At the big ESPN desk at the draft today are Chris Berman, Tom Jackson, Michael Irvin, and Mel Kiper Jr. If it wasn't for Mel Kiper's ability to speak at 17 words-per-second, we'd be hearing more Berman today than anyone else. All those football minds around, and Berman dominates the conversation.
And not only that... he has the annoying habit of taking all the suspense out of the pick before it happens. Someone tells him who's taken, and he hints at it just before Tagliabue makes the announcement. It just kills it. This has been the bane of my existence today, and I'm not alone. From seperate e-mails:
Maybe if he did it once, I wouldn't have noticed, but he has done it every single pick. Someone needs to tell him to shut up or the person in his ear telling him the picks to shut up. The reason people watch 11 hours of a guy reading names is the suspense. And he's killing it.
...even though ESPN's producers are letting Berman know the pick right before Tags walks to the podium, why can't he keep his mouth shut? Maybe I'm nitpicking, but isn't it the commissioners job to announce picks as they come in, NOT Chris Berman?!?
Glad I'm not the only one. Today, Chris Berman passed Stuart Scott on my ESPN loathe list. Of course, if he ends the broadcast by saying, "You're with me, leather," all is forgiven.