Goofy?

[boontonbomber]

Stewie is not particularly muscular or speedy, and her running is certainly not graceful. Yet she's one of the best players in the world. That was Lobo's point.

well, then she should have said all those things, and she would have made her point.

 

[boontonbomber]

Were my wife and i the only ones who thought the extended conversation during the Louisville game, between Rebecca and Pam Ward about Stewie being "goofy looking" was inappropriate? With all of the emphasis on women's self esteem being tied to their appearance, I thought that this was way out of line. I know that Rebecca walks on water, here, and to a certain extent, she should, but that shocked me.
JMO...

i wondered if i was the only one who thought that was way out of line. and they both referred to her as goofy looking.

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

I just asked, and both my sons think I am goofy looking and goofy acting. I didn't realize I should be offended...go figure. Tomorrow I am having lunch with HuskyBill...I will solicit his opinion on my physiognomic status.

 

[boontonbomber]

Kib - absolutely agree on Kara - she is just a pleasure to listen to - knowledgeable, passionate, opinionated, blunt. I feel sorry for her sometimes having to suffer the other fools she has to discuss stuff with. Yesterday in the post game the guy asked her about the game and she gave a goo summary with a fair amount of time devoted to Stewart being unguardable and the guy was to inept to jump his next scripted question and did a sloppy question about how important was Stewart in the game. Kara fielded it pretty well and said a few additional things, but I could sense her thinking 'come on bozo, get with the program, I already did this bit'.
As for the OP - I have no problem with that as it was in the context of her basketball skill and not being a classic 'athletic type' - the final bit being but man can she play this game. My take away being - it doesn't matter what you look like if you can play like a goddess - which is really what you want us talking about - substance over surface.
The orange leg bit was a bit over the top, but ... John Boehner get called on his bottle tan all the time so it isn't that unusual. Found it interesting that Lobo said Dtef wanted people to know that she understands tanning beds are dangerous but she just wants some color in the winter - suggesting it might even have been a request from Stef?
This falls into the fill in the dead time in a game that is not close and is one of my least favorite parts of any announcing team. I thought the analysis of play they did earlier was actually above standard - and using tape to show the double screen that got Shonni open for her 3, and earlier for some Uconn play was really nice.

you really don't think that there's a difference between saying someone is not your "classic athletic type", and she is "really goofy looking"? you've got to be kidding!

 

[watanabe]

I personally think its an "Imus" type comment. Remember his little snide comment about the rutgers players? It's all uncalled for, and an insult to the players and the fans. We are there to watch WCBB not to engage in derogatory comments. The announcers should have kept there comments on the game. Very poor taste.

 

[Vowelguy]

I personally think its an "Imus" type comment.

Imus made a racist comment.
This is in no way like that.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

What a luxury we have as UConn WCBB fans to be getting agita or angina or dyspepsia about this! Stewie reminds me of a couple of men's basketball greats and a couple of men's baseball greats. They were loose and cool - no sweat man. They would have applauded Stewie messing with Geno's hair after the ND semi. Part of Stewie's greatness is her loose as a goose demeanor. She is as cool (yet as driven) as they come and I suspect she could care less what the commentators ramble on about as she blocks, lays a quick 2 in, or stokes a long 3 down.

 

[boontonbomber]

What a luxury we have as UConn WCBB fans to be getting agita or angina or dyspepsia about this! Stewie reminds me of a couple of men's basketball greats and a couple of men's baseball greats. They were loose and cool - no sweat man. They would have applauded Stewie messing with Geno's hair after the ND semi. Part of Stewie's greatness is her loose as a goose demeanor. She is as cool (yet as driven) as they come and I suspect she could care less what the commentators ramble on about as she blocks, lays a quick 2 in, or stokes a long 3 down.

so" loose and cool"= "goofy"? not that you care, but not to my way of thinking. the first is sports lingo, the second is a pathetic attempt at cute and witty.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

so loose and cool= goofy? the first is sports lingo, the second is a pathetic attempt at cute and witty.

I think you are a lot younger than me. The guys I am thinking about were flat out called goofy and they reveled in it and killed off the opposition with goofy abandon!

 

[boontonbomber]

I think you are a lot younger than me. The guys I am thinking about were flat out called goofy and they reveled in it and killed off the opposition with goofy abandon!

if i'm a lot younger than you are, then i'm surprised that you're able to get from the beginning of a sentence to the end, while still remembering what you said at the beginning. and you seem to do that quite nicely, so that's not the case. oh sure, dizzy and daffy and schalk and casey and lefty( assume you know these guys) played up their goofiness, but the goofiness was their creation.
breanna is not trying to be goofy ,act goofy , or look goofy on the court. in fact, she is as far from goofy as a player can get. and rebecca and pam should keep that in mind next time they're tempted to be entertaining during a blowout.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

if i'm a lot younger than you are, then i'm surprised that you're able to get from the beginning of a sentence to the end, while still remembering what you said at the beginning. and you seem to do that quite nicely, so that's not the case. oh sure, dizzy and daffy and schalk and casey and lefty( assume you know these guys) played up their goofiness, but the goofiness was their creation.
breanna is not trying to be goofy ,act goofy , or look goofy on the court. in fact, she is as far from goofy as a player can get. and rebecca and pam should keep that in mind next time they're tempted to be entertaining during a blowout.

