February 10, 2010

He...could...go...all...the...way...to DirecTV: ESPN analyst personality Chris Berman's contract is set to expire in three months. Both DirecTV and the NFL Network are trying to lure the stumblin', bumblin' Swami (NSFW) away. Not everyone understands the appeal.

posted by dusted to football at 07:48 PM - 10 comments

Hopefully he goes to DirecTV, because I don't have that.

If he can take Tommy Smyth with him, that would be just fine.

posted by Mr Bismarck at 07:50 PM on February 10, 2010

I thought DirectTV and NFL Network were synonymous...least that's why my Time Warner friends tell me :-)

But seriously, what would he do for DirectTV? They don't have a specific "channel" for him, unless it's the 101. I mean would he be doing a recap show on Sunday Ticket or something?

posted by bdaddy at 10:31 PM on February 10, 2010

btw - that Swami video is hilarious. If he cusses that much in normal dialogue, you would think he'd occasionally slip on-air.

posted by bdaddy at 10:33 PM on February 10, 2010

I would much rather see him go all the way to the unemployment line. He is a sorry excuse for a sports journalist. I can't stand listening to him.

And bdaddy don't let time warner fool you. The nfl wants cable to offer NFL Network as part of its regular package and Cable wants to charge an extra fee for it. So the NFL is staying away from Cable.

posted by twgibsr at 12:32 AM on February 11, 2010

And he needs to take Jon Miller to the unemployment line with him.

posted by twgibsr at 12:35 AM on February 11, 2010

Berman is way, WAY overrated. I remember years ago thinking he was funny, but his act is worn out. His stupid noises during game clips, and all his other lame stuff he has been doing year after year after year is tired. The only thing worse than having him on the football pre and post game shows is when they have him as a play by play guy for baseball. Horrible. His work on the MLB All-Star game home run derby is brutal.

Hopefully he goes to DirecTV, because I don't have that.

Actually, that about says it all.

posted by dyams at 04:44 PM on February 11, 2010

Berman is way, WAY overrated.

I strongly disagree. That statement suggests there's a scale where he rates above 0. Not even Kelvin goes that low.

posted by yerfatma at 06:00 PM on February 11, 2010

He is a sorry excuse for a sports journalist.

Since when has he been a journalist? He's an analyst. It's his job to talk about the things that happen in sports, not report that they are happening. He has always been just a talking head.

That said, his shtick definitely grew tiresome years ago. He used to be interesting to watch, but then he transformed into a caricature of himself and that was that.

posted by Jeffwa at 04:22 PM on February 12, 2010

Since when has he been a journalist? He's an analyst.

Berman's most notable gigs are SportsCenter anchor since 1979, Monday Night Countdown host and Monday Night Football halftime host. Those aren't analyst positions -- they're reporting the news and asking questions of analysts and athletes.

I loved Berman's shtick the first five years he did it. The last 45, not so much.

posted by rcade at 04:30 PM on February 12, 2010

Maybe he, Dan Marino, and Jenny Craig can all ride off into the sunset together.

posted by The_Black_Hand at 12:47 PM on February 20, 2010

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