[OT] Murray Walker to retire

He's going at the end of 2001, according to Ceefax. James Allen is favourite to repace him. -- David. (final [?] GPLRank handicap: -5.92) The GPL Scrapyard - http://www.hillclimbfan.f2s.com "After all, a mere thousand yards - such a harmless little knoll, really" - Raymond Mays on Shelsley Walsh.

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] (David Buttery) wrote: > He's going at the end of 2001, according to Ceefax. James Allen is > favourite to repace him. >Pity. He should have gone at the end of 1990! Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.

Oh... here we go!! IMO, there have been many, many races over the last few years where Murray was the only entertaining thing on the broadcast. I'll miss the Murray-isms. You either love him or hate him, I guess. SB. -- --------------- return e-mail address invalid reply to me in the newsgroup --------------- <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:914au1$kpk$[email hidden]... > > > Pity. > He should have gone at the end of 1990!

F1 will NEVER be the same without Murray Walker. I'm from Scotland but I've lived in the states for the last 3 years and have been forced to listen to absolutely clueless commentators babbling absolute rubbish about schumacher (shoe maker) and Jacques Villeneuve (vee la noo) and anything else they can think of. It makes you appreciate Murray all the more. When he goes, believe me, you'll miss him! ...Colin "David Buttery" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> He's going at the end of 2001, according to Ceefax. James Allen is > favourite to repace him. > > -- > David. (final [?] GPLRank handicap: -5.92) > The GPL Scrapyard - http://www.hillclimbfan.f2s.com > "After all, a mere thousand yards - such a harmless little knoll,

really" - > Raymond Mays on Shelsley Walsh.

I completely agree, Murray has always been there and is part of F1, I am going to miss him :(. He is so enthusiastic about the sport and the racing. I tried watching on eurosport a while ago and it just didnt feel right. Ash "Colin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:914f1k$jj1$[email hidden]... | F1 will NEVER be the same without Murray Walker. | I'm from Scotland but I've lived in the states for the last 3 years andhave | been forced to listen to absolutely clueless commentators babblingabsolute | rubbish about schumacher (shoe maker) and Jacques Villeneuve (vee la noo) | and anything else they can think of. It makes you appreciate Murray allthe

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| more. | | When he goes, believe me, you'll miss him! | ...Colin | | "David Buttery" <[email hidden]> wrote in message | news:[email hidden]... | > He's going at the end of 2001, according to Ceefax. James Allen is | > favourite to repace him. | > | > -- | > David. (final [?] GPLRank handicap: -5.92) | > The GPL Scrapyard - http://www.hillclimbfan.f2s.com | > "After all, a mere thousand yards - such a harmless little knoll, | really" - | > Raymond Mays on Shelsley Walsh. | |

That truly must have been a while. Eurosport hasn't "had" F1 since '96, I think. As for Murray, I've never had the misfortune of hearing him cover F1, but from the times I've audibly heard him in action (this one's for you Bruce ;-)), commenting on the BTCC or the British SuperBike Championship, I have always found him most annoying (not that the current commentators for these series are any better, mind). Classic case of a way overdue retirement IMO. Jan. =--- Ashley McConnell wrote...

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> I completely agree, Murray has always been there and > is part of F1, I am going to miss him :(. He is so > enthusiastic about the sport and the racing. > > I tried watching on eurosport a while ago and it > just didnt feel right. > > Ash

<snip>

> He's going at the end of 2001, according to Ceefax. James Allen is > favourite to repace him. Yep, however I think he has made the best decision to bow out gracefully and to have a final year to savour knowing what he will be doing in the future. I wish him all the best. - The Murray Walker Quotes Page, http://www.worldmotorsport.com/murray/

On Tue, 12 Dec 2000 11:52:30 +0100, "Jan Verschueren" <[email hidden]> wrote:

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>That truly must have been a while. Eurosport hasn't "had" F1 since '96, I >think. > >As for Murray, I've never had the misfortune of hearing him cover F1, but >from the times I've audibly heard him in action (this one's for you Bruce >;-)), commenting on the BTCC or the British SuperBike Championship, I have >always found him most annoying (not that the current commentators for these >series are any better, mind). Classic case of a way overdue retirement IMO. > >Jan.

