Sky Sports often make a fool of themselves by hyping their own programming to such an extent that they can hardly ever live up to their promises. But, they recently released a new promo in the United Kingdom which caught my eye because it’s extremely well done, irreverent, creative and conjures up great memories of childhood.

So, take a gander at the above video to see how Sky Sports is promoting its upcoming season of soccer. And to see what Martin Tyler, Richard Keys, Andy Gray and other pundits get up to.

Thanks to EPL Talk reader John Griffin for the news tip. Send your tips to thegaffer[at]epltalk[dot]com

When Martin Tyler and co-commentator Efan Ekoku did their preparation work for the 2010 World Cup, one thing they definitely didn’t study was the national anthem of Spain. Not that we expect them to, but when Efan Ekoku was sharing his analysis during Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final between Germany and Spain, he committed a minor flub.

In the 24th minute of the game, Ekoku shared the interesting observation that none of the Spanish players sung the national anthem during the quarter-final match against Paraguay. Except, for the fact that the Spanish national anthem is one of the few in the world that has no lyrics!

Even though “La marcha real” (“The Royal March”) has no lyrics, words have been written for it in the past, but the national anthem has been played without lyrics since 1978 when the lyrics that had been approved by General Franco were abandoned.

Here the transcript of the commentary by Martin Tyler and Efan Ekoku, which shows that Tyler didn’t realize the national anthem contained no words either.

Martin Tyler (MT): “There is one other aspect, and this group [of Spanish players] certainly dispelled it, they have had divisions in the camp… Spain teams in the past through the political divisions in the country. Still there in the football rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid. But at least there, between the players, they’ve realized they’ve got to get on it together.”

Efan Ekoku (EE): “Certainly not on the surface, but an interesting note I sort of recognized the other day, in the quarter-finals I think it was, was that none of the players sung the national anthem.”

MT: “But they wouldn’t be alone in that, because they might have more reason…”

EE: “…not to, yeah…”

MT: “That’s a good point, Efan. Well made.”

In fairness to Ekoku and Tyler, it’s impossible to know everything about the 32 participating teams in the country. Ekoku made a mistake and presumed that the Spaniards neglected to sing the national anthem for other reasons other than the fact that the song has no words. It’s not the end of the world, but it’s still an embarrassing flub especially if you’re a Spain supporter.

Martin Tyler will return to ESPN for the next World Cup where he’ll be commentating World Cup 2014, says the Associated Press.

It’s quite an incredible achievement to secure Martin Tyler for two World Cup tournaments in a row. The man is hands down the best soccer commentator in the world. And by having Tyler in such a prominent place in ESPN’s line-up of talent, it gives the network a great ability to hire other talent who want to work alongside him. And it also shows the continued commitment ESPN is making to the sport in United States.

Going into World Cup 2010, the surprising factor about ESPN’s World Cup commentary team is that Ian Darke has been better than Tyler. Both gentlemen have completely different styles of commentating. Tyler is understated, more impartial and can say more in a few words than others can say in several minutes. Darke, on the other hand, is closer to an American commentator in the way that he’s more enthusiastic in his voice and words, and is more conversational.

Neither Tyler or Darke are perfect. Perhaps the perfect commentator would be someone with a style that was in between the two. But to each his own. Tyler has seemed pretty drab at times, especially in the first few days of broadcasting where he seemed to be trying to find his spot. But his commentary during the Round of 16 has been exemplary. And Darke has sometimes been too over the top and partial to the United States where he would be better curbing his enthusiasm, even if just a little bit.

No news yet on whether Ian Darke will return to ESPN in 2014. Let’s hope he and Roberto Martinez, just to name two professionals, return alongside Tyler.

Overall, soccer fans in the United States should feel lucky that the country has one of the best, if not the best, World Cup viewing experiences in the world. Fans and pundits in the United Kingdom have been complaining up and down about ITV and BBC’s coverage. Without a doubt, the top talent in terms of commentary and analysis on ESPN this summer.

ESPN’s coverage of the 2010 World Cup has been spectacular. But if I must be honest, some of the commentators are beginning to get on my nerves. It’s normal, I guess – especially after you consider how many hours we’ve spent listening to these commentators since the tournament began on June 11.

