Matt Shepard Out as Tigers PBP, Jason Benetti In.

[oblong]

I even if he has national aspirations and got one of the top jobs available does that mean he wouldn’t still do Tigers games?  Johnny Miller had the top job at ESPN but still did Orioles and Giants games.  He seems pretty active now but I assume a steady gig with one team is still an option he likes or else he’d just keep doing what he is doing now. Is a better national gig going to occupy him more than it is now?  

[Toddwert]

Its great to help dump on the White Sox lol

[chasfh]

9 hours ago, oblong said:

I even if he has national aspirations and got one of the top jobs available does that mean he wouldn’t still do Tigers games?  Johnny Miller had the top job at ESPN but still did Orioles and Giants games.  He seems pretty active now but I assume a steady gig with one team is still an option he likes or else he’d just keep doing what he is doing now. Is a better national gig going to occupy him more than it is now?  

I don’t know, maybe? I’m not sure Benetti got this many games off with the Sox. That said, I’d be actually upset rather than merely annoyed if someone like Greg Gania were the backup. I know people here like him, but he really is a minor league announcer. At least with Dan—who I would prefer stay on radio for 162, but whatevs—we have a seasoned big league pro as backup.

[oblong]

They should do what the Pistons used to do in the 80's and early 90's for games on Channel 50, do a simulcast where Blaha's radio feed is used on TV.

It's probably one of those weird things where even though we are technically so much more advanced now, something prevents it.

 

[CMRivdogs]

Only going by Tigers and Lions on line radio feeds, Audacy (WXYT) runs at least 15 seconds or more behind the TV feed of the game. I don't expect the radio flagship stations of the teams to make adjustments.

[casimir]

17 minutes ago, oblong said:

They should do what the Pistons used to do in the 80's and early 90's for games on Channel 50, do a simulcast where Blaha's radio feed is used on TV.

It's probably one of those weird things where even though we are technically so much more advanced now, something prevents it.

 

Speaking of Blaha, he and Kelser first broadcast a game together on one of this past weekend dates in 1988.  Maybe it was Nov 12, 1988?  Anyway, they had audio/video of a bit of that pregame from way back when during Sunday's broadcast.  The years have added wrinkles and taken away hair, but they both sound pretty much the same in cadence & delivery.

[oblong]

1 minute ago, casimir said:

Speaking of Blaha, he and Kelser first broadcast a game together on one of this past weekend dates in 1988.  Maybe it was Nov 12, 1988?  Anyway, they had audio/video of a bit of that pregame from way back when during Sunday's broadcast.  The years have added wrinkles and taken away hair, but they both sound pretty much the same in cadence & delivery.

Yes, I saw that. Very cool

 

[Edman85]

Benetti started with ESPN on the national stage. Worked his way up to more CFB and CBB assignments, and as a backup MLB guy. ESPN let him work Olympic Baseball for NBC in 2021. Not something we will have to worry about until 2028. He also did Peacock games while still at ESPN before moving to Fox. He moved to Fox last year when ESPN reduced its baseball package, so instead of the occasional Monday game before, it is now a regular Saturday game as well as Saturday College Football. Basketball won't interfere, except maybe Spring Training.

It is pretty standard. Off the top of my head, the Orioles, Red Sox, Twins, Braves, Mariners, Phillies, Dodgers, Giants, and Brewers have a national broadcaster on their TV Play by Play. Giving Gania some reps on radio isn't the worst thing in the world. Dickerson is in his mid 60's, and I honestly don't know if Benetti's disability make it less likely he is able to broadcast into his elder ages.

Edited November 14, 2023 by Edman85

[mtutiger]

6 minutes ago, Edman85 said:

Benetti started with ESPN on the national stage. Worked his way up to more CFB and CBB assignments, and as a backup MLB guy. ESPN let him work Olympic Baseball for NBC in 2021. Not something we will have to worry about until 2028. He also did Peacock games while still at ESPN before moving to Fox. He moved to Fox last year when ESPN reduced its baseball package, so instead of the occasional Monday game before, it is now a regular Saturday game as well as Saturday College Football. Basketball won't interfere, except maybe Spring Training.

It is pretty standard. Off the top of my head, the Orioles, Red Sox, Twins, Braves, Mariners, Phillies, Dodgers, Giants, and Brewers have a national broadcaster on their TV Play by Play. Giving Gania some reps on radio isn't the worst thing in the world. Dickerson is in his mid 60's, and I honestly don't know if Benetti's disability make it less likely he is able to broadcast into his elder ages.

Honestly it should be a point of pride that someone with Benetti's profile and national stature decided to come here, and the idea of him calling games nationally is a sacrifice that is totally worth making considering the alternative.

