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week 10 announcer in focus: Greg Gumbel!
I know of no one out there that dislikes Greg. He is a perfect lead broadcaster for a network - affable, knowledgeable, clear, and a somewhat vanilla personality. That makes him the ultimate combo for a studio host for big events or play by play announcer for key games. You know what you are getting - professionalism and no controversy.
Gumbel is from Louisiana and somehow went to college at Loras college in Dubuque, Iowa. I can't tell you how much of culture shock that had to be for a Cajun.
(Fun Fact: there is an indoor waterpark in Dubuque; I was in Dubuque when Don called me at the end of the 04 season to say that Phil Savage - our last good GM - was fired. Random note).
Gumbel started at a Chicago TV station in the 70s, and then got into the New York/Northeast scene with MSG and ESPN. He is one of the first few anchors of SportsCenter. There is that smarmy clip out there of he and Berman doing a song on air and then cracking up - I won't link to that since our readers have probably seen that 1,000 times.
Gumbel then moved to CBS in the late 80s, and then started hosting the NFL Today (I guess Musberger moved to ABC by then). Here he is in late 1993 hosting NFL Today with some idiot ex-jock that probably will go nowhere in broadcasting....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2aoEfPWXDc
(watch for Gumbel, stay for the best NFL opening song in history and the open to the Game of the Week by Mr. Smarmy himself....)
Not many of you young 'uns remember, but CBS had the Winter Olympics for a while in th
e 90s; Gumbel became the studio host for the most-watched Winter Olympics ever in 1994....in Lillehammer, Norway. Here's the opening - Gumbel co-hosted with Andrea Joyce; love the theme song; however, Joyce's comments around the 1:00 mark are a little creepy given today's environment.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IF6ZYessi0&t=72s
Oh hell, because I can't help myself - this link is labeled "part 2". What's part 1? My Smarmy himself has a breaknews update. Put on a tie, for God's sake!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKuKrcVTNno
Most casual fans now know Gumbel as the host for the NCAA Basketball tournament. How many of us count down the minutes/hours until 6:00 pm on the second Sunday in March, when Gumbel announces the 64 (or 65, or 68) teams for the tourney..... I think he started this in the early 2000s.....remember when these were 30 minutes? That's all you needed to announce a bracket...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juKOzOC6oBQ
There's a limited amount of connection between Gumbel and the Browns - usually because Gumbel does good games and the Browns are the Browns...however, he was te announcer for our last playoff game - January 5, 2003, against the evil Steelers. Boy, it's still hard to watch this clip. I can't make it through. Up 14-0, 17-7...then up 33-28 with 1:30 left; we need to convert a third down. Butch Davis correctly calls for a pass; it's executed perfectly, and Northcutt drops it. Needless to say, The Steelers get the punt and go down for the winning TD.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rq3gifPZYI8&t=316s
If I had to rank Browns' coaches in my life, Butch is 3rd behind only Marty and Bill.
1. Bill - what he did in the early 90s was amazing. He built a solid team out of absolute crap.
2. Marty. Nothing else to say.
3. Butch - he took an expansion team that went 5-27 and went 7-9 in his first year.
Let's end on a good note; in 2014, our last decent year, Greg was on the call for a home game vs. the Steelers. Ben Tate - yes, he was our RB! - had 2 TDs. I watched a little bit of this live as we were house hunting in the US in my 90 hour trip from China with no sleep.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk6nrjUg3V4
That was 3 years ago --- we were beating the Steelers 31-3....How??????
On to the games:
NO 23, Buf 20. I just don't see the Bills having enough firepower here. The Saints D is good.
Chi 24, GB 13. This is an odd game. Don't see the Pack scoring much - but how will the Bears move? Will the bye week help Mitch?
Pit 23, Ind 17. Pit has not scored more than 21 points on the road this year. Something still is a little off with them - and the Colts are slowly improving.
Jax 24, LAC 16. Not sure how the Rivers and the Chargers O line will stand up to the #1 pass defense in the league.
NYJ 30, TB 27. I see a shootout here, especially with Fitzpatrick. He will fire the ball all over the place - let's see how that offense does without Jameis.
Cin 24, Ten 20. Who says the Titans are good? Cinci should stop the run, and I'm not sold on Mariotta yet. The only question - have the Bengals given up
Was 20, Min 17. Not really sure about this. Was last week's game against Seattle an aberration?
LAR 30, Hou 16. Hou still has some sort of defense, and now Savage will have a week under his belt. But boy, that Rams O looks unstoppable.
Atl 31, Dal 24. This is the last stand for the Falcons. Off a 3 game road trip, they have to come out ready for this one - against a team that can't stop anyone.
SF 23, NYG 20. I know, I keep picking the Niners to win. Is this it?
NE 24, Den 13. How exactly will Denver move the ball in this game? Brock is still the starting QB, right?
Car 23, Mia 20. I don't see the Panthers getting much past 24 points here - they just don't have the weapons. Cutler and Miami have some weapons to move the ball.
Best bets: 14 of them. Last week: 6-4-1; overall: 68-51-3
NO/Buf under 48
Chi -4.5
Ind +10
Pit/Ind under 45
Jax -5
NYJ/TB over 43.5
Cin +5.5
Was +2
Atl -3.5
Dal/Atl over 48.5
SF +2.5
NE -7.5
NE/Den under 44.5
Mia +9.5
Supercontest picks: Last week: 3-1-1; overall: 28-16-1
Ind +10
Jax -3.5
Cin +4.5
Atl -3
Mia +9
week 10 announcer in focus: Greg Gumbel!I know of no one out there that dislikes Greg. He is a perfect lead broadcaster for a network - affable, knowledgeable, clear, and a somewhat vanilla personality. That makes him the ultimate combo for a studio host for big events or play by play announcer for key games. You know what you are getting - professionalism and no controversy.
