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John Gruden: Cowboys good enough to go on a seven- or eight-game winning streak.
03:23 PM CDT on Sunday, October 24, 2010
By BARRY HORN / The Dallas Morning News
bhorn@dallasnews.com
Barry Horn
Archive | Blog | E-mail
ESPN NFL analyst Jon Gruden will be in town to work the Giants-Cowboys game Monday night. A Super Bowl winning coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2002 season, Gruden is in his second season away from coaching but remains a prime candidate to someday return to the NFL sidelines.
On Friday, he called in from Tampa, where he still lives and volunteer coaches the offensive line at his son's high school. Before getting down to football, he took a few minutes to marvel at the postseason pitching performance of Cliff Lee against the Rays and Yankees. "Hall of Fame" worthy, he called it.
Could you have anticipated a 1-4 Cowboys team hosting the New York Giants on Monday night?
We're all surprised at that, but there have been a lot of surprises this season. The Chargers are 2-4, and all the teams in the NFC East have at least two losses. The Cowboys have a chance to remedy this with a win on Monday night. They have so much talent that a win could restart their season. This team is good enough to go on a seven- or eight-game winning streak.
What has surprised you most about the TV business in your one season-plus at ESPN?
That I have really enjoyed it.
So you have no plans to go back to coaching?
I have no idea. I still go about my business as if I was a coach. I approach Monday Night Football like I did a game when I was coaching. My wife thinks I'm crazy the way I still study tapes. ... If there is an opportunity down the road I would have to consider it.
Who bears the responsibility for a team's disappointing record, the coach or the players?
When a team is not having success, it always falls on the coach and the quarterback. But it is an entire team matter, everyone has to be accountable.
What about penalties?
The coach is on the sideline, he can't be accused of face masking or holding. But as an ex-coach, I can tell you everything is a reflection of the coach. I had the most penalized team in the world when I was with the Oakland Raiders. Did I try to change that? I tried every day. Was I successful? Only somewhat.
Talkin' baseball (and the NFL)
Through five games, the Rangers-Yankees ALCS was averaging a rating of 20.9 (542,025 homes) in Dallas-Fort Worth, the nation's fifth-largest television market, and a 13.9 (1.04 million homes) in New York, the largest.
Meanwhile through the five NLCS games, the Phillies are averaging a major league-leading 28.8 (868,550 homes) in Philadelphia, the No. 4 market; the Giants were averaging a 21.4 (540,029 homes) in San Francisco-Oakland, the No. 6 market.
By the way, D-FW remains the only market whose NFL team continues to overwhelm the league championship series in the home markets. The other three markets are almost eerily similar when it comes to the baseball playoffs and NFL regular-season games.
The limping Cowboys are averaging a 35.0 rating, which is actually up from last year's 32.5. That puts them 14.1 points up on the Rangers. Friday's Game 6, however, when released today should produce the Rangers' best rating of their postseason.
In New York, which is considered a baseball town, the Jets are averaging a 14.7 rating, 0.8 better than the Yankees, while the Giants, blacked out last Sunday by cable-carrier Cablevision, are 0.6 behind the Yankees.
In Philadelphia, the NLCS is .02 ahead of the Eagles at 28.6.
In the San Francisco-Oakland market, the NLCS is up 3.1 ratings points over the faltering 49ers and 7.2 over the hapless Raiders.
Radio daze
Some things to note looking at the latest radio ratings:
Note: These September numbers come from the only demographic that matters in the world of programming sports talk radio: Men 25-54. Also remember, it was a big sports month, with the Cowboys opening their season and the Rangers headed to the playoffs.
The Ticket remains far and away the king of the hill. It is No. 1 across the entire radio dial for the entire week with a 6.7 share. The Fan, thanks to Rangers baseball, is No. 13 at 3.2, with ESPN at No. 14, thanks to the drag on the ratings that is Colin Cowherd's noon to 2 p.m. weekdays show.
The Ticket topped the three-legged sports talk race every weekday hour from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Fan once again finished second every hour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., leaving ESPN No. 2 in the all-important morning and afternoon drive times when listenership peaks.
The highest-rated hour was The Ticket's Dunham and Miller, also-rans once more for the prestigious national Marconi Award, from 7-8 a.m., posted an 11.1 share. That 7-8 a.m. hour was also ESPN's best with the national Mike and Mike entry attracting a 6.0 share. The Fan's top hour was at 11 a.m., when Richie Whitt and Greg Williams posted a 4.0.
Sooner or later, Bruce Gilbert, the Fan's savvy new station boss, will have to make a move to strengthen drive time. Here's predicting that Gilbert, who once ran The Ticket and did time with ESPN's national radio operation in Bristol, will eventually slide Whitt and Williams into afternoon drive where Williams will compete against his old Ticket partners Mike Rhyner and Corby Davidson as well as his one-time mentor at WBAP-AM, ESPN's Randy Galloway.
