the exact time ESPN NEWS takes it's commercial breaks and they advertised comments from Joe Gibbs coming up.
I said...
Yep, too convenient that Kyle's answer ended at exactly at 6:49 when they go to break.
I also believe they intended to carry Kyle live -they carried the "pressers" live for Daytona for Penske and newman, but I didn't see Cali or LV post race. IMO the circumstance of what Stewart and Earnhardt said made someone -ESPN, NASCAR, both - make a call not carry Kyle live. JD is there any way you can find out if I'm completely off base with that theory?
We'll see next week. If they don't carry Bristol comments live after already advertising "live Sprint Cup" coverage after the race, and they fit too neatly within commerical breaks, then something's up.
Or maybe they'll carry live pressers not involving Stewart.
March 9, 2008 7:11 PM
JD, I thought you said no one, not anyone for any reason, can post a link on your site without first emailing you so you can post it yourself.
ReplyDeleteInteresting discussion about the ESPN News portion of the coverage at the end of in-race comments. I'd saved my comments if I knew there would be a blog entry! Thank you ESPNEWS for the extended coverage. You did a great job letting it run and I truly thought it was some of the most informative information from the entire weekend.
ReplyDeleteI'll insert my comment because I was impressed with Tony Stewart, who I usually think comes across on TV as a big bully. Since he didn't tonight, I'm also curious if his Goodyear opinions will affect ESPNEWS showing these live or on tape delay. It just seemed too much of a coincidence that they went to tape with Busch, who won the race, and not live. I assume since the coverage had a NASCAR Media group logo, that NASCAR would make that call but I don;t know.
Comment:
"What's unfortuate if this does affect the "liveness" of the media comments is Tony S. came across well in his comments. Often on TV he's mean and insulting for no reason. Today, he appeared very matter of fact, he didn't insult anyone by name, he didn't criticize gratuitously I thought. His thought were actually cogent, backed up by Dale Jr, who comes across as the "quiet little brother" who backed Tony up when they are side by side. Usually Dale Jr is "the superstar of NASCAR" so that was an interesting dynamic as well."
Viewers can also watch the post-race conference on the Jack Daniels Post Race streaming video on NASCAR.com
ReplyDeleteI didn't see a Jack Daniels post race on nascar.com, but I saw Sprint Press Pass with the top three finishers. Are they the same? It's edited post race with the top three finishers, same stuff as on ESPN NEWS. I don't remember nascar.com having this available last year, but I remember JDaniels post race, it was like a talk show.
ReplyDeletePress Pass in on the home page was on the front -click and it goes to Kyle's post race. Tony's and Juniors are on the video page.
It's spliced -Tony's are on his video, Juniors are on his video. (it was more fun to watch them comment together next to each other on TV. nascar.com may have a special camera to focus on only one?) So if NASCAR or ESPN changes the ESPN NEWS live policy for any reason, I assume the comments will be available on this site.
Notable that Kyle, sitting next to Joe Gibbs, was the diplomat when asked about the tires. I wonder if he had been interviewed before Tony and Junior (and not sitting next to Joe Gibbs) if he would have been as restrained.
I honestly just thought that because the network had gone back to basketball highlights and there was no "hard" time for Kyle to show-up that they just turned it around quickly.
ReplyDeleteOn Monday, I will ask about that but I know the feed is live and there is no problem with that. All the reporters and the on-site cameras are also there.
I will try to find out on Monday.
JD
It sure was great to hear someone other than Stewart complain about the tires. That's the kind of thing you don't have the chance to see unless someone like ESPNews goes to post race news conference. I've always enjoyed watching the post game coverages on News, regardless of the sport as you get some really interesting insight into what happened during the game. Now that I know I can turn on News after the race, it will provide an extra dose of what's going on in the sport. I just hope this wasn't a one time fluke, and that News will continue to cover the post race interviews.
