Worst one-game announcing performance

[Guest Redhawk]

Announcers who just suck in general are one thing: I'm talking about one game or event you saw in which an announcer gave a particularly bad performance.

 

NBA Rookie Challenge, 2003.

I have this game on tape; if you remember, it's the one where Jason Richardson bounced the ball off Carlos Boozer's forehead before hitting a three-pointer in his face.

Anywa, what stood out about that game most the last time I watched it was how fucking annoying Danny Ainge was as an announcer. He spent the whole game slamming the style of play: how the players needed to play defense, how everyone was just trying to dunk, hit 3s and make fancy passes, how no one was trying very hard. He even admitted a few times that maybe he was overreacting, but then he'd keep doing it! One of the other announcers for that game was John Thompson, who didn't accept bullshit play when he coached at G'Town. And even Thompson was pretty much like, "Dude, it's just an exhibition game. These guys are mostly kids. What do you expect?"

 

What are yours?

[therealworldschampion 0]

I saw the 1994 Orange Bowl between Florida State and Nebraska on ESPN Classic once. I cannot tell you how horrible the color commentator, Bob Trumpy, was in that game. He kept hammering in on stupid points over and over again.

[the max 0]

Tim McCarver.

 

Every game he's ever done.

[teke184 0]

Bob Griese calling Michigan vs. Washington State in the Rose Bowl, with Bob's talentless son Brian QBing Michigan.

[Just John 0]

Falcons vs. Panthers (Sunday Night Football, 2003)

 

The ESPN guys would not stop blowing Michael Vick. Everything was about Vick, everything!

[Dangerous A 0]

I cannot pinpoint the exact games, but Bill Walton's commentary, particularly during Laker/Shaq games, was infuriating.

[Hogan Made Wrestling 0]

Falcons vs. Panthers (Sunday Night Football, 2003)

 

The ESPN guys would not stop blowing Michael Vick. Everything was about Vick, everything!

Totally agree. That digitally inserted red line showing where the line of scrimmage was (which was only used when Vick was on the field) just pushed it over the top.

 

Every broadcast of ESPN Sunday Night Football is bad.

[Grenouille 0]

Tim McCarver.

 

Every game he's ever done.

I don't know about every game. Old folks tell me that he once was worth something 20 years back or so. Currently though he pisses me off whenever he speaks especially in these recent cases..

 

Boston Vs NY - ALCS - Damn, can we have a little impartiality here? At least Boone just stayed quiet most of the time.

 

Boston Vs NY - I don't remember which game it was, but it was during the last series at the stadium where he just wouldn't stop talking about Jeter and his fucking intangibles.

 

Boston Vs NY 7/24/04 - The Yankees can do no wrong, at least according to Timmy.

[the max 0]

He may have been something twenty years ago.

 

Now, he's become the Grampa Simpson of baseball.

[treble 0]

I'll take Tim McCarver over John Cerutti any day of the week.

 

Sort of on-topic, after the '94 Olympic Gold Medal hockey game that Canada lost in a shootout, Rod Black said this to Todd Hlushko (or at least along these lines): "You promised your dying father that you would bring him back a gold medal. You didn't. He is now dead. How does that make you feel?"

 

That was real nice.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Now, he's become the Grampa Simpson of baseball.

He's senile, but he'd have to make you laugh to be considered that.

[Guest GreatOne]

The Rick Rizzs-Ron Fairly duo.

 

Whether it's Fairly making the same fucking "point" six times an inning, or Rizzs--the Mariners' answer to Tony Schiavone--hyping every play as THE GREATEST PLAY IN THE HISTORY OF THIS SPORT!!!!!!!!! Hell I figured the M's had to return to suckdom eventually with these idiots doing the games.

 

'Oh my god Ron Belliard just made the greatest play in the history of baseball!!!!!!!!! (a simple backwards catch on a blooper by Miguel Olivo that hung forever)'--and wouldn't you know, Ravech and Gammons did the same thing on Baseball Tonight.

 

Basically any grounder to the left side the requires more than three steps to field was fielded by either Brooks Robinson or Ernie Banks.............

 

Speaking of, does Schiavone still do baseball?

[Guest Dumb Fuck]

I don't know if this counts as a game...

