DL540: A Look At NCAA Regional Announcer Assignments

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Marv got the worst Region? Reggie Miller is paired with Gus and Len? Nantz isn’t with Duke?

We go over an interesting set of decisions for who is calling what this weekend in the NCAA Tournament. We also talk more about the TV set up and how all the games on four channels has changed the game for live events from now on, compare it to NBC’s work during the Summer and Winter Olympics (and the old NBC TripleCast from the 80s) and wonder if the TruTV bumb will get more people to watch Pawn Stars and whatever else is on that network.

I also bust out my theory that CBS should handle the Final Four like a pitching staff, with Nantz starting the game before handing it off to Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery at halftime with Gus Johnson getting the closer spot if the game is close after the four minute timeout. It would be amazing.

Thanks as always for listening.

DL539: Weekend Madness, ONIONS, DC Games & Why Chuck Has Been Turrible

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Consider today and tomorrow our two-part look at week one of the NCAA Tournament, the great games, great calls and, yes, some of the stuff we think is not so great.

Tomorrow we’ll cover the assignments for the Regional sites, but today we spend more time looking at the games we watched this weekend.

Nick was in DC and got to watch two phenomenal finishes that had Butler winning both games en route to another trip to the Sweet Sixteen. What was the crazy finish of the Butler-Pitt game like in the arena? We spend a lot of time on how the building felt, as well as what we think the referees should have done in that situation. We also touch on some of the reaction from the sports writing and tweeting types, plus Nick gives an assessment of how the tournament feels when you’re at a site and how that compares to the incredible ability to watch every game at once on TV.

We move around the tournament a bit, talking aboutREAD MORE

DL538: Bias, Chalk and Why I Already Hate My Bracket

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Nick and I run through the bracket and I basically have chalk. And I hate myself for it. Nick has a few more upsets than me. Listen along and don’t forget to join in on the bracket challenge at With Leather. (or follow this line of direction from Zerkle: If you’re hard-up for a bracket pool, join ours. The link is here and the password is “dukesucks”.)

You can’t not beat me.

Before our bracket breakdown we also talk about John Feinstein’s WashPost column ripping the NCAA committee for, well, everything. The lesson here: get better, ACC, so the writers in your area don’t put out columns that rip the selection committee for having a secret agenda, thus exposing the writer’s own secret agenda.

Madness!

DL537: Brackets, Networks, Announcers, Barkley, Bilas, Vitale, GUS, More

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What else today? Brackets!

This show is basically in two parts — the first part with Jon Tannenwald of Philly.com’s college hoops blog Soft Pretzel Logic and the second part with Nick — talking all about the brackets and the media coverage, including what announcers will be calling games on what networks, how we think Charles Barkley will and won’t fit into the telecast, Jay Bilas ostensibly lobbying to get himself on the NCAA Selection Committee, Dick Vitale’s annual rant for those who didn’t get in, Gus Johnson as an indie rock band and a whole lot more.

We get a little bit into the brackets and what we think could be some good matchups — including the Temple Penn State game that is a big deal around here and the balance of watching games live and still trying to catch the other games you care about on TV, something Nick will have to face on Thursday and Saturday in DC.

We also talk about whether you should fill out a bracket that’s chalk,READ MORE

DL535: Joke Referees, Villanova’s Madness, Tressel’s Cheating & Tiki’s TV Failure

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We have four topics today and while Jim Tressel is taking over every show in the world, we decided to start with actual sports first, then get into that whole cheating mess.

• First, Robin Van Persie called the referee that gave him a double yellow in Arsenal’s farewell Champions League match “a joke.” He actually said, “It’s just a joke. He’s been bad all evening. He’s been a joke all evening, whistling against us. I don’t know why he’s here tonight. I think it’s a joke.”

What happens to RVP, or his teammates who sarcastically tweets about how good a job the ref did? Sir Alex was slapped for questioning an EPL referee, but what does UEFA do about it? And how great is it when athletes just don’t care and say what they want? It’s really great.

• Next, we rip on Villanova. A lot. We also talk about ESPN putting the Big East women’s final on the mothership while the Big East men’s first round was on ESPNU. What do youREAD MORE

DL532: Jay Busbee on NASCAR! (Actually It’s About Cheering In The Press Box)

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Look, we don’t talk a lot about NASCAR here in these parts, but we did spend the better part of Monday’s show talking about Jay Busbee’s thought-provoking take on media impartiality and whether or not members of the fourth estate should celebrate and congratulate the athletes they cover.

