Keith Jackson and Dick Enberg: Giants of the Mike

Keith Jackson and Dick Enberg were two of the most important voices of sports on TV in the late 20th century.  Much like Curt Gowdy, Chris Schenkel and Jim McKay in a previous generation, and Joe Buck, Al Michaels and Jim Nantz are in this one.

Both Jackson and Enberg covered the NFL, college football, the NBA, the Olympic games, boxing and golf.  Both had their trademark catchphrases.  For Jackson, it was "Whoa Nelly! and "Fum-BLE!".  For Enberg, it was "Oh My!" and "Touch 'em all".

Both men had different career paths.  Jackson was best known as ABC's voice of college football, covering many a big game from Michigan's "Big House" to the Rose Bowl aka "the granddaddy of them all", and everywhere in between.  He was also behind the mike for three World Series, the first season of "Monday Night Football" (1970), the United States Football League, and many other events for "Wide World of Sports".

Enberg began as a local sportscaster in Los Angeles in the 1960s, broadcasting Rams football, Angels baseball, and UCLA football and basketball during the John Wooden era.  Then for three different networks (NBC, CBS and ESPN, in that order), he called eight Super Bowls, nine Rose Bowls, and many Wimbledon tennis championships.  He also helped usher in college basketball as a TV sport with his coverage in 1968 of the Houston-UCLA game at the Astrodome, the first to be seen in prime time.  Later he did the NCAA Final Four men's tournament for NBC with Al McGuire and Billy Packer.

Both men did other things on TV besides sports.  Jackson appeared in commercials.  Enberg did game shows, most notably "Sports Challenge", along with a few acting roles in which he mostly played himself.

Both men chose to end their careers on a high note:  Jackson with the Rose Bowl national championship game between Texas and USC in 2006, Enberg with local San Diego Padres baseball telecasts.

And both men died within a few weeks of each other:  Enberg on December 21 at age 82, Jackson on January 12 at 89.  In an era where today's play-by-play announcers are anonymous by comparison and more likely to talk about "walk-off" home runs and "two touchdown" football games, they could have learned a thing or two from Dick Enberg or Keith Jackson on how to call a sports event without sounding like a corporate drone.

Alabama Gets Away. Again.

The University of Alabama's Crimson Tide won the national college football championship for the fifth time in nine years Monday in Atlanta, overcoming a 13-point halftime deficit to defeat the University of Georgia's Bulldogs in overtime 26-23.

Tide coach Nick Saban made the fateful halftime decision to replace his starting quarterback with a first-year student named Tua Tagovailas, who then proceeded with his teammates to complete the comeback by throwing the winning touchdown pass in overtime to DeVonto Smith, another first-year player.

For Saban, it was his sixth national title, tying him with another Crimson Tide coaching legend named Paul "Bear" Bryant.  For the state of Georgia, this is the second time in the past year that a local football team blew a big lead to lose the big game in overtime to a dynasty.

So the Tide rolls once more, even though other institutions of higher learning (including Georgia) spent tons of money to lure away some of Saban's assistants to be their head coaches.  But they still haven't learned how to defeat the master.  Saban is now 12-0 against his former assistants.

Elsewhere, the University of Central Florida declared itself national champions with an undefeated season.  But because they're not a Power Five school (Big 10, Pac-12, ACC, SEC and Big 12), they were ignored by the people who run the College Football Playoff and had to settle for a Peach Bowl appearance on New Year's Day.  Alabama, by the way, ended up with a 13-1 record.

The CFP turned out to be another Southern affair, with all four teams from the same geographical area (Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and Oklahoma) participating, with two of them from the same conference meeting in the final.  Those who complained about this lack of regional diversity have advocated for an eight-team playoff, which isn't going to happen at least until the CFP's TV deal with ESPN expires in 2025.  Until then, if you want to find the best college football anywhere, go south.

Sports 2017: What We Missed, and Who

If you've been reading this here blog at any time during the past year (and if you really have, we thank you), here's a recap of what we've already covered:  Players taking a knee.  President Donald Trump criticizing players who took a knee for his own political gain.  Players refusing to appear with Trump at the White House.  New England Patriots getting away with another Super Bowl in the most dramatic way possible.  The Los Angeles Chargers and the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders.  No Olympics for the NHL.  The decline of ESPN.  Low NFL TV ratings.  The United States men's soccer team will not be in the World Cup.