24/7 with Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito
HBO is dusting off its primo behind-the-scenes series Saturday at 9:30 in advance of the Nov. 13 fight card at Cowboys Stadium. This four-parter will be the ninth boxing offering in the 24/7 franchise's four years. It is a perfect marketing tool for HBO's pay-per-view arm, which will sell Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito for $59.95 on fight night. But it also has a history of high quality work, having pocketed 12 Sports Emmys.
This will be the fourth time the series has featured Pacquiao, considered the finest pound-for-pound fighter in the world. It will mark the debut for Margarito, who comes in tainted by a loaded glove incident that cost him a suspension in California, which carried over to Nevada.
HBO promises not to gloss over Margarito's dubious past and his claim that his ex-trainer loaded his gloves with plaster without his knowledge.
"We're attacking the Margarito story," HBO Sports boss Ross Greenburg said Friday morning. "We've grilled Margarito and Roberto Garcia, his new trainer. Pacquiao has been very animated that he believes Margarito knew his gloves were packed. We'll also deal with the lack of licensing in California after a hearing and Texas licensing Margarito without a hearing."
Greenburg said HBO was unsuccessful in trying to interview Javier Capetillo, the ex-trainer.
"His lawyers wouldn't allow it," Greenburg said.
Around the Horn
• NFL Network's ranking of the league's top 100 players is down to the top 20, with the next 10 scheduled to be revealed Thursday at 8 p.m. So far, NFLN lists eight players who earned their way on as Cowboys. The rundown: Larry Allen (95), Michael Irvin (92), Troy Aikman (80), Tony Dorsett (77), Randy White (62), Roger Staubach (46), Emmitt Smith (28) and Bob Lilly (26). Surely Deion Sanders (34), listed as a Falcon, should somehow be included. By my reckoning, there will be no Cowboys in the top 20.
• Top observation from the ALCS belongs to TBS analyst John Smoltz, who said after the Rangers went up 3-1 in the series: "Who would ever think the Yankees would want to face Cliff Lee again?"
• If you are a Dish subscriber, you know you've lost Fox Sports Southwest to a nickel-and-dime war between the satellite provider and the cable network. That means no Texas or Texas A&M football games today. In New York, cable giant Cablevision and the over-the-air Fox network have temporarily split ways. That meant no Giants game last week, no NLCS and the possibility of no World Series.
• Nice production by TBS showing Bengie Molina's three ALDS home runs for the Angels against the Yankees in 2005 just before his three-run home run Tuesday.
• • •
03:23 PM CDT on Sunday, October 24, 2010
By BARRY HORN / The Dallas Morning News
bhorn@dallasnews.com
Barry Horn
Archive | Blog | E-mail
ESPN NFL analyst Jon Gruden will be in town to work the Giants-Cowboys game Monday night. A Super Bowl winning coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2002 season, Gruden is in his second season away from coaching but remains a prime candidate to someday return to the NFL sidelines.
On Friday, he called in from Tampa, where he still lives and volunteer coaches the offensive line at his son's high school. Before getting down to football, he took a few minutes to marvel at the postseason pitching performance of Cliff Lee against the Rays and Yankees. "Hall of Fame" worthy, he called it.
Could you have anticipated a 1-4 Cowboys team hosting the New York Giants on Monday night?
We're all surprised at that, but there have been a lot of surprises this season. The Chargers are 2-4, and all the teams in the NFC East have at least two losses. The Cowboys have a chance to remedy this with a win on Monday night. They have so much talent that a win could restart their season. This team is good enough to go on a seven- or eight-game winning streak.
What has surprised you most about the TV business in your one season-plus at ESPN?
That I have really enjoyed it.
So you have no plans to go back to coaching?
I have no idea. I still go about my business as if I was a coach. I approach Monday Night Football like I did a game when I was coaching. My wife thinks I'm crazy the way I still study tapes. ... If there is an opportunity down the road I would have to consider it.
Who bears the responsibility for a team's disappointing record, the coach or the players?
When a team is not having success, it always falls on the coach and the quarterback. But it is an entire team matter, everyone has to be accountable.
What about penalties?
The coach is on the sideline, he can't be accused of face masking or holding. But as an ex-coach, I can tell you everything is a reflection of the coach. I had the most penalized team in the world when I was with the Oakland Raiders. Did I try to change that? I tried every day. Was I successful? Only somewhat.
Talkin' baseball (and the NFL)
Through five games, the Rangers-Yankees ALCS was averaging a rating of 20.9 (542,025 homes) in Dallas-Fort Worth, the nation's fifth-largest television market, and a 13.9 (1.04 million homes) in New York, the largest.
Meanwhile through the five NLCS games, the Phillies are averaging a major league-leading 28.8 (868,550 homes) in Philadelphia, the No. 4 market; the Giants were averaging a 21.4 (540,029 homes) in San Francisco-Oakland, the No. 6 market.
