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chris12
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What were your local teams best and worst broadcast teams. For me in Chicago area my favorites were Pat Foley and Dale Tallon with the Blackhawks and Jim Durham and John Kerr with the Bulls.
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chris12 said:
Speaking of Chicago, you also have Hawk Harrelson and Darrin Jackson with the Sox - two guys who don't mesh at all (I still like Harrelson but he's getting too old now). Harrelson & Tom Paciorek (aka Hawk & Wimpy) were much better together even though they supposedly couldn't stand each other off-air.
Len Kaspar and Bob Brenly aren't exactly burning up the WGN airwaves as the Cubs' replacements for Chip Caray & Steve Stone either.
On Bulls' broadcasts, Jim Durham was great (still is on ESPN) but I've always liked Wayne Larrivee and Kerr together as well.
Here in Phoenix, we had Thom Brennaman & Mark Grace doing Diamondbacks broadcasts. Not good at all. Brennaman (who left to join his dad in Cincinnati a month ago) has gone downhill the last couple of years, but I blame the semi-incoherent ramblings of Grace for part of that. Thom was much better with Joe Garagiola.
The Suns TV guys - Tom Leander (KUTP) & Gary Bender (FSNAZ) with Dan Majerle and Eddie Johnson as analysts - are OK, but just barely. I turn the sound down and listen to Al McCoy on KTAR radio.
...In Milwaukee, the Bucks have never really recaptured the excitement Eddie Doucette single-handedly captured with the Milwaukee Bucks in the early '70s. During the '76-'77 season, he was saddled with Jon McGlocklin as a color commentator, which only lasted a year and was a bad coupling overall. Doucette left Milwaukee in '77 to do the Cleveland Indians games with Jim Mueller on WJKW-TV (interestingly, Doucette had replaced Bob Uecker on Milwaukee Brewers TV games in '73-'74). Doucette brought a Top 40 Radio-type of excitement to the Bucks (Doucette had been a Top 40 jock on WRIT and WEMP) that I haven't heard since...
...and, of course, the Chicago White Sox had absolute gold with Harry Caray and Jimmy Piersall in the '70s. Unfortunately, Piersall shot his mouth off about White Sox management a few too many times and was removed from the TV games in '81 (he made a hideously sexist comment during one game in '80, leading WBBM to bounce him from the radio games; he continued to do the TV games on WGN-TV/9)...
...and, of course, the Chicago White Sox had absolute gold with Harry Caray and Jimmy Piersall in the '70s. Unfortunately, Piersall shot his mouth off about White Sox management a few too many times and was removed from the TV games in '81 (he made a hideously sexist comment during one game in '80, leading WBBM to bounce him from the radio games; he continued to do the TV games on WGN-TV/9)...
New York Mets fans had their trio of Bob Murphy, Ralph Kiner and Lindsay Nelson--of the three only Kiner is still alive. Gary Cohen does a great job for them on SNY. Howie Rose shows a bit of enthusiasm, but I like his catchphrase "PUT IT IN THE BOOKS!" for a Met win. Tom McCarthy sounds a bit too much like Cohen, and doesn't have that OOMPH in his home run calls like Cohen does.
Yankees fans like myself--well I'm too young for Red Barber, but I remember Mel Allen calling Dave Righetti's 4th of July no-hitter in '83. Of course Bill White, Frank Messer, George Grande and yes, "HOLY COW" Phil Rizzuto--God love him he's still alive. Michael Kay is doing a credible job. But John Sterling, who I once loved, well is starting to sound a bit too old and makes too many mistakes. Charley Steiner helped him out and made a nice niche for himself with Aaron Boone's home run call in 2003--I won't shame Red Sox nation any further.
Giants fans--nobody replaces Marty Glickman, but Bob Papa does a FINE job on WFAN.
Rangers--well Sam Rosen is still calling the games, but it's not the same without John Davidson and his "OH, BABY!"
Knicks--broadcasting team sucks, so does the team--Gus Johnson--CALM DOWN! Mike Breen adds the only bit of class when he isn't calling ESPN/ABC games. Walt Frazier, still a wizard with words and is still cool when cool was cool.
Nets--well Marv Albert and Ian Eagle for YES. I prefer Eagle to do this job. Mark "Action" Jackson tries to be funny, but falls flat--bring Bill Raftery back guys! I won't hold it against Jackson that he went to St. John's. Radio coverage is spotty though on WFAN.
And I will also include college hoops--UCONN's men team has Joe D'Ambrosio and Wayne Norman on WTIC plus about 5 stations in CT. I call Joe D The American-Italian Marv Albert--he's known for his enthusiastic calls and his sometimes putdowns. Wayne-O handles himself well as color man, and hosts morning drive on WILI Willimantic.
The women mainly have Bob Joyce--a Joe D wannabe and Kara Wolters, who was a part of the NCAA Champion 1994-95 35-0 team for UCONN lady hoops. Joyce is solid with play-by-play, though lacks the punch of Joe D. Kara Wolters tries to add some humor to her color role. She was known as a bit of a free spirit, a semi-clown--but look out if you stand next to the 6' 7" Wolters, who's aptly nicknamed Big Girl. She was Magic Johnson comparable to Rebecca Lobo's calm, thoughtful Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Lobo, retired from basketball, works for ESPN.
