SteveE

OK, folks. There's been a lot of discussion about "ousting" Kirsten Gum and how bad the commentary is on OLN. Now's the time to voice your opinion. Given a binary decision, who'd you rather have [insert] paired with Bob Roll doing commentary [/insert] -- Kirsten or Al?

khuon

Doing what? It's obvious that they stuck Al in where Kirsten was last year. And while Kirsten seemed to have improved a bit, Al is exactly as annoying as Kirsten was when she started. I don't mind where they stuck Kirsten this year as I don't really watch her segments anyhow but the pre-race and extended coverages shows have really become annoying and I want to watch Bob without having to watch Al. Given the choices you've outlined, I think I would rather have Kirsten back since it seems she's at least learned her limits.

Murrays

That's a tough one, beer drinking babe or balding blather

I voted Al, but at least I can try to catch a glimpse of KG's back side as she wanders through the media lot

Can I change my vote?

-murray

Devil

Kirsten, easily.

SteveE

I should have specified the choice was between Kirsten or Al doing the commentary with Bob Roll.

Raiyn

Al needs to stick to hockey.

auricpoe

al knows squat about cycling, on those primetime shows bob roll is talking to him like he is 5 and tries to explain cycling to him, in laymans terms......kirsten gum was much better

holicow

I wish Trautwig would stop cutting Bob off in mid-sentence. That's really annoying, in any situation. I still say Bob clocks him by Stage 9.

DEK

Kirsten. If I'm going to have to listen to one of these two at least let it come from the one easy on the eyes.

rygreen

The thing that really irritates me about Al is when he tries to interject with one of the 20 or 30 facts he knows about cycling. He gives me the impression of some elementary school kid who is madly waving his hand in the air, hoping the teacher (Bob) will call on him for the answer. Then he'll say something, and wait for Bob to pat him on the head. At least Kirsten knew when to just smile and nod.

RegularGuy

If Trautwig calls Roll "Bob-key" one more time...

It's bad enough the guy knows stuff-all about bicycle racing, but this shows he knows nothing (and cares nothing) about his co-host.

lotek 

I prefer Kristen, at least her questions about cycling tactics are
genuine. Despite what everyone has said she really isn't that bad.
I preferred her over Bill Patrick (thank god he's gone), and I think she
is a good counterpoint to bobke (boob keh).
Get rid of Al the voice Trautwig.

Marty

GT_ATB32

al sux and i hope he dies

Crack'n'fail

Kirsten was finally getting settled in and Boom they send her off. Well, let's figure out why. She's doing the segment that the beer drinking party hounds will enjoy (The Roadside Tour stuff.) Hmmm, pretty girls and beer. Could be a Marketing strategy. Now, Prime Time coverage. . . trying to appeal to a broader american audience. . . nix those crazy Brits give 'em Al and Bob. Trust me folks there is a method to all of this madness. Those of us who are die hard fans are paying the price.

Nam

The Roadside Tour is pretty useless, nothing interesting. I'd rather see behind-the-scene of Lance's team after each stage (not to confuse to Lance Chronicles), and other teams.

They had some ridiculous jokes and the cutters suck azz.

jobob

Al's commentary is like nails on a blackboard to me. Kirsten was way better with Bob last year.

brent_dube

I just listened to Al Trautwig complain that this first week has been too boring.

jobob

Good grief. Someone send him home. Please. Give Bobke someone who at least cares!

Crack'n'fail

I can't believe that I defended that guy in velonews, only to hear him arguing with Phil and Paul about how boring these past few days have been. I understand if he doesn't understand the intricacies of the sport, but doesn't he know what his job is?

Tom Pedale

Anything is better than the days when we had no riders in the Tour or broadcasts of the Tour.

However, given the choice between Kirsten and Al, Kirsten wins hands down. Maybe we should ask Bobke. Last year on the broadcasts every so often, Kirsten would reach over and pat Bobke on the arm. With this kind of on the air chemistry, who needs Al?

jobob

You're absolutely right. It's just so frustrating to see what OLN is doing - I had such high hopes for the extended coverage and for 'the Roadside Tour', but thanks to Trautwig and to the Cutters I cannot stomach watching either of those shows. I can't help but yearn for what those shows could have been, and I can't help but be dismayed at what OLN's producers apparently believe their viewing audience wants to see.

I'm still eternally grateful to OLN for the early morning coverage, which, for the most part, has been blessedly Trautwig-free. Three cheers for Phil and Paul, and condolences to Bob.

Kaiser

On the evening broadcast, Trautwig is playing the role of ignorant newcomer to allow viewers new to racing to learn about the sport in this prime-time experiment to lure more viewers (one of OLN's stated goals). So whether or not he really knows anything about road racing is not known - he's playing his part for TV.

KG was just hitting her stride and now they've yanked her for those stupid roadside segments. However, given a choice, I can focus more on what Bobke has to say when she is not there to distract me with her newfound, ahem, enhancements, and when I am not watching Bob being distracted by her while he is on screen. All in all, much more educating! Plus, I don't need to hear Trautwig gush about Tyler Hamilton every hour on the hour.

2Rodies

I've worked in TV for over 15 years and let me tell you Al doesn't give a rats a#$ about this sport. I can see it in his body language and how he is just anxious to move on all the time. I spent the last 4 years working with one of the best sports guys in TV and you can tell when they care and when they don't. Al doesn't and his statement about how "boring" the first week was just re-enforces the feeling that he doesn't want to care. The other thing is OLN and Speed TV don't exactly pay the big bucks to the on-air and production staff so my guess is that Al was looking for a "European Vacation"!

At least KG was trying. She came a long way from last years rookie to doing an good job on "Road to the Tour". She learned the language of cycling and asked the right questions at the right time it's too bad that they didn't let her have the slot this year!