Which tv announcer(s) do you like listening to?

[CoachJ10]

Just curious to hear other people's opinions on announcers they like to listen. There is a long and exhaustive list of people I don't like listening to for a variety of reasons (#1 Len Elmore and #2 Clark Kellog top that infamous and sadly long list)...but I really have a very short list of people I enjoy listening to.

Brent and Bobby complement each other very well. Both are insightful, not biased, and generally interested in the actual game being played. Anyone else that y'all like?

[House G]

Jim Nance, Dan Bonner, Jim Spanarkel, G-man

[gwwilburn]

Gminski, but sometimes Brando can detract.

[CrazieDUMB]

Im in the pro-Vitale camp. I also like Jay Bilas, bobby and brent because all three teach me something as I watch. It adds to the enjoyment of the game.

On the other side, like everyone else I can't stand Mike Patrick, and good ol Packer comes to mind (although thankfully we wont have to hear from him anymore).

[slower]

Bob Knight is the gold standard, obviously. G-man is a good listen, Bilas is okay, Spanarkel is very good and Raftery is entertaining.

Vitale is an annoying caricature, Elmore is a blatant Duke-hater, Patrick is senile, Brando is kinda douchey. Nantz is WAY over-rated, Bonner is okay in his own folksy kinda way.

The good guys are good (Knight is great) and the bad guys are almost all monkeys with good haircuts (Musburger included), following along with whatever accepted script occupies their pea brains.

I REALLY miss Brad Daugherty.

[Coballs]

Bill Raftery. "The Dukies come out......MAN TO MAN!"

[strawbs]

give me Gus Johnson any day.

[Cameron]

Raftery is the gold standard of color commentators, IMO. Bob Knight is more knowledgeable and a more polarizing figure, no doubt -- I absolutely love listening to him call a game -- but of the living men in this profession, Raftery is THE legend. Vitale had a chance to claim this spot, especially in the early to mid '90s when he was arguably the best there was on earth at what it was he did, but then he became, as slower pointed out, a caricature of himself and the rest is history.

For play-by-play guys, I don't think there is any better than Dick Enberg. His voice demands attention and the games he calls seem more like historical, world-shaping events than they do games of five on five basketball. There is nothing like listening to him call an NCAA Tournament contest. I wish he did the NCAA title game. Never understood why they kept Packer on board for so long -- and don't get me started on Clark Kellogg now doing that.

Best ever? There's only one choice here. Sir Al McGuire.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxcpImdcEIA

[TNDukeFan]

Yes to BK and Clark Kellogg too. Can't agree on Brent - he always seems to me to say the most obvious things as though he thought of them -- and can beat a point into the ground with the worst of them.

[slower]

[QUOTE=Cameron;360808]Best ever? There's only one choice here. Sir Al McGuire.[QUOTE]


Al was THE most senile color guy ever.

[TNDukeFan]

and those Nike Bracketville commercials were the best ever.

[chrisheery]

Bonner, G-man, Bob Knight, Reece Davis (I also actually love Bill Raftery but its a secret)

[slower]

Bob Knight, Hubie Brown, Jeff Van Gundy, Dick Enberg

The first three can TEACH you about the game and Enberg is smooth enough to stay out of the way.

If it's a down-to-the-wire thriller, give me Gus Johnson for crazy emotion.

[bigj4194]

im realizing more and more that i cannot stand most announcers....however one of the only announcers that i really do enjoy listening to is Bob Knight. He knows what he is talking about and doesn't make random stupid comments like most other announcers do. Knight also knows that there can be silence and that he doesn't always have to be saying something.

[3rd Dukie]

I like Brad Nessler and Jimmy Dykes.
They are at least inoffensive.

[oldnavy]

None of them, with the exception of Bobby Knight, but I think that is only because he is still fresh. They all get predictable and boring, if not down right annoying over time.

Serious question, has Mike Patrick had a TIA or something? It seems his words are coming harder to him now (he never was smooth) but he stumbled over "rivalry" a couple of times yesterday and even commented something like, "these days I have to be careful with my words..." or something to that effect. I don't want to bash the guy if there is a physical limitation he is dealing with.

