Let's look "in depth" to some of the most recent big stories we've brought you here:
BROWNS/WKYC DEAL: In the end, it was familiarity that won the day for Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3, which gets the Browns pre-season and in-season-show over-air deal for the 2006 season.You could hear it in the voice of Bill Bonsiewicz, the team's VP of communications, when Channel 3 sports reporter Andy Baskin interviewed him on the station's 6 PM newscast.
"It's great to renew our relationship with 'KYC", Bonsiewicz said with a wide smile and casual reference to the team's new/returned TV partner.In his earlier statement, the team official said: "The Browns have worked with WKYC before and know the level of quality they bring to all their local programming."
He all but proclaimed that it was "good to be home", and you can't help but wonder if that "level of quality" line in his statement is an expression of relief...after the 19 Action News Circus the team had to endure up until now.
For one, we're pretty confident no female WKYC staffers will show up at Berea with enough cleavage to fill a season of "Three's Company"...
CAVS AND 43: And that brings us to another comment, regarding Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert and his negotiations to make FOX Sports Net Ohio the exclusive home of the Cleveland Cavaliers - a pact which would start in the 2008-2009 season. Until then, WOIO Raycom Media sister station WUAB/43 shares the rights.
And apparently, Gilbert and the Cavs are just as displeased with Raycom/WOIO/WUAB in how a certain female "19 Action News" staffer was used in WUAB's coverage of Cavs games last season. See our other comment immediately above this one for more enlightenment.As such, it may be at least one thing inside Gilbert's head as he looks to making FSN Ohio the sole TV home of his NBA team...
GILBERT AND REGHI: The Cavs owner had an interesting interview this afternoon with WTAM/1100 afternoon driver Mike Trivisonno and station sports director Mike Snyder.
Mr. Gilbert - while calling now-former Cavaliers TV voice Michael Reghi "one of the best announcers in the NBA" - continued singing the praises of incoming TV play-by-play voice Fred McLeod.
He cited McLeod's "overall technology experience and video production experience", and said that would upgrade the Cavs TV broadcasts. (What, he's gonna run the electronic graphics while calling the game?) He says that'll improve the "overall quality" of the telecasts.
Gilbert called letting Reghi go "a difficult, tough decision", and compared the move to McLeod as being similar to Cavs general manager Danny Ferry obtaining a player upgrade for the team.
Oh, and about that whole "Pistons East" (or "South", or "South East") thing...Gilbert seemed puzzled by fans and media types who got that impression, claiming that his team has not "copied a single thing" from the Detroit NBA franchise. He claimed that it was actually the other way around in terms of game presentation and such.
But it's hard to break that belief among people - when you replace a popular local TV voice with a guy who just spent the past 20 years in Detroit, who called the Pistons' TV games, and who you worked under as an intern many years ago out of Michigan State.
Oh, Gilbert's not only a Detroit area resident who has season tickets to the Pistons... his Rock Financial is also the presenting sponsor of that team. It's right there on the logo.But perhaps the most cited incident is Gilbert's well-publicized interest in former Pistons coach Larry Brown, who ended up going to the New York Knicks.
So, there are a lot of ties there that it's hard for him to live down. In fact, when he first came to Cleveland to buy the Cavaliers, many pointed to his ties to the Pistons as a positive thing - since the franchise up northwest of here has a much longer winning tradition.
We'll leave the "Detroit East" stuff to the sports writers and blogs. But for now, this closes out this part of the Reghi-McLeod story for us...
13 comments:
C'mon...Gilbert denies trying to Piston-ize the Cavs, yet he bent over backwards to bring that vagabond Larry Brown to town. And even worse, he's got Ronnie Duncan yelping like an insane 10-year-old all thru the games. Crap, it's unbearable. If you're looking to, uh..."upgrade," Danny, why not bring back the one-and-only Howie Chizak---a true great PA anncr. Duncan is a poor copycat who can't even enunciate the names.
This McLeod-for-Reghi "upgrade?" stinks to high heavens, despite Trivislobbo sucking up and swallowing Gilbert's so-called logic. Like someone said on Roda's show, Gilbert has shown no loyalty to "exemplary" employees; why should LeBron or anyone else in the organization show any loyalty to HIM? Bad karma will bite your rich butt, Dan.
