The Sports Emmy nominations came out yesterday. Highlights:
Outstanding Live Sports Special
- 131st Preakness Stakes NBC
- 2006 FIFA World Cup ABC
- MLB on FOX: Post Season FOX
- NFL on CBS (Pittsburgh – Indianapolis) Divisional Playoff CBS
- The Masters CBS
One immediately wonders how FOX baseball coverage gets nominated for any awards, considering the ghastly levels to which the network denigrates the sport. That glaring error aside, one would expect that The Preakness would win, simply for the way NBC covered Barbaro’s eventually fatal injury. Neil Pilson, quoted by New York Post writer Don Kaplan:
“It’s not rare to get a nomination when there is a very dramatic event and the network steps up.”
If not The Preakness, then the World Cup would seem to be the only other contender. Unlike its coverage of the NBA or NFL, ESPN produced a generally clean, generally uncomplicated series of World Cup telecasts. The only problem might be in terms of play-by-play; many disliked Dave O’Brien in that role. Predicted winner: The Preakness.
Outstanding Live Sports Series
- ESPN College Football
- ESPN Major League Baseball
- ESPN Monday Night Football
- HBO PPV Boxing
- NASCAR on TNT / NBC
If ‘outstanding’ is measured by ratings, then Monday Night Football wins by a mile. However, if one factors in the endless celebrity interviews, the vapid analysis, the overkill that allowed for five-hour pregame shows, and the inane score bug placed at the center of the bottom of the screen (occasionally obscuring action), then MNF has no chance of winning.
Two sports that ESPN actually doesn’t disrespect, college football and baseball, have a good shot at winning. NASCAR on TNT and NBC is a dubious choice, considering that NASCAR fans were not necessarily enamored with TNT/NBC coverage. Predicted winner: ESPN Monday Night Football (outstanding is, in fact, measured by ratings).
Outstanding Weekly Studio Show
- “College GameDay” (Football) (ESPN)
- “Inside the NFL” (HBO)
- “NBA Nation” (ABC)
- “Sunday NFL Countdown” (ESPN)
- “The NFL Today” (CBS)
One would have to be under the influence to imagine that NBA Nation was in any way outstanding. How a show that underwent three cast changes and a complete change in approach midway through the season could be nominated for this award speaks to either a dearth of good studio shows or a dearth of brain cells.
Interestingly, both ESPN and CBS NFL studio shows were nominated, but not FOX NFL Sunday. College Gameday seems to have a good shot, as NFL Countdown was bogged down by its usual sophomoric screaming matches (“Are you retarded?“), and The NFL Today was simply too vanilla and did not stand out. Considering its roster of Bob Costas, Dan Marino, Cris Collinsworth and Cris Carter, Inside the NFL could win on personnel alone. Predicted winner: College Gameday.
Outstanding Open / Tease
- AFC Championship Tease (CBS)
- Indianapolis 500 Tease (ABC)
- NBA Finals, “Basketball Hall of Fame” (ABC)
- Super Bowl XL, “Oh the Places You’ll Go” (ABC)
- The Masters Sunday Tease (CBS)
- The XX Olympic Winter Games, “The Stories of Torino” (NBC)
Really, it comes down to these two.
Both are creative and nostalgic (and both were on ABC). However, only one managed to combine great moments from decades of the sport’s marquee event, combining present and past in a way that fans of the sport rarely see. Predicted winner: NBA Finals tease.
Outstanding Broadband – Coverage
- Amen Corner Live CBSSportsline.com
- Fantasy Football Live Sports.yahoo.com
- March Madness on Demand CBSSportsline.com
- Race 2 Replace Race2Replace.com
- Discovery Communications
- TNT OverTime – Charles Barkley in New Orleans TNT on NBA.com
While having the ability to watch Inside the NBA and other TNT NBA programming on demand is a godsend for basketball fans, it doesn’t begin to approach the convenience March Madness on Demand. MMoD, despite its glitches this year, allows dedicated basketball fans to watch NCAA Tournament games online and for free. Last year, “it generated 19 million video streams and five million visits”, making it a highly successful venture. Predicted winner: March Madness on Demand.
