PLUGS BUNNY

"I didn't know it was a paid read," says Rabbits Warren. What a maroon:

Attack on pokie reform came from 'up top', says Ray Warren

A RESPECTED NRL commentator has admitted that ostensibly off-the-cuff remarks during a rugby league final attacking proposed poker machine reforms were provided to him by Channel Nine management.

"It was a directive from up top that it be read by at least somebody, so I read it."

Warren said he supported the comments and while he could not be sure, he believed they were a paid message. "I think it was an ad, if you like, it sounded like an ad. I think it was done on behalf of the rugby league, who is fully supportive of the clubs."

Why is a rugby league article on AGB Cricket, you ask impetuously? Well, think about this post next time you are watching the cricket on Nine and Richie spruiks a Broome holiday (with camels), Slatts calls the Sportsbet odds, Heals shills Survivor Marrickville, Tawny sells Ricky Ponting's authentic replica underpants ($500 unframed), or in fact, when any "innocent" remark feels just that little bit incongruous.

Comments

[Chris Rees]

My knee-jerk reaction is to say "just turn down the sound and listen to ABC radio". But I must say I have got heartily sick of O'Keefe flogging his books and generally self-promoting whenever the action slows down slightly. He does pretty well out of sportsmen's nights I believe.

[Tony]

Glenn Mitchell was O'Keefe's key partner in crime when it came to wild stories, which morphed into selling shit. It will be interesting to see (hear) who picks up Glenn's slack.

I often turn down the TV and turn up the radio, but sometimes the delay gets up my hooter.

With luck, the delay-o-tron is soon readily available.

[Tony]

Also, the radio/television tag team has an issue when the TV is showing something that the radio is not talking about, replays, for instance. You have to turn down one and turn up the other, which is a bit of a pain.

[The Don has risen]

Quite incredibly Warren had a patch as a 'problem' gambler yet here he is extolling gambling from which we read from the Productivity Commission 40% of their revenue comes from problem gamblers who rarely gamble their own money!

As an anecdote I know of one family where one of the daughters who agreed to take care of the Parents gambled all of their retirement savings away.

[Russ]

There is a lot to be said for the MLB approach, both because of the folksie charm of their scripted paid advert voice, and the explicit way they state what they've paid for: "Today's [timekeeping/7th innings stretch/moment/player of the match] is sponsored by ..., leaders in ... since ..."

It is a little weird at first, but I'm sure Americans would find it weird that cricket fields have increasingly come to resemble Indian convenience stores, where every available surface is plastered with gaudy advertisements with the sort of design aesthetic that makes me wish I was colour-blind. Commentary I can mute, after all.

[Tony]

I love the way the MLB uniforms look timeless and traditional, but are also sponsor-free, where the strips of the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, etc look sensational without commercial garnish & clutter.

(At least, I cannot find any such visual pollution; I guess there could be small ads which are hard to see, but there would not be much point to that.)

Our footy radio stations have always, through obvious necessity, done it the same way with their "Radio Rentals scoreboard" and "Car Dealer mark of the day" and (less impressively) "Eken Powerband goal of the day".