EPL Talk » Derek Rae

Famous Soccer Celebrities On Plaxo

The Gaffer — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 20:00:12 +0000

Previously on EPL Talk, we identified some of the top footballers on MySpace and Facebook. Now it’s the turn of Plaxo, the online address book used by more than 40 million people worldwide.

Steve Sampson. It’s pretty sad when someone spends practically his entire career in sport and what he’s remembered most for is his role as manager of the 1998 U.S. World Cup side which lost every game in the first round of the tournament. Still, at least you can request to be a contact of his on Plaxo.
Thomas Dooley. German-born Dooley played 81 times for the U.S. national team, and was a key player in the U.S.’s successful 1994 World Cup tournament. Dooley went on to play for Columbus Crew and the Metrostars in Major League Soccer.
Marcelo Balboa. Known by many as the other half of the comedic duo Balboa and O’Brien (Dave), for their so-bad-it-was-hilarious commentating during the 2006 World Cup, Balboa was a former captain for the U.S. national team as well as a central figure at the Colorado Rapids from 1996-2001.
Jeff Agoos. The former DC United defender was just inducted into the Soccer Hall Of Fame. Born in Switzerland, Agoos (nicknamed Goose) won five MLS championships (three with DC United, and two with San Jose).
Juergen Sommer. When pundits talk about American goalkeepers having played in Europe, Sommer is often overlooked despite the fact that he played more years in England than he did in the United States. In England, he played for Luton Town and Queens Park Rangers, before playing in the United States for MLS teams Columbus Crew and New England Revolution.
Derek Rae. Everyone’s favorite ESPN commentator has elevated the quality of the Champions League in the United States with superb commentating and a unmistakeable voice.
Fernando Clavijo. The former Colorado Rapids and Haiti national team manager played 61 times for the United States and was a veteran of the indoor soccer game in the country having played for the San Diego Sockers, among other teams.
Janusz Michallik. Michallik is now best known as one of the co-hosts of ESPN’s PressPass show, but the Polish defender made 44 appearances for the United States national team as well as playing in Major League Soccer for the Columbus Crew and New England Revolution.
Phil Schoen. The voice of American soccer is Phil Schoen, GolTV’s quality lead commentator who knows the ins and outs of most major (and minor) soccer leagues in the world.
Adrian Healey. Last but not least, the commentator is a regular part of ESPN’s soccer coverage whether it’s Euro 2008, Champions League, World Cup or, on NBC, the Summer Olympic Games.

Jack Bell Is A Wanker, Part II

The Gaffer — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 09:20:33 +0000

It’s pretty sad when two soccer columnists who represent what is supposedly one of the nation’s top newspapers are so incompetent and out-of-touch with reality.
Last November, I called New York Times soccer columnist Jack Bell a wanker for writing an idiotic article criticizing Fox Soccer Channel for broadcasting the Premier League, the world’s most popular sports league. Now Bell is criticizing ESPN for its Euro 2008 coverage.

Bell this time aims his criticism at ESPN’s decision to feature Euro 2008 commentators with British and Irish accents instead of those that are American. Jack Bell backs up his claims by including quotes from sometimes New York Times columnist Greg Lalas, better known as the brother of another doofus, Alexi Lalas.

Here are their inane comments:

