Category Archives: Sherman Spotlight

Twitter fallout: Harsh reaction to La Canfora’s plan to tweet picks; others say not a big deal

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I have been doing this site for little over a year, and I never had more traffic and feedback for a subject than the Twitter issue and the NFL draft.

You’re really passionate about this.

Monday, I did a Q/A with ESPN’s Adam Schefter and how he has been told to cut back on tweeting out picks during the draft.

Wednesday, I did a post in which CBS’ Jason La Canfora said he doesn’t have any restrictions and will be tweeting everything during the draft, including picks if he gets them before they are announced on TV.

I asked readers to weigh with in their views. And brother, did they ever.

I would say it was 70-30 against reporters tweeting picks, and thus spoiling some of the suspense and anticipation from the draft.

The anti-tweeting folks were very vocal and had some not-so-nice things to say about Mr. La Canfora.

La Canfora also heard from them, prompting this tweet: “To all the Tweets about people unfollowing me, I have a job to do and if you don’t want the info, that’s cool. I get it. No one has to follow.”

Here’s a sample of reader reaction:

DON’T TWEET

Aaron: F-you Jason La Canfora.

Nick: I hope he has 7 followers by draft day.

Jon: Boooooo this man!!! Trying to do something different to add excitement to the draft and you are trying to mess that up. You are a CBS tool.

Tony: Because we want it to be a surprise you idiot!!!!!

Sonny: WHYYY???? I am a hardcore football fan! But still I like the excitement of the commissioner saying the names. Not some wanna be who thinks he has all the facts. Just leave it alone for three nights. OH MY GOSH SO ANNOYING.

Michael: I understand they have to do their job but it takes all the excitement out of the event.

Will: No reason people can’t wait 20-30 seconds. Adds more drama, better for production.

Disappointed NFL fan: This year I was excited because no one was going to tip the picks and it was going to keep the suspense. but this A hole puts his try hard pants on to find a loop hole and exploit it. come on man….. Really??? please don’t do this… let the draft go back to being exciting rather than lame. I hope he is the only guy going to tip the picks and everyone else respects the agreement making him look foolish and like a selfish A hole he is.

Taigdh: Total bs, for the sake of waiting a extra few minutes on draft day there might be some tension and atmosphere about the event..the above statement by La Canfora is stupid.

Dan: Not a fan. I turn to Twitter to debate picks. Turn to TV to watch picks be announced. Don’t like when writers ruin surprise.

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BY ALL MEANS, TWEET

Ken: Good. I think all of the networks signed away a bit of integrity with that agreement. La Canfora still has his.

Jeff: Is it a necessity to have Twitter open while you watch it on TV? What about people who aren’t able to watch it live. They aren’t allowed to receive the info ASAP? I say to ESPN, NFL Network, La Canfora, go ahead and Tweet away till your heart’s content. If I don’t want it I’ll take care of it on my end. Ridiculous.

Gail: I don’t mind at all. It’s the world we live in now.

AJ: I love Adam’s draft updates I can’t understand how someone can complain about getting an update or reading a tweet that ruined a surprise. If you want to be surprised turn off your phone. If you want to be really surprised turn off your TV and wait to read about it in the paper.

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Want to weigh in with your opinion? Drop me a line.

 

 

 

No restrictions: CBS’ La Canfora plans to tweet picks during NFL draft

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You know that “gentleman’s agreement” between ESPN and the NFL Network to have their reporters be selective about tweeting during NFL draft? Well, it doesn’t apply to Jason La Canfora.

After last year’s NFL draft, La Canfora left the NFL Network to become the NFL insider for CBS. As a result, any Twitter restrictions during the draft don’t apply to him; CBS isn’t providing live TV coverage of the draft.

So it’s open season for La Canfora. He intends to tweet as much as possible. Beware: that includes upcoming picks before they are revealed on TV (if he gets them) to his nearly 300,000 followers. He also will be contributing updates to CBSSports.com.

