202SportsBlog

During the ESPN broadcast of the Redskins game, I was reminded of something that has frustrated me during Wizards games on Comcast Sportsnet. Directors stay on camera angles that have nothing to do with the action on the field, much too long. I was reminded of this frustration during the Skins game, when the Director decided to stay on Andy Reid for what felt like an eternity, all because the game crew was discussing the issues with his sons. How about you show him for a second or two, just long enough to put a face with a name – for those who don’t know what he looks like – and then get back to the action on the field? I would rather look at the players in the huddle then Andy Reid (or any coach for that matter) for an extended period of time.

This problem happens much too often during the Wizards games – whether it is a close-up of someone in the stands, Eddie Jordan, a player on the bench, the Polian’s in the owners box., etc, etc, etc. What is most frustrating is that I have lost count of the times that the television audience has not been shown live game action due to one of these occurrences, from foul shots, to steals, to dunks the list is endless. I remember a number of occasions in which they had to show the audience a replay of on-court action to make up for the fact that they did not show it lives. And let’s not forget the advertisements that they display during the game. They are not commercials mind you, but the advertiser’s logo and a brief amount of copy that Buck is obligated to read. These have also caused a fair amount of game action to be missed over the years. It would be nice if their production crew could make those advertisements transparent or at least minimize the screen so that the game can actually be seen.

The folks at the Neilson Ratings should develop a device that allowed people to administer an electric shock – nothing lethal mind you – to either the Director or Technical Director of a sporting event every time they stayed too long on a meaningless camera angle. (Or maybe even the on-air crew when they spend an eternity discussing whether or not Donovan McNabb is being under appreciated in Philly.)

Am I the only person who is bothered by this?