Tag Archives: San Diego

Berman could go all the way…to becoming the most polarizing announcer in sports

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Go away for a couple of days, and what do they do? ESPN lets Chris Berman call an NFL game.

Reaction was intense yesterday with the news that Berman will do play-by-play for the San Diego-Oakland game on the Sept. 10, the second game of ESPN’s opening Monday night doubleheader.

Fortunately, ESPN didn’t name Skip Bayless as the analyst for that game. Twitter might have exploded. Instead, Trent Dilfer will be working with Boomer.

Coming off the heels of Berman’s agonizing presence at the U.S. Open, the idea that he actually will call an NFL game did not meet with universal approval to say the least.

Here’s a sample of the outrage.

awfulannouncing Reactions to the ChrisBerman MNF announcement range from “why why why” to “Dear God why?” to “GOD NOOOOO!!!”

BobVorwald Honey, you can have the TV all night on Sep 10 RT

richarddeitsch All we ask as viewers is not to be hoodwinked. So pls. don’t say ChrisBerman on SD-OAK is for fans. It’s a vanity play, pure & simple

Drew Magary of Deadspin did a post ripping apart Berman.

Berman is intolerable even as studio host, even when he’s on the mere fringes of a sporting event. Every time Tirico throws to Berman for a halftime preview during MNF, I tear both labrums reaching for the mute button. Now he’s gonna throw his gunt around and commandeer the booth for a whole game? Christ, that’s the worst.

SportsbyBrooks, which broke the story last week, almost pulled a Twitter groin with a series of angry tweets.

SPORTSbyBROOKS ESPN knows 1) it is indulging Berman 2) he campaigned for it 3) fans lose. Berman’s elaborate denial = PR ruse

The reaction clearly shows that plenty of people really don’t like the guy. The shelf life for his act probably was 20 years. It was fun for a while, but there’s a quota on cute name variations.

Listen, I’m not outraged that ESPN wanted to throw Berman a bone and let him call an NFL game. It’s the second game of a doubleheader, and most people in the East and Midwest time zones probably will be asleep for most of his call.

However, as a golf fan, I have this wish. I hope ESPN said to Berman, “We’ll give you an NFL game in exchange for taking you off the U.S. Open for the rest of time.”

ESPN’s Season-Opening MNF Doubleheader Commentator Teams (2006-present):

Year Game ESPN Commentators
2006 San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders Brad Nessler, Ron Jaworski and Dick Vermeil
2007 Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers Mike Greenberg, Mike Golic and Mike Ditka
2008 Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders Greenberg, Golic and Ditka
2009 San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders Greenberg, Golic and Steve Young
2010 San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs Nessler and Trent Dilfer
2011 Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos Nessler and Dilfer
2012 San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders Chris Berman and Dilfer

 

 

 

 

Go Chargers! San Diego U-T CEO wants sports section to ‘support’ local teams

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I would be fairly nervous if I worked at the San Diego Union-Tribune these days. What if I write something that runs counter to the sentiments of CEO John Lynch?

Will I find myself out on the street like Tim Sullivan?

It certainly appears as if Sullivan’s distinguished 10-year run as a columnist ended because he had serious questions about building a new stadium in San Diego. Lynch, the father of former Tampa Bay and Denver star safety John Lynch, wants that stadium to keep the Chargers in town.

In a telling interview with the Voice of San Diego shortly after taking over as CEO, there’s this passage:

He wants that sports page to be an advocate for a new football stadium “and call out those who don’t as obstructionists.”

“To my way of thinking,” Lynch said, “that’s a shovel-ready job for thousands.”

Later:

And the former sports radio executive said the paper should have “an incredibly strong sports page that supports the Chargers, the Padres, USD, SDSU.”

Wow, support a new stadium and go Bolts! Is that the U-T’s new mantra?

Sullivan certainly wasn’t up for playing that game. In yesterday’s post about his dismissal, he said:

Mr. Lynch appears to be of a mind to make the stadium happen and bulldoze the opposition or even those who raise questions.

Later, Sullivan said:

I told (editor Jeff Light) then that I was not in a position to quit on principle but that I was worried that Lynch’s interview had inflicted serious damage to the paper’s credibility and that his leadership would result in compromised standards. (It has, and on several fronts.)

Interestingly, Light didn’t dispute Sullivan’s account of the story. In an email to JimRomenensko.com, he said:

Tim has a fine record as journalist, and I think his account is pretty accurate as far as it goes. Without getting into the details, I would say that if he can find the right fit, I think he would make a good columnist for someone.

There are people in San Diego questioning why Light didn’t do more to protect Sullivan’s job. Perhaps he did, but in the end, Lynch ordered him gone.

From what I hear, the U-T staffers are very nervous in the wake of what happened to Sullivan. Who’s next?

And for those who stay, do you risk being branded as a cheerleader? After all, the CEO said he wants “an incredibly strong sports page that supports the Chargers, the Padres, USD, SDSU.”

Possible lede next season:

The Chargers are off to another 1-4 start, but we know good ol’ Norv Turner can turn it around.

Now Lynch ran a sports talk radio station, and I suspect the hosts weren’t genteel in their approach to Turner. Homers don’t make for good sports talk radio.

The same holds true for newspapers. Regarding the U-T, Lynch should have said he wants a section that “aggressively covers” the local teams.

Lynch, though, said what he said. Sullivan is right. Lynch’s comments have compromised the paper’s standards. And his decision to ax Sullivan lowered them even more.