“We’re not a broadcast partner for the draft,” La Canfora said. “I will be trying to get the information out as quickly and accurately as possible. What event is made more for Twitter than the NFL draft? If the teams have the information; if the guys in the production truck have the information; if the commissioner has the information; why wouldn’t passionate football fans want it as well?”

Later, La Canfora added: “It’s very rare to have a job like this and you’re charged with stifling information. It goes against every instinct.”

However, after working at NFL Network, La Canfora understands why the networks want to set Twitter limitations. There are many viewers who don’t want to be tipped off about upcoming picks.

“We’d have these production meetings at NFL Network where after people complained,  one producer would say, ‘Don’t put the picks on Twitter,'” La Canfora said. “Then you’d have another producer say, ‘It OK. Go ahead and put them on Twitter.’

“I understood it. I didn’t fight my bosses on it. I knew what the rules were. But if the rules don’t apply to you, I think you have to get the story.”

What about the followers who don’t want the story? Or at least those who don’t want to know until the picks are officially announced on the telecasts?

La Canfora says the solution is simple: Unfollow him during the draft or stay away from Twitter. You can’t have it both ways, he says.

“I’m going to do what I think best serves the people who follow me,” La Canfora said. “I don’t want to hurt anyone’s draft experience, but I also have a job to do.”

 

 

 

 

 

Adam Schefter Q/A: Frank comments about Twitter; staunch defense of ESPN on credit issues; setting record straight on not taking vacations

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Part 2 of 2

So you want to be Adam Schefter?

ESPN’s NFL reporter is on 24-hour call. He carries a Blackberry and iPhone, both of which are in constant overdrive.

Just from spending a few hours with him during Schefter’s recent visit to Northwestern, you can see it appears to be a manic existence.

“It’s constant,” Schefter said. “It never stops.”

In part 1, I talked to Schefter about his Twitter plans for the NFL draft. In today’s Q/A, he addresses Twitter; ESPN’s credit issues; the pressure to be No. 1; and the real reasons why he doesn’t take a vacation.

You have more than 2.2 million followers on Twitter. Is that amazing to you?

I like to say I paid off a bunch of people to follow me. I honestly can say I don’t even think about it. At some point, you get numb to it. It becomes just a number.

When I first started in 2009, you’d see these numbers: 50,000 followers, then 80,000. It used to blow me away. That doesn’t happen anymore.

I’m flattered that people take an interest in me. I’m not stupid enough to realize that people are there for football information. They are there for their fantasy football updates, injury updates. People thank me for helping them win their leagues. I didn’t even make the playoffs in one of my leagues.

It’s not me; it’s what I do.

How much is Twitter a part of what you do?

100 percent of my job is to report information for ESPN. Ninety-five percent of that gets posted on Twitter. Fortunately or unfortunately, Twitter has become a journalistic scorecard. Who has the story first? It’s absurd. It’s ridiculous.

Stories like the Mike Rice story are unique enough to where the credits last. But there also are so many trades, signings that are of the garden mill variety.

Does it matter if somebody reported something two minutes before someone else? Please, it’s so insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

But isn’t there pressure to be first with the story?

Nobody says, ‘You must get this.’ Yet having said that, nobody puts more pressure on myself than me. We’re all self-driven. If I miss a story, I don’t like it. I can’t stand the feeling. That’s what drives you to make that extra call, to send that extra text.

What about the criticism that ESPN doesn’t give enough credits to outside outlets who break news?

You don’t hear me asking for credit.

I will say this, and I want it stated clearly: ESPN does a great job of giving other people credit. ESPN gives more credit to other (outlets) than any other newspaper, network, blog site. By far. It really irks me when people accuse ESPN of not giving credit. I will defend my network to the hilt here.

We’re a big target. We’re under constant scrutiny. I had people tell me when I got there, it’s like playing for the Yankees. If anything goes slightly wrong, it draws more criticism than anything else. They were right.