Jan, I also never had the chance to hear the guy, but after reading some 'Murrayisms' on this site, which was posted on the GPLEA forum, I can't help becoming a big fan of him. Check out these classics... "He's in front of everyone in this race except for the two in front of him." "It's not quite a curve. It's a straight actually!" "People ask me who is going to be the next Hill, the next Schumacher. I say look out for Mika Salo! (Salo then crashes)" "He's lost both right front tyres!" "Schumacher overtakes Villeneuve. Oh, no he doesn't! Oh, yes he does!" And it goes on and on here: http://homes.acmecity.com/depechemode/stripped/177/murray.htm Have fun :) Andre

> And it goes on and on here: or view the definitive collection of Walkerisms at The Murray Walker Quotes Page- http://www.worldmotorsport.com/murray/

No....I don't hate the gentleman. I just think that his commentary style faded into an embarrassing gloop after his partner, James Hunt, departed this earth. Murray just wasn't the same after James left the team. -- Regards, Bruce Kennewell, Canberra, Australia. --------------------------- Sideshow Bob <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > Oh... here we go!! > > IMO, there have been many, many races over the last few years where Murray > was the only entertaining thing on the broadcast. I'll miss the > Murray-isms. > > You either love him or hate him, I guess. > > SB. > > -- > --------------- > return e-mail address invalid > reply to me in the newsgroup > --------------- > <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:914au1$kpk$[email hidden]... > > > > > Pity. > > He should have gone at the end of 1990! > > >

Well, yeah, just in the same way in which I "miss" a toothache or the pain from a stubbed toe. You know....suddenly it's stopped and, Oh!, doesn't it feel *nice*! -- Regards, Bruce Kennewell, Canberra, Australia. --------------------------- Colin <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:914f1k$jj1$[email hidden]... > F1 will NEVER be the same without Murray Walker. > I'm from Scotland but I've lived in the states for the last 3 years and have > been forced to listen to absolutely clueless commentators babbling absolute > rubbish about schumacher (shoe maker) and Jacques Villeneuve (vee la noo) > and anything else they can think of. It makes you appreciate Murray all the > more. > > When he goes, believe me, you'll miss him! > ...Colin > > "David Buttery" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:[email hidden]... > > He's going at the end of 2001, according to Ceefax. James Allen is > > favourite to repace him. > > > > -- > > David. (final [?] GPLRank handicap: -5.92) > > The GPL Scrapyard - http://www.hillclimbfan.f2s.com > > "After all, a mere thousand yards - such a harmless little knoll, > really" - > > Raymond Mays on Shelsley Walsh. > >

LOL! Thanks, Jan :-) -- Regards, Bruce Kennewell, Canberra, Australia. --------------------------- Jan Verschueren <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > but > from the times I've audibly heard him in action (this one's for you Bruce > ;-)),

I think that sports commentating is one of the few jobs where one can make a successful and lucrative career out of talking a load of waffle. Make as many mistakes in YOUR job as Murray has made over the years and I'll guarantee you that your boss would've got rid of you long ago! -- Regards, Bruce Kennewell, Canberra, Australia. --------------------------- Andre Warringa <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > Jan, I also never had the chance to hear the guy, but after reading > some 'Murrayisms' on this site, which was posted on the GPLEA forum, I > can't help becoming a big fan of him. > Check out these classics... >

> As for Murray, I've never had the misfortune of hearing him cover F1, but > from the times I've audibly heard him in action (this one's for you Bruce > ;-)), commenting on the BTCC or the British SuperBike Championship, I have > always found him most annoying (not that the current commentators forthese > series are any better, mind). Instead we have the misfortune of having to listen to the boring monotone nonsense of Peter Baert and Filip Verellen. I would trade those to for Murray anytime! Belgian F1 coverage is the worst I've ever seen. No interviews, no pitwalks, no free practice, no warmup, no backstage information, no nothing! Those 2 know nothing more then what they read in the newspaper on saturdaymorning...

"Tim Vanhee" <[email hidden]> writes:

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> > As for Murray, I've never had the misfortune of hearing him cover F1, but > > from the times I've audibly heard him in action (this one's for you Bruce > > ;-)), commenting on the BTCC or the British SuperBike Championship, I have > > always found him most annoying (not that the current commentators for > these > > series are any better, mind). > > Instead we have the misfortune of having to listen to the boring monotone > nonsense of Peter Baert and Filip Verellen. I would trade those to for > Murray anytime! > Belgian F1 coverage is the worst I've ever seen. No interviews, no pitwalks, > no free practice, no warmup, no backstage information, no nothing! Those 2 > know nothing more then what they read in the newspaper on saturdaymorning...

