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November 15, 2006
Notes Etc.
By Keith Ott
Note from Brian France to Brian France: Extra large Christmas presents to be sent to
the Vickers Household. (Without Vickers
assistance at Talladega, Jimmie Johnson gets the championship before the race
even starts in Homestead. Second to
Twenty Fourth is 79pts + 63 point lead = 142pts. Johnson would just have to turn the key since
143 is the most points a driver can make up in a single race. Actually, that mathematically eliminates
everyone but Kenseth. How’s that for an
exciting Chase finish?)
Note from NBC Producer to Graphics department: I want bigger, better, flashier graphics next week. I’m still seeing cars on the track. (One of my thoughts on graphics is that just because you can do something doesn’t always mean you should. When you add “Through the field” to the scroll it takes up a hunk of TV space. I even catch myself trying to look behind it to see what the car they’re talking about actually looks like. BTW, have they ever actually finished one all the way through the field? I’m calling this graphic deluge “Monday Night Football Syndrome” because nobody obsesses on graphics like MNF. )
Note from Director to camera people: You will cover Johnson and the leader. If Johnson is the leader go to plan B and
just cover the leader. I’m still seeing
way too many other cars on the track. (I
swear I walked away and came back a few times and the coverage was consistently
Harvick/Johnson. Other cars almost had
to wreck to get a mention. Maybe, I’m
exaggerating a bit but it wouldn’t hurt to sweep the field a little more.)
Overall I thought Phoenix was a decent show. Of course, It didn’t hurt that my guy won. If Johnson loses the title it won’t be because of Johnson. He showed “Big Picture” thinking when he decided a try for the win was too risky. I even thought the commentary from the booth was pretty good. And, I don’t care what you say, “I like Weber.” He doesn’t know everything (We have the other guys for that) and he gets excited and says stupid things at times. He’s become the “comic relief” for the broadcast. I Thank the lord that he never says, “Boogity.”
Your turn.
November 15, 2006 | Permalink
Comments
Boogity, Boogity, Boogity Keith I don't think you were exaggerating
Posted by: Diane Sadler | Nov 15, 2006 9:01:38 AM
Diane,
I kinda figured you'd chime in with that one. But, thinking about it, Weber would forget the 3rd one. Then Wally would have to explain it to him...comic relief.
Posted by: Keith | Nov 15, 2006 9:09:14 AM
Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t they use “Boogity” in a commercial Sunday! I don't recall what the commercial was for???
Posted by: Diane Sadler | Nov 15, 2006 9:26:20 AM
Bring back Bestwick to the booth, Weber is terrible. Play by play clearly isn't his cup of tea. He doesn't know what he is talking about half the time, he forgets what the caution was even for...he's just terrible. Or better yet, bring in the guy who calls the Truck races..he's really good.
Posted by: Michael | Nov 15, 2006 9:38:41 AM
Two weeks from now we are going to be Jonesin' for a race to watch and at that point it won't matter who is in the booth.
I bet they don't even do a through the field on Sunday. If they do it will only be for the CHase guys.
Posted by: Mark | Nov 15, 2006 9:56:12 AM
Keith my freind,some damn good thoughts.
Not only did Johnson show some redneck smarts by not taking a chance on getting by Harvick this week.He also knew better than try to pass Tony last week.
Jimmy might not IMO have earned the Championship, he has fought hard for it.
As your blog brother and my freind Mark has noted in a few weeks we will be suffering from withdrawel symptom's.
Watching for any tidbit of our favourite sport.
Oh well my this weekend is the big game.The race is on,a time to crown a Champion. GO BUCKEYES BEAT DEM WOLVERINES
I rest my case
BTW good post Keith
Posted by: trucker | Nov 15, 2006 10:42:53 AM
Y'know, I wouldn't known Weber from Bestwick if each of them talked to me for half an hour. Now the color guys have personalities, and some I like, others not so much.
The trouble with doing a full "through the field" is that it would take more time than they have before having to cut away for a commercial. At maybe 20 seconds per car, it would take almost 15 minutes.
I'm not a big Johnson fan, nor am I a big Kenseth fan, but each of them has earned the right to go down to the wire for the championship. Congratulations to both teams for a fine season.
Posted by: Doug | Nov 15, 2006 10:54:34 AM
Doug they used to do through the field two or three times a race in the past (TNN and ESPN days) and it didn't take forever because the pit reporters didn't waste our time telling us what the driver ate for breakfast or something else irrelevant and stupid.
Posted by: Mark | Nov 15, 2006 11:14:10 AM
LOL, they should do a radio chat and get all the info as long as I can't see the field anyway. Ok, that would work with everyone but Waltrip I guess. They could also do it during cautions before they open the pits. Oops, my bad, that's commercial time.
