Mike and Mike - I just don't get it

Do you like fishsticks?

Once

also they shouldn’t change a thing. They aren’t 2nd in viewership for nothing in terms of team broadcasts and only behind the Cavaliers. They are entertaining and they are the Blazer broadcasters, they are hired to bring us Blazer basketball, they are not hired to be neutral obervers, they are not journalists, they are paid representatives of the team and are part of the product package. They recognize that and give it to us.

All that being said, I also get how annoying it can be for other teams fans, and with NBA TV airing only one side or the other’s commentator’s you will get this reaction from other team’s fans in the diaspara as it were. Although, I have no problem with what homerism I have seen in other teams broadcasters, I do find them boring and they seem to provide little good information during the game. Most of them do good end of quarter analysis from time to time, but their live action commentary tends to be blllleccccchhhhh!

I’d rather listen to the local homers of the other team than national people. At least the locals care enough to find out SOMETHING about our team before going on the air as “experts.”

I also hate Rebecca with her stupid leading questions.

I agree. Like the Mikes (a lot—born and raised here, always loved my homer announcers) but I don’t even think Rebecca is cute. All those dumb questions and apparently she’s a Yale grad. Throw in Bush and you’ve got some GREAT alumni there.

I wouldn’t call her an idiot based on those questions though, that’s for sure. She seems reasonable intelligent but also pretty nervous behind the microphone and not particularly gifted as a sideline reporter.

She’s not terrible— there are certainly worse reporters out there, but somebody should work with her on her questioning.

Calling a Princeton grad an idiot based on her reporting goes too far though, in my opinion.

For once, Barrett and Rice cut back on the homerism and did a relatively objective announcing the game.

Radio is a completely different medium. I learned to love baseball and basketball by listening to the on the radio. I think Wheeler’s energy on the radio is essential to portray how the game is going. On the other hand, when he was on TV, it was too much. I get the excitement right there, didn’t need screaming coming from my TV for something that was cool, but maybe not that great.

Segue to baseball, cause I brought it up. Listening to the Mariners on the radio was the only way I was ever going to get interested. I watched some Braves baseball one time, on TV, and heard this: “Strike one…Ball one…Strike two.” Really!?! That’s all you have to say. I listened to the Mariners guys on radio and got reports on every person at every position, some history, crowd reactions, and “Strike one.” I would have gladly hated baseball forever without homer announcers like Rick Rizzszszsz (can’t spell it, but I think there’s a S in it somewhere).

I liked Steve too. He would take it to the guys right there if they were sucking. It made me so mad. I liked him better analyzing the game afterward, though.

They know the other guys. It makes the game much more fulfilling.

they quite often complain that the Mikes are clearly just reading from a press sheet. So I don’t know if they really know much about the opposition.

It’s not as if they were even the lowest ranked team that year, and got hosed out of the #1 pick. They just act as if they were entitled to it by nature of being Boston.

and Arby? Rebecca…. you REALLY don’t think Rebecca is cute? REALLY???!!? I mean REALLY??? Need to get your eyes and/or TV checked dude….

Basketball games are emotional. I want announcers who can keep perspective when I don’t.

It’s why I can’t listen to Wheeler.

who get excited both ways, but also know the material. They really don’t know the blazer team, and it shows.

YEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!

because the vast majority of their audience is made up of fans (whereas fans in other cities know Mike & Mike’s work from League Pass). Wheels is a total, unabashed homer, but he’s very skilled at play-by-play and really does make it exciting to listen to. The emotional aspect of his style cuts both ways — when the Blazers are kicking butt it’s a thrill to hear him describe it. But when things go bad he makes it sound like God is personally intervening to screw over the Blazers. I can’t take it sometimes.

Antonio Harvey is better at his job than he used to be — early on he was downright painful to behold, plus he described the home team as “we” (a huge no-no in my book) — but he still gets confused, lost in his thoughts and often seems to be racing to blurt out his analysis. Not smooth at all.

They’re just a different animal altogether. I have no objectivity during Laker games, so I just don’t care. But even then, they still analyze the game and give different perspectives on how to win.

It’s mostly b.s. — except in reference to Joe Smith.

But much more often to the point I want to throw the radio out the window. Thats where Barrett probable picked that up from

Barrett, multiple times every game, tells us that an opposing player "shuffled his feet," "took an extra step," "got away with a moving pick," or some other little dig.