Based on what I’ve seen from ESPN thus far, here are a few interesting observations regarding the World Cup coverage:

John Harkes. I have an incredible amount of respect for Harksey as a player at both the club and international level. And he seems a genuinely nice guy. But he’s not a brilliant co-commentator. I’ve already discussed how I feel he talks too much. But there’s nothing that annoys me more about commentators than when they seemingly jinx players.

For example, when I saw Landon Donovan walking up to take a free kick against Algeria, the last thing I want to hear is how Harkes thinks that Donovan is lethal with free kicks. When Harkes says that, the expectation level among viewers soars because many of them think that Donovan will score. But more often than not, a goal comes when you least expect it. And when it doesn’t come from a free kick, it’s almost as if Harkes is setting up the player and viewer for failure, although I realize that’s not his intention.

Ian Darke. I love Ian Darke, I really do. But during a high pressure game such as the United States against Algeria, the last thing I want him asking the viewer and John Harkes is how nervous we are. If we’re US fans, of course we’re nervous. And by asking the question, it only adds more pressure on top of what we’re already feeling.

Martin Tyler. There is no commentator on this planet who is better than Tyler. Having that said, Tyler sounds more understated this tournament than usual. At times, he sounds blase’ — much more so than usual. Other times, he sounds tired. While he’s a brilliant commentator, his delivery in this World Cup hasn’t been at his top form yet. But I trust that things will improve after the intensity of the first round concludes.

British commentators. I’ve been enjoying the myriad of British commentators that ESPN has hired to cover the World Cup. But I’m bemused by the amount of references the commentators continually make regarding the English Premier League. In many ways, it’s understandable. It’s the league that the British commentators are most familiar with. But I’ve found that in most games, a few references to the Premier League are often mentioned whether it’s about a player or manager. If it wasn’t for John Harkes (and Martin Tyler, to be fair), Major League Soccer would be forgotten in this tournament. Thankfully both Harkes and Tyler weave in mentions now and again to ensure that MLS is not overlooked entirely in this tournament.

The other thing about the British commentators is that every once in a while they’ll throw a British expression which may seem perfectly normal to them but may be befuddle some American viewers. When Darke describes a defense as at “sixes and sevens,” do most American viewers understand what he means?

Not that there’s anything wrong with using British expressions during commentary of games. I just find it interesting that we’re watching the games in America on American television yet the commentary is very Anglo-centric.

Finally. It. Is. Here. The 2010 World Cup kicks off today with the first match up between South Africa and Mexico.

I’m picking South Africa and Mexico to draw in this one. Mexico should win, but buoyed by the incredible support of the South African nation, I think the South Africans will rise to the occasion and grab an equalizer.

Before, during and after the opening game of the 2010 World Cup between South Africa and Mexico, feel free to share your insight and opinions in the comments section below.

Of course, I’m particularly interested in seeing how ESPN does in terms of their broadcast. ESPN commentators today will be Martin Tyler and Efan Ekoku.

I’ll be at Wowies in Boca Raton watching the match. I’m looking forward to meeting you in person, so feel free to stop by. Wowies is at 7036 W. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton, FL 33433.

ESPN has revealed the commentator assignments for its coverage of the 2010 World Cup.

The big one, the match that everyone is talking about featuring England against the United States of America, will include Martin Tyler as the lead commentator and John Harkes as the co-commentator (June 12, 2:30pm ET, ABC).

In the match that kicks off the tournament between South Africa and Mexico, the commentating team will be Martin Tyler and Efan Ekoku.

