Professional Cycling - Paul and Phill Ligget are SELLOUTS!!!

Ok,
So yea, its no secret I dont like Lance.
But really, the more I think about it, Lance isnt so bad you know. Iv never really been turned off by his own words when in interviews.
Watching this years coverage so far, I have realized the source of my dislike towards Lance;
Its Paul and Phill!!

Complete sellouts! Its no secret that VS pays them money to talk up Lance, and to talk him up big time.
The more I hear them just pour out Lance brown nose commentary, the more I loath Lance. Then I said wait a minute, these are not Lances words. This is not what Lance is thinking.
Like the way he made the split today for example, to be honest, the biggest and smartest move was the Yellow jersey, Cancellara. Without ANY teammates, he was there. He even bunny-hopped a median to make sure he made the split. This guy really did the job of the day, I would even say above Cavi who won, because for him it was a given after what happened. Yet Paul and Phill just talked non-stop of Lances brilliance, as if Cancellara just got lucky.

Paul and Phill talked non-stop about Lance making the split, as if he is some kind of genius for doing so.
This is pretty much for everything. If Lance sips his bottle, its 30min of commentary of how smart he is, taking in fluids, keeping topped up, knowing when to feed and so on. Its plain ridiculous.

Lance himself has never struck me as sos arrogant, but the way Paul and Phill go on and n about him, i perceive that Lance is an ego-maniac, when really, its just Paul and Phill personifying him as the almighty I, I, I, I, I.

Gig is up! Paul and Phill, your officially sell outs!! Hope VS is paying you good money for undervaluing commentary of other riders doing a great job!!

And for Cancellara, dont worry man, I still think you did a great job, even if Phill and Paul ignore your efforts!!

You're overstating things but in essence, this is the first tour where I've wished they'd shut up - it's like listening to the British F1 commentators talk about Hamilton and Button ... and doesn't work any better.

Richard

Howzit, if this is the issue here's a thought: turn off the damn sound. If youre watching on the web, make the video half screen and put the yahoo tracker on the other half to get updates and commentary.

Howzit, if this is the issue here's a thought: turn off the damn sound. If youre watching on the web, make the video half screen and put the yahoo tracker on the other half to get updates and commentary.
You dont think Paul and Phill are sellouts?

You dont think Paul and Phill are sellouts?

No. They are doing their job.

Versus is a US broadcaster. They want ad revenue. US viewers want US riders to win. LA has name recognition. Add it up, it ain't rocket science.

Don't like it? Mute it or turn it off. Believe it or nor, you are in control.

Ok,
So yea, its no secret I dont like Lance.


What is it with you? You joined here a month ago and all you post are Lance bashing comments. Don't you have a life?

to be honest, the biggest and smartest move was the Yellow jersey, Cancellara. Without ANY teammates, he was there. He even bunny-hopped a median to make sure he made the split. This guy really did the job of the day, I would even say above Cavi who won, because for him it was a given after what happened. Yet Paul and Phill just talked non-stop of Lances brilliance, as if Cancellara just got lucky.

The median thing had nothing to do with the split.

Cool ignore works

After several years of watching Paul and Phil I find their commentary to be painfully repetitive. Set your watches at any point and stop it when they mention Greg Lemond winning by 8 seconds. They've been covering TdF for 20 years, but it seems that they've only kept notes from 89, and 99-05, and then they read them verbatim every single year. There is a Eurosport audio feed that is way better.

The median thing had nothing to do with the split.

That may be true, but had it been Lance that hopped the median, it would have had everything to do with the split.


So Im assuming you all think that the Lance asss kissing for today's stage was justified compared to the barely one second of commentary about yellow jersey staying in yellow? Am I the only who feels like the yellow jersey was just as "smart" if not "smarter" than Lance for making the split all by himself without a single Team mate and got no real credit in comparison to Lance by Paul and Phill??
You all really think that Lance was a genius for making the split as Phill and Paul made out compared to the almost non mention of the yellow?
I might be beginning to feel a little silly for being the only one who feels this way and starting a thread about it, seriously.

That may be true, but had it been Lance that hopped the median, it would have had everything to do with the split.


So Im assuming you all think that the Lance asss kissing for today's stage was justified compared to the barely one second of commentary about yellow jersey staying in yellow? Am I the only who feels like the yellow jersey was just as "smart" if not "smarter" than Lance for making the split all by himself without a single Team mate and got no real credit in comparison to Lance by Paul and Phill??
You all really think that Lance was a genius for making the split as Phill and Paul made out compared to the almost non mention of the yellow?
I might be beginning to feel a little silly for being the only one who feels this way and starting a thread about it, seriously.

