BlogPoll Roundtable VII

This week's BlogPoll Roundtable comes to us from Eagle In Atlanta.

1. What member of the mainstream sports media (preferably one who covers college sports) makes your skin crawl, blood boil, forces you to change the channel or hit mute? Why?

Generally speaking, if you are an analyst for the low-rent operation known as Fox Sports Net, I find you unlistenable. Okay, maybe "low-rent" is a little harsh; I'm just not a fan of FSN's presentation.

Perry Clark is a college hoops studio analyst for FSN, and as far as coaches-turned-analyst go, he has got to be near the bottom. He is terrible in front of the camera. Sometimes I wish the networks would concentrate less on getting ex-players/coaches and more on hiring guys who are professionally trained for TV. An interest in college sports should be enough, and it's not like the coach-alysts offer much expertise in those studio jobs, anyway.

Also, staying with the college hoops theme: Billy Packer. I get angry merely typing his name.


2. What writer, broadcaster, show, website etc. deserves more recognition? Who is someone we should all be reading, watching or listening to?

John Hollinger!!! Hollinger currently writes articles for ESPN.com about the NBA (if you've got premium, you must check him out).

Hollinger is a basketball stats pioneer, and I can't say enough about him. Once you read some of his work, you'll gain a new perspective on basketball. He focuses on the NBA, but his concepts are applicable to the college game as well. I find his work to be interesting and tremendously insightful.