The Player to be Named Later
By Andy Hamilton
Andy covers Hawkeye football and wrestling for the Iowa City Press-Citizen.
The Player to be Named Later
Gable's commentary at the center of IPTV issue
Posted by Andy Hamilton
on December 27, 2007, at 12:35 AM.
Dan Gable didn’t even step on the mat during this year’s Iowa-Iowa State dual and yet he’s involved in another squabble involving the meet between the two schools.
Gable said Wednesday that Iowa Public Television officials informed him that they received complaints from Iowa State followers for his commentary during Iowa’s 20-13 victory during the Dec. 9 dual meet in Ames, and IPTV has told him he will not be part of its broadcast team if it airs next month’s National Duals in Cedar Falls.
“Iowa Public Television had asked me to be onboard for that, and I was considering,” Gable said. “But after the Iowa-Iowa State meet, they kind of asked me not to consider. If they do the National Duals, they’re thinking it would be best for me to lay low.”
Gable, who gained wrestling fame as an athlete at Iowa State before becoming a legendary coach at Iowa, was part of the IPTV broadcast team with Tim Johnson and former Iowa State coach Jim Gibbons during his first retirement.
Gable returned to coaching last year for one season as
Tom Brands’ top assistant with the Hawkeyes and was involved in a heated exchange on the mat between coaches from both schools during Iowa’s 24-6 victory in 2006.
He agreed to return to the IPTV broadcast team for two college wrestling events this year – the Iowa-Iowa State dual and the Division III Iowa Conference Tournament.
“I don’t know this for a fact, but it’s my understanding, without documentation, that Iowa State didn’t know I was going to be onboard for the Iowa-Iowa State meet,” Gable said. “I think that’s something maybe they didn’t plan for and they probably didn’t care as long as they ended up winning the dual meet. But with the way it came out, there was already some controversy with the curtain (in Hilton Coliseum that limited the attendance to 8,998) and some other things, so probably losing the dual meet, having the curtain and Gable being on the announcing staff probably pushed somebody over the edge. Between that, somebody of high stature was concerned.”
Gable said he wasn’t told exactly what he said that rankled some viewers.
“I think mostly just possibly being more excited on one side,” he said, “and then maybe talking too much.”
Gable said he still plans to be part of the broadcast team for the Iowa Conference Tournament for IPTV.
“I feel like I broadcast from a coaching point of view and I try to enhance the sport and try to bring people to the television set with not just a normal broadcast where you just do the play-by-play – and I’m not doing the play-by-play; I never have – but between the motivational side, the passion and the coaching, I try to cover a lot of different areas that I think people can gain from.
“I don’t try to show favoritism. Sometimes I get excited, but that’s pretty normal, I think. I didn’t go back and look at it this time, normally I do. Once I got hit fairly hard, I said, ‘I’ll wait awhile and cool off.’”
Gable's commentary at the center of IPTV issue 
) Gibbons has made the most negative comment about ISU when on the big ten network he said last years seniors were under acheivers. I dont understand IPTV, they cut the number of programs they give us every year. Then they beg for money and act like they never cut anything. Explain to us first why you cut things. I am just glad the Big Ten network has stepped up. Of the only four matches IPTV are showing this year two are ISU home meets which I will be at and one is D3. So that leaves me with one ISU at UNI that is worth watching except for the commentators. They are going to make that even less valuable without Gable. Catch a clue IPTV.
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