It's like that in Norway too. Only the sunday race. The main commnetator is utterly crap, but the side commentator is a former racer, and is quite good. One other thing is that all the races outside Europe is shown as 25 minute edited highligts, which completely removes any exitement. Looking forward to watch F1 digital next year. :) -- Olav K. Malmin remove .spam when replying

Yes. Hunt was the perfect foil for Murray. The chemistry with other co-presenters has just not been the same. Palmer was utterly hopeless and I always have visions of Brundle doing his best to keep biting on his lip whilst avoiding what he would like to say <G> MS Bruce Kennewell <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > No....I don't hate the gentleman. > I just think that his commentary style faded into an embarrassing gloop > after his partner, James Hunt, departed this earth. Murray just wasn'tthe

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> same after James left the team. > > -- > Regards, > Bruce Kennewell, > Canberra, Australia. > --------------------------- > > Sideshow Bob <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:[email hidden]... > > Oh... here we go!! > > > > IMO, there have been many, many races over the last few years where

Murray

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> > was the only entertaining thing on the broadcast. I'll miss the > > Murray-isms. > > > > You either love him or hate him, I guess. > > > > SB. > > > > -- > > --------------- > > return e-mail address invalid > > reply to me in the newsgroup > > --------------- > > <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:914au1$kpk$[email hidden]... > > > > > > > Pity. > > > He should have gone at the end of 1990! > > > > > > > >

On Tue, 12 Dec 2000 23:51:34 +1100, "Bruce Kennewell" <[email hidden]> wrote: >I think that sports commentating is one of the few jobs where one can make a >successful and lucrative career out of talking a load of waffle. > >Make as many mistakes in YOUR job as Murray has made over the years and I'll >guarantee you that your boss would've got rid of you long ago! Unless he has got a good sense of humour... which he doesn't :( Andre

Why don't you watch it on "La deux" (RTBF) Tim? -Thierry Tassin and Gaetan Vigneron are pretty good/knowledgable. I usually watch/tape free practise and warmup on RTL and DSF (ASTRA satellite), although the German commentators are a bit too chauvinistic for my liking. Not to knock Peter Baert, because he's done a lot to bring motorsport on screen in the past few years (e.g. the finish of the Zolder 24hr race was live on TV for the first time this year), but as an F1 commentator he's indeed not much cop. I don't know if you noticed his replacement at the Malaysian GP. Chris "something", a car/motorsport journo who also works for "De 6de versnelling". He made much more effective use of Philip than Peter's ever done. Off the record, I think Philip usually just keeps his gob shut not to show up Baert too badly. ;-) There's a lot of room for improvement in F1 coverage over here, for sure, so why don't you surf over to www.kanaal2.be and let the sports redaction know about it... they got a feedback form on there. I did and got a "thank you for your comment" E-mail in return. Whether they'll listen or not is another matter, of course. ;-) Jan. =--- Tim Vanhee wrote...

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> > <snip> > Instead we have the misfortune of having to listen to the > boring monotone nonsense of Peter Baert and Filip Verellen. > I would trade those to for Murray anytime! > Belgian F1 coverage is the worst I've ever seen. No interviews, > no pitwalks, no free practice, no warmup, no backstage > information, no nothing! Those 2 know nothing more then what > they read in the newspaper on saturdaymorning... > >

LOL... I can well imagine. Jan. =--- Mark Seery wrote...

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> Yes. > > Hunt was the perfect foil for Murray. The chemistry > with other co-presenters has just not been the same. > Palmer was utterly hopeless and I always have visions > of Brundle doing his best to keep biting on his lip > whilst avoiding what he would like to say <G> > > MS > <snip>

HAAA! You too, Mark?! I guess then that Martin's irritation DOES come through the speakers quite clearly! :-) -- Regards, Bruce Kennewell, Canberra, Australia. --------------------------- Mark Seery <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:aYsZ5.7635$[email hidden]... > Yes. > > and I always have > visions of Brundle doing his best to keep biting on his lip whilst avoiding > what he would like to say <G> >

In article <3a361e31$[email hidden]>, "Bruce Kennewell" <[email hidden]> writes: >I think that sports commentating is one of the few jobs where one can make a >successful and lucrative career out of talking a load of waffle. > >Make as many mistakes in YOUR job as Murray has made over the years and I'll >guarantee you that your boss would've got rid of you long ago! ...unless you're a weatherman...<g> Eldred -- Tiger Stadium R.I.P. 1912-1999 Homepage - http://www.umich.edu/~epickett GPL hcp. +40.48 Never argue with an idiot. He brings you down to his level, then beats you with experience... Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

