Jim Boylen’s Late Timeout In A Blowout On Super Bowl Sunday Infuriated The Raptors Announcers

There are many sporting events happening on Sunday, but all of them are scheduled to end prior to 6 p.m. ET, as no sporting league is silly enough to try and compete with the Super Bowl.

It doesn’t always work out as intended, as sporting events regularly go over their intended time, which can create a bit of a conundrum for everyone involved, from fans to those playing to announcers, all of whom want to watch the Super Bowl. This Sunday, the Waste Management Phoenix Open went to a playoff, with Webb Simpson birdieing the last to tie Tony Finau, forcing Jim Nantz and Nick Faldo to remain on the call on CBS with kickoff rapidly approaching.

Elsewhere, in the NBA, the Raptors dominated the Bulls in a 129-102 blowout win in Toronto, but even north of the border, folks were on edge about missing the start of the NFL’s championship game. Down 25 with one minute to go, Jim Boylen decided to burn a timeout to draw up something for his Bulls team, which drew the ire Raptors color commentator Jack Armstrong, who (rightly) lamented the move as something that simply delayed the inevitable.

Boylen will surely insist he has to coach hard to the final whistle, but Armstrong is right. It’s a try hard move to pretend to be always working hard, when that work should’ve shown itself in the first 47 minutes of the game. For the announcers, they’ve got postgame responsibilities that will keep them there for at least another half hour after the game, usually, so at 5:30 p.m. ET this was, certainly pushing it and Armstrong decided to let Boylen have it.