Ryan Bradley on the Olympic Channel

[TCAngel18]

I found Ryan SO irritating with his constant talking that I finally had to turn off the TV and stick with no-commentary IceNetwork.

He hardly had anything positive to say, but was quick to point out the slightest misstep. And sometimes he was just plain wrong---saying "bad landing there" when the on-screen evaluation for the move gave it a +GOE.
His attitude seemed to be was that if you were skating at Worlds, you'd better be perfect or you didn't deserve to be there. I guess he didn't recall his own performances at Worlds: 13th in 2011, 18th in 2010, 15th in 2007. Calling him a 'mediocre skater' would be extremely kind.

Ok, a bit of hyperbole here, to be extremely kind. Ryan is a National Champion, a US Silver medalist, finished in the top 5 for 5 years running, and won multiple Grand Prix medals. Just because he didn’t translate that to worlds success in no way makes him Mediocre. Definitely much better than 99.9 percent of skaters out there.

Plus, we all know that GOE measures more than just landings. He was probably correct in analysis when he said bad landings, but if they had good height, a jump feature, interesting transition in and out, it will still receive bullet points for positive GOE, regardless of wonky landing or not. SHOULD it, no, but that happens all the time.

Your entire post reads of something more than an objective analysis of his commentary style; it appears you dislike the man himself for some reason. Kind of sad to have a strong dislike for someone you don’t even know, or can even be here to defend against the vitriol.

 

[binky]

I like ryans monotonous commentating although Im trying to figure out what "out of the circle means" on a lot of jumps. his commentating is not about himself, its always about the skater. it can make you sleepy but I like it. and tanith as well.

 

[winky97]

I actually like him way more than Johnny and Tara.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I like ryans monotonous commentating although Im trying to figure out what "out of the circle means" on a lot of jumps. his commentating is not about himself, its always about the skater. it can make you sleepy but I like it. and tanith as well.

It's a technical point when it comes to mechanics of jumping. Depending on the jump or jump direction of the skater: You jump into the circle or Out of the circle and if you do the opposite of what you are intending then that's bad.

 

[Tazzle]

Well Gee Willickers! I’m quite surprised to hear such universal dislike for Tara’s commentating. Now I don’t like her nearly as much as Johnny, but she doesn’t offend me all that much either. I find her very acceptable I guess. I think the fact that I don’t have to hear from Scott and Sandra anymore could be swaying my opinion toward the positive too. We had them for far too long! Especially Sandra. Aye yi yi! Who hired her? And WHYYYY?

But objectively, I really am struggling to understand why Tara is so disliked. Her voice isn’t overtly shrill or whiny to my ear and I find most of what she says somewhat interesting or entertaining, especially compared to the usual commentating fare in figure skating. I rather like the more laid back and conversational style that she and Johnny both have I suppose. It kind of feels like you’re watching with a skating friend.

I must say that I’ve been listening to Tara and Johnny’s podcast for the last couple of weeks, and as such have learned a lot more about Tara’s personality than I ever wanted to know. Self-centered, insecure, whiny, and elitist are a few adjectives that come to mind. (On the other hand, I love Johnny even more ) So after that exposure, I’m not sure I will enjoy the next event that they commentate quite so much. Lol. But speaking strictly about her commentating, I truly don’t recall it being that bad. She does talk a bit too much for my liking , but again compared to most I’d probably take her over the lot of them.

Another thing that doesn’t bother me that offends quite a few folks (here and on twitter too!) is commentators being critical. There is one time in my memory that I recall a commentator being inappropriately harsh and that was Scott going in on Johnny during his competitive career. He would criticize his training habits and his non-skating activities.. things that I felt were extremely inappropriate. That was one occasion where I was quite angered. If they want to criticize technique, I don’t see a problem with that. That’s what they’re there for IMO and I can’t think of anytime it’s been done with any malice or intent other than to inform the viewer what’s happening on the ice &/or with the judging. It’s likely the nature of the judging system itself which fuels most of it. Hmmm. Come to think of it, I wonder what Ryan would talk about if the 6.0 system was still used? He’d have to come up with some new material.