[lpd1982]

I learn something every time I listen to Knight. Maybe that's because I have so much to learn, but it's refreshing.

I find the only way I can keep up with some of the things I care about, like who has how many fouls, how many timeouts are left, is to have the gamecast on the computer while I watch TV. Didn't used to be that way before the announcers thought they had to entertain us with stories of what they ate last night.

[SharkD]

Jim Nance
Bob Knight
Jay Bilas (but I prefer when he was doing color on the radio)
Mike Gminski
Verne Lundquist

[ReformedAggie]

Bobby Knight is in a class by himself as an announcer. Everyone else is also ran.

Just give me guys who talk about the game and not their grandchildren, who they met fifteen years ago, how their hair was before it fell out and so on.

[DukeFanSince1990]

Bob Knight is the gold standard, obviously. G-man is a good listen, Bilas is okay, Spanarkel is very good and Raftery is entertaining.

Vitale is an annoying caricature, Elmore is a blatant Duke-hater, Patrick is senile, Brando is kinda douchey. Nantz is WAY over-rated, Bonner is okay in his own folksy kinda way.

The good guys are good (Knight is great) and the bad guys are almost all monkeys with good haircuts (Musburger included), following along with whatever accepted script occupies their pea brains.

I REALLY miss Brad Daugherty.

I loved the way Brad said "BASKETBALL"

Knight and Mussberger are my favorites.

Vitale (because of my age) is the voice I hear in my head when I think of the Duke/UNC rivalry, and it seems right to me.

Bill Raferty is good too.

[Cameron]

Amen to Al McGuire


This.

Al McGuire was an amazing color man. To not see this -- I'm sorry -- is to not know what a great color man is. There is more to it than just knowing the game, which McGuire most certainly did, having won the national championship with Marquette.

It is also about timing, wit and stage presence. McGuire had it all. He was as good a voice as sports has ever heard. A voice from heaven, right along with Enberg.

Duke-Temple, 1999 East NCAA Regional Finals:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5ZF_oaO1lA

[78Devil]

He may be a little "past it", but frankly I enjoy Mike Patrick. He has a nice voice, and is a nice man, and is always a good and amiable foil for whomever serves as his co-commentator. A little like an old pair of jeans that are really comfortable....

I like Len Elmore, and don't see him as much "anti-Duke" as some of the other posters. G-Man and Bilas are both treats.

One of the most hated commentators by Dukies is Billy Packer. But I grew up in Maryland in the 70s, and "Packer and Thacker" were the only good commentators in college ball for years in ACC-land. So I have a soft spot for Mr. Packer.

[devildownunder]

He may be a little "past it", but frankly I enjoy Mike Patrick. He has a nice voice, and is a nice man, and is always a good and amiable foil for whomever serves as his co-commentator. A little like an old pair of jeans that are really comfortable....

I like Len Elmore, and don't see him as much "anti-Duke" as some of the other posters. G-Man and Bilas are both treats.

One of the most hated commentators by Dukies is Billy Packer. But I grew up in Maryland in the 70s, and "Packer and Thacker" were the only good commentators in college ball for years in ACC-land. So I have a soft spot for Mr. Packer.


I also loved hearing Packer call games. He knew the game and if you listened to him, you knew exactly what to look for because when teams did what he said they should be doing to be successful, they succeeded. The man knew the game.

On the whole "Packer is anti-Duke" thing: there was several fanbases that all swore Packer had it in for their team/school, which probably means he was pretty even-handed and just called it like he saw it. Nobody ever said fans were rational or logical, especially in large groups.

[gumbomoop]

Al McGuire was an amazing color man. To not see this -- I'm sorry -- is to not know what a great color man is. There is more to it than just knowing the game, which McGuire most certainly did, having won the national championship with Marquette.

It is also about timing, wit and stage presence. McGuire had it all. He was as good a voice as sports has ever heard. A voice from heaven, right along with Enberg.