And now, here's what we didn't cover in 2017.

• LaVar Ball is one of those stage parents whose actions overshadowed the accomplishments of his children, making them all look like fools.  Ball was the driving force behind eldest son Lonzo being the Los Angeles Lakers' top draft pick.  His other two sons, LiAngelo and LaMelo, are playing for a pro basketball team in Lithuania.  But that was only after LiAngelo and another UCLA teammate were caught shoplifting sunglasses in China while the team was there for exhibition games,  They might still be there if President Trump, who was visiting Asia at the time, hadn't intervened to get them home.  When the President insisted on being properly thanked for the gesture, Ball chose to pick a fight with him, resulting in Trump wishing he had just left the players in China.  Whether it's promoting his overpriced sneakers and reality show, telling women to stay in their lane or clashing with his sons' coaches, the one thing LaVar Ball seems to be selling is LaVar Ball.
• The International Olympic Committee has banned Russia from the 2018 Winter Games, which are scheduled for South Korea in February, because of evidence that their athletes had been violating the IOC's anti-doping rules.  This means the Russians really didn't win those medals on their own merits.  Some of those athletes who tested clean will be allowed to participate, but only under the Olympic banner.  While the rest of the world cheers this development, we shouldn't underestimate Russian President Vladimir Putin.  If he can manipulate the results of a presidential election in the U.S., what's to stop him from trying the same thing at the Olympics?
• Like the NBA in recent years, baseball players have gotten in the habit of choosing to spend at least part of their careers with contending teams in big markets.  Japanese star Shohei Ohtani, sought after by several teams, chose to go with the Los Angeles Angels,  Slugger Giancarlo Stanton, using his no-trade clause to turn down offers from other teams, finally left the sinking ship that is the Miami Marlins to accept a trade with the New York Yankees.  It didn't hurt that the guy who engineered the trade, former Yankees legend Derek Jeter, is now an executive of the Marlins.
• A pregnant Serena Williams sat out most of this year after winning the Australian Open.  That left the door open for two African-Americans--Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys--to face each other in the U.S. Open women's final, with Stephens winning in straight sets.  Guess that answers the question of where American tennis is headed in the post-Williams sisters era.
• Jordan Spieth continued his dominance in golf.  Sergio Garcia finally won a major tournament by conquering Augusta National.  Nobodies continued to win the other majors.  And Tiger Woods is back out on the course, hoping not to throw out his back in the process.

Finally, here's who took their final bows in 2017:

Frank Lary, Tommy Nobis, Steve Jones, Jana Novotna, Pancho Segura, Roy Halliday, Connie Hawkins, Dave Strader, Bernie Casey, Jake LaMotta, Don Ohlmeyer, Gene Michael, Rollie Massimino, Jud Heathcote, Frank Broyles, Bryan Murray, Don Baylor, Ara Parseghian, Lee May, John Kundla, Bob Wolff, Babe Parilli, Frank Kush, Jimmy Piersall, Jack Mc Closkey, Roberto De Vicenzo, Frank Deford, Jim Bunning, Cortez Kennedy, Steve Palermo, Aaron Hernandez, Dan Rooney, Dallas Green, Jerry Krause, Charismatic, Mike Ilitch, Milt Schmidt, Ferdie Pacheco and Ralph Jon Fritz.

The 2017-18 Owljock Bowl Board

Welcome to yet another edition of the Bowl Board to wind up the college football season.  Before we go too much further, a few thoughts:

• Clemson, Alabama, Georgia and Oklahoma are this year's College Football Playoff final four, assuring us of another national champion from below the Mason-Dixon Line.  No Big 10 or Pac-12 school made the cut, which certainly limits the potential TV audience.  Alabama is here not because they won a conference championship game (heck, they didn't PLAY in one), but because of its past reputation.  Yet coach Nick Saban's team is still considered the favorite.
• There is a new phenomenon going on among certain players who believe they'd be a lot more marketable if, instead of playing in a bowl game with their teammates, they saved themselves for the NFL draft.  We get that these players don't want to get injured or have a bad game in front of fans and pro scouts, but isn't limiting your exposure kind of risky?  And what does that tell you about the quality of the bowl game itself (unless it's a CFP playoff) if star players keep checking out?
• There are 41 bowl games that have been sanctioned by the NCAA this season, which is down two from last year.  Sponsors come and go, of course.  The Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego has been dropped by its organizers, and the Miami Beach Bowl was bought by ESPN (which owns several bowl games) and moved to Frisco, Texas.