ReplyDeleteI seem to forget that ESPN is more on the ball this yr! This is the 1st time I've seen the live media conference & I only caught it 1/2 thru Tony & Jr's part-dammit! But the part I saw was riveting!! Wow-will check out w/Nascar.com did with this video Monday!! (I'm on dial-up at home)
ReplyDeleteESPN News takes the 2nd and 3rd place finishers LIVE....but the winner goes on tape ??
ReplyDeleteEither way they were interupting highlights. "Taped Highlights" !!
Cant the taped highlights wait til the LIVE winner of the most watched sporting event of the weekend has his presser ??
Kyle Busch did not have a LIVE graphic - it was taped - and should have taken presidence over the highlights today.
Thanks for checking JD. Your idea of why Kyle Busch was taped may be absolutely right and there may be no conspiracy theory involved. :-)
ReplyDeleteI hope so, I really enjoyed watching and am grateful to ESPN for expanding their coverage in this manner.
I finally remembered to check ESPNNews after the race and I sure am glad I did!
ReplyDeleteThanks to ESPN for carrying the press conferences.
I guess this is one of the few good things about these stupid early race start times when the race doesn't lead directly into Victory Lane on SPEED.
ESPNNews has put together its package of the race. I believe it's what's going to run the rest of the night (and day).
ReplyDeleteHas basic highlights, points out first win for Toyota, has one clip from Busch, and then goes straight into three rather eye-catching Stewart-Earnhardt comments from the press conference. Good job that they got a statement from Goodyear to put on the end of the package so quickly. But it was one sentence from a Goodyear person and kind of paled against the impact of the video from the two drivers.
I'd like to see what SportCenter does and if they include the same clips or if they have Ryan, Rusty, or Shannon on site reporting for them.
I'm not a regular ESPN watcher, but I did catch the post race news conference today on ESPNNews. Good job guys. Staying with Tony and Jr live was great to see. Tony and Jr both in their way were about as honest and up front as they could be about the tire issues. As a side note, Jeff Gordon was just commenting about the tire issue on VL and he basically echoed what we've heard from Tony and Jr. That the tires were so hard he was on the edge every lap of the race.
ReplyDeleteI don't think there is any conspiracy with having Kyle taped. Probably just bad timing. I'll be checking out ESPNNEWS after the race on a regular basis now. Hope the live post race interviews with the top three finishers continues to be broadcast live on ESPNNEWS.
Scott Riggs was even ripping the tires on the Speed Report...
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely not just Smoke and Junior.
I'll continue to turn on ESPN NEWS after the races as well, as long as these post race comments are LIVE....as they should be.
ReplyDeleteIf ESPN News stops this "LIVE" post race stuff, it wont be ESPN's call, it will be Mr. France's call.
With that said, will we continue to see this spontaneous, honest, LIVE commentary from these drivers following one of the most heated venues next week at Bristol ??
I'll be watching ESPN News next week for sure following 500 laps.
I'm not (too much of ) a conspiracy theorist, but I too am going to wonder -until around 6:30 pm next week after Bristol - if those press conferences are going to be live and unedited on ESPNNews after the comments tonight are aired on Sportscenter, First Take, etc. The Goodyear marketing manager named Justin Fantozzi sounds unhappy and I imagine they pay a pretty penny to be the official tire of NASCAR, though I haven't a clue how much.
ReplyDeleteThen again, if it's a number of drivers saying the same thing elsewhere, maybe it won't matter that some of it was said on the press conference and they'll proceed business as usual.
nascar.com:
"I've heard what they said, "Fantozzi said. "To get into attacks in the media is not the right place."
I'll insert my comment because I was impressed with Tony Stewart, who I usually think comes across on TV as a big bully.
ReplyDeleteI saw Tony answer media questions during testing on a press conference webcast. He was rude and sarcastic to many of the reporters. Today on News, he wasn't rude or sarcastic, which made me think he was so seriously focused on his thoughts about the tires that being with the media didn't bother him for once. That in itself should spur the media to investigate his issues with Goodyear.
JD- Thank you for The Daly Planet and all your efforts. I have to believe they have had some effect in elevating ESPN's coverage of NASCAR.