I'm willing to agree with you, but with 2 reservations [that mean I really don't]: (1) With that wit, stage presence, voice, Al both knew the game and made wacky observations. I always thought that about 1/3 of the time he was brilliant, but the other 2/3, outrageously hilarious and off-the-wall wrong. (2) And I've never quite forgiven him for his over-fulsome praise of Will Avery in NCAAT in Avery's soph year: "Avery is the greatest thing since..... 7-Up!" I got it in my head that Avery got it in his head that he was great, but he wasn't. He might have become a fine, fine player had Al kept this particular, and particularly outrageous, comment out of his color repertoire. Al messed that one up, big time.

God bless Al, nevertheless.

These days, my choices are Knight, Gminski, Dan Bonner, Spanarkel [though I rarely see him], Bilas [sometimes].

[superdave]

Someone said last week that Knight and Musenberger (sp?) treated them like adults. Well, I agree.

I used to really like Brad Daughtery.

But Vitale, Patrick, Elmore dont make the cut. I'm afraid to say who sucks and who doesnt it because some are good sometimes. But some suck a lot of times. Wow. Really suck bad. Gimme basketball not ra-rahhh!. Gimme insight.

Super "Gimme the x's and the o's. You knows" Dave

[Cockabeau]

Dan Bonner is the best in the biz.
Brad Daugherty. Excellent.
Gman.Superb.

The people I can't stand are:

Mike Patrick. His antics are extremely warped.
Len Elmore. The Anti-Duke rhetoric is a bit toned down from years past. Still...
Jay Bilas. I can't stand his voice for some reason. I think it is because he is a lawyer.
Jimmy Dykes. Hate him.
Clark Kellog. I question his overall intelligence. Seriously.

[CameronBlue]

I will NEVER forget Mussberger or James Brown following the UNLV disaster in 90, who said following the game as they closed the telecast referring to the final score "and that's how it should be." So, uh, no Mussberger is a abject tool and my god on camera he looks like a corpse.

Knight is amazing, I like G-Man, Spanarkel and Bonner. And on radio I really miss Tony Haynes who used to do the Duke broadcasts alongside Bob Harris. Two NCSU grads..they were terrific together, joined by Wes Chesson of course for football broadcasts.

[Saratoga2]

Knight is my number 1 while I turn off the volume on Vitale (just plain awful) and Patrick (doesn't seem to get much correct). I would alsoo put Elmore way down due to his bias while Gminski does a very good job.

[devildownunder]

I will NEVER forget Mussberger or James Brown following the UNLV disaster in 90, who said following the game as they closed the telecast referring to the final score "and that's how it should be." So, uh, no Mussberger is a abject tool and my god on camera he looks like a corpse.




I think this post, along with the fact that nearly everyone on this thread seems to love that newbie Bob Knight, suggests that everyone loves game broadcasters right until they say that one thing they don't like -- and then it's permanent doghouse for that person.

Doesn't really make a lot of sense.

[Wildling]

Bill Raftery. "The Dukies come out......MAN TO MAN!"

All time favorite right there. Or "WITH A KISS!"

My favorite announcing crew of Sean McDonough, Jay Bilas and Bill Raftery I enjoy immensely.

I do enjoy listening to Coach Knight too. He is a breath of fresh air listening to him educate the audience about basketball.

[Chris T]

G-man is my favorite.
Jim Nance pretty close second. Bob Knight is definately growing on me.

[slower]

This.

Al McGuire was an amazing color man. To not see this -- I'm sorry -- is to not know what a great color man is. There is more to it than just knowing the game, which McGuire most certainly did, having won the national championship with Marquette.

It is also about timing, wit and stage presence. McGuire had it all. He was as good a voice as sports has ever heard. A voice from heaven, right along with Enberg.

Duke-Temple, 1999 East NCAA Regional Finals:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5ZF_oaO1lA

not everybody cared for the "Al McGuire Experience". If you liked his shtick, fine. If not, then he was just as annoying as Vitale. Give me Bob Knight - 100 times out of 100. Minimum BS, maximum education, no pathological need to clown around. I watch the game TO WATCH THE GAME.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

Knight is the best guy on TV now. He teaches you about the game and doesn't feel the need to suck up to anyone. Raftery is very entertaining schtick, and knows the game.

