THE MEDIA WATCHDOG Barks at The Anita Marks Show

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Media Watchdog - THE MEDIA WATCHDOG Barks at The Anita Marks Show

Posted On: 5/15/07

Written By:

Scot Kleinfeld

THE MEDIA WATCHDOG Barks at The Anita Marks Show

We all have our preferences and dislikes on sports channels, personalities and content. We may not all be the same on which programs, shows or sites we frequent, but two common threads all sports fans share is a love of the game and a willingness to give an opinion. I’m no different and here goes…

It was predominantly Orioles talk during the week until the story broke about Ravens quarterback Steve McNair getting a DUI by consent on Thursday morning. I was hoping the local coverage wouldn't O.D. on the controversial topic. Fortunately they did not.

WNST's Rob Long efficiently handled calls and interjected a level opinion on the week's hot topic. However, when I tuned to the Anita Marks Show later that same afternoon, the topic was the same but the execution was not. The McNair DUI chatter quickly derailed into a history of Suzie Kolber’s dating habits for the last decade. Besides Joe Namath, who cares?

A quick piece of advice for Ms. Marks….you are the host of a Baltimore sports talk show…try a little harder at actually talking about LOCAL sports. It’s bad enough you are not from this area and remind us how much you miss Miami every day, but the time spent on national sports and non-sports subjects in general got out of hand a while ago. It’s time to reel it in.

Something that I happily reeled in were the talking heads of AM 1300’s GAMETIME which started my week on the right track. I listened intently to the entire interview with Eric DeCosta and walked away feeling like I had taken a crash course in the Ravens planning process and draft day execution after digesting the face to face between Tony Lombardi and DeCosta. The MW is hoping for similar banter between the GAMETIME crew and the Ravens' 2007 draft class when summer camp gets going in July.

Shifting camps for the moment, when the field was announced for the men’s division I lacrosse tournament I expected to hear some lax banter starting the next morning, May 7thyet during my morning drive the subject was noticeably absent from the Drew Forrester show on WNST. I did get a nice update on the Orioles woes and all the national scores I needed. Forrester provides solid sports coverage every morning and the “Ask Peter” segments often give me a chuckle even if the team does not. Forrester seems to have found his groove as a solo act.

Moving down the dial on Monday I caught some of the Mark Viviano Show on AM 1300. Bulldog was talking lacrosse and did a nice breakdown of the upcoming Loyola-Albany first round game. Later in the week WNST scored a couple of hits in my book when Forrester caught up with Towson coach Tony Seaman and UMBC coach Don Zimmerman…better late than never I suppose.

Now for some quick hits on national TV…I listen to “Mike and Mike In The Morning” on AM 1300 and like them when I’m jonesing a take on the national sports scene. But why would I feel compelled to watch them on TV too? Do you know anybody that makes a point of watching them before they go to work? Does anyone else think the Felix and Oscar routine wears a little thin at times? Hey guys, we don't need to hear the joke in every segment.

Something that is no joke is The Golf Channel. I’ve enjoyed that locale on my TV dial for several years now and each time a major or big tournament like The Players is on tap for the week I realize just how good this channel is at providing stats, news, highlights and analysis at a consistently high level. TGC’s pre and post round coverage combined with the on course coverage by NBC was a delight to watch. Even a non-golf fan can sit and watch the best players in the world struggle to keep their tee shots dry at the par-3 17th hole at Sawgrass. Kudos to them.

Kudos also go out to ESPNU for their coverage of the men’s division I lacrosse first round games. The A-team of Dave Ryan and Quint Kessenich are both excellent and give them extra credit for an extra long weekend covering three games in two days. On a bummer note, the team of Rob Simmelkjaer and Jack Emmer had their troubles doing the Loyola - Albany game and failed to point out a goalie switch by Loyola for almost an entire quarter in the second half...come on guys, that's game announcing 101. But overall it was almost pure heaven for a local lacrosse fan this weekend...save for the nasty downpour at the Notre Dame-Johns Hopkins game on Saturday night that soaked me like a Super Bowl in Miami.

From Steve McNair getting a DUI, to the PGA pros dunking tee shots at the best hole in golf, to me being caught in a monsoon at Homewood Field with no umbrella or proper rain gear, it really was a week all about staying dry.