The increasingly awful coverage of hurling on TV

Sunny Disposition

The analysis of the penalty incident yesterday by Daly and Tyrell was good, they were honest about it. But there were attempts to equivocate, Joanne the presenter was making a case for the referee's decision, as ludicrous as it was. They actually had to debate the rule, when it was clear that the referee had not followed the rule.
Lohan came on and talked straight about it, no bullsh*t, which really showed up the presenters attempts to start a bogus argument.
The analysis of the incident by Cummins and Cusack was half hearted, failed to emphasise the significance of it.
Then afterwards they were saying how we are guaranteed a good championship, the usual Game of the Gods horse****.
Was another example of it on Sky on Saturday, when Joe Canning hit a very poor pass straight to an opponent the commentator said "what a pass by Canning", because he was so used to saying everything he watches is brilliant. By pure reflex he had described some terrible play as excellent.
There have been some great soccer matches this summer, but there's none of this self congratulatory bull**** about it. Why do they feel the need to inflict it on hurling followers?
Just looked at the RTE website now and found this article. https://www.rte.ie/sport/hurling/2021/0705/1233113-one-rule-to-confuse-them-all-hurlings-sin-bin-din/
Again, they excuse terrible refereeing by coming up with a weird argument about the rule being the problem, not the referee, as is clearly the case.
What is the problem with having honest descriptions and analysis of hurling?

The_Kew_Tour

Tyrell is simply awful. Brings nothing to the coverage

Davys Fits

Yep, Tyrell has nothing to add to any analysis. Hes pathetic. His answer to any issue regarding the game is ' leave it alone, its fine'. And then when hes cornered he will simply says 'maybe the gaa need to have a look at it'. Cheap and lazy analysis.

scrubs33

Fear of causing offense has led to any analysis/analysts becoming a bland shade of vanilla. Recent retirees don’t want to stick the boot into lads from their county that they may be playing club with or into opposition in case it’s added to their pre match team talk🙄🙄 More permanent analysts don’t want to loose their tv/newspaper/podcast gigs so say absolutely nothing of value.Hosts don’t want to be accused of bias so I would imagine if James Owens went rogue and started lamping lads left right and Centre yesterday Joanne would say ‘well was he provoked’. I’ve given up on them and watch most games now on mute to save my blood pressure(Dessie Dolan....oh my God...)

callaway92

Sunny Disposition wrote: »

Was another example of it on Sky on Saturday, when Joe Canning hit a very poor pass straight to an opponent the commentator said "what a pass by Canning", because he was so used to saying everything he watches is brilliant. By pure reflex he had described some terrible play as excellent.

Company I'm with are going doing a piece soon on the Lineball and the 'Ahh WHAT A HIT' that almost always comes with it (even though teams generally retain the ball ~50% of the time).

Similar for a couple of Tony Kelly lineballs at the weekend. Both dropped short into Keepers' hands after he took and effort at a Point with them - Still though, both got a 'Ah SOME HIT TONY KELLY'

Commentators are so frustrating at times.

Grats

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

Tyrell is simply awful. Brings nothing to the coverage

As for Anna Geary!

joebloggs32

Anna came out with a real whopper on Sunday at half time in relation to Clare's puckouts.

She said something like Clare hsve only won 2 of 7 long puckouts, but won 100% of their short puckouts so they should stick with that. As Brolly said its all now about qouting stats for the viewers on the Sunday Game.

I have done stats for teams snd her stat was pure simplistic.
For the vast majority of those short puckouts Tipp stood off and invited Clare to do it. I wouldn't really count that as "winning" a puckout, especially as on many occasions when Clare went short the reciever either turned around and then struck it long, or handpassed it back to the keeper who then went long from the 14 yard line.
In essence, Clare really went long from the restart many more times than the 7 puckouts the goalie took from the small square.
Id be counting contested long balls won as opposed to simply "puckouts".
Likewise id be counting shots not scored as opposed to just wides (lots drop short)

Rosita

Sunny Disposition wrote: »

The analysis of the penalty incident yesterday by Daly and Tyrell was good, they were honest about it. But there were attempts to equivocate, Joanne the presenter was making a case for the referee's decision, as ludicrous as it was. They actually had to debate the rule, when it was clear that the referee had not followed the rule.
Lohan came on and talked straight about it, no bullsh*t, which really showed up the presenters attempts to start a bogus argument.
The analysis of the incident by Cummins and Cusack was half hearted, failed to emphasise the significance of it.
Then afterwards they were saying how we are guaranteed a good championship, the usual Game of the Gods horse****.
Was another example of it on Sky on Saturday, when Joe Canning hit a very poor pass straight to an opponent the commentator said "what a pass by Canning", because he was so used to saying everything he watches is brilliant. By pure reflex he had described some terrible play as excellent.
There have been some great soccer matches this summer, but there's none of this self congratulatory bull**** about it. Why do they feel the need to inflict it on hurling followers?
Just looked at the RTE website now and found this article. https://www.rte.ie/sport/hurling/2021/0705/1233113-one-rule-to-confuse-them-all-hurlings-sin-bin-din/
Again, they excuse terrible refereeing by coming up with a weird argument about the rule being the problem, not the referee, as is clearly the case.
What is the problem with having honest descriptions and analysis of hurling?

