# Dumb things said by sports Announcers **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [October 10, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326 "2009-10-10T18:09:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326/41 "2009-10-13T19:18:17Z")
Toward the end of last night’s Dolphins-Jets game, Mike Tirico was talking about Dolphins rookie backup QB Pat White and how they’re developing him. Now, he _could_ have said that White was working with a smaller playbook in order to learn the offense. Instead, Tirico noted that White “has a very little package”. I was waiting for “White Decks Tirico” to appear in the postgame scroll at the bottom of the screen. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326/42 "2009-10-13T20:09:46Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I never understood the commentators stating that Favre “Loves playing the game.” That can also imply “… but he hates practicing and conditioning and following the playbook”. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326/43 "2009-10-13T20:51:06Z")
When Joe Carter was color commentator for the Cubs, he opined on how an opposing pitcher was difficult to hit because he pitched with “such precise . . . (long pause while he tried to think of a different noun, and couldn’t) . . . precision!” ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326/44 "2009-10-13T22:18:22Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > Ooh, Pam Ward is on there. She’s the one who referred to Syracuse’s version of the wildcat formation as the “Stallion Package.” Well, she did it once. Presumably someone whispered a little something in her ear after that. That doesn’t strike me as obviously wrong. I mean, I take it that it IS wrong, but every team probably gives its version of the Wildcat a special cutesy name. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326/45 "2009-10-14T12:52:46Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > There’s always some boob credulously saying in his best Ted Knight voice, something to the effect of “Well, they’re going to need to put some points on the board in order to win this game” OJ Simpson once said “To win this one, the Dolphins are simply going to have to outscore their opponents.” ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326/46 "2009-10-14T14:24:30Z")
> [@Bootis](#): > > was this the same game where the announcer was saying how foolish they were to call a timeout before a field goal attempt in overtime because it leaves too much time for the other team to score if they make it Can’t NFL games still end in Ties? I thought they played one quarter of “sudden death” and if neither team scores, then the game is a tie. Anyways, I remember listening to a St Louis Cardinals Baseball game on the radio and Jack Buck and Mike Shannon were obviously had their share of Budwesier. “And the batter hits the ball to deep, deep centerfield…[dramatic pause]…FOUL BALL” hmmm, that ball must have hooked or sliced about 50 yds. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326/47 "2009-10-14T14:32:42Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > OJ Simpson once said “To win this one, the Dolphins are simply going to have to outscore their opponents.” This one comes up a lot, but it’s actually got a specific meaning, and one that makes sense in game terms: the team’s defense has shown limited ability to stop the other team’s offense, so their offense needs to score many many points in order to win the game. It’s not the greatest piece of rhetoric ever (and pretty cliched by this point), but not obvious idiocy. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326/48 "2009-10-14T14:37:43Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > Can we include crappy stats, too? Every game has these. “David Dwork is the first player in baseball history to have at least 2,500 career hits, 400 home runs, a .300 batting average, .450 slugging percentage, .700 OPS, and 10 stolen bases.” SO WHAT? > [@notfrommensa](#): > > Can’t NFL games still end in Ties? I thought they played one quarter of “sudden death” and if neither team scores, then the game is a tie. The announcer said they should not have called timeout because the other team would have too much time to score. OT is sudden death, so if they score, it does not matter how much time is left on the clock. ---
**Author:** ![Mooch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mooch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mooch)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326/49 "2009-10-14T15:02:47Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > Let me just say I _love_ Ron Santo (who does color for Pat Hughes on Cubs radio broadcasts). He’s a home-town hero, and even if he’s not always the most articulate announcer, he really does know a lot about baseball, has a ton of good stories form his playing days, and always has fun at the ol’ ballpark. But sometimes, well… > > I listened to a game this season in which Milton Bradley, with nobody on, hit a single. The throw back in was wild and allowed him to take second on the error. During the next at-bat, he advanced to third on a wild pitch. A minute or so later, Ron suddenly exclaimed: “Wait a minute – How did Bradley get on _third??_” > > Ronny, you might want to actually, you know, _watch_ the game you’re being paid to comment on… This season Pat and Ron had recently retired Bears cornerback (who had been to the Pro Bowl) Jerry Azumah in the booth. Pat: We’d like to welcome former Bear and Pro-bowler Jerry Azumah to our broadcast. Ron: So, did you ever bowl a 300 game? ---
**Author:** ![WreckingCrew](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wreckingcrew/32/4080_2.png) [@WreckingCrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WreckingCrew)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326/50 "2009-10-14T15:33:26Z")
About a year ago, I heard part of a Steelers game on the radio when the announcer claimed that the Steelers coaches were “looking for a reach around on that play.” Love to see how you draw that one up. ---
