60 replies to this topic

[caper2874]

I've gone through the older post referring to the Speedvision coverage here in the states, and I am disappointed at the lack of complaints aimed at :down:Bob Varsha:down: and his annoying habits and methods. It's a shame that when the race feed finally supplies them with on-board views and ride-along laps, :down:Varsha:down: insists on piping up to point out something stupid and/or meaningless, even after he promises us that "we're just going to watch and listen"! Give me a break, this :down:guy:down: couldn't find the front end of an F1 car, and he's allowed to lead a commentary crew through a program? Someone please rant with me!

[MFC993]

At least he's not a sex maniac with early Alzheimer's Disease.
(i.e. Sam Posey)

[caper2874]

I could handle losing them both.

[AndrewSchu]

I agree, Dave and Sam are fine though, just boot out Varsha and bring back Derick Daly! Or...get us Murray Walker!

[caper2874]

MMMMMMm, Murray:up:

[Lamont]

Bob Varsha is horrible, but Sam Posey is worse...

[Ross Stonefeld]

Bob Varsha rocks

Im biased though, because ive met him personally

[Ivan]

Believe it or not Varsha is better than everyone there other than Matchette. It should be just Steve and Varsha. The other two are REALLY F'ing stupid. When Varsha was at ESPN when they had the F1 feed, he was okay. What really pissed me off is that Bernie isn't giving everyone Murray's last year.

[caper2874]

If he informs us again tomorrow that the Villeneuve turn is named after Gilles, and not Jacques, I'm going to shoot myself. Are there really people out there that he's talking to that don't know that by now. Maybe there are still some americans that don't know that much about F1, but say it once and shut your mouth, Bob. Some of us are trying to pay attention to more educated details.

[Ross Stonefeld]

duuuuuuude

murray sucks

his mistakes arent cute, they arent clever, thats just incontinence


er incompetence

[Chris G.]

Varsha is fine. I don't think his performance is deserving of such angst. Regardless of what you might think caper, Varsha does know a decent bit about F1.

Plus, he's a heck of a lot better than posey, daly and hobbs ever were. Perhaps you have to have seen it before Varsha was there to really appreciate it.

[umma gumma]

hey, I'm not complaining!!


as long as I can switch back & forth between speedvision & TSN during commercials for uninterrupted coverage, I'm happy.


so glad they allow speedvision in canada again.

[paulb]

Varsha is great. He is an openy enthusiastic fan of F1.

Posey likes to hear himself talk. He should go.

Matchette is very good. He provides a perspective none of the others can touch.

caper - Why the war on Varsha, you'd think he personally insulted you.

[Newtsche]

"He is an openly enthusiastic fan of F1"

Well said, paulb. I think Varsha's enthusiasm is genuine and that is transmitted to the audience. I was never a big fan of Posey's until some race a while back where Varsha was responding to a Posey comment about Sam's car going airborne. Varsha says something about how eerily silent things must have gotten at that moment. There was a pause and a deadpan Posey offered "Well, except that I was screaming".

[f1seb]

I have no complaints against Varsha I liked him on ESPN I like him on Speedvision. Keep him.

[Gudrun]

Never had a chance to listen to Varsha. Got my satelite system in 1997. Speedvision was included in the package. Until last year F1 races were blacked out or showed the Formula 1 Saga. This year in the guide it shows F1 races are on, but all we get is TSN's Rauter and ITV coverage.

[Cole-B]

Varsha is OK, Matchett is *magnificent,* Hobbs is Hobbs, but Posey -

THAT GUY MAKES ME CRAZY!

Speedvision, 86 the clown. I'm *so* tired of his idiotic remarks.

[damonhillchamp96]

They should fire all those morons and give us the Murray and Martin show! The current crew at Speedvision couldn't properly identify a Dodge Neon coming down the freeway if it bit them on the ass! Complete incompetence!

[UPRC]

I bet if I had Murray and Martin I woulda been awake throughout the entire race! The guys from Speedvision make the race so dull and boring. Ralf Schumacher flies into the lead they're like, "Oh yeah... He's first, thats good."
If it were Murray it'd be like this, "RALF SCHUMACHER TAKES THE LEAD FROM DAVID COULTHARD AT THE FIRST CORNER!"

