Ralph Sheheen makes mistakes on the AIR

1/14/2019 6:18pm
Must suck for all you who can’t enjoy the broadcast every week. I’m so focused on WATCHING the racing that everything else is just background noise.

Do you guys bitch every Sunday watching football too when you don’t get your favorite booth team? Does it ruin the game for you?
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BikeGuy321
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1/14/2019 6:42pm Edited Date/Time 1/14/2019 6:45pm
Must suck for all you who can’t enjoy the broadcast every week. I’m so focused on WATCHING the racing that everything else is just background noise...
Must suck for all you who can’t enjoy the broadcast every week. I’m so focused on WATCHING the racing that everything else is just background noise.

Do you guys bitch every Sunday watching football too when you don’t get your favorite booth team? Does it ruin the game for you?
I wanna hear the bikes, not just watch the race. If I turn the volume up too high in order to hear the bikes, Ralph's screeching becomes super annoying.

His "was that classy riding?" question is a perfect example of why he isn't a good moto announcer.
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Jrewing
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1/14/2019 10:41pm
BikeGuy321 wrote:
I wanna hear the bikes, not just watch the race. If I turn the volume up too high in order to hear the bikes, Ralph's screeching...
I wanna hear the bikes, not just watch the race. If I turn the volume up too high in order to hear the bikes, Ralph's screeching becomes super annoying.

His "was that classy riding?" question is a perfect example of why he isn't a good moto announcer.
Yep exactly.
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deluxeman
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1/15/2019 6:19am
deluxeman wrote:
If Ralph was hired as a College Football or basketball commentator, he would be fired at half time and lead out of the building. Ralph doesn't...
If Ralph was hired as a College Football or basketball commentator, he would be fired at half time and lead out of the building. Ralph doesn't strike me as a bad guy, he is just bad at his job. Stick and ball announcers have to have a deep knowledge of who's on the field, what their number is, where they went to high school, some of their background and what their main talent is. They also need to understand the game in depth and how to call what is happening while it's happening. Yes they have people feeding them info all the time, but they make it seem like they are not reading it off a cue card.

We get Ralph, who can't pronounce a riders name the same way twice, doesn't know who wears what number and where they are on the track. Calls a pass for the lead a lap after we all watched it, only focuses on riders that have a story ie, Roczen, Wilson, Barcia and retells the same story over and over and over. He does know his primary colors and which manufacturer uses that color bikes, so he has that.

It's not like SX is a small inconsequential sport, SX is on a major network with major air time. We deserve better than what we are getting. Mid major college games get better people in the booth than SX, and nobody watches those games.
This may come as a surprise to you, but all those stats that the stick and ball announcers shoot off is right in front of them...
This may come as a surprise to you, but all those stats that the stick and ball announcers shoot off is right in front of them on a prompter. Ralph is not nearly as bad as some of you make him out to be.
Of course they have all that info fed to them, I think I mentioned that in my post. I am sure Ralph has someone feeding him info as well.

You say Ralph isn't as bad as we make him out to be. I ask why do we accept mediocre or not that bad? Why can't Supercross have a top tier announcing team like every other sport on TV. Having a great announcing crew makes the races just that much better to watch on TV. The broadcast is a product and we get day old bread compared to other sports broadcasts.



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kNewc
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1/15/2019 6:25am
People in this forum have obviously never actually listened to Ralph or have broadcasted anything themselves. Imagine if you had 2 analyst in the booth - everyone would be complaining that it's the most boring commentary they have ever heard. But now they have Ralph, who sets up the analysts perfectly almost every time, can still call a pass/block/whatever, and builds excitement. Nobody else can do this as well as Ralph and once he's gone it will be very noticeable.

Now, one thing to change in the broadcast is to have a legit table of analysts talk after each heat/race just like the commentators do at halftime during a basketball or football game. Get out the table and do highlights and analysis from 4-5 or more pro guys that can give some real race insight. Also during that downtime go to the mechanics and riders and see what's going on.

After that BS go back to Ralph and Ricky announcing the races. In my opinion that is the best outcome for a supercross broadcast.
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deluxeman
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1/15/2019 7:34am
kNewc wrote:
People in this forum have obviously never actually listened to Ralph or have broadcasted anything themselves. Imagine if you had 2 analyst in the booth -...
People in this forum have obviously never actually listened to Ralph or have broadcasted anything themselves. Imagine if you had 2 analyst in the booth - everyone would be complaining that it's the most boring commentary they have ever heard. But now they have Ralph, who sets up the analysts perfectly almost every time, can still call a pass/block/whatever, and builds excitement. Nobody else can do this as well as Ralph and once he's gone it will be very noticeable.

