Comments on: Postcard from the Couch: Reviewing Strikeforce “Destruction”

By: Grappo

Grappo — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 11:30:11 +0000

Lee, are you a producer for HowardTV? I heard Artie Lange drew “Lee Gerowitz” for the Secret Santa the other day, and 5 oz. instantly came to mind.

It would partially explain the obsession with graphics and all things production

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By: Lee Gerowitz

Lee Gerowitz — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:07:34 +0000

Who is this Sam Caplan? How dare he!

Anibal Alejandro Jaramilla…in defense of those who worked on that show – and I don’t know any of them – is that sometimes in television, the result of a production doesn’t reflect how hard those individuals worked to make that show happen.

Sometimes, talented folks aren’t given the proper tools to execute a show properly, whether it’s because of lack of budget or whatever. Other times, the crew just isn’t good, end of story.

For the purpose of these columns, I prefer to not know any inside information about budgets, crew, etc. It’s a bottom line thing for me: was the show good or not from a production point of view.

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By: Anibal Alejandro Jaramilla

Anibal Alejandro Jaramilla — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 05:10:17 +0000

Lee – You picked an interesting show to critique. I heard thru the MMA grapevine that HD.net had a new producer for that show. Not sure if this is truth or not. I have friends that work for HD.net in their Texas offices. Apparently their old producer is no longer with them. It show you how little they care about HD production as I thought there shows kept getting better and better and better and then they took a grande step backwards last week. Also, as far as budgets go – there budgets are terrible and it does affect everything. More money buys more and better staff and more time to organize and trouble shoot – “practice and preparation” days, etc, which the UFC always has I hear…I hear that the HD.net is cheap – much more cheap than they should be with Cuban’s billions available. Their philosophy is “just get it on the TV” and there is a sense of sloppiness that comes from the top down. Plus dealing with a MMA team like Strikeforce is a factor – there’s a reason why Dana has nice things to say about them – he has no fear of them – another low budget operation. Maybe HD.net and Strike deserve eachother! Adios from Monterrey, Mexico! Viva MMA!

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By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 02:30:06 +0000

I see that the CSAC did no drug testing for this event. Appears it had to do with the new commisioner revamping the drug testing system, which he says will be out next week. Let’s see how, if any, things change in CA.

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By: Sam Caplan

Sam Caplan — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:04:11 +0000

I wanted to add one thing… I definitely do love the new format of Lee’s column but I wanted to state that I couldn’t disagree with him more about Jimmy Lennon Jr. Jimmy Lennon Jr. is the man. It’s as simple as that.

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By: Caidel

Caidel — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 10:23:55 +0000

I must agree with most of the Lee’s points. This broadcast was definitely one of the worst one’s I’ve seen on HDNet (and I saw most of them…) I don’t know if it is because Strikeforce has a different crew in arena or something, but HDNet can actually make a lot better job on events they are covering completely (like Sportfight events, Ring of Combat events and so…).

For me, fights are the most important thing, but at the same time, good production can make me enjoy it more (which don’t really works other way – if the production really sucks, it doesn’t really destroy the enjoynment for me but it could be better). I agree that things like statistics, interesting facts and storylines are a great asset and made a lot of difference.

I would also like to see have their commentating team either changed or filled with some new staff. As much as I like Bas, he really repeats himself a lot (when you saw a few events, it doesn’t matter that much, but if you saw a lot of them, it is being very obvious. He knows what is he talking about, but at the same time, he is not really good as a comentator, because he fails at communicating his wisdom… It is mostly about cliches, propagating body blows and so. I don’t have a big issue with that, but still, I would prefer to see also other teams in work. Ron Kruck wasn’t that bad when he filled for a Kenny of Bas…

BTW: Quality of the picture… Well, I’m not American and I don’t really have a possibility to view PPV’s or other broadcasts legally, so I download everything from internet Bonus is, that I download practically everything, from UFC to smallest shows that make it to the TV. From this POV, HDNet are gods, because everything that is broadcasted sooner or later can be viewed also by me At the same time, when I compare rips of normal UFC show and HDNet broadcasts, HDNet broadcast is picture-quality wise several class higher… And I’m talking about ripped video, not real thing.

Fightwise, it was a average event – quite a lot of fights unfortunately ended on the ground with not too good groungame – no subs whatsoever. Smith-Martin was good (although short), Couture-Kvokov a mismatch and other three bouts were average. I’m not complaining though, this is noone’s fault, things like that just happen.

LEE: I would also like to see your PFTC on some of the smaller HDNet broadcast, for example 5.12. – MFC 19

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By: Lee Gerowitz

Lee Gerowitz — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:13:15 +0000

It’s interesting to hear how some people don’t care about the production quality of the event, while others do.

Some who are commenting are conveniently forgetting the point of this particular column, which is to focus on the PRODUCTION VALUE of these televised events…not the fights themselves. There are other articles on this very site that give that angle. While I have given my opinion on a card’s fights before, it is not the focus of this column.

Plus, it’s the fighters who execute the fights, not the people producing the card for TV. Those producing the telecast are responsible for everything but the outcome of the fights. Thanks for the comments, positive or negative.

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By: Aaron

Aaron — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 19:50:00 +0000

I whole heartedly agree that the production of this event was flat… There seemed to be a lot of ‘audioless’ air time, especially after the decision was announced. I was sitting there waiting for Kenny or Bas to say something. Lee makes some good points in this article that if implemented, could really improve the enjoyability for the viewer. That being said, I thought it was good card with some good fights, aside from the Couture debacle.

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By: Robert

Robert — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:37:40 +0000

I can’t believe that Lee agrees with this ekc you honestly think the Strikeforce card was an embarrassment to mma, come on talk about going overboard with the criticism,and for someone to say that they aren’t ordering the up coming Affliction card because they had some technical issues the first time must becoming from a casual mma fan because the card looks great and if you felt like a “schmuck” for paying $40 for the first show which was pretty good,then you must have felt like a big jackass if you’re one of the people who shelled out $45 dollars for UFC 90.

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By: G-DUB

G-DUB — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 14:07:20 +0000

Solid article Lee … I couldn’t agree with you more and production value DOES INDEED significantly impact the entertainment value (and thus my enjoyment) of fight cards. Some people like fine wine …. others can’t tell the difference between a Chateau Lafite and a California Chablis.
It is absolutely because of production value that I will not be purchasing the upcoming Affliction show. It was so horrible the last time around that I felt like a schmuck for coming $40 out of pocket. Until I hear that they’ve made some serious improvements in production, I’m not chancing getting taken again. Especially these days, people want their money’s worth. In that respect, the UFC never lets the customer down.

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