A LOOK AHEAD
Here’s why your sports-viewing experience may soon change forever
Jan 27, 2022, 1:10 pm
On the road again? Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images.
3 jump-out-the-gym reasons you should be watching the young gun Rockets
ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports broadcasting, will not send reporters to Beijing to cover next month’s Winter Olympics, the most worldly of sports events.
Reason: Covid 19, plus China’s no-nonsense restrictions on people who test positive, possibly with a splash of reaction to China’s human rights policies.
Announcers covering far flung sports events from studios back home is nothing new, however. Just the reasons have changed.
In the early days of sports broadcasting, technological limitations kept announcers at home while teams hit the road. Remote coverage of TV sports is gaining popularity again, not necessarily with announcers and fans, but definitely with bottom line accountants. It’s simply cheaper for announcers to sit in a hometown studio and describe the action by watching a TV. Plus teams are keeping announcers off the road as a Covid safety measure.
While on the surface, it’s easy to dismiss remote coverage of sports as a lesser experience for viewers, there are advantages (at least minimal disadvantages) to having announcers cover games off a TV feed.
In most football stadiums, including NRG Stadium in Houston, announcers are sitting way way upstairs on the nosebleed level. They’re mostly watching the game on a press box TV, anyway. They may as well be in a studio, watching a wall of TVs showing 20 different angles of every play.
It’s not like today’s announcers hang out with players during road trips gaining insight to teams. Those days of announcers and journalists playing footsie, sharing confidences and covering for each other’s (ahem) indiscretions are long over.
I once asked a veteran play-by-play announcer for one of Houston’s major pro sports teams, “What’s (the star of the team) like on road trips?” He answered, “I have never said one word to him. The broadcast team and the players travel on the same plane, stay in the same hotel, but that’s the extent of our connection. We don’t mingle, it’s just not done.”
ESPN announcers have been calling college basketball games, especially those involving smaller schools, from studios in Bristol Connecticut for the past decade. Who knew? If the announcer is talented, fans watching on TV can’t tell the difference.
Rockets play-by-play announcer Craig Ackerman is talented. I told a friend, a big Rockets fan, that I was writing about many sports announcers doing games remotely and mentioned that Ackerman is broadcasting Rockets road contests from a studio in Houston. My friend was surprised. Points, Ackerman.
After starting the 2021-22 season traveling with the Rockets, Ackerman and color analyst Ryan Hollins were pulled off the road on January 1 due to the Omicron surge.
“It’s obviously doable, but ultimately less than ideal,” Ackerman said. “ I'll start by saying the positive about working remotely and not traveling is you can avoid the constant packing, unpacking and time spent on an airplane. With the various COVID restrictions, what you also gain by not traveling is not getting stuck on the road if you test positive.”
Ackerman would prefer to be on the road again, though.
“What you miss is being immersed in the atmosphere of the game and feeding off the energy of the crowd. Being a part of the game is vitally important to accurately conveying the tone of that game. What you also miss are some of the nuances of what is taking place off camera. When you are calling a game off a monitor you are at the mercy of what is being shown to you on your screen which is often the same thing that the viewers are seeing. You miss some substitutions, coaches and players' reactions to plays and officials decisions.”
But admittedly,
“When circumstances are typical and normal there's not much of a difference for the viewer or for us for that matter,” Ackerman said.
What does this say about the future of sports broadcasting? Like a bridge that keeps charging tolls long after the bridge is paid off, expect some sports networks, facing rising costs, employee cutbacks and inflation, to keep their announcers at home after the Covid threat lessens.
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How Houston Rockets hold the cards for a franchise-changing summer
May 8, 2025, 5:45 pm
In Houston, the winning standard has been set so high that anything short of World Series contention now feels like failure. And yet, the 2025 Astros find themselves at an unfamiliar crossroads—caught between the fading brilliance of past stars and the uncertain promise of what comes next.
Jose Altuve is at the center of this issue. His early struggles (-0.5 WAR) may indicate more than just a temporary slump. And when he swung at the first pitch after Lance McCullers had just endured a grueling 33-pitch inning on Sunday, it raised a bigger question: who has the influence to talk to Altuve?
The Astros’ culture has long been praised for its accountability, but who inside the clubhouse has the standing to challenge or counsel Altuve or other vets when needed? With so many veteran voices gone, there’s a growing sense that no one does—and that’s a problem. That’s why the idea of bringing back Michael Brantley—not as a player, but as a respected voice—could make some sense. Brantley was always viewed as a quiet leader, and his presence could restore some of the guidance this roster desperately needs.
Batter up?
While the Astros have built a reputation for reviving pitchers' careers, their track record with hitters is far less impressive. There are few, if any, examples of a bat joining Houston and unlocking a new level. That failure in development becomes especially stark when considering how much they’re currently leaning on homegrown youth.
Which brings us to Zach Dezenzo. The 24-year-old rookie is showing he belongs—his .737 OPS makes him one of the more productive bats in a lineup that desperately needs stability while Yordan Alvarez nurses an injury. While Victor Caratini provides the Astros with the ability to switch hit, he's hitting just .217. Dezenzo should be starting every day in left, with Yordan out. Jose Altuve, who has already played too many innings this year, should be shifted to DH duties to ease his physical burden. The Astros should go with Cam Smith in right and keep Jake Meyers in center to round out the outfield.
GM Dana Brown has made clear that he views Dezenzo as a first baseman or left fielder for the future. So why not get him in the lineup while Yordan's out and see what he can do with consistent playing time?
Of course, losing Yordan Alvarez is always going to hurt. But the numbers tell a surprising story. Yordan currently holds a -0.4 WAR, right there alongside Altuve and Christian Walker as the only Astros with negative marks. On paper, the team hasn’t lost much production. But let’s not kid ourselves—Yordan’s mere presence alters how opponents pitch to this team. The lineup without him lacks fear factor, and the margins get razor-thin.
Speaking of margins, one move that may haunt this front office is the decision to sign Christian Walker. The veteran first baseman is hitting just .205 with a .617 OPS—far below the level expected from a player earning $20 million annually through 2027. Compare that to Jon Singleton, who posted better numbers in 2024 and currently boasts an .880 OPS in Triple-A with the Mets organization. Walker's defense is strong, but it's hard to argue that justifies the price tag. Singleton might not be a Gold Glover, or anything close, but he came much cheaper and was quietly more productive with the bat.
No regrets?
There’s also a broader question looming: if fans had known that Altuve’s massive contract extension would potentially cost the team the ability to re-sign current MVP candidates Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman, would they still have supported the deal? Hindsight is cruel, but with Altuve’s decline and Tucker and Bregman thriving, it’s a fair debate. Houston might have paid for the past instead of securing its future.
Big deals on the horizon?
All eyes now turn to owner Jim Crane. This winter, Houston's payroll will have considerable room to maneuver. But will Crane commit to restocking the lineup with All-Star-caliber bats, or will his reluctance to offer long-term deals keep the Astros stuck in a holding pattern? It’s one thing to let players walk. It’s another to fail to replace them.
The Astros still have the bones of a contender, but the road back to dominance is getting steeper. The team can’t simply rely on what used to work. It’s time for difficult conversations, bold lineup changes, and a rethinking of how this organization develops—and retains—offensive talent.
We have so much more to get to. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday!
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