The multiplay on STCC2 is some of the best ive seen lately.. no lag and fast fps in this game make for fun play.... PassedYa [email hidden] wrote:

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> In article <[email hidden]>, > [email hidden] (David Buttery) wrote: > > He's going at the end of 2001, according to Ceefax. James Allen is > > favourite to repace him. > > > Pity. > He should have gone at the end of 1990! > > Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ > Before you buy.

Oddly enough, weather forecasting has become amazingly accurate over the past several years. Even on a localised scale, so I understand. -- Regards, Bruce Kennewell, Canberra, Australia. --------------------------- EldredP <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > In article <3a361e31$[email hidden]>, "Bruce Kennewell" > <[email hidden]> writes: > > >I think that sports commentating is one of the few jobs where one can make a > >successful and lucrative career out of talking a load of waffle. > > > >Make as many mistakes in YOUR job as Murray has made over the years and I'll > >guarantee you that your boss would've got rid of you long ago! > > ...unless you're a weatherman...<g> > > Eldred > -- > Tiger Stadium R.I.P. 1912-1999 > Homepage - http://www.umich.edu/~epickett > GPL hcp. +40.48 > > Never argue with an idiot. He brings you down to his level, then beats you > with experience... > Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

> Oddly enough, weather forecasting has become amazingly accurate over the > past several years. Even on a localised scale, so I understand. yeah, right. I watch the weather forcecast every day, and then see the weather, they are usually ~5 hours out about when it will start raining.

Mark Hewitt wrote: > > > Oddly enough, weather forecasting has become amazingly accurate over the > > past several years. Even on a localised scale, so I understand. > > yeah, right. I watch the weather forcecast every day, and then see the > weather, they are usually ~5 hours out about when it will start raining. The problem with weather prediction is that it is exponentially unstable. This means that with doubling the computer power used in predicting it, you will not double the time for which the prediction is reliable, but only add a certain ammount of time for each doubling of the power. -Gregor

"Olav K. Malmin" wrote:

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> > It's like that in Norway too. Only the sunday race. The main > commnetator is utterly crap, but the side commentator is a former > racer, and is quite good. One other thing is that all the races > outside Europe is shown as 25 minute edited highligts, which > completely removes any exitement. > > Looking forward to watch F1 digital next year. :)

The only reason I can think of that you find Huysman quite good is the contrast that our main commentator provides :-) I miss the days of Eurosport and John Watson/Ben Edwards, or even better, the years when Watson was paired up with Allard Kalff (sp), *that* was commentating worth listening to, made for an entertaining afternoon even if the race was boring Beers and cheers (uncle) Goy "Team Mirage" http://members.prestige.net/bttw/teammirage/ "The Pits" http://www.theuspits.com/ * Spam is for losers who can't get business any other way * "Spamkiller" http://www.spamkiller.com

That was how I felt back in the Hunt/Walker days......James' contribution made having to listen to Murray somewhat tolerable. But when James went, poor old Muzza and his gaffs just became tiresome. -- Regards, Bruce Kennewell, Canberra, Australia. --------------------------- Goy Larsen <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > > "Olav K. Malmin" wrote: > > > > It's like that in Norway too. Only the sunday race. The main > > commnetator is utterly crap, but the side commentator is a former > > racer, and is quite good. One other thing is that all the races > > outside Europe is shown as 25 minute edited highligts, which > > completely removes any exitement. > > > > Looking forward to watch F1 digital next year. :) > > The only reason I can think of that you find Huysman quite good is the > contrast that our main commentator provides :-) > > I miss the days of Eurosport and John Watson/Ben Edwards, or even > better, the years when Watson was paired up with Allard Kalff (sp), > *that* was commentating worth listening to, made for an entertaining > afternoon even if the race was boring > > > Beers and cheers > (uncle) Goy > > "Team Mirage" http://members.prestige.net/bttw/teammirage/ > "The Pits" http://www.theuspits.com/ > > * Spam is for losers who can't get business any other way * > "Spamkiller" http://www.spamkiller.com