Today, I did a podcast (at Northwestern). After I’m done, I look on my Blackberry and see Julian Edelman re-signed with the Patriots. So I put it on Twitter.  I then found out USA Today reported it eight minutes ago. Damn.

So I erased the tweet and put up a new tweet that said the Patriots had signed Edelman as reported by Mike Garafolo of USA Today.

Why did you do that?

Mike has been very gracious to me. I wanted to reciprocate.

I don’t want to insult anybody. I don’t anyone to say, ‘ESPN is not giving someone proper credit.’

It’s the world we live in.

What is your world like? Even during this interview, you’re constantly checking your Blackberry and iPhone.

It’s constant. More people are vying for more information than ever before. There’s the need for speed. I’m so thankful I spent 16 years covering a newspaper beat (the Denver Broncos). Your story would appear on the doorstep at 6 a.m. and it would live for 24 hours. Now you get 24 seconds to rest up and we’re on to something else. It never stops. The news cycle is on steroids.

It’s not that Twitter overtakes your life. It’s the job that overtakes your life. It’s a challenge. I try to do my best when we’re out to dinner at a restaurant not to leave my phone on. But then if you’re 2-3 minutes late with a story, you’re late. People say, ‘Where were you?’

‘Well, I was eating a hamburger. Can I do that?’

It’s crazy.

You received some attention because you said you never take a vacation in a recent interview. Apparently, there is more to it. Can you elaborate?

We have two kids and five dogs. I wanted to stop at three dogs. My wife (Sharri) wanted four and five. So we compromised and got four and five.

My wife is uncomfortable leaving the kids and the dogs. She won’t put the dogs in a kennel. They are like our children.

Second, and most important, my wife is a 9/11 widow. She doesn’t like to fly. It’s not something she chooses to do.

Not taking a vacation is something I don’t choose to do. I wish we could take a vacation. I wish my wife wanted to fly more. It just happens that there are some extenuating circumstances involved here.

My boss, Seth Markman, has a mandate for me. He says I must take a one-week vacation during the off-season where I don’t bring the Blackberry and iPhone and cut myself off from civilization. As much as I would love to take him up on that, it’s just not going to happen.

Steve Carell recently visited Bristol and you did a bit with him. What was that like?

It was the coolest thing ever. We were in make-up, and he’s a big Patriots fan. I told him Wes Welker just signed with the Broncos. He had no idea.

We did the scene during commercials (of SportsCenter). You know what was amazing about it? He does the first take. He says, ‘Can we do it again?’ I thought it was very good, but it wasn’t good enough for him. So we did it again, and that’s the one we used.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Q/A with Adam Schefter: What he will and won’t tweet during NFL draft; ‘Do you want information?’

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Part 1 of 2

The NFL draft begins Thursday, which means Adam Schefter will engage in the Twitter tap dance again.

To tweet or not to tweet, that is the question.

Last year, Schefter and other NFL reporters came under fire for tweeting out picks and draft news during the first night. They were the spoilers, much like telling people in a movie theater how the film is going to end as they walked in.

Schefter was in essence scooping his network. While Chris Berman & Co. speculated on air about whom the Bears, or any other team, will select, Schefter’s followers already know the answer. There goes the suspense.

Wrote John Mitchell of Breakingtackles.com:

What is the cost of being the first to report the draft picks? 1.5 million followers being robbed of the draft experience. You want Roger Goodell to be the first to announce the draft pick. Not an ESPN reporter who happens to find out the information before anyone else.

In a post at ShermanReport after Round 1, Schefter defended his tweets. “When I learn information, it’s my job to report it,” he said.

However, it was interesting that Schefter seemed to dial down his tweeting the following night for the second round.

Schefter now has 2.3 million followers, and many of them will be hanging on his every tweet during the first round Thursday night. During a recent visit to Northwestern, where he received a graduate degree in journalism, I asked Schefter about his Twitter plans for this year’s draft.

Schefter took a breath. “There becomes the big story, the elephant in the room.”

Here’s my Q/A:

What is the plan?

