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Fox's HORRIBLE World Series Production

C

ChrisTheListener

Guest
I'm sorry, but FOX SPORTS has done a HORRIBLE job in their production of the 2005 World Series. (by the way, this isn't a nightmare for them. 2 of the top 4 most populated cities in America are in the Series.)

First of all, the transition between NFL and MLB is about as worthless as a non-profit 300 watt radio station.

Second, Why the heck do they have to change that scoreboard at the top of the screen EVERY YEAR?? Every single World Series, they decide to change that thing. And the new white bar thing will be there all of next year. Just like they debuted the semi-transparent black thing last World Series and used it this season. Same will happen with this. I'm not saying one is better, I'm just asking why they have to change that thing for every world series??

Third, Zelasko and Kennedy are just about as bad as you can get.

Fourth, WHAT THE HECK IS THAT "FOXTRACK" THING???? O MY GOODNESS!! That thing is such a joke! And they show it after like every freakin pitch!! AND IT'S WRONG! It will have a pitch, lets say a fastball, and it will say it went, oh, say, 3 inches away and 2 inches down. THAT THING WENT MORE THAN 2 INCHES DOWN!! It is coming from the pitchers arm, on the mound, above his head, to the batters waste, or knees, and they are trying to tell me that is went "2 inches down". ARE YOU KIDDING??

This is getting really annoying. Don't they have something better to do? And I'm not done yet.

Fifth, SHOW THE GAME!! They'll come back from a commercial break with the ball in mid-air from the pitcher to home plate. Then they still have 5 more announcements with Joe Buck.

Oh, and one last thing. Those of you who watch religiously like I do will laugh at this.

"Promotional consideration paid for by the following."
I would sue if I was one of those companies.

Just watch Game 3, and you will notice all of these. In fact, print this thing out, and check them off!! I swear, you'll have it filled up in 1 inning. (except for the last one, "Promotional consideration", which you won't check off until after you finish throwing up at how horrible that production was.)

And while you're watching it, don't forget to root for the Astros.

CTL<P ID="signature">______________
"Welcome to radio-info.com...where we hate everything!!!!! You people are radio's equivalent to the two old guys in the balcony on the Muppet show!"
~FoReal?</P>
 
> Oh, and one last thing. Those of you who watch religiously
> like I do will laugh at this.
>
> "Promotional consideration paid for by the following."
> I would sue if I was one of those companies.

You're kidding, right?
 
I hate the corner graphic that they put up which says "RIGHT NOW!" with the pitcher and whoever is on base at that point. The corner diamond with the dots for runners is bad enough. Yes, get rid of Scooter. (Don't worry, Mr. Rizzuto...you're safe!) McCarver blows and Joe Buck should just stick with football.

Say, how soon until the overnights come in for the first two games? I bet they're lower than last year.
 
I believe they did the Red Sox coverage of the World Series last year and they were just as terrible then. FOX is just a tabloid junk cablecaster and it shows in everything they do. Down with FOX.

> I'm sorry, but FOX SPORTS has done a HORRIBLE job in their
> production of the 2005 World Series. (by the way, this
> isn't a nightmare for them. 2 of the top 4 most populated
> cities in America are in the Series.)
>
> First of all, the transition between NFL and MLB is about as
> worthless as a non-profit 300 watt radio station.
>
> Second, Why the heck do they have to change that scoreboard
> at the top of the screen EVERY YEAR?? Every single World
> Series, they decide to change that thing. And the new white
> bar thing will be there all of next year. Just like they
> debuted the semi-transparent black thing last World Series
> and used it this season. Same will happen with this. I'm
> not saying one is better, I'm just asking why they have to
> change that thing for every world series??
>
> Third, Zelasko and Kennedy are just about as bad as you can
> get.
>
> Fourth, WHAT THE HECK IS THAT "FOXTRACK" THING???? O MY
> GOODNESS!! That thing is such a joke! And they show it
> after like every freakin pitch!! AND IT'S WRONG! It will
> have a pitch, lets say a fastball, and it will say it went,
> oh, say, 3 inches away and 2 inches down. THAT THING WENT
> MORE THAN 2 INCHES DOWN!! It is coming from the pitchers
> arm, on the mound, above his head, to the batters waste, or
> knees, and they are trying to tell me that is went "2 inches
> down". ARE YOU KIDDING??
>
> This is getting really annoying. Don't they have something
> better to do? And I'm not done yet.
>
> Fifth, SHOW THE GAME!! They'll come back from a commercial
> break with the ball in mid-air from the pitcher to home
> plate. Then they still have 5 more announcements with Joe
> Buck.
>
> Oh, and one last thing. Those of you who watch religiously
> like I do will laugh at this.
>
> "Promotional consideration paid for by the following."
> I would sue if I was one of those companies.
>
> Just watch Game 3, and you will notice all of these. In
> fact, print this thing out, and check them off!! I swear,
> you'll have it filled up in 1 inning. (except for the last
> one, "Promotional consideration", which you won't check off
> until after you finish throwing up at how horrible that
> production was.)
>
> And while you're watching it, don't forget to root for the
> Astros.
>
> CTL
>
 
