TheBigFiz21

I'll start with some more recent absences and departures that have left my sports universe: ESPNews as an actual sports news network as opposed to now being the equivalent of ESPN 2. I find myself wishing I could just tune in and watch the anchors dish out news and highlights as the day in sports unfolds. I might add that as a compromise, I'd be comfortable with some form of SportsCenter on at every hour of the day, which is what they did in like 2010 if my memory serves me right. Gus Johnson and Marv Albert (yes, that Marv Albert) calling NFL games. Gus' NFL resume speaks for itself from the Stokley catch of 2010 to the Jags hail mary (same year, I think?). As for Marv, I think he was decent when he returned to CBS after the March Madness deal with Turner almost linked the two together. Shoot, while I'm on the Gus tab, I wonder if Fox would let him cut a deal with CBS/Turner to call tournament games....that, we ALL could agree on, is dearly missed. Locally, as an O's fan, I miss Fred Manfra and Joe Angel calling games on the radio. Angel retired before 2019 and Manfra stepped down midway through 2018. Thursday Night Football when NFL Network shared it with CBS. This was the best presentation I've seen so far from them. NBC was okay, and Fox has just a slight rehash of the regular NFL games aside from some graphics differences and the pregame show in NYC. Shopping for gear across the major sports leagues BEFORE Fanatics swallowed up their services. I miss the unique experiences in going to the NFL Shop website or flipping through that catalog. Same goes for the NBA Store, MLBShop.com, etc. when the leagues all had their stuff under control. ESPN's 2-Minute Drill. Who didn't love a sports game show on TV? ABC Sports and ESPN as separate, but tightly bonded divisions.

I actually liked how Houston's previous road jerseys gave a downward arrow effect down the sides when the Nike era of NBA jerseys started. When I first saw it, I thought it was intentional on the Rockets' end though

And (if not in unison with each league's return), the day fans can come back to the events. But like you, I'm hoping we the fans looking to attend are there with them once we're back up and running.

I've got two as far as NFL uniforms go. First off, the Cardinals. I'm okay with the home unis, at minimum. If they were to change wholesale within the next few years, I would rather they just strip down both uniforms where you'd get rid of the white and black everywhere except for the number and NOB. As for the road uniforms, I think you can make it work in a similar fashion. All white jersey, red NOB, same TV numbers as the chest and back seen here. Just get white pants and double stripes down the side and you're good. Secondly, there's the current Jags unis, which I do like. The "bland" design doesn't bother me at all. The only combo that might bother me is white-over-teal. But for the most part, everything else works for me when I see them on the field.

Just a heads up: that pic of the 2011 screencap didn't load I'll assume you're well aware that the both teams (90/10 split that favors the Orioles) do indeed own MASN. If not, glad to have filled you in with new information Other than that, I'd like to assume the graphics department at MASN has been fallen lazy to some degree or the O's haven't invested in them too heavily. Maybe the legal battle between the two teams over this network might play a factor, but I doubt it's slowing them down as far as new graphics. What makes it more embarrasing is that it's the only team-owned RSN as far as the MLB scene goes whereas every other team is at least partially owned by a media company like a Spectrum or AT&T. If anything, maybe the change in ownership might be motivated to push out changes with MASN soon. The current owner's getting old and passed most of his power down to his son after the 2018 season, who's already making some non-baseball changes around the team. My honest opinion is that once the MASN lawsuit is over, the Nats will find a way to move to NBC Sports Washington and the O's probably sell off MASN to another company or keep it around and begin to invest in new graphics, hopefully in 2021.

That 70's Show (1998-2006): No episode with a scene in the Foreman basement was complete without that Packers helmet hanging out under the stairs. Not to mention, this from an older thread: _________ The Good Place (2016-2020): Enter Jason Mendoza. Quite possibly the biggest Jags fan I've ever encountered, and even moreso for Blake Bortles. Can't find the right screenshot, but he does play an exhibition game of Titans/Jags on Madden 18. And no, this isn't a typo considering that Bortles is no longer a Jaguar. But yes, that is Lisa Kudrow as a guest star in a fake Jags jersey from an episode that aired this January.

Although, I felt the now-retired package was more based off of CBS (the font choice feels more akin to that from their NFL graphics than anything at Turner IMO). Hopefully it pairs well with what CBS may bring with whatever changes come after Super Bowl LV, especially since they have the two most widely watched events of the year in sports next year

This is why I prefer FS Radio over CBSSR, where the hosts can hold their own ground. I could even put up with ESPN Radio, but sadly the ESPN affiliate here is a news station that would only air them unless it's any of the championship games. They'll put on Navy football any given Saturday before ESPN Radio. Also, while I'm on the topic, I want to rant about one local station in Baltimore. It's getting hard to listen to when the lineup of hosts is so thin, the 9pm-12am is sometimes working weekends. Then it in turn forces national radio to start early (9pm on Saturdays and 6 on Sundays without midday sports). I know terrestrial radio is a dying breed thanks to smart phones, unlimited data plans, aux cables, smart speakers, etc., but when I'm not in a music mood in my car, I'd much rather hear a local guy give his take on who the Ravens will sign this offseason at 9:24pm on a Saturday as opposed to CBSSR for the rest of the night.