Speaking of, what DOES bother me GREATLY is when a commentator just lists off each jump as they occur with a description of the quality of said jump. One after the other. Over and over. I feel like I could do THAT! It doesn’t tell me anything I don’t already know and like someone said, those that don’t know probably don’t care. I struggle to see what ANYONE, regardless of their skating background, finds compelling in that style of commentating. Personally, the things I enjoy hearing about are backstory, discussion of music, choreography, how the skater’s season has been going, coaching situation, what the mood is like in the arena, etc. THAT kinda stuff. I also appreciate their viewpoints, objective and subjective. The sport has changed so much over the years and I’m quite out of touch with how things are done these days and I find myself getting a lot out of their “up to date” perspectives. So if I have to hear someone chatter away during a skate, I’d prefer it be interesting,entertaining or informative. Otherwise it’s like a fly buzzing in my ear, which eventually gets me to a very high annoyance level. That’s how I felt listening to Ryan last week. I was literally yelling at my TV for him to shut it. Lol

As for dance, I LOVE Ben!! I think he’s one of the best dance commentators I’ve ever heard. I think Tanith has a pleasant voice, is talented and very professional, just a bit too professional for my liking. I like it when commentators have emotions and get excited (or bored) right along with us. A bit of personality goes a long way with me. I haven’t heard Charlie enough to have an opinion. I DO like however that NBC is hiring more skaters who who most casual skating fans would recognize. I think that helps with viewers and I also really like to see those opportunities go to skaters who really deserve them. It really annoyed me that they hired Bezic over a skater who was moving on to the next phase of their life after skating. Especially these days, when opportunities are so slim. I do find Ryan a puzzling choice in that he is not a widely recognized name, but maybe he’s the best candidate out there. Hard for me to conceive that, but who knows?

So TLDR, Reading all the opinions has been quite fascinating for me! It’s quite interesting and surprising to hear such varying criteria in what we like in our commentators. I guess we all have our tastes and preferences. Nice to learn of all the other avenues for skate viewing I should be investigating. I’ve been a slave to NBC all this time.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Well Gee Willickers! I’m quite surprised to hear such universal dislike for Tara’s commentating. Now I don’t like her nearly as much as Johnny, but she doesn’t offend me all that much either. I find her very acceptable I guess. I think the fact that I don’t have to hear from Scott and Sandra anymore could be swaying my opinion toward the positive too. We had them for far too long! Especially Sandra. Aye yi yi! Who hired her? And WHYYYY?

But objectively, I really am struggling to understand why Tara is so disliked. Her voice isn’t overtly shrill or whiny to my ear and I find most of what she says somewhat interesting or entertaining, especially compared to the usual commentating fare in figure skating. I rather like the more laid back and conversational style that she and Johnny both have I suppose. It kind of feels like you’re watching with a skating friend.

I must say that I’ve been listening to Tara and Johnny’s podcast for the last couple of weeks, and as such have learned a lot more about Tara’s personality than I ever wanted to know. Self-centered, insecure, whiny, and elitist are a few adjectives that come to mind. (On the other hand, I love Johnny even more ) So after that exposure, I’m not sure I will enjoy the next event that they commentate quite so much. Lol. But speaking strictly about her commentating, I truly don’t recall it being that bad. She does talk a bit too much for my liking , but again compared to most I’d probably take her over the lot of them.

Another thing that doesn’t bother me that offends quite a few folks (here and on twitter too!) is commentators being critical. There is one time in my memory that I recall a commentator being inappropriately harsh and that was Scott going in on Johnny during his competitive career. He would criticize his training habits and his non-skating activities.. things that I felt were extremely inappropriate. That was one occasion where I was quite angered. If they want to criticize technique, I don’t see a problem with that. That’s what they’re there for IMO and I can’t think of anytime it’s been done with any malice or intent other than to inform the viewer what’s happening on the ice &/or with the judging. It’s likely the nature of the judging system itself which fuels most of it. Hmmm. Come to think of it, I wonder what Ryan would talk about if the 6.0 system was still used? He’d have to come up with some new material.

