Interview with Amber!

by SC on Jun 26, 2008 9:43 AM EDT

I know I've given guff to Amber Theoharis a couple of times this year, but it more boils down to the fact that she's a hopeful optimist while I tend to sway toward hopeless pessimist. Plus I think she's a little bit crazy. Plus I think she's a little bit avant garde brilliant.

Whatever, though. She did an interview/article thing with We've Got Heart and I thought it was a pretty good read and insight into her job and her career as it's been so far.

You know, I'll take Amber over someone that never says anything I want to argue with, since that would most likely mean they never say anything at all. I do get the impression that she really cares, which is always fun with your broadcast team. Some people get all mad about homer broadcasters; not me, brother. I want to feel like they actually give a damn if the team wins or not.

Of course, she loses me when she is "in awe" of Derek Jeter for being "that consistent, for that long and that poised and that clutch," because the entire idea is straight out of the Joe Morgan Guide to Things About Baseball, but you can't change the world.

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Thanks for the find, SC

I’ve never heard of that website, but that was a pretty good piece on Amber, especially the parts about being a woman in a man’s game.

"We’re not concerned about what other teams think. I know teams come in here thinking we’re playing the Orioles. And then 9 innings later, they got the loss, they know what we’re about." ~Adam Jones

by Stacey on Jun 26, 2008 10:04 AM EDT 0 recs

Much as I'm smitten with Amber

You can run rings around her in baseball analysis, Stacey.

Hey, MASN, how about O’s Xtra with Amber and Stacey? Let Jimmyville do the 90 second sideline reports.

You won't see a worse play than the one you just saw from the Yankee captain... 3DG 5/27/08

by 33 on Jun 26, 2008 10:37 AM EDT up 0 recs

That's one thing about Amber

she’s never been an embarrassment. She’s not Jillian Barbarie or just eye candy – she actually knows the sport. And she must have been a pretty good reporter, when my wife heard her name on teh O’s braodacst, she said, “Didn’t she used to do news here?” And that’s been at least 5 years ago.

Sure, posters here (myself included) may give her grief about her Pollyannish outlook (and we do the same for Jim Hunter), but she’s not stupid. I don’t think any of us have ever attacked her knowledge. Just her analysis. :)

But it sure beats Mark Viviano tellings us things we already knew in that torturous monotone he has. And he’s a GREAT reporter. But then again, my mom and I liked Tom David when he did the in-the-bleachers job for the O’s. So your mileage may vary.

"I wasn't here for the losing years. But it feels a little like the days with Earl in charge and John Lowenstein smashing birthday cakes in the middle of the clubhouse with a bat." - John "T-Bone" Shelby

by duck on Jun 26, 2008 10:41 AM EDT 0 recs

ugh...

this will get me into anti-masn mode. i totally appreciate tom davis, but i happened to see a live simulcast of the tom davis show and he was w/ dave johnson (who is AWFUL on the stick, btw) and he started going off about how bad fantasy baseball is b/c it makes fans think they know more than GMs. it really struck me as almost coded joe morgan advocacy of numbskullery in baseball.

but remember old school hts w/ tom davis and john loewenstein? THOSE were the days!

foghat goes with everything--birdman, 5/16/08

by j.q. higgins on Jun 26, 2008 10:46 AM EDT up 0 recs

I think the Seattle Mariners situation has shown

in some cases, the fans DO know more than the GMs.

And Mel Proctor and John Lowenstein were just, well, perfect. Growing up, I had Chuck Thompson and Brooks Robinson, then Mel and John, then Jon Miller. Those were the days, folks.

by duck on Jun 26, 2008 10:55 AM EDT up 0 recs

And Dave Johnson got my respect

after the MSM last year – I caught the radio broadcast as I was on the road back home, and he just laid into the O’s FO and Brain Surgeon Sam for a good 20 minutes. I mean, specifics about bullpen use and strategy, and how monumentally stupid every move BSS made in the 9th inning was that day. He was not just pissed, but sad that this is what his beloved O’s had fallen to.Tom Davis was practically speechless.

by duck on Jun 26, 2008 10:57 AM EDT up 0 recs

of course MSM=MDM

as in Mother’s Day Massacre, in case there are those who may be confused by MSM.

