The media learning curve: Jan. 2-9

The second week of education at the Media Learning Center (sponsored by ... wait, they pulled out) was certain a lesson in what not to do during a major college football broadcast.

We're not the only ones who thought were convinced that Fox's Tom Thom Brennaman and Charles Davis were out of their comfort zone trying to get their voices (and down count) around the BCS title game ... again (linked here) and (linked here) and (linked here) and (a link to the New York Times review here).

Nor do we endorse a scene where Chris Myers and Urban Meyer try to look into the crystal football and predict what crazy stuff will come up next. Such as Myers asking Meyer if he has a proposal to make.

Other than that, we learned:

== Reviews were mixed on the 3D coverage of the Florida-Oklahoma game (linked here) but we coulda told you that.

== SI.com's Stewart Mandel presents evidence to prove that the extra BCS game is "a failure" (tell that to Cincinnati and Virginia Tech after their exciting Orange Bowl performance) (linked here)

== Jim Fox , Rory Markas and Bill Seward could take home more Southern California Sports Broadcasters trinkets at their annual awards lunch at the end of this month than Vincent Edward Scully.(linked here)

== NBC likes Matt Millen enough to call him "one of the very best football broadcasters of our generation" (linked here) but the former Raiders linebacker isn't sure if he's going to clear his name as a terrible president of the Detroit Lions (linked here)

== ESPN's Chris Mortensen won't run his junk past the Oakland Raiders any more; ESPN's Tony Kornheiser doesn't care anymore if Millen takes his "Monday Night Football" chair, and Bill Cowher won't be talking about leaving the CBS NFL studios any more ... oh, and Jay Mariotti won't be bashing Internet writers any more, since he's one of 'em (linked here)

== No stupid question, columnist Rob Parker quit the Detroit News (linked here), but how is he still works for ESPN (linked here)

== Who's gonna punish Charles Barkley? (linked here)

== Someone thought it was a good idea to revive the "Superstars" competition ... as long as we don't ask Joe Frazier to swim (linked here). And, no, Smokin' Joe didn't almost drown when asked to do a lap against Jean Claude-Kiley, Bob Segren and some other dude (video linked here).

== ESPN's well-publicized hoop announcer switch -- having Dickie V violate an NBA game Wednesday, instead of another Duke contest, which pushed the NBA crew of Tirico-Van Gundy-Jackson to Cameron Indoor -- was a self-promoting low, to this reviewer (and us included) but we lived through it and the sun came up the next day (linked here)

== We're not watching "The Celebrity Apprentice" this March, even if Heidi Androl somehow appears on it to give Donald Trump a haircut with a sharpened hockey skate (linked here)

== Chris "Ethel" Berman takes journalism seriously, especially when he's scaring the hell out of small children (linked here)

== Kiana Tom (no relations) is spotting for us on our squats (linked here)

== A guy who writes for Autoweek has found the right formula to collect the autographs of every living Formula One driver on one helmet, for charity (linked here)

== A lot of cool people watched NBC's Winter Classic, just not in L.A. (linked here)

== '09 looks already a lot like '0(put in a number lower than 9) for SC VOYCE/tooltime expert Pete Arbogast (linked here)

== Watch how the ESPN website has changed over the years (linked here)

== A review of a new book on the excitement of the Super Bowl, which isn't so super (linked here)

== Former Dodger communications director and local sports-talk show host (and Channel 4 fill-in anchor) Derrick Hall will be the commissioner of baseball before 2020 (linked here)

== Tim Brando has a mean streak (linked here)

== The L.A. Times' sports blog has ethical boundaries that USC's Rey Mauaaluga apparently crossed, even though he said (through the school) he was sorry for freaking on ESPN's Erin Andrews at the Rose Bowl (linked here) A more complete story about the apology from USA Today, which showed a photo grab of the YouTube video, which was within good taste (linked here)
We're all for ethics, putting trash where it belongs, etc. .. But really?
For this video? You get your funky in a bunch?
We weren't even going to put it on the site -- ignore it like the rest of the stupidity out there -- until we saw this approach.
Now, we let you judge its distastefulness (as if you hadn't seen it already):

You OK? Thought so.
Again, you sure? Just checking.