You really do have a hard-on for Lance. I said absolutely nothing about him, and have no opinion on the matter. You shouldn't assume anything about what I may think. Considering that nearly 1/3 of the "break" was a single team and several of the rest were from the break that got swallowed up, anyone who made the split was smart to be in it by not letting the gap form in front of them, and being far enough to the front to lessen the chance of a break forming further up out of their control.

But the thing with the turn and the median was a long time before the split, it had nothing to with who made or didn't make the split, except for maybe how it affected pack position.

That may be true, but had it been Lance that hopped the median, it would have had everything to do with the split.


So Im assuming you all think that the Lance asss kissing for today's stage was justified compared to the barely one second of commentary about yellow jersey staying in yellow? Am I the only who feels like the yellow jersey was just as "smart" if not "smarter" than Lance for making the split all by himself without a single Team mate and got no real credit in comparison to Lance by Paul and Phill??
You all really think that Lance was a genius for making the split as Phill and Paul made out compared to the almost non mention of the yellow?
I might be beginning to feel a little silly for being the only one who feels this way and starting a thread about it, seriously.

You might not be the only one that feels that way, but you're the only one who feels it as a deep burning sensation, smoldering in the core of your soul, compelling you to obsess about it for hours after the end of each stage, posting in thread after thread.

Yeah, I agree with people upthread. Turn off the sound, listen to some streaming commentary from Europe or something and stop the incessant Lance-bashing here. It's tiresome. And I've only perused the Pro-cycling forum a few times in the last couple weeks.

(Oh, and for the record, I'm not a Lance fan either, but you're totally over-the-top)

(For clarity, this is for Howzit)

I can remember listening to the Tour in the 70's and the word "listen" is almost an exaggeration. TV telecast of the Tour? How about five minutes every evening with my Dad, hunched over a BBC radio broadcast that faded in and out. I've since endured Phil, Paul, Craig Hummer, Bobke, Frankie, Kirsten Gumm, John Tesh, Sam Posey....I'm counting my good fortune. Those were the most enjoyable days of my entire cycling life, those five minutes of inspiration each day provided a summer of good fun with my best riding companion ever. I'd sprint him for city limit signs pretending it was a stage finish, and I'd win (OK, so he let me....once in a while). I'd climb some cheesy little town hill and pretend it was the Galibier, hanging onto his wheel like I was defending the polka dot jersey.

Some day you'll grow up.

BTW, I'd give anything to have him back again. Enjoy the Tour.

Am I the only who feels like the yellow jersey was just as "smart" if not "smarter" than Lance for making the split all by himself without a single Team mate and got no real credit in comparison to Lance by Paul and Phill??
Probably not. But it seems like you're the only one who has his knickers in a massive twist about it though....

Landing in the front group today was as much luck as good tactics; e.g. Cancellara apparently got a tip from the team car. Cancellara does a good job of defending the jersey, but everyone knows his time in yellow is strictly limited. There isn't too much to say about him when he isn't doing a TT.

I expect most of us know to generally ignore the commentary, and/or don't care much for Armstrong either way.

No. They are doing their job.

Versus is a US broadcaster. They want ad revenue. US viewers want US riders to win. LA has name recognition. Add it up, it ain't rocket science.

Don't like it? Mute it or turn it off. Believe it or nor, you are in control.

their jobs are to report the on goings of the race in an unbiased manner. Clearly their manner is biased and are in fact sell outs as the definition of a sell out is someone who says what some want to hear for more money.

I feel like the reason they talked about lance making the split so much was because of what it will do to Astana overall. The fact that he made it puts him in number one spot with potential for yellow after the TTT so it was kind of a big deal that he was there. As someone said Cancellara's time in yellow is limited and everyone is well aware so while it was great that he made it, it wasn't as interesting as what lance making it will do to mix up the astana thing.

Just my take on it

Technically their job is to maximize the viewership of Versus. They are commentators not news reporters. All Lance all the time is annoying but he is what a large portion of their potential viewership is interested in...

We get the same telecast and commentary here in Australia.I think they do the commentary for all English speaking countries around the world.

We get the same telecast and commentary here in Australia.I think they do the commentary for all English speaking countries around the world.