Sometimes Joe D will call a women's game with Kara and then things get funny.
Yankees fans like myself--well I'm too young for Red Barber, but I remember Mel Allen calling Dave Righetti's 4th of July no-hitter in '83. Of course Bill White, Frank Messer, George Grande and yes, "HOLY COW" Phil Rizzuto--God love him he's still alive. Michael Kay is doing a credible job. But John Sterling, who I once loved, well is starting to sound a bit too old and makes too many mistakes. Charley Steiner helped him out and made a nice niche for himself with Aaron Boone's home run call in 2003--I won't shame Red Sox nation any further.
Giants fans--nobody replaces Marty Glickman, but Bob Papa does a FINE job on WFAN.
Rangers--well Sam Rosen is still calling the games, but it's not the same without John Davidson and his "OH, BABY!"
Knicks--broadcasting team sucks, so does the team--Gus Johnson--CALM DOWN! Mike Breen adds the only bit of class when he isn't calling ESPN/ABC games. Walt Frazier, still a wizard with words and is still cool when cool was cool.
Nets--well Marv Albert and Ian Eagle for YES. I prefer Eagle to do this job. Mark "Action" Jackson tries to be funny, but falls flat--bring Bill Raftery back guys! I won't hold it against Jackson that he went to St. John's. Radio coverage is spotty though on WFAN.
And I will also include college hoops--UCONN's men team has Joe D'Ambrosio and Wayne Norman on WTIC plus about 5 stations in CT. I call Joe D The American-Italian Marv Albert--he's known for his enthusiastic calls and his sometimes putdowns. Wayne-O handles himself well as color man, and hosts morning drive on WILI Willimantic.
The women mainly have Bob Joyce--a Joe D wannabe and Kara Wolters, who was a part of the NCAA Champion 1994-95 35-0 team for UCONN lady hoops. Joyce is solid with play-by-play, though lacks the punch of Joe D. Kara Wolters tries to add some humor to her color role. She was known as a bit of a free spirit, a semi-clown--but look out if you stand next to the 6' 7" Wolters, who's aptly nicknamed Big Girl. She was Magic Johnson comparable to Rebecca Lobo's calm, thoughtful Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Lobo, retired from basketball, works for ESPN.
Sometimes Joe D will call a women's game with Kara and then things get funny.
In Nashville, John Dwyer and who ever he works with for the Pre-Season games for the Tennessee Titans have to be in the running for the worst announcing teams of ALL-TIME. He has absolutley no business being anywhere near the booth for an NFL game. He is very condensending and speaks down to the listeners and everytime that a player from either the Titans or their opponents that played college ball at Alabama, he has to announce it "Keith Jackson" style instead of how anyone else would announce it.
Ultimajock said:
Caray and Piersall's last year with the Sox was 1981, on WGN-TV. Harry went to the Cubs after the Tribune bought them in '82, and Jimmy went in-studio on SportsVision (he didn't appear on any WFLD broadcasts).
Piersall's anti-Sox-management diatribe were as a result of the possibility of Fergie Jenkins being traded from the Cubs to the Sox in early '83. The consensus in the local fishwraps was that the Sox "held a gun to the Cubs' head" (figuratively of course, but that was the phrase used) He said that "nobody in the White Sox organization is smart enough to hold a gun to anybody's head." That's what got him fired.
His sexist comment was in September 1981 - something about "horny broads going after a big, strong ballplayer" (Moderators, don't delete that as that is the exact language he used - check the link). Needless to say, the players' wives weren't too happy about that and he was suspended for a few games (IIRC, he did finish the season). Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf didn't fire him (yet) and WBBM didn't insist on him doing so. But he didn't return to the booth in '82 when the Sox went to WMAQ radio, WFLD-TV, & SportsVision.
Link: White Sox Interactive interview with Jimmy Piersall
RobertAnthony said:
Sorta a bit off-topic...I heard on a radio sports show last week that Johnson and Clyde got into an argument off-air, supposingly over Frazier talking too much. ;D However, I can understand what you mean Gus Johnson's play-by-play style...we got the Raiders-Bengals game yesterday from Cincinnati, with him and former Bills great Steve Tasker on the call.
One good topic about watching NBA League Pass is you can sample some of the best and some of the worst local/regional broadcast teams in the Association. Definitely, the Knicks broadcasters are pretty good, as well as the Golden State Warriors TV team of Bob Fitzgerald and former Warrior Jim Barnett...pretty solid and underrated team, and I'll also include the Seattle Supersonics team of Kevin Calabro and Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens. Calabro is one of the best in the business, and Wilkens isn't too bad, but not all that great either. Some of the rest I've heard are pretty average at best to downright awful (Charlotte, Memphis, Boston, Miami).