> I'm sorry, but FOX SPORTS has done a HORRIBLE job in their
> production of the 2005 World Series. (by the way, this
> isn't a nightmare for them. 2 of the top 4 most populated
> cities in America are in the Series.)

Fox cannot produce baseball well period.
The first thing they need to do is fire Tim McCarver, preferably out of a cannon.
The only likely reason McCarver is still on television is that he has photos of network executives in compromising positions.

Now I will not watch any baseball "coverage" on Fox, and suggest everyone does the same.<P ID="signature">______________
WCBS = We're Crazy Buffoons and Schmucks
<a href=http://chuck.spotteddogs.org/tv/>Spotted Dog TV Talk - for all your non-news TV Talk</a></P>
 
> I hate the corner graphic that they put up which says "RIGHT
> NOW!" with the pitcher and whoever is on base at that point.
> The corner diamond with the dots for runners is bad enough.
> Yes, get rid of Scooter. (Don't worry, Mr. Rizzuto...you're
> safe!) McCarver blows and Joe Buck should just stick with
> football.
>
> Say, how soon until the overnights come in for the first two
> games? I bet they're lower than last year.
>
I read on another message board that the USA Today reported Saturday Night's rating was a 9.6 rating, which isn't suprising, since it is Saturday night, and no one's hardly home. I'm sure that last night's telecasts was slightly higher, and we'll see how it is tomorrow night from Houston. The games themselves have been exiciting, especially with Scott Posednik's game-winning homer last night. You tell who Joe Buck and Tim McCarver were rooting for, they seemed disappointed that the White Sox are taking command of this series. I can tell in Buck's voice who he's rooting for, and I know he and McCarver weren't too happy that the Red Sox swept their beloved Cardinals out of the World Series last year. I swear for the life of me that Buck and McCarver (especially with Buck's smug and swarmy personality) suck the life of any game they broadcast. I can't understand why a guy whose broadcast roots started in baseball and basically grew up around the game, sounds so MUCH better covering a football game? I'm not a big fan of Thom Brenneman (another guy who seemed to get his job because of who his father is), but I thought he did a much better job covering the NLCS than Buck did with the ALCS.

The entire Fox Sports division (broadcast, cable, radio, internet) is a joke anyways, and they're wondering why so many teams are disaffillating themselves from FSN and starting their own networks.
 
> I'm sorry, but FOX SPORTS has done a HORRIBLE job in their
> production of the 2005 World Series.

Not sure about that. But let's go down the list a bit.


> First of all, the transition between NFL and MLB is about as
> worthless as a non-profit 300 watt radio station.

Keeps viewers watching, though. Around here, we didn't need it. We had that exciting Cowboys-Seahawks game to keep our attention. The rest of the country had JB and the elves from 7 PM until the pregame.


> Second, Why the heck do they have to change that scoreboard
> at the top of the screen EVERY YEAR??

Or in mid-season. Note that FSN changed theirs just after the all-star break. It's not bad, especially since it shows team colors, but the old one was plenty useful. At least the network "bug" in articulated into it so things are seamless between replay and live action, unlike ESPN and ABC which both insist on having a semi-transparent logo bug at screen bottom right even though their logo is prominently displayed on their scoreboxes. One network logo is enough.


> Third, Zelasko and Kennedy are just about as bad as you can
> get.

Pregame is best skipped no matter who handles it.


