C鈥橫ON MAN
If you checked out 鈥榅鈥� a couple of hours after the Minnesota-Philadelphia football game on Thursday night, you probably noticed that Al Michaels was trending.
The legendary play-by-play man was being criticized for calling Philadelphia鈥檚 Lincoln Financial Field 鈥淰eterans Stadium鈥� coming back from break to start the third quarter. Yes, it鈥檚 a slip seeing how 鈥楾he Link鈥� replaced Veterans Stadium in 2003, but Michaels also caught flak for not realizing his mic was hot during a kick-off 鈥� in all likelihood believing only his talkback was on in communicating with a producer.
Needless to say, many decided to post that the 78-year-old Michaels鈥� time as an announcer was up and that he should be replaced. I鈥檓 just wondering if the same reaction would occur if a 48-year-old announcer made the same mistakes? Just because you鈥檙e in your 70鈥檚 doesn鈥檛 mean you鈥檙e washed up. There is a long list of announcers such as Verne Lundquist, Dick Stockton, Sam Rosen, Vin Scully and of course Bob Cole who have worked well into their 70鈥檚 and did a great job.
Here鈥檚 a little nugget that I guarantee EVERY play-by-play voice will tell you: you will never have a 鈥榩erfect game鈥� as there will be a play you wished you described differently or you鈥檒l just slip on something else. It鈥檚 sad that so many are seeking perfection rather than enjoying a master at his craft and then using age as an excuse to get rid of him.
C鈥橫ON MAN, PART DEUX
With Aaron Rodgers鈥� season over after four offensive snaps, the rumor mill has gone into overdrive in terms of what the New York Jets should do with their quarterback position.
North of the border, fans took to social media to suggest that the Jets acquire former B.C. Lions pivot Nathan Rourke and give him a look. I can understand some fans pushing this unrealistic narrative but I was rather shocked when even former University of Hawaii and Hamilton coach June Jones suggested the same. First off, the Jets weren鈥檛 interested in Rourke when he was a free agent as they were not one of the dozen teams that he worked out for before he eventually signed with Jacksonville.
Look, I love Nathan Rourke and given the opportunity I think he could have success at the NFL level but let鈥檚 get real here. The Jets are built to win a Super Bowl this year and if they are going to make a move, you鈥檇 better believe it would be for a veteran quarterback who the coaches can trust and who the fans would probably buy into.
With Nick Foles, Carson Wentz and Joe Flacco available, do you think the Jets would give the keys to the car to Rourke? Not saying they鈥檇 be better than Rourke, but the point being made is that politics of the NFL would preclude a non-drafted free agent being a priority over players such as Foles and Flacco who have won Super Bowls.
LESSON LEARNED鈥OPEFULLY
As the B.C. Lions get set to host the Ottawa Redblacks at BC Place on Saturday, you hope that the Leos have learned their lesson from a few weeks back when the Hamilton Tiger-Cats embarrassed them at home by a 30-13 margin. Hamilton came to town with a 3-6 record and were coming off a disappointing loss to Edmonton at Tim Horton鈥檚 Field in which the Elks recorded their first win of the season.
Now it鈥檚 the Redblacks who limp into Vancouver having lost 27-24 to Hamilton last week to drop to 3-9 鈥� and for all intents and purposes 鈥� being knocked out of the playoff race. The scary thing about the Redblacks is that six of those losses have been by one score (eight points or less) and the biggest margin of defeat has been 13 points. The Redblacks will compete, so the Lions better be ready or history might repeat itself.
BOOTH DUOS
With the news coming out this week that John Shorthouse will return to the Canucks broadcast booth after signing a new contract, the speculation continues on who will replace the retiring John Garrett as the color analyst.
Barring something catastrophic happening, expect to see former TSN 1040 Canucks analyst Dave Tomlinson get the gig. Tomlinson, who has been doing colour on the Seattle Kraken radio broadcasts the last couple of years, is one of the best in doing games and is fanatical when it comes to his preparation.
Veteran B.C. sports personality Bob 鈥渢he Moj鈥� Marjanovich writes twice weekly for Black Press Media. And check out his weekly podcast every Monday at Today in B.C. or your local Black Press Media website.
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