Posted on 09/06/2018 2:39:08 PM PDT by Eddie01
My wife is a big Tigers fan so I watch a lot of Tigers games. As such, I’m quite familiar with the Fox Sports Detroit broadcast crew of play-by-play man Mario Impemba and color commentator Rod Allen. They’ve been together for years.
I think Impemba is one of the better play-by-play guys around and, while not everyone’s cup of tea, Allen — who is, frankly, kinda weird sometimes — sort of grows on you over time. Tigers fans have even developed a drinking game for when he’s on the air that is fun, albeit dangerous for your liver. My favorite is that you get two drinks when he refers to a pitch as a “piece.” A slider is a “slide piece,” for example. Like I said . . . he’s a bit weird. All of that said, I sorta like those guys.
They do not, however, much like each other. Folks who follow the team closely or know people either with the Tigers or in the Detroit media scene have been aware of this for a while. Generally it’s just chalked up to stylistic differences and stubbornness, no doubt compounded by having to spend so much time together in close quarters. While there has, on occasion, been some coolness between the two of them during broadcasts and less of the fun banter a lot of broadcast teams share, they have always been professional on the air.
Who knew that it was this, bad, though?
[snip]
The Tigers hastily flew second string broadcasters Matt Shepard and Kirk Gibson to Chicago to cover last night’s game. Impemba and Allen were flown back home, on separate flights. No one is commenting.
[snip]
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
Rod says things like "I see ya big fella" when anyone makes a big play. He also says things like "He's got soft hands at second base".
Anyway, they brought in the great Kirk Gibson (1984 World Champ for Det.) to mix it up with Mario but that proved a bit awkward as Mario never played ball and Kirk pointed that out.
Then recently they've brought in Shep Smith to cover for Mario with Kirk and that combo is really good. Shep is an intense sports guy with a reverence for BB and Kirk and he work well together.
All that jockeying with Rod getting pushed out led to this.
Also, there is a tape of Rod in a Japanese league chasing a Japanese ball player all over the field in full sprint. Very creepy.
Anyway, big new and big change for the Tigers announcers happening. Good thing too. Shep and Kirk work.
Matt “Shep” Shepard not Shepard Smith the “catcher”.
my bad
That's racist! He should be called the African-American commentator Rod Allen.
Second Deck!
Wise choice.
I prefer to have Gibby in the booth to Rod Allen. He wasn’t good at all when he started, but has really become any outstanding analyst (not unlike Mr. Tiger, Al Kaline). Unfortunately, Gibby has Parkinson’s disease, so it seems unlikely he’ll be there for a long time.
According to the Detroit News, Allen had Impemba in a chokehold in the booth after Tuesday night’s game. Rod Allen is definitely weird. When Gibson and Jack Morris started occasionally being the color guy, you could tell Rod didn’t like it. He seemed to like it even less the one game I saw when CMo was in the booth.
Gibson was already scheduled to be in the booth the next 6 games. The question is will Maria and Rod be back at all. My guess is Rod will go, but it remains to be seen.
None of these guys is Ernie Harwell.
I had to give up my seat to a customers wife for game 5 in 1984 because she had never been to a professional game prior,i think I might still be a little bitter.
no question
That’s because they are not remotely in the same class as Ernie Harwell or Al Kaline for that matter.
Tiger fan here. I miss the old days when Ernie Harwell and Ray Lane, and later Paul Carey, used to duke it out nightly. Oh wait, maybe I’m thinking of Billy Martin..... lol
Two of America’s finest, Harwell and Kaline.
That is hilarious! Do batters not charge the mound in Japanese baseball?
Don't know anything about these two knuckleheads but Kirk Gibson is the worst color commentator in sports.............
As far as Gibson's pity party Parkinson's disease, I play senior softball with two guys who suffer from the disease, one who is visibly afflicted with it but it doesn't affect his play whatsoever.
I also know an individual who worked for Gibson when he had a landscaping company in Grosse Pointe and recounted numerous times when they would stop at a McDonalds or such restaurant and kids would come up to Gibson and ask for an autograph and he would reject them.........
Off the field, Gibson's entire career was being a jerk..........Fortunately for him, he met up with the Flying Sklarski Sisters and he and Dave Rozema married both of them..........
my thoughts exactly
I listened to the Shep in the Morning Show for a long time.
His callers have to have it together or they get dozed.
Able to gain the respect of the franchise, players and fans in a town like Detroit.
He seems to me to be the quintessential example of when preparedness meets opportunity.
Biggest asshole the Tigers ever employed........
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