2016-2017 Announcer Thread

[TruBlu]

Agree that the announcers were better tonight, but there was one real head scratcher.

After the blown call where the ND player was not given the and-1, one of the announcers said "they should all be and-1's, except for when they are not".

Huh?

[Ballboy1998]

No crew is perfect, and these guys would definitely go on some tangents, but I really enjoyed some of the more cogent basketball nuts and bolts Dakich provided. While their styles are very different, it reminded me a bit of how I felt when Coach Knight would commentate -- he was far from the most polished commentator, but I actually felt like I would learn something about basketball when he did a game.

Then, later in the game Dakich further won me over by giving some actual real talk regarding Grayson. And I especially enjoyed his question about whether the Grayson stuff was fueled by the need to have a Duke villain at the end. I think he was playing dumb like a fox there and intended it as a rhetorical question to an extent.

[elvis14]

I know the announcers have had a good night when I've hardly noticed them...and that was tonight. Very refreshing after the travesty that was Brando on Saturday.

[gam7]

Agree that the announcers were better tonight, but there was one real head scratcher.

After the blown call where the ND player was not given the and-1, one of the announcers said "they should all be and-1's, except for when they are not".

Huh?

If I recall, he was drawing a distinction between how college refs are stingy about giving continuation - the college rules make it a "when in doubt, no continuation" approach. He was saying he thought it should be the other way around.

No crew is perfect, and these guys would definitely go on some tangents, but I really enjoyed some of the more cogent basketball nuts and bolts Dakich provided. While their styles are very different, it reminded me a bit of how I felt when Coach Knight would commentate -- he was far from the most polished commentator, but I actually felt like I would learn something about basketball when he did a game.

Then, later in the game Dakich further won me over by giving some actual real talk regarding Grayson. And I especially enjoyed his question about whether the Grayson stuff was fueled by the need to have a Duke villain at the end. I think he was playing dumb like a fox there and intended it as a rhetorical question to an extent.

Dakich also went out of his way to lavish praise on Capel's X's and O's. A nice change.

[CoachJ10]

You all and I were listening to a different game. Dakich and Rece had the announcer trifecta tonight...barely paying attention to the game in the first half, being anti-Duke throughout, and having the basketball analysis they did be often wrong. The only thing Dakich really got right was pointing out how effective Tatum is when he is initiating closer to the hoop and playing strong and decisive. Dakich trying to explain away the repeated terrible calls by the refs always make someone lose credibility with me.

[jv001]

You all and I were listening to a different game. Dakich and Rece had the announcer trifecta tonight...barely paying attention to the game in the first half, being anti-Duke throughout, and having the basketball analysis they did be often wrong. The only thing Dakich really got right was pointing out how effective Tatum is when he is initiating closer to the hoop and playing strong and decisive. Dakich trying to explain away the repeated terrible calls by the refs always make someone lose credibility with me.

Dakich did make on observation that I thought was spot on. He said that ND needed to straight drive to be effective against Duke. However I don't know if they had the guards that could pull it off. They really miss their point guard that graduated off last seasons team. I can't think of his name, it's past my bed time. GoDuke!

[elvis14]

You all and I were listening to a different game. Dakich and Rece had the announcer trifecta tonight...barely paying attention to the game in the first half, being anti-Duke throughout, and having the basketball analysis they did be often wrong. The only thing Dakich really got right was pointing out how effective Tatum is when he is initiating closer to the hoop and playing strong and decisive. Dakich trying to explain away the repeated terrible calls by the refs always make someone lose credibility with me.

I understand what you are saying but after that hack job on Saturday these guys were actually a refreshing change for the better.

[Indoor66]

The difference between Dick Vitale and Dakich is night and day. Why ESPN sticks with Dickie is beyond me.

Probably because they agreed to pay him a lot of money a few years ago.

I thought this crew was better when they stuck to the game. Still too much time off in the weeds.

[Henderson]

If you can synch the audio and video, I find the ideal combination is Bob Harris on the radio with whatever television broadcast is available.

Bob (God love him) isn't good at painting a picture of what's happening on the floor, but we have TV for that. Most TV commentators are annoying, and Bob Harris is not that.

Sadly, I find myself just listening to Bob on the radio, throwing socks at his play-by-play calls ("Bob, what just happened?!!" Sock toss), then begging forgiveness in church on Sunday.

[brumby041]

Who else would love it if espn offered an alternate feed online without announcers, perhaps on espn3, or even a button you could click to tune in-and-out of the announcer feed?

I got the idea from watching "sky-cam" during bowl season, which only had stadium noise, and found I much preferred hearing the sounds of the stadium, as if I were there.

