Allie LaForce the new Erin Andrews.  Sidelines for Louisville - CSU on CBS 

I have been telling her  exactly that since she decided to forego her basketball career .......early and often. Glad to see I am going to get the chance to say "toljaso"

And worse in the studio.

My two cents...

I never got the EA love. I can appreciate others like her skill set but it seems she is more of a celeb than broadcaster. She seemed to dress really, uh, interestingly (to steal Otto's phrase from A Fish Called Wanda).

I think Allie and Samantha Ponder are heads and shoulders above Ms Andrews.

I saw toward the end of the Butler-Marquette game they made a quick note about Allie gaining over 4000 new twitter followers after yesterdays broadcasts and she gave a little "raise the roof" motion :).

Good things are headed her way for sure.

Are you sure you're not thinking of Leslie Visser when she went through that horrible "hat phase"?

Allie has an Ohio University connection dating back to 2005, when she won the Miss Teen USA pageant.  It was there she came into contact with Ohio grad Paula Shugart, who runs the Miss Universe/Miss USA/Miss Teen USA organization for Donald Trump. Paula became somewhat of a mentor for Allie, and it was Paula who convinced her that if she wanted a career in broadcasting, there was no better school to begin working at it than Ohio.

I have followed Allie's work from "Gridiron Glory" on WOUB through her STO work and right on to her current work with Doug Gottlieb on the CBS Sports Channel.  Obviously she make a great presentation!  If her work consisted solely of sideline reporting, there is no question she could easily compete at the highest level.

Her inexperience shows in her work with Gottlieb.  She's not quite as smooth in the studio (although after a couple months she's improving) as on the sidelines.  Most important she just doesn't have the background or knowledge she needs to talk with great insight on many of the subjects that comes up. 

Many in her position don't begin as on-air talents.  Most start as researchers, production assistants, etc. where they not only learn the biz, but learn more about the sports they want to cover.  With her looks, it's obvious that Allie would be in front of the camera from the get-go.  But that means she hasn't had the opportunity to know all the ins and outs of sport or develop as many well thought out opinions.  She's only 24.  If she continues to work, she and the CBS Sports Channel have a great chance to grow together.

You'll notice I said "if..." in that last sentence.  I have no idea if Allie really wants a career in sports broadcasting or might pursue other interests in show business.  The most successful sportscasters generally stick just to sports, with an exception here or there.   Sure, guys like Dan Patrick or Colin Cowherd (love 'em or hate 'em) may have an occasional outside project, but sports is their bread and butter, as it is with Erin or Linda Cohen.  Robin Roberts is one of the few who has been successful in both sports and something else (news, in Robin's case).  It will be interesting to see if Allie does indeed decide to be the "next" Erin, or whether she decides--or money dictates--she move on to something else.  I could see her hosting something like Entertainment Tonight down the road.  Either way, she'll hopefully always remain OUr girl.     

My opinion of Andrews really diminished when I saw her doing a commercial for some health product.  Then when she joined Fox it went through the floor. 

Sideline reporters are generally useless in basketball because they only ask a couple inane questions at halftime or do fluff pieces on fans instead of getting into the meat of the game.  They have more value in football IF they contribute to knowledge of the game instead of just interviewing the celebs in the crowd.  (Think Chris Spiellman at the Ohio-O$U game that we almost won in '08.)