Commentary on TNT and other WB brands

[Brullnux]

Oh. Tough crowd.

They haven't seen the light yet, but they will.

 

[Wyndbrook]

Nope, he was as horrible as ever, with the same lame jokes, puns and general cluelessness as always. When there was the 3 together, it was better as there was less Kirby. The only thing that stopped me from putting it on mute. Hopefully this means it will be someone else for Paris-Roubaix as having my two favourite races destroyed by his gibberish nonsense would be very annoying.

Totally agree with everything you say.
Sould only be allowed on minor stage races like Tour of Antarctica, and always paired with Cox, might waffle themselves to exhaustion.

 

[proffate]

Rob Hatch is bugging the crapola out of me right now. I don't understand the pronunciation of any proper name with an "n" at the end. Most frequently he pronounces PhillipseN as "Phillip-suh". Stuyven is "Stuh-vuh", and the last couple of weeks there's been a whole lotta "Vlaander-uh" instead of Vlaanderen.

I don't speak Flemish/Dutch, but half my family does and I've periodically been around it my whole life. Never have I heard this pronunciation. I don't seem to hear it from the Belgian commentators on TV either. Is this some Dutch pronunciation? Some dialect of Flemish I'm not familiar with? Rob Hatch just being wrong? Me hearing things?

I absolutely want to give him credit for attempting to pronounce things correctly. Certainly an upgrade to the horrific noises coming from Bob Roll or Chris Horner. Hatch seems to speak many languages? I could be totally off. But he's got Dan Lloyd doing it, and it feels like an infection has started.

Native speakers, can you shed some light? Thank you! Not sure why this bugs me so much but I'm starting to find it really distracting.

Cosmo Catalano, who is like the OG Lanterne Rouge except without valuable insights, keeps doing the same. "Phillipsa" really irks me, as does "Ess Day Works". Please, you don't know the language and you aren't speaking it, just stick to the language you and your audience do speak. Same reason I don't ask for a "KWAASAAWn" at the bakery down the street.

 

[the delgados]

Totally agree with everything you say.
Sould only be allowed on minor stage races like Tour of Antarctica, and always paired with Cox, might waffle themselves to exhaustion.

Hey, hey! Ease up on my man CK, will ya?
When saying someone is clueless, you might want to bolster your case by providing examples.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

Totally agree with everything you say.
Should only be allowed on minor stage races like Tour of Antarctica, and always paired with Cox, might waffle themselves to exhaustion.

Yeah, I groaned when I saw Hatch & Stephens were doing the 'World feed'......as I knew who'd get the lead role on Eurosport. And similarly, I've thought for a while that he should be only doing minor events nowadays......

I also feel the 'world feed' should be an option on the 'Multi Audio' stream.......

 

[Netserk]

 

[pmcg76]

They haven't seen the light yet, but they will.

Not much chance of that considering the usual response to hearing Kirby on commentary is reaching straight for the mute button. I didn't bother watching Cataluyna recently, primarily because he was the commentator.

 

[the delgados]

Not much chance of that considering the usual response to hearing Kirby on commentary is reaching straight for the mute button. I didn't bother watching Cataluyna recently, primarily because he was the commentator.

Why didn't you just reach for the mute button? Was it unavailable?

 

[zlev11]

Kirby and Brian Smith are clowns. they get simple facts about the route and the race completely wrong and then continue to run with them until they realize they've been wrong for the last 45 minutes and then "ah, welp". they're just plain lazy and terrible at their jobs. Brian Smith cant be bothered to correctly identify any rider than isn't a superstar or British and Kirby just goes on and on about riders completely irrelevant to the race (Ethan Hayter, Fred Wright, "Manny Bookman") in place of talking about things that are actually happening in the race. yet both of them have this air of superiority as if they're untouchable experts. Senile Phil Liggett runs laps around these two losers. at least he has some sense of humility when he makes a mistake and he was an actual good commentator at one point in his career, unlike the other two clowns.

 

[the delgados]

Kirby and Brian Smith are clowns. they get simple facts about the route and the race completely wrong and then continue to run with them until they realize they've been wrong for the last 45 minutes and then "ah, welp". they're just plain lazy and terrible at their jobs. Brian Smith cant be bothered to correctly identify any rider than isn't a superstar or British and Kirby just goes on and on about riders completely irrelevant to the race (Ethan Hayter, Fred Wright, "Manny Bookman") in place of talking about things that are actually happening in the race. yet both of them have this air of superiority as if they're untouchable experts. Senile Phil Liggett runs laps around these two losers. at least he has some sense of humility when he makes a mistake and he was an actual good commentator at one point in his career, unlike the other two clowns.

I think you make good points here, minus the clown part. Notice how CK went from calling de Ronde Van Vlaanderen to the Spanish stage race in less than 24 hours. He had very little time to get acquainted with different riders, different terrain and different strategies after a good night's sleep.
Of course mistakes are bound to be made. But saying the last couple km's of a stage are straight when there are a couple corners is understandable in my books, especially when my man CK utilizes the English language in ways that most people can only dream of.

