Bring James Brown (not the singer) Back to FOX NFL Coverage

[Mark_Giardina]

For years I watched JB, Terry, Howie and Jimmy. Now it's not the same without James Brown at the FOX sports anchor desk during football games. This new guy doesn't have the chemistry that JB does and he just doesn't fit in with the rest of the gang. FOX was crazy to let JB leave for another network.

The only person FOX was smart to get rid of was that weather girl/actress they had on a few years ago, Jillian Barberie. What a waste of airtime she was. Yeah she looked good in tight sweaters and short dresses, but she was just plain annoying.

 

[Frasier]

I'd settle for the singer.

 

[KeithE4]

For years I watched JB, Terry, Howie and Jimmy. Now it's not the same without James Brown at the FOX sports anchor desk during football games. This new guy doesn't have the chemistry that JB does and he just doesn't fit in with the rest of the gang. FOX was crazy to let JB leave for another network.

Actually, Curt Menefee does a decent job despite his inexperience in the role. He's no JB but he's ten times better than Joe Buck. I think that on-location experiment has already bit the dust (I hope!) unless they just took a break for the World Series.

The only person FOX was smart to get rid of was that weather girl/actress they had on a few years ago, Jillian Barberie. What a waste of airtime she was. Yeah she looked good in tight sweaters and short dresses, but she was just plain annoying.

She's been back for a couple of weeks. Don't know why she was out for the first month or so.

 

[EnbyCee]

I don't mind Menefee that much, despite missing JB. I still think Fox has the best NFL pregame show, though that may just be my NFC bias showing through.

I think Barberie was only back temporarily; at the end of her forecast this past Sunday she said goodbye to the rest of the gang. Not sure why.

 

[Morgan Wick]

There hasn't been much in terms of good new talent in sports broadcasting to pick up the slack for the old guard of Michaels, Musberger, Costas, Enberg and co. I think Joe Buck is the most recent name to come along that could be held up to anywhere near the top, and that's mainly because he's the "Voice of Fox Sports" by default.

Beyond Buck, Fox's play-by-play roster drops off almost immediately and very sharply. There's very little in the way of true talent past Dick Stockton and Thom Brennaman.

I wonder if Pat Summerall would be willing to come back to host a pre-game show. Sometime before the season started I had a pipe dream of Fox luring Chris Berman away from ESPN, but that would probably have never happened.

 

[Studio20]

Menafee was the low man on the FOX NFL play by play list...I should know' when the Tampa Bay Bucs sucked, we ended up with him on four games last year. Hes pedestrian at best...As a host, he has zero ..thats nil...personality and chemistry. Terry, Howie and Jimmy look like they'd rather by swimming with stingrays that to share the same desk with him.

On the other dial, the CBS pregame show with Gumbel looked very much like FOXs effort now...but the addition of James Brown actually made the other goofballs look good...

 

[Ultimajock]

I think Barberie was only back temporarily; at the end of her forecast this past Sunday she said goodbye to the rest of the gang. Not sure why.

...Barberie has tried to get Fox to push her in various capacities for the last seven years or so, since the local show she does (did?) in Los Angeles on KTTV finally proved itself a strong challenger to KTLA's morning newscast. She's had shows on several of Fox's cable networks and a shot at taking the local show national with "Good Day Live," in addition to the NFL pre-game gig, but everything has fizzled out...interestingly, her one-time counterpart on KTLA, Sharon Tay, seems to be MIA after her MSNBC weekend show got the plug pulled on it...

 

[JimWilliams]

I know it's wrong to say and it's not a knock on Menefee (who I like), but isn't it almost blatantly obvious that Menefee was hired because he mirrors the look of JB (who next to Ernie Johnson is the best studio host in the biz right now?)? Like I said, I like Menefee. Last week he even showed a little self-depricating humor by poking fun at himself. If FOX gave him the pregame show fulltime, I would not complain at all!

Joe Buck, whether you like him or not, is going to be the signature voice of this generation. He'll be what Vin Scully was decades ago so we just have to live with it. Thom Brennaman is a solid play by play man for FOX as well and is most deserving of calling the BCS title game. But when one of the posters mentioned Dick Stockton, I had to break out my Lee Corso pencil and say "Not so fast my friend!" Stockton...even 5 years ago was alright. He's slipped in the last few years.

Let me pose this question to the forum folk...would you agree with me that CBS has a much deeper depth of play by play talent for the NFL?

 

[EnbyCee]

I know it's wrong to say and it's not a knock on Menefee (who I like), but isn't it almost blatantly obvious that Menefee was hired because he mirrors the look of JB (who next to Ernie Johnson is the best studio host in the biz right now?)? Like I said, I like Menefee. Last week he even showed a little self-depricating humor by poking fun at himself. If FOX gave him the pregame show fulltime, I would not complain at all!

