Joe Buck said last week that he is all-but recovered from a lengthy vocal cord ailment that led to him taking singing lessons over the summer to help him get his high tones back. He had been unable to reach the top range, with the deep intonations that are desired for affect on exciting, game-changing plays.
And the Fox network's lead baseball-play-by-play man came through loud and clear Saturday night when describing the key play of Game 3 of the World Series, Albert Pujols' three-run homer that gave the Cardinals an 11-6 lead in the sixth inning.
"That is hammered to left. That ball is absolutely murdered,'' Buck said on the call, his voice rising to the occasion like the old days. "Crushed by Pujols ... This thing was blasted. ... The only question was how far was that thing going to ride?"
It ended up being measured at 423 feet.
"Staggering,'' Fox analyst Tim McCarver marveled. "I've got to admit that there are some balls ... that are hit that absolutely take your breath away. And that one hit by Pujols did exactly that.''
NFL, SERIES TO DO BATTLE
It used to be taboo for the NFL to butt heads with the World Series on the first Sunday night of the Fall Classic, as football had learned its lesson — it was gonna be sacked in the TV ratings like a quarterback with only one offensive lineman on the field.
From 1993 until last year, the NFL didn't schedule a game on the first Sunday night of the World Series (which in many years was spread over two weekends but now is played on just one). And it was easy to see why. The previous time they went head-to-head before last year was in 1992, when Game 2 of the Toronto-Atlanta baseball matchup was seen in 20.2 percent of the nation's homes with a TV and the number for TBS' telecast of the Detroit-Minnesota football contest was 2.8. (Figures are from The Nielsen Co.) Baseball's whipping of the NFL also was huge in '91, (21.7-2.6).
Before last year, the NFL had gone head-to-head with the Series nine times in the previous 20 seasons (six Sunday nights, three Mondays), and baseball always was victorious. Four of those instances were on Sunday nights of the World Series' second weekend — when the NFL played at a time when it was possible the Series would be over, but instead baseball gained the huge pull of a Game 7. And it wasn't a contest — the closest the NFL came to the Series in those cases was a 3.6 NFL figure vs. a 17.9 baseball number. So the NFL finally cried "uncle'' — until last year. Riding a big ratings wave, the NFL took on the challenge again as NBC faced Fox's Series coverage.
"The rationale is that 'Sunday Night Football' has become a staple, that people want to watch football for the entire season,'' NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said when last year that game was scheduled. He added that the time had come to "allow the consumer to be able to choose."
Football finally won, but it was a somewhat hollow victory. The marquee NFL New Orleans-Pittsburgh matchup was seen in 10.7 percent of the nation's TV homes — the second-lowest rating NBC had all season for Sunday games despite the contest featuring the two previous Super Bowl champs. Game 4 of the San Francisco-Texas World Series had a 9.0 rating. But the next night, San Francisco's Series-clinching win beat ESPN's "Monday Night Football" by a small margin. So the Series is 10-1 vs. the NFL in the past 21 years.
Fox Sports executive Ed Goren doesn't like the prime-time head-butting, which is to be the case Sunday when Game 4 of the Cardinals-Texas Rangers clash is played on his network at the same time NBC has what looks like an NFL mismatch — winless Indianapolis at potent New Orleans.
"Last year we both took a hit,'' he said. "It's something we don't have much control over. It's unfortunate for sports fans.''
TIME TWEAK?
The start time of Sunday's World Series game could be pushed back a bit, Goren said. Fox has NFL games leading into the Series and said the network is allowed to have Major League Baseball delay the start of that night's game if it looks as if football will be running long. Fox's main 3:15 p.m. game is Minnesota-Green Bay, with Rams-Dallas to be shown instead in some markets — including St. Louis. So Game 4 could be shuffled back about 10 minutes, to a 7:15 p.m. first pitch, Goren said.
"You have to make that call an hour before first pitch,'' he said because it would affect the starting pitchers' warm-ups.
Meanwhile, the Rams-Cowboys telecast probably will have a World Series flare. The Cards' Lance Berkman is to be on the field for the coin toss, with the Rams' representatives, and the Rangers' Josh Hamilton is to be on the Dallas side. That also might be shown in the baseball coverage.