ReplyDeleteI would think that NASCAR would rather have drivers' comments available in context for fans to see than just filtered thru the media. The reporting of an issue can be colored as much by what is not reported as by what is reported- and showing at least some portion of a press conference gives fans a better chance to evaluate in context what was said and make up their own minds.
This is the first I've heard about ESPN News covering post-race press conferences live. Cool! I'll check it out next week.
ReplyDeleteOne thing to note about post-race press conferences in the media center: You never know WHEN the race winner is going to show up. About 15 minutes after the checkered flag you get a couple of the top finishing drivers who do their interviews. You also get the top finishing rookie. This is all just biding time for the race winner who has to do the "hat dance" in victory lane, and then go up to the press box for a brief interview session. After all of that, the winner finally makes his way to the media center. It could be 45 minutes to over an hour after the checkered flag before the winner actually sits down in the same chairs where Tony and Jr. were earlier.
Was Terry Blount from NASCAR Now at the post race media conference? Did anyone hear him ask a question?
ReplyDeleteI'm asking because this is what he wrote Junior said:
"I know Goodyear doesn't like criticism, but I'm not going to sit here and put up with this."
This is what Junior REALLY said on the video:
"Goodyear doesn't like to hear people bashing them tires, and I don't like doing it, but I ain't going to sit here and put up with this."
How did Blount get THAT from what Junior actually said? It's not even close. It's like he sent it through a "proper English" translator. Minor in the grand scheme of things, but - Now I'm wondering what else he or others change.
That's why it's terrific to have the option to hear it for ourselves on ESPNNEWS. I'm sending my appreciation their way.
first time i've watched espn news post-race coverage and i was, in the words of a fellow poster to this site, 'mesmerized.' stewart and earnhardt jr side by side was capitivating tv and simply can not be done justice in print. truly, one had to watch the two of them -- finishing each other's trains of thought, smiling, sharing inside and unheard comments -- to appreciate the beauty of a live, uncensored, unscripted press conference. the strength of the argument against the goodyear tire was made clear by stewart's calm yet forceful and blunt language and earnhardt's restrained and unique way of expressing his opinion. seeing them together, listening to their concerns, even watching them listen to the questions being asked really drove home their point quite forcefully. had i simply read the transcript, i might have assumed tony was "just being a jerk" and dale was "just trying to not upset anyone." seeing the presser made the difference for me.
ReplyDeletei didn't "hang around" to watch busch, partially b/c i do not particularly enjoy listening to him but mostly because, as a rookie to this network, i had no idea that his press conference would be part of the program. perhaps a "we'll be back live/on tape w/winner kyle busch a little later in the program" would have been helpful. there was nothing immediately after stewart & earnhardt that led me to that assumption.
finally, if nascar truly wants to return to the roots of the sport, then no driver -- stewart, earnhardt, gordon, hamlin, no one! -- should be taken to task for speaking out. if, as i believe happened, the drivers attempted to get their concerns heard in a less-public forum and were ignored, then shame on nascar and goodyear! if you don't want drivers complaining to the media, then ask their opinions and the ACT ON THAT INFORMATION! to not have live press conferences like tonight's would certainly send the clear message that nascar is afraid of what drivers might say post-race! and yet, that immediate reaction is what creates and keeps fans.
i would suggest nascar think very, very carefully about chastising the drivers involved and encourage espn news to continue the process of live, uncensored post-race conferences!
Thank you Seek for the info about the duties of the winner after the race and how it may make him late to the media center. Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteJD, ESPNEWS can do this, but can something be done to get the Sunday night NASCAR Now back?? How can we get it back?
ReplyDeleteI have not been able to see the Monday NASCAR Now show since Daytona. It airs too early for west coast viewers and with b-ball there has not been a 9:00PM PST re-run of the Monday night show. And don't say get a DVR because I still wont have time during the week to watch it during the week. Sunday night is the best night in my opinion for a good race review show. College B-ball has College game night, NFL has NFL Live. All on the night of the event. So, why can't NASCAR Now do the same? Last week you said ESPN didn't have enough resources to have a good Monday show and a good Sunday show. Why?