For those of you just joining us, here's how the Bowl Board works.  We name the bowl, who's in it, where and when it's played, who's televising it, and a brief description of the game's sponsor and what they do (where applicable).  Got it?  Here goes . . .

Celebration Bowl:  Grambling vs. North Carolina A&T (Atlanta, 12/16)  ABC

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl:  Troy vs. North Texas  (New Orleans, 12/16)  ESPN
Shipping firm.

AutoNation Cure Bowl:  Western Kentucky vs. Georgia State  (Orlando, FL  12/16)  CBS Sports Network
Automotive retailer.

Las Vegas Bowl:  Boise State vs. Oregon  (Las Vegas, 12/16)  ABC

Gildan New Mexico Bowl:  Marshall vs. Colorado State  (Albuquerque, NM  12/16)  ESPN
Active wear manufacturer.

Raycom Media Camellia Bowl:  Arkansas State vs. Middle Tennessee  (Montgomery, AL  12/16)  ESPN
Media company.

Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl:  Florida Atlantic vs. Akron  (Boca Raton, FL  12/19)  ESPN
Energy drink.

DXL Frisco Bowl:  Southern Methodist vs. Louisiana Tech  (Frisco, TX  12/20)  ESPN
Big and tall men's clothing store chain.  Formerly Miami Beach Bowl.

Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl:  Temple vs. Florida International  (St. Petersburg, FL  12/21)  ESPN
Lawn mowers.  Formerly St. Petersburg Bowl.  Gasparilla refers to a local festival held in the winter, named for famed pirate Jose Gasper.

Bahamas Bowl:  Alabama-Birmingham vs. Ohio  (Nassau, Bahamas  12/22)  ESPN

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl:  Central Michigan vs. Wyoming  (Boise, ID  12/22)  ESPN

Birmingham Bowl:  Texas Tech vs. South Florida  (Birmingham, AL  12/23)  ESPN

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl:  San Diego State vs. Army  (Fort Worth, TX  12/23)  ESPN
Defense contractor.

Dollar General Bowl:  Appalachian State vs. Toledo  (Mobile, AL  12/23)  ESPN
Retail chain.

Hawaii Bowl:  Fresno State vs. Houston  (Honolulu, HW  12/24)  ESPN

Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl:  Utah vs. West Virginia  (Dallas, 12/26)  ESPN
Chicken restaurant chain.

Quick Lane Bowl:  Duke vs. Northern Illinois  (Detroit, 12/26)  ESPN
Auto care shops.

Cactus Bowl:  Kansas State vs. UCLA  (Phoenix, AZ  12/26)  ESPN

Walk-On's Independence Bowl:  Southern Mississippi vs. Florida State  (Shreveport, LA  12/27)  ESPN
Sports restaurant chain.

New Era Pinstripe Bowl:  Iowa vs. Boston College  (Bronx, NY  12/27)  ESPN
Sports apparel.

Foster Farms Bowl:  Purdue vs. Arizona  (Santa Clara, CA  12/27)  Fox
West Coast poultry brand.
  
Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl:   Texas vs. Missouri  (Houston, 12/27)  ESPN
Sporting goods discount chain.

Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman:  Virginia vs. Navy  (Annapolis, MD  12/28)  ESPN
Defense contractor.

Camping World Bowl:  Virginia Tech vs. Oklahoma State  (Orlando, FL  12/28)  ESPN
Camping and RV supplies.  Formerly Russell Athletic Bowl.

Valero Alamo Bowl:  Stanford vs. TCU  (San Antonio, TX  12/28)  ESPN
Energy company.

