FanHouse Marv Albert

Marv Albert and 50 Cent had a reported "interaction" backstage at Jimmy Kimmel Live that generated a ton of press -- obviously whenever two people like Marv and Fitty interact in a reportedly violent manner, it's gonna be news.

Turns out the the whole thing was entirely overblown. Marv and 50 never had any sort of violent interaction and, from what FanHouse has learned, and which the AP is now reporting, it was all a giant misunderstanding.

Of all the headlines I read today, the one you see above is now second on the "didn't see that coming" list after "Al Roker Loses Mind Previewing Weather for Sunday Night Football". Apparently, 50 Cent and his entourage went after Marv Albert backstage at Jimmy Kimmel Live last night.

At least if you believe the Los Angeles Times (or if you prefer to get your news from more reputable sources, here ya go):

In addition to calling nationally televised games alongside Mike Breen on ABC and ESPN, analyst Mark Jackson also works alongside Marv Albert covering the Nets for the YES Network.

At least, he used to work for YES: as those dedicated (and tortured) Nets fans who tuned into Wednesday's meaningless season finale heard first-hand, Jackson revealed that he wouldn't be returning next year. From Neil Best at Newsday (via Sports Media Watch):

During the telecast, Albert called Jackson's announcement, which he initially made in the third quarter, "startling." As the duo signed off, Jackson said, "Thank you, people, for letting me in your home."

Naturally, this fueled speculation that Jackson is headed to the Knicks. But he told YES executives after the game that he simply had tired of the time apart from his family, which is based in Los Angeles.

First of all, disregard his official explanation: yes, he may miss his family, but I have a hunch he won't have trouble convincing them to move out to the Big Apple if he gets his dream job. Jackson is from New York, born and raised in Brooklyn before playing college ball at St. John's and getting drafted by the Knicks. And oh yeah, he's pretty familiar with Donnie Walsh, too, playing five and a half years with the Pacers.

I'm not saying Walsh has already contacted Jackson for the deal, but it doesn't seem like much of a stretch to think that Jackson is making it very apparent that he's interested and available for the job. As a local guy who's maintained a media presence across the river in New Jersey, hiring Jackson wouldn't be a bad public relations move for a franchise struggling to connect with it's base, either.

Now that Bryant Gumbel has stepped aside as the play-by-play man on the live regular-season games broadcast by NFL Network, the big question in sports broadcasting is who will replace him.

The answer should be Marv Albert.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today suggests that Albert would be a worthy candidate, and he's absolutely right. Although I was never as down on Gumbel as most people, the fact is that if NFL Network wants to the exact opposite of Gumbel, Albert is their man.

People complained about Gumbel's voice. Albert has the best voice in broadcasting. People complained about Gumbel's inexperience. Albert has been doing play-by-play for close to half a century. People complained that Gumbel wasn't prepared enough. Albert is known for meticulous preparation.

Albert currently works basketball and Monday Night Football on the radio, and he should be able to fit the NFL Network Thursday and Saturday games into his schedule. This is a move NFL Network needs to make.

Although I thought Joe Buck of Fox did solid work during Super Bowl XLII, I must agree with Awful Announcing and say that Marv Albert, who was calling the Super Bowl on the radio, did a better job than Buck of calling the instant classic Manning to Tyree play:

Albert and Buck both noted that Eli Manning faced pressure at the start of the play and that David Tyree made a spectacular catch at the end of the play. But Albert had a bit more excitement in his voice, as though he appreciated that he was calling one of the great plays in football history. Albert is known more for basketball, but he always does very good work when calling NFL games.

During the Nets-Warriors game last night, whoever was working the jumbotron flashed one of those ever so cr-r-raaazy "Separated at Birth" type videos/image galleries. Last night's course du jour? Reggie Miller and Barack Obama.


And yeah, it's questionable whether or not you will be seeing either Miller or Marv Albert vote for Barack; Miller said that he had a been "compared to worse" followed by Marv telling him he was not sure that was "a compliment". How wonderfully awkward.

HT: [Odenized]