worst sports (non-horse) announcers

[toetoe]

1) Rick Monday
2) tie: all the Lakers guys - Mychal Thompson, Stu Lantz and the new guy who moved right in and became the worst homer since Bucky Dent's windblown fly
5) Tim McCarver
6) Steve Lyons
7)Tim Roy, G.S. Warriors-"elevation sensation !"
8) Dick Enberg ( Oh my! )
9) the Dolphins guy in the background ( and all like him ) who was almost crying when Olindo Mare kicked a field goal in the last seconds of a game.
10) Billy Packer
hon. mention: Brent Musberger, the N.Y.Y. guy ( "duuuh .. Yankees win )

[betchatoo]

Two of Chicago's Hall of Famers, Jack Brickhouse and Harry Carry were lousy announcers. Both of them got so looped on beer they sometimes forgot what was happening on the field. Harry's mistakes on names were legendary. Somehow this made him endearing to a lot of people

[toetoe]

The Oakland Athletics fans practically ran Caray out of town on a rail.

[sq764]

Tim McCarver is lightyears ahead of this list.. He just sucks bad..

A very close second has to go to Troy Aikman.. I am surprised he shuts up long enough to describe a play. He loves to hear himself talk..

[Valuist]

The trio of Theismann-Patrick-McGuire. They kiss the a$$ of virtually every player in every game they cover. They didn't used to do that; now I can't have the sound on for a Sunday Night game.

[ElKabong]

Agree on the Theisman/ mcguire/ patrick team.

I know Keith Jackson has his fans, but he butchers a football game like no other. Mispronounced half the names in the Rose Bowl. "And here is Dusty Margum.(pause)..uh, Mangum"...He only had 5 weeks to prepare for the damn game. He couldn't even pronounce "timeout" near the end of the game and got totally flustered.

[toetoe]

"AND ahhh those Texas Aggehs."
Roy Firestone used to do great Keith Jackson, among others. Not to switch subj. .. BUT.. Frank Caliendo does Madden better than Madden !! I just had a fantasy of someone singing Perry Como's "Hot Diggity Boom Ziggity Pow" with Frank C. in Madden getup (short sleeves, ample padding) coming in on the "BOOM" -- o.k., maybe ya hadda be there. The guy does Jim Rome too (in..CREDIBLE!).

[OTM Al]

Tim McCarver is bar none the worst ever. I'm not much a fan of Brent Musberger either. Seems to have quite an ego. A drunk Harry Caray was 100 times better than either of these guys.

[sq764]

A drunk Harry Carey? Is that like saying a boring John Kerry?

[Speed Figure]

1) Rick Monday
2) tie: all the Lakers guys - Mychal Thompson, Stu Lantz and the new guy who moved right in and became the worst homer since Bucky Dent's windblown fly
5) Tim McCarver
6) Steve Lyons
7)Tim Roy, G.S. Warriors-"elevation sensation !"
8) Dick Enberg ( Oh my! )
9) the Dolphins guy in the background ( and all like him ) who was almost crying when Olindo Mare kicked a field goal in the last seconds of a game.
10) Billy Packer
hon. mention: Brent Musberger, the N.Y.Y. guy ( "duuuh .. Yankees win )Stu Lantz, You must not be from L.A. :rolleyes:

[toetoe]

SFig,
Is he some big-time sacred cow in the city of angels ?

[Tee]

Johnny Miller

[andicap]

Funny.
In New York, McCarver is considered one of the best local announcers ever. Honest, knowledgable, insightful.
Guess his style doesn't translate well across the country.

Same thing with Carey and Brickhouse. People in Chicago loved both of them, including me when I lived there. (Yes in his later years, Carey was not very good but he was very ill and drunk most of the time.) Best teams of all time were Carey and Jimmy (I'm crazy and got the papers to prove it) Piersall with the White Sox circa 1979. And Bill White/Phil Rizzuto in NYC.
Players in Oakland hated Carey because he told it like it was. He was a homer, but an honest one, the best combination. Just like The Scooter in NYC.

