Remote Control: ESPN gives bowl viewers A.D. all day
We saw Adrian Peterson with his hands up, and we saw Adrian Peterson throwing up.
We saw him with his helmet on and his helmet off, bloody, happy, sad, running, falling and fumbling. ESPN took the approach of too much Peterson coverage wasn’t enough. Good sideline reporting by Holly Rowe, who explained the bizarre injury Peterson suffered on the sidelines while celebrating, hitting his head on a teammate’s helmet. Dan Fouts and Keith Jackson expressed what seemed like genuine awe of Peterson’s talents. Too bad Fouts, Jackson and the rest of the world’s sports leaders couldn’t have shown a little love for OU quarterback Rhett Bomar. Peterson was impressive, Clint Ingram saved the game, but Bomar won it. While all eyes were on the running back, Bomar and his freshman receivers were making all the plays against Oregon - that’s No. 6-ranked Oregon. Peterson is that good. He demands coverage. People want to know about him, but Bomar was definitely worthy of more than what he got from the broadcast booth - which was close to nothing. Fouts and Jackson should have been more complimentary. Thanks, coach
- OU coach Bob Stoops had the last zinger of the game. At halftime, Rowe told Stoops that the Holiday Bowl has a history of comeback wins in the second half. After the Sooners’ win, Stoops told Rowe, “thanks for reminding me about that.” Highlights
- Good line by Fouts about Oregon quarterback Brady Leaf.
“This is the first time a Leaf has been on this field without getting booed.”
- Loved the bit about Oregon’s uniforms by sideline reporter Todd Harris, who said Oregon has worn nine different styles this season. The Ducks looked good Thursday, but where was the yellow?
- All the sideline interviews were solid Thursday. Stoops wasn’t terse during halftime and even answered more than one question. Former offensive coordinator Chuck Long was good, too, when asked about how much input he had in preparation for the game. “They don’t need me anymore,” Long said with a smile. Even the interview with Kellen Clemens, the injured Oregon quarterback, was good as Clemens explained how he was trying to help out with the team despite not being able to play. Lowlights
- At least Fouts was outed early when Jackson said Fouts was a University of Oregon alum. But what excuse does Jackson have? The guy was more of a Duck homer than Fouts was, and Fouts has an excuse. Jackson turned 2-yard Oregon runs into a lottery-winning kind of excitement. An Oregon punt downed inside the OU 5-yard line could have been mistaken for “Giants win the pennant! Giants win the pennant!” Hey, at one point, Jackson said Oregon was leading 7-0. Sorry, Keith. Oregon never led 7-0. Meanwhile, Fouts made a great point before Oregon’s touchdown with 3:30 to play, calling the Leaf pass “uncatchable,” and saying the penalty on Eric Bassey was “bad.”
- Man, Lou Holtz is looking old. Less face time for Holtz would be a good idea for him and a great idea for us. Red-blazered Tom Sutton, chairman of the Holiday Bowl, showed more life in those silly Pacific Life commercials than Holtz, and Sutton was reading off cue cards. Come to think of it, Holtz may have been, too
Link to the story
Home