I want a race review show the night of the race at a time I can watch.
Red at 10:07 pm said it perfectly. Thanks for saying exactly what I thought about the JR/Smoke interview after today's race. Things have gotten way too rigid, inflexible and downright "detrimental to Stock Car Racing" (now where have we heard THAT term before???) in the past few years...pretty much ever since Winston stopped being the sponsor, the guys are told "act like robots if you want to have a 'career' in this sport"...and I'm glad the guys get to sneak out at least once in a while on live TV and say what they REALLY think.
ReplyDeleteIt's a SHAME that entire interview was edited to one minute on ESPN video. Truly butchered so that those who missed it live will NEVER FEEL the impact Tony and Jr were trying to make. And many other drivers are making similar comments. I wonder how many other drivers are playing the PC game.
ReplyDeleteWhere is youtube when you need it?
I've been wondering all night if Tony's Fox/news conference comments will prove in violation of that section 12-4-A of the NASCAR rule book.
ReplyDeleteESPN should be calling on Brad Daugherty to discuss this point, as a former member of the somewhat mysterious National Stock Car Racing Commission (the appeals board).
He may actually have some clue if there's anything that defines "actions detrimental to Stock Car Racing."
I wrote a post at 9:05 about ESPNews' package of NASCAR highlights and wondered what SportsCenter would do.
ReplyDeleteSportsCenter *did not* use any of Tony's comments from the live press conference. They used his FOX post race interview instead. Hmmm.....
They did use a brief Jr clip from the press conference, but the anchor said something to the effect of Kyle B. was OK with the tires, Tony was "smoking" about the tires and Jr was somewhere in the middle.
They also displayed a graphic of Tony's past monetary fines (ESPN still doesn't realize it's the points that count) as if they expect Tony to be fined for his comments.
I switched back to ESPNnews while doing some work. What was odd was the ESPNews - which aired the press conference - has also stopped using the Tony clips they had! That network is also showing the FOX Tony interview in their highlights - and *no clips of Dale Jr comments anymore*. They added a clip from the Goodyear representative who apparently also gave a press conference.
I'm glad I saw the earlier live press conference, because now the ESPN reports are shaping this story as Tony - by himself - vs. Goodyear.
I'd like to know the story of ESPN platforms reverting to the FOX interview when they had the live press conference of their own. Something's not right here...
Also wondering why I didn't see any of the NASCAR on ESPN folks on Sportcenter; the anchors handled the highlights.
Yeah, I agree ESPN News deleting the Tony/Dale Jr media conference clips is weird; I watched their highlight summary a while ago and watched it a couple hours ago before they deleted them.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I can think of? In the media conference clip highlight earlier they showed Tony saying that he couldn't see how the race wasn't fun for anybody and he wouldn't rerun that race for any amount of money in the world. (The one-min version Sophia mentions on espn.com)
Maybe NASCAR can deal with Goodyear criticism but not race criticism. And leaving Junior out of the highlights the way they are doing now is really strange. IMO they probably figure if people see it's Tony complaining, they'll think it's Tony blowing hot air and consider it unimportant.
I loved the media conference. I'm spoiled now, and I'll be disappointed if they change it from live next week. I think they will change considering they stopped using the media conference clips a few hours after they had the conference. That's too weird.
Well if ESPN stops the live conference, we can be it's because of FRANCE and TPTB at NASCAR.
ReplyDeleteI don't like honest, concerned feelings of the DRIVERS being filtered to 'make NASCAR look better.'
I hope I remember to watch or tape N NOW tomorrow at 4pm.
Did anybody here J Gordon say on SPEED Report or VL they ran the MINIMUM SPEED ALLOWED by nascar?
ReplyDeleteDidn't some on this blog comment the cars seemed to be going slower?
