IT CAME FROM THE MIND OF ....PITA OJEDA'S TEDDY BEAR
By Steve Baxley
A Pita Ojeda Production
Spanning the globe...and leaving it a mess!
Well,the gods were not very kind to ABCSports on their very last ABCSports produced broadcast, it typical form it was the Little league World Series, and sadly,it got rained out and rescheduled for tomorrow night ..on ESPN2.
Poetic Justice indeed
BUT, while the rain fell down, the last ABCSports production was filled with memories,including a rare broadcast paring of Curt Gowdy with the late great baseball legend Ted Williams,and while Brent Musberger's Curtain Closer was ok...they shouldve asked me to write it, for this is how I wouldve done it.
Musberger: And now lets go down for some closing thoughts to our good friend Steve Baxley..Steve !
*Camera goes to the outside of the ABCSports Production truck where Steve walks towards camera and speaks,as he goes into the production truck*
Baxley: Thanks Brent, 45 years ago, when a thrid place,little watched network came to be, the powers that be looked for something to capture the viewers attention, so they bought a production company called "SPORTS PRODUCTIONS INC" little did they or a young,creative producer named Roone Arledge realize just how much of a legacy they were starting, and thus ABC SPORTS was born.
The legacy gave us the Wide World of Sports, from a little known upstart basketball league, to Hockey and baseball, ABC even gave Pro football fans a reason to stay home on Monday Nights..from auto racing to arm wrestling, we saw Superstars in the making,daredevils jumping gorges and climbing new heights,to even those that were already SUPERSTARS,we even withnessed 7 battles of Network Stars, from some darlings of the ice, to a massive russian bear of a weightlifter,from moments of olympic beauty and grace, to the shock and sadness of munich, and even before anyone ever heard of Outdoor life network, or the outdoor channel, we gave THE AMERICAN SPORTSMAN their own place to hang their hunting or fishing caps. if it was sports, you saw it through the lens and the faces of ABC Sports.
Names like McKay,Gowdy,Flemming,Jackson,Schenkel,Micheals,Lampley,Musberger,Meredith,Gifford,Beattie,and of course..who would ever forget..COSELL(Show all the announcers of WWOS AND ABC) all became our guide through a truly WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS.
ABC SPORTS showed us "THE THRILL OF VICTORY" and "THE AGONY OF DEFEAT",and even made an idea of a summer weekend sports athology series to last 13 weeks,and made it a part of broadcast history as the longest running weekend sports series forever "SPANNING THE GLOBE" (cue video of WWOS intro) From Altoona to Zaire ABCSPORTS was our guide.
*Steve walks out of the production truck and goes to the abc sports championship television logo on the side of the truck*
Baxley: Today, is a sad day in a way for those of us who remember seeing sports events with the famed banner of ABCSPORTS flying high and proud, or being stuck on a stadium wall in view of the cameras..
you KNEW that what you were watching was AN ABC SPORTS PRODUCTION, and through all the years ,good and bad, ABCSPORTS was "THE LEADER IN SPORTS TELEVISION" not a label, but a tradition that lasted for 45 years.
And while we close a chapter in the history of television with this our LAST broadcast of ABC SPORTS, we begin to write a new chapter under a banner that is reconizable world wide, and one that is very familiar as well.
Begining September 2nd, ABCSPORTS makes way for ESPN, as they continue a legacy in sports television,
but the memories of 45 years will remain with us ..see , the name may change, but the tradition continues and is in good hands.
*Play tape with the voices of abc sports personalities,highlights of ABCSPORTS coverage,followed by the familiar abc sports end titles with "Thanks for the memories" by sinatra being played*,the final voice is that of Jim McKay an dhis familiar "THIS HAS BEEN A PRESENTATION OF ABC SPORTS,RECONIZED AROUND THE WORLD AS THE LEADER IN SPORTS TELEVISION"
Cut to live shot of ABC SPORTS logo on side of production truck ...and fade to black
Now THATS how I would of ended the last abc sports broadcast..
