Same old complaint: Not enough TV coverage of Masters

Posted on April 10, 2013 by admin

Tiger Woods tees off at 10:45 a.m. ET on Thursday. That means he will be nearly done with his round when ESPN comes on the air at 3 p.m. ET.

Here’s another “tradition unlike any other”: Complaining about the lack of Masters TV coverage.

While all the others major golf tournaments receive virtually sun-up-to-sun-down telecasts, the Masters, the one event we want to watch the most, continues to dish out the smallest portions in the game.

My complaint is more about Thursday and Friday than the weekend. At least on Saturday and Sunday, there is 18-hole coverage of the leaders. During the final round, CBS comes on at 2 p.m. ET, almost an hour before the last group tees off.

What tests the patience level are the first two rounds. To make fans wait until mid-afternoon to see play from Augusta National is ridiculous. You miss virtually the entire wave of morning pairings.

When Billy Payne took over as chairman, he initially relaxed some of the club’s antiquated notions about limiting TV coverage. He expanded the weekends to track all 18 holes with the leaders. ESPN is televising the Par 3 contest today. There’s live coverage of holes and groups on Masters.com.

This year, CBS Sports Network will have On The Range shows from 11 a.m-1 p.m. ET during the four days of the tournament. A new addition to the menu.

Yet I thought Payne would do more. The add-ons are nothing but morsels. Golf fans want more. We’d watch pre-dawn coverage of the course superintendent’s crew cutting the grass at Augusta National.

I mean, why show viewers On The Range programs on tournament days when you have actual play occurring on the course? What happens if one of the morning players comes to 18 with a chance to break the course record during the 11 a.m.-1 p.m. window? Would CBS Sports Network be able to show it?

I asked CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus if he saw any upcoming increases in live Masters coverage. As you would expect, he was diplomatic, saying CBS is “satisfied with the level of coverage” on the weekend.

That’s corporate speak. I know McManus and ESPN president John Skipper, behind the scenes, are pushing for more coverage. Gently pushing, because that’s the way things are done at Augusta.

Ultimately, it is up to the chairman to make the call. C’mon Billy, it’s 2013. There’s cable TV. It’s time to give us what we want: All day coverage of the Masters.

Is there any change on the horizon?

Not just a name: Jim Nantz is serious about making impact as winemaker

Posted on April 10, 2013 by admin

Part 3

Jim Nantz is on a mission. He is determined to get me one of his bottles of wine.

Even though he is running late, the veteran voice of CBS is scurrying through the lobby to find a box of his wine that has been dropped off at the Palmer House in Chicago. He asks at the front desk, but they haven’t seen it. He checks the bell desk. Nope.

I say, “Don’t worry about it.”

“No,” Nantz said. “I want you to have a bottle.”

Finally, we go down an escalator and find another bell desk that has the elusive box. He cuts it open and proudly pulls out a bottle.

“A lot of work went into this,” Nantz said.

If being the play-by-play man for CBS on the NFL, golf and the NCAA tournament is priority No. 1 for Nantz, making wine has vaulted to No. 2.

Nantz and industry entrepreneur Peter Deutsch have combined on The Calling, a label that currently features four wines on the market.

Nantz has quite a lofty vision for The Calling.

“We want to create the next great premium American wine brand,” Nantz said.

Indeed, this isn’t a hobby for Nantz. He is totally immersed in the business. Nantz and his wife, Courtney, moved out to California so they can be closer to the vineyard that produces the wine. He says they literally get their hands in the dirt while working on the property.

Considering Nantz’s jammed broadcast schedule, where does he find the time?

“Well, you find the time,” Nantz said. “This is something I love.”

Courtney handles much of the day-to-day business operation of the label, while Nantz grinds on the promotion end. He made several appearances for the wine while in Chicago for the Big Ten tournament. When he’s on the road to call an event, he tries to find a restaurant that carries The Calling. If Jim Nantz walks in, it’s a show of support for the brand, he said.

Yet Nantz’s biggest commitment might be in the name. Early on, Deutsch asked Nantz, “Does your name need to be on the bottle?”

