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White will walk tightrope in his first full game as TV analyst
Not many broadcasters get away with both. Harry Caray both cheered and ripped his Cubbies. But he had the reputation and the clout to pull it off. Bob Uecker (Brewers) can do both.
And fans generally love that combination in a home-town announcer because they, too, want their team to win but get angry and frustrated when their team messes up.
“There, guys got grandfathered in, though,” White said, smiling. “I don’t know that today’s (announcers) can get away with being really harsh. You’ve got to be with a team a long, long time.”
White will do his first full game tonight for FSN Kansas City, filling in for Paul Splittorff and teaming with Ryan Lefebvre. And while White doesn’t want to intentionally back away from criticizing the Royals, he’s not about to start making enemies on the team.
“I’ll leave the ripping to talk radio and the call-in shows,” White said. “I think it’s my job — if there is a mistake made — to point out that it was a mistake and then to explain how and why it happened. I think you can do that without trashing someone.
“For one thing, I have to work and travel with these guys (players and coaches). I’m going to need information from them and have conversations with them. I don’t want those situations to be confrontational.”
Neither FSN Kansas City nor the Royals have instructed White on what approach he should use.
“They just said to be yourself,” he said.
Part of being himself, White said, is hoping the Royals succeed.
“I’m like Paul in that regard, and I want them to win,” White said. “It’s time for this organization to do well again. We’ve got grandfathers now telling their grandkids about the old days when we were really good. There has been a generation in between that hasn’t seen it.”
How many?
Adam Schefter of the NFL Network reported Wednesday night that as he was analyzing the Chiefs’ draft needs, he found that the Chiefs ranked in the bottom five league-wide in 66 offensive categories.
National interest
The Chiefs aren’t exactly prime-time attractions anymore nationally, but ESPN – perhaps fascinated by all the Chiefs’ draft choices this year – is sending a reporter (Wendi Nix) to Kansas City to be on-site. ESPN will have five reporters on-site around the league.
Mel’s mock
The website coldhardfootballfacts.com reports that ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. got just 26 percent of his mock draft first-round picks correct (matching exact player with a team) between 2005-2007.