Last year, we revised our policy to a certain extent (between Round 1 and 2). Even in some in round 1, we did it. Basically, what my boss (Seth Markman) said going into round 1: “I don’t want you tweeting every first round pick.”

I’m not going to report standard picks. If a team is sitting still at 15, I’m not going to tweet (that pick). In other words, mundane, Run-of-the mill picks, leave alone. But if it’s a quarterback or a bold move, have at it. ESPN places no restrictions on me (in that regard).

So why was there so much uproar last year?

I don’t know. I still don’t know.

There were big trades going involving picks. Eight of the top 10. Am I supposed to ignore that. Not say anything? This the world we live in. To a lot of people, it’s a Twitter world. I’m sorry about that, but I’m reporting what I’m getting. These are big trades to me. Am I wrong or right?

Last year, I found out about the Patriots trade to move up to take Chandler Jones. (The Jones tweet) was the one that offended a lot of people. And Chandler Jones was not necessarily a name you were hearing in the first round. He made a late charge to become the top defensive end in the draft. The Patriots trade up to take the best defensive end in the draft. I got the story. So now I’m not supposed to report that?

Do you understand why people were frustrated?

I understand people’s frustrations. I am not trying to report picks before (they are revealed on the telecast) and take away from the drama.

There’s a simple solution. Don’t follow me during the draft.

Fans, though, follow you and others because they want information during the draft above and beyond what they get from the telecasts.

What do you want? Do you want information or do you not want information? It’s a difficult process.

What was said to you between the first and second round last year?

We don’t want you reporting on any picks.

They said that to you?

Basically. During the second round, only one or two picks are headline worthy. If it is the headline of that day, and I’m fortunate enough to get that pick, I’m going to report it.

I am almost certain–not to put words in someone’s mouth–that the NFL has to spoken to ESPN and ESPN has told me to be more selective about what I’m tweeting in advance. I am trying to be as considerate as possible and tweet everything we’re getting, but I am going to tweet the headline-making items.

The Tim Tebow thing (in 2011). We had that pick (the Broncos drafting him). I’m telling the producers, ‘Send it over to me.’ They never got to me. I tweeted it after they didn’t get to me. It’s crazy.

How do you think it will go this year?

For ESPN, the NFL, the fan, it’s a whole new Wild West world we live in. How do we watch this? How do we report this? There are no traditions. There are no formulas.

I’m a draftnik. I used to stay at home from school to watch the draft. But I also have a job to do. It’s a judgment call. I’m trying to report the headlines that are making news if I am lucky enough to get them. You don’t always get this stuff. I don’t want it to sound like this stuff just pops up for us. It’s hard to work to get those stories. If I’m fortunate enough to get a headline-making item, I’m going to report it.

Tomorrow: Schefter on his love-hate relationship with Twitter and the pressure to be first.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can’t name another sportswriter who had greater impact than Wendell Smith; 42 movie didn’t tell his complete story

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One of the best things about the new movie, 42, is that it has exposed a new generation to Wendell Smith.

The movie actually understated Smith’s role in bringing Jackie Robinson to the big leagues. In fact, without Smith, it is possible the world never hears about Robinson, or at least in the context we know of him today.

It was Smith, an African-American sportswriter, who pushed for the integration of baseball in the late 30s and 40s. It was Smith who recommended Robinson ahead of other Negro League stars to Branch Rickey.

Go ahead and name another sportswriter who had a greater impact on sports and society than Wendell Smith. You can’t.

I wrote a column about Smith’s legacy for Indiana University’s National Sports Journalism Center site. It contains Smith’s own words from a first-person chapter in Jerome Holtzman’s classic book, No Cheering in the Press Box. He said:

“When I think back, it was absolutely fantastic; all the things we went through,” he said in Holtzman’s book. “I still think about it; it’s hard to conceive. Going into a town and finding a decent place to stay was not easy in those days. Eating in the places we ate, second and third rate. Always having this stigma hanging over your head.

“But I knew Jackie would make it. And I knew if he made it, things had to open up.”