“No,” Nantz said. “He said, ‘Good, let’s keep talking.'”

Nantz said the success rate for “celebrity” (“A word I hate,” he said) wine is extremely low. With few exceptions, people don’t take those wines seriously.

Hence, The Calling. Obviously, it plays on Nantz being on the call for sporting events. However, the biggest message, he says, “is about finding your calling in life.”

Not to get too sappy, but Nantz believes he has a calling to make wine (OK, I got sappy). He has a high interest in fermented grapes, and it is something that he has wanted to do more than decade.

“I am a spokesman for a lot of companies, but I don’t own anything,” Nantz said. “This is something I own. It is so rewarding. It’s a thrill to go into a restaurant, open the menu, and see The Calling is available.”

The Calling is in 3,000 restaurants, and the reviews have been highly favorable. Nantz gave me a bottle of the Russian River Chardonnay.

While I am more of a Guinness guy, in a tribute to Roger Ebert, I’d give The Calling an enthusiastic thumbs up.

Q/A with Jim Nantz on the Masters: A tradition ‘unlike’ any other; not as genteel as it looks on TV

Posted on April 9, 2013 by admin

Part 2 of 3:

Jim Nantz has been saying the phrase so long he felt the need to correct Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner.

During a conference call Monday, Williams recited the famous line as, “It’s the Masters tradition like no other.”

Nantz jumped in to set the record straight.

“It’s a tradition unlike any other,” Nantz said. “I think I’ve said that a time or two in the last quarter century.”

Indeed, while Nantz is seen by more than 100 million viewers when he calls the Super Bowl, and by a huge primetime audience for the NCAA Final Four, the Masters is his signature event.

This will be Nantz’s 28th Masters. He did his first in 1986 when Jack Nicklaus roared to his epic victory. Ken Venturi told the young kid: “Jimmy, you might do 50 of these, but you’ll never see another one like this.”

While Venturi was right, Nantz has called a few Masters that have packed plenty of memorable stuff. If all goes as planned, Nantz plans to retire when he does his 50th Masters at the age of 75.

Nantz, though, isn’t thinking about 2035. His focus is on Thursday.

Here’s my Q/A with Nantz:

What is it about you and Masters?

It’s the one event which people relate with me the most. I might be talking to a football coach in August, and they’ll ask me, “What about Augusta?” Fans at games ask me, ‘Who’s going to win the Masters this year?’

It’s the one event I think about all year long. The Masters is in my heart.

For me, I trace my wanting to be a voice to watching the Masters during my adolescence. I was captivated by the Masters and I knew I wanted to be a part of it. It was a like a young Nick Faldo in ’71, ’72. He was training to be a cyclist. He watched the Masters, turned to his parents and said, ‘I want to take up golf.’ He was inspired by watching Jack Nicklaus.

I obsessed over it. I wanted to get good enough to get there. That’s what the Masters did for me.

How difficult is it for you to shift gears? You’re going from the commotion of the NCAA tournament to the more genteel environment of Augusta National.

It’s never an issue. They each have a different rhythm and pacing. But stylistically, you don’t worry about how you’re going to approach the game. That’s organic. When you’re sitting in a place absorbing the scene around, you adapt to the energy level.

I get asked a lot: “How in the world do you go from the Final Four on Monday with all that excitement and the next weekend, your voice drops to a whisper?” Most people don’t think about it. If you go to a basketball game one night and a golf tournament the next, would you still be shouting at the person next to you? It’s not that complicated.

What’s your routine when you get to Augusta?

When I get there on Tuesday, I’m not going to observe the birds. I’m not checking out the flora. I want to find every top player and have a face-to-face with them. I’m trying to get some fresh information. The problem is they all want to talk to me about the NCAA tournament.

It looks genteel and that’s the way it should look on TV with the sweet Augusta music that molds you as a viewer. “Oh, they must have just rolled out bed to do this. It looks so peaceful.” No, the reality is much different. It’s not genteel for us.

Do you cover this tournament differently?

