Thoughts on Cleveland Browns pregame shows

I spent Sunday morning watching two Browns pregame shows, Tailgate 19 (WOIO, 11-12p) and Browns Pregame Huddle (WKYC, 11:30-12p). Here are a few thoughts:

Pregame Huddle is far and away a better show than Tailgate 19. Not only does Pregame Huddle feature more substantive coverage of the Browns than Tailgate 19 — a somewhat remarkable feat as the show is thirty minutes shorter — but its overall production value makes Tailgate 19 look like it’s shot in a basement in comparison. Pregame Huddle looks like a TV show. Tailgate 19 looks like cable access.

Pregame Huddle has a solid panel of experts, with Tony Grossi being the best. Of the Plain Dealer’s three big beat writers Grossi is the most tolerable, but that’s almost by default and probably isn’t saying much. That said, I enjoyed Grossi on Pregame Huddle much more than I thought I would.

In the Battle of Diminutive Hosts Jim Donovan whips the floor with Chuck Galeti. Donovan knows how to moderate a good discussion. Chuck Galeti knows how to…look like that annoying short guy at your gym who does bicep curls in the squat rack while checking out his arms and then hits on the lady folk to no avail.

WOIO broadcasts Browns games and has a national pregame show in NFL Today. Before the last segment of Tailgate 19 Galeti tosses to Jim Brown for a quick preview of NFL Today. Wouldn’t you think that WOIO would put more effort into producing a polished pregame show? Or does broadcasting the actual game and a national pregame show mean that WOIO knows it can take a pass on its own pregame show?

I liked Bob Golic better on Saved By The Bell: The College Years.

Who is Jeff Blanchard and why is he paid to talk loudly into a camera that’s broadcasting his high school-level commentary across Northeastern Ohio? Hmmm. Let’s fire up the Google. Oh, I see. He’s a local comedian. He’s 41 years old and he has a MySpace page. That explains both how he’s managed to get himself on a local television show and why he reminds me of a high schooler.

I would equate Pregame Huddle with ESPN’s The Sports Reporters (minus the pedigree and pomp) and Tailgate 19 with ESPN’s Around The Horn (minus anything redeemable from ATH).

Were I hungover on a Sunday morning — which would never happen, of course, because Saturday is not a day for drinking — I do not think I’d be able to tolerate all the chortling among the panel on Tailgate 19. Sunday morning is not a time to listen to a bunch of men laugh at each other’s jokes. It’s why no one watches Sunday NFL Countdown.

Is broadcasting from a bar ever a good gimmick? Has it ever worked? It probably doesn’t help that whatever bar Tailgate 19 broadcasts from looks like a hole.