The movie also prompted others to write about Smith this week. Bill Plaschke in the Los Angeles Times talked to Don Newcombe:

Smith would become angry only when Robinson refused his help, at which point Smith would remind the star that he was enduring the same racial slights, only without the stardom.

“We would see Wendell sitting up there in the black bleachers typing his story. They wouldn’t even let him in the press box, it was worse than you could ever imagine,” Newcombe said. “Everything we went through, Wendell went through the same thing.”

Eric Deegans, also writing in the National Sports Journalism Center site, had this passage:

But activists like Smith knew the best strategy for winning over white people involved presenting seminal figures like Robinson as average, middle class guys just trying to earn an honest living. So coverage in the Courier encouraged black fans to conduct themselves well at games and Smith’s work downplayed the ugly impact of incidents such as Chapman’s taunts.

“It was Smith more than anyone who created the impression that Robinson was untroubled by the victimization, that he was letting the insults roll off his back when, in fact, he was absorbing them like blows to the gut,” wrote (Jonathan Eig in his book, Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson’s First Season). “Robinson was never going to be baseball’s Ghandi, but Smith helped create the illusion of serenity, at least for one season.”

“I always tried to keep it from becoming a flamboyant, highly militant thing,” said Smith in quotes published in Eig’s book (the sportswriter, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of fame in 1994, died in 1972). “And I think that’s why it succeeded.”

Dave Hoekstra of the Chicago Sun-Times had recollections from Smith’s wife:

“What Jackie Robinson did was for all of us,” she said. ‘We were concerned about segregation because we all suffered it. It was terrible. White people said ‘git’ and Wendell left. What else could they do?”

Wyonella’s voice trailed off through the fog across the lake and she whispered again, “What else could they do?”

Bryant Gumbel recalled Smith’s impact on him in his closing commentary for HBO’s Real Sports. Smith eventually became a broadcaster for WGN in Chicago.

More importantly to me, it was Smith, who in 1964 became a local sports anchor with WGN-TV in Chicago – the first person of color in a position of authority ever seen on television by yours truly, who at the time was an impressionable sports-minded teenager on the south side of the city. Given my limited skill set, I knew back then that while I couldn’t be a Jackie Robinson, I could become a Wendell Smith. Of such small occasions are big dream born, and memories made, some of which still linger.

And one more. Last year, Ben Strauss in the New York Times wrote a terrific piece about the friendship between the widows of Smith and Bill Veeck.

Both men are honored in the Hall of Fame. Both are long dead. But the bond between the two women is still strong, and as they proceed together in the 10th decade of their lives, they remain a charming and enduring symbol of their husbands’ efforts to push the sport forward.

They can, it should be noted, also banter like ballplayers.

“That is just lovely,” Mrs. Veeck said to Mrs. Smith as she pointed to a dress that a young woman nearby was wearing. “I think that’s something I’d like to do — work in a ladies’ department store and help dress the girls of today.”

Mrs. Smith said, “I think you’d be good at it.”

 

 

 

A tribute to Pat Summerall: His few words said it all

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Could Pat Summerall have been given the assignment to call 16 Super Bowls, all those Masters and U.S. Opens in tennis in today’s landscape?

It is an interesting question. The networks likely wouldn’t have been jumping all over each other to sign a former kicker who really didn’t say much on the telecasts. It’s more about color and flash, and unfortunately, sometimes screaming and yelling in today’s game. Summerall hardly was a flamboyant personality.

Yet Summerall, who died yesterday at the age of 82, leaves behind one of the greatest legacies in TV sports history. All those Super Bowls; all those big NFL games; all those golf tournaments when Jack Nicklaus was in his prime; all those big U.S. Opens when John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, and Jimmy Connors made that event appointment TV.

Summerall did it because of two main assets: A wonderful deep voice that punctuated his wonderful sense of brevity. He didn’t overwhelm a telecast. Rather, he melted into it, providing the ideal sound track to accompany the hum of the venue and the pulse of the action taking place down below.