Nobody’s telling me to do anything differently. We have more broadcast positions than we do for any other tournament. So it’s different in that sense.

Through the years, I have so many stories and information stored in my head. Someone will hit a shot and it’ll strike a comparison to a shot someone hit in the ’70s.

There’s so much history there. I love the fact that you can feel the presence of the fathers of the sport. I think of Furman Bisher (the late long-time columnist from Atlanta who was a fixture at Augusta). Sarazen. Nelson. I do. I can’t explain it.

I just happened to be there the last time Byron Nelson walked the course. He was escorting his wife Peggy down to Amen Corner. I ran up in a golf cart and said, ‘Can I take you down there?’ It was a special moment.

Every year, you reflect back on a famous Masters prior to the final round Sunday (Jim Nantz Remembers Augusta, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET). What is this year’s selection?

Ben Crenshaw winning in 1995. It was the week he lost his coach Harvey Penick. We flew in Carl Jackson (his long-time caddie at Augusta National) to do a side-by-side interview. It’s going to be an unbelievable show. I’m not trying to sell you anything here, but it’s probably the best of all these shows we’ve done. It’s a very, very touching story.

Wednesday: Jim Nantz, winemaker.

Q/A with CBS’ Tracy Wolfson: Horrific injury shows need for sideline reporters

Posted on April 3, 2013 by admin

Tracy Wolfson was about four feet from Kevin Ware when the unthinkable happened Sunday afternoon.

“I didn’t see the actual fall,” Wolfson said. “Everyone was watching the game. The fall isn’t what you’re looking at. I heard him when he hit the ground. I was probably one of the first people who realized what took place. I remember I picked up my mic (and told producer Mark Wolff), ‘He’s down and it’s bad.'”

In seconds, Wolfson, CBS’ sideline reporter for the Louisville-Duke game, went into scramble mode for what would be the most challenging assignment of her career. Ultimately, she was lauded for securing vital information about the horrific injury and an emotional post-game interview with Louisville coach Rick Pitino.

Yet when I talked to Wolfson nearly 48 hours after Sunday’s game, you could sense the intensity of that situation still had a grip on her. She still hasn’t watched a replay of the telecast.

“You’re running on adrenaline when it’s going on,” Wolfson said. “It didn’t sink in for me until I got to the airport. I looked at Jim (Nantz). We let out a big sigh. It was a feeling of, ‘Oh my God, what just happened?'”

Here’s my Q/A with Wolfson on how she handled Sunday; how it validated the role of sideline reporters; how she hopes to see Ware during the Final Four in Atlanta; and how the Michigan grad intends to be impartial at the Final Four.

What was Sunday like for you? Did you ever have a comparable experience?

No, it was so unprecedented. You don’t expect to be in a situation like that. Sports is supposed to be lighthearted and fun. Then all of the sudden, you’re facing a news story like that. It’s almost like when the lights went out in the Super Bowl.

I remember I put my hands to my face. I knew I had a few seconds to catch my breath. You saw how devastating it was and you don’t want to get in the way. Then I realized, ‘OK, now I’m part of the story.’

Your job is to get as much information as you can get while trying to be respectful to the team and the coach. You have to find the right balance.

How did you and CBS achieve that balance?

CBS decided not to do any on-cameras interviews with the coaches at halftime like we normally do. Let’s just talk to (Pitino) off-camera. Let him regroup with his team and then see what he wants to say. If he didn’t want to say anything, that’s OK too.

He wound up giving us an inside look at what Kevin Ware said to his teammates and a reminder that his mom lives in Atlanta.

Louisville (sports information director Kenny Klein) was tremendous. There was no panic in him whatsoever. He gave us the information we needed.

How did you mentally prepare for the post-game interview with Pitino?

I wasn’t supposed to do the interview. Normally, (Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg) do the interview with the winning coach during the celebration. I interview the loser.

With three minutes to go, the producer said, ‘Tracy, we’re going to try to get this live before we go to 60 Minutes.’ The only possible way was for me to do it.

