Sports on the Air
Sports on the Air: Williams toughens his image
This is what I’m thinking: • Who is that Dennis Williams impostor on WGR 55? I almost pulled off the road Tuesday evening when I heard Williams on his radio show call Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch a “coward.”
That didn’t sound like the Dennis Williams who said nothing nearly as hard-hitting in his years as Channel 4’s lead sports anchor and sports director.
Something clearly happens to normally reserved TV reporters when they move to radio.
Williams called out Lynch for declining to come forward and explain what happened on the night that his car was involved in a hit-and-run accident in the Chippewa district.
Of course, Lynch has been following the legal advice of his attorney, Michael Caffery. It has been a public relations nightmare for the Bills and Lynch, whose image had been so high during his rookie season.
Lynch hasn’t been helped by footage of him laughing and smiling during practice as if he doesn’t have a care in the world. He’s known as a guy who enjoys life, but he should know his every move is being watched.
As a talk show host, Williams is expected to deliver provocative opinions. At times, he seems to try too hard. There probably isn’t anything stronger than calling an athlete a “coward.” Chris “Bulldog” Parker didn’t go quite that far. He called Lynch “an idiot” for reportedly bringing his own liquor to bars to add to his soft drinks.
It might be wise to wait until all the facts are in before piling on Lynch. But I can’t think of a better way for Williams to change his image than by calling Lynch a “coward.” It might even get him the ultimate symbol of radio pride — being banned from the Bills’ locker room.
• At halftime of Game Three of the NBA Finals matchup Tuesday between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, ABC ran an extremely flattering feature on Kobe Bryant the family man. He was shown at home with his wife and two young daughters. No mention was made of the 2003 sexual assault case against him in Colorado that was eventually dismissed. However, I suspect many viewers were thinking about it. That should tell Lynch how easily athletes are forgiven.
The first four games of the NBA Finals averaged about a 5 rating on Channel 7, which is about half the national average. The first two games were within a point of Channel 2’s ratings for NBC’s coverage of the Stanley Cup finals between Detroit and Pittsburgh, which started with Game Three. However, the Stanley Cup finals saw a dramatic rise here later in the six-game series.
That isn’t happening locally with the NBA despite the so-called dream matchup featuring the game’s best player, Bryant, and the Celtics’ incredible Thursday comeback victory.
• Jeff Van Gundy spoke for many bald men during ABC’s coverage of the Celts-Lakers on Tuesday when he lamented that he has to pay full price for a haircut even though he doesn’t have much to cut. Van Gundy has become the John Madden of the NBA, a guy who can talk strategy and history as well as he can offer entertaining asides.
• One statistic in this column last week startled readers. Yes, the three games that NBC carried in the Anaheim- Ottawa Stanley Cup finals series had ratings in Buffalo that were 26 percent higher than the ratings for the comparable games in this year’s Detroit- Pittsburgh series. There are a few understandable reasons for it. Ottawa is a Sabres rival. And the Sabres’ failure to make this year’s playoffs surely diminished interest.
• While many people were questioning the decision to run Big Brown in the Belmont because of a minor injury, HBO’s “Real Sports” is carrying a much sadder story about horse racing. A report by Bernard Goldberg illustrates how many race horses who finish out of the money eventually are sold to a meat man, who gets his name because they become dinner in Japan and other foreign countries. The segment also had interviews with some women who try and save as many horses as possible by finding homes for the animals, which can be very expensive to keep.
• Tony Kornheiser of ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption” playfully suggested this week that retired New York Giant Michael Strahan take his seat in the Monday Night Football booth. Judging by Strahan’s performance on a recent Bob Costas show, it isn’t a bad idea.