Then I found this blurb on Jayski under the tire issue from Jeff Gordon. So it is NOT just Tony and Jr by any stretch. Yes maybe Jeff can also whine but his words sound legit to me!!
~~~~
Georgia Power NASCAR Sprint Cup Pole winner Jeff Gordon didn't have rave reviews about Goodyear's tire selection either.
"I felt like I was going to crash every single lap," Jeff Gordon said about his run. "I'm exhausted right now. I feel like I've run a thousand miles here. That was the hardest day I have ever had at Atlanta, especially for a top-five finish.
This car, this tire, at this track was just terrible."(AMS Pit Notes)(3-9-2008)
NASCAR.com has all three press conferences -- Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -- available for streaming. Click "More in Video Control Room" about the middle of the page.
ReplyDeleteKenn
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your comment but I can NOT find where or what the heck you are talking about?
I do not see ANYTHING "more in the control room".
I use Mozilla and wonder if the page looks different to me but it is a cluttered mess..i can't even find the short TONY and Jr video now
ESPN online is some mess but I would LOVE to find the ORIGINAL EXTENDED link to send my brother.
Thanks
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ReplyDeleteI appreciate your comment but I can NOT find where or what the heck you are talking about?
ReplyDeleteI do not see ANYTHING "more in the control room".
Sophia,
Start in the top left, where you see the NASCAR logo. Stay in that column and go down. Stop where you see the green link, "NASCAR Home Tracks." Go straight across, from left to right. About 3/4 of the width of the page, you will see a red link, "More in Video Control Room." Click that. You should see three thumbnails labeled "Press Room" displaying Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, and Dale Earnhardt. Jr. Click one of those and you will see an edited version of the press conference. N.B. The inflammatory comments about Goodyear WERE NOT DELETED.
[I deleted the original post because I decided it was not specific enough, since you didn't find the link the first time. These instructions were correct as of 12:26 AM, PDT.
Hope this helps.
red said...
ReplyDelete"stewart and earnhardt jr side by side was capitivating tv and simply can not be done justice in print. truly, one had to watch the two of them -- finishing each other's trains of thought, smiling, sharing inside and unheard comments -- to appreciate the beauty of a live, uncensored, unscripted press conference. the strength of the argument against the goodyear tire was made clear by stewart's calm yet forceful and blunt language and earnhardt's restrained and unique way of expressing his opinion. "
Great description. That was good TV! Unfortunately, on the NASCAR.com video, the way they're divided into separate clips for each driver we don't get to see any of what you describe that was on ESPNNEWS yesterday, even if they left in the comments about Goodyear. They should have left it as one video of them together.
Yes the ESPN LIVE news once almost "once in a lifetime real feelings" in the world of NASCAR.
ReplyDeleteWe shall never see the likes of that again, sadly. And I can't believe I am defending ESPN AGAIN but it will not be their fault.
I am sure NASCAR put the big clamp down. I hope fines and penalties are not leveled Tuesday for Tony and Dale Jr.
The pitiful hacked down, edited version on ESPN does not even honestly reflect the mood.
It was something and I rarely if ever watch ESPN NEWS and am glad I stumbled onto it.
Had VL been on live, I would've missed the deal.
:-)
JD, does NASCAR Media Group (which used to be NASCAR Images) decide if comments from the live press conferences can be used again after they are initially broadcast?
ReplyDeleteJust wondering if they can decide not to make it available to ESPN after initial use, since their logo is on it.
Or if the Media Group can ask ESPN to "pull" certain clips - which might explain ESPNews and SportsCenter late night decision to air Stewart's FOX postrace interview, instead of the press conference comments which were initially used (and not using Jr's comments at all).
The conspiracy theories are getting a little bit out of control, but that's what makes it fun sometimes.
ReplyDeleteNMG uplinks the Media Center press conference after the race. While the second and third place drivers come almost right after the race, the winner has to do the Victory Lane duties (including the SPEED show) and just wanders in after that.
It is hard for a TV network that has other stories on-the-air to catch this live, but a couple of minute delay was not bad. Now that this is out and has become a public discussion, perhaps we will see ESPNEWS work a little harder to catch the winner live at the remaining races.