{MUTE}

[moonpie23]

If you can synch the audio and video, I find the ideal combination is Bob Harris on the radio with whatever television broadcast is available.

Bob (God love him) isn't good at painting a picture of what's happening on the floor, but we have TV for that. Most TV commentators are annoying, and Bob Harris is not that.

Sadly, I find myself just listening to Bob on the radio, throwing socks at his play-by-play calls ("Bob, what just happened?!!" Sock toss), then begging forgiveness in church on Sunday.

bob is long in the tooth and is having difficulty with names QUICKLY....John helps him out benevolently by filling in... that said, i'd still rather listen to those guys than the TV...


and i LOVE being 15 secs ahead of the TV cast....it's great to know what's going to happen and watch the play set up.

[grad_devil]

and i LOVE being 15 secs ahead of the TV cast...it's great to know what's going to happen and watch the play set up.

Wait - you don't just live in the future? My illusion is shattered...

[elvis14]

{MUTE}

Discussed earlier in the thread and eliminated as a useful solution because it also eliminates the sound of the game/crowd etc.

[Faustus]

P.S. We won't have Brent Musberger to kick around anymore after tonight (Kentucky-Georgia game, I believe, on ESPN). The man who gave us "The Cameron." And where are Phyllis George and Irv Cross these days? God Speed, Brent...

[devildeac]

bob is long in the tooth and is having difficulty with names QUICKLY...John helps him out benevolently by filling in... that said, i'd still rather listen to those guys than the TV...


and i LOVE being 15 secs ahead of the TV cast...it's great to know what's going to happen and watch the play set up.

And I kinda/sorta/not really hate you for that.


Oh, wait a minute, I listen to the same radio station you do.

[duke4ever19]

Musburger signed off for the final time tonight.

Good news, though, he's invited us to his place in Las Vegas to have a cold one and share a win or two. . . .?

http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=18595851

[ricks68]

P.S. We won't have Brent Musberger to kick around anymore after tonight (Kentucky-Georgia game, I believe, on ESPN). The man who gave us "The Cameron." And where are Phyllis George and Irv Cross these days? God Speed, Brent...

I am soooooo pleased that he is finally gone. Good riddance. He knows so little about the players and what is actually going on during his broadcasts. Long before they had the earpieces, you could tell that he was constantly being fed the info in writing by someone else, as he sometimes came out with stuff that had to be typos that he read straight off the paper or the teleprompter. From the very first time I heard his voice over the PA at the 1966 Final Four when he had no idea how to pronounce Tony Barone's name, or much of anything about our team, I have disliked his arrogant facade.

Really strange, however, is that I can find no confirmation on the net that he did the game. There are listings for the announcers for the game that went over the air, but not the announcer(s) for what was said over the PA during the game. (There was at least one.) Also, there is a gap in his announcing bio that doesn't fully have what he was doing around that time. But I was there, and as I have stated before on the board, his incredible lack of preparation and knowledge concerning the teams he is covering, has always riled me up. I think (know) it is because of that first time he covered us. I took it as a personal insult, and it has never left me. And he became the top guy. That's it. Sorry for the rant.

ricks

[Old Gold 89]

I think Dakich was fantastic! Best analysis of a Duke game since Bobby Knight. I loved how he focused on what was actually happening in the game, including the decisions of the coaches and the players.

He made aggressive observations -- for example, he said our offense should always run through Allen and Kennard. But he was self-deprecating enough to acknowledge when a brilliant play by Tatum or Jefferson undercut his opinion.

I thought it was a fantastic performance.

[MChambers]

I think Dakich was fantastic! Best analysis of a Duke game since Bobby Knight. I loved how he focused on what was actually happening in the game, including the decisions of the coaches and the players.

He made aggressive observations -- for example, he said our offense should always run through Allen and Kennard. But he was self-deprecating enough to acknowledge when a brilliant play by Tatum or Jefferson undercut his opinion.

I thought it was a fantastic performance.

I completely agree, which is a surprise, because my kids went to Big Ten schools, so I see a lot of games where Dakich is the color guy, and he often annoys me. He is very, uh, confident in his views and that can wear on you over time. On the other hand, he does focus on the game more than most, and actually has some unusual insights.

[WiJoe]

I think Dakich was fantastic! Best analysis of a Duke game since Bobby Knight. I loved how he focused on what was actually happening in the game, including the decisions of the coaches and the players.

He made aggressive observations -- for example, he said our offense should always run through Allen and Kennard. But he was self-deprecating enough to acknowledge when a brilliant play by Tatum or Jefferson undercut his opinion.

I thought it was a fantastic performance.

especially when he and the other mope talked about domer football