**Author:** ![President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/President_Johnny_Gentle)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326/51 "2009-10-14T16:19:47Z")
Not many people heard Bill Maas do color for the Panthers-Vikings game back in 2006. (Thank God!) Many of us who did still shudder at the thought. Soon after the game, a blog went up celebrating the amazing commentary from the game. The blog is no longer up, but the [Internet Archive](http://web.archive.org/web/20061017235608/nobillmaas.blogspot.com/2006/09/day-that-will-live-in-infamy.html) still has a copy. (Note: I need to highlight the text to get it to show up). This blog didn’t get everything, nor did it do sufficient justice to the quality camera work during the game. No less than 3 times during the game did a QB take a 5 step drop off of the TV screen to the side. A moment later the ball could be seen flying across the screen to a receiver off the screen on the other side. The camera didn’t move from the line of scrimmage until after the ball got to the receiver. There was also some NASCAR person doing play-by-play. As far as I could tell, he had never done play-by-play for football at any level before this game. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326/52 "2009-10-14T17:10:49Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > The announcer said they should not have called timeout because the other team would have too much time to score. OT is sudden death, so if they score, it does not matter how much time is left on the clock. But if they don’t score, there is finite amount of time left in the game. If 11minutes is on the clock, the point\* is moot. But if there is 1 minute and 30 seconds left in the OT period, then the opposing team has to get into the “hurry-up offense.” - “point is moot” (no pun intended) ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326/53 "2009-10-14T17:23:30Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > That doesn’t strike me as obviously wrong. I mean, I take it that it IS wrong, but every team probably gives its version of the Wildcat a special cutesy name. To me, and to everyone I’ve told this to, the first thought was the use of “package” to mean “male genitalia.” And a stallion would have a particularly impressive package. It’s not wrong, just funny. Of course, it’s not funny if that usage doesn’t occur to you. ---
**Author:** ![Threadkiller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aca169/32.png) [@Threadkiller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Threadkiller)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326/54 "2009-10-14T21:25:55Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > But if they don’t score, there is finite amount of time left in the game. If 11minutes is on the clock, the point\* is moot. But if there is 1 minute and 30 seconds left in the OT period, then the opposing team has to get into the “hurry-up offense.” > > - “point is moot” (no pun intended) This would be even stupider if it was in a college game where the OT (may be multiple) is untimed. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326/55 "2009-10-14T22:03:43Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I never understood the commentators stating that Favre “Loves playing the game.” > Not that I doubt it but do all the other players out there hate playing the game? > To them it’s a major drag and they just do it for the paycheck? Peyton Manning? Oh yeah, he just hates playing football. Same for all the other quarterbacks. Nobody loves playing football except Favre.:rolleyes: Actually I can see what they mean by that. Some players look intense and serious all the time, and very frustrated when things go badly. He looks more relaxed. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326/56 "2009-10-14T22:10:09Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I never understood the commentators stating that Favre “Loves playing the game.” > Not that I doubt it but do all the other players out there hate playing the game? > To them it’s a major drag and they just do it for the paycheck? Peyton Manning? Oh yeah, he just hates playing football. Same for all the other quarterbacks. Nobody loves playing football except Favre.:rolleyes: I bet some of them play because, as Dave Barry said (about his own job of writing for a newspaper) “otherwise I’d have to get a real job.” > [@President\_Johnny\_Gentle](#): > > There was also some NASCAR person doing play-by-play. As far as I could tell, he had never done play-by-play for football at any level before this game. NASCAR does play-by-play? What do they say, “yep, third time around the track . . . fourth time…”? ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326/57 "2009-10-15T00:02:11Z")
> [@Bootis](#): > > was this the same game where the announcer was saying how foolish they were to call a timeout before a field goal attempt in overtime because it leaves too much time for the other team to score if they make it I said the exact same thing while watching that game. :smack: At least the announcer realized his idiocy and corrected himself. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326/58 "2009-10-15T00:22:57Z")
There is a guy on Vancouver radio (Blake Price) who has a strange conception of how probability works. For example, in a game between the Red Sox and Blue Jays he predicted a Boston win, even though the Jays were starting Halliday. The reason: The Jays had won the previous two games in the series. According to Price, it was just too unlikely that the Blue Jays would win three in a row in Boston, so bet against the Jays. Naturally Halliday threw a three-hit shutout. My favorite example: This past August, there was a chance that the Canucks might sign Marian Hossa. He is a very good hockey player, but Price was against it. Hossa had played in last season’s Stanley Cup final as a Red Wing, and in the previous season’s final as a Penguin. “What are the statistical odds of going to the final three years in a row with three different teams? What are the statistical odds? It’s astronomical!” etc. He was convinced that any team that signed Hossa couldn’t get to the final because of Hossa’s recent success at getting to the final. ---
**Author:** ![BobArrgh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobarrgh/32/2881_2.png) [@BobArrgh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobArrgh)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326/59 "2009-10-16T18:52:53Z")
A few weeks ago, I think the guy calling the Chiefs game (against the Raiders, I believe) said something about “the whole bowl of wax”. ---
**Author:** ![Hung\_Mung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hung\_Mung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hung_Mung)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326/60 "2009-10-17T16:26:42Z")
> [@BlinkingDuck](#): > > The team that dominates on defense will win the game! > > Hell..just say the team that scores the most points will win the game. :rolleyes: I can do a pretty decent John Madden impression. My favorite thing to say, and it is important to note that Madden has never actually said this, is, “You’ve got to make plays. The team that makes the most plays _usually_ scores the most points. And the team that scores the most points _usually_ wins.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326.md?page=4)