Aside from all of the "Detroit East" stuff:
I gotta agree on Howie and the PA job.
I haven't really heard much of Ronnie Duncan's PA work, so I can't really comment on him, but even the one time I've been up there - the Cavs' final playoff game where they let fans watch on the big screen in Quicken Loans Arena - I sure missed Howie doing the job.
I believe the call to stop doing the Cavs PA job was Howie's, though...I seem to remember it was health related at the time. Or maybe it was the commute up to downtown Cleveland...
-OMW
Why did I get this feeling that the whole point of Channel 19/43's Browns and Cavs coverage was to put Sharon Reed over?
She was freaking everywhere!
The whole point of putting her on there was to sex things up.
"Hey look, it's that naked newslady!"
If they wanted straight sports reporting from the sidelines, they could have used Chuck Galetti, Dave Pingalore, or Brian Duffy (you know, their SPORTS TEAM).
Sharon was there only for the "va-va-voom" factor.
Both Randy Lerner and Dan Gilbert saw it for what it was, and they are getting out of Dodge.
Imagine if 43 still had the Indians, they'd have her either in the dugout or in the on deck circle asking "Care to join me tonight...for the post-game show (wink)?"
It seems that WOIO/WUAB can't cut a break if they tried. Well now that they pissed off the cavs who's left?
19/43 carried the sports teams for the sole purpose of using them to put themselves over.
Especially you know who.
Usually a station/team deal is made to be mutually beneficial.
19/43 saw it as a chance to put out their chests (in every sense of the term) and say--
"Yeah that's right! We got the Browns, We got Lebron, Who's the man?!"
It's a shame really, a lot of 19/43's staff came from different stations in town and they never acted this way till they went to Reserve Square.
Must be something in the water over there.
With the said anchor who thinks that the browns training camp,the q arena,and the late newscast being one giant match game/love connection, how long can she last here?
I agree with the other post about Howie Chizek. He was the best in the business. As for Michael Reghi c'mon people give me a break he was not that good. Why such an uproar over his firing? He is not Nev Chandler, Tom Hamilton, or Joe Tait. He was average at best and I for one will not miss his Flight 23 calls, Michael if you want to learn how to do play by play listen to Joe Tait. Joe is the very best.
Well now that elimadte has been cancled on WUAB,maybe the said anchor could start a local version. They have already done it with the cavs and browns so why not with just the people. Don't they think about what they are doing in Reserve Square or do they just do things for S#$T's and giggles? I mean many of these players have wives so when the local achor begins to flirt with the players or at the very least wear tight outfits it at some point will cause problems.
They do this for attention so they can get people talking and a quick ratings boost. If it was legal, they would probally show Debbie Does Dallas and call it a documentary on Texas.
Maybe sexy Sharon will think twice before she lets her McGuffies free again for a "news" story.
(Ponder, ponder) Nah.
This explains why when the cast of mynetwork tv comes to town on Friday they are doing an interviews on fox 8 news in the morining and the plain dealer yet no interviews on WUAB. This is from the mynetwork tv website:
Fri Aug 4, Cleveland, WUAB
TV Interview: WJW, Fox in the morning
Print Interview: Cleveland Plain Dealer
If 19 action news was not a half ass operation, they could of recieved more coverage but nope. Can this be the end of this mess and begining of something bigger?
It's truly bizarre. Fox News Corp. started this whole MyNetTV telesnooze, and--what?--are they insisting that the local Fox affils in each market PROMOTE their competing MyNet lineup? How crazy is that? On a related note, I think Ms. Reed would fit right in on the Fashion House series. What a cheesefest.
I remember when Howie Chizek would come in and do John Carroll basketball games in addition to the Cavs (early '80s). He was indeed the best I've heard. I do some sports P.A. work myself, and I could only hope to emulate him.
As for the other news, well, I guess this brings about the demise of the Cleavageland Browns. Blame Modell.
I'm surprised SportsNet Ohio is not at least talking to Gilbert about bringing the Cavaliers to their cable network..see Yankees/Nets/YES in the greater NYC area..that was the model for what we're seeing now..
Don't know if anybody's noticed..but Fox Sports Ohio is promoting High School Football starting this month, covering some of the suburban Cleveland High School programs..
Post a Comment