Things are real slow down here on the Blog front. Just about every topic imaginable concerning Notre Dame Football and the upcoming Blue-Gold Game has been digested and reported by someone. Quarterback controversy, injuries, lack of running backs, early enrollee impacts (or lack thereof), Michael Floyd, Spring Practice, prospects for the fall and foes added to the out-year schedule. They have all been taken. If you scroll down, you can see where Subway Alumni Station jumped right in with a number of those topics as well. Unfortunately the staff here at SAS prides itself in leading the pack in opinions, controversy, hard analysis, and holding persons accountable. After all we are Loyal Subway Alumni of Notre Dame. It is interesting to note that one major sports website periodically takes one of our topics and expands upon it and juices it up a bit. We have also been informed from an unnamed reliable source that certain persons associated with Notre Dame even take a peek at this Blog.
Anyway.
While riding in on the Red Line this morning I read where Mike Mayock has been picked to do color commentary for Thursday Night NFL Football. Dang, does that mean he won’t be working the booth for NBC and Notre Dame Football on Saturdays? Man, he was a breath of knowledge and insight compared to Tom Hammond’s vanilla play-by-play! He offered a lot more than Pat Haden did, even though Pat played at USC and in the NFL.
So can Mayock give justice to the NFL Thursday night and still cover the Irish Saturday afternoon? This may be a moot point considering the greed being engaged in by the NFL owners and players even as we speak. Who knows, Notre Dame may be playing on Sunday, right after the televised Mass in the Sacred Heart Basilica.
We called The Peacock to get a reading on this question and see if Mayock would be available to sit in the booth high above Notre Dame Stadium this fall. If not, then who? After explaining to the receptionist that I was from Subway Alumni Station she would not put me through to NBC Sports. Go figure.
Anyway.
This is a golden (blatant pun) opportunity for NBC and Notre Dame to bring in a whole new broadcast team. This is in keeping with the shrewd makeover that Notre Dame is undertaking to market the football program. See: The Subtle New Marketing of Notre Dame Football.
This would entail jettisoning perennial announcer Tom Hammond. Oh my, Tom is pretty much an institution around NBC. A regular jack-of-all-trades type announcer and part time commentator. Tom has done or does for NBC; the Olympics, NFL Football, The Triple Crown, track and field, gymnastics, SEC basketball, The NBA and probably some sports and events we couldn’t remember.
Don’t get us wrong, we like Tom we really do. It’s just like Bert Parks and the Miss America Pageant; he’s outlived his usefulness and relevancy. Of course you have to be careful what you ask for; we could end up with Kathy Lee Gifford’s husband.
Anyway, what do you think? Replace Tom? Vote on the right side. Vote early and vote often, just like we do in West Virginia.
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