TAPE OP'S TAPES TELL TALENT'S TALES

Ampex 2000: 1300 lbs. worth of shit stirring!

It looks like Chris Berman sure pissed someone off!

Using the name Ampex2000, a colleague of ours has posted three more clips on You Tube that shows a side of ESPN's Chris Berman that the public rarely sees.

The first Berman video to hit the net, "Chris Berman Goes Crazy", was posted on January 30 by new You Tube member winnarwinnar. Self described as a 23 year-old from Denmark, winnarwinnar has not posted anything since, but is no doubt proud to know that in only ten days on the web, his effort has been viewed more than 1.3 million times.

Whether winnarwinnar and Ampex2000 are one in the same isn't known (yet?), but they most definitely share the same negative opinion about Boomer.

We are wondering about the name. Could Ampex2000 be a reference to the industry's first color-capable VTR model (shown above), which debuted in 1967? If so, it could mean that this person is either quite the TV veteran or at least knows something about TV history.

However, these clips (and "Chris Berman Goes Crazy") were recorded during the 2000 NFL season, so perhaps the name was simply derived from the year combined with this person's craft.

Anyway, we'll see Chris Berman from the ESPNZONE restaurant in New York, where he hosted ABC's Monday Night Football.

"Chris Berman the WINE maven makes a pass" is the title of this first clip. Ampex2000's description:

"Chris Berman again shows why he is so obnoxious and is disliked by so many."

There is a well-known co-star in this piece that should not go uncredited. The object of Boomer's flirtation is none other than Philadelphia's own Becky Solomon. This highly regarded stage manager has spent much of her career shuttling between gigs in NYC and Philly. Becky no doubt has been the intended receiver of many passes over the years from numerous announcers covering every local and network-televised sport.



Ampex2000's description of clip #2, "Chris Berman the Linguist......nice mouth!" (sic), is clear and concise:

"Chris Berman again showing why he is the master."

The third entry from Ampex2000 is "Chris Berman Complains Again... about the prompter" in which,

"Chris Berman shows again how spoiled and rude he is".

Will there be more entries to follow?

Will any other notable announcers feel the wrath of Ampex2000?

The answer is on tape.

Carolina 'Caines All Locked Up By FSN South, Sonics' Escape From Seattle Takes Shape

Good news for Ya-Man & friends: Carolina Hurricanes games will be seen on FSN South for at least the next five years. The new contract calls for an increase from 55 telecasts to a minimum of 65 per season. A minimum of 35 road games will be televised each season, as well as all playoff games exclusively available to local rightsholders.

The contract includes multiple options that could extend the agreement beyond five years.

Time Warner Cable and Baltimore-based MASN were said to be interested in acquiring the TV package as well, but couldn't even make a proposal to the NHL team because FSN's exclusive negotiating window hadn't expired.

Meanwhile the news isn't as good for Seattle's freelancers. Far from it in fact. Supersonics Chairman Clay Bennett gave a ringing endorsement to Oklahoma City's $120 million Ford Center improvement plan yesterday, another big step towards moving the NBA franchise.

On March 4, Oklahoma City residents will vote on a one-cent sales tax to pay for the improvements. A trial will begin on June 16 to decide whether the Sonics can buy out the remainder of their contract with the city of Seattle or if they have to play there until the deal expires prior to the 2009 - 2010 season.

The NBA would also have to approve of the relocation, which Bennett applied for last November after no new arena plan was offered in Seattle. "The goal is to come to Oklahoma", Bennett said yesterday according to the Daily Oklahoman.

For those keeping score, Seattle is the 15th largest market in the US while Oklahoma City ranks 45th.

That says plenty about Seattle's desire to keep the team and/or Bennett's judgment on where he can make more money.

Spell Czech Would Be A Good Idea

Call it what you want. Chyron, Dubner, Infinit, Duet, whatever.

The operators of these graphics machines don't set.

They (usually) don't strike.

And now some of them can't spell.

Here's evidence from last Saturday's Duke - Miami game on ABC:

(Thanks to Ballsiest.com)

Who knows, maybe "Gerg" will be the next "Jacob".

This was a potentially dangerous mistake from Tuesday's PTI on ESPN:

(Thanks to With Leather via SbB)

Talk about pressure! Hit one wrong key and Al Sharpton may try to get you fired.