Daly and Tyrrell "being honest" is just because they agree with you. It was fairly clear that Tyrrell didn't even know what the rule states. That's not analysis. It's just pub talk really. Obviously it'll have an appreciative audience which won't have read the rules or given it a second thought but it's still poor stuff.

Totally agree on the self-congratulatory nonsense. Too much exaggerating of routine bits of play especially around a few favoured players. Too much "it was a privilege to be here" or "if the likes of Messi or Ronaldo did that....." rather than debating or discussing actual points of debate or discussion.

Red Silurian

Watching the Munster final on RTE yesterday, it sounded a lot like the commentators were saying Limerick had been awarded a free, they showed a replay and I thought the decision could have gone either way, fair enough... Next thing Tip are in possession down the Limerick end

Among other things RTE were making a near constant reference to the red card a Limerick fella should have received... I mean... Move on

BENDYBINN

The yellow ball is very hard to see especially ground level. Why are they continuing with this?

HoliyMoliy

https://boards.ie/discussion/comment/117631062#Comment_117631062

To be fair if Gillane was sent off I don’t think Limerick win that game. It would have killed their momentum and he ha a big impact in the second half.

Limerick’s second half performance was epic. I really don’t know how he wasn’t sent off.

hawley

There seems to be way less coverage of hurling on terrestrial tv this year, or maybe I'm imagining it. Two more games on Sky today.

dastardly00

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117655558#Comment_117655558

Since Sky have come on board, I think they've always had the rights to the two final qualifiers before the quarter finals. I stand to be corrected though.

howiya

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117655558#Comment_117655558

Youre not imagining it. There's less hurling games now compared to 2019. There's also less football games with the lack of qualifiers. Inevitably there would then be less hurling championship on terrestrial tv.

Its OK though, half the Fianna Fail parliamentary party have been on twitter today calling for all GAA games to be free to air so expect change soon ;)

rpurfield

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117657550#Comment_117657550

If only the FF politicians had some way of influencing Government policy in this regard 🤔

F.nelson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117640901#Comment_117640901

Would have said the same thing at the start of the year watching games on TV, but being at the last two Tipp games I find it much easier to follow the yellow ball in person. I actually think a bright orange or pink ball would be a better option as the yellow ball gets lost in a clear sky IMO

Mad about baa baas

I'm sure she is a lovely woman but jesus Ursula Jacob's voice is irritating

The White Feather

I wasn't able to watch the Tipp/Waterford game today but watched the Cork/Dublin game.

The amount of stuff Sky missed due to showing replays was really silly. Its hurling. Things move really fast so I think they should be focusing on the action. Then there were basic errors where sometimes the camera didn't pan and action was offscreen. Seemed very noticeable tonight anyway

Ray Donovan

Also Sky's infuriating habit of showing a replay of every score means we are missing heaps of puckouts.

I also agree about the yellow sliotar. An absolute disaster for the viewer and particularly in games at the Gaelic Grounds as it is impossible to see against the backdrop of the sky AND the seats of the uncovered stand.

Rosita

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117689033#Comment_117689033

I didn't see either of those quarter finals as I was on holidays but it was very noticeable in the previous round where that was happening. (First time I'd seen a Sky game at home where you could hear the analysis)

At the same time I found Sky's analysis a refreshing change from the knowing laughs and constant telling you how "epic" and "unbelievable" the game is. They actually seemed to try to tell you something interesting.

Rosita

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117725470#Comment_117725470

"The teeth"? How is that a distinguishing feature? Did the others not have teeth?

dobman88

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117725470#Comment_117725470

Yeah. Clueless alright. Just the 4 all Irelands and a bucket of all stars in the bag.

Hurlers on the ditch was never more true.

Mac_Lad71

I just prefer sky's hurling coverage as it doesn't require me to listen to Ger Canning or Marty Morrissey.