"Chickens are hard to catch." Jennifer Scott (Luuuuuuuke's Mom)

by dayzd toe on Jun 26, 2008 12:09 PM EDT up 0 recs

You are correct sir

by duck on Jun 26, 2008 10:09 PM EDT up 0 recs

I saw that exact same live simulcast

the caller was “joel from reisterstown” or something like that. They really shut him down and pretty much laughed at him. I thought it was kind of crappy.

With that said, I love both Tom Davis and Dave Johnson. I like their pre- and post-game shows a lot, and always turn on the radio about an hour before games begin.

The show I really miss is the one with Tom Davis and Phil Wood. Where the hell did Phil Wood go?

by PhilR8 on Jun 26, 2008 12:29 PM EDT up 0 recs

Viviano

is a total douchebag. OR, he has no balls & lets “the Bulldog” ruin what would be an otherwise good sports talk show. Either way, that is one shitty production punctuated by the worst locally produced car commercials known to man.

The opposite of a car dealer? This is the opposite of good advertising.

From the Land of Pleasant Living...

by OEutaw on Jun 26, 2008 2:35 PM EDT up 0 recs

She sucks.

I’m sorry, but it’s true.

Occasionally it’s interesting to read what she has to say because it’s so out of left field. But beyond that, she’s essentially useless as a “journalist”. Have you ever learned anything substantive from Amber’s reporting that didn’t seem just like some fluffy segue stuff? I have not. Plus as I’ve pointed out before she does not have the voice or the speaking skills for her broadcasting job. I can understand she often needs to rush through her bits, not knowing when the action in the game is going to start back up, but she does it in a oboe-esque monotone that makes her sound like a munchkin auctioneer.

Also, I can understand that women have to go up against a lot of institutional and cultural biases to cover sports. Truly I can. But still listening to an attractive young blonde woman in the US of A talk about how hard she has it just strikes me as a little much.

by Jonny Pops on Jun 26, 2008 11:25 AM EDT 0 recs

I admit I don't watch the O's on tv all that often

maybe once a week, but regardless of if I’m edified by what she has to say (which I am, sometimes), she has better than adequate speaking skills and voice. Perhaps her improvisational skills could use some work – and I only say that based solely on the Under Armour incident, which might fluster a lot of people.

From what I’ve seen: she’s fine. If you wanna rag on something, go after her awful writing. Easy target. Barf.

by PhilR8 on Jun 26, 2008 12:33 PM EDT up 0 recs

her speaking skills are fine.

But she’s really not a journalist. Her job description doesn’t require her to be woodward and bernstein. She does quick interviews with players and fluff interviews with fans. For example, when Albers went down with an injury yesterday, I don’t think they sent Amber to get the story.

Wolf, wolf, wolf.

by birdman on Jun 26, 2008 1:01 PM EDT up 0 recs

re:

....she has better than adequate speaking skills and voice.

For a leprechaun, possibly.

by Jonny Pops on Jun 26, 2008 2:02 PM EDT up 0 recs

man

Do you want everyone to sound the same? Is she difficult for you to understand?

"Yesterday I was lying, today I am telling the truth." -- Bob Arum

Camden Chat
Bad Left Hook

by SC on Jun 26, 2008 3:06 PM EDT up 0 recs

Honestly...

...sometimes she is a little difficult to understand. And I don’t want everyone to sound the same, it’d just be nice if my sportscasters didn’t sound like they grew up in Oz (the MGM one, not the one down under). Between her voice, Thorne’s diminutive stature and large head and Palmer’s weird assedness, one is forced to wonder if Angelos did his MASN auditions in the Emerald City.

by Jonny Pops on Jun 26, 2008 3:52 PM EDT up 0 recs

I don't think a lot of us are having

the same difficulties you are with understanding (literally) what Amber is saying. You know, just once, maybe it’s you?

by duck on Jun 26, 2008 10:12 PM EDT up 0 recs

For once?