By Steve Baxley
A Pita Ojeda Production
Spanning the globe...and leaving it a mess!
Well,the gods were not very kind to ABCSports on their very last ABCSports produced broadcast, it typical form it was the Little league World Series, and sadly,it got rained out and rescheduled for tomorrow night ..on ESPN2.
Poetic Justice indeed
BUT, while the rain fell down, the last ABCSports production was filled with memories,including a rare broadcast paring of Curt Gowdy with the late great baseball legend Ted Williams,and while Brent Musberger's Curtain Closer was ok...they shouldve asked me to write it, for this is how I wouldve done it.
Musberger: And now lets go down for some closing thoughts to our good friend Steve Baxley..Steve !
*Camera goes to the outside of the ABCSports Production truck where Steve walks towards camera and speaks,as he goes into the production truck*
Baxley: Thanks Brent, 45 years ago, when a thrid place,little watched network came to be, the powers that be looked for something to capture the viewers attention, so they bought a production company called "SPORTS PRODUCTIONS INC" little did they or a young,creative producer named Roone Arledge realize just how much of a legacy they were starting, and thus ABC SPORTS was born.
The legacy gave us the Wide World of Sports, from a little known upstart basketball league, to Hockey and baseball, ABC even gave Pro football fans a reason to stay home on Monday Nights..from auto racing to arm wrestling, we saw Superstars in the making,daredevils jumping gorges and climbing new heights,to even those that were already SUPERSTARS,we even withnessed 7 battles of Network Stars, from some darlings of the ice, to a massive russian bear of a weightlifter,from moments of olympic beauty and grace, to the shock and sadness of munich, and even before anyone ever heard of Outdoor life network, or the outdoor channel, we gave THE AMERICAN SPORTSMAN their own place to hang their hunting or fishing caps. if it was sports, you saw it through the lens and the faces of ABC Sports.
Names like McKay,Gowdy,Flemming,Jackson,Schenkel,Micheals,Lampley,Musberger,Meredith,Gifford,Beattie,and of course..who would ever forget..COSELL(Show all the announcers of WWOS AND ABC) all became our guide through a truly WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS.
ABC SPORTS showed us "THE THRILL OF VICTORY" and "THE AGONY OF DEFEAT",and even made an idea of a summer weekend sports athology series to last 13 weeks,and made it a part of broadcast history as the longest running weekend sports series forever "SPANNING THE GLOBE" (cue video of WWOS intro) From Altoona to Zaire ABCSPORTS was our guide.
*Steve walks out of the production truck and goes to the abc sports championship television logo on the side of the truck*
Baxley: Today, is a sad day in a way for those of us who remember seeing sports events with the famed banner of ABCSPORTS flying high and proud, or being stuck on a stadium wall in view of the cameras..
you KNEW that what you were watching was AN ABC SPORTS PRODUCTION, and through all the years ,good and bad, ABCSPORTS was "THE LEADER IN SPORTS TELEVISION" not a label, but a tradition that lasted for 45 years.
And while we close a chapter in the history of television with this our LAST broadcast of ABC SPORTS, we begin to write a new chapter under a banner that is reconizable world wide, and one that is very familiar as well.
Begining September 2nd, ABCSPORTS makes way for ESPN, as they continue a legacy in sports television,
but the memories of 45 years will remain with us ..see , the name may change, but the tradition continues and is in good hands.
*Play tape with the voices of abc sports personalities,highlights of ABCSPORTS coverage,followed by the familiar abc sports end titles with "Thanks for the memories" by sinatra being played*,the final voice is that of Jim McKay an dhis familiar "THIS HAS BEEN A PRESENTATION OF ABC SPORTS,RECONIZED AROUND THE WORLD AS THE LEADER IN SPORTS TELEVISION"
Cut to live shot of ABC SPORTS logo on side of production truck ...and fade to black
Now THATS how I would of ended the last abc sports broadcast..
posted by steve @ 11:28 PM
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