Gregor, What if you change the "Computer Inertia=X" variable to some lower number ? : / --DK "Gregor Veble" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > Mark Hewitt wrote: > > > > > Oddly enough, weather forecasting has become amazingly accurate overthe

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> > > past several years. Even on a localised scale, so I understand. > > > > yeah, right. I watch the weather forcecast every day, and then see the > > weather, they are usually ~5 hours out about when it will start raining. > > The problem with weather prediction is that it is exponentially > unstable. This means that with doubling the computer power used in > predicting it, you will not double the time for which the prediction is > reliable, but only add a certain ammount of time for each doubling of > the power. > > -Gregor

In article <3a3728af$[email hidden]>, "Bruce Kennewell" <[email hidden]> writes: >Oddly enough, weather forecasting has become amazingly accurate over the >past several years. Even on a localised scale, so I understand. You'd be surprized how often they're wrong. At least in the Detroit area - there have been several major storms forecast that didn't occur, and a few that 'snuck up' on them...<g> Eldred -- Tiger Stadium R.I.P. 1912-1999 Homepage - http://www.umich.edu/~epickett GPL hcp. +40.48 Never argue with an idiot. He brings you down to his level, then beats you with experience... Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

In article <[email hidden]>, "Sideshow Bob" <[email hidden]> wrote: > Oh... here we go!! > > IMO, there have been many, many races over the last few years whereMurray

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> was the only entertaining thing on the broadcast. I'll miss the > Murray-isms. > > You either love him or hate him, I guess. > > SB. > "Muddley Talker" has been the best thing on F1 broadcasts for as long

as I can remmber F1 will be worse place without him. How many people do you know that have attended all GP's apart from one in 50 years.> -- > --------------- > return e-mail address invalid > reply to me in the newsgroup > --------------- > <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:914au1$kpk$[email hidden]... > > > > > Pity. > > He should have gone at the end of 1990! > > Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

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> The multiplay on STCC2 is some of the best ive seen lately.. no lag and > fast > fps in this game make for fun play.... > > > PassedYa >

Oh my. Murray has somehow discovered, and posted to, Usenet. MRSisson

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> > [email hidden] wrote: > > > In article <[email hidden]>, > > [email hidden] (David Buttery) wrote: > > > He's going at the end of 2001, according to Ceefax. James Allen is > > > favourite to repace him. > > > > > Pity. > > He should have gone at the end of 1990! > > > > Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ > > Before you buy. > >

Jan Verschueren <[email hidden]> schreef in berichtnieuws [email hidden]... > Why don't you watch it on "La deux" (RTBF) Tim? -Thierry Tassin and Gaetan > Vigneron are pretty good/knowledgable. I usually watch/tape free practise > and warmup on RTL and DSF (ASTRA satellite), although the German > commentators are a bit too chauvinistic for my liking. I watch it now and then, but I'm always looking with a friend and his french isn't the best... Sound is much better on la deux. On kanaal 2 F1 sound is dumbed down to allow us to hear the mumbling presenters. On La deux its full stereo and sharp sound. The coverage is much better overall. I'm seriously thinking about buying a sattelite dish, because over here our cable company stopped broadcasting Eurosport some months ago and I desperatly want to see some descent racing again!

Goy Larsen <[email hidden]> writes:

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> "Olav K. Malmin" wrote: > > > > It's like that in Norway too. Only the sunday race. The main > > commnetator is utterly crap, but the side commentator is a former > > racer, and is quite good. One other thing is that all the races > > outside Europe is shown as 25 minute edited highligts, which > > completely removes any exitement. > > > > Looking forward to watch F1 digital next year. :) > > The only reason I can think of that you find Huysman quite good is the > contrast that our main commentator provides :-) > > I miss the days of Eurosport and John Watson/Ben Edwards, or even > better, the years when Watson was paired up with Allard Kalff (sp), > *that* was commentating worth listening to, made for an entertaining > afternoon even if the race was boring

Oh yeah, Watson/Edwards was great. And the pairing of Edwards and Jeremy Shaw on the CART races is pretty good too. Too bad we only get a stupid swede commentating the CART races here. I luckily have Portland 97 on video with Edwards/Shaw, and when Mark Blundell edged De Ferran with 0.027 to the finish line, they both sounded like they would jump out the commentary box. A classic. Anyone know how and who the commentators are on the Kiosk/Digital F1 feed ? -- Olav K. Malmin remove .spam when replying