Ducky baby, it’s me plenty of the time. But that doesn’t make it wrong. That makes it – obviously – a difference of opinion. From my perspective, y’all are just too accepting of mediocrity. Comes with being an O’s fan I guess. Thing is, it’s a lot easier to get a decent TV personality than turn around a franchise.

by Jonny Pops on Jun 27, 2008 12:16 AM EDT up 0 recs

Ducky baby?

Dude, sweet talk me like that and you’ll owe me dinner and a movie….

by duck on Jun 27, 2008 8:06 AM EDT up 0 recs

Nice

What do you say we meet at Hooper’s? 8PM?

by Jonny Pops on Jun 27, 2008 9:21 AM EDT up 0 recs

In OC, right?

It’s only 30 minutes away…

by duck on Jun 28, 2008 10:43 PM EDT up 0 recs

That's not really fair

this part, I mean: But still listening to an attractive young blonde woman in the US of A talk about how hard she has it just strikes me as a little much.

She’s attractive, young, and blonde so life is easy and she should just cram it? She wasn’t saying that she has a hard life. She just said it can be tough being a woman in a male dominated business. It’s certainly true. And whatever obstacles Amber faces, they don’t disappear just because she’s young, white, and pretty.

by Stacey on Jun 26, 2008 8:16 PM EDT up 0 recs

yeah, i'm sure she's had it tough

i mean, she’s clearly the most talented person for the job and there’s no way she got it BECAUSE of the fact that she’s a young, attractive, female. come on. they don’t take the most qualified person for those jobs. they take somebody who’s really good looking, knew the right person, caught a break or two, worked a little bit, and happens to not be a complete butcher with the subject at hand. there is a list of people 10 miles long that meet all of those qualifications except the “young, attractive, female” part.

i don’t personally hate her or anything and her work isn’t awful, but the whole “tough to be a woman in a man’s world” thing is so overplayed. i’m a normal looking 31 year old guy and i’d like to think i know a lot more about baseball than amber… i know this is hard to believe, but my dad and i talked baseball when i was a kid too. and there’s no freaking way i could get that job. being an attractive woman is an asset, not a curse, and her obstacles are no worse, and probably a lot smaller, than most people’s. go find an ugly girl that loves baseball and knows everything about it and wishes with all her heart that she could have that job. ask her if she thinks amber has it tough.

and the crying about buster olney catching a break when he makes a mistake is just ridiculous. every baseball analyst i read or watch is skewered just about every time they screw up. it’s just the nature of the business and the age we live in. don’t say stupid shit and people won’t make fun of you. again, i don’t think she’s bad, but the “challenges” she’s talking about are just a joke.

by joet on Jun 27, 2008 12:03 AM EDT up 0 recs

Well

here’s where I – for once – defend Amber. There are plenty of sportscasters that suck. Thorne sucks. Palmer sucks. Honestly, MASN is the worst regional sports network I’ve watched. It kind of amazes me that they fucked this thing up so bad – until I remember who owns it.

But joe’s right, in that if Amber wasn’t young, attractive and good looking she wouldn’t even have the opportunity to suck on MASN – or anywhere else. Them’s the breaks. On the same token though, being female she currently has little shot of moving beyond sideline reporter. We’ve talked about this before on here, but sideline reporter is a token position. It’s a nod to diversity without having to give a woman an actual spot in the booth announcing games, which I’m sure scares network executives.

What’s the answer? Damfino. I do wish they would hire some better help around MASN though. I mean do you guys remember when Jon Miller used to announce games? We went from that, to this. It’s truly a shame.

by Jonny Pops on Jun 27, 2008 12:27 AM EDT up 0 recs

jesus christ

MASN is head and shoulders above every FSN in every way. And Thorne/Palmer are absolutely, positively, in no fucking way whatsoever worse than the Yankee dream team of Michael goddamned Kay and bonehead Ken Singleton.

