Bob Neumeyer

[Pete]

Hi Folks,

This is a few days late but I thought some of you may have seen it too.

I only saw Mr. Neumeyer in about three segments and he managed to screw each one up.

First, when he was interviewing D. Wayne Lukas Neumeyer asked about his jockey on Flying First Class, Ron Guidry. Ron Guidry? Like him or not, D. Wayne was all professional upon hearing Neumeyer state that his jockey was the former Yankee standout pitcher and coach, Gator Guidry. A bit later in the interview Lukas calmly mentioned that his jockey was Mark Guidry and Neumeyer missed this opportunity to correct his mistake.

Immediately after the race when emotions had to be high, Neumeyer asked Calvin Borel whether he might have moved too soon on Street Sense. Calvin was answering with a lot of candor despite being fresh from the battle when Carl Nafzger approached to speak with him. The camerman got the idea that this was a dramatic moment and started to shift towards the trainer who was now speaking with Borel when, incredibly, Neumeyer tugged at Borel's colors to yank him back towards him. I guess someone slapped Neumeyer because he let go of Calvin a moment later but we (the audience) missed a few seconds of their exchange.

There was a third gaff a few minutes later that I now forget - anyone remember?

I don't pay too much attention to the broadcasters and I have thought in the past that Neumeyer was forgettable but is he really this bad?

Regards,

Pete

[bdw0617]

this is what happens when you get people who don't cover something but 1-2 times a year, to cover the biggest sporting event in the game.

[Pete]

Hi Bdw,

You're absolutely right but it should be embarrassing to the network. They’re relying on the fans being less informed than the announcers.

The Ron Guidry gaff is one thing but even in the World Series they give the losing manager a few minutes to collect themselves.

Regards,

Pete

[Rokeby Forever]

They should let the Beulah Park Twins cover the Belmont....at least when they make a mistake, it's funny.

[ct2346]

The other thing I noticed about Neumeyer was the cheesy way that he interviewed Michael Matz after the Chelokee win in the Barbaro stakes. It was so evident that he was hoping to coax a tear or two out of Matz. The way he looked at the cameraman to try to draw him in to the man's face made him look like an amateur human, nevermind amateurish sportscaster.

[geowarrior]

Yes, I noticed the cheezy Matz interview too. Really tacky. The only part of the coverage I actually enjoyed was the Gary Stevens analysis of the race afterwards. I'm also getting pretty tired watching Todd Pletcher being interviewed about not winning things.

The ESPN coverage was disappointing also. The 'Hammer' could hardly string two words together, calling Xchanger Exchange Rate and stumbling every second he was on air. No horse bit Jeanine Edwards, also quite disappointing, since I've come to rely on that as a handicapping tool. Jeanine always looks very nervous when it looks as though she might get an in-depth answer to one of her questions. That Kenny guy seems to think he's funny but I haven't even smiled at anything he's ever said, and does he actually know anything about racing? It's hard to tell. Jerry Bailey was definitely missed from that crew, and sometimes I find him fairly annoying.

And then from both groups almost all the idiot handicappers picked Circular Quay, even after hearing Todd Pletcher virtually describe the horse as comatose.

The most classic comment was from the Derby coverage when they were admitting they had no idea what dosage was.

[Toccet02]

The other thing I noticed about Neumeyer was the cheesy way that he interviewed Michael Matz after the Chelokee win in the Barbaro stakes. It was so evident that he was hoping to coax a tear or two out of Matz. The way he looked at the cameraman to try to draw him in to the man's face made him look like an amateur human, nevermind amateurish sportscaster.

Yeah I cringed and actually shouted at my TV "Cut away from the poor dude!"
embarrassing for Matz, and Vulture-like of Bob.

[Rokeby Forever]

We need more of the Beulah Park Twins on NBC!!!

[llbean]

Hi Geowarrior,

Because I tend away from agreement with your assessment of the ESPN Pre-Preakness Coverage, I decided to try and defend them against your criticisms...

The ESPN coverage was disappointing also. The 'Hammer' could hardly string two words together.

So what are you saying, that anyone who's a little bit older and a little bit slower than he or she may have been in the past should be banished from television so you can avoid the discomfort of watching someone who actually has to think for a moment or two to find words to put his or her thoughts into?

One flub isn't something to be too hard on in the grand scheme of things.

No horse bit Jeanine Edwards, also quite disappointing,

That's not her fault...

That Kenny guy seems to think he's funny

Bear in mind that humor is subjective and perhaps your sense of humor is different than the sense of humor possesed by Kenny Mayne fans.

does he actually know anything about racing?

The short answer is yes, he's just sly about it sometimes for the sake of humor and for the sake of his on-air persona.

Jerry Bailey was definitely missed from that crew, and sometimes I find him fairly annoying.

His son was graduating from College or something, what do you want from the guy?

Also, what is annoying about Jerry Bailey? To me if I were to lodge a complaint it would be for perhaps being bland.

