Less Daniel Blair < Rutledge wood? WTF

Wade221
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Wade221 2/14/2021 11:19am
2/14/2021 11:19am
PNWRider wrote:
Rutledge seems like he’s probably a nice enough guy, but he lost me at “daredevils.” That term has always pissed me off, as it likens actual...
Rutledge seems like he’s probably a nice enough guy, but he lost me at “daredevils.” That term has always pissed me off, as it likens actual motocross and supercross to some no-talent assclown jumping a celica through a ring of fire.

Done properly, motocross involves pushing your limits without recklessly exceeding them.

Yes, I know...lighten up Francis, Karen and all that.

It’s just a reference that has always irritated me as I feel like motocross has never truly gotten the credit it deserves.
Brandon just took his shirt off
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bigk218
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bigk218 2/14/2021 11:43am
2/14/2021 11:43am Edited Date/Time 2/14/2021 11:47am
Honestly we’re fortunate to be in a sport with such a passionate fan base.

Just like I can’t watch more than the last 5 laps of a nascar race once a year without being bored out of my mind I can’t see how anyone that’s not a super fan can watch more than 5 minutes of the 450 main

We see what happened to nascar when they started to try appealing to “new” fans.

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Indy mxer
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Indy mxer 2/14/2021 11:43am
2/14/2021 11:43am
PNWRider wrote:
Rutledge seems like he’s probably a nice enough guy, but he lost me at “daredevils.” That term has always pissed me off, as it likens actual...
Rutledge seems like he’s probably a nice enough guy, but he lost me at “daredevils.” That term has always pissed me off, as it likens actual motocross and supercross to some no-talent assclown jumping a celica through a ring of fire.

Done properly, motocross involves pushing your limits without recklessly exceeding them.

Yes, I know...lighten up Francis, Karen and all that.

It’s just a reference that has always irritated me as I feel like motocross has never truly gotten the credit it deserves.
I would agree. I don't like that term either. Guess I didn't catch that last night
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twotwosix
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twotwosix 2/14/2021 11:55am
2/14/2021 11:55am Edited Date/Time 2/14/2021 12:01pm
By the night show the track was perfectly dry, yet Rutledge was showing us paddle tires and roll-offs.... Get a clue.

They obviously came up with those segments much earlier in the day when it was muddy, but it looked out of place and irrelevant during the Mains. Whoever decided to continue to run those segments during a fully dry race was made to look like an amateur last night. We noticed. Do a better job and learn how to pivot.

Jason Weigandt is sitting in the press box and NBC gives us Rutledge Wood? The need to learn to recognize and utilize top talent who know what they are doing.


On a positive note, whoever put Leigh and RC together this year nailed it. Very good call. They are doing great. The sport of SX likes Leigh Diffey. And I think the blonde lady knows her shit. I like her also. She reminds me of Erin.
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vansnxtweek489 2/14/2021 11:56am
2/14/2021 11:56am
What’s a tear off?

It was pretty random to me and like someone else said, and Hubbard on the Pulp interview...they cut budget and that’s why Jim isn’t on RDL. So why is this dude on there now? He literally added nothing. And I’m not even trying to be mean.
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sammy_lethal 2/14/2021 11:59am
2/14/2021 11:59am
Here is the honest truth. NBC had the perfect opportunity to test Blair out in the booth this year. Ralph was out and instead of even giving Blair a chance they hired two guys lee/Todd. They booked them out for the year sidelining Blair completely from the booth position. To add insult to injury with less than a weeks notice brought in Rutlage and the camera they took was Daniel Blair’s. Its obvious they didn’t take wills or anyone else’s. NBC could have had will and Daniel share a camera but decided “naw let’s just take away time from the one guy who fans love to hear from”. Not everyone loves Blair but the overwhelming majority of fans rather hear from him than any of the others. My guess is Blair either gives NBC an ultimatum or leaves the broadcast team. Mind as well let it fly while I’m posting. Lee has cussed out multiple members of the broadcast team this year breaking down any unity that they had in the past. From what I understand my buddy who is a hirer up in the network is the only one sticking up for Blair and willing to criticize the broadcast performance. He was basically told it’s not your position to criticize the broadcast team. That’s why I thought maybe getting on here and telling people to post on social media would get the attention of NBC because they don’t read the forums or have any clue that fans are unhappy. They fully believe they are crushing it!
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sammy_lethal 2/14/2021 12:19pm
2/14/2021 12:19pm
aeffertz wrote:
Poor choice. Someone who knows the ins and outs of MX/SX should be valued far above someone who doesn’t. It’s clear they are still trying to...
Poor choice. Someone who knows the ins and outs of MX/SX should be valued far above someone who doesn’t.

