Joe Buck was getting crucified on Twitter and the various other social media on Sunday for being Joe Buck.
My reaction: Buck is irritating alright, but I've seen and heard far worse.
Keep this in mind, as KNBR's Damon Bruce, noted, Buck worked almost eight straight hours on the air, albeit I'm sure Fox milked the heck out of it, (the cable car ride from Candlestick to AT&T), as did Buck himself--I mean, it wasn't as if he was subjected to heavy lifting.
A cardinal sin uttered by Buck during the baseball game: He referred to the city as "Frisco." C'mon Joe, you know better. Herb Caen would have given him a left hook.
*Ronn Owens was again absent on Monday at KGO; (Tim Montemayor, a good guy personally, but whose show has more dreck than a Chevron Mini-Mart hosted); Owens, suffering from a bad back, is due back on Wednesday, (we'll see.)
He refuted my blog report to the Chron's Ben Fong-Torres about what he told a friend about a month ago, (that he's considering retirement after his contract is up Dec. 31), as "being totally 'made up." Among other things, too, Owens denied making a million bucks under an old contract he signed in 2006 with ex-GM, Mickey Luckoff. Interesting because Owens himself confirmed to me that figure a year ago after I asked him.
As for his remark about my story being "totally made up", he's then lying to a former on-air colleague whom he'd uttered the remarks to at a recent lunch. Maybe he's in denial. Maybe he's trying to cover, I don't know, but my sources are good and I'm standing by the account.
*Go figure...In the past, I've made fun of KRON for its albatross status, but when they do good work, they deserve props. KRON's coverage of the Chevron Richmond refinery fire was first-rate and quite useful; particularly, when other stations left the story and continued with regularly-scheduled programming. Given the early severity of the Richmond images, that KRON stayed with the story was both good news judgement and of benefit to the residents nearby and other interested Bay Area TV News viewers.
Some e-mail called me out for dare giving KRON a plug. Look, while the 1001 Van Ness denizens have plenty to work on, when good work is performed, good work gets recognition. Along with good reporters, good anchors, (like Pam Moore, Catherine Heenan, and Vicki Liviakis, for example); we're not hack attack 24/7 here at 415 Media.
*Follow me on Twitter
JOE BUCK: The announcer shouldn't be the star. That person is more a supporting cast member than the center of attention. Young Joe should know that considering his pedigree (HOF announcer Jack). His dad wouldn't have agreed with all of the Fox shenanigans. The game and the players are the stars.
ReplyDeleteOn Fox and all its networks and enterprises all the wrong people are the stars.
ReplyDeleteAfter the Giants won it all in 2010, Joe Buck did call San Francisco "America's most beautiful city", so I am inclined to cut him more than a little slack.
ReplyDeleteFuck Buck. He's a no talent hack doing rent a car commercials in the off season. He only got the job because his Dad pulled in some markers. He's got a sactimonius delivery. So there.
ReplyDeleteBuck is a good enough announcer to be on the national level. My problem with him though is that he always sounds like there is some other place he'd rather be and that he's so cool that the only reason he's there is to get paid, as opposed to his dad who sounded like he would live in the booth if it were possible.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's just too much, too soon and he's jaded now
I thought in Game 1 that Buck and McCarver went out of their way to be effusive in praise of the Giants, their fans, and the city. I haven't watched Game 2 yet.
ReplyDelete@10.29 That attitude is what made Jack Buck a HOF announcer.
ReplyDeleteJoe Buck is OK, but Tim McCarver is much worse. He knows the game very well and constantly makes sure EVERYONE knows it. It's why I tend not to watch the playoffs or the World Series when the Giants aren't in it. :) Regarding the "Frisco" comment, I wonder if FOX put Joe up to saying that.
Agree that the bigger problem is Tim McCarver.
DeleteNo argument that he's knowledgeable, but his attitude is unbearable and his insistence on being the ultimate authority on everything renders him un-listenable.
Surprised Fox didnt have Buck take the Rocket boat from Candlestick to AT&T with a mini map tracking his location on their broadcast.
ReplyDeleteI think people like to take shots at Joe Buck because he's with Fox and also due to the fact he's from the midwest. Joe's dad Jack was one of the best in the business, so like a ballplayer who's dad played in the big leagues, Joe learned a lot of the 'tricks of the trade,' from an early age by watching his father.
ReplyDeleteJoe Buck is not Vince Scully, or Bob Costas, or even Pat Summeral, and he's certainly not anywhere near an incarnation of someone like a Howard Cosell.
He does a very good job of describing what's going on during the games without becoming a distraction.
I too am not a huge fan of Joe Buck, but some of the negative and nasty remarks about him are the result of people not liking the perception that he's a 'goody-two-shoes' announcer for a conservative TV network, and he's from the midwest.
I am personally a liberal, but I could care less about someone's political or geographical background. Some of the best sportscasters happen to be quite conservative politically and you'd be surprised how many there are out there! But it should makes no difference their political views are.
Many of my professional and personal acquaintances are 'red neck conservatives,' and many other are 'wild-eyed liberals.'
Who cares!
I don't think anyone dislikes Joe Buck because he works for Fox Sports which has corporate connections to Fox News. If that were the case, people would dislike the NFL, the Simpsons, and American Idol for the same reason.
DeleteSpeaking for myself, I'd dislike Joe Buck just the same, regardless of what network he was on.
I don't think any of the criticism here is because Buck is with Fox or that he's from the mid west. Some people just don't like him.
Only somebody who works 3 hours a day would be impressed with Buck working ONE 8 hour day...of talking about baseball.
ReplyDeleteI was born in San Francisco and I'll call it frisco all day long.There's nothing wrong with the word and I don't care what Herb Caen thinks of it and never di or will.This is and always be a stupid argument since it's just a shortened version of the name which btw was sung in an old black/white movie..what "cardinal sin"? Give me a break and how many people who hate the word even know why they hate it.
ReplyDeletemay i sugget that you stop mentioning KRON and the boring chevron coverage. you think anybody cares?
ReplyDeleteFYI 12:24...you are absolutely clueless and obviously DO NOT work and never have worked on air yourself. "working ONE 8 hour day...of talking about baseball," is one of the DUMBEST things I've ever read on this post.
ReplyDeleteDo you have any idea of the preparation that goes on before a broadcast, and the years of experience that you have to put in
to reach the level of someone like a Joe Buck?
Yes, his dad's connections helped him out in a big way, but he always inherited some talent. As they say: "the apple usually doesn't fall far from the tree."
I'd like to see what kind of a profession YOU work in!
"Frisco' was popularized during the depression and war years when the bay area was flooded with people looking for work (who had been thrown out of work) and then later, servicemen who came here before heading off to fight in the Pacific theatre.
ReplyDeleteIt was also a popular term with waifs, stragglers, and 'bums' who came out west during those years to seek their fortune.
And finally, it was used by folks from the east coast (especially NYC) who like to give places a nickname. How do you think Candlestick Park suddenly became known as 'The Stick?'
Joe Buck is annoying. Tim McCarver is pathetic. McCarver's condescension to viewers makes my ears bleed. Thus I turn down the sound and listen to Kruk, Kuip, and company. They may not be synchronized, but at least my ears don't hemorrhage anymore. TIM MCCARVER YOU SUCK.
ReplyDelete