"Yesterday I was lying, today I am telling the truth." -- Bob Arum

Camden Chat
Bad Left Hook

by SC on Jun 27, 2008 1:40 AM EDT up 0 recs

you're joking right?

if not, then we’re so far apart on this, there’s really nothing to discuss.

by Jonny Pops on Jun 27, 2008 7:41 AM EDT up 0 recs

judging from past comments of his...

he’s not joking. Thorne and Palmer have really grown on him, he really thinks MASN is a ton better than FSN. I, personally, have no opinion.

"Chickens are hard to catch." Jennifer Scott (Luuuuuuuke's Mom)

by dayzd toe on Jun 27, 2008 9:00 AM EDT up 0 recs

Scott Christ

if you ain’t jokin’, then you done been institutionalized. Either that or you’re trying to keep your options open for bright Oriole opportunities down the line. I seen how you post those MASN press releases and say nicey-nice things about the people that work over there.

by Jonny Pops on Jun 27, 2008 10:41 AM EDT up 0 recs

how many of the other networks have you seen?

FSN presentations are lifeless, drab-looking, and totally unexciting. The Cubs have a great commentary team and good broadcasts. YES is an excellent network, but Kay/Singleton/anyone with Kay are God awful. Thorne and Palmer keep it loose. Thorne accused Curt Schilling of faking a bloody sock. Palmer is obnoxious at times, but that is pretty much par for the course. Is he worse than Jim Kaat? Is he worse than Darrin Jackson?

Your anti-MASN boner is fine by me because I don’t really care, but you better be anti-baseball on TV, because it’s genuinely as good as anyone. Seattle, in particular, has God awful broadcasts on their FSN. Watch some Seattle games, then tell me MASN, Thorne and Palmer are anywhere near that bad. Frankly I think they’ve done pretty well for what was essentially a rush-job network. They’re much better than they were last season.

I put up the MASN press releases, for the record, because I get them and I think people might care about their announcements.

"Yesterday I was lying, today I am telling the truth." -- Bob Arum

Camden Chat
Bad Left Hook

by SC on Jun 27, 2008 5:16 PM EDT up 0 recs

re:

I haven’t seen every network in baseball, I’m sure. But I’ve seen quite a few and MASN is by far the worst of the bunch. It’s an unprofessional operation. Plain and simple. Thorne and Palmer CONSTANTLY step on each other’s dialogue throughout each and every broadcast. It’s like they’re trying to do it or something and have some sort of talent for fucking up anything resembling “flow” in a conversation. The DAS EFX of baseball broadcasters. And don’t get me started on the content. Jesus Christ. Jim Palmer – who was an object of your ire for years if memory serves – constantly polishing his fucking laurels about this, that, the other thing. Thorne not really knowing how to work Palmer’s bullshit into the broadcast and making weird misplaced comments. It’s like watching a bad, bad date unfold. The graphics suck. The direction is awful. The technical director screws up the cuts to different cameras more than any other “professional” sportscast I’ve ever seen. And then there’s Amber…

Now is Palmer worse than Jim Kaat? Fuck yeah! Not only is he worse, but they also put his ass on all the time which YES knew better than to do with Kaat (although I hear he’s doing TBS now, haven’t seen it though). And speaking of YES – sure Kay is a douchebag – but he personifies the Yankees – that’s the whole point. Plus Ken Singleton is an excellent broadcaster. Period. If you can’t see that, then I can’t think of any clearer evidence that you have no idea what you’re talking about. FSN is a plain jane, droll broadcasting entity from what I’ve seen. But they are a professional operation in that FOX has production standards. MASN is still figuring it all out, obviously. But I am glad they are their own entity instead of calling Murdoch’s boys in to do it for them. Now all they have to do is fire their entire on air and production staff and hire some professionals.

by Jonny Pops on Jun 27, 2008 6:26 PM EDT up 0 recs

FSN has production standards??

