Elliotte Friedman

[Dr Pepper]

The sad thing is that he's actually done a really good job outside of this one gaffe, especially considering the situation he was put into.

And the timing on this one mistake was just horrible. He's probably called 100 heats over the last week, and just happened to make this mistake in the biggest final of the entire meet instead of some morning heat that nobody cared about.

Last night he slipped up twice, though, and in the two biggest races. Phelps, and Oleksiak. A night to forget, for him, definitely.

 

[Miamipuck]

Ok mispronouncing or flubbing a name, who knows, you're mind can be racing or thinking something else, is one thing. Yes that's a gaffe. However, totally calling a race wrong and/or confusing any swimmer for Phelps isn't a gaffe, that's a pretty ludicrous mistake.

 

[Inkling]

He is certainly owning his mistakes:

http://www.si.com/olympics/2016/08/...phelps-ryan-lochte-rio-olympics?xid=si_social

 

[Exactorman]

https://streamable.com/0s9a

for those who haven't heard it

With all due respect, where was the producer, director, executive producer, and the entire support staff? You cannot let your top talent hang himself. There are copious safety nets and alarms that should have been triggered.

 

[Miamipuck]

That's pretty big of him kudos, He seems like a good dude.

 

[le_sean]

He's one of the most likable media personalities. He's an analyst, not a play-by-play guy. I feel bad for him.

Anyone bothered by this needs to get a life. The man made a mistake.

 

[JaysCyYoung]

He is certainly owning his mistakes:

http://www.si.com/olympics/2016/08/...phelps-ryan-lochte-rio-olympics?xid=si_social

Friedman has always been an well-respected, excellent analyst who has a ton of respect around the sports broadcasting world and it's a very positive reflection on his attitude and individual work ethic that he takes such obvious pride in his work and is willing to own up to his mistakes when they occur.

There are plenty of people that would refuse to address what happened last night in such an open and transparent manner, but he's accepted full responsibility for his pair of gaffes and committed to getting better.

I don't know of any fans that respect him or his talent as a broadcaster any less for what happened. It could have happened to anyone, especially one that was tossed into an unfamiliar situation at the eleventh hour (in a sport of which they have limited knowledge of to boot), and forced to call one of the biggest events in their country's history. He was quite good for most of the swimming events previously, so hopefully he can get over this and do a great call tonight and tomorrow for the Canadian medal hopefuls. Mistakes happen, even to the best of us. Owning up to them is the important part.

 

[killer1980]

Nice to see the, largely, understanding reaction to EF's gaffe. He was put in, perhaps, the most difficult spot in TV Sports and handled it with the honesty and straightforwardness that I have come to expect.

 

[PanthersPens62]

He's one of the most likable media personalities. He's an analyst, not a play-by-play guy. I feel bad for him.

Anyone bothered by this needs to get a life. The man made a mistake.

So much this.

 

[jw2]

That's rough... But it's Canada... Not like he's being broadcast in the us where people cared.

 

[jw2]

Wait, so he didn't have production/worm in his ear correcting him???

 

[Exactorman]

That's rough... But it's Canada... Not like he's being broadcast in the us where people cared.

Sorry!

 

[Very Stable Genius]

The incredible CASEY.....KATIE LEDECKY

 

[Rocko604]

I know he doesn't want sympathy, but come on man. You're a hockey analyst and insider, not a play by play guy. **** happens.

 

[Dr Pepper]

The incredible CASEY.....KATIE LEDECKY

Did he slip up again tonight?

Coulda been worse, at least he didn't call her Missy Franklin or something.

 

[JA]

Did he slip up again tonight?

Coulda been worse, at least he didn't call her Missy Franklin or something.

He caught himself almost proclaiming Katie Ledecky as "the incomparable Casey Ledecky" when she finished the 800m freestyle today.

 

[MsMeow]

I hope he finally had something to eat and got some sleep. He is being very hard on himself but has received a ton of support. I feel awful for him, he's thrown into a sport he doesn't cover, has to do pbp, has an over-talkative homer analyst next to him and outside of a couple of swimmers has probably never heard of them. It's like throwing a swimming commentator into the Stanley Cup final with Pierre Maguire in your ear.

 

[Dr Pepper]

Guaranteed if McGuire calls any Stars games on NBC, he'll bring up Penny Oleksiak when talking about Jamie.

Then he'll do it again, later in the game, in case we didn't hear him the first time.

 

[killer1980]

Steve Harvey blew the Miss Universe call.

 

[DoyleG]

He was parachuted into the role pretty late as Steve Armitage was supposed to do swimming but had some health issues and couldn't go to Rio. I don't know for a fact, but I imagine Friedman was originally supposed to do what David Amber is doing. He's doing ok for someone who never does play-by-play; he's certainly a total pro when it comes to broadcasting.

To explain the health issues Armitage faces.

http://olympics.cbc.ca/news/article/steve-armitage-miss-olympics-due-chronic-heart-problems.html

 

[TheTotalPackage]

Is it true that Friedman thought Yohan Blake won the 100 metre race yesterday?

 

[Vasilevskiy]

https://streamable.com/0s9a

for those who haven't heard it

this is hilarious

 

[irunthepeg]

https://streamable.com/0s9a

for those who haven't heard it

First time seeing it. I was watching in a lounge when it happened on NBC but was seeing on Twitter his apology and all this other stuff. It's good to see he is owning it but he's not a PbP guy and it seems like he took the role after some unfortunate circumstances. I can't blame the guy, he's not exactly a swimming expert and is an analyst. Elliotte is a good guy and I hope he can enjoy the experience.