Let's be careful out there.

BEST. CLIP. EVER.

Coming February 14.

Exclusively at Sports TV Inside Out.

(until other bloggers grab it & post it too, but that's okay)

Mark your calendar now!

CUT TO BLACK: "INSIDE THE NFL" WHACKED BY HBO BOSSES

Last Supper: Now Tony, Carmella and Cris all eat with the fishes.

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"Inside The NFL", the weekly highlight and analysis show that has been an HBO staple for 31 years, was canceled today. The Super Bowl wrap-up airing this week will be the season and series finale on the pay-cable network.

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Despite the myriad football highlight shows currently on TV, "Inside" stood apart by resisting today's catch phrase mentality and concentrating on the sport. Len Dawson and Nick Buoniconti hosted the series for two decades until 2002. Current Host Bob Costas was joined by former NFL players Dan Marino, Cris Collinsworth, Cris Carter, and football writer Peter King.

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Since the show's inception, Harry Kalas provided voice over narration of highlights shot by NFL Films. The steady and reassuring sound of his voice reinforced "Inside The NFL's" reputation as a high end, high class production.

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The biggest concern at the moment is what will become of Collinsworth, who has appeared on "Inside" since 1990. A studio analyst on NBC's Sunday night package and a game analyst on NFL Network's games, HBO's decision leaves Cris only two vehicles with which to opine.

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There was no word regarding Collinsworth's future possibilities in the official HBO release announcing the show's cancellation. However the "Ask A Host" feature on the "Inside The NFL" web site gave us a chance to inquire on our own.
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If we get a response, we will post an update immediately.

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An AP story raised the possibility that "Inside The NFL" could resurface elsewhere next season. NFL Films, which owns the series, may search for another outlet or perhaps air the show on the league owned NFL Network.

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After 31 years at HBO, we hope "Inside The NFL" finds another good home for years to come.

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If just for Collinsworth's sake.

Golf Channel Announcer Takes Mulligan

Did we miss the firestorm over this one or did it just not happen... yet?


(thanks to FAN IQ)

Golf Channel execs must be hiding under their desks wondering what's going to happen next.

Marshall Plan Creates Chaos At Key Arena

We've seen this clip posted elsewhere recently, but didn't watch it until a few minutes ago.

It seems Cleveland's Donyell Marshall didn't have his jersey on when he was sent into a game against Seattle.

"Coverage" and we say that loosely, is from FSN Northwest.

Yeah, it's funny on it's own, but there's a serious whip that's also pretty funny too.

Redefining Lights Out Coverage

UPDATE FROM PREVIOUS POST

Under a glare of skepticism regarding arena lighting, ESPN2's coverage of Monday night's St. Mary's - Gonzaga game began as scheduled at 11:00 PM EST.

Play By Play announcer Terry Gannon immediately called McKeon Pavilion dark, resulting in a "really unique setting."

The tip was delayed because of lights, but not the arena's. One of the shot clocks was so dark, it looked like it wasn't working at all.

But that made sense because it wasn't.

The delay wouldn't have been very lengthy, but arena personnel aren't very well versed in over and under. Uncoiling an AC cable took longer than it should have.

Now back to those arena lights.

It was obvious earlier in the day that the sheets of opal gel didn't quite do the job on their own. So when ESPN met with campus officials to discuss the problem, the only solution available to reduce the intensity and glare was to physically remove some bulbs from fixtures.

In order for a cherry picker to reach all the lights that needed removal, the wooden stands had to be pushed back and folded against each wall. That meant that the cameras had to be taken apart and brought down. And if that wasn't enough, the announce table had to go too.

We don't know where the blame lies, but forget about the glare on the court for a minute. This place had no chance from the start.

Removing the same number of bulbs from each side of the court decreased the light level, but didn't improve how players looked. Why? The near side of the arena didn't have the same number of fixtures as the far side. Something like a 25% difference.

You go figure that out. We've given up.

The net result was that the court was hit with much more light from the near side than the far.

The ESPN2 production team felt compelled to at least mention the unusual conditions. With this view shooting back toward the near side, Gannon all but said, "Don't adjust your sets at home."

But the pictures spoke in terms far stronger than what Gannon chose.