NMG has guidelines for all kinds of footage uses, just like the other professional sports in North America. Normally, the news window is 24 hours for TV news broadcasts, and anything else requires a phone call to Charlotte, NC.
As we go through the year, I will try to get an NMG executive to interview and ask your questions. Those guys read this blog every day and have been very helpful. They are often contributing in the comments as Anons.
JD
thanks for the update, jd: i'm not good with conspiracy theory and i always assume there's a benign explanation that i just haven't been told! it makes sense that the winner has victory lane and other media responsibilities that come before the press conference. it also makes sense that espn news is not going to immediately stop their coverage once the winner walks into the room nor are they going to hold all questioning of the winner until they have finished whatever they were broadcasting at the time.
ReplyDeleteBUT! it has to be easy just to issue the "we'll be back with winner billy joe bob's press conference in full on tape/live as soon as he makes his way from victory lane." that way, i know to hang on thru endless basketball footage. that also let's folks know that it's likely that the winner will be on tape. key here is to tell folks it will happen, it might be on tape, but that it will be the complete press conference w/no editing.
this is all just a thought b/c i dislike tossing out complaints and not offering alternatives. . .
Thanks for the explanation, JD, but I was not referencing the winner being live or on tape. What I was referencing was that ESPN NEWS declined to use excerpts from Tony and Dale Jr's press conference in their highlights...
ReplyDelete***after initially using them.***
They removed them.
They changed their highlight package. Normally ESPN NEWS sets their highlight package and lets it run through the evening and overnight.
They changed it late last night and deleted all the NASCAR Media Group clips, using FOX clips of Tony instead (as did Sportscenter). They also deleted any comment from Dale Jr, meaning only comments about tires came from Tony.
Why would that decision be made? I don't think that's a conspiracy theory out of control. They completely changed their highlights package even though the topic -tires- on both Tony's FOX interview and his press conference comments were the same. So why change it after you've edited the package together? It didn't add any new information to use the FOX post race interview instead of media center post race comments.
If an NMG or ESPN NEWS rep could explain that decision, that would be helpful.
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ReplyDeleteIt's not conspiracy when stating the Obvious to quote Jr. :-)
ReplyDeleteOn NASCAR NOW, going to commercial they used Stewarts FOX QUOTES on the tires...NONE of the media event. ON an ESPN show.
That is a fact to me, not conspiracy theory.
:-0
P.S. Still more TONY from FOX saying Goodyear leaving F1, Indy, USAC, etc. Nuttin' from he and Jr's media event!
P.S.S. Oops..showing snippet of Jr from the ESPN NEWS Conf. Jr was more benign but interesting they would cut out Tony and just show Jr's comments??? Tony was not a jerk sitting next to Jr.
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ReplyDeleteI actually remembered to flip over to ESPNNews after the race...it was interesting to hear the anchors comment on Stewart and E's comments.
ReplyDeleteLater it was interesting to hear one of the commentators talk about the race being so long because it was at Atlanta - the 9th largest track on the circuit...last time i checked 500 miles is 500 miles whether at Daytona or Bristol or anywhere in between...it was funny to hear.
I certainly liked and appreciated the post race coverage.
The only complaint that I had about ESPN News' coverage was that during the entire 6pm hour, they never gave a full run down of the finishing order. I was travelling and missed the end of the race, but was able to catch ESPN News on the plane and was wondering where my favorite driver finished.
ReplyDeleteto Haus
ReplyDeleteSomebody actually said that was why the race was so long? Due to the size of the track?
On my gosh, that is too funny.
Wonder if that guy knows how many feet are in a mile.
I've heard 'mileage may vary' in car commercials. :-)
I couldn't agree more with Red's plan. ESPNEWS should better explain the situation to its viewers.
ReplyDeleteAs for why the video was changed, my take is that ESPN chose the video with the best and most provocative soundbite. That's the way the network has worked for a long time, like it or not.