I’m in a mood to piss people off today. Don’t know why. Maybe because it’s the Thursday of a bye week and my alternatives are approving yet another Sixers post from Jim or putting a pack-n-play together. But this CSN press release rubbed me the wrong way:

An all-Temple Alumni on-air team will take the stage on Saturday, October 31, for Comcast SportsNet’s pre and postgame shows surrounding the Temple-Notre Dame football game from Lincoln Financial Field.

“Cherry and White” pre and postgame shows will utilize all-Temple University graduates including Danny Pommells, Ray Didinger, John Clark, Rob Ellis, Marc Zumoff, Rhea Hughes and Raheem Brock.  Many of the show’s behind-the-scenes staff are also proud Temple grads.

Pommells will host “Cherry and White Pregame Live presented by Your Tri-State Toyota Dealers Association” at 6:30 p.m. on Comcast SportsNet.  Fellow Owls Didinger and Brock will provide analysis, with Clark reporting from the field. Ellis, Zumoff and Hughes will also contribute to the program. “Cherry and White Postgame Live presented by Your Tri-State Toyota Dealers Association” will air immediately after the game on Comcast SportsNet.

Good heavens.

Few things:

  1. I’m pretty sure the person who wrote that is a Nova grad, and I can only imagine a small piece of them died pressing the send button.
  2. Danny Pommells, Ray Didinger, John Clark, Rob Ellis, Marc Zumoff, Rhea Hughes and Raheem Brock could be a pre-game show for just about anything on CSN. Why? EVERYONE WENT TO TEMPLE. Like, they didn’t even have to dig deep here. That’s just… the people who would’ve been on [insert show] anyway. If you were to walk-through the CSN newsroom or the offices of either sports talk radio station, I’m guessing that around 70% of the on-air talent and production crew went to Temple at some point. What Syracuse alum are to ESPN is what Temple alum are to the Philly sports media (though Michael Barkann went to Syracuse).
  3. To be fair, you’d have this same collegiate skew in Villanova’s favor if you were to walk through the executive suite of any of these outlets.
  4. I genuinely look forward to this sort of full-court press the next time perennially top-10 ranked Villanova basketball plays yet another marquee matchup on national TV. I get that it’s football and College GameDay – and believe me, having the show here is very cool, and I… will… wear a red cherry shirt on Saturday? – but there has been one college team in this city* over the last decade that has been a legit contender and they get less coverage than the Union.

Am I whining? Yes I’m whining! Am I right? Yes I’m right! It can be both. People have made entire careers out of whining accurately. I’ll be in full support of Temple on Saturday. I once wore a (FREE) Temple shirt to a football game…

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… and I even created a Temple category for the site. But I just think we have to acknowledge the Cherry and White bias in the media. We’re fair and balanced here. Who wants on our panel for, say, the Villanova-Virgina tilt… or the Villanova-Xavier tilt… or the Villanova-Georgetown tilt… or the Villanova-Oklahome tilt… or the Villanova-Stanford tilt?


Keith is in. He’s delightfully pleasant on the air. Who else? Kacie McDonnell went to Nova. But she’ll have a World Series to celebrate. Scott O’Neil? Alicia Viteralli? Jill Biden? Ed Rendell? Assorted CEOs and world leaders? I’m putting together an all-star Nova squad. Hit me up.

*The Twitter response to this is, almost invariably, “Villanova is not in Philadelphia.” Look:

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Got it. I forgot local news coverage is restricted to city limits. I will remember this the next time every local news broadcast opens their evening news on a summer Friday with a harem of reporters on the South Jersey beaches. I’ll also recall it the next time I listen to 97.5, which, like Villanova, is not located in the city. But please, let me hear more about your anti-Main Line insecurities.