Phil and Paul

[PosterBill]

man that sounded modified but i sure wouldn't put it past him either lol

it's nice to have ole Paul and Phil for some comedy after a day like today

 

[auscyclefan94]

Someone said in the TV guide today that Liggett and Sherwen are more knowledgable, charismatic and give a better guide to the race than Matt Keenan...I nearly fell off my chair reading that!

 

[Zam_Olyas]

"Last night the hottest part of the DAY was at night" ..

 

[Dewulf]

Phil and Paul's incompetence used to annoy me but now I think they're awesome. A constant source of entertainment in a rather dull race.

I'll basically +1 on this....at least, it's funny re-visiting all the $%&^ they say in this thread...let's keep it going!

I found this opinion piece from the Australian website news.com.au today extolling the virtues of Phil & Paul's commentary.

http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/I-dont-really-get-sport-but-Jadore-Le-Tour-de-France/

The columnist writes:


The columnist must be watching a different broadcast of the TDF to me - the Phil & Paul I get can't identify most of the cyclists most of the time - not even when they are in the yellow jersey

As Caruut says, this seems to be another example of the 'BroDeal' phenomenon...when you know nothing about cycling, P&P sound like the shizznit. Hah. I mean this 'journalist' thinks P&P talk about all the details of all the riders, including ALL their doping pasts? PUH-lease, Frank's just been pinged and when Tomo brings that up pre-race does Phil mention 2008? Course he doesn't, derp. I'm not even going to mention the comment about Keanan.

 

[Dewulf]

As a casual viewer of the sport I find the P and P commentary very helpful indeed. On the irritations, you have to remember that they have to keep talking and repeating information as otherwise there would be no commentary for edited highlights and the bookends of commercial breaks.

Just go and make a cup of tea when the boring bits feature. I (and the other millions) just like looking at France to decide where to take my holidays (it was the same on the Vuelta).

If you find P and P irritating, what about the antipodean chap on the Vuelta. His intonations were amazingly illogical. I have tried to imitate them but its an impossibility. Actually I found it quite fascinating as well as irritating!

A) Thank-you for confirming the casual-listerners-think-P&P-are-good phenomenon.

B) True P&P have to keep talking....also true that that they repeat stuff...NOT true that they have to keep talking by repeating stuff! There is more than enough stuff in this sport to talk about to avoid the endless repetition we hear.
(*) Disclaimer: actually P&P will tell you they repeat stuff because they're often commentating to multiple TV stations at the same time (they've even used a divider between themselves to assist this...which meant they sometimes haven't known what the other guy's on about at any given moment). The point? Why should we have to hear the same thing over and over again just because they want to make some more dosh? Sure making money is always tempting, but that doesn't mean the commentary doesn't suck for us. If you can't do it right, just don't do it.

C) "antipodean chap"? "illogical intonations"? Yea-ah, maybe you need to read the rest of this thread

 

[Nick C.]

It's odd but on the DVDs sometimes it seems like you hear one of them talking in the background and I never understood what that was about.

 

[Zam_Olyas]

man that sounded modified but i sure wouldn't put it past him either lol

it's nice to have ole Paul and Phil for some comedy after a day like today

Not modified as far as i know.

 

[Apollonius]

(*) Disclaimer: actually P&P will tell you they repeat stuff because they're often commentating to multiple TV stations at the same time (they've even used a divider between themselves to assist this...which meant they sometimes haven't known what the other guy's on about at any given moment). The point? Why should we have to hear the same thing over and over again just because they want to make some more dosh? Sure making money is always tempting, but that doesn't mean the commentary doesn't suck for us. If you can't do it right, just don't do it.

That's the way television broadcasting works I'm afraid. If you don't like it then find a broadcast channel which doesn't operate like that or turn the sound off and listen to commentary on a radio station or online text commentary.
Why should P&P and the broadcasters which contract them change their methods because you don't like it?

And another reason they repeat things so often is because the stages are so long that viewers come and go through the whole day so anything remotely significant they will repeat for new viewers tuning it. I watch most of the stages right the way through if possible/showing and it can be irritating but that's just the way the world works I'm afraid.

 

[Dewulf]

It's odd but on the DVDs sometimes it seems like you hear one of them talking in the background and I never understood what that was about.

Yep, that would be when they 'split up' to cover different TV stations at the same time.

On today's coverage...according to Paul, the riders now wear plastic soled shoes! Most expensive plastic I've ever bought i can tell you that

Now, is this 'dumbing down'? Or is it just lazy? There's no excuse for lazy, and 'carbon fiber' just doesn't need dumbing down, especially when half the gear in the race is made with it

 

[Dewulf]

That's the way television broadcasting works I'm afraid. If you don't like it then find a broadcast channel which doesn't operate like that or turn the sound off and listen to commentary on a radio station or online text commentary.
Why should P&P and the broadcasters which contract them change their methods because you don't like it?

And another reason they repeat things so often is because the stages are so long that viewers come and go through the whole day so anything remotely significant they will repeat for new viewers tuning it. I watch most of the stages right the way through if possible/showing and it can be irritating but that's just the way the world works I'm afraid.

Meh, the topic is P&P, I just explained something about the way P&P operate that perhaps isn't known by all. SBS could likely have dedicated coverage from Matt Keanan for less than half what they pay for P&P (i guess). As you point out, there are other options...that's why they should care. In the meantime, this thread is making it pretty funny after all

 

[will10]

Cadel gets dropped like a b*tch.

