The NFL caught the ire of the afternoon sports talk shows on Thursday after saying at the owners meeting earlier in the week that goal-line cameras were not going to be added to stadiums this year due to cost concerns. L.A. Times columnist Bill Plaschke said, “The NFL made nearly $10 billion last year -- a billion more than the year before -- and they can't spend the money to get it right? They can't spend the money on four cameras to make sure that the ball crosses the end zone? That’s absurd.” Denver Post columnist Woody Paige said it is the “highest priority to have those cameras.” Paige: “Last year, the commissioner made $44 million. The cost of these cameras in all 32 stadiums would be less than one-third of that.” ESPN’s Kate Fagan: “I'm not surprised by billionaires being cheap, but I am surprised by them being stupid. Why is the excuse that it’s cost prohibitive? Just say that the broadcast angles are already good enough” (“Around The Horn,” ESPN, 3/26). ESPN’s Michael Smith said Patriots coach Bill Belichick had "every right" to reportedly go on a profane tirade after the initiative did not pass. Smith called the reasoning "insulting" because the NFL "prints money" (“His & Hers,” ESPN2, 3/26). ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser asked, “Too expensive? For a league that grossed $10 billion last year?" Kornheiser: "This is indefensible on the part of the NFL on every single level. They have games in London, they have the Pro Bowl in Brazil, they make $10 billion. The only reasonable conclusion is they want the ambiguity, they want the controversy" ("PTI," ESPN, 3/26). SNY's Jonas Schwarz: "This is a league that is printing money and you know what, if the extra cameras help you get through replay calls correct, then you should do it. ... You can move the Pro Bowl to Brazil and spend all of that money, but you can't spend some extra money on this?" ("Daily News Live," SNY, 3/26).
I LOVE GOOOOOLD! ESPN’s Keith Olbermann on Wednesday named the NFL’s marketing department his “world’s worst person in sports” for “basically branding every single NFL thing during the 2015 season with this ‘On The 50’ campaign" in advance of Super Bowl 50. Olbermann: "Everything will have gold and/or the number 50 on it. The 50-yard line numerals on every field during the regular season: Gold. The team logos on the field: Fringed in gold." He said, "It is not the 50th anniversary of the Super Bowl. It’s the 50th Super Bowl" (“Olbermann,” ESPN2, 3/25).