Also, the guys at Speedvision have a nasty habit that makes them mispronounce almost every driver name...
Ruben Bannichello, anyone?

[Zeus]

Well, look at the results of your poll. Most of us happen to like Bob Varsha. The comment about his love for F1 is dead on the money. BELIEIVE ME, that guy knows more about F1 than either of us combined. He also has some notion of how to be a broadcaster, which is a rare trait among the speedvision crew. That is to say, he calls the action on the track, he mentions the running order. He knows how to come in and out of commercial.

The guy is a professional, and he loves the sport-- what more do you want?

[Bouleman]

Spot on. Glad to see this thread.
Varsha is the master of useless comments and has this irrepressible need to fill silence with his annoying, uninformative blabberage.

Boring.
Bland.
Dull.

Don't you hate the way he says Barrrrrichelo? Arhg!
The whole speevision crew should be flushed down the toilet.
I'm not even that impressed with Steve Matchett, whose books I've found fascinating... I've been a little disapointed with him but I think it's probably the 3 others' incompetence is rubbing off on him.
I'd do a better job than either of them.

Also, don't you guys get the impression that they glean their information from Atlas, and such sites?
What a job, huh? Surf F1 sites during the week, and get paid the big bucks for 4 hours of spineless broadcast...
Wouldn't be surprised if they come across this thread actually...

[FlatFoot]

I personally think that Varsha has done an 'ok' job thus far. Keep in mind they're sitting somewhere in the states watching the same Speedvision coverage that they're broadcasting. They don't have the luxury of watching split times or other activity on the track (unless shown at the bottom of the screen) on a separate monitors as I'm sure Murray and Martin do. Considering the circumstances I think they're doing an ok job.

Sam Posey needs to step up the excitement level a bit. That guy is as exciting as a wet noodle

Damn I miss Derek Bell about now.....

[tifoso]

I refuse to complain about the announcers. I'm just glad I can see it and I thank Speedvision for putting up the money to broadcast it. Machette is great.

[Jonathan]

If you think Bob Varsha is bad, try listening to "Paul Page" or "Ken Squire".

[Lamont]

Originally posted by Zeus
BELIEIVE ME, that guy knows more about F1 than either of us combined.

I'm sorry, but I've listened to Varha since the ESPN2 days, and I've seen no evidence any high level of F1 knowledge. When he started doing F1 for ESPN2, he was HORRIBLE. He's definitely gotten better though through the years.

He also has some notion of how to be a broadcaster, which is a rare trait among the speedvision crew. That is to say, he calls the action on the track, he mentions the running order. He knows how to come in and out of commercial.

That I can agree with.

As for Sam Posey, he's got a serious chip on his shoulder about Ferrari for some reason, he was almost gleeful at their troubles yesterday. That and the constant fawning over Montoya are getting really annoying.

[damonhillchamp96]

Originally posted by UPRC
Also, the guys at Speedvision have a nasty habit that makes them mispronounce almost every driver name...
Ruben Bannichello, anyone?

Yeah, I hate that. They do that all the damn time. They also call Panis Pany. Isn't like penis but with an "A"? The entire crew, with maybe the exception of Machette, are completely incompetent. During the Oz GP they did the best thing though. They turned off the microphones so all you could hear was the sounds of F-1. That was the best 10 minutes of Speedvision coverage I have ever witnessed!

[caper2874]

Actually, I'm not french myself, but I think Panis is supposed to be pronounced with a silent "S". Regardless, I would have to agree that they gain most of their knowledge from F1 sites. Alot of the time I can picture in my mind them reading the scripts in front of them that they have prepared the days prior, just to have a few things that they can say, and have the information be accurate. Although I was amazed a few times at Imola when all of the boys just shut up and enjoyed the on-board shots, maybe it had something to do with the lengthy and bitter letter I sent to them?

[NYR2119935]

Bob Varsha is awesome!!!!
Sam Posey is awesome!!!!
Steve Matchett is awesome!
David Hobbes is awesome!