> Fourth, WHAT THE HECK IS THAT "FOXTRACK" THING???? O MY
> GOODNESS!! That thing is such a joke! And they show it
> after like every freakin pitch!! AND IT'S WRONG! ...

Comet tails nothwithstanding, the better question is why do they show the strike zone on the side? ESPN's K-Zone is more useful since it shows the actual strike zone over the plate, and we know the zone varies from one player to the next. They also use a camera in dead center field. It may not be any more or less accurate than FOX, but it seems to better show where the pitch ended up. As to the telemetry, "apples and oranges".


> Fifth, SHOW THE GAME!! They'll come back from a commercial
> break with the ball in mid-air from the pitcher to home
> plate. Then they still have 5 more announcements with Joe
> Buck.

And we wonder why baseball games run over 3 hours when they shouldn't. FOX also has the sloppiest sponsor IDs on TV.


> Oh, and one last thing. Those of you who watch religiously
> like I do will laugh at this.
>
> "Promotional consideration paid for by the following."
> I would sue if I was one of those companies.

I'm not laughing. That's just a standard operating practice. All the networks include this laundry list, usually for companies whose logos appear within the show in some way (boards, behind the plate, on various graphics, that AOL man before replays, etc.).

At least Buck Buck is properly saying the above. The network announcer only says "Promotional consideration paid for by" and that's it. Now That's Stupid. The other networks don't make that kind of continuity gaffe. They just show the list.

There is one other thing I don't understand. Jersey numbers are shown on the animated fly-in graphic during the first at bat. The rest of the game, no jersey numbers. I've never understood why jersey numbers are left off many baseball broadcasts - unless you're a pitcher warming up in the bullpen.
 
> The entire Fox Sports division (broadcast, cable, radio,
> internet) is a joke anyways, and they're wondering why so
> many teams are disaffillating themselves from FSN and
> starting their own networks.

I totally agree with you. FOX Sports sucks. They only thing IMO that FOX can do right is NASCAR coverage. I'm sorry but FOX's MLB and NFL coverage sucks. I can't stomach to even watch an NFL game on FOX, as much as I can't stomach to watch a MLB game on FOX and the World Series is just the worst to watch.

(BTW - Joe Buck shouldn't even be on TV at all. He can't do Baseball and he can't do Football. Just keep him off the TV, period!)
<P ID="signature">______________
Dawn H</P>
 
ENOUGH ALREADY!!!

Fox has been doing baseball for ten seasons already (!) and, all of the sudden, you all are complaining now about their coverage?

I will admit, there are a lot of things I don't like about them (the planting stars of network series in the audience, the wiring of players/coaches/field managers for in-game audio, this year's over-reliance on "FoxTrax", and "Scooter" are a few of them), but for the most part they've done a good job. Of course, ESPN's coverage beats Fox hands-down. And, while we may long for the simpler days of NBC, ABC, and your local station doing baseball, let's remember: the "Fox attitude" is at work there.

And finally, this Buck-McCarver bashing MUST STOP!! Joe Buck will never be mistaken for his father, who was excellent in both football and baseball, but Joe has carved a niche and separate identity for himself -- at least in baseball. IMO, he is a sub-par NFL color man. Tim McCarver may come off as a wise-ass know-it-all, but he is still one of the sharpest analysts in any sport on television PERIOD.

These are my opinions, and I'm sticking to them.

> Fox cannot produce baseball well period.
> The first thing they need to do is fire Tim McCarver,
> preferably out of a cannon.
> The only likely reason McCarver is still on television is
> that he has photos of network executives in compromising
> positions.>

"toby", you should know better. That's all I have to say about that.

> Now I will not watch any baseball "coverage" on Fox, and
> suggest everyone does the same.>

And you call yourself a baseball fan? Get real.
<P ID="signature">______________
"Know your role and shut your mouth!!" -- The Rock</P>
 
> I'm sorry, but FOX SPORTS has done a HORRIBLE job in their
> production of the 2005 World Series.

> Fifth, SHOW THE GAME!! They'll come back from a commercial
> break with the ball in mid-air from the pitcher to home
> plate. Then they still have 5 more announcements with Joe
> Buck.

Exactly! Another annoying thing they do is put up a graphic with some
trivia--but it gets taken off within 2 seconds. Give me a moment
to read it, will ya! At least I noticed the last game they did that they
had one graphic up there and left it up for a bit...