In other words, it’s more talk about cheering in the press box.

This suddenly became more than just a media ETHICS class yesterday when news broke that Tom Bowles was let go from his SI writing gig because, per Bowles, he was one of the writers caught doing all that cheering and congratulating and celebrating last weekend after Trevor Bayne SAVED THE SPORT OF NASCAR FOREVER.

Busbee and I get into that a little bit too…to the layperson, what does the win by Bayne really mean and did it really save anything or was it just the little engine that could (and analogy that could almost be taken literally)?

Were the reporters cheering for Bayne or were they simply just cheering for the idea of him — for theREAD MORE

Writer Fired? Headlines At The New Sporting News/FanHouse Are So Meta

Yesterday was the first day of the new FanHouse, which really meant it was the first day after the last day of the FanHouse where many of our friends used to write.

What’s interesting about the new merger with Sporting News is that we were sold on the fact that Sporting News “bought” the FanHouse brand from AOL in part to keep the name alive and in hopes that the AOL traffic would keep the SN doors open just a wee bit longer. By the looks of the new partnership, it sure as heck feels like AOL acquired Sporting News, doesn’t it? Did Sporting News pay for FanHouse or just pay its way onto AOL’s servers?

At the very least, the day after FanHouse officially dumped all but four of its writers and other staffers in the merger, it’s good to see that someone at the company has a sense of humor. So meta.

Now, the article on the new AOL.SportingNews.com with the quick link “Writer fired” actually goes to a story about NASCAR writer Tom Bowles losingREAD MORE

DL531: Madness, DWTS as B/R, FanHouse, Bordain, Sheen & Is Being What It Is

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Somehow today’s show includes the following topics:

• Villanova’s free-fall and whether or not they’re playing themselves out of the NCAA Tournament,

• Dancing with the Stars including Sugar Ray Leonard and the idea that Bleacher Report would be smart to adopt a DWTS model to enhance its profile AND the profile of its writers,

• The death of FanHouse, whatever Sporting News is calling FanHouse now and if anyone will even remember it — or any of this — in a decade,

• Anthony Bordain v. Charlie Sheen last night at 9pm, what watching one instead of the other might say about you, and them and why it’s okay to turn off our brains to watch the occasional car wreck play out on TV.

Thanks for listening.

DL530: Oscars, Sports & The Line of Media Impartiality

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We all root for things. We root for our favorite sports teams growing up. We root for our favorite movies or actors to win awards. We root for our bets to pay off.

We all root…and therefore, we all habitually cheer when our rooting interests come through. Heck, even if you’re one of those writers who “roots for storylines,” you may still find yourself cheering when a good one comes along.

Today’s show is about the Oscars, sports and when the media should or should not feign impartiality. I say that because much of this discussion is centered around the question of WHEN (not if) it’s okay to cheer or celebrate or congratulate or, yes, ask for an autograph.

We talk about how voting for the Oscars (non-media) or events like the Golden Globes (Hollywood foreign Press) is not too dissimilar to voting one into the Hall of Fame. Are we supposed to believe that any of this voting is done impartially?

We promise this is more about sports than movies. After the DaytonaREAD MORE

Carmelo Anthony & Why We Should Never Believe An Athlete When He Speaks

Our Call of the Day today actually comes from Sunday night’s NBA All-Star game, when TNT’s Craig Sager firebombed Carmelo Anthony on the West bench to ask about meetings he’s had with the Nets and the Knicks.

Carmelo was not the first player interviewed during the game, but most of the other conversations featured mostly softball questions like how great Ray Allen felt being in double-digit All-Star games. Yet, journalistic integrity being what it is, some people certainly felt it was Sager’s responsibility, during the All-Star game, to ask Anthony about his plans to leave Denver before the trade deadline this week.

Kobe Bryant — who with the help of Chris Paul hijacked the entire interview — didn’t much care for journalistic integrity during the All-Star Game. Anthony, it turns out, didn’t much care for telling Sager the truth in the one question he actually answered.

Here’s the transcript from the one question Carmelo was able to answer during the conversation with Sager:

“Alright. Tuesday the Nuggets have a game. Will you be in a Denver uniform for thatREAD MORE