Worst announcers?
--Jim Lampley on HBO ... way too overdramatic and hypey
--Dick Vitale -- love 'em or hate 'em. I hate him.
--Stuart Scott on ESPN. He's in love with himself and you can tell. (I like John Anderson and that Ramsey guy.)

--Yankees' John Sterling (except with Michael Kay -- there were good team.) but with everyone else he's insufferable egotist who ignores his partners. (Nice guy in person tho.)
-- Mets' Fran Healy. All around awful.
--Van Earl Wright. -- just listen to him....

-- Mike Battaglia on the TC telecasts. Adds nothing.

[sq764]

I think I have been spoiled growing up with Harry Kalas announcing the Phillies.. I am sure to be biased because he's the only voice of the Phillies I know, but I think he's a great announcer..

[Valuist]

Harry Kalas is at his best doing NFL highlights. Too bad ESPN can't have him do the NFL Primetime.

Piersall was a great announcer but he was so honest, ownership didn't like him ripping on players all the time.

[OTM Al]

Oh man I forgot about those Caray Piersal games they were doing for the White Sox. Harry was bombed and Jimmy was just plain nuts. I still remember a game where they almost came to blows in the box. The White Sox in the Bill Veeck years were certainly something to behold.

Not sure who in New York thinks McCarver is good anymore. I know the Mets fans were disappointed when he left them, but they sure forgot about him quickly and now everyone I know here in NYC thinks he stinks. Got to agree with you about Sterling too, even when he was with Kay, who I don't like much either (no number............................................ .............................of course...god I shudder everytime he does that schtick). I always liked Charlie Steiner's call of a game, but Sterling and the fans seemed to do all they could to run him out. Still remember when Sterling was over with the Braves when they were really bad. Still remember one game they were stinking in so bad the announcers started talking about the WCW wrestling match coming up after the game. My roommate and I were on the floor laughing as we felt they'd really pegged the tone, or lack there of, of the game at that point. I didn't think much of Rizzuto when I got here, but he sure grew on me and I really miss him now, though most of the current Yankee broadcast team is ok.

I've also had no problem with a team's regular broadcaster being a bit of a homer either. Its the team he's closest to and its generally that team's fans tuning in anyway and its generally the kind of stuff they want to hear.l

[Richard]

I relation to thoroughbred racing,Howard Cosell(who ABC would trot out to cover the Derby)ultimately could not conceal his ignorance of the sport.ABC would've done better using Jim McKay.

[Pace Cap'n]

One of the best comebacks I've ever seen occurred when Howard went to interview Steve Cauthen after the Derby.

Cosell: Steve, how do you think you could have run a better race?

Cauthen: Heck, I won it. Don't know how it could get any better.

[toetoe]

Andi,
You got me into a laughing fit with the J. Piersall line, then got me gently laughing AT you with your bad/good/bad/good Sterling 4-headed monster. It got me thinking of great figures throughout history, described in the zany style pioneered by Andicap.
--- Adolf Hitler ( whiny voice, but a great speaker. friends say he was a sweetheart, but always had to have his way. had a problem with non-Teutonic folks, but could paint a 4-bedroom apt. in a day. Only average @ football, but could hang wallpaper one-handed. Always more popular when teamed with Goering and Goebbels.)
--- Jayne Mansfield ( rarely gambled, but insisted on being called "the daily double." was an avid student of film, but considered Helen Hayes a "bimbo." Believed in astral traveling, yet her original body was HOT{too bad about her head}).
----Spartacus(tough as nails,no range, crossed picket line.)---John Merrick(talent galore, face like Rosie O.)---Dr. Jeckyll(nicest guy in the world ,when not hitting the beaker.)--Helen Keller(rough go, Mr, Magoo's fav. navigator.)