There was this quote from Summerall in the New York Times obit:

“I always remember a bit of great advice from a producer doing golf for CBS. He told me that TV is a visual medium, and you don’t have to tell people what they already can see. His last words were, ‘If I ever hear you say that he made the putt, you’re fired.’ ”

Summerall let the pictures tell the story, adding just the right words to bring those pictures to life.

If you have a minute, take a listen to the clip above. It is the final minutes of the Green Bay-49ers playoff game that culminated in the famous Terrell Owens catch for the winning touchdown.

“Three-man rush…Young stumbles…Pass over the middle…Pass is caught by Owens…Owens made the catch!”

And then Summerall fades, first letting the crowd and then John Madden add the accent points to the memorable play. Perfect.

In a fine piece at Sports on Earth, Chuck Culpepper wrote how all Summerall had to say was “Third and 10” to set up a big play.

I still hear Pat Summerall saying something spare — “Third and ten . . .” — and I know the light has been fading outdoors. I know just as sure as any clockwork that Daylight Saving Time might be on its way, or that Daylight Saving Time has crashed in and blackened 5:30 already. I do not need to move from this seat. I do not need to look through a window. I know.

Indeed, Summerall was the voice of several generations. He always was there, first with “Brookie” and then the whacky coach from the Raiders. He played the straight man, always bringing out the best in his partners.

What Summerall did really was an art. Would it work today with the volume turned up several levels in 2013? Who knows?

All we need to know is that it worked wonderfully back then. All those Sundays in our minds contain the voice of Summerall, perfect, clear and succinct.

“Montana….Rice….Touchdown!”

Really, was there a better call than that?

 

 

 

 

ESPN’s Greenberg opts to focus show on tragedy: Did not feel like we could talk about sports

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On days like today, people turn to sports as a way to escape the harsh realities of life. Even if it only is a few brief moments, they want to hear about the Yankees, Kobe, Tiger…

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Mike Greenberg said some listeners were upset with him and co-host Ryen Russillo (filling in for Mike Golic) for focusing much of the Mike & Mike Show on the Boston Marathon tragedy this morning.

After the sports update at 9 a.m. ET, Greenberg and Russillo explain why they went in that direction. Transcript courtesy of ESPN PR.

Mike Greenberg: I would say the reaction I’m getting is something in vicinity of 50/50 on Twitter and in our mailbox of people saying they appreciate the coverage we are doing versus others saying they wish we had spent this morning talking about sports. And I understand that, I fully do.

We spent probably an hour, an hour and a half on the phone last night – all of us on show staff and members of our management – trying to make up our mind on what the right thing to do is. Nine out of ten times when there have been significant news events in our country – including the day after a presidential election – Mike and I talk about sports because we just feel like if you’re coming to us, you’re going to be looking for that.

On a day like this, I’ll tell you the honest reason that we didn’t do it – I did not feel like we could. My heart would not have been into anything we would have been talking about this morning if it wasn’t this – this is all that’s on my mind. I feel like it’s all that’s on many people’s minds, and if you didn’t appreciate what we did today, I understand, we’ll be back, probably, to our normal stuff tomorrow and I look forward to that and I appreciate everybody’s feedback one way or the other

Ryen Russillo: I just hope people realize how much we struggled with the decision.

We sit here and say, are we doing the right thing? I know that in times past, I’ll look to sports, sports radio as an escape. But sometimes it just doesn’t feel right.

And by the way, if you were going to compare it to what other topics are out there right now, it doesn’t make any sense. And trust me, no one goes, Hey I want to go do this for four hours. I can’t wait to talk about this.

. . . It felt like the right thing to do and I heard other stations yesterday afternoon doing things not related to Boston and it just didn’t feel right to me.

This isn’t fun today.

 

Switch: Dan Hicks to handle play-by-play duties for Notre Dame games on NBC

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Notre Dame fans, prepare to get acquainted with Dan Hicks.

