Mark Jones Also Sucks At Calling Games: Bobby Burack
ESPN broadcaster Mark Jones is best known for his bigoted behavior on social media.
His online résumé includes lying about police trying to shoot him, celebrating players' injuries, sharing posts calling his white colleagues "racist" and his black colleagues "coons," and telling conservative influencers with cancer to "rot in hell."
But it turns out that Jones is also a third-rate broadcaster.
Sure, he lacks the gravitas and knowledge of a Joe Buck, Mike Tirico, Jim Nantz or Chris Fowler. That's obvious. And he's not the only one.
However, Jones also commits what the industry considers the cardinal sin of play-by-play commentary: he diverts attention away from the game and onto himself.
Jones' overcompensation was on display last Saturday when ESPN tasked him to call the Colorado-Colorado State game, alongside Louis Riddick, an informed and respected analyst.
Yet viewers hardly had time to comprehend Riddick's analysis as Jones was rapping and shouting pop culture references throughout the broadcast.
Mark Jones thinks he's Stuart Scott with the cliches and animation. The difference is that Scott had chops and aura. Jones has neither.
Jones is amateur hour. And thus so was the call for the game last weekend.
He first praised the matchup's atmosphere for reminding him of the BET Awards, hoping to impress those online who criticized him for marrying a white woman:
He routinely injected musical lyrics into his commentary, such as when Shilo Sanders returned an interception for a touchdown.
Example 1:
https://twitter.com/JimMWeber/status/1703238975383560467?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1703238975383560467%7Ctwgr%5E7b49f27ccad2c3d514bb80e38d94099f3a931f0f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fawfulannouncing.com%2Fespn%2Fcolorado-colorado-state-mark-jones-bet-awards.html
Example 2:
https://twitter.com/ComplexSports/status/1703241081112969500?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1703241081112969500%7Ctwgr%5E7b49f27ccad2c3d514bb80e38d94099f3a931f0f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fawfulannouncing.com%2Fespn%2Fcolorado-colorado-state-mark-jones-bet-awards.html
It's not cool when Maura Ranallo references rock 'n' roll jams that the audience doesn't understand during marquee boxing matches on Showtime. And it's not cool when Mark Jones, who is over 60, tries to show viewers how hip he is during the key moments of a football game.
Jonesy, as he oddly calls himself, tries too hard:
https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/1703264656943689865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1703264656943689865%7Ctwgr%5E7b49f27ccad2c3d514bb80e38d94099f3a931f0f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fawfulannouncing.com%2Fespn%2Fcolorado-colorado-state-mark-jones-bet-awards.html
Elite broadcasters depict games in rhythm. They capture the emotions of the players, coaches and fans.
Most importantly, they move out of the way when need be, to let the natural sounds of the game take over.
Mark Jones is annoying. His timing is clumsy. He shouted "Coach Prime" during mundane 1-yard gains. He read promos in the middle of plays.
It's as if he knows nothing about the game directly in front of him.
NBA fans are used to Jones' coverage. Particularly this past year when he would use what should be an objective position, calling a basketball game, to root against Luka Dončić and Nikola Jokić, the only two white superstars in the NBA.
But it's rare that ESPN has tasked Jones to call the biggest college football game of the week. For some reason, it did last weekend.
For many viewers, Saturday was their first experience with Mark Jones. Here are their reviews:
At least Jones made it to Folsom Field safely. Previously, he said he would refuse stadium security because the officers would shoot him dead for being a black man.
Note: photos show he still used stadium security that day.
Mark Jones is a bigot. He also sucks at his job. And because of racial tensions, ESPN continues to employ the piece of junk.