Yeah, my career is in journalism and it was my most active hobby for years before I even got my first job. The more you read and work with good writing, the more obvious it becomes when someone is just pretending to be a good journalist.
Barry sucked at his job (to the point where I literally can't remember his last name right now) but he was a lot more natural in this role than Hazel and Arash because he was a sideline reporter that knew he was a sideline reporter. He wasn't punching above his weight class and posing as a master storyteller.
A sideline reporter just needs to exist and let the story tell itself, let the players be themselves. Trying to make everything deep just makes it suck.
I don't blame them for doing it though. Sports is full of ******** narrative peddlers that are wildly successful. Ron Maclean is one of the most accomplished Canadian sports people of all time and I've never watched a Ron Maclean segment that didn't feel forced and awkward and actively make me uncomfortable watching it.