Paul Sherwen "Cadel is going to have to rethink his strategy"

I love it

 

[andiamo]

That's the way television broadcasting works I'm afraid. If you don't like it then find a broadcast channel which doesn't operate like that or turn the sound off and listen to commentary on a radio station or online text commentary.
Why should P&P and the broadcasters which contract them change their methods because you don't like it?

And another reason they repeat things so often is because the stages are so long that viewers come and go through the whole day so anything remotely significant they will repeat for new viewers tuning it. I watch most of the stages right the way through if possible/showing and it can be irritating but that's just the way the world works I'm afraid.

If this is true then Eurosport didn't get the memo. I'm afraid with P&P it's simply because they're incompetent.

 

[BigRingAbuse]

Some highlights from stage 16:

Phil "'Little/ Tommy Voeckler is making a duurrdevil deescent"

Phil "Cadel Hevans, looking a bit feeble" (ooof get in there Phil)

Sherwen "Cadel Evans is, as the French say, Pedalling in Squares… The body has a habit of doing strange things after a rest day"

Phil "Froome has put the Italian back in the British sandwich"

Sherwen "To transvert that into old money, thats 43 miles an hour"

Sherwen "He's trying to get the old v8 turbo diesel engine whistling"

I also LOL'd when the studio cut back to Phil and Paul for the podium ceremony and Paul was rattling on about "circumnavigating" when he thought he was off air..

 

[Boeing]

They love the word penultimate

I am not so sure it is use correctly but it sounds good

If today was the "penultimate" stage with the "penultimate climb" of the tour, can they use the word in tomorrows stage?


I believe they greatly exaggerate the descending speeds. "in excess of 65 MPH" "close to 70 mph"

Paul paraphrase "i know this stage well and back in the day we tipped the meter near 70 mpg US" come on now mr bean you might if you rode off the cliff and free fell for 3 min

 

[etymology]

three from today, all from paul:

1. "edvald boassan hagen is simply putting them to sleep as he sets tempo up the mountain" (tourmalet)

2. noting (yet again!!) why riders stuff newspapers inside their jersey before 'plunging down the mountain' : "they take the newspapers not, in fact, to read them on the descent, but to protect themselves from the cold."

3. MY favorite of the day: "voeckler would win the award for minister of funny faces."


long live paul and phil!!

 

[masking_agent]

Do they get worse every season or is it just that we forget just how bad they are over the close season? Last night just seemed beyond belief.


Oh and did anyone else notice the constant Greenedge love?

yah, they are pretty bad, but their NBC colleagues are even worse.. Bob Roll.. and this Liam guy .. oh gosh.. NBC sports overall is a cross between watching commercials, and hearing stuff you already know..

 

[Boeing]

Is it fair to talk about Phil mixing Gin and Tonic or Bloody Mary during broadcast here?

Or is that a clinic topic and will I be relegated?

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

3. MY favorite of the day: "voeckler would win the award for minister of funny faces."


long live paul and phil!!

Similarly, although I probably don't have the exact quote: "Voeckler pulling himself up the mountain by pure force of facial contortions"

 

[joe_papp]

Is it fair to talk about Phil mixing Gin and Tonic or Bloody Mary during broadcast here?

Or is that a clinic topic and will I be relegated?

I say Carry On! I'll support your reinstatement if you're banned...

 

[MacRoadie]

I'm sure the photojournalists enjoyed it when Phil called them "vultures" today, when they arrived to photgraph Vladimir Gusev after his crash...

 

[joe_papp]

Respect

Respect to P&P for, during stage 16:

1) Calling major bull**** on the RUNNERS to the point of almost starting to talk/mock directly to the characters they saw running on the screen; supporting Tommy V and his breakaway companion for punching runners; suggesting the police needed to get involved in knocking the RUNNERS' feet out from under them.

2) Not talking any sh^t on Vino when he was chasing and actually speaking respectfully and enthusiastically of him, noting that Vino did not want to be anonymous in his final Tour, and then - putting a smile on my face - saying that he definitely wasn't anonymous and was riding w/ character! lol

 

[auscyclefan94]

Mr. Sherwen with the F word.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQweo-sqHQ4

Yeah, I was telling that to everyone earlier in the Tour. Hilarious.

 

[Fergoose]

A touching interview with Mr Ligget.

http://www.itv.com/tourdefrance/features/40-years-of-phil-liggett/

Surprised how blunt he is about some things.
Chris Boardman = "not a good bike rider"
Bradley Wiggins = "mentally fragile"

He also savages the impact of team radio on the spectacle, so a big thumbs up from me.

 

[joe_papp]

A touching interview with Mr Ligget.

http://www.itv.com/tourdefrance/features/40-years-of-phil-liggett/

Surprised how blunt he is about some things.
Chris Boardman = "not a good bike rider"
Bradley Wiggins = "mentally fragile"

He also savages the impact of team radio on the spectacle, so a big thumbs up from me.

Cool! Thanks for posting this. Will check it out now!!!

UPDATE: Hey I just tried to play it and it must be georestricted. Someone who isn't me might suggest you download it (using a browser plug-in) and then upload it to youtube quickly so the rest of us can watch it?

 

[luckyboy]

Today Phil called Brajkovic as Taarmae. This three weeks without internet for Eurosport Player has been hell.