It’s clear they are still trying to dumb down the broadcast instead of treating it as a professional sport.
GeorgiePorgie wrote:
When the broadcast execs don’t understand the sport, of course they don’t place someone who understands the sport in the best possible places to articulate. I’m...
When the broadcast execs don’t understand the sport, of course they don’t place someone who understands the sport in the best possible places to articulate.

I’m still convinced these broadcast networks think they’re providing content to “hold my beer watch this” and “monster jam” crowd-types.
You basically nailed it. The network hasn’t realized the overwhelming majority of their viewers are fans who know more about the sport than their broadcast team. You either are a fan of sx and watch it regularly or every once in a while you catch it. Fox actually put much more effort in to have sx be viewed as a sport. I’ve never been one to criticize the broadcast until this year because it’s too bad not to say anything. I’m at the track 3 days a week and haven’t heard anyone say they are doing a good job when it comes up. Now those are hardcore fans and maybe I just don’t associate with the casual fan. That being said the network may have metrics we don’t see that is pointing then in this direction to capture a larger audience. I tent to not think that is correct biased on the information I have but I’m willing to always admit I could be wrong because I can’t see the whole picture. I’m glad this thread is actually pretty thoughtful with the responses I’ve seen instead of arguing/bashing with no reasoning to back ideas.
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fullysicmate 2/14/2021 12:23pm
2/14/2021 12:23pm
Blair is a gun, best one on the show. This other fellas style I feel cheapens the sport, like crusty demons did, maybe it draws more viewers though......These fuckers run the monster truck circus don't they?
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TeamGreen
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TeamGreen 2/14/2021 12:26pm
2/14/2021 12:26pm
Y’all don’t seem to get the “lowest common denominator” mentality that NBC is marketing to...

Grinning
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RbR
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RbR 2/14/2021 1:13pm
2/14/2021 1:13pm
I've not always been his biggest fan but Blair is easily the most articulate and quick-witted member of the broadcast. My GF commented that Rutledge appeared disheveled and spoke like he'd been drinking.
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ShawdowGlen
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ShawdowGlen 2/14/2021 1:38pm
2/14/2021 1:38pm
TeamGreen wrote:
Y’all don’t seem to get the “lowest common denominator” mentality that NBC is marketing to...

Grinning
Yeah....

Hey....wait a minute!

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BigBoreFan58
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BigBoreFan58 2/14/2021 1:39pm
2/14/2021 1:39pm
JustMX wrote:
Maybe they have brought in this rutledge guy to groom him so he can do blair's spot and Daniel can move to the booth and take...
Maybe they have brought in this rutledge guy to groom him so he can do blair's spot and Daniel can move to the booth and take over for Rc.

Ricky is the goat and I have been a fan since he was on 65s, but no matter how many titles a rider has won, it doesn't make them a good color commentator.

The last former champion that did an exceptional job was David bailey. Emig improved over the years, and rc has as well, but the performance has been sup par for years, and Daniels gift just becomes more obvious everytime he is granted airtime.

I have been hoping Ricky would get better over the years, but he has hit a wall and needs to get over it in much the same way he made unjumpable track obstacles look like braking bumps.

He needs to find somebody that can get a sport coat that fits and doesn't look like it came off the discount rack at goodwill.

Spending some time at www.thesaurus.com to find other ways of expressing "perfect position" would be great too.