Now, one thing to change in the broadcast is to have a legit table of analysts talk after each heat/race just like the commentators do at halftime during a basketball or football game. Get out the table and do highlights and analysis from 4-5 or more pro guys that can give some real race insight. Also during that downtime go to the mechanics and riders and see what's going on.

After that BS go back to Ralph and Ricky announcing the races. In my opinion that is the best outcome for a supercross broadcast.


I like your idea of a panel discussion a ton. I think that would be a really great addition for all levels of fans. If done correctly it could really add more fans to the sport. You can break things down and talk trash and have fun all at the same time. Great Idea!!!
tkimb
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1/15/2019 7:37am
BikeGuy321 wrote:
I wanna hear the bikes, not just watch the race. If I turn the volume up too high in order to hear the bikes, Ralph's screeching...
I wanna hear the bikes, not just watch the race. If I turn the volume up too high in order to hear the bikes, Ralph's screeching becomes super annoying.

His "was that classy riding?" question is a perfect example of why he isn't a good moto announcer.
And asking it three times obviously.. like when he finally finds something and mentions it over and over and over.

Sure he knows, likes and supports motor sports, doesn't mean he's good at it. I'd almost love to hear him announce a GP race just for how comical it would be.
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milliebays
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1/15/2019 11:33am
The tone of the broadcasting is not that of a serious sport. If they/we want to be taken seriously they need to change the tone. Poker commentating is more interesting for fuck sake.

'They' clearly have little regard for the intellectual capacity of their customer base. I blame felds monster truck origins.
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steezenation
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1/15/2019 11:35am
plowboy wrote:
A different production crew this year...gonna be a learning curve. Ralph knows SX...the new crew need some teaching. They'll get there.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought Youthstream is who employs the production crew and that hadn't changed for 2019.
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RichieW13
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1/15/2019 11:37am
Racer111 wrote:
Emig and Blair in the booth is what we need. Ralph can go kick rocks. Ricky needs to stick to doing the trackside info and funnel...
Emig and Blair in the booth is what we need. Ralph can go kick rocks. Ricky needs to stick to doing the trackside info and funnel cakes.
These comments are so dumb.

You need at least one professional announcer in the booth. That's how all the sports do it.
RichieW13
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1/15/2019 11:41am
plowboy wrote:
A different production crew this year...gonna be a learning curve. Ralph knows SX...the new crew need some teaching. They'll get there.
Is it a different crew? Awhile back somebody suggested that NBC probably hired all (or most) of the old FOX crew. And a lot of them are probably the same guys who do the MX series.
RichieW13
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1/15/2019 11:47am
This may come as a surprise to you, but all those stats that the stick and ball announcers shoot off is right in front of them...
This may come as a surprise to you, but all those stats that the stick and ball announcers shoot off is right in front of them on a prompter. Ralph is not nearly as bad as some of you make him out to be.
They also have spotters to point out names and numbers to the play-by-play guys. Does Ralph have a spotter? (I do not know the answer.)
RichieW13
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1/15/2019 11:48am
BikeGuy321 wrote:
I wanna hear the bikes, not just watch the race. If I turn the volume up too high in order to hear the bikes, Ralph's screeching...
I wanna hear the bikes, not just watch the race. If I turn the volume up too high in order to hear the bikes, Ralph's screeching becomes super annoying.

His "was that classy riding?" question is a perfect example of why he isn't a good moto announcer.
Ralph shouldn't have to ask that question. The analyst should provide that info without being asked.

You will rarely, if ever, hear Al Michaels ask Cris Collinsworth a question like that, because Collinsworth will answer before it is asked.
RichieW13
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1/15/2019 11:51am
kNewc wrote:
People in this forum have obviously never actually listened to Ralph or have broadcasted anything themselves. Imagine if you had 2 analyst in the booth -...
People in this forum have obviously never actually listened to Ralph or have broadcasted anything themselves. Imagine if you had 2 analyst in the booth - everyone would be complaining that it's the most boring commentary they have ever heard. But now they have Ralph, who sets up the analysts perfectly almost every time, can still call a pass/block/whatever, and builds excitement. Nobody else can do this as well as Ralph and once he's gone it will be very noticeable.

