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BlueintheFace
05-27-2008, 10:08 AM
Every year we all complain about Len Elmore being biased or Dick Vitale being loud or Billy Packer being the Dark Prince. We all hate Gregg Doyel and Love Jay Bilas. So who are everybody's 1) Favorite Columnists and, 2) Dream Team Announcing Crews... Maybe toss in your least favorites as well.

Here is a rough list of candidates in each category... I am probably missing a few (probably local guys) since most of this is off the top of my head... feel free to add.

Columnists-
Gregg Doyel
Gary Parrish
Luke Winn
Grant Wahl
Seth Davis
Stewart Mandel
Jeff Goodman
Pete Thamel
Dick Weiss
Andy Katz
Pat Forde
Doug Gottlieb
Fran Fraschilla
Dana O'Neill
Dick Vitale
Jay Bilas
Andy Glockner

Announcers-
Dick Vitale
Len Elmore
Billy Packer
Mike Giminski
Fran Fraschilla
Doug Gottlieb
Jay Bilas
Rick Majerus
Dan Shulman
Mike Patrick
Doris Burke
Jim Nantz
Bill Raftery
Jon Sundvoid
Jim Spanarkel
Steve Lavin
Verne Lundquist
Jimmy Dykes
Dan Bonner
Brent Musburger
Gus Johnson

watzone
05-27-2008, 10:22 AM
Dick Weiss and Pat Forde

G-Man are my faves

sagegrouse
05-27-2008, 10:26 AM
Verne Lundquist and Dick Enberg are both excellent, esp. considering they are called on to do so many different sports.

sagegrouse

gw67
05-27-2008, 10:58 AM
Enberg is a familiar voice and is still an outstanding play-by-play man. I like all the ACC color guys – G-man, Bonner, Elmore, as well as Sparnarkel and Packer for national games. I miss Brad Daugherty.

In DC area we are lucky to have some outstanding basketball writers at the Post – Eris Prisbell for college basketball, Ivan Carter for the Wizards, and Mike Wise/Mike Wilbon as columnists (I don’t particularly like either one but they are excellent when writing a column on basketball).

My favorite announcing team for college basketball is Terry Gannon and Steve Bardo. They each have a deep knowledge of the college game, past and present, and are enjoyable to listen to.

gw67

hurleyfor3
05-27-2008, 11:00 AM
You might want to throw Bill Simmons in there. He dislikes Duke for no apparent reason besides all the other cool people doing it too.

Ignatius07
05-27-2008, 11:37 AM
Enberg is a familiar voice and is still an outstanding play-by-play man. I like all the ACC color guys – G-man, Bonner, Elmore, as well as Sparnarkel and Packer for national games. I miss Brad Daugherty.

In DC area we are lucky to have some outstanding basketball writers at the Post – Eris Prisbell for college basketball, Ivan Carter for the Wizards, and Mike Wise/Mike Wilbon as columnists (I don’t particularly like either one but they are excellent when writing a column on basketball).

My favorite announcing team for college basketball is Terry Gannon and Steve Bardo. They each have a deep knowledge of the college game, past and present, and are enjoyable to listen to.

gw67

Seconded, especially on Prisbell. Although I think Wise and Wilson are consistently excellent as columnists.

I don't like Forde much - he concentrates way too much on teams from Kentucky.

weezie
05-27-2008, 11:47 AM
I wish Jamal Mashburn did college. He's excellent.

Bostondevil
05-27-2008, 12:00 PM
I too enjoy Terry Gannon, he's not bad at figure skating either. On second consideration, he's great at announcing figure skating, tempers Dick Button a bit and is never, ever annoying.

Bluedawg
05-27-2008, 12:12 PM
I know you are speaking nationally, but for me its hard to find a better Columnists than Caulton Tudor and Frank Dascenzo.

As far as Announcers i find truly good ones are very few and far between. Verne Lundquist isn't bad and Brent Musburger used to be high on my list, but he has become more of a human interest feature than an Announcer.

-jk
05-27-2008, 12:17 PM
I'll toss ouit my obligatory answer: I miss Lefty.

He was the best color guy I ever heard - great knowledge of the game (and not afraid to share it), good humor, good stories, and not not at all full of himself.

I learned a ton every time I watched one of his broadcasts.

-jk

sagegrouse
05-27-2008, 12:47 PM
I know you are speaking nationally, but for me its hard to find a better Columnists than Caulton Tudor and Frank Dascenzo.



This is tongue-in-cheek, right? I know neither gentleman personally, but Tudor has an incisive but bitter way of stating the obvious. Dascenzo murders the English language -- or at least the concept of logical discourse.

As an exemplar of a columnist, I might offer Lenox Rawlings of the W-S Journal.

sagegrouse

Flyers52
05-27-2008, 02:01 PM
Bill Raftery and Gus Johnson are my dream team

wilko
05-27-2008, 02:32 PM
Bleh..