By the way, D-FW remains the only market whose NFL team continues to overwhelm the league championship series in the home markets. The other three markets are almost eerily similar when it comes to the baseball playoffs and NFL regular-season games.
The limping Cowboys are averaging a 35.0 rating, which is actually up from last year's 32.5. That puts them 14.1 points up on the Rangers. Friday's Game 6, however, when released today should produce the Rangers' best rating of their postseason.
In New York, which is considered a baseball town, the Jets are averaging a 14.7 rating, 0.8 better than the Yankees, while the Giants, blacked out last Sunday by cable-carrier Cablevision, are 0.6 behind the Yankees.
In Philadelphia, the NLCS is .02 ahead of the Eagles at 28.6.
In the San Francisco-Oakland market, the NLCS is up 3.1 ratings points over the faltering 49ers and 7.2 over the hapless Raiders.
Radio daze
Some things to note looking at the latest radio ratings:
Note: These September numbers come from the only demographic that matters in the world of programming sports talk radio: Men 25-54. Also remember, it was a big sports month, with the Cowboys opening their season and the Rangers headed to the playoffs.
The Ticket remains far and away the king of the hill. It is No. 1 across the entire radio dial for the entire week with a 6.7 share. The Fan, thanks to Rangers baseball, is No. 13 at 3.2, with ESPN at No. 14, thanks to the drag on the ratings that is Colin Cowherd's noon to 2 p.m. weekdays show.
The Ticket topped the three-legged sports talk race every weekday hour from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Fan once again finished second every hour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., leaving ESPN No. 2 in the all-important morning and afternoon drive times when listenership peaks.
The highest-rated hour was The Ticket's Dunham and Miller, also-rans once more for the prestigious national Marconi Award, from 7-8 a.m., posted an 11.1 share. That 7-8 a.m. hour was also ESPN's best with the national Mike and Mike entry attracting a 6.0 share. The Fan's top hour was at 11 a.m., when Richie Whitt and Greg Williams posted a 4.0.
Sooner or later, Bruce Gilbert, the Fan's savvy new station boss, will have to make a move to strengthen drive time. Here's predicting that Gilbert, who once ran The Ticket and did time with ESPN's national radio operation in Bristol, will eventually slide Whitt and Williams into afternoon drive where Williams will compete against his old Ticket partners Mike Rhyner and Corby Davidson as well as his one-time mentor at WBAP-AM, ESPN's Randy Galloway.
24/7 with Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito
HBO is dusting off its primo behind-the-scenes series Saturday at 9:30 in advance of the Nov. 13 fight card at Cowboys Stadium. This four-parter will be the ninth boxing offering in the 24/7 franchise's four years. It is a perfect marketing tool for HBO's pay-per-view arm, which will sell Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito for $59.95 on fight night. But it also has a history of high quality work, having pocketed 12 Sports Emmys.
This will be the fourth time the series has featured Pacquiao, considered the finest pound-for-pound fighter in the world. It will mark the debut for Margarito, who comes in tainted by a loaded glove incident that cost him a suspension in California, which carried over to Nevada.
HBO promises not to gloss over Margarito's dubious past and his claim that his ex-trainer loaded his gloves with plaster without his knowledge.
"We're attacking the Margarito story," HBO Sports boss Ross Greenburg said Friday morning. "We've grilled Margarito and Roberto Garcia, his new trainer. Pacquiao has been very animated that he believes Margarito knew his gloves were packed. We'll also deal with the lack of licensing in California after a hearing and Texas licensing Margarito without a hearing."
Greenburg said HBO was unsuccessful in trying to interview Javier Capetillo, the ex-trainer.
"His lawyers wouldn't allow it," Greenburg said.
Around the Horn
• NFL Network's ranking of the league's top 100 players is down to the top 20, with the next 10 scheduled to be revealed Thursday at 8 p.m. So far, NFLN lists eight players who earned their way on as Cowboys. The rundown: Larry Allen (95), Michael Irvin (92), Troy Aikman (80), Tony Dorsett (77), Randy White (62), Roger Staubach (46), Emmitt Smith (28) and Bob Lilly (26). Surely Deion Sanders (34), listed as a Falcon, should somehow be included. By my reckoning, there will be no Cowboys in the top 20.
• Top observation from the ALCS belongs to TBS analyst John Smoltz, who said after the Rangers went up 3-1 in the series: "Who would ever think the Yankees would want to face Cliff Lee again?"
• If you are a Dish subscriber, you know you've lost Fox Sports Southwest to a nickel-and-dime war between the satellite provider and the cable network. That means no Texas or Texas A&M football games today. In New York, cable giant Cablevision and the over-the-air Fox network have temporarily split ways. That meant no Giants game last week, no NLCS and the possibility of no World Series.
• Nice production by TBS showing Bengie Molina's three ALDS home runs for the Angels against the Yankees in 2005 just before his three-run home run Tuesday.
• • •