A small demurrer: Occasionally Breanna goes out of her way to do goofing, if not goofy.

 

[Buzzyboy]

During the course of the day yesterday (and often on other busy bb days), Kara commented on both men's and women's games and she did so with the same knowledgeable and professional manner for each, making no distinction (childish or otherwise -- e.g., "orange legs" or "diaper dandies") between wcbb and mcbb.

She has become (along with maybe Jay Bilas) the ultimate bb analyst.

IMO.

I couldn't agree more that the two people I've got the most respect for regarding the men's and women's game are Kara Lawson and Jay Bilas. They are (or at least appear to be) the most honest, straightforward announcers out there. They both have a lot of integrity and don't even come close to favoring "their" beloved alma maters when it comes to analyzing. Kara has criticized the Lady Vols over the years and Jay has come down against the Dukies when it was appropriate to do so without any hesitation and I find it so refreshing. I also am fond of Doris Burke (though some here don't agree) because I think she is bright and honest and doesn't discriminate. She has a little bit of the Howard Cosell in her as does the aforementioned Mr. Bilas and Ms. Lawson. Standouts, all!

 

[tomcat]

You know, ordinarily I wouldn't complain about this, because there have been stories about how "goofy" Breanna acts. But this was not about what she does or how she acts (more about that in a moment). This is about how she looks. I am dead certain that Rebecca Lobo, who as a student athlete displayed at least a couple of prominent physical characteristics that she was born with and that she wished she could have changed, would not have wanted some announcer calling attention to what was obvious to each and every person who ever cast eyes on her. That, by the way, is true of many of us. That may be a hell of a wart on your face, but you don't need some moron pointing it out when everyone can see it.

Meanwhile, there was, not long ago, a story about how goofy Breanna's behavior is. Wish I could attribute it, but I read a lot of stuff and do not remember where I saw it. What stuck in my mind were two examples. First, she and Stef were bouncing from one bed to another, taking photos of each other appearing to be flying. Imaginative, yes? High-spirited? Sure. Goofy? Not so sure, and who's to say it wasn't Stef's idea, anyway? The other was that she snuck up behind one of the coaches and put her hands over the coach's eyes. Surprise!!! That was not goofy. It was lame.

Long story short, as a model for the basketball player of the future, Breanna blows me away. As a model for goofiness, um, not so much. And as for the announcers, it'd be one thing if they made a simple reference to the fact that she has these long arms and kind of walks funny and left it at that, but the reference was repetitious and seemed a calculated attempt to make Breanna more "interesting" (and not necessarily in a good way) than she is.

The truth? Breanna seems, despite all this, to be a modest, athletically driven kid with amazing gifts cultivated by her father, who seems to be a nice guy who knows how to keep things in perspective. She is, against all odds, not a diva and not really goofy. She is normal. It's not a sexy story for ESPN to sell, but it sure is nice to see.

 

[Geno-ista]

Were my wife and i the only ones who thought the extended conversation during the Louisville game, between Rebecca and Pam Ward about Stewie being "goofy looking" was inappropriate? With all of the emphasis on women's self esteem being tied to their appearance, I thought that this was way out of line. I know that Rebecca walks on water, here, and to a certain extent, she should, but that shocked me.
JMO...

I also felt uncomfortable with extent of the conversation----- it would have been one thing if she/they said, don't let her occasionally awkward looking body or play fool you, yada yada yada.... they didn't just make short harmless and funny comments which would have been fine---they really beat them to death. I was surprised as well.

 

[boontonbomber]

You know, ordinarily I wouldn't complain about this, because there have been stories about how "goofy" Breanna acts. But this was not about what she does or how she acts (more about that in a moment). This is about how she looks. I am dead certain that Rebecca Lobo, who as a student athlete displayed at least a couple of prominent physical characteristics that she was born with and that she wished she could have changed, would not have wanted some announcer calling attention to what was obvious to each and every person who ever cast eyes on her. That, by the way, is true of many of us. That may be a hell of a wart on your face, but you don't need some moron pointing it out when everyone can see it.

Meanwhile, there was, not long ago, a story about how goofy Breanna's behavior is. Wish I could attribute it, but I read a lot of stuff and do not remember where I saw it. What stuck in my mind were two examples. First, she and Stef were bouncing from one bed to another, taking photos of each other appearing to be flying. Imaginative, yes? High-spirited? Sure. Goofy? Not so sure, and who's to say it wasn't Stef's idea, anyway? The other was that she snuck up behind one of the coaches and put her hands over the coach's eyes. Surprise!!! That was not goofy. It was lame.

Long story short, as a model for the basketball player of the future, Breanna blows me away. As a model for goofiness, um, not so much. And as for the announcers, it'd be one thing if they made a simple reference to the fact that she has these long arms and kind of walks funny and left it at that, but the reference was repetitious and seemed a calculated attempt to make Breanna more "interesting" (and not necessarily in a good way) than she is.

