OK, I wasn't going to post negative commments on this show anymore, but I have to make a point or two (ok, five) after this weekend's episode... 1) How can you NOT report on the Carreri and Hernandez articles? Can you imagine players in any other sport doing the same thing and it not be the lead on Sportscenter or Sky Sports? 2) How can you NEVER mention in the Burn-Revs highlights that the Revs won the match a man down? 3) How can you again finish your five game highlights and still have 15 minutes remaining in the show? 4) will they every stop with the accents? 5) finally a bit of effort to do some anaylsis of some of the plays, but there really needs to be MUCH more of this and less pimping jersey giveaways.
I was also disappointed they didn't show the 2 funniest moments from Saturday's MLS games. First, Jeff Cunningham lurking behind Tim Howard and almost picking him clean when he dropped the ball for his goal kick. It was a dangerous striking opportunity for the Crew and certainly worthy of a hilight. Second, a chubby Meola playing striker after Wolff goes down in the 79th minute. My daughter (who was out of town and missed the MLS games) was dying to see that.
No one at AEG, HSG, KraftCo, or the Fed really understand their product. Nor are any of them willing to pay for those that have that understanding. Hence we will for the forseeable future continue to live with sub-standard broadcasts, announcers, and production values. MLSwrap is just one more example of this paradigm. If we don't see European/Mexican-level production values and "product awareness" in 2003, after 7 years of effort, it's likley going to take another 7 years before we see any progress whatsoever. ESPN International knows how to do it, but only because so many of their guys have worked at Sky, BBC, TransWorld, etc. It's obvious that ESPNi has zero influence on the Deuce/Winnercom axis of pathetic. The new bottom line ticker on ESPN2? A revolution in cleanliness and modern design. And 5 years late. -bs
AMEN, brother. What's with the tight close-ups on replays that don't even have the ball in frame? When are they going to figure out where to place a camera so they have a good angle of the offside replay? How about some cameras near the posts. These are basic soccer production values that the deuce/losercomm still hasn't figured out.
Agreed on all counts. Sean Wheelock is a good game announcer and Harkes did some good, short TV stuff in the past. But doing an hour long Soccer show is obviosuly entirely different. It looks a bit amateurish when compared to Sportscenter or even Extratime. They just need more experience. Having said that - I still like the show. The budget they have I am sure is just a fraction of what even Extratime had. ESPN is the expert in sport shows and they still made dumb mistakes - Roy Wegerle for one. They messed with the show constantly. We've only had 3 shows so far and each one gets a bit better. Extratime was taped - MLS Wrap looks live. I thought they handled the Burn / Revs postgame that turned out to be KC/Chi pretty well. That was funny. I felt bad for them. Yes - More highlights - but they can't watch every game and pick out the best moments. They don't have the staff or the time. I want to see them too but lets remember the constraints. Yes - less accents - but lets still have fun with this. I don't want someone reading a stock report to me. I would like more opinions - one way or the other. Harkes talks himself in circles. 32 teams in the WC or 36 - he argued both sides. Say "stick with 32 and Blatter is a fool, don't dilute the product, etc..." Few American players have more legitimacy than Harkes - quit sounding like a politician and more like a soccer guy getting paid to talk. Lalas would have told us. I will watch every minute of this show till it dies or I die. It has a lot of room for improvement but I don't wnat anyone reading this stuff thinking we all hate the show and it sucks. If we can get the MLS wrap e-mail links to work, this stuff shoudl go there too. Loved the QPR reference though. And my youngest son is named Sean - coincidence?
I agree with most of the above, but I think Show 3 was a huge improvement over the second show. There was more analysis and the clips were a little better. Sean can still be grating, but Harkes was starting to step into his role. Obviously, though, everyone would like to see Fat Tony play striker.
Wrap I guess I am still in the "honeymoon phase" when just having same day highlights is so pleasing that everything else is easily forgiven. Maybe I will feel differently next year. As for now - no complaints worth voicing. I also think I'll be happy to wait until they're making some money off the show/MLS before expecting them to invest much more time/money in the endeavor. Thanks FSW.
Remember, it took the show on ESPN a while to iron out all the kinks. I'm willing to give them a bit more time to sort things out.
Personally, I'm thrilled that MLSWrap exists. It may not be A+ in production values, but have you noticed that almost all of the ads are USSoccer, MLS, or some other soccer body? Virtually no sponsors. Until they can attract some dollars from ad revenue, be happy with what you have.
Sorry but that is a silly attitude. How would ad revenue suddenly effect covering the important news of the league? How could you NOT talk about the articles where starters on a team blast the coach for not playing a quality style of soccer, or being left on the bench and questioning their teammates abilities? How would ad revenue suddenly effect the show so that it notes in a match review that the team that won the match despite being a man down? How would ad revenue suddenly get the show to realize that they have 60 minutes, so use them to tell us something worthwhile and entertaining, instead of showing off shirts you are giving away for a valuable five minutes? I am glad there is a MLS Wrap, I just wish they were doing a better job with the most basic of Broadcasting101 elements? I have been in radio for many years and I can promise you that the issues I have are not tied to money... I like the graphics and look of the show, it is the content that stinks and improving content doesnt cost them anything. peet
I noticed many of the same deficiencies in the last MLS Wrap that have already been noted. In addition, they missed some great near goals at the end of the DC v. Colo. game, particularly when Rimando pounded a ball downfield and Stoitchkov nearly lobbed the keeper after the ball was headed back by a Rapids defender. The ball was headed away from the goal by a recovering defender at the last moment. Etcheverry coming off injured also was a significant sub plot. The highlights focus on goals and don't capture the lesser story lines of the games. I suspect the highlight are being fed to the studio and one guy is trying to put it all together. To really do a good job they'd need to have someone watching all the game feeds and cataloging the highlights in real time. Don't get me wrong. I'm thrilled that MLS Wrap is on TV. They're making baby steps to get better, which is good. It could be much better with more resources.
First off, I'm just happy we're getting this extra game with FSW and the highlights show. Thats a huge step in the right direction. And I hope this show lasts, though it will need much improvement to do so. My problem with the show is that they need to focus on the games and news, not "Shirt off my back". If you're going to do that, set aside a maximum of two minutes or so. The rest of us are more concerned with whats going on in the league than little contests. I was very very angry they didn't show any build up to DC's goal against Colorado because thats some of the best build up play I've seen in MLS. For those of you who didn't see it, I'm sorry because it was great to watch. For them not to show that is the perfect example of where the priorities are on the show. And I wholeheartedly agree about the public interviews of Hernandez and Carrieri. How could those not be on the show? And also, show more highlights such as Meola, Etch situations and more.