Bilas is starting to suffer from a bit of over-exposure. I know a lot of non-Duke people who can't stand him because they're tired of seeing him, and I've found that lately he's started telling more and more long stories instead of focusing on the game. You often have to wait a while to find out who committed a foul or what else happened so he can wrap up a point. His points are often very interesting, but he should save them for GameDay or one of his many other appearances.

[duke4life32182]

Bill Raftery-my favorite by far. Next Dickie V.

[Kimist]

Knight is by far my favorite - I can actually learn something by listening to him.

Packer (w/Thacker) and Vitale were pretty good in their prime, but both should have retired earlier.

Vitale is as annoying to me as anyone - the same stories/comments over and over and....by the way....there IS a game going on! He is the only one for whom I routinely hit the mute button.

Brent M is OK, but he has always bothered me with his pronunciation of "Shiv-o-LAY"

G-Man has my respect also - seems like a pretty much down to earth guy.

k

[CameronBlue]

I think this post, along with the fact that nearly everyone on this thread seems to love that newbie Bob Knight, suggests that everyone loves game broadcasters right until they say that one thing they don't like -- and then it's permanent doghouse for that person.

Doesn't really make a lot of sense.

True but fan bias is a line sportcasters shouldn't cross. Recall the Duke storyline of the Ferry-to-Hurley-Hill-Laettner era: the well-spoken student-atheletes; the creative "Cameron Crazies"; the run of Final Fours and Duke's reputation for "doing things the right way". A lot of coverage leading up to the 90 NCAA final contrasted Duke's image with UNLV's bad boy reputation and that of their renegade coach which some columnists thought conjured up a nasty racial overtone. It's one thing to cast an upstart Cinderella against a dominant power in the feel-good story of the moment and cheer for the underdog. But Brown and Mussberger, particularly with their closing remarks, went further down the path of fan bias that evening IMO. They seemed to relish Duke's 30 point beatdown. Actually I think Mussberger is a pretty good play by play guy who has moderated his tone with age. Mike Patrick announces as if the game is being played in some futuristic orgasmadome.

[slower]

Mike Patrick announces as if the game is being played in some futuristic orgasmadome.

That made me laugh out loud, which very rarely happens on this board. :D

[barjwr]

Raftery is my favorite--I'm a sucker for well-done self-deprecating humor, and I love hearing him after a kid hits a big shot: "ONIONS!"

If I had my druthers, there wouldn't be such a time delay between radio and TV, and I could listen to Bob Harris while I watch. I know some people can do it anyway, but the delay just drives me crazy.

[Huh?]

Gus Johnson far and away, I would watch the WNBA if he was announcing.

Also:
Rafftery
Nance
Lundquist
Bardo


Please No:
Jimmy Dykes
Len Elmore
Vitale
Mussberger and Knight together, Knight talks the WHOLE time and Mussberger just strokes him constantly. And he feels like he should also get to wear a sweater.

[weezie]

Nance and Knight would be wonderful any old time.

I think I'm developing a crush on Nance, he was marvelous last night at the SB.

BTW, what ever happened to Jamal Mashburn? Is he still doing some NBA stuff? He was very smooth discussing the pros.

[rthomas]

Bones McKinney.

[Bomar]

Every time I hear Rafferty I want to break out my old Xbox and play College Hoops 2k7!:D

[dukestheheat]

Truly, about the only announcer that I enjoy listening to is: Bobby Knight.

He is, by far, the best in the business. I feel like I'm in a basketball class when he's on. He is just awesome and a breath of fresh air for the game, imo.

dth.

[Cockabeau]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tks-SXUbKok

[allenmurray]

Raftery is the gold standard of color commentators, IMO.

I used to feel the same way. Now, I feel he is becoming a caricature of himself in the same way Vitale has (though not to the same extent). His overly-stylized vocalizations no longer seem spontaneous - they seem staged and practiced.

[slower]

ALWAYS has been. And the most irritating thing he does now is call players by their first names, as if he's their homeroom teacher or something. I'm watching Kansas-Texas now and it's driving me nuts. "Here comes Sherron, gets the ball to Markief, Xavier with the 3-ball, Damion with the rebound, up ahead to Avery." This guy makes me sick.