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Derek Rae to be ESPN's voice of Scottish football


MisterC

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Well this was one that doesnt surprise me, I am pretty sure I posted a suggestion/hope that he would be doing the honours for ESPN, especially as they have lost the Champions League and also that he's Scottish and he come across as being a Rangers man, and credit is also due for not throttling Tommy Smyth. Anyway enough from me :pipe:

http://www.theherald.co.uk/sport/headlines...ic_crossing.php

DEREK Rae is poised to become the voice of Scottish football once again as ESPN negotiate a homecoming for the Stateside commentator as part of their 30-game Clydesdale Bank Premier League coverage.

The Herald understands that the 42-year-old, based in Bristol, Connecticut, has been offered the chance to commentate on the station's SPL coverage on an ad-hoc basis without hindering his commitments across the Atlantic.

Rae joined ESPN International after the World Cup in the USA in 1994 and has become one of the most distinctive and respected voices on the channel's football coverage in the States.

advertisementAs well as Major League Soccer, Rae also lent his expertise to ESPN's Champions League coverage - they have since lost the rights to Fox Sports - and hosts a weekly magazine show, PressPass.

The Aberdeen-born broadcaster famously got his break at 19 when an injury to his idol, David Francey, enabled him to make his debut for BBC Scotland, covering Kilmarnock v Dumbarton. He was subsequently hired to cover Scotland v England in the Rous Cup and his career blossomed.

Last night, Francey, one of the most popular commentators of his generation, welcomed the news. "I am delighted to hear there is a chance of Derek coming back to commentate on Scottish football," he told The Herald.

"Even when he was a young man making his way in the business I liked his style. He followed my own style, which was to follow the ball and try to capture the occasion. When I heard him at first I thought: He is going to be good'.

"There is so much live football these days that, sadly, people would rather watch than listen but to have Derek back would certainly make Scottish football more enjoyable for me and a lot of other fans in this country."

Subscription to ESPN will cost £12.99 per month but the cost of watching live Scottish Premier League football is set to more than triple, from last season's monthly figure of £12.50 for Setanta, to £44.50.

Viewers who subscribed to Setanta last season could receive every single live Scottish Premier League game on offer. The new deal with Sky Sports and ESPN means that viewers will also have to subscribe to both Sky Sports channels - they will have the rights to Old Firm games - at £31.50 per month.

The deal, for an initial three-year period, will involve the two broadcasters sharing 60 live games per season.

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I know its not ideal to have to pay more but theres always those interweb feeds. Trust me guys, Derek Rae is a really good commentator and will be a vast improvement on Ian Crocker, Archie McPherson, Rob McLean et al. He knows his stuff and keeps the bullshit to a minimum.

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As long as he doesn't call Neil Alexander a 'goal protector' or call our national sport 'Soccer' I reckon I'll be happy tho had a google search and he seems to have a good pedigree.

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I just hope Martin Tyler and Andy gray do the old firm games again, used to love that.

While that'd be nice, I reckon we'll have Ian Crocker and Davie Provan for our Sky games.

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Well this was one that doesnt surprise me, I am pretty sure I posted a suggestion/hope that he would be doing the honours for ESPN, especially as they have lost the Champions League and also that he's Scottish and he come across as being a Rangers man, and credit is also due for not throttling Tommy Smyth. Anyway enough from me :pipe:

http://www.theherald.co.uk/sport/headlines...ic_crossing.php

DEREK Rae is poised to become the voice of Scottish football once again as ESPN negotiate a homecoming for the Stateside commentator as part of their 30-game Clydesdale Bank Premier League coverage.

The Herald understands that the 42-year-old, based in Bristol, Connecticut, has been offered the chance to commentate on the station's SPL coverage on an ad-hoc basis without hindering his commitments across the Atlantic.

Rae joined ESPN International after the World Cup in the USA in 1994 and has become one of the most distinctive and respected voices on the channel's football coverage in the States.

advertisementAs well as Major League Soccer, Rae also lent his expertise to ESPN's Champions League coverage - they have since lost the rights to Fox Sports - and hosts a weekly magazine show, PressPass.