Now, one thing to change in the broadcast is to have a legit table of analysts talk after each heat/race just like the commentators do at halftime during a basketball or football game. Get out the table and do highlights and analysis from 4-5 or more pro guys that can give some real race insight. Also during that downtime go to the mechanics and riders and see what's going on.

After that BS go back to Ralph and Ricky announcing the races. In my opinion that is the best outcome for a supercross broadcast.
deluxeman wrote:
I like your idea of a panel discussion a ton. I think that would be a really great addition for all levels of fans. If done...


I like your idea of a panel discussion a ton. I think that would be a really great addition for all levels of fans. If done correctly it could really add more fans to the sport. You can break things down and talk trash and have fun all at the same time. Great Idea!!!
Yes, brilliant idea. Maybe they could use that down time to replay some of the back of the pack action that we didn't get during the live race.
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Motoxdoc
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1/15/2019 12:22pm
BikeGuy321 wrote:
I wanna hear the bikes, not just watch the race. If I turn the volume up too high in order to hear the bikes, Ralph's screeching...
I wanna hear the bikes, not just watch the race. If I turn the volume up too high in order to hear the bikes, Ralph's screeching becomes super annoying.

His "was that classy riding?" question is a perfect example of why he isn't a good moto announcer.
Jrewing wrote:
Yep exactly.
Can you explain how, "was that classy riding?" = "a perfect example of why he isn't a good moto announcer."?

I don't understand why so many of you hate so much. I myself like all the racers AND the announcers....past AND present. I like RC, Jeffro, Ralph, GL, Bailey, Huffman, Naston, Georgia, Juliana, Diana, Will, Lisa Leyland and Malin too. Oh Gawd, don't tell OCScottie that I also like "Make up to Mud." Basically, I like anything moto.....and it seems strange to me the any regulars in this forum would be different.

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BikeGuy321
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1/15/2019 1:17pm
BikeGuy321 wrote:
I wanna hear the bikes, not just watch the race. If I turn the volume up too high in order to hear the bikes, Ralph's screeching...
I wanna hear the bikes, not just watch the race. If I turn the volume up too high in order to hear the bikes, Ralph's screeching becomes super annoying.

His "was that classy riding?" question is a perfect example of why he isn't a good moto announcer.
Jrewing wrote:
Yep exactly.
Motoxdoc wrote:
Can you explain how, "was that classy riding?" = "a perfect example of why he isn't a good moto announcer."? I don't understand why so many...
Can you explain how, "was that classy riding?" = "a perfect example of why he isn't a good moto announcer."?

I don't understand why so many of you hate so much. I myself like all the racers AND the announcers....past AND present. I like RC, Jeffro, Ralph, GL, Bailey, Huffman, Naston, Georgia, Juliana, Diana, Will, Lisa Leyland and Malin too. Oh Gawd, don't tell OCScottie that I also like "Make up to Mud." Basically, I like anything moto.....and it seems strange to me the any regulars in this forum would be different.

It's not good comentary, because as usual, Ralph is just trying to inject artificial drama and suspense as if we're watching a soap opera and not professional supercross. To top it off, he had to ask Ricky two or three times about the incident because clearly drama queen Ralph thought it was a dirty pass. Ricky answered back kind of angrily something like "I've seen a lot worse, put it that way," almost insinuating that Ralph should drop it.

I've liked every Motocross announcer since the 90's with the exception of Ralph and Jeff.
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FlaNard
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1/15/2019 2:30pm
I don't really care about the announcing anymore but I do notice myself rooting for them to string complete sentences and/or thoughts together. Which I suppose isn't a great sign. Unsure
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1/15/2019 8:02pm
footglove wrote:
I giggle every time he says someone is coming inside of someone else.
You sir are a genius
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gnarwhip
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1/15/2019 8:14pm
peelout wrote:
dudes, Ralf is absolutely horrible. i don't understand how anyone can listen to anything he says and think, "wow, what a great asset to the broadcast."...
dudes, Ralf is absolutely horrible. i don't understand how anyone can listen to anything he says and think, "wow, what a great asset to the broadcast."

100% of the stuff that comes out of his mouth is cringe-worthy.
Exactly how I feel. He is the exact opposite of anyone who has ever lined up for a motocross race. Unfortunately, he and Feld are bros and they want to do it “their way”.
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milliebays
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1/15/2019 8:29pm
peelout wrote:
dudes, Ralf is absolutely horrible. i don't understand how anyone can listen to anything he says and think, "wow, what a great asset to the broadcast."...
dudes, Ralf is absolutely horrible. i don't understand how anyone can listen to anything he says and think, "wow, what a great asset to the broadcast."

