TV Sports opinion question for Y'all

[Corky Marlowe]

One TV PBP guy who's really grown on me is George Grande, who does the Reds on FSN Ohio. (He was one of ESPN's early SportsCenter anchors, and I think he did the Yankees' TV games for a number of years.) Such an easygoing, friendly, relaxing style, and such a contrast to the nights when Thom Brennaman yells-er, does the games.

 

[banthony]

NFL: Ray Scott, Pat Summerall/John Madden

College Football: Keith Jackson/Frank Broyles

College Basketball: Dick Enberg/Billy Packer/Al McGuire

NBA: Marv Albert

NHL: Dan Kelly

MLB: Vin Scully

Soccer: Tony Tirado (Spanish)

 

[United]

Best Play By Play Men

MLB: Bob Costas, Joe Buck (Pre 2007)
NBA: Marv Albert, Bob Costas
NFL: Al Michaels, Pat Summerall
NHL: Mike Emrick

Best Analyst

MLB: Jim Kaat, Tim McCarver
NBA: Doug Collins
NFL: John Madden
NHL: Bill Clement

 

[radioman148]

>>Best Analyst

MLB:Steve Stone
NBA: Doug Collins
NFL: John Madden
NHL: Ed Olczyk

 

[RicoGregg]

Who used to call the LA Rams back in the 1970's,He was very good(a lot better than Bob Neal who called games for My Falcons).

Dick Enberg was the voice of the Rams until about 1978, when he left to join NBC, and was succeeded by Bob Starr.

Didn't Bob Starr also do Angels games for awhile?

Yes he did, two stints, in fact. I don't have the exact years in my memory, however. In 1990, Starr was succeeded as Rams announcer by Eddie Doucette. I know Bob (I knew him and worked with him) passed away, but I don't remember when.

 

[radioman148]

Who used to call the LA Rams back in the 1970's,He was very good(a lot better than Bob Neal who called games for My Falcons).

Dick Enberg was the voice of the Rams until about 1978, when he left to join NBC, and was succeeded by Bob Starr.

Didn't Bob Starr also do Angels games for awhile?

Yes he did, two stints, in fact. I don't have the exact years in my memory, however. In 1990, Starr was succeeded as Rams announcer by Eddie Doucette. I know Bob (I knew him and worked with him) passed away, but I don't remember when.

I think I remember hearing Bob Starr doing the Angels around the mid 80s.

 

[KeithE4]

Who would Y'all say was the best play by play Guys for these sports,that You've heard?

If we're talking about local guys, I can only go by the ones that I've heard. There are a lot of great ones at the local level.

1. College Football - Tom Dillon (Arizona State)
2. College Basketball - Don Fischer (Indiana)
3. NFL - Joe McConnell (Bears)
4. MLB - Vin Scully (Dodgers)
5. NBA - Jim Durham (Bulls)
6. NHL - Pat Foley (Black Hawks)

 

[Tim L]

MLB-Vin Scully has to be up there but Tom Hamilton (radio-Indians) is one of the better ones out there..
Analyst-Rick Manning (Sportstime Ohio-Indians)-Has done occasional Fox Games-Kind of underrated..He tells it like it is out there..

NBA-Joe Tait (Cavaliers Radio)-Been with the team almost its entire history..would love to see him call an NBA title game..

 

[radioman148]

Who would Y'all say was the best play by play Guys for these sports,that You've heard?

If we're talking about local guys, I can only go by the ones that I've heard. There are a lot of great ones at the local level.

1. College Football - Tom Dillon (Arizona State)
2. College Basketball - Don Fischer (Indiana)
3. NFL - Joe McConnell (Bears)
4. MLB - Vin Scully (Dodgers)
5. NBA - Jim Durham (Bulls)
6. NHL - Pat Foley (Black Hawks)

If you're going local I'll go with:

1. NFL - Joe McConnell (Bears)
2. MLB - Bob Elson (White Sox)
3. NBA - Jim Durham (Bulls)
4. NHL - Lloyd Pettit (Blackhawks)

 

[Corky Marlowe]

2. College Basketball - Don Fischer (Indiana)

Not only for doing the games, but for handling the Bobby Knight pregame shows...

