World Cup TV News

Yesterday, it was reported by SI that Martin Tyler has been hired by ESPN to be the primary game announcer of the the upcoming World Cup. Tyler is known as the voice of the English Premier League.

I have to say that this is good news for the US soccer aficionado after the debacle of the Dave O'Brien/Marcelo Balboa partnership that was such a train wreck in the Germany edition of the World Cup. The hire of Tyler will insure that a "football" expert will be calling the games, and will not talk the game down. You can also be sure that Tyler will not come down with the diarrhea of the mouth that O'Brien was known for. Tyler will let the game speak for itself.

This hire could be described as coup for ESPN, but not everyone is entirely happy with this move. The Kartik Report has an interesting take that ESPN is going a little too British in its coverage of the world's game.