Speaking of, what DOES bother me GREATLY is when a commentator just lists off each jump as they occur with a description of the quality of said jump. One after the other. Over and over. I feel like I could do THAT! It doesn’t tell me anything I don’t already know and like someone said, those that don’t know probably don’t care. I struggle to see what ANYONE, regardless of their skating background, finds compelling in that style of commentating. Personally, the things I enjoy hearing about are backstory, discussion of music, choreography, how the skater’s season has been going, coaching situation, what the mood is like in the arena, etc. THAT kinda stuff. I also appreciate their viewpoints, objective and subjective. The sport has changed so much over the years and I’m quite out of touch with how things are done these days and I find myself getting a lot out of their “up to date” perspectives. So if I have to hear someone chatter away during a skate, I’d prefer it be interesting,entertaining or informative. Otherwise it’s like a fly buzzing in my ear, which eventually gets me to a very high annoyance level. That’s how I felt listening to Ryan last week. I was literally yelling at my TV for him to shut it. Lol

As for dance, I LOVE Ben!! I think he’s one of the best dance commentators I’ve ever heard. I think Tanith has a pleasant voice, is talented and very professional, just a bit too professional for my liking. I like it when commentators have emotions and get excited (or bored) right along with us. A bit of personality goes a long way with me. I haven’t heard Charlie enough to have an opinion. I DO like however that NBC is hiring more skaters who who most casual skating fans would recognize. I think that helps with viewers and I also really like to see those opportunities go to skaters who really deserve them. It really annoyed me that they hired Bezic over a skater who was moving on to the next phase of their life after skating. Especially these days, when opportunities are so slim. I do find Ryan a puzzling choice in that he is not a widely recognized name, but maybe he’s the best candidate out there. Hard for me to conceive that, but who knows?

So TLDR, Reading all the opinions has been quite fascinating for me! It’s quite interesting and surprising to hear such varying criteria in what we like in our commentators. I guess we all have our tastes and preferences. Nice to learn of all the other avenues for skate viewing I should be investigating. I’ve been a slave to NBC all this time.

The difference is that Tara is miss negative and compares everyone to her "so called fabulous career and technique." :sarcasm:

Ryan competed in both the 6.0 and IJS systems so IDK what you are trying to get at there. He knows both.
He also has nice and generally positive things to say about skaters and their qualities.
There are a rare few that can adapt to doing commentary and he happens to be one of them, nothing more nothing less, other than he coaches and knows alot about the technical side of things and can point out why something went wrong, etc.

Believe it or not skaters who are retiring aren't clawing at the opportunity to try their hand at commentary.

 

[gravy]

It's a shame that broadcasting companies are banning videos of Worlds from popping up on YouTube because the only replays I can watch are on the Olympic Channel with Ryan Bradley's trash commentary.

I stopped watching the Olympic Channel feed after Cup of China because I just couldn't handle him anymore. I wound up listening to two pair teams in the free after Worlds because I wanted to watch that segment again and shut it off because I just couldn't deal with his moronic and condescending way of speaking when discussing skaters. His intonation and the way his voice goes up and down makes it sound like he's talking to a 4 year old child. No thank you.

I hope they replace him ASAP; he says nothing of substance on top of his really annoying baby-speak. :disagree:

 

[ray94611]

I started a thread at the beginning of the season complaining about Ryan Bradley. He has, apparently, listened to the criticism and worked very hard to moderate his voice and vary his comments. I thought he was doing a great job by the time the Worlds came around. As for Johnnie & Tara, they are speaking to a much wider audience, one that doesn't necessarily know or care about skating as much as we do. They are fun and they are knowledgeable - if opinionated. Don't forget they replaced Tom Hammond, Scott Hamilton and Sandra Bezik (sp?). So I have no complaints. If I had my way Tanith White would do all the commentary all the time.