 

But, Quin Snyder doing the NBA Draft for TNT, some year. Even the fellow announcers felt bad for him.

[Dogbert 0]

Bob Cole and Harry Neale - Every game. They bug the crap out of me.

 

Greg Millen - Every game of the Flames/Wings series. No wonder the Wings seemed off... they must've been thinking of the blowjobs they each received before the game.

[strummer 0]

I REALLY REALLY REALLY can't stand Ted Robinson, the lead TV announcer for the Mets. He shows no passion whatsoever for the game of baseball. I understand being a professional, unbiased announcer, but this guy seems like he would rather be debating the effectiveness of Marxism in 1950's China than calling a baseball game. I'm not asking for a blatant homer or cheerleader, but show some passion and emotion. His tone never changes, whether it's the top of the 1st or the botton of the 9th with the winning runs on base. After every game he announces, I wish I could ask him "Ted, do you actually, ya know, LIKE baseball?

[the max 0]

Now, he's become the Grampa Simpson of baseball.

He's senile, but he'd have to make you laugh to be considered that.

Oh, I laugh at how insane some of the things he says are.

[smh810 0]

don't know about every game. Old folks tell me that he once was worth something 20 years back or so. Currently though he pisses me off whenever he speaks especially in these recent cases..

 

Boston Vs NY - ALCS - Damn, can we have a little impartiality here? At least Boone just stayed quiet most of the time.

 

Boston Vs NY - I don't remember which game it was, but it was during the last series at the stadium where he just wouldn't stop talking about Jeter and his fucking intangibles.

 

Boston Vs NY 7/24/04 - The Yankees can do no wrong, at least according to Timmy.

 

Laughable. Completely Laughable. Its hilarious to hear Red Sox fans say that Buck and McCarver say that they are pro-Yankee and Yankee fans say that they are anti-Yankee. Thats when you know they're doing their job. While McCarver does have a tendency to overanalyze and the quality of his work has gone down in recent years he is still good. On Saturday both he and Buck (who rarely if ever has an off game) were ON.

[Guest Dumb Fuck]

I REALLY REALLY REALLY can't stand Ted Robinson, the lead TV announcer for the Mets. He shows no passion whatsoever for the game of baseball. I understand being a professional, unbiased announcer, but this guy seems like he would rather be debating the effectiveness of Marxism in 1950's China than calling a baseball game. I'm not asking for a blatant homer or cheerleader, but show some passion and emotion. His tone never changes, whether it's the top of the 1st or the botton of the 9th with the winning runs on base. After every game he announces, I wish I could ask him "Ted, do you actually, ya know, LIKE baseball?

He's much worse with tennis, since Robinson is now the main NBC guy...

 

He tries to sound like an expert, and just comes across like a total jackass.

[nl5xsk1 0]

Falcons vs. Panthers (Sunday Night Football, 2003)

 

The ESPN guys would not stop blowing Michael Vick. Everything was about Vick, everything!

Totally agree. That digitally inserted red line showing where the line of scrimmage was (which was only used when Vick was on the field) just pushed it over the top.

 

Every broadcast of ESPN Sunday Night Football is bad.

Agreed, the Sunday Night Crew do it for someone just about EVERY game ...

 

If the Packers are playing: "That's a play that only Brett Favre could ever make!" (*when it's a simple play-action pass)

If the Ravens are playing: "No other LB in football would have made that play; that's what makes Ray Lewis so special." (*when it's just running down a back in the backfield)

If the Vikings are playing: "Randy Moss makes plays that other WRs couldn't dream of." (*hey, he ran under a deep ball. Wonderful)

 

... the verbal fellatio that those announcers give certain players is so blatant it's laughable.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Damn. Let me think about this one.

 

OK, last year on ESPN Football there was a game involving the Colts. Apparently Harrison was pissy about something and talked it over with Manning earlier in the week. Something like he wasn't getting enough catches or something. These two then talked it over and it was resolved. Anyway, Mike Patrick repeated this story EVERY FIVE MINUTES and there was one phrase that he kept repeating that was mentioned by Harrison or Manning about the whole situation -- something like "It was water under the bridge..."

[sfaJack 0]

To further dogpile on the horrid ESPN Sunday Night Crew, I thought their performane in the Texans' franchise-opening game versus the Cowboys was pitiful.

