Waldo's commentary performance.

i thought he did fine, i loved how jack edwards didn't catch his crack about how "nice" it was that sigi took out cobi after that third goal

waldo did very well in there, he was silent until ruiz scored, but then started throwing stuff in left and right

'twas nice to see

 

I voted poor only because it seemed like he wouldn't ever finish a point. I'm sure it wasn't a problem in the booth as they are all friends. OK voice, poor inflection, many ums and ahs. He made basic, somewhat vanilla comments, it was just a constant stream.

3 in the booth is OK, just give us some of the game call every once in a while.

 

Re: Re: Waldo's commentary performance.

I had pretty much the same take on things. He would've been a lot better without the ums and ahs. I noticed this when he was doing studio work for Japorea, too. He is quite a bit better than Paul C., though. Believe it or not, I've really like Lalas the few times I've heard him in this kind of situation.

 

I think the best part of Waldo in the booth was his effect on Jack & Ty. If we really must have Jack & Ty, and apparently we must, then adding in someone else to reduce their air time is a good thing.

An even better thing was how Waldo forced Ty to speak more concisely and quickly. Ty's main problem for me is his ponderously slow delivery. Waldo interrupted him a few times (Waldo probably didn't realize he was interrupting as Ty tends to pause about 20 secs between each word anyway) until Ty finally noticed that he needed to get the point out more quickly.

The net result was less hot air from Jack and more concise delivery from Ty. A good player should help make those around him better, so I'd give him an 8 or so.

 

That's a good point, Anderson. I would agree that even though I didn't love Waldo, I'd have to say that overall it was at least as good a night, if not better than usual. I wonder what kind of effect he'd have on Rob?

 

In this case a 3 man booth is better than just two. Waldo did add some good points.

 

Couldn't agree more. Ty does make good points pretty consistently as an analyst. He just doesn't make them quickly. Jack is apparently comfortable with his tedious pontificating and lets him ramble. Waldo's presence forced Ty to get on with it.

I'm actually kind of a fan of Rob, especially MLS ExtraTime. But in a studio dishing out written script and gushing about how great EVERY game in MLS was this week is where I think he is best suited. I still think he's more interesting at play-by-play than Jack, but he's not the guy the league is looking for either, in terms of any longtime Voice of MLS.
Mixing Waldo and Rob in a booth, without Ty? A frat party would ensue. Ty, though playful with Rob at times, would tend to put a well-needed lid on the young 'uns hijinks.

I give Waldo a solid 7. I really like his words, and he's got a good beat, so I can dance to him.

 

Rob was a sideline guy for an ESPN CFB game on saturday. He was in Boulder I think for the CU/CSU tilt. At halftime he asked the CU coach if he would think about changing QB's as the starter sucked the first half. The coach blew a gasket and told Rob "You guys are unbelievable, get outta here!"

The studio guys all backed up Stone saying it was a fair question based on the performance.

 

It's great to see Eric back in the booth after the World Cup. Hopefully, he will eventually chase out Jack and Ty.

 

That sounds like a golden moment! And I thought Bob Bradley was surly during those Soccer Saturday interviews. I agree that Rob's a great studio host, but he also tends to chat too much during games.

I'd like to see more of Waldo in the booth, too. Actually, I'd like to see more of Waldo as a spokesperson for the game more generally. I saw him do a bit as a guest on some sports talk segment (can't remember exactly where now) after the WC and he displayed the sort of passion for, and understanding of, the game that we don't see much on tv. He was also very good at handling himself in an argument - they sort of got started on the old soccer's never gonna make it as a pro sport routine and Waldo responded quickly and on point.

Lalas was also really good in the booth during his retirement season. Witty, concise, knowledgable, articulate.

Another guy I thought was great in the very, very limited situations I've seen him is Marcelo Balboa. He's more articulate than any of the guys we've mentioned so far and wasn't shy about expressing his opinion.

We'll probably see a big improvement in the booth once Lalas, Marcelo, Waldo, and maybe Harkes and a few others transition careers.

 

I give Waldo a 10 for limiting Ty and Jack's idiocy...and a 4 for his actual comments....

...i'm sorry, but he was trying too hard sometimes, like showing how Lalas played defense excellently (just right when Alexi made a pass that led to a shot!?!?!...Eric even tried to blame Vallenas for asking for the ball......yeah right?!?!?)

But really, bring him on so that Ty and Jack can shut the f@$k up.

As far as Rob Stone... he was great at Extra Time (as well as Alexi and Dirr), but keep him away from commenting on games... he's sounds like a girl in grade school with a crush on Landon.

Veronica, for me, is the star of the show...of course she can always wear more scantily clad clothes with her reports...but hey...what can you do????

 

I'll take Rob in the booth any day, but I can see how someone would say he's better in the studio. I also like Dave Dirr a lot, too. I want to reiterate that they should never let Caliguri in the booth, as much as I love the guy on the field. Interesting to see only 1 person didn't like him so far.