Other Than Gray Area, Nbc Shines
NBC’s production of Game 1 of the Orioles-Yankees American League Championship Series approached perfection on Wednesday night. Bob Costas was at the apex of his craft, with wonderful stories (who knew Yankees manager Joe Torre was a spectator at Don Larsen’s perfect game 40 years ago?). Joe Morgan was insightful and, save for a few missteps, Bob Uecker was the perfect comic foil.
The camera angles and replays were on the mark.
Then came the eighth inning, and the disputed home run by Derek Jeter. Again, NBC showed technical sophistication, with replays that proved a young fan in right field had interfered with Tony Tarasco’s ability to catch the fly ball. Great stuff.
Uecker backtracked on his spur of the moment praise for umpire Richie Garcia’s speed in getting to the play by surmising that Garcia was watching straight on, not at an angle.
Then came Jim Gray’s interview with the interfering child. What NBC did not tell you was that it was taped during a commercial. Ah, the curse of plausibly live again! Tape it and play it as if it were live, just like in the Atlanta Olympics. Not a felony, but a fudge.
But Gray, almost always a tough interrogator, turned into a cupcake. All he wanted to know was how great it felt, how wonderful it must feel to be cheered by Yankee fans, how he’s “the hero of New York.”
The boy, 12-year-old Jeff Maier, was overwhelmed. He kept describing how unbelievable and amazing it was to be at the vortex of such excitement.
Was Gray supposed to be the “reporter” or a Macarena partner?
It was left to Costas to give Gray’s substance-free interview some meat.
“Well, that’s one perspective,” Costas said. “Even if the kid’s of age, he wouldn’t be elected mayor of Baltimore.”
Would it have been wrong for Gray to have asked, “Do you realize how unfair you were to the Orioles?” Or: “Do you realize how you may have transformed the outcome of the entire series, let alone the World Series?”
Hardly.
xxxx STOCKTON ON AIR IN THE AIR NBC’s “NBA Inside Stuff” features John Stockton in the cockpit of an F16 fighter with the Thunderbirds of the Air Force. The show is on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. on KHQ (Channel 6 in Spokane).