SFist: Cycling: Stage 2 Delivers Capitol Thrills

TruthMaker

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 14:26:30 -0800

gttim, dude, what are you smoking-- or maybe what aren't you smoking? Not only are Phil and Paul the best cycling announcers in the history of the sport, they are quite possibly the best sports announcers this side of Jon Miller. They were both competitive cyclists, and Sherwen raced in the Tour de France. They know more about cycling than we could ever hope to know, and they have voices that lend gravitas and sophistication to the sport. And we also beg to differ about Phil's calls on breakaways. We have watched/listened to every stage of the Tour for the last eight years as well as coverage of the last two Cali's and maybe once has Phil misjudged a breakaway, which is like Jon Miller making the call in the second inning about whether a starting pitcher is going to pitch a complete game. We don't go in for hero worship, but every single time we're out on a ride, the graceful British accents of Phil and Paul are in our ears, providing play-by-play of every pedal stroke. They are magical. One of the best things about Phil is his lingo. He's like the Gary McCord of cycling, always throwing out a few juicy verbal nuggets each stage that crack us up and immediately find their way into our vocabulary. As for the Lance talk, well, the dude win seven straight Tours de France, I mean come on, that's like talking baseball without mentioning Barry Bonds (and yes, the comparison was totally intentional).

gttim

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 13:29:39 -0800

A great recap of the race. Well, all except your comments about Paul Sherwen and Phil Liggett. They blow. If Phil Liggett say a breakaway is going to succeed, you know they are toast. They were better last night than previously, but only because they did not talk about Lance ad nauseum. I would still prefer somebody else.

TruthMaker

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 13:22:06 -0800

Jash, baby, thanks for compiling this list. Awesome work! One thing though, we're pretty sure that the television coverage is from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. daily, at least it is on Dish Network. We almost missed the Stage 1 coverage because the Versus website lists East Coast times.

jash

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 12:16:22 -0800

here are all the ways to watch it. i think it's at 8-9pm each night.: AT&T Home Entertainment - Basic Plus - San Francisco Not Available AT&T Home Entertainment Plus - San Francisco Not Available Clearbay Communications Archstone South Ma - San Francisco Not Available Comcast - San Francisco Channel number 81 Comcast - San Francisco - Digital Channel number 81 DIRECTV San Francisco - San Francisco Channel number 608 DISH San Francisco - San Francisco Channel number 151 RCN Cable - San Francisco Not Available RCN Cable - San Francisco - Digital Not Available Satel South Beach Marina Apartments - San Francisco Not Available DIRECTV - USA Channel number 608 DISH Network - USA Channel number 151

sfmike

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 09:36:51 -0800

Nicely written. Though I'm still not interested in the sport, you at least explain why I should be.