San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl:  Michigan State vs. Washington State  (San Diego, CA  12/28)  FS1
Financial services.

Belk Bowl:  Wake Forest vs. Texas A&M  (Charlotte, NC  12/29)  ESPN
Regional department store chain.

Hyundai Sun Bowl:  North Carolina State vs. Arizona State  (El Paso, TX  12/29)  CBS
Auto manufacturer.

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl:  Kentucky vs. Northwestern  (Nashville, TN  12/29)  ESPN
Financial services.

NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl:  Utah State vs. New Mexico State  (Tucson, AZ  12/29)  CBS Sports Network
Mortgage lender.

Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic:  Southern California vs. Ohio State  (Arlington, TX  12/29)  ESPN
Tires and blimps.

TaxSlayer Bowl:  Louisville vs. Mississippi State  (Jacksonville, FL  12/30)  ESPN
Online tax preparation.

AutoZone Liberty Bowl:  Iowa State vs. Memphis  (Memphis, TN  12/30)  ABC
Retail auto parts chain.

PlayStation Fiesta Bowl:  Washington vs. Penn State  (Glendale, AZ  12/30)  ESPN
Videogame consoles.

Capital One Orange Bowl:  Miami vs. Wisconsin  (Miami Gardens, FL  12/30)  ESPN
Financial services.

Outback Bowl:  Michigan vs. South Carolina  (Tampa, FL  1/1/18)  ESPN2
Steak restaurant chain.

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl:  Central Florida vs. Auburn  (Atlanta, GA  1/1/18)  ESPN
Chicken restaurant chain.

Citrus Bowl Presented by Overton's:  Notre Dame vs.  Louisiana State  (Orlando, FL  1/1/18)  ABC
Marine and sporting goods company.

Rose Bowl Presented by Northwestern Mutual--CFP Semifinal:  Georgia vs. Oklahoma  (Pasadena, CA  1/1/18)  ESPN
Financial services.

Allstate Sugar Bowl--CFP Playoff:  Alabama vs. Clemson  (New Orleans  1/1/18)  ESPN
Insurance and financial services.

College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T  (Atlanta, GA  1/8)  ESPN
Communications giant.

Twins: Back In WCCO Radio's Arms

After a decade in the radio wilderness, the Minnesota Twins are returning to WCCO-AM (830) as its flagship station for the 2018 season and beyond.  Those folks who have warm and fuzzy memories of hearing Herb Carneal, Halsey Hall and John Gordon call the games during the team's original 1961-2006 run on the station are saying it's about time.

Entercom, having just purchased the former CBS Radio empire that includes WCCO, wanted to make a big splash locally on the first day they took ownership.  With the merger, the media company now holds radio rights to 45 pro sports teams, 14 of them belonging to Major League Baseball.

The Twins' period in exile began when WCCO was outbid for the rights by KSTP-AM (1500) in 2007, which had just switched to a sports talk format.  Both stations had 50,000-watt signals, but KSTP only had a directional antenna that limited its coverage area.  Thus the complaints from fans who couldn't pick up the games, even in the daytime.

The Pohlad family, which owns the Twins, then moved the team's broadcasts to the FM station they owned at 96.3, now known as KQGO.  There were signal problems here too, not to mention confusion over where to find the station.  Also, 96.3 seemed to change musical formats that were incompatible with a baseball audience every so often.  Currently, it's alternative rock.  They must have been thinking that, if you like baseball, you'll love Imagine Dragons.

Instead of Carneal, Hall and Gordon, you'll be getting Cory Provus and Dan Gladden when the Twins return to WCCO.  For those occasions when the station's other properties (Timberwolves basketball and severe weather coverage) take precedence, Entercom's other Minnesota stations--country KMNB (102.9 FM) and KZJK a.k.a. Jack FM (104.1)--would pick up the slack.  No word yet on what happens when there's a conflict with University of St. Thomas football games.

Both the Twins and WCCO had seen better days.  Is it any coincidence that during the separation, the baseball team's fortunes took a nosedive and the radio station's audience was either dwindling, dying off, or both?  But last season the Twins improbably made the playoffs as a wild card and Paul Molitor was named American League Manager of the Year, while WCCO got new owners.  Could this be a sign that both are about to become relevant again?

