Bud Collins fired by NBC

[Shaolin]

Bud Collins had to go. I remember him interviewing Roddick and telling him that his new nickname should be "Ramrod". Andy just looked at him like he was an idiot, the only most appropriate response actually.

They need to keep Cahill forever somehow, he actually gives some good commentary. I dont mind Pmac, Cliff and Enberg, but no more Carillo also and definitely no more Brad "Ralph NAdal" Gilbert.

 

[Court_Jester]

Can't say I'm going to miss Collins since I almost never watch the NBC broadcasts, though I like Ted Robinson. I can't stand Dick Enberg, sorry so he should be next and soon. Same thing with Pat MacEnroe. I hate homers.

I like Cirillo precisely 'coz she's opinionated. Same with Fernandez and Shriver. And I've grown to like Darren Cahill, too.

 

[tenis]

Bud Collins should fire all rest of the NBC for very poor & nonsence coverage of all sports - funny, but thru......

 

[xtremerunnerars]

Can't say I'm going to miss Collins since I almost never watch the NBC broadcasts, though I like Ted Robinson. I can't stand Dick Enberg, sorry so he should be next and soon. Same thing with Pat MacEnroe. I hate homers.

I like Cirillo precisely 'coz she's opinionated. Same with Fernandez and Shriver. And I've grown to like Darren Cahill, too.

We're almost the exact opposite. I really like gilbert, cahill, enberg, both of the mac brothers, and I can't stand carillo or shriver. Fernandez is okay by me, and Chris Fowler's perfect. Oh drysdale's cool too.

 

[Kaptain Karl]

We're almost the exact opposite. I really like gilbert, cahill, enberg, both of the mac brothers, and I can't stand carillo or shriver. Fernandez is okay by me, and Chris Fowler's perfect. Oh drysdale's cool too.

Fowler is "perfect"??? He's just a younger version of Enberg ... really clueless about tennis.

(Oh yeah. I see you like Dick, too.) "Oh well...."

- KK

 

[xtremerunnerars]

I think he does a good job of relating tennis to people who aren't quite as enthused by it as we are. I like the guys on Sports Center, and he kinda reminds me of them.

I suppose I meant the right man for the job or a solid fit for that position. He keeps things moving along and helps out when the conversation between cahill and whoever else drops off a little.

 

[Kaptain Karl]

He keeps things moving along and helps out when the conversation between cahill and whoever else drops off a little.

That's just it. Most of us would prefer a lot LESS "conversation". Fowler is a chatterbox.

- KK

 

[barry]

I am glad NBC fired Bud Collins and claim they are losing money on tennis. Maybe they should let the tennis channel cover the event. NBC like ESPN sucks!
ESPN is getting worse, NBC is showing the same matches ESPN just showed. Rather than show matches, we watch a bunch of has been tell us how great the American players are. Why not just call the matches, no bias please, and let the fans watch some good tennis. There was a lot better coverage when other networks covered the grand slams. Now we are stuck with the mickey mouse (ABC) channel, streaming street ball scores from the previous day. So far I deleled all the dvr matches, saw the bimbo sisters 8 times in 2 days.

I think ESPN is trying to kill tennis. If Wimbledon has another rain delay, guess they will show the bimbo sisters again.

 

[slice bh compliment]

barry, who are the bimbo sisters? The Williams sisters? Why are they considered bimbos?

 

[35ft6]

Some of the commentators are almost hired TO BE clueless. A good broadcast should be entertaining to the hardcore fan, the casual fan, and the accidental viewer. People like Chris Fowler and Enberg are surrogates for the non-hardcore viewer and serve an important function by asking questions that might make the tennis nut roll their eyes. If everybody was an expert the broadcasts could spin out of control. The straight man keeps things relatable and recites smooth segueways into and out of commercials, and delivers the occasional flawless advertisement for another show airing on the network. The color guys are paid to be the tennis experts. Bud Collins on the other hand, he was dead weight. Good riddance.

 

[sureshs]

I really liked Navratilova's TTC FO commentory. She should replace one of the existing guys.

 

[AAAA]

Bud Collins had to go. I remember him interviewing Roddick and telling him that his new nickname should be "Ramrod". Andy just looked at him like he was an idiot, the only most appropriate response actually.

Hilarious...Ramrod.

 

[ken1d]

I'm looking forward to rodick Retirement so he can become a commentator.

 

[motrengaw]

Bud Collins has been given a lesser role for years now. I think his knowledge of the history of the game was very enlightening, and also brought a sense of humor and personality which the game needs desperately.

 

[alwaysatnet]

I don't think most fans care about the female pro from Romania,for example, that made the quarterfinals in the '54 French Open and how she reminded Bud of Kim Clisters(or something other bit arcane tennis knowledge). That was classic Bud Collins.

Bud's act,which was never that good, was just tiresome. If you loved his references to Fingers Fortescue then good for you. But now he's gone.

 

[johnkidd]

I don't think most fans care about the female pro from Romania,for example, that made the quarterfinals in the '54 French Open and how she reminded Bud of Kim Clisters(or something other bit arcane tennis knowledge). That was classic Bud Collins.

Bud's act,which was never that good, was just tiresome. If you loved his references to Fingers Fortescue then good for you. But now he's gone.

A guy I played HS tennis with used the Fingers Fortescue reference as well. Classic.