Here is the complete schedule of commentator assignments for the first 10 days of the tournament:

Friday, June 11:

• South Africa v Mexico, 9:30am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Martin Tyler and Efan Ekoku
• Uruguay v France, 2pm ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Ian Darke and Ally McCoist

Saturday, June 12:

• Korea Republic v Greece, 7am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Derek Rae and Robbie Mustoe
• Argentina v Nigeria, 9:30am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Adrian Healey and Efan Ekoku
• England v USA, 2pm ET, ABC: Martin Tyler and John Harkes

Sunday, June 13:

• Algeria v Slovenia, 7am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Adrian Healey and John Harkes
• Serbia v Ghana, 9:30am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Ian Darke and Efan Ekoku
• Germany v Australia, 2pm ET, ABC: Martin Tyler and Ally McCoist

Monday, June 14:

• Holland v Denmark, 7am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Adrian Healey and John Harkes
• Japan v Cameroon, 9:30am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Derek Rae and Robbie Mustoe
• Italy v Paraguay, 2pm ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Ian Darke and Efan Ekoku

Tuesday, June 15:

• New Zealand v Slovakia, 7am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Adrian Healey and John Harkes
• Ivory Coast v Portugal, 9:30am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Ian Darke and Efan Ekoku
• Brazil v Korea DPR, 2pm ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Martin Tyler and Ally McCoist

Wednesday, June 16:

• Honduras v Chile, 7am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Adrian Healey and John Harkes
• Spain v Switzerland, 9:30am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Derek Rae and Robbie Mustoe
• South Africa v Uruguay, 2pm ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Martin Tyler and Ally McCoist

Thursday, June 17:

• Argentina v Korea Rep., 7am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Ian Darke and John Harkes
• Greece v Nigeria, 9:30am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Derek Rae and Robbie Mustoe
• France v Mexico, 2pm, ESPN2/ESPN3.com: Adrian Healey and Efan Ekoku

Friday, June 18:

• Germany v Serbia, 7am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Derek Rae and Robbie Mustoe
• Slovenia v USA, 9:30am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Ian Darke and John Harkes
• England v Algeria, 2pm ET, ESPN2/ESPN3.com: Martin Tyler and Ally McCoist

Saturday, June 19:

• Holland v Japan, 7am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Derek Rae and Robbie Mustoe
• Ghana v Australia, 9:30am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Adrian Healey and John Harkes
• Cameroon v Denmark, 2pm ET, ABC: Ian Darke and Efan Ekoku

Sunday, June 20:

• Slovakia v Paraguay, 7am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Adrian Healey and John Harkes
• Italy v New Zealand, 9:30am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Ian Darke and Ally McCoist
• Brazil v Ivory Coast, 2pm ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Martin Tyler and Efan Ekoku

Monday, June 21:

• Portugal v Korea DPR, 7am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Adrian Healey and John Harkes
• Chile v Switzerland, 9:30am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Derek Rae and Robbie Mustoe
• Spain v Honduras, 2pm ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com,  Martin Tyler and Ally McCoist

The commentators for June 23 through July 11 will be announced at a later date.

Some observations about the choice of commentators for each game:

• John Harkes will serve as co-commentator on all U.S. team matches, which is good news for those of you (myself included) who feel it absolutely necessary to include an American voice in ESPN’s TV commentary,
• On ESPN Radio, the lead broadcast team of JP Dellacamera and Tommy Smyth will call the South Africa versus Mexico opener, as well as all U.S. team matches including the England match on June 12,
• ESPN’s radio commentator team also includes Glenn Davis, Kyle Martino, Ross Dyer and Shep Messing,
• Most of us already knew that most of the ESPN TV commentators were going to have British accents, but after reviewing the above schedule, you get a good glimpse of how few American accents you’ll hear commentating games on TV during the first 10 days of the tournament.

Martin Tyler will be calling this summer’s World Cup for ESPN, serving as the network’s lead commentator in South Africa. Earlier this week Martin joined me to talk about last week’s FA Cup final, Saturday’s Champions League final in Madrid, the 2018 World Cup bid, but mostly, the England national team. Amongst other topics, Martin and I talk about the team’s questions in central defense and goal, the importance of Frank Lampard and the central midfielder’s strong end to the Premier League season, and the high expectations Fabio Capello has for his squad.

A reminder that tomorrow we will have one of the authors of Soccernomics, Simon Kuper, on the show. Simon is also the author of Ajax, The Dutch, The War and will be joining me to profile the Netherlands’ World Cup squad.

