I was kind of torn tonight listening to Matt Bowen call the IHSA state championships.

On one hand, he was far and away a better analyst than the guys who usually call the games.

On the other hand ... we get it. You played pro football. That's where your heart is. You're an NFL analyst for the Score. Bloody good on you mate.

My gripe with his announcing ... do we have to hear you relate every other play to the NFL. Couldn't you talk about some IHSA legends and relate these guys to them (much like the fine job Dave Kaplan did when he called the basketball tournament in the late 90s/early 2000s).

Don't mean to sound too harsh (because outside of the incessant namedropping he was better than everybody else I've heard in recent years) but I'm rewatching some of these games and it's pretty close to every other play we have to hear about Lovie Smith or Aaron Rodgers or Jordy Nelson or Mike Tice. It was painful. Could we forget about the NFL for a couple hours on a Saturday afternoon?

It was a huge upgrade from previous guys making the calls. The NFL stuff was a bit much but that is what he knows.

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Bowen is terrible. At times he talked so fast I had no idea what he was saying.
Did you know that he played in the NFL for the Rams & Packers? Bowen sucks on the Score & he sucked on the IHSA broadcast.
The best IHSA analyst is Jack Mcinerney.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

I will say that it was at least refreshing to hear Bowen say every once in a while that a player made a bad play or a coach made a bad decision. The regulars treat these near adults with kid gloves too much. The worst is Lee Hall. I don't know his regular occupation and he may be a great guy but he's just awful on IHSA broadcasts.

It would be ideal to get a couple beat reporters from the towns the schools represent. Somebody who actually knows these teams. It's painful to hear these guys say over and over again, "They've been doing it all season long." I scream at the TV, "Really, you've watched a bunch of Tolono or Rochester games this season?" They mean well but come off as phony.

conns7901 is correct, though, Bowen was a huge upgrade. He just needed to cut out the NFL stuff and pretend he was interested in these games.

Unfortunately, Peoria's own Lee Hall. Neither a good guy nor good at his regular job which is local sports on the NBC affiliate here. Major D-bag.

It scares me how wrong you are about this and most things you say.

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Kid Cairo's Boers & Bernstein YouTube Channel

Kid Cairo: 2013 March Madness Tournament Winner!

"Cowabunga? Cowa fucking piece of dog shit! This game is diarrhea coming out of my dick!"

He probably doesn't know about any. #EricKumerow

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Don't take it personally.

It scares you?

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

He was my coach at Lyons Township my junior year. Then he went to OPRF. Funny guy.

Agree on Jack. Boomer Grigsby was pretty damn good on Friday. He also does color for ISU.

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@audioidkid

Hyperbole.

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Kid Cairo's Boers & Bernstein YouTube Channel

Kid Cairo: 2013 March Madness Tournament Winner!

"Cowabunga? Cowa fucking piece of dog shit! This game is diarrhea coming out of my dick!"

You mean an announcer might feel a little bit apprehensive to rip into a coach making $5,000 max (and most likely less) for 4 months (and most likely more) of work or players who's only compensation for playing football might be a heightened chance at a hand job from Peggy Sue? These kids and coaches are much closer to grade school/park district league volunteers than people who play and coach at the next level.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

You are a cocky fucker now that his Grampa has passed on?

The world should know how close it was to the NFL saying NO to his presence in the league.

And I thought Rodewald did a really nice job on sideline reports during the broadcasts.

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[quote="good dolphin"]

You mean an announcer might feel a little bit apprehensive to rip into a coach making $5,000 max (and most likely less) for 4 months (and most likely more) of work or players who's only compensation for playing football might be a heightened chance at a hand job from Peggy Sue? These kids and coaches are much closer to grade school/park district league volunteers than people who play and coach at the next level.[/quote]

No, I mean what I said. They are afraid to call a bad play a bad play or a stupid action a stupid action. You can do it without ripping somebody but you don't have to treat the audience like idiots. As I said earlier, go back and watch games Dave Kaplan did in the early 2000s doing IHSA basketball. You can critique a play without acting as though you are watching 7 year olds playing tee-ball.

Let's not pretend Frank Lenti or a lot of these other guys are near volunteers, either. They went through his litany of accomplishments without even hinting that he served a suspension for violating IHSA rules.

[quote="Seacrest"]The world should know how close it was to the NFL saying NO to his presence in the league.

And I thought Rodewald did a really nice job on sideline reports during the broadcasts.[/quote]

The IHSA playoffs are not Matt Bowen's moment. It is the kids moment. If he wants the world to know his story he should write an autobiography.

No gripes with Rodewald on the sidelines.

Chill,

I was referencing #EricKumerow in JORR comment. Not Matt Bowen.

Overall, I thought it was the best coverage of the IHSA that I had ever listened to.

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[quote="Seacrest"]Chill,

I was referencing #EricKumerow in JORR comment. Not Matt Bowen.

Overall, I thought it was the best coverage of the IHSA that I had ever listened to.[/quote]

Noted.

It was better than past years, my biggest gripe was what I stated earlier. I had to turn off the volume after a while because Bowen's NFL references became too tiresome. If he cuts that out it would make the IHSA broadcasts better (assuming he does them in the future).

No Lee Hall was great this year.

I went to high school with Eric Kumerow. He was a good looking strapping young man with money & girls. Not everyone knew who his Grandfather was. Those of us who did really didn't think much of it considering that we grew up in an area with many many mobsters. I grew up 1 block from Sam Giancana, & 1 block from the Spilotros. When I was a little Scorehead, I always wondered why there were unmarked police cars parked at the end of our block & why there was always a tall older gentleman in an overcoat & hat walking back & forth smoking a huge cigar in front of Giancanas house everyday. They were actually great neighbors.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

You must really hate me.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

High school sports really brings out the best in people. Builds character.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

He was a great high school football player and pretty good at basketball too.

As you say, in certain parts of the city, crime is just another job. Pete's dad is an architect. Nick's dad does something else.

I'm sure I may have related this tale in the past, but as RPB once pointed out, JORR is going into reruns, so I'll tell it again. One Friday night I got to Maywood Park early and I was watching the first race from the Meadowlands on a big screen TV in the Windy City Room. Nobody was there except my friend Jerry and me and a little old guy who was about 5'3", 120 lbs. The old guy walked up right in front of me and changed the channel. Well, I went fucking berserk and started screaming at him to turn the motherfucker back. He kind of shrunk up and switched it back and went to watch one of the many other televisions in the room. Afterward, Jerry said to me, "You should be careful who you yell at like that. That old guy is a stone cold killer. He was Al Capone's driver or something." I said, "Get the fuck outta here." He replied that he wasn't kidding. The next time I saw the old guy he was talking to Joe Andriacchi and Joe was treating this guy like he was King Tut or something. Good thing I don't think the old man could remember his own name let alone that I yelled at him. He had it coming anyway. Walk in front of me and change the channel. There are a hundred fucking TVs in there.

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Don't take it personally.

Burglary crew thought that it would be a good idea to rob Accardo's house.

He had everyone of them killed. And SH, his sister Cheryl was very easy on the eyes.

Kumerow was pretty good at OSU as a linebacker. He was no 1st round pick though. I wonder who Joe Robbie owed a favor to.

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