Paul Page is awesome!
Parker Johnstone is awesome!
Jon Beeukhas is awesome!
Gary Gerold is awesome!

[Rahalnut]

Mike Joy was by far the worse. He did the races along with Derek Bell on Fox. If there was ever a commentator who didn't know what he was talking about it was Joy.

[Lamont]

NYR, thanks for making one thing perfectly clear: to you, everyone is awesome.

Thus, you have no ability to distinguish between a good and a bad broadcaster.

Paul Page?!

[swoopp]

get rid of Sam Posey

[NYR2119935]

Originally posted by Lamont
NYR, thanks for making one thing perfectly clear: to you, everyone is awesome.

Thus, you have no ability to distinguish between a good and a bad broadcaster.

Paul Page?!

Mike Joy is bad

To tell you the truth
I really like the current crop of broadcasters for CART and Speedvision

[Juliane]

The Speedvision crew is a dream compared to the CART announcers.

Parker Johnstone exists soley to correct Paul Page's mistakes - I swear, the man has worked CART races for at LEAST 5 years now, and he still can't tell drivers' helmets apart. To Page, Tracy will always be Franchitti.

I'm waiting for the day someone finally smacks Gerold upside the head and says "Stop asking me stupid questions!" (I really hope Vasser is the one that gets to do it).

[jbf1]

Geez, what a bunch of whiners. You go, NYR!

[caper2874]

I thought we were all talking about racing, who brought up CART? Although, if a commentator could make CART exciting on an oval track (or the totally different tri-oval), he could talk about cheese and make the hair on the back of my neck stand on end

[TenTenths]

Don't complain, at least we are able to watch it in the US.

Before this season started the fans in the US were crossing thier fingers hoping to get F1 coverage on Speedvision, and I am ecstatic the we got it.

I suggest you learn to use the mute button or move to another country and quit crying.

[Lamont]

Originally posted by TenTenths

I suggest you learn to use the mute button or move to another country and quit crying.

And I'd suggest that if you don't like the subject matter of a given thread, use the "Back" button in your browser. There are plenty of threads to read here and we have a legitimate right to argue the merits of different broadcasters.

[NYR2119935]

Originally posted by jbf1
Geez, what a bunch of whiners. You go, NYR!

[Pascal]

Originally posted by caper2874
Actually, I'm not french myself, but I think Panis is supposed to be pronounced with a silent "S".

Actually, I'm French myself, and I know that Panis is supposed to be pronounced with the S being heard.;)

[Bouleman]

What is it with F1 commentators, then?
I lived in France 17 years before moving the US and they also have the worst, brainless crew.... amazing...
Anyway, I just wanted to point out that even though the Speedvision quatuor is painfully feeble, they do have complete coverage, which I am very thankfull for. They even showed the 2nd practice session on friday .........

Anyway, just to confirm what Pascal said above: you do pronounce the "s" in Panis....

Hey, since these guys read Atlas as part of their "research" (can't believe they get paid for this sh**t), let's see if they correct the pronunciation for the Spanish GP.

Hola!!

[Nathan]

Originally posted by MFC993
At least he's not a sex maniac with early Alzheimer's Disease.
(i.e. Sam Posey)

:lol:
God sometimes I wonder if he is suicidal...reminds me of Al Gore

[Zeus]

Originally posted by Juliane
The Speedvision crew is a dream compared to the CART announcers.

BWAHAHAHAHA!! That is so true. The worst is when Gary Gerold goes into his explination of the differances between slick tires and rain tires.

[tifosi]

I'm not sure which one it was, but when Reubans made his second pit stop, he was already in front of Mika Hakkinen. But the SV guys said Reubans entered the pits behind MH then came out in front of him. This must be the fastest pit stop in F1 history if that is true, and I don't see how Reubans didn't break the pit lane speed limit if he got around MH by going through the pits.

I'm not sure what the problem is, but those guys sometimes seem totally ignornat as to what is going on. Aren't they in the studio seeing the exact same feed I see when they do this? Yet they constantly misidentify drivers, cars, and positions on the track. Sometime I just start laughing as with the RB commentary.

