Bob Lobel: Times are Changing for Broadcasting and Baseball

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

What does "trending now" really mean? 

I realize the obvious, but it is so overused that anything "trending now" was probably "trending now" eight hours before. Clearly, some radio management person thought it brought a sense of immediacy that life itself could never match. 

Getting this off the mind is a space for movie reviews. There are three things I really would have wanted to do on television other than sit down at the anchor desk. Don’t get me wrong, I'm grateful for the opportunity I had to scratch out a career, but I still am left wanting, and it looks like it's going to stay that way.     

Weather is first and foremost on the bucket list, but the need for older, fair-looking men is practically non-existent. We now all know where the demand for weather people comes from. 

Let me put it this way: I don’t have a pair of heels that match any scarf I may choose for the evening forecast. Sports is not exactly immune to the latest temptation to watch. 

Practically every show on ESPN and FOX have sideline reporters that in no way resemble the sideline reporters that walked that path when we were doing our thing.

Fair is fair. I watch, and that’s exactly the point. And just for good measure, they almost all are good.

Let me throw in the GEICO commercial where the “Kraken” sea monster comes out of a small pond and grabs the golfer and his caddy, while the announcers whisper the calamity of it all. 

“Looks like he has a 9-iron, which probably isn’t enough club.” 

Lots of times I just sit there and wonder, how did they do that? This was and is one of those commercials. Green lizard time has just about run out of shelf life. 

Back to movies; Saw a lot lately.

"The Martian," "Steve Jobs" and "Bridge of Spies."  This is why I could never be a critic. I loved them all. I guess I am easily amused.

Critics, by their very definition, need to criticize, and that has never been a strength.

So, moving onto the World Series and the predicable low ratings it will bring, simply because of the markets involved. Yes, the Mets are there, but they are not the garden variety New York sports fans. Then, of course, the night games that prevent every kid that baseball wants to attract from staying up.

Most adults fit into that category as well. 

Also, welcome to one of the least interesting NFL seasons in recent memory. Why? Well, most teams are average and boring, which is another way of describing parity. The real reason, however, that NFL interest is waning is the league has become a league of individual players, not teams. 

FanDuel and the others have totally changed the landscape. There is too much money in this now, so the league will ride it til they are told to dismount. 

Why did Nevada become the first to ban it? Think about it. 

It had to be a real threat in pulling revenue away from the regular gambling plays, and so they couldn’t outlaw it fast enough. Clearly they had the most to lose. 

Now, onto the star of the post season, the banned for life Pete rose. He looks like a wind up toy, and seems to make those around him very uncomfortable. They seem reluctant to challenge him, and not sure how to react to his jokes. 

They must feel like they need a shower after every show. Yet, there is another Rose commercial in the hall of his house, with the obvious lines that go with it. 

He has never been so visible. 

Could it be that the commissioner's office is trying to make him more warm and fuzzy, and thus, worthy of the Giamatti “banned for life” rule to be lifted by the new commissioner?  

We know anything is possible. 

Hanley Rameriz is still with the Red Sox, after all.