geordienation
09 Jun 2006, 01:06 AM
Just finished watching the opening episode of World Cup Live. Thought it was pretty good.
The production value was excellent. The Bono stuff was recycled for an effective opener and I liked that they brought back the Jim McKay piece as well. The remote pieces were tight and shot well -- they definitively placed ESPN in Germany and at multiple sites, giving the impression of total coverage.
Dave Revsine did the job that you wanted as a host -- he transitioned well between folks, had some smart writing with the Reuters/Opening Ceremonies gaffe and generally held things together.
As analysts, Foudy and Wynalda did alright. Wynalda was funny, getting in a dig on France and himself by noting that they did worse than the US did in 1998 ("And that's saying something.") Foudy was better in the group settings than talking over video, something that both she and Wynalda were slightly behind on when talking about the groups.
Hopkins was a nice addition. He did the injury report and sounded authoritative. This is the kind of thing we want -- news of players and how their status will affect teams. Plus, it was great to see the NFL field that Ditka, Irvin, Young and Jackson usually stand on outfitted with a goal and net. :D:D
Shelley Smith's security piece was quite good. Good bit of production coming back to Wynalda and having him talk about why the players won't notice.
Overall, I give it a solid B, as this episode could have been done anytime in the last week. The real test is Friday night when they're doing highlights and analysis. Hopefully the lag in time will give an inexperienced group time to gel and nail the actual games themselves. What we want to see is quality analysis.
Best part: Hopkins says the US will win the group. Somebody's gotta play the part. :D
The production value was excellent. The Bono stuff was recycled for an effective opener and I liked that they brought back the Jim McKay piece as well. The remote pieces were tight and shot well -- they definitively placed ESPN in Germany and at multiple sites, giving the impression of total coverage.
Dave Revsine did the job that you wanted as a host -- he transitioned well between folks, had some smart writing with the Reuters/Opening Ceremonies gaffe and generally held things together.
As analysts, Foudy and Wynalda did alright. Wynalda was funny, getting in a dig on France and himself by noting that they did worse than the US did in 1998 ("And that's saying something.") Foudy was better in the group settings than talking over video, something that both she and Wynalda were slightly behind on when talking about the groups.
Hopkins was a nice addition. He did the injury report and sounded authoritative. This is the kind of thing we want -- news of players and how their status will affect teams. Plus, it was great to see the NFL field that Ditka, Irvin, Young and Jackson usually stand on outfitted with a goal and net. :D:D
Shelley Smith's security piece was quite good. Good bit of production coming back to Wynalda and having him talk about why the players won't notice.
Overall, I give it a solid B, as this episode could have been done anytime in the last week. The real test is Friday night when they're doing highlights and analysis. Hopefully the lag in time will give an inexperienced group time to gel and nail the actual games themselves. What we want to see is quality analysis.
Best part: Hopkins says the US will win the group. Somebody's gotta play the part. :D