Harmon Vs Wiggins

andywood1986

It isn't just on the road where the action is. I don't think David Harmon will be getting a Xmas card off Cathy Wiggins this year.

Cathy tweeted earlier:
@cathwiggins best thing about rest day...not having to listen to Eurosport commentator attempting to pronounce Lopeth and Sancheth with Spanith accent
@lambsimon Sean Kelly rocks, but so far not fond of the Harmonator negativity towards Brit riders, but then I am biased of course!

To which David Harmon replied:
@spokesmen is questioning whether riders partners know a damn thing about broadcasting...appears not

Which saw Cath Wiggins replied:
@spokesmen you're quite right, I don't.am entitled to opinion tho,admitted bias.rest is just taking the pith... : )

Which saw David Harmon splutter back:
spokesmen @cathwiggins hello hello..twasn't aimed at you Cath glad you're enjoyting the spanith btw

Which Cath Wiggins replied:
@spokesmen is there someone else out there then that knows nothing about broadcasting??

Which David gave another lame backtrack with:
spokesmen @cathwiggins ha!..half the populace! How's the family btw?


Lesson to all, don't wash your dirty laundry on Twitter, especially when you're being followed by that particular person!

thamacdaddy

Don't think there is a lesson really, shows you have more access to giving a bit of feedback and vice versa, PR has a whole new level as these people avoid the middle men.

Eurostar

I've sent Harmon a few emails criticising his pronunciation of foreign names over the last two or three years. I couldn't take any more of his Kassa Dee Parnia nonsense. Got some VERY shirty responses. It's obviously getting to be a sore point. :P

deejay

I think that Bradley will cross paths with Harmon at some point this Winter and I would love to be there when it happens.
I would say opposites, like one knows the cycling game and the Archaeologist/History man is still struggling to find out.

I feel sorry for the long suffering Kelly, but then we know he has lots of staying power and should win through the ordeal.

afx237vi

Can't say I've ever noticed Harmon being particularly negative towards the British riders. Remember he's commentating for International Eurosport as well.

As for his pronunciation, who would you prefer, maybe David Duffield or Phil Ligget*?

*Who is resembling Duffield more and more every day.

mididoctors

he was up beat about wiggins and could pick him out better than the sherwen liggert crew...who thought it was VDV who tried to hurt the legs in the final km of stage 8 chasing contador

RichN95.

Sometimes when a commentator 'mispronounces' a name, it's because he's gone to ask the person himself how it should be pronounced, and it's different to how everyone else says it.

(e.g. As Matt Rendell points out on the ITV podcasts, everyone pronounces Astana wrong).

SpaceJunk

RichN95 wrote:

Sometimes when a commentator 'mispronounces' a name, it's because he's gone to ask the person himself how it should be pronounced, and it's different to how everyone else says it.

(e.g. As Matt Rendell points out on the ITV podcasts, everyone pronounces Astana wrong).

I love Matt Rendell's accent! My wife has a crush on him for no other reason than that.

drenkrom

Harmon pronounces names as they should be in their originating language. Or he tries, at least. What an affront that is!!! He pronounces Caisse d'Epargne like it's an actual French name! How dare he!

*sigh*

I give him extra points for that.

Anonymous

Especially as they are a Spanish team...

afx237vi

Spanish team, but they are a French company.

iainf72

NapoleonD wrote:

Especially as they are a Spanish team...

But a French bank....

donrhummy

I know this sounds odd but I actually think Emma Pooley's a better commentator than Harmon. I hope when she retires that she takes up commentating.

stagehopper

afx237vi wrote:

Can't say I've ever noticed Harmon being particularly negative towards the British riders. Remember he's commentating for International Eurosport as well.

Indeed, he's been hugely positive towards Wiggins.

nathanbloke

He wasn't being very complimentary about Wiggins on Twitter, if andywood1986 is to believed, Cath Wiggins that is. I can't remember him mentioning her on his commentary, mind.

Moomaloid

i really like Harmon, although i now have my first ever moan about him. He's now done the 'Team Sponsors - Product' feature 3 times, all with the same teams )

fast as fupp

twitter?

prawny

I don't get it, is the problem that he pronounces spanish riders names in the spanish way?

Surely thats a good thing, I remember when I was at school and my mate was telling me about Williams new F1 driver Jack-oose Villa-nerve. Is that what people want Harmon to do?

dougzz

I'm told the French are amongst the worse butchers of language around. A friend far more gifted at languages than myself was explaining some of this in reference to a Radio 5 spoiler I'd related to him. The report went something like "Frenchman Thomas Vo-Clair won today's....." I said I'd always assumed he was in some way more German since it's normally pronounced 'Fochlar". He agreed but said he could see how the French would just say Vo-Clair, and probably the lazy BBC journo just picked up on a French report. However since the ITV and Eurosport people spend so much time around the riders I'd assumed that Voeckler would have mentioned how his name is pronounced.