# Phil Liggett's nasty habit



## myette10 (Jul 20, 2003)

Earlier this year when watching the spring classics I began to notice that Phil regularly calls the race winner prematurely and he did it again today. Davide Rebellin won three races in succession this spring and in two of them Phil called the race over before Rebellin began his final sprint from third position. He'll do it time and time again in a single day in a time trial: as each rider approaches the finish he'll say "a new best time here for Botero...as he approaches the line... he's slipping away now... and now just over the line with the 44th best time of the day." He often seems not to know where the checkpoints or finish are for the time trials, he did it yesterday as Ullrich crossed the 9.5 k mark. It is uncanny, he does it constantly. 

I did not notice it today when watching the finish for the first time because, like everyone else, I could not believe my eyes. But after watching the finish for the 23rd time I paid a bit more attention to Phil's call of the race, and once again, he called the winner incorrectly. He annointed Kloden the winner with 900k to go, and while I though Kloden would win as well, I'm learning that when Phil says "this is a winning move," it is often not the case. 

Has anyone else noticed this? I love Phil and Paul but even my non-cycling appreciative wife will comment to the TV "Phil, the race isn't over!"


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## travis200 (Oct 29, 2002)

I have also noticed that especially on all TT the rider coming in with a decent time is the new best but he is slipping away as the seconds tick by. Only to find the rider has the 64th best time. I find it pretty funny in a sick sort of way.


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## fbg111 (Jul 26, 2002)

I've noticed it too. Maybe the guy just can't hide the excitement bubbling underneath that staid British surface. If that's his only flaw though, I'll take it any day over Fish Hair (Trautwig).


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## TPC (Feb 20, 2002)

Phil's awesome. That he was calling Kloden's victory early made it that much more exciting when Armstrong did pull off the win. Made/makes Armstrong look super-human (which of course he is  )


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## breathless (Jul 16, 2004)

Phil does this waaaaay too much. I think he pprojected Sastre to be the winner today too. Phil - learn to bite your tongue man.


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## Guest (Jul 23, 2004)

For Crissake they're broadcasting live of a TV feed - you think you could do it without making a mistake?


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## Dwaynebarry (Mar 16, 2004)

Phil's fundamental "problem" is he gets overly excited, but I'd take that over someone who puts you to sleep like David Duffield & Sean Kelly. Phil's excitment also leads him to habitually misidentify riders.


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## Jdub (May 5, 2004)

*Mistakes are one thing*



toomanybikes said:


> For Crissake they're broadcasting live of a TV feed - you think you could do it without making a mistake?



It's one thing to make a few mistakes. Wrong name for a rider he can't quite make out. Wrong finish order after a sprint. The whole calling of events prior to a conclusive finish is pretty much over the line though. I find it very annoying. Commentators should not make diffinitive statements like that in any sorting event. It would be fine if he said something like "Wow that is exactly what you are supposed to do. I THINK Kloden might take the stage with that move although you never know in cycling." not "Kloden has just won the race!" 100 meters from the finish line. Absurd!


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## Guest (Jul 23, 2004)

Well, I guess if Phil Liggett is unable to meet your high standards of perfection you should choose not to watch.


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## freezin_is_the_reason (Feb 5, 2004)

*I find it amusing more than annoying.*

And also understand that Phil is usually looking at the same TV picture that we are. With the long lenses used, you lose a lot of depth perception. So when looking at a rider coming towards the line in a time trial, it is hard to tell exactly how far he is from the line. Phil see's mid-pack rider coming towards line, looks at time, It's less than current best, gets excited, calls new best time, rider keeps going..............................He's slipping away...................47th best time. Maybe he should try to pick out some land marks to help him guage the actual distance from the line. 

If you took his commentary to heart though, you would think that all of these guys were just absolutely blowing up with 100 meters to go. I do love that he gets excited though. Wish that I could get that excited about my job!


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## RedMenace (Jan 28, 2004)

*It took me awhile, when I first started listening to Phil,*



toomanybikes said:


> Well, I guess if Phil Liggett is unable to meet your high standards of perfection you should choose not to watch.


to get used to his premature hyperbole. "They'll AB-solutely not catch him now!" Gradually I came to understand that you don't take Phil seriously when he's in the heat of a race call. "Now he's cracked and he's losing HUGE amounts of time." As often as not, it's like 10 seconds. You just get used to it and allow for it.


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## ttug (May 14, 2004)

*Mea Culpa Mea Culpa!*

This is really a bit jaded foks. Phil is the man as far as detail etc etc. In fact his insight into cycling as a sport and his near freakish memory of team dynamics and names is impressive.