 

[awavey]

Not much chance of that considering the usual response to hearing Kirby on commentary is reaching straight for the mute button. I didn't bother watching Cataluyna recently, primarily because he was the commentator.

He was alright at Catalunya, well apart from freaking out about a turn near one stage finish and what little I saw of the Basque Tour, he drove me up the wall on Sunday though.

I think I said in the race thread it was like he'd overdosed on Easter eggs he was that hyper and it was turning into a pun competition with him and Robbie. There's putting the pun in pundit and there's whatever the hell they were trying to do. The only saving grace was they were better than the duo/trio who came next.

I'd really just prefer roadside audio options in those cases.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

I can deal with English language commentators making a hames of names in a language they are not familiar with, but Ryan "Mooolins"?

 

[postmanhat]

Always find it a bit tragi-comic when native English speakers cry about commentators using 'strange' pronunciation. Remember there being a lot of furious indignation in England when we were asked not to say 'Josey' for Mourinho's first name.

 

[Tim Cahill]

'Vingegaard here for the time trial, looking like a difficult birth'

I don't care what you lot say, Carlton spits straight-fire.

Re Hatch; his commentary voice isn't his actual voice. My sister has done some broadcasting, years ago when she first started she was actively told to obscure her northern accent, so she sounds different in the media too. It is based on both a product of classism in British broadcasting and the notion that international audiences want to hear/better understand a less regional dialect.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

The only good English language commentator is Magnus bacsktedt.

 

[pastronef]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1775911403938894148

View: https://twitter.com/BenjiNaesen/status/1775911403938894148

 

[argyllflyer]

Adam Blythe being educated by Dan Lloyd at Paris-Roubaix about how the time gaps work on screen was amusing.

186k to go

Pursuivants (group 2) @20
Peloton @ 1'35

AB "why (group 2) haven't they sat up?
DL "they're about to get across"
AB "they're not about to get across - they're a minute and a bit down"
DL "no they're not, they're 20 seconds down"
AB "Is that not from the peloton?"
DL "no that's from the lead group to the chasers..."



The only mitigating circumstance was that AB hadn't been watching the race so was unaware of what was actually going on.

Anyway, conversations I am sure replicated up and down the land when the Tour is on and casual watchers join their more interested family members and ask what is going on

 

[zlev11]

god i cant imagine having to suffer through that race and also having to hear from adam blythe. did they also have jens on the motorbike to take up half the screen and tell you about something that happened 4 minutes ago? dear god. my condolences.

 

[argyllflyer]

god i cant imagine having to suffer through that race and also having to hear from adam blythe. did they also have jens on the motorbike to take up half the screen and tell you about something that happened 4 minutes ago? dear god. my condolences.

They did!

 

[argyllflyer]

Eurosport /Discovery+ commentary pairings season 2024 (men's elite):

(WT=World Tour; PS=Pro Series, ET=Europe Tour, AT=Asia Tour)

