M&M were "home." I'm sure the new guys will eventually feel like that, but why make the change to begin with? How much are the Blazers REALLY benefiting from making the change? Because I can tell you this, our forum does not represent the majority with regard to this change. Most people are still pretty butt-sore over it and I only bring it up to begin with because my sore butt is getting sorer. It's not healing. lolz
But the people you are refering to are still local yocal homers right? Why make the change go begin with? You answered that in your first post. To broaden our viewership. Calabro will help to gain loyalty from the Seattle Market, as well as help us gain national attention. How? One way would be anytime he is doing any function or what not (calabro is a national talent) not in our state, he brings the Blazers influence with him. Meaning, lets say he does a celebrity golf tournament in Florida next summer. Now all involved will know where he is at and potentially spread the word to check us out. Will it go along ways? No, probably not, but in advertising you rarely make large strides. Every little bit ads up to the movement of making Portland's a more nationally recognized team to help bring in quality talent in FA down the road. To me its all clear what the organization is trying to do now. We failed miserably in FA the year before and we are trying to create a thing where they will stay. Is Calabro the answer? No, but he is part of it. Will it work? Maybe, maybe not, but I'm super happy they are trying at least. We all know the FA woes of this town, so why not try to fix it any way possible and one of those ways is to create more national recognition. On a more personal note, I was a super M&M homer. IM still happy with the change. Somethings need to be changed to provide freshness whether it was broken or not. There is nothing wrong with the vinyl siding on my house, but I want to change it. Update it. Modernize it to hardy plank. Nothing wrong with the vinyl
How much impact do announcers really have on ratings one way or the other? Is Calabro increasing ratings significantly? Is losing Mike & Mike significantly decreasing ratings? Probably not. CSN not being available on Dish or DirecTV is much more impactful on ratings than the announcers are. Translation: this is all much ado about nothing.
The announcers may not affect local ratings, but who is announcing a game certainly affects my enjoyment of viewing the game. That said, I think Calabro and Hurd are fine. Calabro is a national-level play-by-play guy. This is really a big-time hire by the Blazers. The kind of hire that is contrary to the Roger Dangerfield attitude a lot of people have about Portland and the Blazers not being able to draw a big name. He's a big-time announcer, and quite good, even if a bit wordy. Hurd...I'll give him a chance. As I've said previously, I get the feeling he wants to talk too much, be too funny and hip, and be a celebrity. I just want reasoned analysis and basketball insight, and not too much unnecessary talk or attempts to be clever. I don't need or want every millisecond of air time filled with noise. That's one of the things I liked about the Mike's. For example, compare the easy flow of the Atlanta Braves broadcasts in the 1980s, which were the most enjoyable baseball broadcasts I've ever seen, to the insufferable non-stop chatterboxes who did the NBC MLB games. Guys like Bob Costas and Tim McCarver made baseball games unwatchable. I'll take the Skip Caray's, Ernie Johnsons, Joe Garagiolas, Bob Eukers, and Mike Rice's any day.
For those who keep saying that Calabro is national, that reminds me of those who kept saying we should keep McMillan because he was the Assistant Coach on the U.S. National Team. So I guess you'd like Barkley and Shaq to replace Rice & Barrett. Wait...that's an astoundingly good idea.
My goodness they were awful. Not gonna lie, I was grateful for our new broadcast team during the entire game.
Does collabro commentate from a lazy boy? He seems so relaxed with every call. "Plumlee with the great pass to Crabbe and he *yawns* throws it down."
Erik Gundersen, gone but not forgotten. Better than the Oregonian & Blazers Edge. http://blogs.columbian.com/blazer-banter/
That sucks but this looks like it was some time ago. http://blogs.columbian.com/blazer-banter/2016/06/17/its-been-real/
Love the knowledge the new guys are bringing but so far (hopefully its just the preseason effect) they're not nearly as exciting.
Member mike and mike? Oooh i member! Member schonz? Oooooh i member! Member greg oden's penis? Yah i member!
So far, I can't complain about the quality of the broadcast crew. I think it's going to take a while for Calabro and Hurd to develop their chemistry, but I think they're doing a good job. I guess my only complaint is that the broadcast just kind of feels like watching a national broadcast. There doesn't seem to be the connection with the team that we had in the past. I know that some of you despise homerism in any amount, but I like for there at least to be a sense that the Blazer guys are rooting for the team to win. If you're not getting that, you may as well just turn down the sound and listen to Wheels.
