Changing of the Guard at NBC

[eaweek]

I'm surprised this hasn't been posted here already.  NBC (in the US) are officially putting Scott Hamilton and Sandra Bezic out to pasture.  I posted about this on my own LJ, with a link to the New York Times article and some of my own biased/ rambling reaction.

http://eaweek.livejournal.com/102696.htmlThoughts

Comments

[ametalheart]

It's long overdue!

[eaweek]

And how!

[thebadunkadunk]

Long overdue, and I agree with most of the same thoughts you had. Johnny and Tara were refreshing, but also knew how to stay on topic and professional. It's clear that they still revere skating and understand how the system works whereas Scott and Sandra had become irrelevant spectators.

I disagree that Tanith White should be the new NBC commentator though. Whenever I hear her as a commentating, she repeats the same thing over and over, and I don't feel like anything she has to say is particularly insightful. Maybe she was exercising restraint because her boyfriend was competing, but I don't know, I find her commentary very bland. Or maybe that's just how her face is, which I don't get because I loved her as an ice dancer.

[eaweek]

I think Tanith should be given a chance now that D/W are not competing. Maybe she could pick up some tips from Johnny and Tara, LOL.

I do feel like Tracy Wilson shouldn't be NBC's only option for ice dancing coverage, though. She stopped competing in 1988. It was a different sport back then. I think she's done more to learn the new judging system than Scott and Sandra put together, but I'd really like to see someone who actually competed under the system do commentary. So if a team gets a lower than expected score, for example, the commentator could point out how easy it is to lose levels on step sequences if one partner goes onto the wrong edge for one step. It doesn't need to be a highly detailed technical explanation, but something quick and informative that viewers could grasp without having to do a Google search.

So if not Tanith, someone more recent than Tracy Wilson.

Long overdue, and I agree with most of the same thoughts you had. Johnny and Tara were refreshing, but also knew how to stay on topic and professional. It

[tinamachina]

Smart move, NBC! Unfortunately, if you didn't have cable or just the right cable package, you missed Tara & Johnny. I guess you could have streamed but...

NBC's coverage is still a mess but this is a good step forward.

[haruhiko]

Scott and Sandra have been useless since forever but I intensely dislike Johnny and Tara so I'll be sticking to streams with different or no commentary. :)

[elainetyger]

Thanks for the link. Glad to see that Terry Gannon will be in the mix, too! He dates back to the Dick-and-Peggy days and is easy on the eyes as well as the ears. (Hey, I'm too old to be swanning over the young bucks on the ice.)