Sometimes, like Inigo Montoya, I feel like saying to Cacklin’ Bobke “I do not think that expression means what you think it means…”
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Yes, sometimes I think Bobke needs to put down the thesaurus. In general, though, I don’t get all the Phil/Bob/NBC hate here. They’ve got their idiosyncrasies, but they really don’t do a bad job with their coverage. Steve Porino and Christian Vandevelde on course and the other guys in the studio are good and they have legitimately decent insights into the race. Is their broadcast team the only one with an active World Tour DS on the roster? Tejay was a little rigid in the past, but I think he’s gotten better recently. Brent is OK, but I’ll confess that I liked Sam Bewley better when he was on the team two(?) years ago. Paul Burmeister adds good broadcast polish and professionalism that helps keep the studio conversation moving forward.
I didn’t love all the commercials this year, that’s probably my big complaint. Sounds like that was an issue on all the streaming services, though. 
I, for one, am just happy to be watching bike racing on TV. It wasn’t always possible, and there’s no guarantee that it will be in the future.
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I don’t dislike the Peacock/NBC coverage, but I miss Paul Sherwen and GCN+… as you said, at least it’s something.
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I miss Paul Sherwen as well. Phil & Paul came to Seattle as guests of the Cascade Bicycle Club maybe 11 or 12 years ago. I got to meet both of them, and then they did a presentation and q&a session with an audience of a few hundred people. Hearing about their history covering the Tour together for so many years was awesome, and being away from the cameras let them open up in ways that they couldn’t do on the air. I’m actually still a little surprised that Phil didn’t retire after Paul passed. They were very close and it must have been like losing a brother for him.
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I disagree, they are terrible. All of them. Just my opinion but Phil was never very good and with the passing of time, he is out of his league. He should have retired YEARS ago. I suspect the only reason he is still around is that no one has the balls to not rehire him.
Bob sounds like a 13 year old boy going through puberty until he laughs. Then he sounds like a teen aged girl. At least we don’t hear “Tour Day France” anymore. Someone must have spoken to him.
The three in the studio are all stiffs and I can’t figure out any good reason for Porino being in the car 20K ahead of the race.
Virtually everyone doing any of the other broadcasts are better. Matt Keenan and Jose Bien are so much better that there is no comparison.
On top of that, the number of commercials is over the top.
Yes, it is better than no coverage but not by much.
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Y’all. This was never intended to be a Bobke/Phil Hate Thread. There are plenty of other places
on the internet for that. That doesn’t really suit my or the EC vibe. Do I believe that the NBC coverage is garbage? Yes. But it isn’t these gentleman’s faults. I have met and loved them myself over the years. I wanted to create a ledger of their idiosyncrasies mostly in jest, but also to catalog the chasm between NBC’s coverage, which relies year by year on names we recognize rather than actual cycling journalists/media, and other outlets around the world that understand their audience and their needs. And the reality is that it has gotten quite dire. I watch the Tour with my wife who is a new fan and find myself turning the volume on mute because Bob/Phil have about a 30% accuracy on rider names during key moments. Maybe, if we’re ever so lucky and focus on facts rather than bashing, we can make some kind of case to NBC or some new platform that we the American viewers expect better and are smarter than this. And maybe at some point I will create a Tejay van Gardener Hate Thread, because seriously, the man is a menace.
Yeah, it kinda is….while NBC ultimately bears the majority of the responsibility, Phil lost his fastball decades ago and Bob Roll has simply never tried to improve his skills. His mispronunciations, lack of attention to what is on the screen and numerous other gaffes are his mistakes.
It is the same old crap, year after year. I also don’t accept the “it is better than nothing” rationale. Back in the early 90’s, that argument may have held sway, simply because of the dearth of broadcast options. That is no longer the case. The examples of far superior broadcasts are plentiful so there is no excuse for this crap except outright laziness across the board.
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To give some credit to Phil, he was the absolute master of segueing to talk about the local chateau or cathedral that the helicopter was presently surveying, to the point that I originally thought that he just knew all this stuff about these French places.
The subsequent bumbling through press guides and mispronunciations that most other commentators have done since has shattered that illusion.
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Uncle Phil was undeniably great back in the day…..but the wheels began to come off during -7’s reign and by the time we got to the 2010’s, it was glaringly apparent that he was below-average as an announcer. The fact that it has been allowed to continue is shameful, for both NBC and Phil.
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It’s not really hate, just wish it was better commentary. Steve Porino and Christian Vandevelde are great. Brent and Tejay stuck in suits with the silly moving riders around board seems a waste of Tejay’s talents. And yes, Sam Bewley is one of a kind but more himself in the team car, language not allowed on Peacock/NBC. Watching the TDFF with Anthony and Hannah is a dream come true. Next to Rob Hatch, Anthony McCrossan is one of the best. I understand the last two stages will be Phil and Bob, which is disturbing because Phil is not familiar with the women’s peloton and Bob is a little more knowledgeable. How we miss GCN+. Even Steephilltv whcih was great.
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Thanks for posting @Josh_King ! Great insight about the shad’s dynamics.
I’m not sure whose idea it was to have Phil do the Peacock/CNBC commentary today for Stage 8 of the TdFFaZ, but it was a poor choice, and embarrassed Phil. He mispronounced names, confused Sarah Gigante with Mavi Garcia, and just made a bunch of terrible, amateurish mistakes, often showing how little he actually follows women’s cycling. This guy has done more to promote pro cycling than anyone else IMO… but he need to rest on his laurels and perhaps do guest takes if that’s what he wants to do. Listening to him makes me cringe for him.
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It was truly awful. A surprise, and an unwelcome one. They were talking all over each other, and yes, Phil’s performance was a shame. Given his history with the men’s side, I’m more likely to defend his legacy, but the Women’s World Tour needs ENERGY, not this.
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I wonder if Matt De Neef or Abby Mickey have thoughts on this, but can’t find their handles on EC Community. Did you tune in,@caley_fretz ? I bet you have thoughts.
I can’t blame him for talking over Megan; that’s on NBCSports, for not providing a setup where they could see each other. It’s not hard to do… technology! But the number miscalls, name botches, and just his general lack of knowledge with respect to the women’s peloton… they should have used the Euro feed, like they’ve done all week.
My favourite moment from Phil was when he guaranteed that Lance didn’t dope and he’d quit if it was proven he did… and then Phil stopped commentating in 2013 and retired when it was all in the open. Or was that a fever dream?
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Wait, Phil and Bob can’t be critiqued but Tejay can be hated?
Reality does not equal hate. I don’t hate them but I simply feel that they are not very good at what they are paid to do.
NBC won’t know anything is wrong unless someone tells them.
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Many years ago when he was syndicated to SBS in Oz he described a rider as lactating terribly.
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today at the vuelta bobke said that almeida wanted to put some daylight between him and vingegaard. I don’t think almeida wants to lose time, bob!