Brent Musburger is a Dick

With just over 9 1/2 minutes to play in the fourth quarter of Saturday's game between USC and Nebraske, with USC leading, 21-10, Musburger began describing on the air how USC quarterback John David Booty lets his receivers know he has spotted a certain kind of coverage.
"John David told us that his signal when he finds one-on-one and they're coming, it's that 'hang loose,' that familiar sign you've seen surfers use," said Musburger, referring to the sign where the thumb and little finger are raised.
That information had been gleaned from Booty on Friday during a standard production meeting. Announcers and producers meet with coaches and star players as part of their game preparation. However, much of what is said in those meetings is considered private, as background only, to help the announcers spot trends and potential plays.
"We're supposed to be partners in this," USC sports information director Tim Tessalone said, "but this is certainly going to make us think twice about trying to help them have as good a broadcast as possible. What he did was unconscionable. In my 28 years, I've never seen such an egregious breach of trust. Brent is not a rookie at this, and he should know better."
Musburger late Monday, through an ESPN spokesman, issued this statement: "We've explained to USC that during our pregame meeting we discussed how we used replays to illustrate a specific signal the week before in the Ohio State-Texas telecast. In that context, we asked if USC has a similar way of communicating and the specific signal was offered. Clearly, there is a misunderstanding, and we regret the confusion. We look forward to working with USC on future telecasts as we continue to cover [its] great program."
It all began when the subject of secret signals came up in that Friday meeting. A replay of the Ohio State-Texas telecast on Sept. 9 had shown how Buckeyes quarterback Troy Smith taps the top of the helmet to let receiver Ted Ginn Jr. know he's noticed one-on-one coverage. Booty was asked if USC had a similar signal. At that point, he told Musburger about USC's signal.
Booty was surprised that it had become an issue by Monday. "Going in there the other day, I wasn't going in there to tell them what we were doing or what we were trying to accomplish," he said of the production meeting. "And I'm going to do the same thing the next time I go in there."
After Musburger mentioned Booty's hand signal, commentator Bob Davie, the former Notre Dame coach, said on the air: "I was surprised he told us that, particularly now that you've told all of America what the signal is."
Commentator Kirk Herbstreit added, "He can use it as an indicator next week." An "indicator," which can also be verbal, tells players whether a signal is for real or not.
Musburger responded, "Yeah, he can use it as an indicator. What the heck."