Hicks will replace Tom Hammond as the play-by-play voice for NBC’s coverage of Notre Dame home games. Hicks will team with Mike Mayock and Alex Flanagan on the telecasts.

NBC definitely wants to raise Hicks’ profile beyond his main duties as anchor of the network’s golf coverage. Hicks had filled in for Hammond on Notre Dame games, and did the NFL wildcard game for NBC in January.

The move is an opportunity for Hicks, 50, to become more of a signature voice for NBC Sports. He will get plenty of exposure on the Irish games.

Hammond, who turns 69 next month, will remain with the network, covering horse racing events (including the Triple Crown races) and the Olympics.

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Here’s the official release from NBC:

NEW YORK — April 15, 2013 – Dan Hicks, NBC Sports Group’s longtime and critically-acclaimed golf and Olympic commentator, will join NBC Sports’ Notre Dame Football coverage this season as its lead play-by-play voice. His first assignment comes this Saturday, when NBC Sports Network presents Notre Dame Football’s 84th Annual Blue-Gold Game at 1 p.m. ET.

A versatile voice, Hicks is well-known for his coverage of high-profile events, such as the PGA TOUR, the U.S. Open, the Ryder Cup, Olympic speed skating and Olympic swimming, which includes all of Michael Phelps’ 18 gold medal victories. Hicks also has significant football experience, having called NFL games in the 1990s for NBC’s AFC package. Earlier this year, he teamed with Mike Mayock and Alex Flanagan for the AFC Wild Card game on NBC between the Houston Texans and Cincinnati Bengals. Hicks has Fighting Irish broadcasting experience as well, including filling in for Tom Hammond for one game in each of the last two seasons.

“Dan is a gifted commentator, and we wanted to find more high-profile opportunities to showcase his talents,” said Sam Flood, Executive Producer, NBC Sports & NBC Sports Network. “Coming off an undefeated regular season and a berth in the BCS Championship Game, Notre Dame Football provides a perfect platform.”

Hicks will continue to work as the lead commentator for NBC Sports Group’s live-event golf coverage, and will return for NBC’s Olympic coverage, including the 2014 Sochi Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Hicks succeeds Hammond, who has been the play-by-play voice for Notre Dame Football on NBC for most games dating back to 1992. Renowned for his work on the Olympics and horse racing, Hammond recently agreed to a new multi-year deal. He will continue to be the lead voice for three of NBC Sports Group’s most prestigious properties: Triple Crown horse racing; figure skating, including at the 2014 Sochi Olympics; and track & field, including at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

84TH ANNUAL BLUE GOLD GAME

The 84th annual Notre Dame Blue-Gold spring football game will air on NBC Sports Network, Saturday, April 20 at 1 p.m. ET, marking just the third time that the Fighting Irish’s traditional spring scrimmage game will be televised nationally.

In his first official assignment as the newest member of NBC Sports’ Notre Dame Football on-air team, Dan Hicks will call play-by-play, and be joined by analyst and 2013 Sports Emmy Award nominee Mike Mayock, and sideline reporter Alex Flanagan.

NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL ON NBC

Notre Dame Football on NBC begins Saturday, August 31, at 3:30 p.m. ET, when the Fighting Irish host Temple. The 2013 schedule also includes games against Michigan State on Saturday, September, 21; Oklahoma on Saturday, September, 28; Arizona State from Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Tex., on Saturday, October 5; USC on Saturday, October, 19; Navy on Saturday, November 2; and BYU on Saturday, November, 23.

The following is the NBC Sports Group 2013 Notre Dame Football schedule (all times ET)

 

Date Opponent Network
Saturday, April 20 Blue-Gold Game NBC Sports Network
Saturday, Aug. 31 Temple NBC
Saturday, Sept. 21 Michigan State NBC
Saturday, Sept. 28 Oklahoma NBC
Saturday, Oct. 5 Arizona State* NBC
Saturday, Oct. 19 USC NBC
Saturday, Nov 2 Navy NBC
Saturday, Nov 23 BYU NBC

*Off-site home game from Dallas, Texas.

