Bryant Gumbel mirrors the horror of bad baseball play by play--the game is lost forever

It's a complicated job for a person with many superlative qualities. Play by play isn't something any "broadcaster" can do. NY Times' Richard Sandomir gives examples of Bryant Gumbel on NFL Network that felt like so many great moments in baseball--robbed, lost forever by a poor play by play man:

"On Barber’s first touchdown run Saturday night, Gumbel and Collinsworth were mired in a conversation about the Redskins’ lack of takeaways this season; Barber had been knocked down and was on his feet before Gumbel caught up to the play.

• Gumbel’s call of Barber’s second rushing score, of 55 yards, was passable, but his description of Barber’s final touchdown run, a 50-yarder, was rendered this way: “First down, Giants. Barber.”

He broke for four seconds of silence, without noting the yard lines Barber was passing, the Redskins he was outrunning or the defenders who missed tackling him.

• Then he resumed the call: “Touchdown, Giants.”

Afterward, he fell silent for a few more seconds, then offered some of the details he should have given during the immediate, live call. The task, though, is to be quiet — or “lay out” — after a touchdown, not during it."

Chillingly familiar. From the NY Times, 1/1/07, "Gumbel's Studio Skills are lost in Transition to NFL Network Booth," by Richard Sandomir

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