Years ago, he turned down a contract to eventually go pro and lets face it, very few of us have the enthusiasm his style really brings to reporting. I guess hearing about the urine evaporator as proposed by Bobke has finally had its desired outcome. PLEASE.  

So, by all means, there is a solution:

Get on your bike.

Ride far far away.

Stay there.

Do not come back.

If you can read the paper or get to the internet, you are too close. Ride farther.

Please.


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## Gimme Shoulder (Feb 10, 2004)

*Hey. No criticism allowed.*

I brought this up several days ago, and got flicked for it.

Don't mess with Phil.

Guys....just because a person might have a particular "criticism" of someone doesn't mean he is being "critical" or disrespectful of the man. And the act of criticism does not mean by default that one can do the job better (or at all). I think Phil is a great commentator. Love to hear him and Paul go back and forth with each other. I can’t do Phil’s job, but I agree with myette 10, that he has a tendancy to call results conclusively way too soon. Stage 17 was the most obvious and dramatic example in this year’s Tour. (We won’t get into mis-identifying riders again....Ouch!). My suggestion was that Phil could hold back his commentary in these situations a second or two, and be more accurate. Obviously, some find this trait entertaining or more exciting, while others find it annoying. To each his own. I’m learning to look past it and go with the flow.

Peace


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## mmoose (Apr 2, 2004)

*Friday AM Phil's reaction*

caught the tv pre-race before heading to work. Phil laughed at himself a bit for thursday's call. Paul was thinking the same, he just did not say it at the time. Paul said he flipped thru the channels at night looking for what the other commentators said...everyone else called it the same way. 

Normally when Phil 'calls' the winner, I know enough to beleive him or not. When Kloden put in the big attack, it was a winning move. It should have worked. Kloden was leg locking at the end and could not pedal.

I"ve put my nits in at Phil before and will again, but not for Thursday. If he can laugh at himself as he did today, I'll always forgive him. 

If you think you can do better, contact OLN for a job and try out...


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## snowman3 (Jul 20, 2002)

*yep, you got it.*

Phil used to catch me hook line and sinker when he'd say they are "just about to blah, blah". I'd be on the edge of my seat waiting for it to happen! Now I just relax and enjoy the commentary. I believe it when I see it. I wouldn't trade Phil for the world, but ya just gotta take it with a grain of salt.




RedMenace said:


> to get used to his premature hyperbole. "They'll AB-solutely not catch him now!" Gradually I came to understand that you don't take Phil seriously when he's in the heat of a race call. "Now he's cracked and he's losing HUGE amounts of time." As often as not, it's like 10 seconds. You just get used to it and allow for it.


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## MaRider (Mar 21, 2002)

Phil's habit of making wrong calls makes the whole coverage more exciting. It's possible he does so on purpose. 
Is it more exciting to have someone extra-careful commentate on the race while making only safe calls: "Kloden goes, but let's wait and see.... I am not even sure he is ahead now, maybe it's not even Kloden.. It's no time to make a quick call... We should wait until all the riders have crossed the finishing line to see who ends up in what pace... Maybe Kloden (if it's indeed Kloden) has a chance to win and maybe he will be chased down by Lance or maybe Ullrich or maybe he will stay away I simply don't know and can't say for sure... (5 seconds after Lance crosses the line in first)... It's entirely possible that Lance may have won and it's also possible that Kloden may have won, but let's not jump ahead of ourselves and wait for an official confirmation and if possible a photofinish or a helicopter shot from above... Well, turns out Lance did win today".
Would you prefer Al Trautwig's or Phil Liggett's version?


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## Fogdweller (Mar 26, 2004)

*I like "Paul-isms"*

Ya, Phil blows it all the time. In Crit Int this year when Armstrong came around the corner in the TT and Phil shouted that it would be a best time, without a doubt. Then he has to eat his words and say, "no... he's slipped away..." as if that is the instant where the race was lost. when what your're watching is Armstrong wound out at 44 mph with the fastest closing of any rider. Oh well, he's still the best in the business.

While there is a hysterical thread of Trautwig blunders, there should be a thead devoted to the Paul's offerings:

of Voekler: :"Digging deep into his suitcase of courage!"
of Ullrich: "Oh.. and the Kaiser has cracked"
of Mancebo: "This man appears to be in a world of bother."
of every rider who gets a closeup shot on race day: "The look on this man's face is one of complete and utter agony"


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## Hollywood (Jan 16, 2003)

*mano a mano*

my favorite Philism has been "they're going mano a mano now" (2 riders)

I think he assumes that it means Man against Man, when it's actually spanish for "hand to hand". That's just my take though...knowing spanish it makes me smile, hearing a Brit quote it. 