100% of the stuff that comes out of his mouth is cringe-worthy.
gnarwhip wrote:
Exactly how I feel. He is the exact opposite of anyone who has ever lined up for a motocross race. Unfortunately, he and Feld are bros...
Exactly how I feel. He is the exact opposite of anyone who has ever lined up for a motocross race. Unfortunately, he and Feld are bros and they want to do it “their way”.
until feld puts their nuts on the crossbar and Brings Tickle Home they can eat a bag of dicks those greedy assholes.
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sumdood
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Fantasy
1/16/2019 10:39am
It hit me today who Ralph and RC remind me of

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1/16/2019 11:09am
I was playing a car racing video game with my buddy. I was catching up, had him in my sights, and I said "dude! I'm comin' on your ass!" That was 15 years ago I had a Ralph moment. To this very day I still get razzed about that one.
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1/16/2019 11:54am
deluxeman wrote:
Of course they have all that info fed to them, I think I mentioned that in my post. I am sure Ralph has someone feeding him...
Of course they have all that info fed to them, I think I mentioned that in my post. I am sure Ralph has someone feeding him info as well.

You say Ralph isn't as bad as we make him out to be. I ask why do we accept mediocre or not that bad? Why can't Supercross have a top tier announcing team like every other sport on TV. Having a great announcing crew makes the races just that much better to watch on TV. The broadcast is a product and we get day old bread compared to other sports broadcasts.



I've seen plenty of mistakes by other announcers. And yes, I don't think Ralph is nearly as bad as many of you make him out to be. I have no problems with it, and really, getting picky about the announcing is just dumb. It's like sitting there playing video games while your girl is in the other room naked. You're paying attention to the wrong thing.
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deluxeman
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1/16/2019 3:16pm
deluxeman wrote:
Of course they have all that info fed to them, I think I mentioned that in my post. I am sure Ralph has someone feeding him...
Of course they have all that info fed to them, I think I mentioned that in my post. I am sure Ralph has someone feeding him info as well.

You say Ralph isn't as bad as we make him out to be. I ask why do we accept mediocre or not that bad? Why can't Supercross have a top tier announcing team like every other sport on TV. Having a great announcing crew makes the races just that much better to watch on TV. The broadcast is a product and we get day old bread compared to other sports broadcasts.



I've seen plenty of mistakes by other announcers. And yes, I don't think Ralph is nearly as bad as many of you make him out to...
I've seen plenty of mistakes by other announcers. And yes, I don't think Ralph is nearly as bad as many of you make him out to be. I have no problems with it, and really, getting picky about the announcing is just dumb. It's like sitting there playing video games while your girl is in the other room naked. You're paying attention to the wrong thing.
I disagree, it's part of the show. Done well it adds to the viewing experience. Done poorly it just aggravates you and drives new people away from the sport.

If you want more viewers but you give them a crap product, do you really expect them to stick around? TV air time is about growing the sport and bringing in more $$$ into the sport. If your audience doesn't grow, you can't charge more for your advertising and you can't show potential sponsors/advertisers that this is a good place to sell their products. Sponsors don't want to waste money on something that doesn't work for them.

It isn't just about hard core fans, it's as much about getting and keeping new fans. That is why I believe that having a great commentating team is so important to the sport. If you were a new fan and you turned on SX what would you think ? Would Ralph and RC make you want to tune in or tune out? The racing is great but it just isn't enough to keep people tuning in. Content is king these days, people want to know the who, what, why, where and how. Are we getting that with Ralph and Ricky? Is the SX product, as it stands, good enough to grow and attract new sponsors and advertisers ?

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Motoxdoc
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1/16/2019 5:56pm
Jrewing wrote:
Yep exactly.
Motoxdoc wrote:
Can you explain how, "was that classy riding?" = "a perfect example of why he isn't a good moto announcer."? I don't understand why so many...
Can you explain how, "was that classy riding?" = "a perfect example of why he isn't a good moto announcer."?

I don't understand why so many of you hate so much. I myself like all the racers AND the announcers....past AND present. I like RC, Jeffro, Ralph, GL, Bailey, Huffman, Naston, Georgia, Juliana, Diana, Will, Lisa Leyland and Malin too. Oh Gawd, don't tell OCScottie that I also like "Make up to Mud." Basically, I like anything moto.....and it seems strange to me the any regulars in this forum would be different.

