March Media Madness 2014: The Broadcast Bracket
By Ty Duffy
Earlier this week we revealed the Sports Talk Bracket and the Television Bracket. Our third March Media Madness 2014 bracket is the Broadcast Bracket. All of these individuals are, you guessed it, involved in broadcasting. Voting ends Saturday. So, vote early, vote often and click on the ads.
Chemistry is the most important thing in TV. Brent has cultivated it with viewers for decades. Tara and Johnny were magnetic during their Olympic debut. Both would be welcome in your living room, but do you prefer gambling tips or sartorial advice?
One does it with spurts of bombast. The other does it with a cool confidence. Both, by law, will be handling an unnaturally entertaining college football game.
Erin Andrews left GameDay to handle every sport conceivable at Fox, as well as some non-sports programming. Samantha Ponder replaced her, has strong Halloween game and is already a national TV presence at 28.
Joe Buck had a busy year getting engaged, saying goodbye to one partner and hello to two more. Jenny Dell was reassigned as NESN’s Red Sox sideline reporter for dating Will Middlebrooks, because that’s somehow a conflict of interest on a TV network owned by the team.
Doris may be ESPN’s best NBA host/analyst/sideline reporter regardless of gender. Bill Walton has always defied description.
Minimalist charm and a characteristic cackle vs. lilting, erudite diction. ESPN’s World Cup coverage will be missed.
Having one gifted, consummate professional is great. Having two with expiring contracts and competing ambitions could get interesting.
NBC rolls with an aging but legendary play-by-play man and generally sound analysis. ESPN opts for “this guy” verbal tics and standing uncomfortably far apart to accommodate the flat screen.