Outstanding Sports Personality – Studio Host
- Bob Costas (HBO / NBC)
- Ernie Johnson (TNT)
- James Brown (CBS)
- Jim Lampley (NBC)
- Joe Buck (Fox)
- Rich Eisen (NFL Network)
Thanks to James Brown, ratings for The NFL Today averaged a 3.3 rating last year, making the difference between the CBS pregame show and FOX NFL Sunday a mere 0.5. That “is the smallest ratings differential between the two pre-game programs since the NFL returned to CBS in 1998.” Brown’s effect alone might not be enough to win him the award, considering his competition.
Bob Costas continues to be the gold standard of studio hosts, and this year he has added NFL pregame duties on NBC to his portfolio. Ernie Johnson is far and away the best NBA studio host, bringing an enthusiasm that is sorely lacking in his competition (ABC’s Dan Patrick, who is seemingly just showing up for a paycheck, and ESPN’s Fred Hickman). Dark horses include Rich Eisen, Joe Buck and Jim Lampley — the latter of whom was recently charged with violating a restraining order. Predicted winner: James Brown.
Outstanding Sports Personality – Studio Analyst
- Charles Barkley (TNT)
- Cris Collinsworth (HBO / NBC)
- Jay Bilas (ESPN)
- Jeff Hammond (Fox)
- Kirk Herbstreit (ESPN)
For pure entertainment value, Barkley wins. While his analysis may be somewhat lacking, he is mostly responsible for helping TNT gain its status as the NBA television partner of choice. Collinsworth was the star on Football Night in America, not necessarily a great distinction considering his compatriots, and managed to be simultaneously informative and entertaining.
Kirk Herbstreit was on the rise this past college football season, but he is still far from the level of a Barkley or Collinsworth. Hammond is a dark horse, and, contrary to reports, Jay Bilas does not keep us satisfied. Predicted winner: Cris Collinsworth.
Outstanding Sports Personality – Sports Event Analyst
- Cris Collinsworth (NFL Network)
- Darrell Waltrip (Fox)
- Jerry Bailey (ESPN)
- Johnny Miller (NBC)
- Tim McCarver (Fox)
That Tim McCarver was nominated seems to strip this award of credibility. Collinsworth was much better in the studio than he was in the booth; his NFL Network work was hampered by Bryant Gumbel’s ineffectiveness.
NBC golf analyst Johnny Miller, praised for his candor, seems to be the only choice here. Predicted winner: Johnny Miller.
Outstanding Studio Show – Daily
- “Baseball Tonight” (ESPN)
- “Inside the NBA – Playoffs” (TNT)
- “Olympic Ice” (USA)
- “Outside the Lines” (ESPN)
- “Pardon The Interruption” (ESPN)
Olympic Ice was praised, at least by USA Today’s Michael Hiestand, for its fun, free-wheeling style. Hosted by Mary Carillo, with analysts Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, the show was described as “a tiny corner of subversive humor in a locked-down, pre-programmed Olympic universe.”
Olympic Ice has hefty competition in this category. Easily, Inside the NBA is the best of these shows; with host Ernie Johnson and analysts Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller and Magic Johnson, the show combines humor with insightful analysis from the NBA’s greatest players (and Kenny Smith). Unlike ESPN NBA studio shows, with dry analysis and little-to-no entertainment value whatsoever, Inside the NBA is lively, informative and sometimes better than the games it follows.
The only show close to Inside the NBA might be Pardon the Interruption. PTI, hosted by Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, is the leader in sports talk shows, using the successful formula of analysis combined with irreverent humor.
Baseball Tonight and Outside the Lines take a different approach, as both shows are essentially devoid of humor. For the latter show, that is entirely appropriate; Outside the Lines may be the only show on ESPN that looks at sports with any kind of objective sanity, putting it into a much needed perspective. Baseball Tonight, meanwhile, is heavy on analysis –most of it good — but finds itself severely weakened without the presence of Harold Reynolds. Predicted winner: Inside the NBA.