It was another delicate situation. You have to ask the right questions. I didn’t want to neglect what the team did. That was the one thing on my mind. You need to ask about Kevin Ware and the incident, but I wanted to get in one question about the team and how well they played despite everything that was going on.

Were you surprised at how graphic Pitino was in talking about the injury?

It did catch me by surprise, I have to admit. We saw the emotion. Maybe for him the best way to keep going was to give the facts. Sometimes, it brings you back to reality. It caught a lot of people by surprise, but they wanted to hear that.

A few days have passed. Are you still replaying what happened in your mind?

I’ve got to be honest. There’s a little bit like a sadness. Not that you don’t get to grieve, but I didn’t have time to actually process what went on. It was trying for everyone involved to not only balance it, but to feel for this kid. It takes a lot out of you. You don’t really have time to think.

What I’ve been doing is following him and seeing his progress and things he tweets out. It brought a smile to my face knowing that he’s going to try to be in Atlanta. I really hope we get a chance to sit down with him to see he’s OK.

You have heard people question the need for sideline reporters. Did your work Sunday provide a sense of validation?

I used the example earlier of what happened at the Super Bowl. I truly believe that is the need for a reporter.

I work with Jim and (Verne Lundquist). They are two of the best storytellers in the business. If you have a game without an incident, you don’t necessarily need someone.

It is in those situations (like Sunday) where you need someone. I’m OK being that person who only steps into that role when it is necessary. I’m not someone who needs to be on the air six times a game because you have a reporter there and you have to put them on. We’re all a team and I add to the broadcast. I try to give to the viewer something they can’t necessarily get. In those situations (like Sunday), that’s a perfect example.

CBS doesn’t use sideline reporters for regular-season NFL games. You work as a sideline reporter for CBS’ college football games. How do you feel about that?

I’m biased. Of course, I believe there’s a need for sideline reporters. It’s my job. I want to work. I see the difference between college football and the NFL. Any relevant information, injury reports. In the NFL, a lot of that stuff goes directly to the booth. But you did see in the Super Bowl where you need them.

There’s nothing wrong with having a sideline reporter present and just utilized pregame, halftime interview or report, postgame. It doesn’t mean they have to do those out-of-the-box stories during the game.

But you have access down there. You can see things that you don’t necessarily get from a PR person. In college you can hear things. You have relationships where you can get information.

It’s great to hear from a coach. It always brings to life the emotions, especially in tight games or when upsets are happening. I think that access is huge.

There’s nothing wrong with having someone down there and not doing a typical sideline reporter job that we’ve all known in the past that gets so criticized. The No. 1 thing is to have someone that can do that job and is knowledgeable is about sports. Also, (that person) can adjust on the fly to have to cover a blackout or a horrific injury like we saw Sunday.

The most visible element for the sideline reporter is to interview a coach after the first half. How do basketball coaches compare to football coaches when it comes to the halftime interview?

It’s always challenging. It depends on the situation and the coach. If his team is getting blown out by 20 points, he’s not going to be happy. It’s a delicate balance. You don’t want to put them in a bad position with your questions, but you want to get the best out of them.

You’re a 1997 grad of Michigan. How is it going to be having the Wolverines in the Final Four?

I’ll definitely know a lot of people in the stands. However, I won’t be wearing maize and blue. This is the Final Four. Once they tip off, it’s just another game.

McManus on cutting off injury replays: It was an easy call to make

Posted on April 1, 2013 by admin

Nearly 24 hours later, CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus said he had no regrets about how his team covered Kevin Ware’s horrific injury Sunday.

During a conference call this afternoon, McManus said, “We’re proud of the decisions we made.”

“In retrospect, it really was an easy call to make because of the gruesome nature of the injury,” McManus said. “It was the right call. (Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg) didn’t say much. They let the pictures tell the story….We handled it as well as you could in a difficult situation.”

CBS initially aired two replays of Ware suffering the injury.

“It almost took the second replay for it to sink in what you were seeing,” McManus said.

The decision then was made: No more replays Sunday. The edict will carry over to CBS’ coverage of the Final Four in Atlanta.

McManus knows some people are questioning the decision. However, he said people can see video of the incident on various sites, if they so choose.