“ESPN’s decision to import the Scotsman Andy Gray as an analyst has added a whiff of authority and some good insight. But would that insight be absent, for example, if Americans like Shep Messing or John Harkes were at the microphones instead?” – Jack, the answer is a definite yes. I loved John Harkes as a player, but he’s one of the most boring football commentators I’ve ever had the displeasure of hearing. Shep Messing is okay, but Andy Gray is better than Messing by a country mile. Gray’s ability to provide listeners insight into tactics and formations is fantastic as well as his ability to be direct with his criticism, which is so refreshing to hear.
“There’s nothing offensive about Derek Rae, the Scottish play-by-play guy. But is he any better than J.P. Dellacamera, the voice of M.L.S. and the U.S. national team on ESPN?” — Again Jack, the answer is yes. How incompetent can Bell be not to realize the world-class commentary that Rae provides and to suggest that Dellacamera could do better? I’m a big fan of JP, but Dellacamera has only recently returned to the game after being out for quite some time commentating hockey matches. Dellacamera, alongside Seamus Malin and Phil Schoen, are three of the best U.S. soccer commentators the country has to offer, but all of them pale in comparison compared to Derek Rae and Andy Gray. In a recent interview I conducted with Dellacamera, he himself admitted that he wasn’t on top of the latest European news since being out of the game for so long.
“ESPN has made it clear to its roster of mostly competent American soccer dudes that they need not apply for any job outside broadcasting Major League Soccer games” — That’s a ridiculous and childish statement to make. Rather than to go home and cry to mommy, Bell should realize that American commentators need to improve their work so they can compete against people such as Adrian Healey, Tommy Smyth, Rae and Gray. Would Bell and Lalas be more satisfied if we brought back Marcelo Balboa and Dave O’Brien? Both of them were an abomination in World Cup 2006. And do they realize how many American viewers ESPN and ABC lost because they switched to the Spanish language network Univision for better commentary?

Obviously ESPN knows what they’re doing. ESPN’s Euro 2008, with a few exceptions, has been spectacular and the ratings have been higher than ever. Instead of being so negative in a national soccer column, Lalas and Bell should be embracing the game not ridiculing it.

ESPN’s Euro 2008 Dream Goes According To Plan

The Gaffer — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 02:30:59 +0000

ESPN and ABC’s dreams have come true. Sunday’s Euro 2008 final between Germany and Spain is a far better proposition for the Disney owned TV networks than Turkey against Russia would have been. With plenty of German Americans living in the United States as well as a massive hispanic population, TV ratings should be high.

Overall, the amount of attention that ESPN has given to Euro 2008 this summer has far exceeded my expectations. The games seem to be a centerpiece of the network’s coverage and has even been the lead story on some of ESPN’s other sports programs.

The work that ESPN has done this summer is to be applauded. Everything from the TV commercials to the broadcast of a different European Championship final each night leading up to the tournament, as well as the way that ESPN has been cross-promoting the tournament on its own shows, has been fantastic.

Inside the studio, the only mistake the network made was hiring Julie Foudy. While she is exuberant on the set, she adds little to no worthy analysis. As the weeks have passed by, she has grown on me, but ESPN would have done better to hire someone who really knows his or her world football and has more passion than Foudy. That person is Ray Hudson.

What struck me this week is that there really isn’t a TV network that football fans love globally. In the UK, many viewers despise the BBC, ITV and Sky Sports. In the United States, Fox Soccer Channel often gets ridiculed. But with ESPN, they have a unique opportunity to produce high quality soccer coverage. They’re experts at production. Plus they have a soccer expert in Derek Rae as well as a hired hand such as Andy Gray.

Derek Rae, especially, has been a joy to listen to this summer. His level of football commentating as well as his knowledge of the game, the statistics and his impeccable gift of knowing how to pronounce difficult words and speak other languages puts him into the top tier of football commentators. While Andy Gray seems to talk down to Adrian Healey a little bit during matches, Gray and Rae strike up a dynamite partnership. Both Scots are still trying to get used to working with each other, but you can tell that Gray has a lot of respect for his fellow countryman.

The big question is where does ESPN go from here? The next World Cup in 2010 still seems far away. The obvious choice would be for ESPN to enter into the bidding later this year against Setanta Sports and Fox Soccer Channel for the rights to show the English Premier League in the United States. FSC’s current contract with the Premier League runs until 2010.