Really?? That shit looks like it’s coming through in good streaming video half the time.

I like Thorne and Palmer together. They have fun. I really prefer that to baseball commentators that talk endlessly about stupid shit from the Joe Morgan Handbook, but do it in clear voices! with professionalism!

You want robots. Palmer > Kaat, and Singleton really isn’t any better than any other bland ass color guy that never says anything interesting or provides any insight. He was a hell of a ballplayer, though.

I won’t even get started on how much I hate Michael Kay, and it’s not because he’s the Yankees guy. I don’t mind the Red Sox team. I don’t even hate Hawk Harrelson very much. I dislike Kay as a commentator because he’s a fucking idiot. He should be working with Waldman. Those two could entertain each other for days without sleep.

"Yesterday I was lying, today I am telling the truth." -- Bob Arum

Camden Chat
Bad Left Hook

by SC on Jun 28, 2008 12:06 PM EDT up 0 recs

Part of her point was

ANY time she misspeaks or gets a fact wrong, people point at the TV sand say “Dumb broad shouldn’t be doing sports anyway.”

Look, I love Tom Davis, but he wasn’t exactly a fountain of facts and analysis.

And as far as working in front of the camera, folks, it’s a lot easier to watch than it is to do it. As a broadcast journalism major in college, I can speak from experience on that one.

by duck on Jun 27, 2008 8:08 AM EDT up 0 recs

“go find an ugly girl that loves baseball and knows everything about it and wishes with all her heart that she could have that job. ask her if she thinks amber has it tough.”

You know what? That could be me. I mean I’m no dog but Amber is definitely a hell of a lot cuter. And guess what? I think Amber probably has it tough sometimes. As a woman it’s hard to be taken seriously no matter what you look like, and often times it’s even tougher when you’re super cute like Amber because then men have an even harder time as looking past the fact you’re a woman.

And by the way, Amber didn’t just “talk baseball with her dad”, grow up and get plucked off the street because she’s cute and knows something about baseball. She went to school to be a journalist, she started in small markets, she worked for it. Yes she’s a sideline reporter because she’s cute, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t sometimes and issue when she’s trying to do her job.

by Stacey on Jun 27, 2008 8:44 AM EDT up 0 recs

define "tough"

I mean in the comment that sparked this which I wrote above, what I was getting at is compared to, oh I dunno, some folks who live about 20 blocks west of Camden Yards, Amber is living on Easy Street – in a BIG way.

I remember a few years back I was fortunate to start a business, doing something I love doing, which unfortunately didn’t work out. After the thing had folded I went through a brief litany of “well if only I was born rich, or had access to more capital, or more connections” or somesuch bullshit. But it quickly dawned on me that being white, Middle class, having a good education, good home background, I was really lucky to even have an opportunity to something I wanted, and all that carping and victimization about not being this or that was really petty when I compared myself to many others in this society and around the world who have ZERO opportunity to do anything resembling their dreams.

by Jonny Pops on Jun 27, 2008 9:38 AM EDT up 0 recs

I knew what you meant

and I agree with you wholeheartedly in that regard.

I simply meant that just because Amber has it great in some aspects of life (especially relative to those folks 20 blocks west), it doesn’t mean that she doesn’t ever face obstacles. That’s all. I feel like (and I’m not singling you out, JP) often times when someone in Amber’s position in life mentions any bumps in the road or adversity, there is always someone there to say, “Well at least you aren’t poor living on a drug corner in west Baltimore.” Of course! But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have her own battles.

Amber pretty much said in the article that she is living a charmed life. And she is. But that doesn’t mean everything is always a bed of roses for her.

by Stacey on Jun 27, 2008 10:03 AM EDT up 0 recs

It's an odd thing

in America, that even though we live in one of the most blessed, fortunate societies on the planet, we have this enormous culture of victimization – for myriad reasons. There just comes a time when people need to stop competing as to who has it so tough, which unfortunately is far too often the topic of conversation in this country.