 

[twirlingblades]

Well Gee Willickers! I’m quite surprised to hear such universal dislike for Tara’s commentating. Now I don’t like her nearly as much as Johnny, but she doesn’t offend me all that much either. I find her very acceptable I guess. I think the fact that I don’t have to hear from Scott and Sandra anymore could be swaying my opinion toward the positive too. We had them for far too long! Especially Sandra. Aye yi yi! Who hired her? And WHYYYY?

But objectively, I really am struggling to understand why Tara is so disliked. Her voice isn’t overtly shrill or whiny to my ear and I find most of what she says somewhat interesting or entertaining, especially compared to the usual commentating fare in figure skating. I rather like the more laid back and conversational style that she and Johnny both have I suppose. It kind of feels like you’re watching with a skating friend.

I must say that I’ve been listening to Tara and Johnny’s podcast for the last couple of weeks, and as such have learned a lot more about Tara’s personality than I ever wanted to know. Self-centered, insecure, whiny, and elitist are a few adjectives that come to mind. (On the other hand, I love Johnny even more ) So after that exposure, I’m not sure I will enjoy the next event that they commentate quite so much. Lol. But speaking strictly about her commentating, I truly don’t recall it being that bad. She does talk a bit too much for my liking , but again compared to most I’d probably take her over the lot of them.

Another thing that doesn’t bother me that offends quite a few folks (here and on twitter too!) is commentators being critical. There is one time in my memory that I recall a commentator being inappropriately harsh and that was Scott going in on Johnny during his competitive career. He would criticize his training habits and his non-skating activities.. things that I felt were extremely inappropriate. That was one occasion where I was quite angered. If they want to criticize technique, I don’t see a problem with that. That’s what they’re there for IMO and I can’t think of anytime it’s been done with any malice or intent other than to inform the viewer what’s happening on the ice &/or with the judging. It’s likely the nature of the judging system itself which fuels most of it. Hmmm. Come to think of it, I wonder what Ryan would talk about if the 6.0 system was still used? He’d have to come up with some new material.

Speaking of, what DOES bother me GREATLY is when a commentator just lists off each jump as they occur with a description of the quality of said jump. One after the other. Over and over. I feel like I could do THAT! It doesn’t tell me anything I don’t already know and like someone said, those that don’t know probably don’t care. I struggle to see what ANYONE, regardless of their skating background, finds compelling in that style of commentating. Personally, the things I enjoy hearing about are backstory, discussion of music, choreography, how the skater’s season has been going, coaching situation, what the mood is like in the arena, etc. THAT kinda stuff. I also appreciate their viewpoints, objective and subjective. The sport has changed so much over the years and I’m quite out of touch with how things are done these days and I find myself getting a lot out of their “up to date” perspectives. So if I have to hear someone chatter away during a skate, I’d prefer it be interesting,entertaining or informative. Otherwise it’s like a fly buzzing in my ear, which eventually gets me to a very high annoyance level. That’s how I felt listening to Ryan last week. I was literally yelling at my TV for him to shut it. Lol

As for dance, I LOVE Ben!! I think he’s one of the best dance commentators I’ve ever heard. I think Tanith has a pleasant voice, is talented and very professional, just a bit too professional for my liking. I like it when commentators have emotions and get excited (or bored) right along with us. A bit of personality goes a long way with me. I haven’t heard Charlie enough to have an opinion. I DO like however that NBC is hiring more skaters who who most casual skating fans would recognize. I think that helps with viewers and I also really like to see those opportunities go to skaters who really deserve them. It really annoyed me that they hired Bezic over a skater who was moving on to the next phase of their life after skating. Especially these days, when opportunities are so slim. I do find Ryan a puzzling choice in that he is not a widely recognized name, but maybe he’s the best candidate out there. Hard for me to conceive that, but who knows?

