This will be the beginning of the end.

[ssteve]

That game has been done by Berman and Dilfer and Mike and Mike. Mowins is a clear upgrade.

I think it's a wash at best.

[ssteve]

12 hours removed from this the only thing I missed was that she'd have a sideline reporter and possibly a color guy that were even worse. But it all goes back to the same premise. ESPN put gimmick (Ryan) and a weak attempt at equality over quality. They failed miserably. It was a really bad telecast.

[RadioPat1982]

I agree that they could have put some more experienced people in the color and sideline roles but I am curious what you thought was so bad that she did?

I thought compared to Ryan, she held her own.

My personal preference would have been Mark Jones or move Adam Amin who does ESPN NFL Radio coverage.

Then again, I would rather both of them over Sean McDonough as well.

Again just my opinion here but if they were going to do a gimmick type deal why not go for it and see if you could get say Vin Scully, Dick Enberg, Doc Emrick or someone of that stature. Not saying any would do it.

[ssteve]

I agree that they could have put some more experienced people in the color and sideline roles but I am curious what you thought was so bad that she did.

She was Beth Mowins that's what she did. Just very hard for me to listen to

[PhilGiubileo]

Mowins did just fine. She calls a solid game, and she focused on just that, the game itself--wasn't about her, and nothing gimmicky.

Not her fault that she was stuck with Rex Ryan, who was awful--and I'm sure b/c this was a one-game deal, ESPN didn't have them spend too much time off-air working together to build any kind of on-air chemistry.

[bschultz]

"Very hard to listen to" is a VERY subjective statement. There are PLENTY of men who are "hard to listen to" according to many listeners or viewers.

Hard to listen to isn't a gender issue.

I personally thought that WHAT she said and WHEN she said it...were what I would expect on a MNF broadcast. That's all that matters. The fact that she's a woman had NO bearing on my viewing experience.

[ssteve]

"Very hard to listen to" is a VERY subjective statement. There are PLENTY of men who are "hard to listen to" according to many listeners or viewers.

Hard to listen to isn't a gender issue.

Not so sure why this is so hard to understand. I never said hard to listen to is a gender issue. We all know why she was there and if you look at her unpopularity amongst viewers before hand it was obvious this wouldn't go well. And in the opinion of most I've seen, it didn't - just as predicted. 90 percent of the positive comments about her weren't even about her work, they were about her being a woman - which is all ESPN set out to do.

[RadioPat1982]

I think we can all agree that she certainly was not "next in line" to promote to an NFL TV job at ESPN but that is not what the network has used that late game for ever.

They have always used it as some sort of showcase or experiment or something else to describe it. This time they went with diversity. In previous years they had Mike and Mike, and also Chris Berman. One might agree that Beth is an upgrade at play by play from both of them.

ESPN does these experiments some times. A few years ago they had the NBA crew call the Duke/UNC game while Vital and the gang went and covered an NBA game. They have also had a few all female crews and all female sports show on ESPN radio.

TNT had that players only game or two last segment where no true play by play guy was used. In the end it is what it is a one time event and likely they will do something again next season to make us all wonder whats going on.

[bschultz]

I never said hard to listen to is a gender issue. We all know why she was there

I believe you have just made this a gender issue...again! I don't...in any way...claim to say I know why she was there. I watched the game, and though she did just fine.

Just to be clear, my wife also does play-by-play...so maybe I have a broader viewpoint than many. Steve, if you say that 90 percent of the comments weren't about her work...then ESPN did their job. They got ratings from non-traditional viewers. Which in turn makes them money. Which is why they're in business!

This wasn't about a gimmick. This wasn't about putting someone on air who (some claim) didn't deserve to be there. This was a calculated move, and one that I'm guessing, the silent majority of won't have anything bad to say about her work.

[Bob Rotruck]

I read several articles and blogs that were complimentary of her work on MNF. Some seemed to be approaching this as if she were new or perhaps just had not heard her on NCAA football. I mean, she calls Big10 games for crying out loud. I've heard her on PBP plenty of times in the past 10 years or so. But I guess there are enough NFL fans and viewers who don't really watch college football.

Note that this will not be a one-off for Mowins. She has been selected to call more NFL games on CBS. She will call Browns vs. Colts on Sept 24..and 2 more games later this season. The article indicates that CBS was working to get Mowins before the MNF assignment for her.

https://www.si.com/tech-media/2017/09/1 ... t-schedule


I guess to me this doesn't really seem quite as groundbreaking as many are making it out to be but I'm probably incorrect about that and/or in the minority.
I'm simply very used to hearing female announcers on men's sports broadcasts now albeit in color analyst positions primarily (besides all the times I've heard Beth Mowins on college football).

Suzyn Waldman has been color commentator on Yankees broadcasts for over a decade. Sherry Ross handled color for the NJ Devils I think for 20 years before she was let go just this past summer.
And the fact that Doris Burke does color commentary (as well as sideline commentating) for men's games on ESPN feels like almost an afterthought now. It's a woman in a prominent announcing position on men's games but she's so good at what she does and she's on the air all the time so people seem to barely even notice when she's handing color duties instead of the more "traditional" female role of sideline reporting and interviews.
And plenty of female analysts in men's tennis matches such as Mary Carillo among others.