I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see Bobby Knight and Bill Walton do college games together.

I think these 2 purists who love the game, have a reverence for history, and can carry a conversation beyond the highlight type plays would be fab together.

Of course my all time favorite would be:
To forget any pretense at being impartial and balanced. Have 2 fans, 1 of each participant team.... and have them smack talk while the game is being played.

Edouble
05-27-2008, 02:37 PM
I love Raftery and I really enjoyed Brad Daugherty when he was doing hoops. My least favorite is Jay Bilas. He acts like he's reporting on World News Tonight, instead of college hoops. I live and die by Duke basketball, but I also have perspective on its importance and place in the world. He comes across as dogmatic and anal, and he goes out of his way to not say good things about Duke. He's the opposite extreme to Hubert Davis, and it's nice to hear a guy like Seth Davis who is somewhere in the middle.

Bluedawg
05-27-2008, 02:38 PM
This is tongue-in-cheek, right? I know neither gentleman personally, but Tudor has an incisive but bitter way of stating the obvious. Dascenzo murders the English language -- or at least the concept of logical discourse.

As an exemplar of a columnist, I might offer Lenox Rawlings of the W-S Journal.

sagegrouse


No...I actually do like their work.

BlueintheFace
05-27-2008, 02:45 PM
I don't think anybody captures the momentum of the game and importance of big plays as well as Enberg. He gets the nod for my dream team though Jim Nantz almost grabbed his spot.

I also have to add in Jay Bilas for the real technical stuff. He takes the cake for pure basketball knowledge related to the audience.

My last one/wild card is Dick Vitale because even though he gets a little crazy sometimes and makes wild proclamations there is nobody I love to hear more when Duke goes on a run. "Uh-Oh... the Dukies are on fire baby!!! The Crazies are going wild!!! Get a T-O baby... Get a T-O... Their burning down the nets... OOOOOOOH Three pointer by Paulus... THE CRAZIES ARE GOING BESERK!!!"

Least favorite- Billy Packer... time for a retirement or assassination!

For columnist I have a two way tie-

1) Jay Bilas for his insight and great ideas to improve the game
2) Grant Wahl for his humor and constant attention given to Duke (for better or worse)

Honorable mention- Goodman at foxsports.com because he has the best network of sources and breaks stories faster even than Andy Katz and Espn half the time..

Least favorite- Doyel and Gottlieb... we all know why

bdh21
05-27-2008, 02:55 PM
Of course my all time favorite would be:
To forget any pretense at being impartial and balanced. Have 2 fans, 1 of each participant team.... and have them smack talk while the game is being played.

i.e. Fan Zone on Fox Soccer Channel. When you combine the brilliant format with the unintelligible British accents it's the best show on TV.

Turk
05-27-2008, 03:27 PM
I always liked Raftery's style... He sounds like he's having fun even if it's a terrible game... I think Dan Bonner does a solid job too.

For writers, I guess I need to check out Goodman and Wahl - usually I stick with Andy Katz. And nothing gets me more ready for the tournament like Joe Lunardi's bracketology stuff - he's got a nice little niche there....

tommy
05-27-2008, 04:25 PM
Least favorite- Billy Packer... time for a retirement or assassination!


Come on. Packer's a self-important jerk, but assassination? I'm sure you were kidding, but still, with no kind of disclaimer or anything, I can't believe the mods let that through. Shame.

Flyers52
05-27-2008, 04:35 PM
How does Gus Johnson not get any love? The guy has had some of the more memorable calls during the NCAA tournament in the past few years, and he obviously loves the game.

BlueintheFace
05-27-2008, 05:36 PM
Bonner and Johnson are two of the most underrated guys in the profession in my opinion. They are great!

Festus13
05-27-2008, 06:18 PM
As much as many of these columnists and announcers pretend to know about sport, to be on my list of great you would have to be more like Dizzy Dean was to baseball....a character! Too many of those on your lists are no more than pre-programmed machines (by their employees) who spout off statistics and other dribble as if they were reciting something they had memorized! I could go with 'ol Lefty in the squawk box, but throw all writers into the den of lions.

Bostondevil
05-27-2008, 06:30 PM
I'll toss ouit my obligatory answer: I miss Lefty.

He was the best color guy I ever heard - great knowledge of the game (and not afraid to share it), good humor, good stories, and not not at all full of himself.

I learned a ton every time I watched one of his broadcasts.

-jk

You know, I agree with you. Once he started announcing, I became a big fan.

In the immortal words of Lefty - "Ain't no flies on Duke!"

Huh?
05-27-2008, 07:06 PM
Gus Johnson is by far the best announcer, I look forward to March Madness not just for the Devils, but to hear Gus Johnson say, "Rise....and Fire.!!"

BlueintheFace
05-27-2008, 07:29 PM
If only How-ard Co-sell and Lefty could rise and return to their primes to announce our championship game next year together...