So TLDR, Reading all the opinions has been quite fascinating for me! It’s quite interesting and surprising to hear such varying criteria in what we like in our commentators. I guess we all have our tastes and preferences. Nice to learn of all the other avenues for skate viewing I should be investigating. I’ve been a slave to NBC all this time. [emoji5]

My biggest beef with Tara and Johnny is that they (especially Tara) talk though 85% of the program. I don’t think, personally, that half of it is relevant to anything. Tara makes up a lot of stuff too. I would much prefer Johnny alone. They are also pretty mean to some skaters which is unpleasant. I mostly try to avoid NBC at all costs. I watch the Olympic channel broadcast with the Australian lady and while she was boring, she didn’t talk much during the program. My fave is the British commentators though.

 

[karne]

Another thing that doesn’t bother me that offends quite a few folks (here and on twitter too!) is commentators being critical. There is one time in my memory that I recall a commentator being inappropriately harsh and that was Scott going in on Johnny during his competitive career. He would criticize his training habits and his non-skating activities.. things that I felt were extremely inappropriate.

Extremely inappropriate? You want to talk extremely inappropriate? How about Weir calling Brendan Kerry a "waste of a GP slot"? How about Weir and Lipinski admitting they were holding the "cough" button during Brendan's FS at one event so they could laugh at him? How about Weir insinuating that Jason withdrew from a GP in order to focus on "going viral"? How about Weir sniping all through Max Aaron's SP about how Joshua had sooooooooooo much more artistry?

There's a difference between being critical and being a catty little witch, and Weir spends far too much time in the latter territory.

This video is the perfect example of everything that is wrong with Weir and Lipinski's commentary (Weir's particularly). It's a comparison of several different commentators at hte end of Jason's 2015 Worlds FS (you know, the one that placed him 4th). You don't have to be a language genius to understand that the other commentators are effusive and delighted and recognise his brilliance. Weir? Weir cuts straight to snarking, and not even accurate snarking at that - he tells an outright lie: "you can see it on his face, he knows that wasn't his best"...meanwhile Jason is beaming with happiness and yeah, it was his best!

 

[chuckm]

Ok, a bit of hyperbole here, to be extremely kind. Ryan is a National Champion, a US Silver medalist, finished in the top 5 for 5 years running, and won multiple Grand Prix medals. Just because he didn’t translate that to worlds success in no way makes him Mediocre. Definitely much better than 99.9 percent of skaters out there.

Plus, we all know that GOE measures more than just landings. He was probably correct in analysis when he said bad landings, but if they had good height, a jump feature, interesting transition in and out, it will still receive bullet points for positive GOE, regardless of wonky landing or not. SHOULD it, no, but that happens all the time.

Your entire post reads of something more than an objective analysis of his commentary style; it appears you dislike the man himself for some reason. Kind of sad to have a strong dislike for someone you don’t even know, or can even be here to defend against the vitriol.

I certainly do not dislike Ryan Bradley the person. In fact, in the past he has done commentary that was pretty much OK. For some reason, he just went overboard with the Worlds commentary and that just drove me nuts---he sounded as if he was talking down to the skaters. Perhaps it's because he's coaching, and it's his habit to chide his students for their mistakes, but that just isn't an appropriate way to discuss the performances of elite level skaters on TV.

It was such a relief when the event was ice dance. Tanith can point out the weaknesses of the teams without making it sound like she's scolding them, and she balances that with detailing their strengths.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I certainly do not dislike Ryan Bradley the person. In fact, in the past he has done commentary that was pretty much OK. For some reason, he just went overboard with the Worlds commentary and that just drove me nuts---he sounded as if he was talking down to the skaters. Perhaps it's because he's coaching, and it's his habit to chide his students for their mistakes, but that just isn't an appropriate way to discuss the performances of elite level skaters on TV.

It was such a relief when the event was ice dance. Tanith can point out the weaknesses of the teams without making it sound like she's scolding them, and she balances that with detailing their strengths.