Well, don't turn to Eurosport for it!! At least not for autosport, apart from some half decent Rally, FIA GT/ALMS and F3000 coverage it's been pretty slim pickings indeed. Edited highlights of CART when they felt like it and hardly any Nascar at all. F1's still lost to <bleep>ing ITV and RTL. Of course RTL is on satellite as, well which is a good thing as understanding some German is pretty easy for us. DSF also has German F3, the Nurburg 24hr and assorted support races. Bikes is another matter. Excellent coverage of both GP and SBK racing on Eurosport. No bones whatsoever there. If you want to buy an analog receiver, there's no time like the present. I just saw an antenna/tuner combination for 3995,-Bf... in Brico of all places! I don't know about digital... I hear a lot of claims about channels being received with homemade smartcards, but I'm sure this trend won't last. Jan. =--- Tim Vanhee wrote...

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> <snip> > I watch it now and then, but I'm always looking with a friend > and his french isn't the best... > Sound is much better on la deux. On kanaal 2 F1 sound is dumbed > down to allow us to hear the mumbling presenters. On La deux its > full stereo and sharp sound. The coverage is much better overall. > I'm seriously thinking about buying a sattelite dish, because over > here our cable company stopped broadcasting Eurosport some months > ago and I desperatly want to see some descent racing again!

"Jan Verschueren" <[email hidden]> writes:

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> Well, don't turn to Eurosport for it!! At least not for autosport, apart > from some half decent Rally, FIA GT/ALMS and F3000 coverage it's been pretty > slim pickings indeed. Edited highlights of CART when they felt like it and > hardly any Nascar at all. F1's still lost to <bleep>ing ITV and RTL. Of > course RTL is on satellite as, well which is a good thing as understanding > some German is pretty easy for us. DSF also has German F3, the Nurburg 24hr > and assorted support races.

Yeah, Eurosport has gone from a good auto racing channel to a crap one. But they say that will send all the NASCAR races live next year. So no real CART coverage next year either... :( > Bikes is another matter. Excellent coverage of both GP and SBK racing on > Eurosport. No bones whatsoever there. For some reason, bikes are huge on Eurosport. Specially the GP series, it's like F1 pre 96, every practice session live. -- Olav K. Malmin remove .spam when replying

Murray Walker will always be the voice of F1 to me. As was pointed out, the chemistry with Hunt will never be repeated; replacements have been trotted out, but none have worked as well as Brundle. The chemistry may not be perfect, but they do function as a team. At least he's galaxies better than the American coverage (have you watched a CART race recently?) with their pop-up-video Web-centric style "features" (why do we need features, can't I just watch the fricking race?) and their announcers who think racing is baseball: statistics, statistics, statistics! Gimme a break. A lot of complaints ("he should have retired in 1990!" etc.) have been posted, but who else could there be? The only other announcer(s) I've seen that are of the calibre of Walker (exceed it, actually, in their field) are the combo of John Watson & Charlie Cox (BTCC.) In Canada, we have the opportunity to watch Watson as co-host for the Montreal F1 (it used to be Jackie Stewart and Bobby Unser as 2/3 of the presentation team, if that can be believed.) James Allen will probably do a good job, but will not have the draw that Walker had. I've found that peoples opinions about him are very digital: ones and zeros; there is no middle ground. But even the people who hate him keep tuning in and its not just for the often boring races: they yell at him and make jokes about him. But make no mistake, Murray Walker _is_ F1 to many of us. OK, it's December 22, and he's set to retire at the end of the 2001 season. Does that mean we have 2 years, "including the year we are on?" SL SL

wrote on 23 Dec 2000: >Murray Walker will always be the voice of F1 to me. As was pointed >out, the chemistry with Hunt will never be repeated; replacements have >been trotted out, but none have worked as well as Brundle. The >chemistry may not be perfect, but they do function as a team.<snip> Right. I agree. Walker/Hunt was a one-off (two-off really, I suppose), but I do like Martin, even if he goes on too long sometimes - to be honest, I'd rather hear Murray describe Schumacher crashing into Coulthard or something, even if it is a bit inaccurate. BTW, did anyone else see the rather odd "humour has no place at this moment" letter about Murray's retirement in Autosport? What was the author getting at - were they implying that his mind is starting to go? -- David. (GPLRank handicap: -5.92) The GPL Scrapyard - http://www.hillclimbfan.f2s.com "After all, a mere thousand yards - such a harmless little knoll, really" - Raymond Mays on Shelsley Walsh.