Master tweeter: Dan Jenkins excels in 140 characters; Golf Digest editor talks about working with him

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Quite simply, the best thing going on Twitter is an 83-year-old man who struggles to operate a computer.

Dan Jenkins is back tweeting at the Masters this week. He is a must follow. You’ll never read a better use of 140 characters in social media.

It’s all about witty insights, biting sarcasm, and laugh-out-loud punchlines for Jenkins. Basically, Twitter is an extension of what he’s done for his entire career.

The week is young, but Jenkins already has zinged poor Colin Montgomerie:

Saw Colin Montgomerie looking for gifts in the golf shop, but they’re already out of majors for guys who have never won one.

Michael O’Malley, executive editor for Golf Digest, assists Jenkins with his tweets at golf’s four majors and the Ryder Cup. He definitely has the best seat in the house.

I asked O’Malley for his observations about working with the great one.

When did you start the tweets with Dan? What was his reaction when you first broached the subject? Was he aware of Twitter?

He made his debut at the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage, his 200th major, and was an immediate hit. He wasn’t familiar with the format but instantly recognized that it was made for him and allowed him to make quick observations on things that might not make it into a story. When a writer dropped by and said, “I never thought I’d see the day: Dan Jenkins on Twitter,” Dan replied, “It’s a new world.” Dave Kindred, who was there at Bethpage, said it best: “Now everyone is going to be able to hear all the funny lines that people in press rooms have been listening to for decades.”

How does the process work between you and him? Do you have to serve as a filter?

Dan likes to say, “Electricity hates me,” so he throws out a line and I’ll plug it in, and if he’s exceeding the 140-character capacity, we’ll talk it out. The first story of his I ever edited was from 1996, my first year at Golf Digest. When I hemmed and hawed about a suggestion, he put me at ease by saying, “Hell, Mike, everyone needs an editor.” He’s been great to work with.

What subjects/players intrigue him? For instance, he seems to enjoy sticking the needle in Sergio Garcia.

As Dan likes to say, “I root for my story,” meaning the bigger the drama, the better. High-profile players are part of that. I think Sergio’s body language is such that sometimes it looks like he’s wearing a “kick me” sign, and Dan obliges. But it’s just for fun, and Dan can take it as well as receive it. He loved it when David Ogrin called him “a hostile voice from a previous generation.”

Easy question, but why is he so good at it?

He’s the wittiest, funniest, most knowledgeable golf writer of this or any other generation. Pretty good combination. Most people can’t remember what they ate for lunch, but when something happens in a tournament he can instantly come up with the historical perspective and deliver it in a way that makes you laugh out loud.

Can you recall a couple of your favorite Dan tweets?

My favorite is from the 2009 British Open, when Ross Fisher said he would withdraw if his wife went into labor with their first child. Fisher then took the lead in the final round before making a quadruple bogey. Dan’s tweet: “Women say men don’t know what labor is like. Ross Fisher, whose wife is due any moment, just gave birth to an 8. They’ll call the child Quad.”

Some others:

–On Tiger Woods, after he kicked his 9-iron at the Masters: “Best contact he’s made all day.”

–At the British Open: “Miguel Angel Jimenez’s warm-up routine remains so suggestive that spectators are trying to stick dollar bills in his belt.”

–On Keegan Bradley’s pre-shot routine: “He kind of looks like the kid at the pool who’s not quite ready to go off the high board the first time.”

–After the 2012 British Open: “Lee Westwood finishes 13 strokes out of the lead and remains the Best Pretty Good Player Never to Have Won a Major.”

–Assessing John Daly’s fashion sense: “John Daly, the trailer park called after seeing your pants. They want their shower curtains back.”

–After Louis Oosthuizen’s double eagle on the second hole at last year’s Masters: “Requirements before they build a monument to Louis after his double eagle: 1. He wins. 2. They know how to spell Oosthuizen.”

 

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

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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.