The Best of Neil's WatchDog
Dan Patrick's syndicated show hits New York Monday.
Patrick, en fuego, hits New York
It has been 3½ years since Dan Patrick left ESPN, a career move many thought he would come to regret. There has been no sign of that.
Since 2007, he happily has gone about his post-Bristol business, developing a syndicated radio show that evolved into a TV simulcast, writing for Sports Illustrated and hosting NBC's NFL studio show.
"I refuse to go away,'' he joked Thursday.
Until now, though, one big piece has been missing from his portfolio: New York.
The show is on satellite radio and DirecTV, but Monday, most area homes will have access to him for the first time when MSG Plus begins to carry the simulcast from 9 a.m. to noon.
"I like to be in the New York market,'' Patrick said, "but I wanted it to be the right time and the right place and the right people.''
What about the one-hour overlap with MSG's simulcast of WFAN's morning show?
"Hopefully, I complement what they do maybe in a different way,'' he said.
Patrick's interviews often make news - i.e. Tony Dungy calling out Rex Ryan for his "Hard Knocks'' language. It's a bonus when that news finds itself referenced on his former network.
Not that Patrick has any hard feelings toward the outfit he still calls The Mother Ship.
"I don't hold any grudges,'' he said. "I left for the right reasons.''
Yakety yak, they talk back
Back in Week 1, when Danny Woodhead was a Jet and Randy Moss was a Patriot, our friends at The Wall Street Journal evidently had too much time on their hands and took on an unusual project:
They counted the average words per minute uttered by every NFL announcing team that week.
The list was revealed Thursday and the winners (or were they losers?) were CBS' Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots at 189.2 WPM - 120.9 for the excitable Mr. Harlan alone.
(Most chatty analyst: Fox's Daryl Johnston at 99.3.)
Tellingly, the respected NBC duo of Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth was 15th among 15 teams at 137.33. Fox's No. 1 booth of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman was next-to-last at 138.33.
Ryan quoth Ravens approach
Rex Ryan won his only Super Bowl ring as an assistant with the 2000 Ravens, an experience that likely shaped his look-at-me approach to media relations.
"He learned this from the 2000 Ravens and Brian Billick,'' said ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer, quarterback of the Baltimore team that routed the Giants in Super Bowl XXXV.
Dilfer recalled that before the playoffs, Billick, "with a lot of bravado," said: "I'm going to go to the media and be brash and bold and take the heat off you guys.''
Said Dilfer: "Brian felt he could lighten the burden by taking the bullets, so to speak. I see Rex doing the same thing. So I think it's very strategic.''
Musburger makes a chip shot
Only a guy with a long history of goofy exuberance could have uttered a line like Brent Musburger did at the climax of the college football season and have us believe it was innocent and spontaneous.
Not even ESPN or Frito-Lay would have been cynical enough to suggest, "This is for all the Tostitos!'' as Auburn lined up for the BCS-winning field goal Monday.
(At least he didn't call the short kick a "Tostitos chip shot.'')
But now that Musburger has let the chips out of the bag, will other sponsors be able to resist?
It is not difficult to imagine Stanford trailing by four and driving late at the Superdome on Jan. 9, 2012, and Brent blurting, "Just like with Allstate, the Cardinal is in good hands with Andrew Luck.''
See, it's easy! Send your suggestions for 2012, 2013 (Discover) and 2014 (Vizio) and I will share the best here and send the rest to Musburger.
N-E-I-L, Neil, Neil, Neil!
As of Friday afternoon, Fireman Ed ranked fourth among paid sports apps for iPad, which either is a sign of Jets playoffs fever or that the end is near for Western civilization.
Or both. For research purposes, I recruited one of the WatchDog pups to download it for me.
What did I think? A little creepy, for sure, but fun/cute if you are a fan of the Jets and of Ed.
For a mere $1.99, I am the proud owner of a custom-made video in which Ed chants, "N-E-I-L!''
Hmm. On second thought, maybe the postseason pressure is getting to me. Sorry.
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