Today’s guest critic is NBC Sports play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico.
Mike Tirico (copy)
Mike Tirico of NBC Sports talks the Bills and "Hard Knocks." Charles Sykes/Invision/Associated Press
During a wide-ranging interview primarily about the Bills regular season opener against the Baltimore Ravens Sept. 7 on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” I asked him for his thoughts on the HBO/Max series “Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Buffalo Bills.”
The interview was held Monday, one day before the third episode of the series.
“I traditionally look forward to it every year, no matter what team is on,” said Tirico. “I love the show. Some years are a little more entertaining for people outside of football. I think for people inside of football, it's always entertaining. I think it's a good opportunity for people to see the personalities of some of the players involved.
“There aren't a lot of big-name controversies, big controversies, I should say regarding the Bills. It tends to be not as headline grabbing as maybe when the (Dallas) Cowboys or a team like that are on. And that's fine. This is a limited drama team and you're going to get limited drama. That’s all OK, if I'm a Bills fan.”
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I doubt Tirico would have changed his opinion after Tuesday night’s third episode. It was the most boring of the three episodes and that’s saying something. But boring is good for Bills fans.
The most entertaining moment came when quarterback Josh Allen did his Don Beebe Super Bowl imitation and ran down an unsuspecting Joe Andreessen after the linebacker intercepted a pass and headed toward the goal line.
There also was an amusing segment in which defensive lineman Ed Oliver shared his love of horses with running back Ty Johnson and required him to pick up horse excrement. (That could have been a metaphor for the entire slow episode).
The segment, which showed the considerable amount of land where Oliver rides his 30 horses, did make you wonder where the property is located.
I also asked Tirico how concerned Bills Mafia should be after the team’s 38-0 preseason loss to the Bears, which was covered in the episode.
Tirico, who saw the Bills play for multiple hours in a practice at the Bears camp on Friday, had a simple message for Bills fans about the importance of the preseason loss.
“Oh, insignificant, insignificant,” said Tirico. “I mean preseason football is meaningful to a certain number of players who are trying to make the team. You never want to have a poor performance, but we don't think that would have been the score if the guys who are going to be playing on opening night. So I wouldn't waste one bit of energy worrying about the outcome of Sunday’s game.”
There will be much more from Tirico closer to the Bills-Baltimore opener.
The HBO/Max hospital series “The Pitt” earned four Television Critics Association awards: program of the year, outstanding achievement in drama and outstanding new program, and star Noah Wyle was honored for individual achievement in drama.
The awards were announced a few weeks before the Emmy Awards, which has different categories and is being carried Sept. 14 on CBS.
Here are the honorees of the organization composed of 235 professional television journalists, critics and editors throughout the United States and Canada. I am among them.
Program of the Year: “The Pitt” (HBO Max)
Outstanding Achievement in Comedy: “The Studio” (Apple TV+).
Outstanding Achievement in Drama: “The Pitt” (HBO Max)
Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries or Specials: “Adolescence” (Netflix)
Outstanding New Program: “The Pitt” (HBO Max)
Individual Achievement in Drama: Noah Wyle, “The Pitt” (HBO Max)
Individual Achievement in Comedy: Bridget Everett, “Somebody Somewhere” (HBO)
Outstanding Achievement in News and Information: “Pee-wee as Himself” (HBO)
Outstanding Achievement in Variety, Talk or Sketch: “SNL50: The Anniversary Special” (NBC)
Outstanding Achievement in Reality: “The Traitors” (Peacock), 2024 winner
Outstanding Achievement in Family Programming: “Doctor Who” (Disney+), 2024 winner
Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming: “Sesame Street” (HBO)
Career Achievement Award: Kathy Bates
Heritage Award: “Sesame Street”
The Bills vs. Tampa game at 7:30 p.m. Saturday is one of five out-of-market NFL preseason games that will be streamed via the ESPN app to direct-to-consumer subscribers through the ESPN unlimited plan or select pay-TV providers. ESPN’s direct-to-consumer service is set to launch Thursday.
That is good news for Bills fans outside of Western New York, but doesn’t impact WIVB-TV’s (Channel 4) telecast locally with play-by-play announcer Andrew Catalon and analyst Steve Tasker since the broadcast is protected locally due to a blackout policy.
The ESPN direct-to-consumer unlimited plan has a bundling option with Disney+ and Hulu for $29.99/month for the first 12 months. There also will be an ESPN DTC unlimited bundle option with NFL+ premium that includes NFL Network and NFL Redzone.
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