Off topic but wasn't net judge about the worst job as an official? How many times did you see one of those guys get nailed on a errant passing shot?

 

[zzzbrianxxx]

If there is any justice in the world, Dick Enberg will be next, and the end will come soon.

I think it's a damn shame. I actually like his commentating.......for football. Why can't he be that good for tennis?

 

[Kaptain Karl]

Off topic but wasn't net judge about the worst job as an official? How many times did you see one of those guys get nailed on a errant passing shot?

I saw Nastase knock one off his stool with a serve ... "accidentally" of course. (The net judge had called a "Let" on an apparent Nasty ace.)

- KK

 

[alwaysatnet]

That was one of Agassi's tricks too. He at times would try to "accidentally" nail the chair judge with an errant shot.
We were supposed to believe that a guy that could hit a dime on the opposite baseline with his forehand would all of a sudden "lose control".
Yeah...right.

On a related note, apparently Agassi had no love for Bud Collins, based on some unkind remarks Bud made, and he talked Bud into hitting with him one day as they shared adjoining practice courts.
Agassi reved up his strokes to overdrive and hit a series of blasts at Bud
trying to bury the ball in Bud's internal organs.
But Bud, a former college coach,albeit a whimpy elitist eastern liberal arts college, deftly volleyed Agassi's shots away leaving Agassi frustrated,to say the least.

 

[PeakXV]

Bud's forte was never interviewing or commentating - TV Execs should have clued in on this long ago. However he was good at those tennis history vignettes that he used to do once upon a time.

..... He use to go on about a favourite Uncle who poured Vodka on his morning Cereal (back when he was a featured part of the broadcast team) .... that was funny.

 

[quest01]

I think John McEnroe is the best commentator. Hes funny and unpredictable.

 

[Bertie B]

Firings don't just happen. First, there is an inner frustration with things as they are, a feeling of being at the end of your rope. Second, there is a desire for change and transition that boils on low, but often people lack the balls to quit that job and do what makes them happy, yet the desire for change still boils on low. Third, choice is stripped away, and handed to an agent who does our bidding for us.

The evolved, albeit wimpy, will see the event for what it is - a boost onto the next level in the evolution of life. The un-evolved will miss the big picture, get hurt, and view the events as a personal attack. An attack by the very agent they recruited...

Speaking of commentators, I've noticed a distinct difference in the way the past champions commentate, and that of the Mary-Jo's, Pat Mac's, and Carillo's. With the successful broadcasters and tennis legends there is more objectivity and forgiveness. With the Pat Mac's, Mary Jo's, & Carillo's, there is a certain viciousness to their commentating.

 

[bobby]

Hallelujah!!!!!!!!

 

[35ft6]

Speaking of commentators, I've noticed a distinct difference in the way the past champions commentate, and that of the Mary-Jo's, Pat Mac's, and Carillo's. With the successful broadcasters and tennis legends there is more objectivity and forgiveness. With the Pat Mac's, Mary Jo's, & Carillo's, there is a certain viciousness to their commentating.

Not sure if we're talking about the same things, but my feeling is less talented players turn into better commentators and coaches. Why? Because they didn't rely on innate genius to succeed and had to think more about strategy and technique. Johnny Mac is an entertaining commentator, but I really like the technical guys, and as far as that goes, I've never seen him as being great in that department. I think Agassi could be the exception, the superstar player who has real insight into the game, but in general, I would rather hear commentating from non-legends. I suspect Santoro would be awesome... might be great to hear Canas talk about how he would approach a big player... Davydenko... okay, I think Wilander would be great so maybe my theory doesn't hold up as much as I originally thought.

As for vicious commentating, maybe it's because they so coldly dissect a player, but with that said, Johnny Mac has said some of rudest things about players ever ("you might want to record this because you'll never see XXXXX on TV again").

 

[beernutz]

Johnkidd, u sound like a hater,I would call it impressive.I dont wanna see Roddick win this even though he might be the second best grasscourt player.He is all serve and nothing more.U cant take away the record if he wins wimbledon, sounds like sour grapes to me.

Right. The third best player in the world is "all serve and nothing more".
How then does he manage to get those breaks he depends on to win?

Up the meds.

 

[Bertie B]

Not sure if we're talking about the same things, but my feeling is less talented players turn into better commentators and coaches. Why? Because they didn't rely on innate genius to succeed and had to think more about strategy and technique. Johnny Mac is an entertaining commentator, but I really like the technical guys, and as far as that goes, I've never seen him as being great in that department. I think Agassi could be the exception, the superstar player who has real insight into the game, but in general, I would rather hear commentating from non-legends. I suspect Santoro would be awesome... might be great to hear Canas talk about how he would approach a big player... Davydenko... okay, I think Wilander would be great so maybe my theory doesn't hold up as much as I originally thought.

Yeah that's what I'm talking about. Maybe it's just the way they cover my faves. Sharapova is the coldest, most selfish batch on tour w/ technical flaws, yet praise for her never stops...nothing wrong with that. When it comes to players they don't like, the negativity is unrelenting. When there is nothing new to talk about, they rehash something bad from years ago, completely irrelevant to the match they're commentating.

Me too. I like the technical guys, I'd put Luke Jensen into this category.

 

[PeakXV]

....at 78 he's prime age material to join the 60 Minutes staff.