I'm not suggesting Knight go back to his plaid sport coats of yesteryear, but he was the only guy on the set not wearing a coat and tie. Now, that's not like disrespecting the Bing (a momentary pause to recall the late, great Sopranos), but it is disrespecting the SportsCenter.
ESPN baseball analyst (and former Orioles pitcher) Rick Sutcliffe has colon cancer, the network announced. A news release called his condition "treatable and curable" and said he hopes to return to the microphone later in the season after undergoing treatment.
The Ravens didn't make the playoffs, but they could win an Emmy. Among the NFL Network's 15 Sports Emmy nominations was its Mic'd Up production of the Ravens-San Francisco 49ers game in October.
The just-discontinued Inside the NFL from HBO tied with the channel's Real Sports for most nominations for a single series with five.
Among the nominees for on-air talent, one could quibble - or perhaps react by throwing one's shoe at the TV set - about the inclusion of Fox's Tim McCarver in the event analyst category.
One man's opinion on the winners in the announcing categories:
Studio host: Ernie Johnson, TNT, TBS (other nominees: James Brown, CBS; Bob Costas, NBC/HBO; Bryant Gumbel, HBO; Al Trautwig, Versus)
Play-by-play: Al Michaels, NBC (Marv Albert, TNT; Joe Buck, Fox; Mike Emrick, NBC; Jim Lampley, HBO; Jim Nantz, CBS)
Studio analyst: Charles Barkley, TNT (barely beating ESPN's Jay Bilas; others: Terry Bradshaw, Fox; Cris Carter, HBO; Cris Collinsworth, NBC/HBO; Tom Jackson, ESPN)
Event analyst: Phil Simms, CBS (Troy Aikman, Fox; Doug Collins, TNT; Gary Danielson, CBS; John Madden, NBC; McCarver)
If you heard Tony Stewart complaining about his tires after Sunday's NASCAR race, you know he's not about to get a ride in the Goodyear blimp. But Fox analyst Jeff Hammond backs Stewart: "He was probably the spokesperson for 42 other guys. People don't understand what it's like to run over 180 mph thinking you are going to crash every lap."
ray.frager@baltsun.com