Oh look, there's Bernie Mac in the crowd. By the way don't forget to see
the Bernie Mac show here on Fox. And look, there's the star of that hot
new movie Bla-bla-bla... (etc)
 
> ENOUGH ALREADY!!!
>
> Fox has been doing baseball for ten seasons already (!) and,
> all of the sudden, you all are complaining now about their
> coverage?

I have been complaining for ten seasons.

> And, while we may long for the simpler days of NBC, ABC, and
> your local station doing baseball, let's remember: the "Fox
> attitude" is at work there.

The "Fox attitude" is garbage.

> And finally, this Buck-McCarver bashing MUST STOP!! Joe
> Buck will never be mistaken for his father, who was
> excellent in both football and baseball, but Joe has carved
> a niche and separate identity for himself -- at least in
> baseball. IMO, he is a sub-par NFL color man. Tim McCarver
> may come off as a wise-ass know-it-all, but he is still one
> of the sharpest analysts in any sport on television PERIOD.

And what does Tim have photos of you doing?

> These are my opinions, and I'm sticking to them.
>
> > Fox cannot produce baseball well period.
> > The first thing they need to do is fire Tim McCarver,
> > preferably out of a cannon.
> > The only likely reason McCarver is still on television is
> > that he has photos of network executives in compromising
> > positions.>
>
> "toby", you should know better. That's all I have to say
> about that.

Can you explain why the big baboon is still on TV?
Its surely not for the quality of work he does.

> > Now I will not watch any baseball "coverage" on Fox, and
> > suggest everyone does the same.>
>
> And you call yourself a baseball fan? Get real.

Well there is this wonderful device called a radio, its like television, but there are no picturesm and when I adjust it properly I get baseball coming out of its speaker. It is used by a great many people when Fox broadcasts baseball.<P ID="signature">______________
WCBS = We're Crazy Buffoons and Schmucks
<a href=http://chuck.spotteddogs.org/tv/>Spotted Dog TV Talk - for all your non-news TV Talk</a></P>
 
> I have been complaining for ten seasons.>
> The "Fox attitude" is garbage.>

Yeah, yeah. But there's one big thing missing from your brilliant observations:

Why do you dislike Fox's baseball coverage?? REALLY?? And, please don't give me reasons I can hear from a ten-year-old, like "it's not the way Mommy makes it!" Valid reasons, please, because your post has a lot of words and phrases in it that aren't saying anything.

> And what does Tim have photos of you doing?>

Caution, "toby": DO NOT GO THERE.

> Can you explain why the big baboon is still on TV?
> Its surely not for the quality of work he does.>

First, since I would assume that you are from the New York area, let me ask you this: are you familiar with McCarver's work with both the Mets and Yankees? If so, then you should be honest and admit that he is a solid analyst. If he has one flaw, it's hammering a certain point too long. But hisviews on strategy in key game moments -- especially the pitcher-catcher relationship -- are on the money most of the time.

One quick example: during a Yankees-Mets interleague game in 1998, McCarver on WWOR-TV questioned then-Mets manager Bobby Valentine's decision to bring in reliever Mel Rojas, a righthander, in to pitch to the Yankees' Paul O'Neill, a lefthanded hitter. There were two Yankee runners on and the Mets had a 4-3 lead. O'Neill homers and the Yanks took a 6-4 lead and eventually won the game. McCarver cited Rojas's ineffectiveness against lefty batters as the reason for his criticism. Of course, his honesty was one of the reasons McCarver wasn't retained by the Mets when they moved to WPIX the following year.

Nowadays, announcers and anaylsts take the "safe" road and refrain themselves from questioning their team's moves during a game. I've always believed in fairness and honesty, which was one of the great things about the MSG Network in the pre-James Dolan/Cablevision era. I'm a Yankee fan, but even I can't stand to watch YES sometimes because of the lack of objectivity. Whether it was with the Mets or Yankees, or on Fox (despite his veiled pro-Cardinal bias), Tim McCarver has never been afraid to be honest, and for that he has my respect.

So, "toby", say what you want now. And, like I said, give me a valid reason why you don't like Fox, McCarver, or Joe Buck and only then will I take you seriously.