WT: Tour Down Under (live from 16/1): Cox & Blythe
ET: Challenge Mallorca: Trofeo Calvia (live on 24/1): Hatch & Smith
ET: Challenge Mallorca: Trofeo Ses Salines (live on 25/1): Hatch & Smith
ET: Challenge Mallorca: Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana (live on 26/1): Hatch & Smith
ET: Challenge Mallorca: Trofeo Polenca (live on 27/1): Hatch & Smith
WT: Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race (live on 28/1): (host broadcaster package feat. Phil Liggett)
ET: Challenge Mallorca: Trofeo Palma (live on 28/1): Hatch & Smith
ET: Grand Prix Cycliste La Marseillaise (live on 28/1): Been & Walker
AT: AlUla Tour (live from 30/1): Cox & McEwen
PS: Volta a La Comunitat Valenciana (live from 31/1): Hatch & Stephens
ET: Tour de la Provence (live from 8/2): Been & Smith
ET: Vuelta Ciclista de Murcia (live on 10/2): Walker & York
ET: Figuera Champions Classic (live on 10/2): Cox & McEwen
PS: Clasica de Almeria (live on 11/2): Hatch & Walker
PS: Tour of Oman (highlights from 11/2): Kirby (solo)
ET: Clasica Jaen Paraiso Interior (live on 12/2): Hatch & Blythe
PS: Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista Del Sol (live from 16/2): Kirby & Smith (stages 1, 2, 4 and 5 cancelled)
PS: Volta ao Algarve (live from 14/2): Hatch & McEwen (stages 1-4), Smith (stage 5)
ET: Classic VAR (live on 16/2): Been & Stephens
ET: Tour des Alpes-Maritimes et du Var (live from 17/2): Been & Stephens
WT: UAE Tour (live from 19/2): Kirby & Smith
ET: O Gran Camino (live from 22/2): Cox & Field
PS: Faun-Ardeche Classic (live on 24/2): Been & York
WT: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (live on 24/2): Stephens & Smith
PS: Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne (live on 25/2): Stephens & McEwen
ET: Faun Drome Classic (live on 25/2): Been & York
ET: Le Samyn (live on 27/2): Been & Stephens
PS: Trofeo Laigueglia (live on 28/2): Kirby & Smith
WT: Strade Bianche (live on 2/3): Hatch, Lloyd, Blythe & Nathan Van Hooydonck
ET: Grote Prijs Jean-Pierre Monsere (live on 3/3): Cox & McEwen
WT: Paris-Nice (live from 3/3): Hatch & Kelly
WT: Tirreno-Adriatico (live from 4/3): Kirby & McEwen
PS: Milan-Torino (live on 13/3): Hatch & McEwen
PS: Danilith Nokere Koerse (live on 13/3): Been & Smith
PS: Grand Prix de Denain - Porte du Hainaut (live on 14/3): Been & Smith
ET: Bredene Koksijde Classic (live on 15/3): Been & Smith
WT: Milan-Sanremo (live on 16/3): Kirby, Hatch, McEwen, Blythe & Daniel Oss
ET: Cholet Pays de la Loire (live on 17/3): Been & Smith
WT: Volta Ciclista a Catalunya (live from 18/3): Kirby & Smith
WT: Classic Brugge - De Panne (live on 20/3): Cox & McEwen
WT: E3 Saxo Classic (live on 22/3): Hatch & Blythe
WT: Gent-Wevelgem (live 24/3): Cox & Blythe
ET: La Roue Tourangelle (live 24/3): Been & Stephens
WT: Dwars Door Vlaanderen (live 27/3): Kirby & Stephens
ET: Route Adelie de Vitre (live 29/3): Cox & Stephens
ET: Volta NXT Classic (live 30/3): Been & Stephens
PS: Gran Premio Miguel Indurain (live 30/3): Cox & Smith
WT: Ronde van Vlaanderen (live 31/3): Kirby, Lloyd and McEwen
WT: Itzulia Basque Country (live from 1/4): Kirby & Smith
PS: Scheldeprijs (live on 3/4): Cox & Field
WT: Paris-Roubaix (live on 7/4): Hatch, Lloyd, Blythe & Kelly
ET: Il Giro d'Abruzzo (live from 9/4): Been & Smith
PS: Brabantse Pijl (live on 10/4): Kirby & Field
ET: Classic Grand Bescancon Doubs (live on 12/4): Cox & Field
ET: Tour of Jura (live on 13/4): Cox & Field
WT: Amstel Gold Race (live on 14/4): Kirby & Smith
ET: Tour of Doubs (live on 14/4): tbc
PS: Tour of the Alps (live from 15/4): Hatch & Blythe
WT: La Fleche Wallone (live on 17/4): Stephens & Lloyd
PS: Tour of Turkey (live from 21/4): Cox (stage 1), Been (stages 2-8) & Smith (stages 1-5), York (stages 6-8)
WT: Liege-Bastogne-Liege (live on 21/4): Hatch, Blythe & Luke Rowe
WT: Tour de Romandie (live from 23/4): Cox & Stephens
Famenne Ardennes Classic (live on 28/4): Ian Findlay (?) (solo)
Echborn-Frankfurt (live on 1/5): Cox & Smith
PS: Grand Prix du Morbihan (live on 4/5): Cox (solo)
WT: Giro d'Italia (live from 4/5): Hatch, Lloyd, Kelly, McEwen & Blythe
ET: Elfstedenronde Brugge (live on 5/5): Kirby & Smith
Tro Bro Leon (live on 5/5): Cox & York
PS: Tour de Hongrie (live from 8/5): Cox & Smith
ET: Circuit de Wallonie (live on 9/5): Been & Field
Tour of Finistere (live on 11/5): tbc
4 Jours de Dunkerque (live from 14/5): tbc
Veenendaal-Veenendaal Classic (live 18/5): tbc
Antwerp Port Epic (live 19/5): tbc

 

[saunaking]

What happened to Sean Kelly?
I had GCN+ and he was on a LOT of races

I now use flobikes in Canada and they seem to have Eurosport commentators for about half the races, but I never hear Kelly.

Lots of Brian Smith, Jose Been, Rob Hatch, Carlton Kirby....

 

[yaco]

What happened to Sean Kelly?
I had GCN+ and he was on a LOT of races

I now use flobikes in Canada and they seem to have Eurosport commentators for about half the races, but I never hear Kelly.

Lots of Brian Smith, Jose Been, Rob Hatch, Carlton Kirby....

by request Sean Kelly only does PN and the Grand tours.

 

[Savant12]

by request Sean Kelly only does PN and the Grand tours.

He did Paris-Roubaix. And I think MSR? Really can't remember if he was on Flanders co-coms.

 

[wansteadimp]

He did Paris-Roubaix. And I think MSR? Really can't remember if he was on Flanders co-coms.

If only there was a handy list to look up which races he did. Thanks argylflyer

 

[Savant12]

If only there was a handy list to look up which races he did. Thanks argylflyer

I'm aware of the list but was there really no Sean Kelly for MSR and/or Flanders this year?

Pretty sure he's been a regular fixture on co-coms in previous years.