Martin Tyler, Best EPL TV Commentator

The 2009-2010 EPL Awards have concluded. And more than 58,000 of you have voted to pick the best EPL-related TV, radio and podcast shows. We as supporters of Premier League clubs consume massive amounts of media – whether it’s matches on television, listening to radio programmes or tuning in to our favorite English football podcasts. So here are the winners of each category according to you, the voters:

2009-10 Best EPL TV Commentator

• Best EPL TV Commentator: Martin Tyler
• Runner-up: Jon Champion
• Editor’s Choice: Martin Tyler

2009-10 Best EPL TV Co-Commentator

It seems the planning, preparation and excitement for the World Cup is hitting it’s full stride as of late as we enter into the last two weeks of the Premier League season. In addition to more exciting news from EPL Talk to come soon, ESPN just released it’s World Cup guide on sale everywhere for $9.99, Jurgen Klinsmann has been added to the already fine ESPN roster of studio analysts, and now Rangers legend and assistant manager Ally McCoist is set for a co-commentator job alongside Martin Tyler for the whole of the tournament this summer in South Africa.

Tyler and McCoist will join Derek Rae, Adrian Healey and Ian Darke as match commentators (with more announcements sure to come).

The return of McCoist to TV, his first appearance since leaving ITV almost three years ago to join Walter Smith at Rangers, will only be seen by World Cup fans in ESPN’s American network. Good news for McCoist though as England’s opening round match against USA is sure to conjure massive TV audiences stateside that will most likely make him and Tyler household names.

Does this move of placing the Scot McCoist alongside the Englishman Tyler further infuriate patriot’s who believe an American TV commentator should in someway be involved? As seen on The Gaffer’s story yesterday, the German Klinsmann joins a list of impressive studio analysts a mile long, with only John Harkes’ name included as the lone American for match game analyst.

In my opinion, I think ESPN has made the right decision. I’m not entirely concerned where commentators are from, only that they’re good and bring something of interest and importance to the broadcasts. And let’s face it, there are some damn good British commentators available with plenty of world football experience. I don’t need an American there just because he’s American. I want ESPN to provide to me the best commentators the world has to offer, quality production and stunning HD – not place unqualified, inexperienced commentators on TV that would ultimately put ESPN’s credibility at stake.

As far as McCoist is concerned, I wish him the best. I’ve not heard his match commentary much before, so feel free to leave a comment letting readers of EPL Talk know what to expect if you’re familiar with his work.

It has happened to all of us at one time or another. When we were so excited about something, whether it was soccer-related or not, we’ve gotten goose bumps. For me, the last time this happened was last week when I saw the Martin Tyler TV commercial on ESPN to promote the World Cup. I’ve seen the commercial (see video above) a half dozen times or more already, but watching it last week, it really sunk in and felt real because the World Cup is now just 84 days away. As soon as I saw it, goose bumps shot up across my arm.

If you’ll allow me, I thought it was interesting to get a description of what goose bumps are, what they’re called in other regions and why they happen:

Goose bumps, also called goose flesh, goose pimples, chill bumps, or the medical term cutis anserina, are the bumps on a person’s skin at the base of body hairs which may involuntarily develop when a person is cold or experiences strong emotions such as fear or awe. The reflex of producing goose bumps is known as horripilation, piloerection, or the pilomotor reflex. It occurs not only in humans but also in many other mammals; a prominent example are porcupines  which raise their quills when threatened, or sea otters when they encounter sharks or other predators.

Awe is definitely a good word to describe one of the triggers that causes goose bumps. There have been plenty of experiences in my life where soccer has given me goose bumps. Watching the national anthems being played before a World Cup game. Listening to supporters at Anfield singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” Stepping inside the Orange Bowl in Miami to see 40,000 fans cheering on a friendly between Germany and Argentina. The list goes on and on.

I will note that as I get older, I get goose bumps less often than when I was younger. That’s probably because I’ve experienced a lot and there aren’t a ton of new experiences I have yet to see or feel. But it’s also probably because I’m more desensitized to things. I’m not sure if that’s because of being older (40) or living in a culture where so many of us live in our separate worlds and interact less.

But what about you? When was the last time you got goose bumps when it was related to soccer, and what caused it?