BikeGuy321 wrote:
It's not good comentary, because as usual, Ralph is just trying to inject artificial drama and suspense as if we're watching a soap opera and not...
It's not good comentary, because as usual, Ralph is just trying to inject artificial drama and suspense as if we're watching a soap opera and not professional supercross. To top it off, he had to ask Ricky two or three times about the incident because clearly drama queen Ralph thought it was a dirty pass. Ricky answered back kind of angrily something like "I've seen a lot worse, put it that way," almost insinuating that Ralph should drop it.

I've liked every Motocross announcer since the 90's with the exception of Ralph and Jeff.
"artificial drama"? LMAO You could say that about this entire thread. 2 top racers came together during an aggressive pass and one ended up on the ground....sounds like real drama to me.

"Ricky answered back kind of angrily" = Artificial drama. Just sayin.

Again, I just don't understand all the whinny people that don't like everything moto.
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BikeGuy321
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1/16/2019 6:17pm
Motoxdoc wrote:
Can you explain how, "was that classy riding?" = "a perfect example of why he isn't a good moto announcer."? I don't understand why so many...
Can you explain how, "was that classy riding?" = "a perfect example of why he isn't a good moto announcer."?

I don't understand why so many of you hate so much. I myself like all the racers AND the announcers....past AND present. I like RC, Jeffro, Ralph, GL, Bailey, Huffman, Naston, Georgia, Juliana, Diana, Will, Lisa Leyland and Malin too. Oh Gawd, don't tell OCScottie that I also like "Make up to Mud." Basically, I like anything moto.....and it seems strange to me the any regulars in this forum would be different.

BikeGuy321 wrote:
It's not good comentary, because as usual, Ralph is just trying to inject artificial drama and suspense as if we're watching a soap opera and not...
It's not good comentary, because as usual, Ralph is just trying to inject artificial drama and suspense as if we're watching a soap opera and not professional supercross. To top it off, he had to ask Ricky two or three times about the incident because clearly drama queen Ralph thought it was a dirty pass. Ricky answered back kind of angrily something like "I've seen a lot worse, put it that way," almost insinuating that Ralph should drop it.

I've liked every Motocross announcer since the 90's with the exception of Ralph and Jeff.
Motoxdoc wrote:
"artificial drama"? LMAO You could say that about this entire thread. 2 top racers came together during an aggressive pass and one ended up on the...
"artificial drama"? LMAO You could say that about this entire thread. 2 top racers came together during an aggressive pass and one ended up on the ground....sounds like real drama to me.

"Ricky answered back kind of angrily" = Artificial drama. Just sayin.

Again, I just don't understand all the whinny people that don't like everything moto.
Exactly, just call the action. There's no reason he needs to ask RC three times if the pass means that Ando isn't a good little boy anymore.
BikeGuy321
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1/16/2019 6:22pm
Most of the guys who constantly defend Ralph do it because he announces amateur Nascar events. Any real moto fan knows that Nascar is pure garbage.
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STLSharky
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1/16/2019 6:26pm
He said something on the last lap about "the orange #4" and made reference to RC, something about that same number and color... please tell me...
He said something on the last lap about "the orange #4" and made reference to RC, something about that same number and color... please tell me I didn't actually hear him say RC also used to be a orange #4.... unless it was some strange reference to RC's hair color??
Freddy wrote:
RC wore mostly orange gear for many years. Those of you baggin on Ralph better be flawless at doing your jobs. The funniest fault I've heard...
RC wore mostly orange gear for many years.

Those of you baggin on Ralph better be flawless at doing your jobs.

The funniest fault I've heard any announcer say though is Paul Malin, "Cairoli is not fucking about" and calling Julien Lieber for Josh Grant (green 33)
Yes Ricky’s fav gear for a while was orange #4 Chevy trucks Kawasaki. I have one of the very first digital images in our and most sports taken by The Factory Spectator TFS Steve Bruhn. Got it signed by the entire team, Ricky’s agent, His Team manager, His Mom Dad and the Late Mr Ellis the Truck Driver. It’s my favorite picture
beamer
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1/16/2019 6:27pm
Here’s a thought for you whiners, a couple of them actually.

1) don’t watch it

2) do watch it, turn down the volume and stfu!
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deluxeman
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1/17/2019 7:01am
beamer wrote:
Here’s a thought for you whiners, a couple of them actually.

1) don’t watch it

2) do watch it, turn down the volume and stfu!
Why is it wrong to desire something better than what we are currently getting?
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