The Aberdeen-born broadcaster famously got his break at 19 when an injury to his idol, David Francey, enabled him to make his debut for BBC Scotland, covering Kilmarnock v Dumbarton. He was subsequently hired to cover Scotland v England in the Rous Cup and his career blossomed.

Last night, Francey, one of the most popular commentators of his generation, welcomed the news. "I am delighted to hear there is a chance of Derek coming back to commentate on Scottish football," he told The Herald.

"Even when he was a young man making his way in the business I liked his style. He followed my own style, which was to follow the ball and try to capture the occasion. When I heard him at first I thought: He is going to be good'.

"There is so much live football these days that, sadly, people would rather watch than listen but to have Derek back would certainly make Scottish football more enjoyable for me and a lot of other fans in this country."

Subscription to ESPN will cost £12.99 per month but the cost of watching live Scottish Premier League football is set to more than triple, from last season's monthly figure of £12.50 for Setanta, to £44.50.

Viewers who subscribed to Setanta last season could receive every single live Scottish Premier League game on offer. The new deal with Sky Sports and ESPN means that viewers will also have to subscribe to both Sky Sports channels - they will have the rights to Old Firm games - at £31.50 per month.

The deal, for an initial three-year period, will involve the two broadcasters sharing 60 live games per season.

HOW MUCH !!!! :blink:

That cant be right so I have all sports channels how much in total will I be a month?

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HOW MUCH !!!! :blink:

That cant be right so I have all sports channels how much in total will I be a month?

If you already subscribe to Sky Sports, it will only cost you £13.

If not, you'll have to pay £31 for Sky Sports and £13 for ESPN.

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I believe I read somewhere Andy Gray had joined ESPN,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Gray_(commentator)

Most recently, Andy Gray has been hired by American sports network ESPN to provide commentary for selected Euro 2008 and Champions League matches

Andy Gray has his British contract for Sky, so since ESPN will be competing with Sky it's unlikely.

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HOW MUCH !!!! :blink:

That cant be right so I have all sports channels how much in total will I be a month?

If you already subscribe to Sky Sports, it will only cost you £13.

If not, you'll have to pay £31 for Sky Sports and £13 for ESPN.

So I am only £13 buck a month for everything that is not to bad?!

But for those who dont have sky its a disgrace !!!

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HOW MUCH !!!! :blink:

That cant be right so I have all sports channels how much in total will I be a month?

If you already subscribe to Sky Sports, it will only cost you £13.

If not, you'll have to pay £31 for Sky Sports and £13 for ESPN.

So I am only £13 buck a month for everything that is not to bad?!

But for those who dont have sky its a disgrace !!!

I don't have sky, and yes it's a disgrace (tu)

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HOW MUCH !!!! :blink:

That cant be right so I have all sports channels how much in total will I be a month?

If you already subscribe to Sky Sports, it will only cost you £13.

If not, you'll have to pay £31 for Sky Sports and £13 for ESPN.

So I am only £13 buck a month for everything that is not to bad?!

But for those who dont have sky its a disgrace !!!

I don't have sky, and yes it's a disgrace (tu)

Just checked the ESPN website says for sky viewers £9 only sorry I dont know how to post links etc.

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Daylight robbery - the Sky - ESPN guys should wear face masks when they present these shows.

Years ago I vowed I would have nothing whatsoever to do with Sky (it's that robbing Murdoch bastard I hate) and this confirms my suspicions about anything he touches.

It's 'live' as it happens football for me - and that's it.

Bastards!! :(

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When Rae called New England Revolution games in the 90's, he faked some weird accent. Pretty creepy.

I did like his CL coverage and freaked out when he was snubbed for the World Cup in favor of a baseball announcer who had watched well under 50 games in his life before calling his first friendly. A funny moment was when he (Dave O'Brien) said Reyna had played for Glasgow United because he memorized thousands of facts about the sport in short order and his brain started merging them.

But yeah, Rae's passable.

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I know its not ideal to have to pay more but theres always those interweb feeds. Trust me guys, Derek Rae is a really good commentator and will be a vast improvement on Ian Crocker, Archie McPherson, Rob McLean et al. He knows his stuff and keeps the bullshit to a minimum.

lets hope the liewell pr tarts stay away from him

;)

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