| Is this where they got their UH-UTEP announcers from? |
I’ve got an idea for the Houston Cougars. Instead of wasting time going after beat writers for trying to find out health information on players, maybe they should instead use that valuable time for more important things. Like making sure the TV folks know who the actual people are on the Cougar sidelines and their correct names, and maybe making sure that the team’s flagship radio station actually airs the games.
There were about 32,000 of you lucky enough to be inside of Robertson Stadium on Friday night, so you missed ESPN’s game coverage — and actually, for those of you watching at home, it appears that you missed about half of the first quarter of ESPN’s coverage because of another football game. But from what I noticed on Twitter, and heard from others that I trust who were also watching, the ESPN broadcast crew wasn’t exactly top-notch.
There were numerous references to coach Mike Sumlin, quarterback Case
Kellum, and running back Bryce Beel. And at one point, I understand,
they went to a sideline shot of defensive coordinator Brian Stewart when
they were discussing offensive coordinator Jason Phillips.
I’m
lucky to have gotten to know some of Houston’s play-by-play folks. And I
know that the job’s not easy. You’re trying to describe what’s going on
in the field of play while setting up your color commentator, listening
to a know-nothing producer talk in your ear, setting up the replay
while prepping for the next play and trying to take notes while finding
notes you’ve already taken. It’s not easy, and at times, you’re going to
get a name wrong. It’s entirely possible to be talking about UTEP’s
coach Mike Price and Cougar coach Kevin Sumlin and blend the names.
It
happens, and it can be forgiven. If it happens once. But from what I
understand, this happened multiple times during the game. And there’s no
excuse for mispronouncing Beall’s name all night. If you’re unsure
about a pronunciation, then just ask someone associated with the team.
I’ve seen the stadium PA announcer go up to a visiting school SID and
ask about pronunciations, so how this got missed, I just have no clue,
and it’s just inexcusable.
And really, Case Kellum? Where in
the hell did Case Kellum come from? Case Keenum’s highlights are
actually shown on ESPN. Keenum’s been a guest on multiple ESPN TV and
radio programs. So there really should have been someone around who
could get that name straight.
| Home of the Coogs or not? |
At least the Cougars got some
national TV coverage, though a bit misguided. But Clear Channel’s
actions for this week’s upcoming game with UCLA are flat wrong, although
to be expected from an organization like Clear Channel.
The
Cougars, as you may know, are playing in Los Angeles. That’s the West
Coast. And the game’s not supposed to start until 9:15 p.m. Houston
time. But if you tune into 790 expecting to hear Tom Franklin’s call of
the game, then you might be out of luck. “Might be” being the operative
phrase because Clear Channel’s take on this has already changed multiple
times since the initial announcement.
It was originally
announced yesterday that, instead of airing on 790, the Cougars’
flagship network station and Houston base, the game would air on KODA
99.1. Apparently, the Texas Aggies, who don’t actually have a set radio
station in Houston, were deemed by Clear Channel to be more important,
so Clear Channel decided to bump the Cougars to the FM station so that
the Aggie game could air instead. Then came word that the game would
start on 99.1 and switch to 790 whenever the Aggies decided to finish up
their game. And then it was announced that the Cougar pregame would air
on 99.1, but that the entire game would air on 790.
(It’s entirely possible, that, at the time of this posting, Clear Channel has changed its mind again and will air the Best of Art Bell instead of any of the football game.)
This
would be understandable if the Cougars were just a step-child team that
didn’t have an actual home on the radio dial in Houston. But the
Cougars do have that actual radio home. That actual radio home is 790
KBME, which, at times, bills itself as the radio home of the Cougars. So
one would think that the Cougars would actually take precedence over
the Aggies, but alas, it appears that one would think wrong.
So
maybe instead of worrying about what the beat writers are writing, the
Cougars should worry about things of actual importance, like teaching
the TV people the names and pronunciations of the team, and guaranteeing
that Cougar fans will actually be able to find the game on the radio.
Update: We’re hearing from Tom Franklin that
Clear Channel has, indeed changed its mind again about Saturday’s UH
game. Clear Channel is now stating that the entire game will air on KODA 99.1.
And while the signal strength might be stronger, Clear Channel is doing
everything possible to make it hard for Cougar fans to actually listen to the
game as they keeping changing when and where the game will be airing. Keep
checking here for more information as to which Houston radio station will
actually be broadcasting the game on Saturday.
This article appears in Sep 9-15, 2010.