[AgRacer]

One thing to remember when watching the broad cast is that they are watching what you see, only on a really really small monitor. I remeber reading an interview in F1 Racing with one of the announcers from ESPN2 or Speedvision (can't recall which) but the thing that stuck out was they watched the race on a rediculously small monitor, and it made it extremely difficult to identify some drivers b/c the helmets do look similar for a lot of them. I know it's sounds crazy, but it's true.

Varsha is pretty good IMO. Posey makes watching paint dry interesting. Steve M is VERY GOOD IMO.

[shoofirbin]

i'd like to come out in support of my buddy nyr, cart metallica guy, and tell everyone to quit your bi*c*in' and enjoy the damn racing! and to top things off, i will say that i think the speedvision crew is excellent. it can't be easy watching the damn race on monitors, and trying to get everything right, 100% of the time. also, they have a fine line to walk between pleasing the seasoned race fans and remaining accesible to viewers who may be tuned in for the first time (improbable as that scenario may be).

the speedvision crew have a very strong chemistry going. varsha's a quality and knowledgable commentator, posey's honest and cranky, hobbs has been around motor racing forever and articulates himself well, and matchette has a wealth of technical knowledge and knows how to get his point across. considering they have four people in the booth, they pull the job off quite seamlessly, and even manage to throw in a bit of humor when the moment presents itself.

and, if i may be so bold: i think sam posey is great. yeah, he's an old crank, but he's brutally honest and that's damn refreshing. he makes at least one comment every race that is true, and yet none of the other commentators would dare say. case in point, his comment during imola about how ferrari looked like "just another team" was absolutely correct and absolutely right, as it illustrated williams' return to the head of the pack, and sorry if you don't like it tifosi, but it was completely dead-on.

[luisfelipetrigo]

I have the perfect solution :cool: to all of you that complain about your local (or global) commentator.
: This will not work if you live in Latin America

Tune into the imbecile (this is intended as a compliment out of respect from fellow members) we get in Spanish at ESPN for a couple of races. (he even translates himself into English )

With this 'remedy' you should be cured, if not for life at least for the next six or so races.
You have to listen to this guy to believe it.

On a somewhat related note: Fortunately the sound from PSN is lost during F1 transmissions and as a result we are speared off endless comments about Mazzacane

[Duck]

To everyone dumping on Bob Varsha, Murray Walker, James Allen, David Hobbs, Sam Posey, Steve Matchett, Martin Brundle, etc., here's a simple solution to your problem - TURN OFF THE BLOODY SOUND !

[tifosi]

shoofirbin....

What the hell are you talking about. What did I say about any comments about Ferrari or Williams or anyone. Ferrari did look so damn pitiful in Imola, so what, did I mention that? What the hell are you jumping on me for?


I made one, comment about SV saying Reubans was behind Mika Hakkinen, went into the pits and came out ahead of him. Now explain how that would even be remotely possible.

- Your behind someone going into the last chicane.
- he proceeds on the next lap while you go into the pits.
- you get tyres and fuel, he continues on with no problems
- you come out of the pits in front.

I'm sorry, but how someone could even come up with that I do not understand. but Williams and Ferrari comment, what partof your empty head did you make that up from?

[P1 Senna]

Originally posted by MFC993
At least he's not a sex maniac with early Alzheimer's Disease.
(i.e. Sam Posey)

Actually, Sam is afflicted with Parkinson's Disease, but nice guess. (idiot)

I like the entire Speedvision team. They have a great chemistry, instantly clam up when the rare onboard camera shot comes on, and have a vast knowledge of Formula One, in many different areas. I cast my vote for Varsha, Hobbs, Posey and Matchett. They are super! And I remember the days when there was no F1 on the tube, so I don't take it for granted, as so many of the young whippersnappers do.

[LB]

Originally posted by tifosi


I'm not sure which one it was, but when Reubans made his second pit stop, he was already in front of Mika Hakkinen. But the SV guys said Reubans entered the pits behind MH then came out in front of him. This must be the fastest pit stop in F1 history if that is true, and I don't see how Reubans didn't break the pit lane speed limit if he got around MH by going through the pits.

Murray does stuff like that at least 5 times a race..

Duck , why should I turn the sound down? I like the sound of F1 cars..