"Coach, what do you have to do to beat Michigan State tonight?" "Well, Don, I think we probably have to score more G****D****points than they do." (OK, it probably never happened, but it coulda.) Fischer is, of course, the Hoosiers' radio voice, but does anyone remember the old 7-Up commercials from the 80's with the little dots causing mischief? Remember the one when they were playing pool in a bar, and there was a football game on the TV, and one of the dots launched a cueball into the TV as the announcer said, "The kick is up, and it's--"? That was Don Fischer. (The announcer, not the dot.)

 

[Charles1]

Best MLB play by play---Vin Scully, Dick Enberg, Jon Miller
Best MLB analyst---Tim McCarver (immediately after retirement), Joe Garagiola (not so much as an analyst but as a raconteur)
Best NFL play by play---Pat Summerall, Al Michaels, Curt Gowdy
Best College football play by play---Keith Jackson, Ron Franklin, Brad Nessler
Best College football analyst---Todd Blackledge, Mike Gottfried, Frank Broyles
Best NBA play by play---Bob Costas
Best NBA analyst---Mike Fratello
Best College hoops play by play--Dick Enberg
Best College hoops analyst---Al McGuire

And isn't funny that no one has mentioned Brent Musburger?

 

[radioman148]

Best MLB play by play---Vin Scully, Dick Enberg, Jon Miller
Best MLB analyst---Tim McCarver (immediately after retirement), Joe Garagiola (not so much as an analyst but as a raconteur)
Best NFL play by play---Pat Summerall, Al Michaels, Curt Gowdy
Best College football play by play---Keith Jackson, Ron Franklin, Brad Nessler
Best College football analyst---Todd Blackledge, Mike Gottfried, Frank Broyles
Best NBA play by play---Bob Costas
Best NBA analyst---Mike Fratello
Best College hoops play by play--Dick Enberg
Best College hoops analyst---Al McGuire

And isn't funny that no one has mentioned Brent Musburger?

Nothing against Brent, but I've never found him that great.

 

[searadiofreak]

I have only a strong opinion on the NBA. The Laker's Chick Hearn was far and wide the best. Just the right amount of energy, homerism, and criticism of the local team. He balanced it perfectly, all the while with a great voice and knowledge of the game.

Kevin Calabro, formerly of the Sonics (who refused to move to OKC with the move), is in 2nd place. Just a perfect voice for the game, a great energy when it counted, and all around factual, professional announcer. Calabro will most likely be one of the lead announcers in the league in the next five years. Mark my words! (problem is, I hear, is he doesn't want to leave Seattle!)

 

[radioman148]

I have only a strong opinion on the NBA. The Laker's Chick Hearn was far and wide the best. Just the right amount of energy, homerism, and criticism of the local team. He balanced it perfectly, all the while with a great voice and knowledge of the game.

Kevin Calabro, formerly of the Sonics (who refused to move to OKC with the move), is in 2nd place. Just a perfect voice for the game, a great energy when it counted, and all around factual, professional announcer. Calabro will most likely be one of the lead announcers in the league in the next five years. Mark my words! (problem is, I hear, is he doesn't want to leave Seattle!)

Chick Hearn was great and Jim Durham a close second.

 

[David67]

I have only a strong opinion on the NBA. The Laker's Chick Hearn was far and wide the best. Just the right amount of energy, homerism, and criticism of the local team. He balanced it perfectly, all the while with a great voice and knowledge of the game.

Kevin Calabro, formerly of the Sonics (who refused to move to OKC with the move), is in 2nd place. Just a perfect voice for the game, a great energy when it counted, and all around factual, professional announcer. Calabro will most likely be one of the lead announcers in the league in the next five years. Mark my words! (problem is, I hear, is he doesn't want to leave Seattle!)

Chick Hearn was great and Jim Durham a close second.

Don't forget Johnny Most in Boston

 

[radioman148]

I have only a strong opinion on the NBA. The Laker's Chick Hearn was far and wide the best. Just the right amount of energy, homerism, and criticism of the local team. He balanced it perfectly, all the while with a great voice and knowledge of the game.

Kevin Calabro, formerly of the Sonics (who refused to move to OKC with the move), is in 2nd place. Just a perfect voice for the game, a great energy when it counted, and all around factual, professional announcer. Calabro will most likely be one of the lead announcers in the league in the next five years. Mark my words! (problem is, I hear, is he doesn't want to leave Seattle!)