Gumbel is from Louisiana and somehow went to college at Loras college in Dubuque, Iowa. I can't tell you how much of culture shock that had to be for a Cajun.
(Fun Fact: there is an indoor waterpark in Dubuque; I was in Dubuque when Don called me at the end of the 04 season to say that Phil Savage - our last good GM - was fired. Random note).
Gumbel started at a Chicago TV station in the 70s, and then got into the New York/Northeast scene with MSG and ESPN. He is one of the first few anchors of SportsCenter. There is that smarmy clip out there of he and Berman doing a song on air and then cracking up - I won't link to that since our readers have probably seen that 1,000 times.
Gumbel then moved to CBS in the late 80s, and then started hosting the NFL Today (I guess Musberger moved to ABC by then). Here he is in late 1993 hosting NFL Today with some idiot ex-jock that probably will go nowhere in broadcasting....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2aoEfPWXDc
(watch for Gumbel, stay for the best NFL opening song in history and the open to the Game of the Week by Mr. Smarmy himself....)
Not many of you young 'uns remember, but CBS had the Winter Olympics for a while in th
e 90s; Gumbel became the studio host for the most-watched Winter Olympics ever in 1994....in Lillehammer, Norway. Here's the opening - Gumbel co-hosted with Andrea Joyce; love the theme song; however, Joyce's comments around the 1:00 mark are a little creepy given today's environment.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IF6ZYessi0&t=72sOh hell, because I can't help myself - this link is labeled "part 2". What's part 1? My Smarmy himself has a breaknews update. Put on a tie, for God's sake!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKuKrcVTNno
Most casual fans now know Gumbel as the host for the NCAA Basketball tournament. How many of us count down the minutes/hours until 6:00 pm on the second Sunday in March, when Gumbel announces the 64 (or 65, or 68) teams for the tourney..... I think he started this in the early 2000s.....remember when these were 30 minutes? That's all you needed to announce a bracket...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juKOzOC6oBQ
There's a limited amount of connection between Gumbel and the Browns - usually because Gumbel does good games and the Browns are the Browns...however, he was te announcer for our last playoff game - January 5, 2003, against the evil Steelers. Boy, it's still hard to watch this clip. I can't make it through. Up 14-0, 17-7...then up 33-28 with 1:30 left; we need to convert a third down. Butch Davis correctly calls for a pass; it's executed perfectly, and Northcutt drops it. Needless to say, The Steelers get the punt and go down for the winning TD.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rq3gifPZYI8&t=316s
If I had to rank Browns' coaches in my life, Butch is 3rd behind only Marty and Bill.
1. Bill - what he did in the early 90s was amazing. He built a solid team out of absolute crap.2. Marty. Nothing else to say.
3. Butch - he took an expansion team that went 5-27 and went 7-9 in his first year.
Let's end on a good note; in 2014, our last decent year, Greg was on the call for a home game vs. the Steelers. Ben Tate - yes, he was our RB! - had 2 TDs. I watched a little bit of this live as we were house hunting in the US in my 90 hour trip from China with no sleep.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk6nrjUg3V4
That was 3 years ago --- we were beating the Steelers 31-3....How??????
On to the games:
NO 23, Buf 20. I just don't see the Bills having enough firepower here. The Saints D is good.
Chi 24, GB 13. This is an odd game. Don't see the Pack scoring much - but how will the Bears move? Will the bye week help Mitch?
Pit 23, Ind 17. Pit has not scored more than 21 points on the road this year. Something still is a little off with them - and the Colts are slowly improving.
Jax 24, LAC 16. Not sure how the Rivers and the Chargers O line will stand up to the #1 pass defense in the league.
NYJ 30, TB 27. I see a shootout here, especially with Fitzpatrick. He will fire the ball all over the place - let's see how that offense does without Jameis.
Cin 24, Ten 20. Who says the Titans are good? Cinci should stop the run, and I'm not sold on Mariotta yet. The only question - have the Bengals given up
Was 20, Min 17. Not really sure about this. Was last week's game against Seattle an aberration?
LAR 30, Hou 16. Hou still has some sort of defense, and now Savage will have a week under his belt. But boy, that Rams O looks unstoppable.
Atl 31, Dal 24. This is the last stand for the Falcons. Off a 3 game road trip, they have to come out ready for this one - against a team that can't stop anyone.
SF 23, NYG 20. I know, I keep picking the Niners to win. Is this it?
NE 24, Den 13. How exactly will Denver move the ball in this game? Brock is still the starting QB, right?
Car 23, Mia 20. I don't see the Panthers getting much past 24 points here - they just don't have the weapons. Cutler and Miami have some weapons to move the ball.
Best bets: 14 of them. Last week: 6-4-1; overall: 68-51-3
NO/Buf under 48
Chi -4.5
Ind +10
Pit/Ind under 45
Jax -5
NYJ/TB over 43.5
Cin +5.5
Was +2
Atl -3.5
Dal/Atl over 48.5
SF +2.5
NE -7.5
NE/Den under 44.5
Mia +9.5
Supercontest picks: Last week: 3-1-1; overall: 28-16-1
Ind +10
Jax -3.5
Cin +4.5
Atl -3
Mia +9
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