Wouldn't It Be Nice...

Wouldn't it be nice if Redskins owner Dan Snyder, who handled himself with great dignity following the tragic death of Sean Taylor, took a page from his pal Jerry Jones and actually made himself available a few times during the season to answer questions from the media?

Wouldn't it be nice to say thanks to Washington Nationals management for finally deciding to bring Bob Carpenter back for another year of TV play-by-play? That said, shame on team president Stan Kasten for telling him only a few weeks before the end of the regular season that his services were no longer needed, a decision the club eventually reversed after so many fans howled in protest.

Wouldn't it be nice if the NFL Network ditched Bryant Gumbel as its play-by-play man for game telecasts next fall? Tom Hammonds did a Thursday night game in his place when Gumbel called in sick a couple of weeks ago, and the telecast improved dramatically. Love Gumbel on HBO's Real Sports, the best sports anthology on television, but he's been mostly mediocre calling the games.

Wouldn't it be nice to praise Gumbel's partner, Cris Collinsworth, for becoming one of the best NFL color analysts on television, as well as a brilliant studio presence for NBC and HBO.

Wouldn't it be nice if the NFL and Big Cable stopped blaming each other in a dispute that keeps many cable viewers from having access to the otherwise mostly mediocre NFL Network? Isn't it ludicrous to hear Dallas owner Jerry Jones, the main team owner/spokesman for the NFL Network, sound so deeply concerned about all those poor fans around the country, and especially in Texas, who can't see his precious Cowboys on the cable network because of those greedy cable fat cats? This from a deep-pocketed mogul who has no conscience about selling you a 50-yard line seat in his new stadium for a mere $50,000 seat license premium per chair, another $340 per ticket per game and oh yes, a $750 season parking pass? Family of four at a Cowboys game? About $225,000 a year.

Wouldn't it be nice if Pro Football Hall of Fame selectors came to their senses in 2009 and voted in Art Modell, the man who headed the league's television committee for so many years of unprecedented rights fees bonanzas from the 1970s through most of the '90s? Modell made countless contributions over the years and was a true visionary who almost always thought league first, not me first.

Wouldn't it be nice to have Sonny Jurgensen and Sam Huff in the Redskins radio booth for as long as they want to keep going, even if we still have a sneaking suspicion that Snyder would love to slip free agent broadcaster Joe Theismann into the mix sooner rather than later?

Wouldn't it be nice if generally competent Redskins radio play-by-play man Larry Michaels also wasn't listed as executive producer of the Redskins Broadcast Network, a club employee responsible for overseeing all team propaganda on radio, television and the internet?

Wouldn't it be nice to pat Wizards management on the back for adding analyst Glenn Consor to the radio broadcasts, giving play-by-play man Dave Johnson a chance to clear his throat and catch his breath more than ever before?

Wouldn't it be nice if all broadcasters matched Wizard play-by-play man Steve Buckhantz's energy level and institutional memory of the teams they covered?

Wouldn't it be nice to give Smokin' Al Koken plenty of well-deserved credit for making The John Thompson Show on WTEM Radio more than just a lovey-dovey fest when Thompson's guests/friends are on the air? The addition of outspoken Brian Mitchell has been a help, as well, especially during the Redskins season.

Wouldn't it be nice to know if hard-working multi-media man Doc Walker ever takes a day off?