Is it just me or does the evening coverage of the tour with Bob Roll and Trauwig suck? They do a terrible job of covering the race. I rarely get to see it live, and their commentary is awful compared to Phil Ligget and Paul Sherwin. The other night Bob Roll was speaking as if he was Jan Ullrich using a fake German accent from Hans and Frans. Every night they explain what drafting is and why Lance isn’t trying to win every stage and chase every breakaway. They hardly even talk about the bike race or what is going on in the stage.
PUT PHIL AND PAUL BACK ON!
my wife and I watch our daily Phil/Paul version religously…the evening show is nearly pointless…she made a funny point though…when the camera first comes onto Bobke after a commercial/break he smiles kinda like a garden knome…I thought with his gapped teeth he looked more like a garden gargoyle but that’s just me…watch next time and see if you agree
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I was watching the Tour last week with my spouse and her parents. My spouse wishes they would provide more personal info/background on all the riders - so she can get to know them. My inlaws have a hard time following what’s going on. They wish the commentary was more basic; they want everything explained to them.
My point… you can’t please everyone.
Ummm, one possible explanation …
Can someone say “Best in Tour???”
sorry i love the bobke, ever since he gave up the road thing and started mountain biking. bring krystens gumms back though, she seemed to really like the tour even though she didnt know anything. im tired of hearing them compare the tour to baseball and football though.
Bob is ok as a 3rd wheel with Phil and Paul doing most of the talking. Phil and Paul are serious, they do a good job and they bring Bob up with them, limiting him to talking only when he has something to say (which he sometimes does). Al is a steaming heap of shit. His commentary boils down to “I don’t get it. Why isn’t Lance ten minutes ahead of everyone yet? This is supposed to the tour de Lance, right? Why aren’t the tour directors letting Lance do something cool right this minute?”
If OLN is trying to make the sport accessible to Americans, they are failing miserably. You don’t make a three week bike race interesting by waiting impatiently for the GC guys to fight it out. It becomes interesting when someone who understands and loves all the facets of the tour explains it to you and helps you appreciate how cool aspects other than Lance in Paris are. The people who only care about Lance and have an MTV attention span can get everything they need in the ten seconds Sports Center gives the tour everyday. They aren’t going to watch 3 hours of Lance sitting in the peloton no matter what and putting Al in the booth is going to make things worse, not better.
Can someone say “Best in Tour???”
Please don’t think I enjoy Al Traut-Wig Mask (Don Vliet / FZ shout-out). I think the Spinal Tap guys may be taking on cycling in their next film. Just as Fred Willard was based on Joe Garagiola in “Best in Show”, Micheal McKean could be Trout Face.
The Cast (if you need help recognizing the names, consult IMDB)
In the Booth:
Michael McKean - the Know Nothing Announcer, drafted because he can read an Ironman script so convincingly some people actually think he’s a triathlete
Harry Shearer - the English Guy
Jim Piddock - the Other English Guy
Christopher Guest - Bobke
Catherine O’Hara - the Girl Who Goes Around Drinking and wants to F the “other” American Rider
In the Peloton:
John Michael Higgins - the “other” American racer
Michael Hitchcock - the French Racer
Ed Begley, Jr. - The German Racer
In the “Good” American Racer’s trailer:
Parker Posey - the Girlfriend
Jane Lynch - the Soignuer
Larry Miller - the Coach
Eugene Levy - the Mad Scientist Gadget Man
Fred Willard - the Nike Rep
For the “American Racer” they just cut in actual Lance footage. Or maybe Lance would “Just Do It”
Love Phil and Paul’s play by play, like Bob’s commentary, but Al is a little annoying, no clue what he is talking about. bring back kirsten!
I agree, the prime time broadcast is brutal. I'm glad to hear that the morning show is better. That's the one I'm taping for use next winter on the trainer. Now that the broadcast starts at nine I won't be seeing it anyway. Nine o'clock bed time. Have to get up at 4:15 to get that first workout in. But it is a shame about Kristen Gum. After getting the new boobs and all, did they just drop her in the middle of the tour?
And I love Bobke, but they are way over using him.
I still can’t believe that the “Expanded” coverage is Al “Suck Bag” Trautwig and Roll INSTEAD of Phil and Paul.
Phil is the man, OLN needs to make the absolute most of him.
Phil and Paul make a good team. Though Paul screws up every so often I think he is a good match with Phil and I’m happy he’s around.
Bob Roll definitely has his place. Yes he can be a moron, and yes I’d like to chop off his arms (which might render him mute) but he loves the sport and it comes through. He’s a fun and quirky color guy and I think he’s a great ADDITION to Phil and Paul.
As for Trautwig, I’m still trying to figure out why he’s employed. Want to bring the sport to the masses?? OK, great. Why HIM??
To get people into the sport I don’t think the best approach is to treat them like idiots and repeatedly spoonfeed them the same drivel. (Al) Viewers need to understand why lovers of the sport love the sport. They need to hear about the races within the race, the history and details of some of the more compelling riders in the race, personal accounts of how much certain accomplishments mean and why. They need folks with understanding and experience to present this. And most of all they need good racing. It’s my experience that fans of racing love racing. Be it XC, NASCAR, Cycling, Horse Racing, or Motorcross. Maybe not at first, but once they learn the nuances of all that goes into one type of racing and what makes it unique and challenging they gain a respect for it and eventually a certain level of interest.
The techie pieces need to be more techie. Sorry but Frankie pointing at an aero wheel and saying “aero wheel” isn’t enough. Many people including non-hardcore cyclists are into this sort of thing. (No, not everybody is into it. Keep reading)
There need to be some really good feature pieces on riders.
There need to be non-condescending pieces on things like the green, polka-dot, and white jersey competitions, as well as interim sprints, the history of the TTT, the history of the greatest stages, etc.
Hell, I was thinking just yesterday how lucky I feel to have Tour coverage pretty much all day long. Hard to complain about that. Could be Bull Riding or Bass Fishing.
jhendric, you are right! I wish I could watch. Upgraded my Dish Network package specifically to include OLN to watch the TdF, then found out my dish won’t pull OLN here in Alaska, urgh. SO, when y’all are bitchin about coverage, spoilers, or whatever, just think about us poor folks who cannot even watch. 
Did you guys here the discussion between Trauwig & Carmichaels regarding VO2 Max? It was priceless, but a little painful to watch. Even Roll could barely contain himself with the asinine question from Trauwig. Also, did you notice that there is at least one commercial during the evening telecast that gives away the results? Still, it’s great to be able to watch the entire race, and Phil, Paul & Bob are quite amusing.
That’s why I have Direct TV!
Al Trautwig I believe does the voice over for the Ironman Hawaii broadcast and always did a good job-- I’m not sure what the reasoning is behind him doing the live PT show–he’s pretty good on the documentary side
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Eugene Levy - the Mad Scientist Gadget Man
I just peed in my pants reading this one. Thanks for the laugh!
bring back kirsten!
She is on the 'Roadside Tour, 5:00pm-7:00pm.
My wife didn’t see any Road to the Tour’s but yesterday we were watching the Roadside version and she says “Her breasts were’t that big last year, they are huge”
Andrew
Eugene Levy - the Mad Scientist Gadget Man
I just peed in my pants reading this one. Thanks for the laugh!
Glad to help (I think).