Al Trautwig

[zeroking17]

Even though some of Al's comments have knocked the wind out of me, I honestly don't believe that we should send too much bad voodoo in his direction. He's a "utility infielder" type of sports announcer who can do a passable job on virtually any type of event, from dog shows to cycling tours to monster-truck derbies. His speciality is non-specialization. In short, he a mouth-for-hire.

Instead, we should be blaming the OLN camouflage suits that hired (and continue to hire) him for this race. Or what about Phil, Paul, Bobke and the other cycling experts? Do they have a voice in who's hired as the "other" broadcaster?

I'm inclined to cut Al some big-time slack. Hey, Phil's no Chick Hearn and Paul's no Jack Buck, either. And don't even bring up the Bobke-Howard Cosell comparision (or should it be Bobke-Harry Caray?);)

And once the race heats up, we won't even care who's jabbering in the background.
.

[William]

http://pbskids.org/lions/parentsteachers/program/curriculum/images/gawainsword_tn.jpg



William ;)

[indyrider]

Terrible Commentating By AL. And he knows virtually nothing about cycling in comparison to Phil and the boys. Viewing last nights broadcast was extemely painful due to the the 8 second bits of silence interspersed with broken sentence vocabulary. :crap:
I must get home in the early pm to hear the folks that live, eat and breathe cycling call the race....

[bcm119]

Al's a bit of a wing nut, but he opens the race up to the casual observer by asking all the dumb questions. Cycling fans like us will watch the race anyway; people new to the sport or who just find it interesting will be more inclined to watch it if someone is "interpreting" the lingo and nuances that are second nature to us... he's a dork, but he's not all bad atmo.

[55/Rad]

Chick Hearn hosted "Bowling for Dollars" in the 70's and quite honestly, he sucked. On camera was not his forte.

[whippettanker]

Even though some of Al's comments have knocked the wind out of me, I honestly don't believe that we should send too much bad voodoo in his direction. He's a "utility infielder" type of sports announcer who can do a passable job on virtually any type of event, from dog shows to cycling tours to monster-truck derbies. His speciality is non-specialization. In short, he a mouth-for-hire.



Exactly right.

I like Al.

As someone else said, he makes new viewers feel comfortable. And that's a big deal. If this sport is to get more viewers, we need a guy like Al.

And he's there to make sure that the OLN business stuff gets announced. I think he does that well too.

I've watched 90% of all cycling televised in the US over the years and I'm very happy with Al. He picked up on the basics quickly and he continues to learn and get deeper into the details.

Here's my dream team:

Phil and Paul doing stats and calling the play-by-play. Andy Hampsten and Frankie Andreu doing color with Al as the anchor. And someone with a camera sneaking around and talking to soigners and mechanics.

Al's become part of the scene and he gives me that 'locker room' feeling; he's all about sports and getting the job done. Sprinkle a little Aqua Velva around or spray a little Right Guard and see if it doesn't help you see Al in a different light.

And in the interest of fairness, who do you all think would be a better anchor?

[Fivethumbs]

Terry Bradshaw?

[keno]

Jimmy Kimmel or David Feherty.

keno

[Elefantino]

I DVR the daily broadcasts and therefore get Al for the prerace and postrace only. He's fine there.

I don't do the primetime. Commentary without Phil and Paul isn't the same.

For you Bay Area folks, it's like listening to anybody but Bill King, rest his soul, do the Raiders.

Holy Toledo.