Fairly new if you ask me, but I didn't know they updated this

I think it goes without saying that there are a great share of radio shows, local and national, that have a podcast functioning with "best-of" and/or fully replayable episodes. I'm not exactly sure how if that podcast you mentioned is streamed exclusively or not, but if it isn't, then I could see why the hosts pick up that habit easily. As for sports talk shows, I think that interaction with callers is necessary. For instance, I listen to one station in Baltimore where the weeknight and weekend shows do more fan interaction with texts and calls throughout with about 1-2 interview segments thrown in. Very much different from the weekday shows that are doused with ads, have dedicated "segments", some contests, etc. My point being...I don't think that's going away. It's been mentioned before that stations know only a fraction of their listeners actually call in. There's a saying I came across that about 10% of listeners call in to these local stations. So without that interaction, said shows are no different from the streaming podcasts that are pushing sports radio off its totem pole.

2014 ALDS, Game 1 (Tigers at Orioles): First year working at OPACY as an usher and I only attended three of the four postseason games at the Yard. I missed Game 2 (probably the peak moment for many O's fans in recent memory), so the series opener was my happiest day I ever experienced. Watching the infamously mediocre Tigers bullpen get destroyed by the O's offense made for the most fun game I've attended, even better than any game I'd attended before/after my 3 years working at OPACY. 2012 AL Wild Card (O's at Rangers): Of all the postseason games I enjoyed, this IMO beats the 2014 games. I didn't attend this game...hell, I only started listening to the game halfway through as I went home, then watched from the 6th down to the final out to watch. And I gotta tell you, I was definitely the happiest man in the house running around in celebration! Not to mention, in the midst of TBS' rough playoff coverage, Ernie Johnson's call was beautiful: "...and the magical season of the Baltimore Orioles continues!!" 2013 AFC Divisional (Ravens at Broncos): The Mile High Miracle. Need I say more??? 2009 East Finals, Game 6 (Cavaliers at Magic): Probably the best day in the 9 years of being a fan of a Dwight Howard-led team. Is it safe to say that 2009 Magic team handled the Cavs in that series? It sure as hell felt like it. Remember...it was 3-1 going into Game 5 and I personally felt that they had the series in the balance. But back to Game 6....that was the pinnacle of Dwight's career as far as team success and it felt so good having settled onto the Magic back in November of that associated regular season.

For some reason, I didn't have the heartbreak I should have after that Cundiff miss and Evans drop (or swat by the defender? Some people still argue that). If anything, I was bummed that we didn't get it done in a season where we didn't end up facing the Steelers in the playoffs since the Broncos took care of them two rounds beforehand. The 2014 ALCS though...that hurts my heart more than anything. I worked at Oriole Park that year and it was the first of three. For all the fun I had that season, what turned out to be my last day at work that year was a crushing blow. I took that subway home having the worst gut feeling that I wouldn't be back for a Game 6, and sure enough that happened. It's even worse considering I didn't work the two biggest days of the season (The division clinching game in September and Game 2 of the ALDS with the memorable Delmon Young double) at the yard because I had classes during the week. The 2016 Wild Card game was even more gut-punching for me...watched that on my computer while staying late at school to do some work and I went home at 3am in total disarray. On this note, every Pats SB win in this decade has been tough. If it wasn't for the Eagles winning a few years back, I'd be frustrated at how these NFC teams all struggle vs the Pats. I hate hearing any mention of 28-3 or Seattle's late-game fluke INT at the 1 almost as much as any Falcons or Seahawks fan. I don't know how bad the Rams fan get roasted for 13-3, but man...all those games made me wish playoff Flacco, Nick Foles, and/or Eli Manning was around more to challenge Brady.

Yet people won't even remember that when this logo came to life in 2012, they had a 5-year run with the most wins in the American League through that timespan

I've gone on record that I'm ready for a change from TNT (currently in its 5th season having used these graphics). While it is an absolute beauty, especially with how they incorporate cities, I'd say the 2010-11 set was superior. It brought more color and the transitions had full-screen shots of key locations in town or the city skyline.

Not sure if this classifies as part of sports graphics, but NBC has a logo for the 2020 Summer Olympics:

Honestly I'm not sure why ESPN feels the need to keep upgrading their graphics. I don't like this new scoreboard at all, and I think at the very least, they could have kept last year's scoreboard in tact for another year or two. I missed the game because I watched SNF, so I don't want to say too much more about it since there are full-screen stat boards as well; hence, I'll make my call come the regular season when it matters. Also, you never know if there will be any additional changes. Remember how last year's scoreboard was left-justified for two preseason games, then moved to the center?

Tonight we get to see the first game of TNF in the Fox era. So far watching the pregame, it looks like Fox is simply handing NFL Network their current graphics as I've seen elements of the current Fox Sports package.

ESPN started using a new ticker this morning...it's now two lines of info on the screen instead of one single streamline of scores, news, etc. Also, it's split into two sections; the left side has all your stuff as usual, but the right hand side is pretty much ad space for anything ESPN is promoting, from their app to any games, shows airing later on. My biggest fear though is that other companies may take advantage of that to promote their stuff, as I don't like how ubiquitous ads are these days. Overall,it's a nice update for a bottomline that I thought could have been left alone for 8-10 years.

Heads up for whoever can share it, but the HOF game is on, which gives us our first look at the new graphics post-SB. It is as beautiful as it was on SB Sunday. Also, interesting to see they had to angle the Ravens logo in the scoreboard, which they didn't do in past packages.

The one that's sitting up top like always or the ones that show before/after commercials? By the way, the special graphics they use in the Final is beautiful, even though it's based on the old/current NBC set