The truth? Breanna seems, despite all this, to be a modest, athletically driven kid with amazing gifts cultivated by her father, who seems to be a nice guy who knows how to keep things in perspective. She is, against all odds, not a diva and not really goofy. She is normal. It's not a s e xy story for ESPN to sell, but it sure is nice to see.

very well stated. i also thought that the comments referred to how she looks , not how she acts. and that's what bothered me so much.

 

[johnnyc]

and her running is certainly not graceful.

I don't know....I think her running is graceful.....she kind of glides. I don't see her as being goofy athletic wise....maybe in her facial expressions from time to time. I guess it doesn't bother me that they referred to her like that but I really don't see it.

 

[01Neaggrad02]

I have been waiting to comment on this... because I wanted to think about what I was going to say carefully. I find it interesting that people are outraged that they commented on Stewie... yet they found it acceptable when the announcers were given KML crap when she was coming back from injury and how she allowed herself to get out of shape. But anyways, in the end KML and Stewie will go on to have amazing basketball careers and they will only be able to talk about it.

 

[FairView]

I think the goofy comments were way out of line and I was surprised to hear them coming from Rebecca. The extent and duration of the discussion made it even worse. Shame on them both. I also had a problem with the comments made about KML, but at least one of the announcers jumped in and talked about her injury affecting her shape. Both lines of commenting are out of line in my book.

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

I think the goofy comments were way out of line and I was surprised to hear them coming from Rebecca. The extent and duration of the discussion made it even worse. Shame on them both. I also had a problem with the comments made about KML, but at least one of the announcers jumped in and talked about her injury affecting her shape. Both lines of commenting are out of line in my book.

How can a comment about an injury affecting physical endurance be out of line?

 

[FairView]

How can a comment about an injury affecting physical endurance be out of line?

I'm sorry that I wasn't clear in my explanation. I thought the KML comments were out of line until they began to talk of injury. If I remember correctly, the commentary began with a comment about KML owing it to the team or to herself to be in better shape and implying that she was not doing all she could to be a good player. Then commentator 2 stepped in to talk about the injury and the effect that had on KML's conditioning. So it did start out pretty out of line. However, after the commentators talked it through, it wasn't as bad. So the last sentence in my previous post is somewhat misleading. So, am I starting too many sentences with so?

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

I'm sorry that I wasn't clear in my explanation. I thought the KML comments were out of line until they began to talk of injury. If I remember correctly, the commentary began with a comment about KML owing it to the team or to herself to be in better shape and implying that she was not doing all she could to be a good player. Then commentator 2 stepped in to talk about the injury and the effect that had on KML's conditioning. So it did start out pretty out of line. However, after the commentators talked it through, it wasn't as bad. So the last sentence in my previous post is somewhat misleading. So, am I starting too many sentences with so?

Fair...I don't think so. It is a complex topic, that is so true..

 

[pap49cba]

So, am I starting too many sentences with so?

Fair...I don't think so. It is a complex topic, that is so true..

And even if you are, so what?

 

[UCAP_Fan]

Leave Rebecca alone. She is Family. UCONN.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

I was watching the game and heard the comment. And while I agreed with the point Lobo was trying to make, I think the word choice could have been different, only because I worried that some might associate a negative connotation with the word "goofy" that would detract from Lobo's analysis.

What I believe Lobo was trying to convey is that looking at Breanna Stewart, she does not *look* like the best college basketball player in the country. She is not overly muscular (e.g., a player like Catchings) or extremely defined (e.g.,Ogwumike or a player like Leslie); she does not have elite-level speed (e.g.,Moriah); she is not an imposing physical presence (e.g., a player like Griner). She looks like a tall player with long limbs and a lanky frame. In some ways, she has yet to grow into her frame, almost as if she is like a teenager around 13 or 14 who is considered "gawky" because she has not yet grown into her body or fully matured into her physique. In other words, it would not be uncommon for someone to look at Breanna Stewart outside of the context of a game and wonder, "She is the best player? Really?"

As another example, Serena Williams looks like she is the best tennis player in the world (and arguably the best or one of the best to ever play the sport). People look at her and are immediately intimidated, before the match has even commenced. Stewart, solely in terms of her appearance/physique/frame, does not necessarily convey that aura or lead to that perception.

Lobo's point was that Stewart's appearance/physique/frame is incredibly deceptive and belies her considerable, all-world talent. And I agree, both in terms of the appearance and the all-world talent.

In fact, Lobo's reaction to Stewart was the same reaction I had the first time I saw Penny Taylor. I made an immediate judgment based on her appearance/physique/frame. And then I saw Penny Taylor play and realized why she was considered, at the time (2001), one of the best young talents in the world (and she would go on to be the 2006 WC MVP and a top ten player in the world).

And I also think Lobo made the casual comment in part because it is true, but also because people said the same thing about her during her collegiate career at UConn. I believe her statement was not just intended to be complimentary of Breanna Stewart, but that it was also meant to convey familiarity, as Lobo experienced the same thing a generation ago.

 

[meyers7]

well, then she should have said all those things, and she would have made her point.

She did make her point. I guess it just went over some people's heads.