That's the funny part. I had an idea the telecast was for the Brits with the rest of us (including the US), just tagging on, but maybe it is supposed to be a genuinely international broadcast.

As for their Armstrong favouritism - it's not due to any US bias, it's just their own starry eyes for the big man. They've done it before for others and were probably worse about him during the years he was actually winning the thing. Remember last year when they started obsessing about Robbie McEwen being 'the invisible man' with the result that every sprint finish became a 'hunt the Robbie' fest until the man finally popped out of the pack? They're just hoomans doing a job with their own personal biases and failings ... but it would be nice if they cooled it about Lance for a bit, that way we'll be able to appreciate it fully when he actually does do something special (which he will).

Richard

Technically their job is to maximize the viewership of Versus. They are commentators not news reporters. All Lance all the time is annoying but he is what a large portion of their potential viewership is interested in...

Doesn't that go with all sports though? You watch the Lakers they will talk up Kobe Bryant. If you watch
Nascar then you'll hear a lot about Jeff Gordon. I mean seriously, this shouldn't come up as a surprise that there is a lot of media attention around Lance...after all, he won the TDF seven times...and can possibly be wearing yellow after the TTT.

Doesn't that go with all sports though? You watch the Lakers they will talk up Kobe Bryant. If you watch
Nascar then you'll hear a lot about Jeff Gordon. I mean seriously, this shouldn't come up as a surprise that there is a lot of media attention around Lance...after all, he won the TDF seven times...and can possibly be wearing yellow after the TTT.

Exactly

Doesn't that go with all sports though? You watch the Lakers they will talk up Kobe Bryant. If you watch
Nascar then you'll hear a lot about Jeff Gordon. I mean seriously, this shouldn't come up as a surprise that there is a lot of media attention around Lance...after all, he won the TDF seven times...and can possibly be wearing yellow after the TTT.

Couldn't have said it any better!

their jobs are to report the on goings of the race in an unbiased manner.



What lead you to believe this? Reports should report in an unbiased manner. They are not reporters.

I don't know the broadcasters personally, but I suspect there is a chance that they are tired of talking about Lance.

I strongly suspect they have their orders on what to focus on. After all, I don't think it is Paul and Phil that decided to track Lance along with the race jerseys in the crawler at the bottom of the screen. Whoever puulls the strings has decided that Lance is the key to the ratings, and unless he fals out of contention, I expect to continue to hear a lot about him.

The reason to pick a theme to emphasize is easy to figure out... there are several hours of racing each day, with virtually nothing going on except the peloton covering miles... they need something to fill those hours with. Why does anyone think we heard 20 or 30 references to flamingos?

You dont think Paul and Phill are sellouts?


What I said was: if their commentating is bothering you, turn it off. I almost never listen to comentators when it's avoidable. Hell, when I'm playing xbox I turn off the comentators in game. Granted when something big happens, I like the option of listening to someone give me information, but so far that hasnt been neccesary. I put up the yahoo tracker and turn on the sounds to get details like splits and such. If something happens like a major crash, I'll turn on the sound to get their ideas on what happened or caused it if i cant see it.

No. They are doing their job.

Versus is a US broadcaster. They want ad revenue. US viewers want US riders to win. LA has name recognition. Add it up, it ain't rocket science.

Don't like it? Mute it or turn it off. Believe it or nor, you are in control.


its amazing that some people dont get this. its always about the money. without LA we may not even have a tour on US television. later.

Sellouts?

As opposed to what?


It's a commercial broadcast with the sole intent of increasing revenue. If you can't accept that, don't watch. No one's forcing you to watch it on Versus are they?

What I find amazing is that nobody mentioned that the riders who ended up having to jump the median were not paying attention to the course. The number of course marshalls, etc out there should mean that all the riders should be where they are supposed to be. This is the second time we have seen (this year) riders basically going the wrong way. And the fact that the yellow jersey was one of those riders...wow.

What I find amazing is that nobody mentioned that the riders who ended up having to jump the median were not paying attention to the course. The number of course marshalls, etc out there should mean that all the riders should be where they are supposed to be. This is the second time we have seen (this year) riders basically going the wrong way. And the fact that the yellow jersey was one of those riders...wow.

I noticed when the breakaway went through that corner that the median was not marked. There was no marshall and no indication that you had to be on the right side to make the turn except for some spectators up the road ahead. A good portion of the field went left and had to jump the median. Coming into the finish on the second stage, it was just one guy in the middle that wasn't paying attention and tried to go straight and took out several guys to his left and forced others to go that way to avoid going down.

