In Buffalo, Alan Pergament writes Fox analyst Daryl Johnston was "fair and balanced" on the call for Eagles-Bills yesterday. Johnston is a Western New York native, but fans "wouldn't have known it from the objectivity he displayed." Johnston is "very good at seeing things all over the field that aren't visible to viewers from the limited vantage point from TV cameras." He also is "willing to note when players miss an assignment or misjudge a play." Fox' Chris Myers "isn't considered a top-rate play-by-play man, but he had a strong game setting Johnston up" with questions and "getting excited when touchdowns were scored when it was still a game" (BUFFALO NEWS, 10/28).
TOUGH CROWD: In Chicago, Phil Rosenthal notes Fox' Thom Brennaman during Chargers-Bears yesterday "correctly predicted Soldier Field fans would be booing if the Bears' last drive of the first half sputtered, forcing them to settle for a field goal." Brennaman, who previously called Cubs games in the early '90s, said, "I lived here six years. I get it." Rosenthal writes Brennaman was "properly unsparing in his criticism of the Bears' offensive impotence" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 10/28).
GETTING AHEAD OF THE STORY: In L.A., Tom Hoffarth notes NBC is "having to deal with an elephant in the Santa Anita jockey's room" for its coverage of this weekend's Breeders' Cup. The race returns to Santa Anita for the first time since the track's "yearlong litany of horses having to be euthanized" -- 36 since December. With 10-plus hours of coverage across NBC and NBCSN, the net has "ample opportunities to address and access what has happened" (L.A. TIMES, 10/28).