I once met a food critic who got paid to go eat meals at nice restaurants here in NYC and even got sent to do travel pieces in the Caribbean on occasion complain to me and a group of friends, on and on, about how hard the job was. And honestly this Amber thing is on par with that, in terms of how detached it is from reality. She gets paid to go to ballgames every night, travel all around the country on the company dime and closely follow the ballteam she loves. I mean, enough already. Most people’s dreams aren’t as good as her problems.

by Jonny Pops on Jun 27, 2008 10:35 AM EDT up 0 recs

But, to her...

she’s sees people in this business who may not work as hard as her or get away with substandard work (cough EVERY blonde on Fox News cough) and get farther faster than she did. She was in news on Long Island and took the market size cut to get into sports, while someone like the granddaughter of Bobby Bowden (or Tim Russert’s son, for that matter) just walks into jobs in sports broadcasting.

Sure, her life is sweeter than 99% of the general public. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t face unequal treatment in her chosen line of work.

by duck on Jun 28, 2008 10:49 PM EDT up 0 recs

great, so she worked hard

you’re SUPPOSED to work hard to get ahead in life. the challenges she faced as a female in a male industry pale in comparison to the doors that were opened as an attractive female in that industry. virtually everyone who wants to be in sports broadcasting needs to go to school for journalism, start in small markets, and work for it. let’s not cannonize her for doing exactly what you would expect someone to do to advance in that career. i get that as a woman you want to identify with her, but doesn’t it bother you that if you had taken the same steps as amber but aren’t as cute as her (and i’m sure you’re lovely :)) that you wouldn’t have any chance to be in the same position as her… and now she’s complaining about how tough it was?

i’m sorry she isn’t taken seriously as a woman. i really am. i’ve found that when people truly excel, the public is forced to take them seriously though, regardless of what they look like.

by joet on Jun 27, 2008 9:54 AM EDT up 0 recs

well

that was a response to you saying, “I’m a normal looking 31 year old guy who’s dad talked baseball with him and I couldn’t have Amber’s job.” I think that if you had done all the work Amber and her colleagues in journalism had done, I’d venture to say you could have an even better job than Amber (provided you had the talent). Like JP said earlier, Amber’s blessing is also her curse because she’s pretty much hit her glass ceiling.

by Stacey on Jun 27, 2008 10:05 AM EDT up 0 recs

i disagree with the glass ceiling thing for the most part

there are simply way more men who are knowledgeable and qualified to speak about baseball than women. that’s just a fact, and obviously it’s nurture not nature. if you had more mothers and fathers teaching 5 year old girls what the infield fly rule is, that might change. but little girls are still given dolls to play with for the most part while little boys are given baseball gloves. now, please don’t bombard me with messages about how you played softball for 15 years and your cousin played street hockey with the boys until she was 18 and you both hated dolls. i know there are exceptions, but the pool of men who are into sports is clearly bigger than the pool of women.

anyway, amber isn’t the slightest bit qualified to move above sideline reporter. it’s not a glass ceiling. it’s her ceiling. she isn’t good enough to sit in the booth and be the color commentator. if she was, then we could argue about how being a woman is holding her back. amber is sort of decent at her job. she got that job because she’s pretty, probably over several men and women who were more qualified from a baseball perspective. she isn’t nearly qualified or talented enough to do anything else in baseball.

so basically, up against thousands of others who wanted to be MASN’s sideline reporter, thousands of others who talked baseball with their daddies, went to school for journalism, started in small markets, and tried real, real hard, amber got the job. i’m certain that at least a few others were her equals or better in speaking ability, personality, baseball knowledge, and all the other actual qualifications for the position. unless i’m severely overestimating the talent of her competition for that job, she received it based on the fact that she’s an attractive female. so how the hell can you empathize with someone about gender issues when her gender (and good looks) are the distinguishing factor that got her the job in the first place?

by joet on Jun 27, 2008 10:57 AM EDT up 0 recs