DevilDan
05-27-2008, 07:43 PM
Glad to see Dick Enberg back; but I wish Musberger would just GO AWAY. The early team of Enberg, Packer, and Al McGuire put the college game on the map.

My all-time favorite was Bill Currie, the Mouth-of-the-South (self proclaimed). He worked as color man for Ray Reeve of WRAL, then burst out on his own, helping to form the Carolina Sports Network. He did other Big Four home games, if the Heels were not playing. He was the best.

Nowadays, Gus Johnson makes it exciting, and I am finally starting to like Kevin Harlan. I wish Jim Durham would do the ACC games. And also he's TOO MUCH, I have to believe Dicky V is the real deal.

Verga3
05-27-2008, 10:17 PM
Verne Lundquist and Dick Enberg are both excellent, esp. considering they are called on to do so many different sports.

sagegrouse


Amen.....two of the best-ever at their craft.

Here are some pairings I would love to see:

Lundquist or Enberg or Jim Nantz - Bill ("send it in") Raftery
Lundquist or Enberg or Jim Nantz - Mary Carillo (does mostly tennis, but is one of most articulate, prepared and entertaining analyst in any sport)
Packer - Thacker (one for the old days)

Dream team: Nance - Carillo

Ignatius07
05-27-2008, 10:36 PM
How does Gus Johnson not get any love? The guy has had some of the more memorable calls during the NCAA tournament in the past few years, and he obviously loves the game.

He's not as well known since he only does a few March Madness games a year (though I expect his stature in the CBS pecking order to continue to increase, as it did this year over last year), and hardly any (if at all) during the regular season.

How about the antithesis to GJ - Joe Buck? Granted, it's in football, but could anybody downplay this historic play (Eli's escape and pass to Tyree) any more than JB does? Not to get on an enormous tangent, but the casual viewer would have no idea that this single play (see here (http://youtube.com/watch?v=G-aKfTK2LiM&feature=related) for YouTube) threw a monkey wrench on the Patriots drive to 19-0 glory!

Contrast that with this clip (http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZcglOItcKoM) (no images, just sound) of GJ.

Bluedawg
05-28-2008, 09:54 AM
Contrast that with this clip (http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZcglOItcKoM) (no images, just sound) of GJ.

Don't understand the yelling. My idea of an announcer is one who can explain the game from a technical prospective and give insights to a coaches thinking process.

sagegrouse
05-28-2008, 10:01 AM
Bill ("send it in") Raftery


Raftery does something that EVERYONE should imitate: He treats a basketball game as a GAME, where everyone should be having fun. And if a team is playing badly, it ain't life-and-death -- it's just a game.

sagegrouse:)

cruxer
05-28-2008, 10:13 AM
Don't understand the yelling. My idea of an announcer is one who can explain the game from a technical prospective and give insights to a coaches thinking process.

A play-by-play guy describes exactly what's happening on the field. They really shouldn't analyze what's in the coach's head, that's what the color guy is for. While GJ probably gets too excited at relatively routine plays, JB doesn't get excited enough, or describe all the drama that's unfolding before him, during truly spectacular plays. That much was evident by watching the youtube clip.

-c

godukecom
05-28-2008, 05:35 PM
Bob harris will allways be the only one I can listen to during a Duke game....

roywhite
05-28-2008, 07:20 PM
This is tongue-in-cheek, right? I know neither gentleman personally, but Tudor has an incisive but bitter way of stating the obvious. Dascenzo murders the English language -- or at least the concept of logical discourse.

As an exemplar of a columnist, I might offer Lenox Rawlings of the W-S Journal.

sagegrouse

Another vote for Lenox Rawlings---perceptive, incisive, funny.

Caulton Tudor? The Digger Phelps of the print media? Mostly states the obvious.

Also like our own Al Featherston.

devildeac
05-28-2008, 07:40 PM
Bill Brill and Jim Sumner are pretty good guys, too:D. Anybody heard of them;)?

burnspbesq
05-29-2008, 03:30 PM
He doesn't write about college basketball all that often, but no newspaper columnist in America can come close to Mike Lupica.

Ditto on Johnson and Bonner as the best TV team. It's a shame that Martin Tyler can't be persuaded to come over and do basketball.

devilirium
05-29-2008, 08:55 PM
Sean McDonough is funny as hell.....still remember his crack about Pocius not being able to "wave hello" in Boston. Very knowledgeable as well. I'm a fan of Majerus,too...though his rounded o's kinda drive you crazy, but he is very good at extracting the technical stuff.

Rick Reilly is pretty good columnist, and I like Mitch Albom as well.

I'm definitely not a big fan of Lupica, though I admit he's a proficient writer (along with Feinstein). I just haven't liked Lupica since The Sports Reporters---Lupica is the smart pottymouth!pottymouth!pottymouth! kid who never got over being picked on in class, and uses the bully pulpit entirely too much.