I don't like the Lance jersey tracker on the washing line, but whatever.

We should be happy that Lance is bringing awareness of the Cycling Sport to the mainstream in the US. Versus "needs" Lance to help bring in revenue. We must remember this is a business, and if Lance will bring them more money then they will promote him over and over and over again.

The more money versus makes the more they wll broadcast the Tour and maybe other events as well.

off_topic:

confused about folks saying they hate 'Lance'... i've always loved Lance:



and i also enjoy listening to paul and phil (*much* better than the single narrator for the Giro's on-line coverage from universal sports)...

Ok,
So yea, its no secret I dont like Lance.

And you would give both your testicles to trade lives with him. So what. Don't like it, stop crying and change the channel.

I think Paul and Phil do a great job. Try talking for 4 hours straight on TV, its not easy, especially when the race gets dull.

the problem with versus is that they are going with quantity over quality. they're going with 3 hrs of coverage, which for most stages, results in a TON of boring commentary about feeding zones, historical landmarks, paul's old racing days, etc... i DVR the coverage and even with FFWD capabilities its hard to watch the entire broadcast. i remember back in the 80's, they used to jam pack coverage into a few hours at the end of the week, complete with john tesh and yanni music... and it was much more exciting to watch. i think the average joe tuning into versus' coverage on any given day is going to walk away thinking that there's nothing really exciting about bike racing or the tour.

but i guess at the end of the day, bad coverage is better than no coverage and to the OP's point, if that means i have to listen to paul and phil talk up lance 24/7, so be it. i have selective hearing anyways.

lance is the tour de france

Learn Danish, German or French and listen to the other feeds and broadcast. BTW, they were also talking about Lance excessively

Who can blame them for talking about Lance? The same frenzy would happen:

If MJ came back to the NBA finals.
If Joe Montana came back to the superbowl.
If Pele was in a world cup final.
If Schumacher returned to F1.

Ok,
So yea, its no secret I dont like Lance.
But really, the more I think about it, Lance isnt so bad you know. Iv never really been turned off by his own words when in interviews.
Watching this years coverage so far, I have realized the source of my dislike towards Lance;
Its Paul and Phill!!

Complete sellouts! Its no secret that VS pays them money to talk up Lance, and to talk him up big time.
The more I hear them just pour out Lance brown nose commentary, the more I loath Lance. Then I said wait a minute, these are not Lances words. This is not what Lance is thinking.
Like the way he made the split today for example, to be honest, the biggest and smartest move was the Yellow jersey, Cancellara. Without ANY teammates, he was there. He even bunny-hopped a median to make sure he made the split. This guy really did the job of the day, I would even say above Cavi who won, because for him it was a given after what happened. Yet Paul and Phill just talked non-stop of Lances brilliance, as if Cancellara just got lucky.

Paul and Phill talked non-stop about Lance making the split, as if he is some kind of genius for doing so.
This is pretty much for everything. If Lance sips his bottle, its 30min of commentary of how smart he is, taking in fluids, keeping topped up, knowing when to feed and so on. Its plain ridiculous.

Lance himself has never struck me as sos arrogant, but the way Paul and Phill go on and n about him, i perceive that Lance is an ego-maniac, when really, its just Paul and Phill personifying him as the almighty I, I, I, I, I.

Gig is up! Paul and Phill, your officially sell outs!! Hope VS is paying you good money for undervaluing commentary of other riders doing a great job!!

And for Cancellara, dont worry man, I still think you did a great job, even if Phill and Paul ignore your efforts!!

Is there anything you don't complain about?

The median thing had nothing to do with the split.

Actually, it did per Cancellara's own words "The split happened in a moment when a lot perhaps weren't expecting it. I got news over the radio, 'Okay, now there's a right turn and then in one kilometer there's a cross wind and it's going to be strong.' So I jumped over some speed bumps and just luckily I arrived at the front at the right moment. I couldn't drop out of the lead group to go and help my team-mates because that was too risky."

Actually, it did per Cancellara's own words "The split happened in a moment when a lot perhaps weren't expecting it. I got news over the radio, 'Okay, now there's a right turn and then in one kilometer there's a cross wind and it's going to be strong.' So I jumped over some speed bumps and just luckily I arrived at the front at the right moment. I couldn't drop out of the lead group to go and help my team-mates because that was too risky."