Vikings 2017: Waiting for Teddy

Minnesota Vikings logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Minnesota Vikings, carrying a 6-2 record as leaders of the NFL's NFC North division, are currently on the horns of another quarterback dilemma.

It started out like this:  Teddy Bridgewater was supposed to be this Quarterback of the Future who would end the Vikings' revolving door at that position, until a freak off-the-field injury sidelined him for the 2016 season.  Then Sam Bradford came in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles for draft picks, and he did pretty well.  But after one game this season, Bradford tore up his knee.  Enter backup Case Keenum, who has done surprisingly well this season.  But nobody believes he's the Vikings' long term solution.

Now Bridgewater has been deemed healthy enough to play again, a season and a half after his devastating injury.  He has been assigned backup duties to Keenum, while Bradford has been put on injured reserve.  Which begs the question:  After being out of action for so long, is it reasonable to expect Bridgewater to be anywhere near the player he was before his injury?  Or will the Vikings have to go out and draft another quarterback?  The only way to know, of course, is when he gets out on the field.

Otherwise, the defense is one of the best in the NFL if you don't count the points they've given up.  Nobody is talking about the offensive line, which must be a good thing given the overhaul they've had.  And no one seems to miss Adrian Peterson, now that he's moved on to the Arizona Cardinals after his ugly departure from New Orleans.

The Vikings are division leaders for two reasons:  (A)  They played a mostly powder puff schedule against mediocre teams like the Chicago Bears, Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns.  They have lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Detroit Lions, which could pose a problem down the stretch, and (B) the absence of Aaron Rodgers, whose broken collarbone injury has reduced the Green Bay Packers from Super Bowl contenders to also-rans.

No matter who the quarterback is, it's going to be tough to say whether the Vikings are playoff material or what.  Maybe they'll win the division, but only if the Lions or Packers don't throw challenges.  Maybe they'll be in the wild card, but only if they win at least half of their remaining games.  They have a lot more questions this season while waiting to see if Teddy Bridgewater can still play.

Houston, You Have a Champion

Astros logo, 1965–1974 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Out of the receding flood waters of a hurricane-damaged city in Texas, a baseball team that only a few years ago were so bad that they had to change leagues has risen to become world champions.

They are the Houston Astros, born in 1962 as the Colt 45s, who won Game 7 of the World Series over the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 Wednesday night at Chavez Ravine.  The Astros scored all their runs in the first two innings.  Both starters Lance McCullers Jr. of the Astros and Yu Darvish of the Dodgers were knocked out by the third inning.  Unlike the high-scoring of earlier games in the series, in which it seemed like whoever scored last would win, this one ended quietly with Houston taking home the trophy and Carlos Correa taking home the woman he had proposed to on live TV.

About the Slugfest for the Ages, which had contributed to the most home runs in World Series history (25) and the Astros' George Springer (who hit five of them, another record) winning the MVP award, a few things stand out:

• Games 2 and 5 were high scoring affairs that ended in extra innings.
• The pitching staffs of both teams were fried, not only because they couldn't get anyone out but also because of how many times they were used during the playoffs.
• Comebacks from several runs down by both teams became common.  This has led to speculation that maybe the balls were juiced, like we never left the Steroid Era.
• The pace of the games were so pokey because of replay challenges and pitching changes (allowing enough time for Fox to slip in as many six-second commercials as possible) that most viewers went to bed before the finish.

In the last few years, teams who had been forever in last place had accumulated enough talent through shrewd deals and the draft to win a World Series or two.  It's happened to the San Francisco Giants, Kansas City Royals and Chicago Cubs.  This year it was the Astros, which had come all the way from the outhouse of a 111-loss season to the penthouse.  Of course, prying away pitcher Justin Verlander from the Detroit Tigers in midseason helped too.

This World Series championship was for the city of Houston, which is still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Harvey.  They should celebrate, then go back to work no matter how much money T-Mobile is allegedly giving them in hurricane relief.  While we're at it, maybe San Juan and Key West deserve a break too, no matter if they have a baseball team or not.