khuon

Am I the only one getting a little annoyed over the stupid sound effects for their little ticker at the bottom of the screen? OLN is starting to look like Fox Sports with those annoying effects. I want to watch a bike race... not a video game.

skydive69

I'd rather have that then have to listen to Bob Roll say "Tour day France" one more time!

EventServices

It tested well in all the focus groups.

And as for Bob Roll, he's paid his dues. He's done more in this sport than most people realize. I let him say it however he wants.

fight or flight

It's his Lance, Lance, Lance commentary that's getting to me.

skydive69

Don't misunderstand me. I have always been a big fan of Roll. I have all of his books, and I find him amusing. It's just that one thing that drives me nuts everytime he says it.

khuon

To be honest, I would have gotten annoyed with it a long time ago had I not known that people would get riled up over it. It's only in the knowledge that it gets people's panties in a bunch everytime he says it that continues to cause me to chuckle.

skydive69

Of course knowing Roll's personality, he might even be doing it on purpose. He always has that mischievious look on his face like he knows something that we don't.

khuon

I personally believe he's doing it on purpose. He's fairly capable of pronouncing the names of the other races correctly. He pronounces the names of most of the European riders correctly. He pronounces the names of the climbs, the towns, other French terminology... He consciously made fun of himself and the pronunciation of the TdF in an OLN commercial a couple of years ago. It's an act.

skydive69

Thanks, I needed that, and as I think about it I agree with you. It will no longer bother me! AAMOF, I will now be amused by the fact that I know he is doing it on purpose. It is interesting how one can go from being disturbed to being amused by the same act - it's all a matter of perspective!

pearcem

has anyone else been overall pleased by OLN's coverage? granted cycling isn't getting amazing coverage like football or basketball gets, but it's still a big step. The ticker thing is a little annoying, but the commentary is pretty good overall. They do talk about lance and discovery a lot, but that sort of makes since since they are broadcasting to an american audience and it's the only american based D1 team (or so i believe). And whether you like the little carmichael segments or any of the other tidbits, thet're still a cool idea to mix up the coverage a little, even if they do need a bit of work.

skydive69

I personally love the coverage. I think they have a great mix of racing, Carmichael tidbits, and little bits on the Discovery team. I find myself really looking forward to Sunday afternoons.

Laggard

I wish they'd shut the hell up about Lance and Discovery and skip the Carmichael crap.

Just show bike racing and talk about what's relevant.

skydive69

It is difficult for me to believe that anyone interested in the sport would not be interested in: 1) The world's best rider, 2) his team - especially one based in the good old USA, and 3) perhaps even his coach and what he has to say.

I can't wait till the Tour Day France!

Laggard

I am interested in the worlds best rider. Lance isn't that rider though.

As far as teams, I'm much more interested in CSC, CA and Quick Step than I am in Discovery.

2Rodies

I totally agree...I could care less about what LA is doing unless it's directly concerning his racing. I'm a huge LA fan and I believe he has done tremendous good for US cycling, but I'd rather see more of the race and less of the segments. I wish they would just revive the LA Chronicales and do all the Discovery and Chris Charmichael stuff there. I do however enjoy the mini-bio's they are running. I enjoyed the one on BJ yesterday.

FWIW the talking heads are only doing what they are told to do by the producers. They are the ones that are telling Paul to keep bringing LA into the Conversation. Bob may be doing it anyway just because he is LA's friend but I'm sure he is given direct instructions to talk LA up.

skydive69

Well with Lance's record, hopefully YOU consider him as a top ten rider (LOL). As far as interest, I am interested in all of the teams, and get wonderful info by subscribing to Velo News. Come to think of it, LA is a bum - anyone can win 6 TDF's with super genetics and a super human work ethic - it's easy with that going for you. He is a damn wannabe.

HigherGround

Personally, I'm thrilled that they have a weekly show on cycling. I remember when you could only find out about cycling by reading the top ten of the Tour stage finishes at the bottom of the box scores section of the newspaper. Then you'd have to wait 2 weeks to read the stories in Velo News, and a month to see the glossy color pictures in Winning. There may be minor things here and there that could be improved, but they have timely coverage and knowledgeabe announcers who have been there, done that. Considering how small of a draw cycling is for the total American population, I think we're very, very lucky.

nick burns

Ditto. They break from the race coverage so often I lose track of what's going on.

HigherGround

A very good point about life in general!

timhines

you guys must reply to this post "in anger." hehe, or maybe you just "turn the pedals in anger!"

SipperPhoto

Word up my brutha..

I like Lance, and the Discos, but good lord, must they mention his name every 5 minutes? It's oe thing to mention him if it is relevant, it's another to be so openly crazy about Lance that it jsut plain gets annoying!

Jeff

skydive69

I guess it is analagous to golf and Tiger Woods. When the mofo is in 15th place, they show his picture instead of the winner, and discuss him. It happens whenever there is a particularly amazing standout in any sport.

EventServices

It's called Mass Media for a reason.

timmhaan

here's a perfect example of this i just saw today, from the BBC website. exactly half of the article (and the headline) talks about armstrong. it barely even mentions laurent brochard.

https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/othe...ng/4380709.stm

khuon

Okay. I'll admit it. I like Lance. I liked USPS and now Team Disco. And I too am getting a little tired of the constant exclusive focus on them.

...

However...

I think it's a good thing for all involved and especially for one specific reason. The reason that OLN is covering them exclusively is to draw in the US audience. Discovery is primarily a US sponsored team and one of the few (only?) in the pro peloton. The reason we're seeing so much from them from a US broadcaster is because they are the only ones. Perhaps this will encourage other US sponsors to sponsor more US teams if they see the large amount of coverage they can gain.