Highlights and lowlights from the weekend in sports media:
Standing ovation
ESPN’s K-Zone. It’s the best invention since the first-and-10 line. The graphic showing those four little squares that make up the strike zone, combined with a digitized ball flight, revealed Carlos Quentin’s brawn. On his first home run Sunday, the White Sox outfielder yanked a low-and-away curveball into the bleachers.
Golf clap
Cubs broadcasters Bob Brenly and Len Kasper were discussing instant replay when Pittsburgh’s Jason Bay ripped a ball to the wall in right-center that a fan tried to snag. Would it be ruled a home run? A double? Neither. Bay was awarded third base after a long debate. “If you have a monitor in the dugout,” Brenly pointed out, “an umpire can run over and make the call. … It could actually speed up the game.”
Boo
Depending on their cable or satellite provider, many viewers were robbed of WLS-Ch. 7’s prerace coverage of the Indy 500. A technical issue had viewers seething — and seeing a “reverse split screen.”
Oops
I doubt Sox fans were doing back flips when Fox play-by-play man Curt Menefee referred to the team’s manager as “Ozzie Smith” in the second inning Saturday.
