Organized Chaos » TV

BCS could move to ESPN in 2010

Brad Milner — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:20:11 +0000

The Walt Disney Co., parent of ESPN, has reportedly put in a bid to air the five Bowl Championship Series games starting in 2010, the worldwide leader’s Web site reported on Wednesday.

Fox Sports currently owns the rights to televise the BCS, but its contract will expire after the 2009 season. There’s little doubt Fox will rebid, but the report said Walt Disney’s offer is $25 million more than the next closest competitor.

I think it’s time for a change. There’s just something drab about Fox’s presentation of games. ESPN has better analysts and watching a game on the network is 10 times better than on Fox.

As an HD kind of guy, ESPN also does a better job with graphics and the picture always looks better. These might be minor details for some, but ESPN has proved it’s the top network in sports.

Losing the BCS would be bad for Fox, which would still have NFL games on Sunday and some NASCAR. But it wouldn’t be a loss for the general public, as ESPN, along with its sister network ABC, has really done the best with college football and it only makes sense for the BCS to pair with them.

Click here to read the story on ESPN.com.

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American Idol banter (Week 2)

Brad Milner — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 01:49:08 +0000

The first three audition shows are in the books. The first week featured two two-hour shows. Tuesday was one hour, and showcased the best singers thus far.

The first week seemed to be more geared to the bad singers than the good ones. There were a few OK singers, led by Kristy Lee Cook, but no others stood out at this moment.

Tuesday night started out with three strong singers. Tatiyana, Perrie and Michael were all good and could do some damage in Hollywood. A few more good singers were found, but it’s always difficult to pick a favorite this soon.

The first week brought us the first bad singer who simply HAS to be on the finale. The Bird Man, Renaldo, had the song and the costume to be long remembered.

His catchy tune, “We Are Brothers,” will, as Simon put it, be a hit, unfortunately. It screams for the radio right now. It’s easy to remember and we all should join hands and sing, You are my brother, best friends forever……………………………….

I will say this, he had a good attitude and he knew what he was in for. I think he was genuine when he thanked Simon for giving everyone a chance, and as he put it, for “free of charge.”

And as far as Simon goes, I like him. He is honest and he’s not out to steer anyone wrong. Also, I don’t think he laughs at the contestants, except maybe when Paula and Randy are doing so. I don’t think anyone should be laughed at for taking a chance.

Oh, and Paula looks better this year. She was really loopy most of last season. There was talk of a replacement, and she probably saved her job for being more alert, though her problems (from what I understand) stemmed from a medical condition, which is understandable.

One final note. The tirades from the bad singers is the most boring part of the show. They need to get it into their heads that they were terrible. There’s no need to look like an even bigger fool by cursing and flipping a bird.

Tonight is another hour, followed by the debut of The Moment of Truth game show that has received a lot of talk.

You have some Idol thoughts?

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The sad demise of Ruffian

Brad Milner — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 21:13:32 +0000

I’ve said many times that we all could use a good cry. Or, in the least, have a moment where we connect with something we didn’t expect.

In my case, it was the made-for-TV movie “Ruffian,” which charted the remarkable rise and tragic fall of one of the greatest fillys in history. I happened upon it the other night before a San Francisco Giants game. It originally aired earlier this year, before the Belmont from what I recall.

It was the late 1970s and Ruffian was being compared to the likes of Secretariat. The horse was unbeaten through 10 races. Another nearly unbeatable horse, Foolish Pleasure, was widely considered the nation’s best colt.

It was inevitable that both horses would be pitted in a match race, which turned out to be the final one ever. It was male vs. female.

Many thought Ruffian would win.

Both horses were even through the first quarter-mile. What happened soon after was disturbing.

Ruffian snapped its right foreleg, a sight that was shocking to see recreated on film and probably 100 times worse for those actually in attendance in 1975. It also was surprising because I didn’t know much of Ruffian, and I expected the movie to have a vastly different ending.

Surgery was a success, but upon recuperating, Ruffian jerked around and broke the cast and its other leg. Ruffian was put down, which was another scene that was hard to watch as its eye glazed over and finally closed.

It was sad to see such a poor ending to a great animal. However, it’s part of the racing game. It’s part of the process, and something we all must deal with.

But it doesn’t take away the fact that I was a tad emotional watching this. It had a profound impact on all of those involved, including stellar journalist William Nack, whose love for the sport was forever changed with this tragedy.

Some of you may say “Get over it, it’s just a horse.” I agree to some extent, and I’m not giving human qualities to an animal. But there’s nothing wrong with showing a little compassion for all of God’s creatures.

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American Idol thoughts

Brad Milner — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 18:08:17 +0000

Well, the “American Idol” voters had some things right last night. But, they still let two weak links slip through.
Gone is Antonella “Bulldog” Barba, who plodded along while racy photos of her conveniently popped up on the Internet. She was plain awful. Plus, she had big teeth and appeared to have an underbite, depending on the camera angle, that made her look like a bulldog. And she wasn’t as “hot” as everyone said she was.
So, goodbye Bulldog, no one will miss you. They’ll forget you until you pop up in Maxim or Girls Gone Wild or worse.
Sundance Head also was given his walking papers. Sanjaya Malakar moving through wasn’t a total shock. He has a large fanbase, but he needs to pick it up if he’s going to stay much longer.
Sabrina Sloan going down was a slight surprise, and she looked mighty miffed when she was given the news. I thought one of the better singers would go out and Bulldog would slip through somehow.
The clear favorite today is Melinda Doolittle, the soft-spoken one who turns into, as Simon Cowell put it, a tiger when she has a mic attached to her hand. And pardon the pun, but she is clearly distancing herself from the pack and there’s little anyone can do(o) about it.
Lakisha Jones is good, but I fear she’ll falter when the theme shows come. The same can be said for Stephanie Edwards, whose Beyonce-esque tone might suffer when she has to sing a Bon Jovi tune.
The men are a pack of also-rans. I think Chris Sligh and Brandon Rogers will be the final two men. It won’t matter because Melinda and darkhorse Gina Glocksen, my projected final two women, would beat both of them while singing with laryngitis.
Your Idol thoughts?
And, as always, you can surf to my blog index for more entries.

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