Another resounding endorsement for Bruce McAvaney who clearly impresses all the sports stars he speaks to. He has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of sport.
Very impressive recently during the World Cup was English commentator Martin Tyler. He could say things like, “Right now you feel that we’re at the heart of the game.”, without sounding like an idiot. Very smooth and very informative.
I remember years ago when American football was on late at night (no pay TV then), one of my favourite ever bits of commentary. The clock has nearly run down, it’s third down just outside field goal range and the team in possession trails by 2. The commentary team discuss how the team with the ball will pick up a few yards for a field goal attempt. When the QB fades back into the pocket and looks way down field the commentator simply said, “Why, he’s going for the whole thing” and then shut up while the reception was made for a TD. The crowd went nuts.
I’d have to go for Jon Motson, but I doubt you know who he is. You see, these thigns are very dependent on where you come from and what sports you like to watch.
For some bizarre reason I quite liek Kenneth Wolstenholme too
An obit for Mr. Hearn which I saw also erroneously credited with inventing the term “give and go”. Does anybody have a source, other than a recent Hearn obituary, which credits him with inventing these terms?
for me, the best ones are the ones I don’t notice during the broadcast. I think the TBS combo of Joe Simpson and Don Sutton do a great job of not imposing themselves on the broadcast.
[hijack]most insignificant job in the world:
the “journalists” who critique the perfomances of the broadcasters in the following day’s newspaper. I’d rather that space be used for another block of massage parlor ads…or Tank MacNamara reruns. Blech![/hijack]
Some day listen to Red Barber. Do that, and you will hear good anouncing pure and simple. He was an announcer when an announcer created the pictures for the audience…and the pictures were glorious. “The old red head” brought you into the park like no one else (well, on a good day Mel Allen could do it too) and for years he held the nation in the palm of his hand. He put you in the “Catbird seat” as the game came alive.
While I am not prepared to call him the greatest, I think a very under rated broadcaster in this country, deserving of Hall of Fame status for his broadcasting is Bob Uecker. I sometimes wonder if Wisconsin wouldn’t have long since forgotten about the Brewers if it were not for Ueck’s broadcasting style. For those of you who have not heard Uecker, you must first divorce the image Uecker the Miller Lite spokesman and sitcom star from Uecker the announcer. He adapts well to any situation in a game. In the days when the Brewers actually had a chance of winning, Uecker’s style was very informative, yet also very exciting. Today, while Ueck remains informative and exciting, he also keeps fans tuned in during absolute snoozer of baseball games because he has such rich repetoir of baseball stories to weave into those games. In addition, he conveys the fans disgust with the current team from time to time, giving us a voice in the broadcast. Unfortunately, he’s largely stuck in Milwaukee. I hope the Hall can recognize him while he’s still with us, because he is deserving.
