"I say replace Jeannine Edwards with Christina Olivares."

the comparison sitting olivares next to goldberg would violate the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

"Steve Byk could replace Randy Moss."

do you swallow?

"Not sure what he looks like"

he's batman.

"but his radio personality is much better than anything Randy Moss has."

randy moss's horse racing website is much better than this so that's a wash.

"As for Hank Goldberg, anyone would be better."

1 vote for the fatter, giant sideburned, english accented hank goldberg noted.

"He is clueless."

i would have gone with he sweats too much.

"Does he get paid to sit there and pick 3-5 shots?"

he's paid to eat production assistant's who move too slow. the 3-5 picks are a bonus.

The best ESPN line was when Mayne said to the Governor, "Your state still has the nations second tallest waterfall. What is your administration doing to get to number one?"

Or something like that -- hilarious!

Yeah I kinda adore Kenny. There, I said it. I like having him, Randy and Jerry at the desk and I guess Jeanine's fine doing the interviews. Poor Hank is completing a coherent sentence about 20% of the time. What I wonder is why he insists on trying until he hits one before he wraps it up--at that point he gets some confidence and goes for a second. Unfortunately that's above the quota for the next 30 minutes so he should probably have the director give him a signal when he finishes the first one. As a helpful reminder. I wouldn't mind so much except the others have to sit and fidget and it takes time away from their speaking.

all those guys were cheering b/c hank probably just did a keg stand with them minutes before hand. I would hate to sit next to him during a taping, all the spitting and sweating all over the place. He struggles over the simplest phrases and questions. He has almost a longer delay than Larry Merchant.. "Champ........... how did................ you......................win.......... this fight...................tonight?"

Mayne is the color, im not a fan but it looks like he's in for the long hall. Bailey brings the hands on, and Moss brings the gambling/breeding/racing knowledge to the show. Jeanine is the "skirt" (sorry ladies), and she seems like she has a pretty good head on her shoulder when it comes to horses.

Bottom line, Moss is the glue who keeps the show going. I also like what ESPN has done adding the MPH to running order during the race. It's a small step, but i noticed it

-bt-

My .25 cents,

I think Hank Goldberg is akin to Joe Morgan or a Tim McCarver calling a baseball game. Morons with verbal dysentery that without fail produce discussions such as this. And that's how the Bristol mafia keeps you thinking and talking about them.

Hank Goldberg is a fat idiot.

Is that why the people love him so?

me too moss and maine bailey is o.k.
for that matter where is kenny maine?

Remember the Maine? He pitched for the Mets last night.

I liked that too, and the yardage lines...300 yds, 100 yds.
Best thing is that it's in HD ! Very....:cool:

There are very few people who are ever on television discussing horse racing with more knowledge and insight than Randy Moss. Cutting him from the crew would be a grave mistake.

As for Edwards -- she asks the right questions, never loses composure, and is a pretty lady to boot.

I could do without Hank, and I enjoy Kenny Mayne when given the option of other replacement moderators they may have on those telecasts.

All in all, I think they've got a pretty solid bunch.

Also, I thought that the inclusion of the MPH was one of the most stupid and useless pieces of information they could give us during a race. I see no point in having that information shown during the running of the race.

I wonder when Balletto is supposed to take over her job?

i thought by now you'd have figured out that balletto is hank goldberg.

where's the avatar??!

I found it interesting, not necessary, but interesting.
I enjoy ESPN, TVG and hope to enjoy HRTV when I add Dish.
As long as horse racing is broadcast, I'm happy.

I've always been a Jeannine Edwards fan, but standing behind the winners circle on Whitney Day sort of ruined it for me. She does have the vein thing going on, but I can look past that. The thing that surprised me was how anal and uptight she was kind of bossing everyone around when the camera wasn't on her. I guess that's just part of her job, but that was a little personality turn off for me. As far a Mayne, he could be a little more serious at times, but for the most part he's pretty good. Moss does a super job and Bailey is O.K. Hank doesn't bother me. You have to love unintentional comedy.

I wonder if the REAL question is.... Does Horse Racing Need ESPN. ?
After all ESPN will void a horse race if........ something....ANYTHING goes extra time.... and who suffers ? If Horse Racing could get there act right and let ONE place take bets, show ALL the tracks and make the $$$$$ paying customers Happy. After all,shouldnt business do that to the people who pay the bills ?

I won't get into the petty remarks or what have you, however, IMO, I think ESPN does a very good job vis a vis "the product" that is made available to them, time slots, programming decisions, etc. Remember, the on-air talent doesn't control content or context for that matter. As far as on-air talent, I personally think there should be more of a "Bob Costas" element to broadcasting. The warm and fuzzies are great, but there is always more.

Personally, personal feelings aside, reputation on the backstretch, etc. -- I like what Jerry Bailey brings to the table. I don't often like the delivery, voice inflection, and similar attributes, but I have always said that getting a jockey's perspective on various aspects of racing is something that most fans -- including most here -- don't see, know about, understand, and so on. Don't get me wrong, if you are not interested in that, great, take what you like and leave the rest. However, how many people have ever seen the starting gate up close and now about all the steps leading up to the break? And everything that happens at the break and into the start of the race. There's so much in our sport that is so great and the public should see that.

As far as being on camera, in my own field, professionally, I have been on national TV/cable numerous times. Let me say this -- it ain't easy, LOL. You could know everything in the world about the topic at hand and -- it still ain't easy, LOL. When you are the on-air talent for a segment, normally, you are in a zone of being able to perform -- that's what you do. You rely on many people to do many things so that you can perform.

Anyway, I think "the product" is not an easy one to televise, and it needs to be positioned or repositioned. There are some great stories that the public should see and hear about. The "behind the scenes" aspects are rarely seen and that too could enhance the product so to speak. Of course, like many, we should see more of it.

Eric

We won't ask how you found this out. :eek:

my nickname used to be 'no-shid sherlock'