Craig James roasted in SI

[FirstTimer]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/20...h/08/22/collegefootball.television/index.html

2. Which college football announcer/s are the least appealing for you and why?

Mandel: Craig James and Jesse Palmer. James' glaring conflict of interest (more on that later) aside, it's still two ex-jocks glad-handing each other and spewing clichés for three-and-a-half hours. I feel bad for Rece Davis, a true pro, who spends Thursday nights wedged between those two and Saturdays moderating the Mark May-Lou Holtz circus act.

Staples: Craig James, because he adds very little to the broadcast, and ESPN has sacrificed much of its journalistic integrity to protect him in the wake of his campaign to get Mike Leach fired at Texas Tech. If ESPN replaced James with any random ex-jock, viewers wouldn't complain a bit. Yet for some reason the network has bent over backward to protect James. It makes no sense.

Schroeder: Other than Craig James? Even aside from the helicopter-dad/Mike Leach/Texas Tech stuff, I'm not a big fan. And how can we leave aside that stuff? Since he is still employed, can we at least eliminate the weekly weird-workout feature with James (and Jesse Palmer) and the home team's strength coach on those Thursday night games? We get it, James was a big-time athlete and he's still able to toss around big tires.There are a lot of forgettable announcers out there. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though. As much as I enjoy listening to him, Musburger walks a fine line. When he crosses it, he can override the game. I'll take a dialed-back, who-was-that-announcer broadcast and be more than satisfied.

Deitsch: That Craig James gets such prominent assignments remains a mystery on the D.B. Cooper scale. He is unpopular by any fan metric you choose, including performance and likeability. The fact that former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach is suing James merely adds noise here. ESPN management says it values James for his relationships with coaches but what that ultimately leads to for viewers is little more than backslapping commentary. The network deserves to get crushed for keeping him on the air. I'm not as bothered by Palmer as some of the other guys but I agree with everyone on Holtz, whose act wore thin around the time Ron Powlus graduated from Notre Dame. Again, Holtz is an example of Bristol management having a tin ear with a broadcaster whose name far exceeds his value. Same with James.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Lou Holtz is supposedly the nicest, most genuine man on the earth. The spittle that collects in the corners of his mouth aside, I find him amusing. He keeps it light. Its just sports.

 

[FirstTimer]

Lou Holtz is supposedly the nicest, most genuine man on the earth. The spittle that collects in the corners of his mouth aside, I find him amusing. He keeps it light. Its just sports.

I've been lucky enough to have a decent amount of meetings and dealings with Lou. He's a tremendous man. An absolute joy to be around and a really great guy.

Mark May is also one of the better college football guys I've talked to as well. I agree that May vs Holtz thing is played out and makes May, who is intelligent, come off as a caricature.

 

[FirstTimer]

More on James

8. Do you trust Craig James when it comes to reporting on the Big 12?

Mandel: I wouldn't trust Craig James to report on sixth-grade volleyball. It's been established, via documented emails, that he not only encouraged a sitting Big 12 football coach's dismissal but hired a PR firm to intentionally manipulate coverage. And yet he's still walking into Big 12 coaches' offices every week to break down tape. Now he's running partisan political advocacy ads, which you would think would be a no-no for a television analyst (I seem to recall Lou Holtz getting in trouble simply for endorsing a candidate). How he's still on television (and in prominent time slots at that) is one of the great mysteries of modern civilization.

Staples: No. But I don't trust him when it comes to reporting on anything.

Schroeder: Does he report? I'm not sure how ESPN justified keeping him around. But he's still around. And now that Leach is no longer at Texas Tech, the immediate storm has passed. It would be unthinkable to have James in the booth for one of Leach's games (when Leach inevitably returns to coaching). Which is why it will probably happen. Until then, did you know James was a big-time athlete and he can still toss around big tires?

Deitsch: (Laughs).

 

[MrBill]

I LOL'd at the comparison of the mystery of why James still has a broadcasting job to D.B. Cooper.

 

[Sportsbuck]

I'm really disappointed that Stewart Mandel didn't go off into a tangent on the 5 hookers Craig James killed at SMU.

 

[NAHSTE]

In an interview with WFAA-TV in Dallas, James revealed that he is interested in getting involved in politics as a member of the Republican Party. James is a self-described "conservative" and states that government intervention in business and health care are his main concerns. James has said that he would not rule out running for the United States Senate seat currently held by Kay Bailey Hutchison in 2012. [13]

Why is this clown still working on TV? And I don't mean that to be political, I'm saying that taking any political stance like that is against company protocol for any media outlet.

 

[xCH0Nx]

The only pro commentator I can think of being as bad as Craig James is Joe Rogan for UFC. Fuck he gets on my nerves!

 

[Senser81]

I found this to be funny...

"The fact that former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach is suing James merely adds noise here. ESPN management says it values James for his relationships with coaches..."

 

[spiker]

Good shit. James needs to get called out by his peers more.

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

Craig James is incredibly tight with a few of the higher ups at ESPN, and I forget their names off the top of my head...but that is why he is still employed and given carte blanche at ESPN in regards to what he says on or outside of their bubble as well as primetime slots.

The answer is that simple.

 

[Boucher]

Craig James is way worse than Rogan. How u Gunna hate on Rogan dude knows his shit