I love the guy, and I love the exitement the mis-calls create.

"Wait a second, here comes Armstrong!" 

yeah baby. Indeed.


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## Dale Brigham (Aug 23, 2002)

*My fave Paul-ism of the 2004 TdF*



Fogdweller said:


> While there is a hysterical thread of Trautwig blunders, there should be a thead devoted to the Paul's offerings:
> 
> of Voekler: :"Digging deep into his suitcase of courage!"
> of Ullrich: "Oh.. and the Kaiser has cracked"
> ...


Last Sunday morning, during the Stage 14 coverage that featured a winning ten-man breakaway group, Paul had this to say (I'm quoting from memory here, so it may be a bit different):

"We've been watching ten men using each other for the better part of the last two hours."

I only hope somebody brought the Assos cream along on the ride.

Dale


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## the mayor (Jul 8, 2004)

*It's a tough job!*

Ive done announcing at bicycle and motorcycle races...and it's tough. You have to keep jabbering cause dead air don't make it. You have to try and think ahead of the race and racers. And you have to cover up your mistakes.

Phil has to watch a monitor with the race on it, a promptor that has info on it, look at race notes and listen to race radio...and probably has quick updates scribbled on a post-it thrown at him. Wouldn't want to do that for a million buck! Well...maybe a million...but no less!


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## obfg (Jul 18, 2004)

*The premature call is a symptom*

I like Phil. One of the things I like about him is his all consuming enthusiasm which causes him to describe every event in terms that make it sound critical important or of historic value. In one of the earlier stages, there was a four man crash, which Phil described as "a massive pile up." When Lance won the L'Alpe d'Huez time trial, he said that "Armstrong has established himself as the new man on the block." New? I think his tendency to call the winner early is just one example of this tendency. 

Like many of the other posters here, I have learned to enjoy Phil's exagerated comments as part of the fun.


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## myette10 (Jul 20, 2003)

*full of beans*

Some (not all) may have taken me wrong. I do love Phil & Paul: they are great. I could not do their job. They were discussing the five guys who finished 1-5 on a stage in 1989 and then finished the GC in that same order. Both Phil and Paul knew each rider (granted Lemond and Fignon were in that group.) As for rider misidentifications, I'm amazed he gets as many as he does. And yesterday's call was tough, let's face it, Kloden had the stage won (he just slipped away). Calling a race over in that situation is understandable, it just got me thinking back to other times he has done it and it seems like it happens alot. MARider's "safe" commentary is a riot, that would obviously suck far worse than Phill declaring an early winner and is not what I'd rather hear. These guys are great.

As for Paul-isms, I especially like the "suitcase of courage" (I have heard Phil use that one as well) and "his legs are pleading with him to stop the abuse." My favorite Bob-speak is "that is a whole different kettle of fish." But the best of all came from Phil in stage 17 of this year's Giro, Tonkov won after a long solo and McGee sprinted to take third place from a selective group. As McGee starts his sprint Phil's call was something like "here comes McGee who will take third uncontested now but what's this? Here comes Cunego there as well and just short of McGee at the line. This boy is absolutely full of beans."


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## rufus (Feb 3, 2004)

like any announcer, phil has his share of stock phrases and quotations to fall back on. my favorite is during mountain stages like the other day when he'll say, "now there's an ice cold bottle of water handed up to the rider, they'll never drink that water, cause they don't know where it's been, but they'll use it to cool themselves" and the next thing you see is the rider tipping the bottle back and guzzling it down. 

after seeing that many times over the past few years, i wonder why phil keeps using that story.


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## king4wd (May 17, 2004)

Robin Williams had it right the other day. Its like Phil is sometimes channeling a near hysterical Jackie Stewart (its an alchohol fire! you can't see the flames!). Yes he makes premature calls all the time, but he is still one of the most literate sportscasters ever. Plus he's just darned fun to listen to


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## george_da_trog (Feb 12, 2004)

Listening to a bike race without Phil and Paul is painful. Let the man comentate.

george


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## Live Steam (Feb 4, 2004)

Heeheehee :O) You missed my thread from a few days ago. Watch out for AJS. He'll take offence if you pick on Phil :O)

Kind of funny how wrong ....


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