Posted by: Keith | Nov 15, 2006 11:29:04 AM
trucker,
Until I dated this Ohio lass I didn't even know what a Buckeye was. In case anyone else is perplexed on that... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_Buckeye
Posted by: Keith | Nov 15, 2006 11:31:31 AM
THANK YOU KEITH
just wear something red and grey on sat
3pm ABC tv
GO BUCKEYES
Posted by: trucker | Nov 15, 2006 2:58:52 PM
I miss Bob Jenkins, Dr. Punch, Benny-with-Ned, and John Kernan. ESPN Speedworld. That was the primo NASCAR telecast. Other than Rusty, has the ABC-ESPN crew been announced? I would love to see Jenkins anchor it.
Posted by: Jeff | Nov 15, 2006 3:13:47 PM
Jeff,
I also liked Dr. Punch and I find Rusty surprisingly adept in the booth considering he wasn't an Indycar racer.
Posted by: Keith | Nov 15, 2006 3:34:16 PM
Jeff, the ESPN crew will be Dr. Jerry Punch, Rusty Wallace, and Andy Petree.
Posted by: Mark | Nov 15, 2006 9:21:17 PM
Back up there Keith, If you want to make Jimmy look good by nullifying his finish at Dega, you must also want to nullify Juniors finish. In your scenerio, whop one the race? Did Jimmy pass Dale for the win, did they finish in the order they were running before the crash? You have to give credit to Junior for a good finish also which I believed would have made him leader or second in the points. Under those conditions, they all would drive differently in the following races. And by the way if Tony had made the chase, do you think he would have the same mental outlook and still have drove hard for the wins or soft petalled for the points. Last year tells us he would bepoint driveing.
You can't "what if" without dancin with the gal you brung to the dance.
Posted by: 328 | Nov 16, 2006 1:47:20 PM
328,
Come on, it's my scenario and in my scenario JJ finishes second to Earnhardt and all other races stay the same. I could work it up with Earnhardt's points etc. (so can you, btw), but it's just a theoretical thought and I missed that ...sue me. Maybe, I'll jump right on that...not!
Posted by: Keith | Nov 16, 2006 3:52:27 PM
I've noticed that the media is finally paying attention to the sagging ratings and track attendance. HELLO? Many of your points are why they are down. And, in the interest of equal time.....
GO BLUE!
Posted by: sal | Nov 16, 2006 6:05:29 PM
Hey Keith,
Shoulda', coulda' been a country song.lol
Good summary. I liked the combination in the booth. If Alan must be there, he is in the right place. The pits.
JJ Cup to lose, agreed. But, anything can still happen!
Posted by: Larry | Nov 16, 2006 6:07:41 PM
Keith,
I would put with the graphics, catch phrases, and even the current chase format if they would show the race during the commercials via picture in picture.
Posted by: WBinCC | Nov 16, 2006 6:38:09 PM
There is no doubt that Bestwick did a cleaner job in the booth than Weber, but maybe he violated his contract when he broke his leg. Weber doesn't bother me. At least he doesn't have a know-it-all attitude like some nameless commentators. And he is good for a laugh sometimes.
I like the through the field, although it does seem like they're not doing top 20 like they used to...the graphic that annoys the crap out of me is the lower right corner of the screen filled with an animated advertisement for another NBC show after they come back from a break.
Remember Keith, they're only covering a total of seventeen minutes of green flag racing in the broadcast. Can only talk about 2-3 drivers in such a span.
Posted by: Kurt Smith | Nov 17, 2006 6:30:03 AM
WB,
When they do the PiP I always mash the remote trying to make the race bigger.
Posted by: Keith | Nov 17, 2006 6:57:36 AM
Kurt,
I could do a whole blog on the evolution of the lower right corner animation. They started with just a station symbol and now they've become full blown productions. LOL, the first time they did the tire changing one, I thought wtf are they doing on the track? I caught myself before I wondered where they got a hose that long. But, yes they have become annoying...and not just on racing programs.
Posted by: Keith | Nov 17, 2006 7:03:11 AM
Keith. Your comment on the graphics made me laugh out loud. But you don't need to go to Wikipedia to get the definition of a Buckeye. A Buckeye is a "useless nut."
Posted by: Paul | Nov 17, 2006 10:43:49 AM
Keith
BTW thanks for the "if the race ended now" on Saturday.That's my very favorite part of the races!lol
It seems Nascar is doing everything they can to drive away the older fans.When my local bar stops having a race pool,they will have been succesful.
Posted by: Short Lady | Nov 17, 2006 2:00:33 PM
LOL, todays late thought is that after the season ends Sunday, if I feel a racing pang, all I have to do is follow US 64...X95 corridor north to Annapolis. I went with a Navy buddy to get his daughter at the Academy today. All the best racing moves are not at the track!
Posted by: Keith | Nov 17, 2006 6:42:12 PM
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