Joe Buck, whether you like him or not, is going to be the signature voice of this generation. He'll be what Vin Scully was decades ago so we just have to live with it. Thom Brennaman is a solid play by play man for FOX as well and is most deserving of calling the BCS title game. But when one of the posters mentioned Dick Stockton, I had to break out my Lee Corso pencil and say "Not so fast my friend!" Stockton...even 5 years ago was alright. He's slipped in the last few years.

Let me pose this question to the forum folk...would you agree with me that CBS has a much deeper depth of play by play talent for the NFL?

Well, first...Joe Buck is good, but not in Scully's class. It was somewhat of a case of timing with him as far as becoming the "voice of this generation"...when Fox first became a major player in the sports scene in the mid 90's, they had no one else to really turn to besides announcers who came over from CBS when the rights to the NFC changed hands. I don't think any of those guys had much experience doing baseball, so Buck immediately became their top baseball guy, then became their top football PBP man as well when the Summerall/Madden era ended. I suppose he deserved that, for having to do baseball with Tim McCarver if no other reason.

I think CBS does have a better pool of play-by-play men than Fox, but they don't use them right. They have two excellent PBP men who have tons of experience (without sounding halfway senile like Stockton or Summerall) in Dick Enberg and Don Criqui. Yet they've insisted on using Greg Gumbel and then Jim Nantz as their #1 play-by-play announcers. I've never been able to figure that out, aside from the fact that Criqui and especially Enberg might still be associated with NBC in viewers' minds.

 

[JeeperOne]

Hi everyone:

For years I watched JB, Terry, Howie and Jimmy. Now it's not the same without James Brown at the FOX sports anchor desk during football games. This new guy doesn't have the chemistry that JB does and he just doesn't fit in with the rest of the gang. FOX was crazy to let JB leave for another network.

Actually, Curt Menefee does a decent job despite his inexperience in the role. He's no JB but he's ten times better than Joe Buck. I think that on-location experiment has already bit the dust (I hope!) unless they just took a break for the World Series.

Actually I liked the on-location idea, but I agree with you about Joe Buck. He is a i]HORRIBLE[/i] pre-game show host. I recall watching him and the gang on opening weekend at AllTell (sp?) Stadium) in Jacksonville, FL. The game had a 4:15 PM ET start, but towards the end of the pre-game show, I distinctly remember seeing Joe jumping up and down like a child on Christmas morning.

I believe I'm quoting him on this much

I've got to go upstairs to call the Cowboys-Jaguars game.

.

To that I say WHOOPIE DOO. Who cares? Do you? I don't. If he's gotta say See you at halftime, then he should just say it. Don't go jumping up and down like a child on Christmas morning. That just makes him look immature and unprofessional.

What do you think?

The only person FOX was smart to get rid of was that weather girl/actress they had on a few years ago, Jillian Barberie. What a waste of airtime she was. Yeah she looked good in tight sweaters and short dresses, but she was just plain annoying.

She's been back for a couple of weeks. Don't know why she was out for the first month or so.

The bimbo IS BACK??? PLEASE say it ain't so.....

The least they could (And IMO should've) done is hire someone who's professional like Stacy Donaldson, who's the morning weather gal for FOX O&O KDVR 31 here in Denver. Anyone who's seen Stacy can say that she is NO bimbo. She knows her stuff.

Besides...How much do ya wanna bet that much, if not all, of the stuff Julie has is fed to her by a real FOXcaster from either New York or Hollywood? I'd bet the ranch on that if I had one.

Just my opinion

Cheers

 

[JeeperOne]

Hi everyone:

There hasn't been much in terms of good new talent in sports broadcasting to pick up the slack for the old guard of Michaels, Musberger, Costas, Enberg and co. I think Joe Buck is the most recent name to come along that could be held up to anywhere near the top, and that's mainly because he's the "Voice of Fox Sports" by default.

Beyond Buck, Fox's play-by-play roster drops off almost immediately and very sharply. There's very little in the way of true talent past Dick Stockton and Thom Brennaman.

That's because everyone else is on FSN.

BTW....You can also throw in Steve Physioc (sp?) as one of the good ones as well, though he does College Football and will no doubt be needed for that come BCS time. Same goes for Kenny Albert, who's also one of their NFL PBP guys.

I wonder if Pat Summerall would be willing to come back to host a pre-game show. Sometime before the season started I had a pipe dream of Fox luring Chris Berman away from ESPN, but that would probably have never happened.