The most classic comment was from the Derby coverage when they were admitting they had no idea what dosage was.

Who admitted they had no idea what dosage was and in what words did they admit it? (Close paraphrases are acceptable if you can't remember the exact words.)

-llbean

[geowarrior]

llbean, of course we can agree to disagree about the ESPN coverage, but I'd like to respond to some of your comments. I did not interpret The Hammer's stumblings as age related, and I don't think I gave any reason to suggest that I did. I simply thought he was off his game. I've generally enjoyed ESPN's treatment of racing up to this point, and I particularly liked the coverage of the Breeder's Cup last year. At no previous event have I noticed anything untoward about his reporting, so it stood out to me this time.

I did not imply that Jeanine Edwards should be held responsible for the fact that no horse bit her, and that my handicapping was impeded as a result. That statement was my attempt at humor, and it certainly appears you and I have a different perspective on that topic. Obviously, as you say, my sense of humor must be different than that possessed by Kenny Mayne fans. I doubt that those fans are likely to be swayed by any opinion of mine as to his comedic ability, so perhaps we have another agree to disagree situation here.

If you say Kenny knows something about racing, I'll take your word for it, because since I don't get either his on-air persona or his humor (and I have read some of his writing as well as watched him on t.v.), I can't seem to separate the wheat from the chaff.

I don't believe I criticized Jerry Bailey for attending his son's graduation, which is an important family event and it was the right thing for him to do. I simply said his contribution was missed. What I find annoying about Bailey may not in fact be his fault, but I don't like the little pre-filmed segments he does where he displays a cheerfulness that seems forced to me, and perhaps I might even use the word bland for those. I don't find his live commentary bland at all, he is not afraid to express an informed opinion about horses or jockeys.

It was Kenny Mayne who made the comment about dosage re. the Derby, perhaps this is one of his slynesses I just don't get. To the best of my recollection he read out some kind of Dosage figure and then said something like 'I don't know what that is', and the others shook their heads and smiled. Perhaps he was trying to imply that Dosage is not useful as a handicapping tool. I'm sorry I can't repeat his statement verbatim. Someone else also alluded to the incident (also not verbatim) on a previous thread about Dosage and Nobiz Like Shobiz.

Thanks for the discussion, llbean.

Regards

Geo

[Kari]

I think Jerry Bailey does a good job with the people he has to work with. I don't think he likes to promote the fluff that the producers are bent on boring us with. Most of us here are hard-core racing fans, and ESPN has to throw in corny, cheesy things to get the little girls hooked and keep the more casual viewer occupied. I know when I was 8 or 9, I lived for the pre-filmed segments because it was an in-depth, off-the-track look at owners, breeders, managers, etc. that I couldn't get anywhere else. I didn't mind seeing the bits with the retired horses either, since I couldn't exactly buzz on down to KY and go see them myself.

I think Kenny Mayne is more into handicapping than anything. He does seem to do his homework. I've noticed him going in-depth after one of his colleagues make a simple comment on a horse, but Mayne clams up when his colleague gets glassy-eyed.

I wanted to slap Neumeyer and the cameraman when they butted in to Boreal and Nafzger's exchange on the track. We don't need to know everything, and I'm sure that the comments were edited for the camera. Give the jock a break! Let him at least turn around and acknowledge you before you start pestering him for answers that he probably doesn't have or want to air on national TV!

I also can't stand Neumeyer because he throws around "great" and "champion" way too much. Three allowance wins and a Gr.1 win does not a great champion make!

[magic code]

Jerry Bailey drives me nuts.

That new guy - Rece something? - at least seemed happy to be there. (Easy on the eyes, too. ) Hank Goldberg couldn't put a complete sentence together. And I watched and listened for him to just finish ONE sentence. Nope.

NBC's coverage was atrocious - I e-mailed them and told them so and hope others did the same. Wish Jim McKay were younger and even Charlsie Cantey is better than these clowns.

[Pete]

Hi Magic Code,

Jerry Bailey drives me nuts.

That new guy - Rece something? - at least seemed happy to be there. (Easy on the eyes, too. ) Hank Goldberg couldn't put a complete sentence together. And I watched and listened for him to just finish ONE sentence. Nope.

NBC's coverage was atrocious - I e-mailed them and told them so and hope others did the same. Wish Jim McKay were younger and even Charlsie Cantey is better than these clowns.

Why are you holding back? Tell us what you think.

Maybe Rokeby's onto something with the Beulah Twins?

Regards,

Pete

[Kari]

Would someone point out a link to the Beulah Twins? Inquiring minds can't take it any more. I need to know if they're really competent analysts, or if it's twin blondes in bikinis.

[Roguelet]

Would someone point out a link to the Beulah Twins? Inquiring minds can't take it any more. I need to know if they're really competent analysts, or if it's twin blondes in bikinis.

Here ya go:

http://www.beulahpark.com/twins_fan_club/index.htm


That's information about the Twins Fan Club. Roke can probably elaborate, as I'm quite sure he's a card-carrying member.