The other takeaway is that it kinda confirms my view that people outside of this organization, especially since Harris took over, generally take a much less dim view of the overall state of the org than the Tiger fanbase does.

Edited November 14, 2023 by mtutiger

[gehringer_2]

Blaha's ability to paint a BB game on the radio is extraordinary. He developed a whole short-hand syntax of his own optimized for the listener to keep up with the speed of the game.

[chasfh]

1 hour ago, oblong said:

They should do what the Pistons used to do in the 80's and early 90's for games on Channel 50, do a simulcast where Blaha's radio feed is used on TV.

It's probably one of those weird things where even though we are technically so much more advanced now, something prevents it.

 

Probably separate broadcast rights prevents it. I don't think Bally's or even MLB would countenance Dan Dickerson doing live reads for radio advertisers like Trex composite decking or Wallside Windows on a TV broadcast.

[oblong]

15 minutes ago, chasfh said:

Probably separate broadcast rights prevents it. I don't think Bally's or even MLB would countenance Dan Dickerson doing live reads for radio advertisers like Trex composite decking or Wallside Windows on a TV broadcast.

that's true.  I am not sure when the change happened but I know in the FSD days the Pistons produced their own games.  They bought the time and kept the revenue, it was like an infomercial.

 

 

[mtutiger]

3 hours ago, chasfh said:

Probably separate broadcast rights prevents it. I don't think Bally's or even MLB would countenance Dan Dickerson doing live reads for radio advertisers like Trex composite decking or Wallside Windows on a TV broadcast.

The Dallas Stars still do this, for what it's worth, although that could be a different sport / grandfathering situation

Edited November 14, 2023 by mtutiger

[gehringer_2]

4 minutes ago, mtutiger said:

The Dallas Stars still do this, for what it's worth, although that could be a different sport / grandfathering situation

I suppose you can do anything you want if everyone agrees about how it's going to work before 

[Edman85]

I didn't have MLB.TV in Lewin's day, but how was it handled when he had national duties back then?

[CMRivdogs]

4 minutes ago, Edman85 said:

I didn't have MLB.TV in Lewin's day, but how was it handled when he had national duties back then?

I just checked Wikipedia, it looks like Frank Beckman was the fill in from 1999 to 2001. WJR still would have had the radio broadcasts, at least in 1999 and 2000. Fox Sports Detroit the TV rights 

[buddha]

9 hours ago, casimir said:

Speaking of Blaha, he and Kelser first broadcast a game together on one of this past weekend dates in 1988.  Maybe it was Nov 12, 1988?  Anyway, they had audio/video of a bit of that pregame from way back when during Sunday's broadcast.  The years have added wrinkles and taken away hair, but they both sound pretty much the same in cadence & delivery.

blaha is past it now.  he's no longer very good.  the voice is the same, but he misses so much now.  misses calls, misses names.  

father time never loses.  blaha needs to retire or just stick to msu football that no one listens to anyway.

[casimir]

1 minute ago, buddha said:

blaha is past it now.  he's no longer very good.  the voice is the same, but he misses so much now.  misses calls, misses names.  

father time never loses.  blaha needs to retire or just stick to msu football that no one listens to anyway.

Basketball and hockey are probably not the sports to be calling as an announcer gets beyond retirement age.

Shep has done Piston games in the past.  Would he slide into the chair?

[buddha]

2 minutes ago, casimir said:

Basketball and hockey are probably not the sports to be calling as an announcer gets beyond retirement age.

Shep has done Piston games in the past.  Would he slide into the chair?

not sure.  is he any good at basketball?  he wasnt very good at baseball.

probably needs to go back to being a sports radio host.

[oblong]

Blaha is one of those guys who was very old to me in 1989.  I am afraid to look up how old he was then because I’m sure it’s a lot younger than I am now. 

[holygoat]

I think basketball suits Shep's style more than baseball to the point where he'd be at least passable as Pistons PBP, and possibly pretty good.

[casimir]

5 hours ago, holygoat said:

I think basketball suits Shep's style more than baseball to the point where he'd be at least passable as Pistons PBP, and possibly pretty good.

I don't remember much about his Piston basketball PBP except that he used the phrase "pocket pass" way too much.

[Tenacious D]

8 hours ago, casimir said:

I don't remember much about his Piston basketball PBP except that he used the phrase "pocket pass" way too much.

I don’t think he was saying “pass”

[lordstanley]

On 11/14/2023 at 3:58 PM, oblong said:

Blaha is one of those guys who was very old to me in 1989.  I am afraid to look up how old he was then because I’m sure it’s a lot younger than I am now. 

44!

[Toddwert]

1 hour ago, lordstanley said:

44!

its the bad hair piece