I have been using it as a drinking game and I am getting drunk and passing out before the heats are done.
You gotta hit your marks.....

Carmichael can afford a good tailor.

RC is just fine IMO. He's the GOAT after all.
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ShawdowGlen
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ShawdowGlen 2/14/2021 1:40pm
2/14/2021 1:40pm
bigk218 wrote:
Honestly we’re fortunate to be in a sport with such a passionate fan base. Just like I can’t watch more than the last 5 laps of...
Honestly we’re fortunate to be in a sport with such a passionate fan base.

Just like I can’t watch more than the last 5 laps of a nascar race once a year without being bored out of my mind I can’t see how anyone that’s not a super fan can watch more than 5 minutes of the 450 main

We see what happened to nascar when they started to try appealing to “new” fans.

Agreed....

They turn MX/SX into NASCAR...I'm out.

NASCAR is a joke cmpared to what it really was back in the day.
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reesecox.254
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reesecox.254 2/14/2021 2:21pm
2/14/2021 2:21pm
I really don’t get why everyone complains about he commentators so much. Drink a beer and enjoy the race with your friends.
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Johnny Ringo
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Johnny Ringo 2/14/2021 2:36pm
2/14/2021 2:36pm Edited Date/Time 2/14/2021 2:36pm
One thing I know for sure is dungey is terrible on the mic. That bit Inpractice was awful. He needs to stick to roasting coffee beans
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ZOBITO
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ZOBITO 2/14/2021 2:51pm
2/14/2021 2:51pm
Myke wrote:
https://therutledgewood.com/
BigBoreFan58 wrote:
Looks like he's a rising star. Maybe flannel is his brand. Everyone needs a brand.
Looks like he's a hobo that hasn't seen a bottle of shampoo for ages.
And he's by far the worst and most clueless SX announcer I've ever seen/heard.
I'm no big fan of Blair and his eternal need to explain us how deep the ruts are, but at least the guy knows his stuff. Ten times more relevant than our Pearl Jam fan...



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tuttle425
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tuttle425 2/14/2021 2:52pm
2/14/2021 2:52pm
reesecox.254 wrote:
I really don’t get why everyone complains about he commentators so much. Drink a beer and enjoy the race with your friends.
I have bitched about the broadcast as much as anyone but I don't really care about the announcers. Yeah, this Rutledge dude was out of nowhere and if he's around the rest of the races, whatever. Most announcers in sports suck. NFL has one or two good teams, college football same, baseball same, etc.

What I care about is what they are showing and talking about on the screen. Christian Craig, or any rider, sitting on the side of the track getting looked at by medic crews two laps after they crashed, don't care. Showing me what happened two races ago during the current race, no thanks. And the worst offender of all...showing the god damn GoPro track preview during the race (nationals).

My god, show all of that shit between the races. We have 20 damn minutes between the LCQ and the 250 main and another 20 minutes between the 250 and 450 mains. Dissect the crashes then. Show us the track preview then. Show us the the drama from previous races then. Do not cut away from racing action at all with the exception of PIP replays of major events within the race.
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sandman768
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sandman768 2/14/2021 4:22pm
2/14/2021 4:22pm
Dudes selling merch on his web site... I bet his t shirt sales go through the roof....SX ship been going down for a while now.... this dud is just another ice berg in our path....
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sammy_lethal 2/14/2021 4:37pm
2/14/2021 4:37pm
Brad Company wrote:
They should get Matthes in the booth already.
Matthes is almost PC enough these days but there is a big difference between a play caller/analysts and a entertainer/podcaster/journalist.

