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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The Astros didn’t leave Seattle with a series win, but they may have gained something just as important: a reminder that resilience still runs deep in this group.
After a grueling extra-inning loss on Saturday, one that included the loss of Isaac Paredes to a hamstring injury, Houston regrouped on Sunday and hammered the Mariners 11-3. Christian Walker provided the turning point with a much-needed go-ahead home run in the sixth inning, while Taylor Trammell added a two-run double and a solo shot of his own. With Chas McCormick back from the injured list but still finding his footing, Trammell is quickly making his case as the best option in center field moving forward.
Manager Joe Espada continues to juggle a lineup that’s been in constant flux. Rookie Cam Smith, who had a clutch two-run double in Sunday’s win, has struggled as of late, going just 2-for his last 24. While his ability to get hits in clutch situations has been extremely valuable, the lack of a consistent spot in the batting order may be taking its toll. Giving Smith a stable home in the cleanup spot, even temporarily, might be a helpful reset.
Then again, the cleanup role hasn’t been kind to everyone.
Last night, Christian Walker, batting 4th, went 0-4, 2 K
- Walker for the season, batting 4th: .167 BA, .498 OPS
- Both are MLB worst (min. 75 AB batting 4th, 51st of 51)
- His 210 AB batting 4th are 6th most in MLB
- He's hitting .317 w/ .887 OPS when batting anywhere but 4th
— Adam Wexler (@AdamJWexler) July 19, 2025
Walker has been markedly less effective when hitting fourth this season, a trend that continues despite his strong Sunday performance. Sometimes, the data is clear: the four-hole might not be for him. He's literally been the worst cleanup option in baseball this season. Hit him fifth.
Behind the plate, Victor Caratini continues to impress, while Yainer Diaz is back in a cold stretch. Since the break, Diaz is just 1-for-14, raising questions about his timing and confidence as the summer grind deepens.
On the mound, the biggest developments are happening off the field. Cristian Javier and Spencer Arrighetti both completed three-inning rehab outings with Double-A Corpus Christi, while Luis Garcia threw two innings in a rehab start with Low-A Fayetteville. The trio’s return could mark a major turning point for the Astros, especially as Lance McCullers continues to struggle in his own comeback. McCullers lasted just 2 2/3 innings in Saturday’s loss, allowing four runs and showing little of the form that once made him one of the rotation’s anchors.
There’s been hesitancy to replace McCullers with someone like Arrighetti while he’s still building back arm strength, but the argument grows thinner each time McCullers falters. If healthy, even a three- or four-inning version of Javier or Arrighetti could give Houston more consistency at the back of the rotation.
Despite the weekend loss, the Astros still hold one of the best offenses in baseball, second in batting average, 12th in OPS, and 11th in slugging. The pitching staff remains stout, ranking sixth in ERA and second in WHIP. This team is far from unraveling.
With reinforcements on the way and a lineup that’s still capable of putting up crooked numbers, the Astros aren’t panicking. If anything, Sunday’s blowout win showed they’re ready to weather whatever’s next.
There's 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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