Chick Hearn was great and Jim Durham a close second.

Don't forget Johnny Most in Boston

Yes, Johnny was excellent.

 

[radioman148]

Another baseball announcer who deserves his props is Jack Brickhouse.
To this day I still think it was a travesty for WGN to put him in retirement when he reached 65 and then hire Harry Caray who was older than Brickhouse.

 

[RicoGregg]

Another baseball announcer who deserves his props is Jack Brickhouse.
To this day I still think it was a travesty for WGN to put him in retirement when he reached 65 and then hire Harry Caray who was older than Brickhouse.

Sorry, Cubs fans, but IMO, Harry Caray was a travesty to sports broadcasting. Once I got a small dose of him on WGN, his act grew old and tiresome very fast, but then, the organization that hired him (Tribune) fired Milo Hamilton and Steve Stone, and put Jack Brickhouse out to pasture.

What's wrong with this picture? ???

The new owners of the Cubs, when they takeover, whoever they are, need to take Caray's caricature off the Wrigley Field press box, and stop with the silly tradition of quasi-celebrities and others singing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" at every home game. That ritual is so "Harry Caray", and need I remind that Harry Caray is DEAD?

 

[radioman148]

Another baseball announcer who deserves his props is Jack Brickhouse.
To this day I still think it was a travesty for WGN to put him in retirement when he reached 65 and then hire Harry Caray who was older than Brickhouse.

Sorry, Cubs fans, but IMO, Harry Caray was a travesty to sports broadcasting. Once I got a small dose of him on WGN, his act grew old and tiresome very fast, but then, the organization that hired him (Tribune) fired Milo Hamilton and Steve Stone, and put Jack Brickhouse out to pasture.

What's wrong with this picture? ???

The new owners of the Cubs, when they takeover, whoever they are, need to take Caray's caricature off the Wrigley Field press box, and stop with the silly tradition of quasi-celebrities and others singing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" at every home game. That ritual is so "Harry Caray", and need I remind that Harry Caray is DEAD?

What was a real travesty was putting up a statue for Caray before they recognized Brickhouse in any fashion.
But of course it's all about the money & marketing.

 

[KeithE4]

Another baseball announcer who deserves his props is Jack Brickhouse.
To this day I still think it was a travesty for WGN to put him in retirement when he reached 65 and then hire Harry Caray who was older than Brickhouse.

Sorry, Cubs fans, but IMO, Harry Caray was a travesty to sports broadcasting. Once I got a small dose of him on WGN, his act grew old and tiresome very fast, but then, the organization that hired him (Tribune) fired Milo Hamilton and Steve Stone, and put Jack Brickhouse out to pasture.

What's wrong with this picture? ???

Caray became a cartoon after his 1987 stroke. Before that, he was one of the best half-dozen play-callers in baseball history (the others being Vin Scully, Ernie Harwell, Jack Brickhouse, Harry Kalas, and Caray's former partner Jack Buck).

The whole sad Milo Hamilton/Harry Caray feud has been covered in other threads so I won't repeat it here. Brickhouse (by his own admission) was responsible for their unfortunate re-pairing.

Steve Stone and Chip Caray were gone because of thin-skinned Cub players and then-manager Dusty Baker. Hardly the first time that's happened in sports.

The new owners of the Cubs, when they takeover, whoever they are, need to take Caray's caricature off the Wrigley Field press box, and stop with the silly tradition of quasi-celebrities and others singing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" at every home game. That ritual is so "Harry Caray", and need I remind that Harry Caray is DEAD?

Yes he is, but it brings in the fans (not all of them true Cub fans). Brickhouse doesn't get the credit he deserves from both Chicago teams, but he just wasn't that kind of guy. He was a play-caller, not a party guy (at least on-camera - there have been stories circulating for decades about Brick and Harry carrousing on Rush Street). I doubt that a Vin Scully statue will ever adorn Dodger Stadium for the same reason, although he certainly deserves one.

The Harry Caray tributes at Wrigley Field will be there as long as the ballpark stands. And probably will be moved to whatever new park the Cubs eventually build.