“I didn’t think we had the obligation to be the facilitator,” he said.

McManus said CBS never considered going to a commercial while Ware still was lying on the floor. He also was proud that the network allowed Tracy Wolfson to do a long postgame interview with Rick Pitino despite the late finish cutting into primetime.

For his part, Nantz said he still was dealing Monday with the aftermath of witnessing the injury and the subsequent reaction from the Louisville players.

“I had never seen anything like that before,” Nantz said. “It’s hard to get the image out of your mind. I keep replaying it.”

Gruesome: CBS, ESPN make right call about not running replays of injury

Posted on April 1, 2013 by admin

I just happened to walk away from the television for a few minutes Sunday. So I missed seeing Kevin Ware suffer the most gruesome injury in sports since Lawrence Taylor did a number on Joe Theismann’s leg.

Now there’s a high probability that I never will see how the life of the young Louisville basketball player changed in Indianapolis. I have a low tolerance for gruesome.

I suspect many people feel the same way, which is why CBS and ESPN made the right call in not airing repeated replays of the injury.

From the Associated Press:

CBS showed the replay twice in slow motion, although not with a close-up of Ware landing. The network also never showed a close-up of the injury.

CBS then concentrated on reaction shots. Three of Ware’s teammates were on the ground near the basket. Wayne Blackshear cried, Chane Behanan knelt on his hands and knees and Peyton Silva sat, a hand covering his mouth.

The network aired a close-up of medical officials working on Ware, showing the player only from the face up.

CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus said that because of the graphic nature of the injury, the network decided not to show it after the original replays. People could quickly find replays on YouTube, anyway.

“We did not zoom in on the injury when he was taken off,” McManus said. “We did not try to highlight it. I think we did the right thing.”

Later in the evening, SportsCenter also declined to air replays of the injury. Stuart Scott and Scott Van Pelt didn’t offer an explanation. The reason, though, was fairly obvious.

Some images are just too difficult to watch.

It is interesting to note that the networks showed numerous replays of the puck shattering Sidney Crosby’s jaw. Guess we were able to stomach those pictures.

However, Ware’s injury crossed over the line. We can only digest so much.

I don’t have a problem with various websites showing replays of the injury. It is news and people will want to see what happened.

However, the strong disclaimers force people to make a conscious decision to click on the replay. It isn’t the same on TV. There’s a good chance you’re going to look, even if the anchors says turn your head. At best, it creates an uncomfortable dynamic for the viewer.

In the new media world, it’s all about choices. The replays are there if you want to see them.

I am going to pass.

Q/A with Verne Lundquist: Appearing in Happy Gilmore ‘is gift that keeps on giving’; his love for NCAA tournament

Posted on March 18, 2013 by admin

Verne and Raft and all is right in the world.

It wouldn’t be an NCAA tournament without Verne Lundquist. Thanks to some tweeks in his schedule, the popular play-by-play man is rested and anxious to go this week.

Now 72, Lundquist asked CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus for an extended break in the grind during college basketball season as part of his new contract. After he completed his football duties, instead of trekking to exotic outposts like East Lansing, Mich. and West Lafayette, Ind., he and his wife headed for a trip Down Under.

Lundquist, though, returned to the microphone a few weeks ago.Thursday, he and his good friend, Bill Raftery, will dive in at Auburn Hills, Mich. for what Lundquist calls his favorite assignment. He did his first NCAA tournament game in 1982, teaming up with former LSU coach Dale Brown.

Here is my Q/A with Lundquist on going strong at 72; and how appearing in Happy Gilmore still is paying dividends for him. Also, I am rerunning his comments on calling the famous Duke-Kentucky game from a post I did with him in December.

How does it feel to being doing another NCAA tournament?

I’m coming up on 50 years in the business. Isn’t that staggering? It is to me. I have a good sense of what goes well and when it doesn’t. It’s like a competitor. When it goes badly, you want another at bat. You don’t have too many that go badly. I wouldn’t be here if I did. I’m proud of the fact I’m still working, still considered viable.