Nicky English and in particular Jamesie O Connor provide very good analysis.

almostover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117725690#Comment_117725690

Don't get me wrong, great camogie player when she was playing with Cork and her club, and has a bag of medals to show for it but for me she doesn't add much to the punditry on RTE. Having said that, the bar is set low. The analysis on the Sunday Game night show is always fairly good but the live stuff panders to clichés and cabbage munching stuff. Today was a case in point. Marty Morrissey eulogising Padraig Walsh for hitting a 30m pass unmarked to a free man. Any half decent Junior hurler would have managed it. The great play in that sequence was the dispossession. But the RTE lads have their favourites. Walsh is a fine hurler but the RTE lads focus heavily on any good play by him due to him being the brother of Tommy. Another failing of RTE is avoiding discussing potentially controversial incidents for fear of causing debate or God forbid, offence. One of key moments in the first half was the referee's failure to send off Deegan for a wild pull to the chin of Tim O'Mahony. It's a red card, simple as. None of this macho 'hurling is a sport for men' bullsh*t. It always has been a red to strike a players face wrecklessly with the hurley. Not a peep on RTE at HT about it.

Mad about baa baas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117725945#Comment_117725945

Re the Padraig walsh pass.. its not the distance that's impressive..its the fact that with 30 seconds to go and probably 20 men in front of him he had the vision to see the one free man..most lads would have lobbed it in and hoped.for the best..

For what its worth I think he has the tendency to mix moments of brilliance like a huge catch with periods of going out of the game completely

namloc1980

Commentators shoving how magnificent everything to do with hurling is down your throat and how every shot is outstanding is very patronising. We don't need to hear 10 times a game that hurling is the greatest sport on earth.

Treble double

I'm a football man who enjoys watching hurling. RTE would want to cop on and get in proper commentators. Marty Morrissey ruins hurling games for me.

He should just commentate but he can't he has a narrative in his head about this game of the Gods and he tries to fit every game of hurling around it no matter how ordinary or poor. Every player is Cu Culainn in Marty's brain and it's sad and backward to listen to. He then has stupid annoying phrases he has a habit of using like "far as" when one player passes the ball to another.

I just despair when he gets a football game to commentate on, he has latched on to the perception that Football has become too lateral and he starts to inflict his thoughts on how teams should be going about their game tactically which amounts to moving the ball forward faster. The man hasn't an iota about the game and how he hasn't been pulled on this is beyond me. He is their to commentate on what's happening not offer his unwanted unknowledgeable advice.

Sunny Disposition

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117731762#Comment_117731762

It's a type of laziness. Instead of honestly commentating on the game some of them just keep saying how brilliant it is and how amazing the scores are. Sky are definitely way less prone to this, but it still breaks out. Was watching Galway-Dublin earlier in the summer, Joe handpassed a ball straight to an opponent. The commentator had to backtrack as he had already started to say "what a pass from Canning" with massive enthusiasm, despite it being an example of terrible play.

I think one serious issue is the poverty of the commentary which means that real issues in the game have gone unaddressed. The best example is the advantage rule, which has been very poorly implemented. Its been a massive problem for five years or so, but when commentators are constantly saying how amazing the game is, it gets glossed over. The amount of scores increasing and increasing wasn't being raised as a problem either, while as hurleys increased in size and in breach of regulations there wasn't a word said.

RTE's habit of bringing on commentators actually from the competing counties and living in them is a disaster for honest commentary too. Richie Hogan sent off completely correctly in the All Ireland two years ago, anyone capable of an honest thought knows an elbow to the head is a straight red. But they had Henry Shefflin on who hurled with Richie for years and quelle surprise, he argued against it. On Sunday night they asked Shane Dowling if Casey's red card was correct.

Games like last Sunday would give you a bit of hope, but I really feel without more honest commentary hurling is in long term trouble.

Sunny Disposition

I should have added to the above, it's a pity that hurling has gone this way after a lot of long term problems were weeded out. Referees are much more likely to give red cards now when they are due, which has cleaned up the game and taken the dirt out of it to an amazing extent.

Sunny Disposition

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117711916#Comment_117711916

Changing the colour of the ball made a certain amount of sense, but not to yellow or green, given how often the ball will be on the ground. Pink, red or orange would have been better options.

jmayo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117725690#Comment_117725690

Why do people assume that just because someone was a great player and very successful, they will make a great analyst no more than they will make a great manager or coach?

Some people are not good at getting across information and ideas, some just talk in trite old cliches, some are as boring as ditchwater (Stapleton and Moran in soccer were two great examples of this) and some are just plain grating to listen to (Ursula Jacobs being a prime example of this as her voice is like someone sandpapering your eardrums).

She may be nice person, may have loads of experience and actually be good at analysis, but she has a voice for silent movies.

dobman88

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117741845#Comment_117741845

I never said she would make a great analyst I dont listen to any "analysis" on telly because I can see for myself what is happening and dont need some talking head to tell me.

I was responding to a comment saying she was "clueless" when its clearly not the case given her experience of playing.

Now whether that translates into being a good analyst is a whole other topic but is not what I was replying to.