Why ESPN owes Brent Musburger an apology
I believe Brent Musburger is owed an apology and so are the people who watched the national championship game.
It seems ESPN believes we should be ashamed for thinking what a beautiful woman Alabama beauty queen Katherine Webb is — as her picture came on the screen during the Notre Dame-Alabama game on Monday night.
How dare us! As we all know now, Ms. Webb is the girlfriend of Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron. ESPN, which couldn't keep its camera lens off Ms. Webb and helped make her an instant star, came down on Musburger for stating what everyone was thinking.
The cable network giant issued a swift apology for Musburger''s comments. Ms Webb said the next day on national television that Musburger did nothing wrong and was flattered.
Obviously, some executives thought differently.
Do people really have to apologize now for stating a young woman in the stands is pretty? Musburger's job is to describe what fans see on the screen, and he did just that.
Now folks, I have a little bit of experience when it comes to someone else telling me what I can and can't say. I guess it has come to the point where I won't be able to comment on the air that Fox Sports anchor/reporter Erin Andrews or CBS's Tracy Wolfson are good-looking women.
Unfortunately, the vanilla products we watch on sports or even listen to on radio are a byproduct of executives who care about covering their tracks and saving their salaries.
Everyone is worried about losing their jobs and it can happen in the blink of an eye.
Let's not forget, fellow Chicagoans, that not too long ago the legendary Harry Caray would often comment about people in the stands, and when a pretty woman was shown, he would just say “Whoooo”!
By today's standards, he would probably be suspended.
Don't change Brent — you did nothing wrong by my book.
Johnny Football: Texas AM's star quarterback, Johnny Manziel or #8220;Johnny Football#8221; as he is known, is 20 years old and apparently likes to gamble, drink and spend time with girls. He is a breath of fresh air. I wish I could say I would do differently from him if I was in his shoes, but I wouldn't and neither would a lot of guys.People at the Texas AM are going to try to get him to calm down. Good luck with that.NFL picks: Last week I had a loss with Minnesota, so my record is 16-16-1 on the season. This week, I'll take the Atlanta Falcons (-2 frac12;) over the Seattle Seahawks.A sad note:Special condolences to the family of former Notre Dame football captain Mirko Jurkovic, who passed away at the age 42.Program note:Look for me again on Mancow on Ch. 50 (WPWR) at 6 a.m. Friday and Monday.#376; Mike North's column appears each Tuesday and Friday in the Daily Herald, and his video commentary can be found Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at dailyherald.com. For more, visit northtonorth.com.