I clarified later: "But the thing with the turn and the median was a long time before the split, it had nothing to with who made or didn't make the split, except for maybe how it affected pack position."

My point was that the split did not happen because of that turn and several people having to jump the median, the split was later. But the median may have affected pack position and Cancellara was smart to get himself back to the front so that he would not be caught out in the crosswinds.

I clarified later: "But the thing with the turn and the median was a long time before the split, it had nothing to with who made or didn't make the split, except for maybe how it affected pack position."

My point was that the split did not happen because of that turn and several people having to jump the median, the split was later. But the median may have affected pack position and Cancellara was smart to get himself back to the front so that he would not be caught out in the crosswinds.

Cancellara said he had to jump the median in order to get into position soon enough to make the split. If he had taken the time to go around the median he would have missed the split.

I noticed when the breakaway went through that corner that the median was not marked. There was no marshall and no indication that you had to be on the right side to make the turn except for some spectators up the road ahead. A good portion of the field went left and had to jump the median. Coming into the finish on the second stage, it was just one guy in the middle that wasn't paying attention and tried to go straight and took out several guys to his left and forced others to go that way to avoid going down.

As I metioned the other day, there were at least 3 turns in the opening TT that were COMPLETELY unmarked. Not even a paper stick to a post with an arrow on it. No cones, nothing.

On the other stages, I noticed a LARGE number of turns and roundabouts with nothing, no marshals, no sings, nothing.


Sellouts?

As opposed to what?


It's a commercial broadcast with the sole intent of increasing revenue. If you can't accept that, don't watch. No one's forcing you to watch it on Versus are they?

Oh dear, how to respond to these capitalistic, money driven, greed justification comments.

Well, see, The Tour has been going on for hundreds of years. And guess what, Phill has been commentating for MANY, MANY, MANY, MANY, MANY years.

So yea, guess what, no one is forcing me to watch versus, Im just saying Phill and Paul sold out to the self interest based Versus.

I have watched Phill and Paul comment on many races before Lance and they praised every rider who was out there doing a good job.

They must not look like sellouts to you maybe because you are used to NFL commentary and started listening to Phill and Paul since 99. Because if you knew of their commentary before then, you would know how much they have favored Lance in an obvious biased way.

Cancellara said he had to jump the median in order to get into position soon enough to make the split. If he had taken the time to go around the median he would have missed the split.

He messed up even being on the wrong side of the road in the first place, you had to bunny hop the median or backtrack to even get back onto the course. But as I said before the split did not happen because of the median, the median affected his position and he had to get back up to the front to make sure he was not vulnerable in the crosswind that he was told they were approaching. It's also not clear that the "speed bumps" he is referring to is the same thing as the median... from my recollection the median was far more than 1km before the split happened. There must have been something else.

Cancellara said he had to jump the median in order to get into position soon enough to make the split. If he had taken the time to go around the median he would have missed the split.

Exactly.

And you would give both your testicles to trade lives with him. So what. Don't like it, stop crying and change the channel.

: amen from the congregation :

He messed up even being on the wrong side of the road in the first place, you had to bunny hop the median or backtrack to even get back onto the course. But as I said before the split did not happen because of the median, the median affected his position and he had to get back up to the front to make sure he was not vulnerable in the crosswind that he was told they were approaching. It's also not clear that the "speed bumps" he is referring to is the same thing as the median... from my recollection the median was far more than 1km before the split happened. There must have been something else.

The "speed bumps" were the median. Remember, English isn't his first language. There were no other obstacles after the turn. Correct, the split didn't happen because of the median & that wasn't the point that Howzit was making.

And you would give both your testicles to trade lives with him. So what. Don't like it, stop crying and change the channel.

Could Lance get stronger as the race goes on with no testicles?

He'd be like the Funny Cide of bike racing!

After several years of watching Paul and Phil I find their commentary to be painfully repetitive.... There is a Eurosport audio feed that is way better.

There is a Versus program at 8pm where the bulk of the commentary is Bobke and Weiner .. er .. Hummer, with play-by-Phil&Paul at spots and the finish. I find it much more interesting. But I'm can't help watching the live show too...

It's like you've been living on an island without a TV or radio your entire life. As was stated, *every* sports announcer hypes up, comments on, etc. the star of whatever event they are covering. And yes, 7 TdF wins will give you star-power--whether or not you like it.

And if you don't like it, then don't watch TV sporting events. This is going to happen everywhere, so yelling about cycling announcers doing it for Lance is rather silly.