ESPN Find Magic Formula With Andy Gray & Derek Rae

The Gaffer — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 03:37:49 +0000

Soccer fans in the United States watching the Turkey against Czech Republic game were in for a double treat on Sunday. There was the incredible comeback from Turkey who found themselves two nil down but came back to win the match 3-2, which knocked the Czechs out of the tournament. But there was also the pleasure of experiencing ESPN commentator Derek Rae and co-commentator Andy Gray working together.

The two Scots were terrific showing a wonderful chemistry and rapport as if they had been working together for years.

Gray, especially, showed his brilliance and the value he adds to the coverage of matches. His forthright manner is so refreshing. For example, he called out Hamit Altintop for pretending to be injured so the ref would stop play and the Turkish right back could not be caught out of position. Gray also explained how the Turks had a tough time finding players to pass to in the middle of the park because of Czech Republic’s five man midfield, and how Turkey would need to resort to different tactics such as long balls up top. Within one minute of saying that, that’s exactly what Turkey did.

Gray is a perfect fit for ESPN and American soccer fans. The way that he’s so naturally enthusiastic about the games makes you want to watch them. Plus, I find myself listening to the commentating more closely. I’ve learned something in every match I’ve watched so far where Andy Gray has been co-commentating.

Rae meanwhile has been his usual self, which is a huge compliment. His knowledge of the facts and figures regarding players is impressive and he always adds credibility to ESPN’s coverage.

Derek Rae feels like such a natural fit alongside Andy Gray that you have to wonder whether Rae deserves the chance to move up the ladder and land a coveted spot with TWI to bring coverage of Premier League soccer to a worldwide audience. I’m sure Rae feels comfortable living in the United States, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s offered a bigger and better opportunity in the near future.

Day One: First Impressions of ESPN’s Euro ‘08 Coverage

Jeff Hash — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 22:28:03 +0000

Euro 2008 is finally here after the standard mega sports event buildup. And for ESPN, today is the beginning of their broadcast of the entire tournmanet for the first time. The network has been rolling the ads for weeks and made a big addition to its on-air talent with Andy Gray. Now, at last, the coverage itself is the focus. So how did the self-proclaimed worldwide leader in sports do?

Overall, it seemed to go fairly well. Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth was pretty much their standard selves on the first game, which means you already love them or hate them based on their past broadcasts. Personally, I’m a fan of Rae, and thought he was great. I was worried about how Adrian Healey and Andy Gray would come together, but it ended up just fine, with Gray’s class shining but not overpowering Healey, who was able to work well with him. Part of me, however, wishes for a Derek Rae/Andy Gray booth at some point. Maybe for the final. As for the on-screen look, I’m glad to see ESPN’s graphics was in line with UEFA’s own TV feed, right down to the scorebox in the top right. There were no unnecessary large boxes with mismatched color, and nothing that popped on-screen interfered with the match itself.

The studio show, however, left something to be desired. First off, Steve Bunin seemed to be having a hard time keeping the show moving. I’ve seen Bunin before on MLS broadcasts, and he’s always seemed uncomfortable with soccer. But given Bunin was not on the network’s original slate of hosts, maybe this ends up being just a last minute call-in. Then there is Julie Foudy. Foudy is ok as an analyst, but when she was alongside Andy Gray, she seemed superfluous. Gray just knows everything to talk about and how to say it, and so Foudy seemed unsure what to do. Foudy with Smyth was better, but seemed disjointed compared to Gray’s own efforts. Hopefully this gets ironed out as the days go on.

Some other random thoughts:
*Loved that ESPN showed the national anthems before the game. It’s a nice small touch.
*I understand the event is on a related network, but the Belmont Stakes segment between matches was unnecessary, and reminds me why I get fustrated with ESPN’s promotion at times.
*ESPN Axis is a great addition to the studio show analysis, and I hope it makes its way to the network’s MLS and Champions League broadcasts as well.

My final verdict is that this was a good first day of broadcast. I would like to see the studio show get straightened out a little, but overall it was a job well done, and showed that ESPN is serious about this tournament. Hopefully the network will be able to keep it up over the next three plus weeks.