> Well there is this wonderful device called a radio, its like
> television, but there are no pictures and when I adjust it
> properly I get baseball coming out of its speaker. It is
> used by a great many people when Fox broadcasts baseball.>

And you think radio announcers are better? This is a television board, so I won't go any further.
<P ID="signature">______________
"Know your role and shut your mouth!!" -- The Rock</P>
 
And has anyone noticed that FOX advertises for itself like crazy!!

Half of every commercial break is for some random new FOX show.
House and Bones are getting more airtime than the games themselves! (and "Bones" is an appropriate name for that show, because that main actress looks like a dead person when she has her makeup on!! Watch, at the end, when she is standing there, whith the guy... it's scary.)

Ya, and even durint they game, they advertise for themselves.

Much, much, much more than any other network. Yes, they all do it excessively, but none as bad as FOX.

CTL<P ID="signature">______________
"Welcome to radio-info.com...where we hate everything!!!!! You people are radio's equivalent to the two old guys in the balcony on the Muppet show!"
~FoReal?</P>
 
>I won't go any further.

Good.

FOX Sports sucks. Leave it there.

CTL<P ID="signature">______________
"Welcome to radio-info.com...where we hate everything!!!!! You people are radio's equivalent to the two old guys in the balcony on the Muppet show!"
~FoReal?</P>
 
> (by the way, this isn't a nightmare for them. 2 of the top
> 4 most populated cities in America are in the Series.)

To get technical, it's between markets #3 and 10. City population is irrelevent. Neither team draws much national interest other than folks who are from Texas or Chicago.

> Uhhh....yes this is! :( Read this...
>
> http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051025/ap_en_tv/nielsens

Fox thought the ratings would be lower and adjusted its rates accordingly, but they're down almost 40% in 18-49. That's almost fatal for a network but Game 1 still drew more than the usual Cops reruns on Saturday night. Sunday's game beat the primetime lineups on NBC and CBS.

<a target="_blank" href=http://tv.yahoo.com/news/va/20051025/113029230100.html>Link: Another Yahoo article</a>
 
> > I have been complaining for ten seasons.>
> > The "Fox attitude" is garbage.>
>
> Yeah, yeah. But there's one big thing missing from your
> brilliant observations:
>
> Why do you dislike Fox's baseball coverage?? REALLY?? And,
> please don't give me reasons I can hear from a ten-year-old,
> like "it's not the way Mommy makes it!" Valid reasons,
> please, because your post has a lot of words and phrases in
> it that aren't saying anything.

When I watch baseball I watch for the game, if they are not going to show the game why watch their coverage?
It is one of the reasons I have soured on baseball.

> First, since I would assume that you are from the New York
> area, let me ask you this: are you familiar with McCarver's
> work with both the Mets and Yankees? If so, then you should
> be honest and admit that he is a solid analyst. If he has
> one flaw, it's hammering a certain point too long. But
> hisviews on strategy in key game moments -- especially the
> pitcher-catcher relationship -- are on the money most of the
> time.

McCarver was not a solid analyst, and if he has one flaw he hammers a certain point which 9 out of 10 times has nothing to do with what is going on the field, as if he is being payed by the word.

> So, "toby", say what you want now. And, like I said, give
> me a valid reason why you don't like Fox, McCarver, or Joe
> Buck and only then will I take you seriously.

McCarver is an egotistical blatherer who seems to ramble like a fool.
Buck is not a good baseball annoucer and he is still riding his dad's coattails.<P ID="signature">______________
WCBS = We're Crazy Buffoons and Schmucks
<a href=http://chuck.spotteddogs.org/tv/>Spotted Dog TV Talk - for all your non-news TV Talk</a></P>
 
> Tim McCarver has never been afraid to be honest, and
> for that he has my respect.

And apparently not for how he calls a game, which is lousy.
Do you like work for Fox or something?
 
Rebuttal

> > Tim McCarver has never been afraid to be honest, and
> > for that he has my respect.
>
> And apparently not for how he calls a game, which is lousy.
> Do you like work for Fox or something?>

God, NO!!

After reading the replies to my post, I'm starting to question the objectivity of some of the posters...what's going on here?

And again, from "toby", NO SOLID REASONING behind his "I hate Fox Sports" campaign. (You seem to dislike everything, but with no real proff as to why.) But can't we all separate the actual game call from the rest of the telecast, because I know I can...
<P ID="signature">______________
"Know your role and shut your mouth!!" -- The Rock</P>
 
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