This was infuriating on League Pass this season. Just call the game, Mike.

“oh, looks like the blazers got away with one there”

Well, i heard someone say it.

Of course I’ve heard him say the “shuffling their feet” thing about our guys too.

One of the things Barrett has helped me learn to do is spot a moving pick. The Blazers get called on moving picks often enough that we’ve been given ample proof of what a moving pick is. And he never disputes when the Blazers move on their picks. I hear “Yep, Joel was moving there.” I’ve also heard “LaMarcus needs to hold that pick longer”. It’s that kind of analysis that helps me learn to spot what other teams do well and what we need to improve on.

do you also not like her?

I say Mike Rice reminds me of my drunk uncle..however I don’t think he is really drunk on the air. He is a professional.

Rebecca has been rumored as having relations with team members. Probably no actual truth to it whatsoever, so I don’t really believe it (hence the reason I changed how I said it originally).

The Wheels comments went too far. They are real people and I love Mike and Mike. But thank you for reminding us that they are real people. Sometimes we forget :)

I’ve been increasingly disgusted by these allegations.

Mike Rice: Enough people have seen the guy having a drink before the game that he probably does on occasion. It becomes an issue when people blow this up and try and coin him an alcoholic. Having a drink before a game makes you no more an alcoholic than having a glass of wine with dinner. I’ve never seen it hurt his broadcasting, I’ve never heard of him doing anything out of control while under the influence, and I’ve never heard from a friend or family member that he drinks too much. Basically, people think they’re being creative by taking something Rice does and hyperbolizing it.

Rebecca: Yes, she looks at LMA like she has a crush on him. No big deal, they could be friends off the court, which leads to a different interview style since she is more comfortable around him, or maybe she thinks he actually is attractive. That’s not a crime. It becomes an issue when people runaway with this and say that her and LMA are doing things that probably wouldn’t be too professional. Why? Because it’s an easy cheapshot.

Take something minor about the person and run with it. The cheapest and easiest way to insult someone! Sadly, you see it all day wherever you go and we are trained to do this when we’re kids.

i didnt have any idea rice had any drinking problems (if he had any) until he brought it up at the rally.

And nobody on the team thought to do so.

I often find myself saying the same thing

…from time to time shows some genuine journalistic talent. You will never see that talent fully demonstrated, as long as she is a team employee. It’s just the economics of the situation.

Some like that M&M act a bit like fans. Others prefer they’d be more impartial. But there’s also some feeling that the team actually prefers announcers to make excuses/root for the Blazers.

The “why” is up to debate. I’ve always felt that it’s because it keeps less-educated fans involved, because they rely on the announcers to do the thinking for them. (“The Blazers are losing, but the announcers say it’s because the refs stink and the other team is being allowed to travel and foul without calls”). Others think it’s because it’s simply good practice; the announcers are reacting to the game the same way many fans would at home. (“Come on! That was a travel!”)

Personally, I prefer someone like Steve Jones because I felt he picked up more nuances in the game than Mike, and I felt I enjoyed that more. If Steve said the referees were bad, you KNEW they were bad.

There’s no right answer. This has mainly just been a fun discussion, minus the Rebecca stuff and the drinking stuff.

I don’t get it.

Yes Mike Barrett sometimes goes a little overboard with thinking every foul call should go Portland’s way but c’mon. Who cares. This is just people complaining for the sake of complaining.

the only games I see on national TV are those on ABC, but they do talk about themselves about half the time, it seems.
Or JVG talks about his brother.
Of course, when I see them they’re talking about Cleveland or the Lakers because every Sunday game featured either the Lakers or Cleveland.

If you knew it all, you would be coaching right now. Jeff Van Gundy, Hubie Brown, Doug Collins, I’m TALKING TO YOU

Either that or you and I are living in two totally different worlds. Which is kinda cool when you think about it.

So what?

The MIkes are fine.

heres the link

Rice is near the bottom left.

How exactly do you objectively rate objectivity… Lack of NBA knowledge… and the others?

Impossible to be objective without knowledge, eh? “both teams played hard” There, jot me down in that lower right quadrant.

It’s also nice to see Kevin Calabro and Steve “Snapper” Jones getting some kudos on that list.