data-mm-id=”_a3ku9x8pa”>When it's all said and done Tony Romo is going to have put together a fascinating broadcast career. Hell, one could make the argument that he already has after three Super Bowls in seven years — the same as Patrick Mahomes over the same timeline. No color commentator has started as hot out of the gates. Romo was the definition of predictive analysis in human form and his clairvoyance was a neat parlor trick showcasing his connectivity to the league he'd just recently left. Then the honeymoon period, as it tends to do, wore off and the schtick got old, forcing the straw that stirs CBS' top booth to reinvent himself … back into himself. Super Bowl LVIII was a legacy games for both Mahomes and Romo. Each eventually delivered the goods, but it was not pretty and not without some self-inflicted errors. The 28-year-old quarterback who is still playing has learned — and perhaps leaned into — winning ugly. The 43-year-old announcer has learned to win weird. That is not meant as an insult. It means that Romo is just being himself out there. Having fun like Brett Favre, taking chances and throwing into coverage with some chance-y material. Singing and humming way more than anyone needs him to do. Not fully grasping the rules and reliably talking over some of the bigger moments. The only thing more tired than talking about the Tony Romo backlash is talking about the backlash to the backlash and we absolutely do not need more investigation into this issue. We live in a time where it's virtually impossible to be on top without taking slings and arrows and no one resting until they've knocked the shiny new thing off its pedestal a bit. The whole point of sitting Romo next to Jim Nantz in the first place is to provide the soundtrack of someone viewers would want to have a beer with during the game. If you do that, you run the risk of that person sounding like they're really into the beer and a little spotty on the football. So we get the drifting and the improv and the what-the-hell-was-that moments with Romo. And as the sample size grows, that appears to be a feature, not a bug.An overwhelming majority of analysts exist to not be noticed. Romo is different because you can't help but notice him. You can't help but feel like Woody Harrelson in True Detective asking Matthew McConaughey to stop saying odd shit. Strange noises come out with incredible regularity. The I Don't Know, Jim thing has already entrenched itself in the zeitgeist. If the intention is to sit down and write a serious term paper about the state of Romo, there's plenty for nits to pick and hands to wring. At the end of the day, though, it's football. It's supposed to be fun. Say what you want but Romo calling a game is fun. He's quirky and folksy and can become a caricature. You know who else was like that? Most of the all-time greats. Cris Collinsworth now. John Madden back then. Eccentricity can be positive or negative but no matter what it keeps viewers on their toes. Romo is a lot of things but boring and staid is not one of them. Only he could have turned in that body of work from last night. And perhaps only he is confident enough to do so. He trusts himself to be himself, which in a lot of ways is the simplest way to broadcast. And that's why the whole discourse surrounding him feels off by a few degrees. It's like everyone wants to say something important or insightful about what Romo means when the best thing to do might be to just chill out and enjoy the ride even with the knowledge that there might be some detours or missed exits or strange humming along to the radio as he either forgets there's 120 million people piled into the backseat or simply doesn't care.
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data-mm-id=”_wy16ozj78″>It will be all hands on deck when the NBA restart officially gets underway on July 30. One of the talking points around the bubble environment down in Orlando is that teams are having to make do with less personnel than they're accustomed to because they were only allowed to bring so many essential employees. This is also true for the media teams tasked with broadcasting the games. TNT announced their broadcast schedule for the NBA's "seeding games" set to take place between July 30 and August 15, when the playoffs begin. With Marv Albert choosing to sit out the restart because of safety concerns, Kevin Harlan and Ian Eagle will be the two main play-by-play callers for TNT, and they'll be pulling double-header duty, too. TNT has announce…
data-mm-id=”_ehyszrk1u”>Andrew Church, a former second round pick, was one of the 39 minor league players released by the New York Mets earlier this week. The 25-year-old pitcher had been a part of the organization since 2013. He briefly retired during the 2018 season and returned last year. At the time, he said that he was frustrated and wanted to spend more time with his wife and young son. After the Mets released him, he shared some more details about his retirement. He has choice words for the organization, especially their handling of Tim Tebow. View this post on Instagram Please read to understand my true feelings. Today I got released by the NY Mets organization. The people on the other end of the phone had nothing but good things to say and I appreciated that…
data-mm-id=”_oy53kf6fy”>The times have changed and continue to change. It took Colin Kaepernick several years to win, but he did in the end. For all his missteps and prolonged silence, he started a movement that opened the door to real change — and not just in the corners one would suspect. His story has evolved, and those who vilified him are finding him vindicated. As such, his corporate capital has more value. This is America after all, where the true measure of a man is often reflected in dollars, cents, and handshake deals. Of course, it's not all bad because to realize Kaepernick is now a net-positive for a brand and palpable to a widespread audience is to realize just how far public sentiment has shifted. This morning, the unemployed quarterback and Disney announced a cont…
data-mm-id=”_ujjrvrxyk”>It was, to state the obvious, an unusual baseball season. We were privy to a 60-game sprint after multiple bleak months in which it looked like it'd ultimately be a zero-game sprint. Major League Baseball's popularity remains fodder for actual concern and concern trolling. The 30,000-foot view would suggest we shouldn't be taking huge stock in this small sample size and Americans' desire to consume the product amid a pandemic and unprecedented sporting competition.We do have some hard data, though, on the most popular players in regards to jersey sales, which MLB released today.MLB announced the 20 most popular jerseys based on sales.11 teams represented. No Red Sox players. pic.twitter.com/A93bN0NqYs— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) September 25, …
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data-mm-id=”_swoqns18z”>The new era of Washington Commanders' football got off to a roaring start on Sunday with a thrilling 20-16 home victory over the tanking Arizona Cardinals. The Commanders outscored the Cardinals 10-0 in the fourth quarter to get the win with Sam Howell completing 19-of-31 passes for 202 yards, one touchdown and one interception. With a new owner and a 1-0 record, spirits were high in the stands despite the rain. But even that didn't keep everyone on their best behavior as the field wasn't the only location of a fight during the game.Here's video of a confrontation between a number of Washington fans. If you stick with the video a few seconds and the camera operator turns his phone sideways, you'll see a woman sucker punch another woman i…