We were actually rather taken with the images of shooters from the line, and felt we had somehow seen this look before.

It took a while, but it finally came to us:

So the lighting wasn't unacceptably awful then. It was an homage to a classic work of photography.

Pity anyone who saw it differently.

Monday's final tally:

- St. Mary's officials and Musco probably have some things to work out.

- McKeon Pavilion did not burn to the ground. Campus personnel were assigned to look at the lights all night just in case.

- The St. Mary's theater department did not get the assist. But at least they now have to beg for funds to replenish their stock of opal gel.

- And Keith Buttelman, the V-1, left Moraga, CA no more insane than when he arrived.

BLINDED BY THE LIGHTS

Those of you who hadn't planned on checking out tonight's Gonzaga - St. Mary's hoops game on ESPN2 (11:00 PM EST / 8:00 PST) may want to reconsider.

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At least for a minute.

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St. Mary's College has recently installed new lights inside McKeon Pavilion, home of the WCC's Gaels. None other than industry leader Musco Lighting did the job, per St. Mary's College's specifications.

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Here's the result:

Uh, not exactly TV friendly to put it mildly.

We're told that when St. Mary's complained to Musco about the glare, Musco washed their hands of the project, saying the work was done as ordered.

So, with a national audience tuning in to see the 23rd ranked Gaels host the rival Zags tonight, the St. Mary's staff turned to the college theater department for help.

The hope was that gelling the lights with sheets of full opal would cut the glare while maintaining an acceptable light level.

We haven't heard if the Moraga, CA Fire Marshall has been clued in.

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Will McKeon Pavilion burn to the ground?

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Will the theater department be credited with an assist?

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Will the V-1 go insane?

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Tune in tonight and find out!

4th And Final Quarter

Following the NY touchdown at 11:04, the Coke billboard cut out as it was dissolving out. However, those billboards are usually inserted from master control in L.A. so we won't count it.

#4 - (And we list this half heartedly) Just after the game officially ended and all hell broke loose on the field, Pam Oliver's interview with Plaxico Burress was cut away from to a cablecam shot of, well, nothing but players milling around.

The over / under was set at 5, so if you took the under like we did, you won!

The Fox crew did too.

After 3 Quarters

#2 - NY ball, 3rd & 6 at the NE 41, Artie Kempner missed the snap. He was on a tight shot of a Patriot player.

#3 - Following the ensuing punt, the roll-out froze well before the commercial ran.

Only the 4th quarter remains....

Spoke Too Soon

As Tom Petty's halftime concert concluded, the NFL animation element with voice-over credit was up-cut by a Fox promo.

THAT, is a mistake.

But it almost certainly didn't come from the game truck, so we won't count it against the over / under of 5.

Heading to the 3rd quarter, the total stands at 1.

At The Half

Good game so far, good show so far.

Not much to criticize was there?

X-MO or whaterver it was looked very grainy and didn't match the other cameras.

Two times they were a little slow coming out from replays, but there were no freezes, no whips and nothing live was missed, so that's being really picky.

The only mistake we saw in the 1st half was this shot framed on the wrong side for the graphic.

If this is the biggest mistake, we'd say they had a pretty good half.

We also like the up cameras on the both goal lines.

Super Critique #1

Not an error but still...

During the anthem, the shot from Iraq wasn't in HD. No big deal.

Why no wings?

The Walter Payton clip had wings on the first shot only, then nothing.

Weak.

Boomer's Bad Week Continues

Seems people want to see all the mistakes from today's pre-games / game / post-games posted here.

We don't have the time or resources for that, but Awful Announcing pounced on this one from ESPN's NFL Countdown.

This is the very top of the show. Audio either opened Berman's mic too soon or Boomer didn't bother hitting his cough button.

Either way, it wasn't a good start.



We'll monitor the blogs and if they post other amusing moments, we'll help ourselves & put them up here too.

Judging by your expectations, we're placing the over / under on errors during Fox's Super Bowl telecast at 5. Announcer mistakes don't count unless they are traffic related or something more significant than just incorrect info or slips of the tongue.

The count begins when the game truck airs the tease. A clean post-game show during big events is almost impossible, so we'll stop the count when the post-game show begins.

For the record, we're taking the under.

Meanwhile, it's back to Puppy Bowl IV.