As far as all-time local teams, here's mine:
Ralph Lawler & Bill Walton (Clippers TV, 1991-2002): IMO, Lawler is one of the most underrated play-by-play broadcasters ever, even if his Midwestern charm is a little hokey with us West Coasters. I say he's underrated because the Clippers themselves (until recently) have been so awful for so long, so no more really notice his work or cared, plus being in the shadow of the Lakers and the late great Chick Hearn (who was a broadcaster in Peoria, Illinois, where Lawler grew up). With Walton, they made a very entertaining team, especially in lackluster games. I know a lot of people intensely dislike Walton as a commetator, but he's fine with me because you can't take everything he says too seriously. Lawler's current partner, Mike Smith, was a former NBA journeyman player who became the Clips' radio play-by-play and Lawler's fill-in partner when Walton did NBC games, is pretty decent and can be mundane at times, but he's very adept in analysing players and the opposition. As far as I'm concerned, Lawler keeps those broadcasts, and in the rare instance that Lawler broadcasts a non-local TV game, he seems much better there than on TV.
Vin Scully (Dodgers TV/Radio, 1951-present): Vin, by himself, can call a game as good as anyone I've ever heard. I'm not that big of a Dodgers fan, but I love listening to Vin. Yeah, he's up there in age (I believe he just turned 79 recently), he's still very sharp at his age. Nowadays, he calls the Dodgers locally by himself, with the first three innings simulcast on TV and radio, then TV exclusively for the final innings, while Charley Steiner (whom I've grown to like) and Rick Monday do the final innings on radio. When Vin isn't doing games (which is now any road games east of Denver), Steiner and Steve Lyons do the games on TV (all innings) and Monday and Jerry Reuss do the radio play-by-play.
Bob Miller and Jim (Kings TV, 1989-present): Miller has been the voice of the L.A. Kings hockey team since 1973, doing both radio and TV play-by-play, while Fox has been his partner since 1989, when they split the TV and radio simulcast. I admit I don't watch a lot of hockey, but when I do, Miller and Fox are great to listen to.
The rest of the local guys are decent to bad...the current Lakers broadcasters (radio and TV) are a bunch of homers and Kobe Bryant ass-kissers, none of which Chick Hearn was not. Chick was objective and wasn't afraid to praise the opposition if they played well. The same thing with the Angels TV broadcasters, except they don't brown nose any Angel player in particular, they're just a bunch of cheerleaders, very hesistant to say anything wrong if the Angels play badly.
Boston/Red Sox tv
In the Boston market for best Boston Red Sox television play-by-play/analyst pairings:
-Dick Stockton and Ken "Hawk" Harrelson---Dick's voice is the one heard on the famous Carlton Fisk homerun call. Dick eventually left to go to CBS and was replaced with Ned Martin who moved over from the radio side.
-the late great Ned Martin (Mercy!) and Hawk---Hawk eventually left to join the White Sox broadcasts and was replaced by former Red Sox catcher Bob Montgomery
-Sean McDonough and Jerry Remy--Sean succeeded Ned Martin on over-the-air broadcasts while Ned was relegated to the at-that-time lesser viewed cable tv games. Jerry Remy, arguably one of the most popular television analysts with his own fan club, his own website, etc. Not THE greatest analyst of all time in any sport but he's going into his 18th or 19th year as a Sox analyst. Broke in with one of the better "teachers" in Ned Martin and went on to work with a succession of Sox play-by-players including Sean McDonough, Bob Kurtz, and now Don Orsillo.
In the Boston market for best Boston Red Sox television play-by-play/analyst pairings:
-Dick Stockton and Ken "Hawk" Harrelson---Dick's voice is the one heard on the famous Carlton Fisk homerun call. Dick eventually left to go to CBS and was replaced with Ned Martin who moved over from the radio side.
-the late great Ned Martin (Mercy!) and Hawk---Hawk eventually left to join the White Sox broadcasts and was replaced by former Red Sox catcher Bob Montgomery
-Sean McDonough and Jerry Remy--Sean succeeded Ned Martin on over-the-air broadcasts while Ned was relegated to the at-that-time lesser viewed cable tv games. Jerry Remy, arguably one of the most popular television analysts with his own fan club, his own website, etc. Not THE greatest analyst of all time in any sport but he's going into his 18th or 19th year as a Sox analyst. Broke in with one of the better "teachers" in Ned Martin and went on to work with a succession of Sox play-by-players including Sean McDonough, Bob Kurtz, and now Don Orsillo.
T
traficstud
Guest
Continuing the NY post-
The Islanders's old TV team of Jiggs McDonald and Ed Westfall was outstanding. John Sterling called the radio games in the 70's... GOAL! ISLANDER GOAL! ISLANDER GOAL! ISLANDER GOAL!
I remember in the early 80s when Steve Zabriski (sp) and Tim McCarver used to call games on WOR-TV. They were bad. Couldn't top the team of Murphy, Kiner, and Nelson.
The Islanders's old TV team of Jiggs McDonald and Ed Westfall was outstanding. John Sterling called the radio games in the 70's... GOAL! ISLANDER GOAL! ISLANDER GOAL! ISLANDER GOAL!
I remember in the early 80s when Steve Zabriski (sp) and Tim McCarver used to call games on WOR-TV. They were bad. Couldn't top the team of Murphy, Kiner, and Nelson.
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