I prefer to watch sporting events at home. That way, I can avoid all the hassles I've encountered at past sporting events: high costs, crowds, parking, commuting to the venue, not being able to see the game because of the fools in front of me, etc. Sure, some could call it lazy, but when you add up the costs of gas, tickets, parking and concessions, then factor in the quality of the viewing experience, sometimes it makes more sense to stay home.
Then again, when you watch from the comfort of your couch, the quality of the viewing experience can vary depending on the transmission of the game, the size of the television screen and, most notably, the experience and competence of the men calling the game. There are some people who are so good it's almost a religious experience to listen to them. Then there are others who make you want to tear your ears off. Sure, you can turn down the volume. I have friends who turn off the television volume and turn on the radio to listen to people whom they prefer.
Here then is my list of the best and the worst sportscasters whom I've heard in my lifetime. When I say sportscasters, I'm including anyone who appears on television or radio in connection with a sporting event. I'm sure it doesn't meet with everyone's approval, but it is what it is:
The Best (in no particular order):
Ernie Harwell/Vin Scully: Admittedly, I didn't get to listen to them as much as I'd like to have listened to them, but if you're going to talk about the best, you have to start with them. I wonder how them compared to the likes of Red Smith and Mel Allen, but I'll stick with these two.
Pat Foley: What Dollar Bill did to him was unconscionable, but Foley has maintained a level of excellence in the Chicago market for over a quarter century. That he's just a little bit snarky only adds to his charm.
Lloyd Pettit: Before there was Foley, there was Pettit. Anyone who grew up during the sixties and seventies and listened to Blackhawks' games knows of what I speak.
Len Casper and Bob Brenley: Casper is as steady as they come, and Brenley is honest, sometimes brutally so, but he's always right.
Steven Stone: Before he went elsewhere, Stone's analysis was prized by those who listened to him. Unfortunately for Stone, he's been saddled with a couple of real doozies, more of whom anon.
Mike Emrick: I admit he's been a revelation. He does a consistent and even-handed job. He's a pleasure to enjoy when he does the national and Olympic games.
James Brown: He's only the host of an NFL pregame show, but he's about the best there is at it. Smooth, knowledgeable and friendly, he could announce vote counting results and I'd watch it.
Tony Kornheiser/Michael Wilbon: The PTI pair needs to be mentioned together. They're entertaining and knowledgeable, and they're also unafraid of tackling sensitive stories.
Bob Lea: He's the academic on the list.
Dick Schaap/Jeremy Schaap: The only father/son duo on the list, it's obvious the apple didn't fall far from the tree. I always appreciate listening to them and their incisive interviews.
Troy Aikman: There aren't too many former athletes on this list, but he's good, knowledgeable and quite consistent. Excellent, in fact.
Shannon Sharpe: He's got a great love for the game and speaks his mind. He's a joy to watch.
Jeff Van Gundy: I wasn't a big fan of his when he coached, but he's an eye-opener as an analyst.
Jay Bilas: I'm prejudiced, of course, but having an attorney who also played the game in the booth provides excellent, concise analysis.
Verne Lundquist: There are those who don't like him, but I think he's like the fun uncle with whom you can discuss sports.
Greg Gumbel: One of the nicest, most self-effacing and subtlely humorous men in the business.
Tim Kurkjian: Knowledgeable, modest, always ready to laugh at himself and a good audience for others. Makes the game of baseball that much better because of his boundless enthusiasm.
Scott Van Pelt: He has a wicked sense of humor and is very smart on a number of different sports. Always smooth. He's the kind of guy with whom you'd want to have a beer.
Keith Law: He deserves special mention here because he's not typically on air that much, but his blogging and inside information is superlative. I'd love to sit and discuss the ins and outs of baseball with him.
The Worst (again, in no particular order):
Harry Caray: I know he was the longtime voice of the St. Louis Cardinals, and he may have been great back in his day, but by the time he got to the Cubs he was a disaster. Jack Brickhouse may have been vanilla in comparison, but at least Brickhouse wasn't a joke. Brickhouse was competent. Caray was on a career bender.
Mike Ditka: Why this guy is beloved by many I understand to a degree, but why he's viewed as some sort of football savant escapes me. He drops the same phrases all the time, speaks like he's chewing on jerky at the same time and effects this hard-as-nails persona that's transparently false.
Joe Buck: The ultimate pretty frat boy who's in love with the sound of his own voice, he's so grating that he makes Tim McCarver almost palatable. Not quite, but almost.
Hawk Harrelson: The man obviously knows his stuff, but he's such a homer that he makes listening to him an exercise in self-induced vomiting. And all those cutesy catch phrases...grow up already.
Phil Rizzuto: I only had to listen to him a handful of times, thankfully. That man rode his teammates coattails all the way to the Hall of Fame, but also into the broadcast booth.
Mike Lupica: If I understood why Jason Whitlock was let go from ESPN, then he was right and Lupica is a yappy little chihuahua. Can it already.
Dick Stockton: So he has a stentorian voice. The man can't speak English properly and he usually gets basic facts wrong. Why the lovely Lesley Visser ever married him escapes me.
Boomer Esiason: As with Ditka and Harrelson, he's a walking warning against letting ex-athletes in the booth. He's just annoying.
Jalen Rose: I admit a bias against any of the formerly Fab Five, but the incessant off-key singing and the defense of the urban lifestyle injected into sports clashes with what I like.
Brent Musberger: After the Honey Badger and She's a beautiful woman episodes, Brent should have stopped when he quit calling You're looking live...
Bryant Gumbel: Contrary to his brother, Greg, Bryant is one of the most pompous, egotistical and racist people in sports.
(c) 2013 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles
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