 

They were very loudly and openly rooting for the Texans in most every way and it seriously pissed me off. Leave that homer shit to the local crews.

[bradolson 0]

I'll go with Tim McCarver as well. Typical McCarver "analysis":

 

"ya see, that was a hit-and-run situation. the way a hit-and-run works is that the runner runs when the pitch is thrown and the hitter tries to hit the ball to advance the runner"

[2GOLD 0]

John Madden

 

I'm sorry, but Madden hasn't made a good point since 1987. His comments really don't come off like he is a football guru, rather he comes off like a drunk fan who stumbled into the booth and tied up Madden.

 

"You know, it's a lot harder to come back from 21 points than 14."

Well gee, thanks for shedding light on that for me John. Next, would you like to explain to me what that brown thing the guy who says HIKE is throwing?

Does it have a name John?

 

"A quarterback who can move around is more dangerous than one who can't."

REALLY JOHN?!?!? Dear god, what would I ever do without you!

 

You know, people who have never seen the game of football know those simple points. I would just love to see Madden call a baseball game so I can hear, "you know, it's much better when the pitcher is striking batters out instead of walking them."

[Just John 0]

John Madden always goes in "depth" on the most obvious things.

 

"It's 3rd and 5, so they should go for about 5 or 6 yards on this play."

[Guest Redhawk]

From last year's Carolina-Dallas NFL playoff game:

 

Al Michaels was trying to make a point that maybe one reason the Panthers haven't been very popular is because they don't identify with one particular city. That their name could mean anywhere in the Carolinas. So John Madden says:

 

"Yeah, and the Carolinas, that's, um, North and South Carolina, right?"

 

I also remember a Dolphins-Broncos game on CBS a couple years back where the announcer said, basically, "The Broncos are going to blitz on every down, except for when they don't blitz."

[Guest GreatOne]

Oh yeah, which brings to mind the popular adage birthed by Rick Rizzs' fill-in Ken Levine (from 92-94 when Rizzs was in Detroit):

 

'The leadoff walk always come around to score unless it doesn't' (WOW, I'm stunned)

 

Steve Thomas doing Seahawks games was about as exciting as listening to paint dry, which would have made more sense if it was the guy from This Old House. Galloway makes about five shifts and returns a punt for a TD in Jacksonville, and Thomas calls it, as Mick Foley would say, with about as much raw, naked emotion as Al Gore on sedatives.

 

Mike Shannon's radio call of McGwire's 62nd has to the most disappointing, 'flyball deep to left field, it's a home run' then 'HOLY SHIT' like it just occurred to him.

 

Best is Johnny Most's hilarious intentional call of a steal and breakway layup for the Bullets in a Celtics/Bullets game in 85 or 86, 'steal and a lay-in, oh what a play'

[Agent_Bond34 0]

Falcons vs. Panthers (Sunday Night Football, 2003)

 

The ESPN guys would not stop blowing Michael Vick. Everything was about Vick, everything!

Yeah, I remember that.

 

Fucking annoying, that was.

[megaadvice 0]

Joe Royal, England vs Croatia Euro 2004

 

England go 0-1 down after about 3 mins, we start playing our best football that we have in a long time, we dont panic we pass it around at the back and wait for the breakthrough that is bound to come (and did 4 times) and there Joe Royal is just slaging England off saying "we must make wholesale changes at half time" FOOL!!!

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Oh how did I forget about this?

 

Back in '90 when the Pirates and Reds played in the NLCS, McCarver and Buck (the dad, not the son) were so anti-Pirates during the six-game series it wasn't even funny. The highlight was when they finaly decided to give the Pirates some dap. They played a "highlight" of Roberto Clemente and his strong arm throwing out a runner trying to reach third base. Problem was the runner wasn't thrown out -- the umpire ruled the runner safe...

[Guest Redhawk]

Kenny Smith annoys me during the NBA Dunk Contest. He all of a sudden gets all extra 'hood, although he was using his "studio voice" not 1 hour previous. And he always acts like he's an expert on dunking. Sure, he was in the Dunk Contest one time, but no one's even going to put Kenny Smith on the list of all-time dunkers.