Chris Berman would be in the same position in viewers minds that Dick Enberg is, which is why FOX will never make such a move.

Though if Curt Menefee doesn't work out for some reason, they might go for Stu Scott. But I wouldn't count on that either.

Cheers

Pat

 

[JeeperOne]

Hi everyone:

Let me pose this question to the forum folk...would you agree with me that CBS has a much deeper depth of play by play talent for the NFL?

Not neccessarily. In fact, I'd say they're about equal. Here's why....

FOX has Joe Buck, Troy Aikman & (Usually) a sideline reporter for its No. 1 team. CBS has Jim Nantz, Phil Simms & (If the game is important enough & especially in the postseason) a sideline reporter (or two) as its No. 1 team. For its No. 2 team, FOX has Dick Stockton, Daryl Johnston & Tony Sigagusa (sp?). CBS has (I believe) Kevin Harlan & Rich Gannon. With Denver being an AFC town obviously, we don't see too many of the other FOX announcers since nearly all the games we see this year are early games. As such, the order of the rest of the FOX announcing teams are a bit fuzzy to me. However, the CBS ones are not. In my book, they are as follows....

3). Greg Gumbel & Dan Dierdorf
4). Dick Enberg & Randy Cross
5). Gus Johnson & Steve Tasker
6). Ian Eagle & someone who's name I have forgotten right now (Though #5 and #6 can be interpolated, depending on the game they are assigned to cover)

In short, depth doesn't neccessarily translate to talent.

Now, that all said....Let's twist things a little by asking who do you think has the best COLOR COMMENTATORS for the NFL? NBC, CBS, FOX, ESPN or (Heck....Why not throw these guys in) NFL Network?

Just my opinion

Cheers

 

[JeeperOne]

I think CBS does have a better pool of play-by-play men than Fox, but they don't use them right. They have two excellent PBP men who have tons of experience (without sounding halfway senile like Stockton or Summerall) in Dick Enberg and Don Criqui. Yet they've insisted on using Greg Gumbel and then Jim Nantz as their #1 play-by-play announcers. I've never been able to figure that out, aside from the fact that Criqui and especially Enberg might still be associated with NBC in viewers' minds.

That's mostly because Don Criqui, along with former Denver Bronco Head Coach Dan Reeves, is doing NFL games on radio for CBS Radio/Westwood One. Don also does Notre Dame Football for Westwood One as well.

Not sure if Don and Dan are the only radio guys Westwood One has for the NFL or not though.

As for Dick Enberg, that can be chalked up to the excellence of Jim Nantz & Kevin Harlan, two of the three guys above him. No I'm not crazy about Greg Gumbel being in the booth and will find it even more awkward to hear BRYANT Gumbel's voice in a football broadcast booth on Thanksgiving Night since he's someone who has interviewed HEADS OF STATE throughout his broadcast career.

Just my opinion....

Cheers

Pat

 

[radioguy555]

I wonder if Pat Summerall would be willing to come back to host a pre-game show.

Well, Pat is apparently going to do the play-by-play for the Cotton Bowl telecast in January, so maybe Fox is trying to lure him back to a limited role like he had in 2002 (west coast games). I'd love to see Pat back in the booth if he's healthy enough and can handle it mentally. When he filled in for Mike Patrick on ESPN in 2004, he called the Indianapolis Colts the Baltimore Colts - a name they hadn't had in 20 years.

As for the original question at hand, I agree with those who say that Curt Menefee has no personality and can't relate well with the other guys. He's too straight-laced and serious of a broadcaster. I think he belongs back in the booth.

 

[JimWilliams]

Pat, do keep in mind that Bryant Gumbel got his start at NBC as their main sports host for NFL coverage and the World Series from roughly 1975-82. Then a little thing called "Today" came along and...well, the rest is history.

Also to help correct you, Gumbel/Dierdorf is the B team, Enberg is the C announcer while Harlan's a D teamer.

I'll throw in my 2 Lincolns to the question I posed...thanks for the input by the way, everyone. I gotta say that CBS has the better depth at play by play with Enberg, Criqui (occasionally), Eagle, and Harlan (who should be a lead announcer someday). Gumbel and Nantz are just okay. Not big game enough for me. Bolerjack's okay. And the less said about Gus Johnson, the better.

I like Joe Buck for FOX though I think he was better a few years back when he wasn't the lead football guy. Dick Stockton's past his prime. Sam Rosen is very underrated. Kenny Albert's solid, though not stellar. I'm a Matt Vasgersian mark and am glad to see him getting a chance to call NFL games after his epic XFL season a few years back. Ron Pitts has the voice and the tone but comes off a little too casual (he's better than Ray Bentley though, that's for sure).