I don’t think people realize how difficult calling a sport live would be. Fortunately we have an answer to our problem (Daniel Blair) unfortunately to our problem we have no control over a giant network like NBC. If only vital could come together and blast supercross/nbcs for the subpar job maybe things would change? Maybe not. Happy Valentine’s Day ❤️❤️
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Ted722
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Ted722 2/14/2021 5:03pm
2/14/2021 5:03pm
That's where I remember seeing him. Back in the kick-start days! Rutledge and Kyle (Petty) learning about riding dirt bikes on a track.

brocster
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brocster 2/14/2021 6:51pm
2/14/2021 6:51pm
I have created two casual fans at work since H1. One is an old school mx’er that was away from the sport for many many years. The other is an Australian that was into Moto GP in the early 2000’s and never watched SX or MX ever. It’s funny that lots of what they have to say on Monday mornings is about the announcing and the overall broadcast. “Ricky looks and sounds uncomfortable”, “he doesn’t know what to do with his hands”, “fumbling of words”, “why do they not show the leaders”, “why do they cut away at the most in opportune time”, “why is Diffy on there, he got the boot from Moto GP”. Pretty difficult and time consuming to explain how we got where we are. Not sure where this leaves other casual fans, but if it’s guys that are watching other “professional” broadcasts, we are being laughed at as a “professional” sport.

Blair
Reynard
Weedge
Langston

Call it a day!
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hyler199
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hyler199 2/14/2021 10:38pm
2/14/2021 10:38pm Edited Date/Time 2/15/2021 1:18am
Man I’ve never liked that Rutledge guy. I’ve seen him be lame at about 2-3 hosting shows and when I saw him on Supercross I couldn’t believe they’re still tryna jam this guy down people throats.

My God the whole production especially the cut scenes and Picture in Picture is lacking other than Ricky, Daniel Blair Nd the ladies
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TXDirt
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TXDirt 2/15/2021 3:27am
2/15/2021 3:27am
Why do we have to go to three different side line reporters. I mean it’s a 20 minute race. We have too many people on the mic.

I have no clue who the new guy is. Never heard of him. He is not in the sport. What can he bring to the table. I thought it was a total joke having him on.

The whole team is awful to be honest.
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mx196
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mx196 2/15/2021 3:32am
2/15/2021 3:32am
Rutledge ends a lot of his tweets with the Heart Emoji...little weird but that’s all I really know about the guy.
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PNWRider
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PNWRider 2/15/2021 7:49am
2/15/2021 7:49am
mxnick wrote:
Rutledge has been around for a while in NASCAR. He did some stuff with RC when RC was racing four wheels. Since Daytona is only an...
Rutledge has been around for a while in NASCAR. He did some stuff with RC when RC was racing four wheels. Since Daytona is only an hour or so from Orlando and the for wheel guys were at Daytona, they brought Rut in for a little cross over action.
Indy mxer wrote:
I don't mind having Rut on there for a bit. I like him on NASCAR broadcasts. I'm more worried about the SX tracks and lack of...
I don't mind having Rut on there for a bit. I like him on NASCAR broadcasts.
I'm more worried about the SX tracks and lack of good racing. It seems it's more start dependent than ever.

But I don't have any idea what would make the racing better.
One small change I would make, switch Daytona to a 250 East/West shootout.
Horsepower limits. Not for safety, but to make it possible that a rider will have to double or single a jump combo due to a mistake.

One of the reasons racing was often better during the two-stroke days was the fact that if a rider goofed in a corner or early jump in a combo, even the premier class (250 2-stroke) bikes couldn’t always pull them through the rest of the section. This led to chances for the top five to close up on the leader(s) and led to less runaways (other than Jeremy’s heyday, but he was a legend and his bikes were far and away better than some factory bikes (especially Suzuki).
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TerryB
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TerryB 2/15/2021 8:18am
2/15/2021 8:18am
PNWRider wrote:
Horsepower limits. Not for safety, but to make it possible that a rider will have to double or single a jump combo due to a mistake...
Horsepower limits. Not for safety, but to make it possible that a rider will have to double or single a jump combo due to a mistake.

One of the reasons racing was often better during the two-stroke days was the fact that if a rider goofed in a corner or early jump in a combo, even the premier class (250 2-stroke) bikes couldn’t always pull them through the rest of the section. This led to chances for the top five to close up on the leader(s) and led to less runaways (other than Jeremy’s heyday, but he was a legend and his bikes were far and away better than some factory bikes (especially Suzuki).
250 only, indoors. 2 or 4 stroke.
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