Ryan doesn’t chide his skaters for mistakes nor is he negative with them in any way when he’s coaching. I’ve seen him coach on many occasions.

 

[chuckm]

Ryan doesn’t chide his skaters for mistakes nor is he negative with them in any way when he’s coaching. I’ve seen him coach on many occasions.

Then it's a mystery why he is so hypercritical and condescending to elite skaters.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Then it's a mystery why he is so hypercritical and condescending to elite skaters.

I think your mistaking him for someone else. I've never heard him be hypercritical or condescending to anyone: Tara and Johnny on the other hand.:disapp:

 

[chuckm]

Tara and Johnny are downright CATTY. Ryan is never catty or malicious. At Worlds, he was IMO overly critical and on the verge of scolding the skaters. That seemed out of synch with his basic personality, which is sunny and happy. Maybe he took input about his GP commentary and went a bit too far in the other direction.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I listened to the commentary and never once heard 'Verge of scolding'

 

[Shandy]

I started a thread at the beginning of the season complaining about Ryan Bradley. He has, apparently, listened to the criticism and worked very hard to moderate his voice and vary his comments. I thought he was doing a great job by the time the Worlds came around. As for Johnnie & Tara, they are speaking to a much wider audience, one that doesn't necessarily know or care about skating as much as we do. They are fun and they are knowledgeable - if opinionated. Don't forget they replaced Tom Hammond, Scott Hamilton and Sandra Bezik (sp?). So I have no complaints. If I had my way Tanith White would do all the commentary all the time.

I remember complaining about him in that thread, but I did feel like he got better over the course of the season. I can't speak to his commentating at Worlds, since I watched a Russian stream, but when I met him this past December I said I enjoyed his commentary (not a lie because I thought it had improved!) and he was very sweet but self-deprecating about it. He said something along the lines of, "I'm trying to strike a balance between giving useful information and just shutting up." I got the impression that the criticism had really gotten to him and made an impact.

 

[ray94611]

First off, I was shocked to discover this is the same thread I started at the beginning of the season! Second, it's great to hear he has been working on it because he really has improved.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I remember complaining about him in that thread, but I did feel like he got better over the course of the season. I can't speak to his commentating at Worlds, since I watched a Russian stream, but when I met him this past December I said I enjoyed his commentary (not a lie because I thought it had improved!) and he was very sweet but self-deprecating about it. He said something along the lines of, "I'm trying to strike a balance between giving useful information and just shutting up." I got the impression that the criticism had really gotten to him and made an impact.

I doubt it was criticism from a place like this and instead more self-awareness.

 

[Tazzle]

My biggest beef with Tara and Johnny is that they (especially Tara) talk though 85% of the program. I don’t think, personally, that half of it is relevant to anything. Tara makes up a lot of stuff too. I would much prefer Johnny alone. They are also pretty mean to some skaters which is unpleasant. I mostly try to avoid NBC at all costs. I watch the Olympic channel broadcast with the Australian lady and while she was boring, she didn’t talk much during the program. My fave is the British commentators though.

That’s my biggest complaint with her as well. I noticed she was much more chatty during this Olympics than Sochi. A bit less professional too. I do like their overall chemistry though and have always been a big Terry fan too. So I’m glad he’s in there. Speaking mainly from the perspective of an NBC viewer, I think that team is huge improvement over Scott, Sandra and Tom. They were really terrible!

I’ve heard the Australian lady too. Does anybody know who she is? She’s a bit dry, but knowledgeable. Also, she doesn’t talk too much which is nice. Less speaking and more skating seems to be one thing we can all agree on! [emoji16]

I’ve been broadening my perspective via YouTube etc. catching up on past events and hearing other commentators over the last few weeks. I have barely watched skating in years! It seemed like whenever I would check the local TV listings, the coverage would be scant to nonexistent, even for events like nationals and worlds! I suppose I’m hopeful that with J and T’s popularity, that will change. Fortunately we have other avenues for coverage these days and I’m going to make the time to start checking them out!