 

[EnbyCee]

I wonder if Pat Summerall would be willing to come back to host a pre-game show.

Well, Pat is apparently going to do the play-by-play for the Cotton Bowl telecast in January, so maybe Fox is trying to lure him back to a limited role like he had in 2002 (west coast games). I'd love to see Pat back in the booth if he's healthy enough and can handle it mentally. When he filled in for Mike Patrick on ESPN in 2004, he called the Indianapolis Colts the Baltimore Colts - a name they hadn't had in 20 years.

I do believe Summerall called last week's Bears-49ers game, so he IS pretty much back in a limited role. Not sure how he performed, as I was watching another game..

 

[Morgan Wick]

Hi everyone:

There hasn't been much in terms of good new talent in sports broadcasting to pick up the slack for the old guard of Michaels, Musberger, Costas, Enberg and co. I think Joe Buck is the most recent name to come along that could be held up to anywhere near the top, and that's mainly because he's the "Voice of Fox Sports" by default.

Beyond Buck, Fox's play-by-play roster drops off almost immediately and very sharply. There's very little in the way of true talent past Dick Stockton and Thom Brennaman.

That's because everyone else is on FSN.

BTW....You can also throw in Steve Physioc (sp?) as one of the good ones as well, though he does College Football and will no doubt be needed for that come BCS time. Same goes for Kenny Albert, who's also one of their NFL PBP guys.

Didn't Kenny Albert do some work for OLN's NHL coverage last year?

Which FSN guys are you referring to, and why do you think they haven't gotten higher-profile gigs at a network or ESPN?

 

[bhayes1016]

As such, the order of the rest of the FOX announcing teams are a bit fuzzy to me.

1. Joe Buck/Troy Aikman
2. Dick Stockton/Darryl Johnston/Tony Siragusa
3. Kenny Albert/Brian Baldinger
4. Sam Rosen/Tim Ryan
5. Ron Pitts/Terry Donahue
6. Matt Vasgersian/JC Pierson

Fill-in PBP: Josh Lewin, Matt Devlin, Brad Sham, Pat Summerall
Fill-in Analyst: Bill Mass (used to be paired with Rosen, he must have p*ssed off the wrong people)

 

[JeeperOne]

Hi everyone:

Hi everyone:

There hasn't been much in terms of good new talent in sports broadcasting to pick up the slack for the old guard of Michaels, Musberger, Costas, Enberg and co. I think Joe Buck is the most recent name to come along that could be held up to anywhere near the top, and that's mainly because he's the "Voice of Fox Sports" by default.

Beyond Buck, Fox's play-by-play roster drops off almost immediately and very sharply. There's very little in the way of true talent past Dick Stockton and Thom Brennaman.

That's because everyone else is on FSN.

BTW....You can also throw in Steve Physioc (sp?) as one of the good ones as well, though he does College Football and will no doubt be needed for that come BCS time. Same goes for Kenny Albert, who's also one of their NFL PBP guys.

Didn't Kenny Albert do some work for OLN's NHL coverage last year?

Which FSN guys are you referring to, and why do you think they haven't gotten higher-profile gigs at a network or ESPN?

Well Steve Physioc is the voice of the L.A./Anaheim/wherever they claim to be from Angels as well as USC (Or is it UCLA?), Football & Men's basketball. As such, I would FOX would need him more for BCS PBP than anything.

Though if there's someone who's not doing much of anything right now, that would be Drew Goodman from FSN Rocky Mountain. He's the voice of the Colorado Rockies, but it's not baseball season anymore. FOX could definately put him in the booth when they come to cover a couple Broncos games next month instead of sending one of their lower-tier PBP guys (The lower-tier analysts are way better anyway since some of them also do work for NFL Network as well).

And the reason why FSN doesn't get the national gigs is because FSN - BY DESIGN - is not a national network. Instead, it's a bunch of local and regional networks that airs mostly local/regional programming, though will also air nationally-produced stuff (Such as BDSSP & Final Score) as well. As such, none of the sports leagues as a whole would be interested in FSN as much as they would with the main FOX Sports network or ESPN, both of which are national.

Cheers

 

[Morgan Wick]

And the reason why FSN doesn't get the national gigs is because FSN - BY DESIGN - is not a national network. Instead, it's a bunch of local and regional networks that airs mostly local/regional programming, though will also air nationally-produced stuff (Such as BDSSP & Final Score) as well. As such, none of the sports leagues as a whole would be interested in FSN as much as they would with the main FOX Sports network or ESPN, both of which are national.

Cheers

I meant the people, not the network. I'm not a "singular they" guy.