Is the tournament your favorite?

I do think so. Raft and I have become such good friends.

How difficult is it to do four games in one day?

It’s the hardest thing ever. There’s nothing equal to it. The first time, I thought I was up to the challenge, but I didn’t know how to organize myself in the proper fashion. You learn you don’t use up too much energy in the first game. Then you pray to high heaven the last game is compelling. There’s nothing like a blowout in that fourth game to make you really weary.

What sets apart the tournament in your view?

You can argue about what is the greatest sporting event. It’s certainly in the top three. To see the public embrace it has been great. Is the Super Bowl bigger? Certainly, from a corporate aspect it is. But it doesn’t have the charm the NCAA has because of the potential of a Butler winning the title. If (Gordon Hayward’s shot) goes in, Duke-Kentucky becomes the second greatest game.

You went more than 10 years without watching a replay of the famous Duke-Kentucky game. Why?

I thought I had a good broadcast. The truth of the matter is I didn’t want to intrude on the reality of my memories. I didn’t want to look at the tape and say, ‘For crying out loud, why did I do that?’

About 10 years ago, Billy Raftery and I were getting ready to do Marquette-Kentucky (in the NCAA tournament). He called and said they were airing the game on ESPN Classic. He knew I hadn’t watched it. I picked it up midway through the game. At the end, I thought I did a pretty good job.

What was going through your mind as Grant Hill got ready through the in-bounds pass?

At first, I was surprised that Rick Pitino didn’t have anyone guard him. I think if Rick had one do-over, he would have put somebody 6-8 on him.

Then for a split second, I remembered I announced Grant Hill’s birth on a Dallas TV station. His father, Calvin, and I were good friends. Now here’s this guy (Grant) about to throw in the pass. I thought, ‘Oh my God.’ It was very personal to me.

What was your assessment of the final call?

You hope you get the call right. Mine wasn’t particularly brilliant. I channeled my inner Marv Albert and yelled ‘Yes!’

Somebody once asked if I was proud of that call? I’m proud I didn’t muck it up. It wasn’t an innovative piece of broadcasting, but it captured the moment. Len and I then had the good sense to shut up and let (director Mike Arnold) do his job.

What was the reason why you didn’t work as many basketball games this year?

When I did my new contract, I asked them if they could relieve me of some games. There was too much travel to places like East Lansing and West Lafayette. It was very gracious of them to do that. I still watched the games, but I was thankful to be able to do it with my wife.

You’re 72. This is supposed to be a young man’s game. Why does it still work for you?

The fact that I’m working at 72 in a high-profile position makes me feel honored. I think there still is some connection to not only the generation younger than me, but maybe two generations. I have to connect with kids 18-22. I think (appearing in) Happy Gilmore is the gift that keeps on giving.

I’m being factious, but something like that accidentally kept me viable with the college kid crowd.

Do you still enjoy it?

I don’t think you can fake a passion for it. You have to do the preparation. You can’t shortcut the process. The only thing I don’t like is the uneasiness of dealing with the airlines. Everything, except getting from point A to point B, I still find immensely pleasurable.

How much longer do you plan to work?

I’m not gilding the lilly when I say I am so appreciative to management that they gave me the time in the winter. I’ve got a contract that (could take him to 75). Then we’ll see.

Boomer defends going off on Lewis: ‘Somebody had to say something’

Posted on February 5, 2013 by admin

On his WFAN radio show, Boomer Esiason explained why he won’t be getting any Christmas cards from Ray Lewis, following his harsh comments Sunday on NFL Today.

From Sports Media Rantz:

The next morning, a caller had brought up Esiason’s being fired up about Lewis (to borrow a quote from Lewis himself) on WFAN/New York’s “Boomer & Carton” morning show.

“Marino’s not going to say anything, Bill Cowher’s not going to say anything, and I get it,” Esiason said. “I’m there in the end; somebody has to say something.”

And sure enough, Boomer lowered the boom.

“I said to Shannon, ‘I appreciate you asking him a direct question’… And I understand the difficulties that a former teammate might have in that situation. and I know why Shannon went there, because Shannon has a great friendship with Ray Lewis; they spent time together this week in Ray’s hotel room.” And it was during that time that the “deer antler spray” allegations emerged, but “that’s a whole ‘nother issue… We only have two minutes to discuss these things.

“These guys are coming back from injuries quicker than anybody in the history of sports.”

Will Phil Simms be analyst for CBS’ next Super Bowl in 2016?

Posted on February 5, 2013 by admin

During the lead-up to Sunday’s game, Lance Barrow, CBS’ coordinating producer, was asked when preparations began for this year’s Super Bowl?

“The day after our last Super Bowl (in 2010),” Barrow said.

So that means Monday was day 1 of CBS’ preparations for Super Bowl L (the big 5-0) in 2016, the next time it has the big game. While the question may not have been discussed yesterday, you can be sure it will be asked within the highest reaches of the network: Will CBS give Phil Simms another shot at the Super Bowl?

CBS is an extremely loyal place, and Simms has been a good ambassador and a capable soldier, serving as its lead NFL analyst since 1998. Sunday was Simms’ seventh Super Bowl; two were with NBC. Quite an impressive track record.

Unfortunately for Simms, Sunday was by far his worst. As I wrote in a post yesterday, I can’t recall another time when the lead analyst in a Super Bowl received such an avalanche of bad reviews. It wasn’t as if all the critics had a conference call and decided what to write. Rather, it was a spontaneous reaction to an analyst who seemed hesitant to speak out during key points of the game.

Regardless of what network officials might say, the negative reaction definitely was heard all the way up to the office of CBS president and CEO Leslie Moonves.

CBS knows it was a bad performance by Simms. The one time you really don’t want to be bad is during a Super Bowl.

If CBS decides to stick with Simms for the 2016 Super Bowl, it creates a problem. His presence will revive all the harsh critiques from Sunday. It will become a storyline for that year’s coverage. Can Simms redeem himself after 2013’s clunker?

“That’s not the story they’ll want,” said a TV insider.

If not Simms, then who? Internally, CBS has two former ABC Monday Night Football analysts on its roster. Boomer Esiason is terrific as a radio analyst for Dial Global Sports. The network could shift him from the studio. Dan Fouts, a Hall of Famer, has received high praise for his work at CBS and on radio for Dial Global.

CBS also could go outside. Who knows? What if Peyton Manning plays two more years and retires at the end of the 2014 season? Boom, CBS swoops in and puts him in the No. 1 seat next to Nantz in time for the 2016 Super Bowl.

Here’s a thought: Don’t discount the possibility of CBS using a three-man booth, with Simms and another analyst for the 2016 game. In fact, I think it is a strong possibility. It would enable the network to transition to a new look in the booth and allow Simms, who will be 61 in 2016, to call one last Super Bowl.

A little history: That’s exactly what NBC did with Simms when he went from player to analyst in the 90s. He teamed with Dick Enberg and Paul Maguire on that network’s No. 1 crew.

Then again, CBS could decide to stick with Simms. Perhaps, the network will determine one bad game doesn’t define a career.

Remember what I said about loyalty.

CBS doesn’t have to decide Simms’ fate today or even for next year. But a decision will have to made at some point.

Don’t look, Phil Simms; Hard to recall network analyst who got creamed worse after Super Bowl

Posted on February 4, 2013 by admin

Best advice to Phil Simms: Stay away from surfing the websites for a while. It’s not pretty.

I’ve been doing this longer than I care to admit, and I can’t remember a Super Bowl TV analyst getting obliterated worse than Simms did following his performance Sunday.

I’m not trying to pile on, but the volume and magnitude of the criticism is noteworthy if you follow this beat.

Richard Deitsch, SI.com:

The biggest problem on Sunday was Simms. He did not have a strong game, from his inability to let plays breathe (tweeted media critic and NBA All-Star Kevin Durant: “Feel like I’m playin madden, Phil Simms talkin to damn much.”) to too often not providing clarity to the questions posed at him by Nantz.

The Sherman Report

Ed Sherman on Sports Media

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