Unofficial 2019-2020 Announcer Thread

[MChambers]

Please post your thoughts about broadcast announcers (Bilas, Shulman, Elmore, Dykes, Gman, Vitale, Musberger, etc.) here and not in the postgame threads!

[arnie]

Could we have a separate thread for only Bilas?😀

[throatybeard]

I like unofficial announcers.

[SouthernDukie]

I think there’s a slight chance Billy Packer didn’t love Duke, and once in a blue moon it showed.

[mattyoung18]

Could we have a separate thread for only Bilas?😀

I agree Bilas is off the charts annoying. My wife is a unc fan and she thinks Bilas is annoying so that's all the proof we need.

[TruBlu]

How many minutes will each announcer get in Duke games this year?

Personally, I hope Elmore gets benched. Vitale bought me beer one night after a Duke game because I had on a Duke shirt, so I have to reluctantly give him somewhat of a pass.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

How many minutes will each announcer get in Duke games this year?

Personally, I hope Elmore gets benched. Vitale bought me beer one night after a Duke game because I had on a Duke shirt, so I have to reluctantly give him somewhat of a pass.

Vitale gets a pass when you're at the game BECAUSE YOU DONT HAVE TO LISTEN TO HIM in that situation.

otherwise, no pass....same schtick every game and has almost nothing to do with the game he's ostensibly broadcasting.

[TruBlu]

Vitale gets a pass when you're at the game BECAUSE YOU DONT HAVE TO LISTEN TO HIM in that situation.

otherwise, no pass...same schtick every game and has almost nothing to do with the game he's ostensibly broadcasting.

But, but, he bought me beer.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

But, but, he bought me beer.

That IS cool, I'll admit...but the pass you give him is for being a good guy, not a good announcer...

[uh_no]

That IS cool, I'll admit...but the pass you give him is for being a good guy, not a good announcer...

i'll take vitali's enthusiasm, annoying as it may be, over Bilas' holier-than-thou lecturing any day.

He focuses on what he loves about the game instead of what's wrong with it, and to some degree, that enthusiasm is contagious.

[elvis14]

i'll take vitali's enthusiasm, annoying as it may be, over Bilas' holier-than-thou lecturing any day.

He focuses on what he loves about the game instead of what's wrong with it, and to some degree, that enthusiasm is contagious.

This 100%

Jay's anti-NCAA rants both on TV and online are getting old (especially considering how he makes a living)
Jay's anti-Duke statements during games are annoying, at best

[summerwind03]

This 100%

Jay's anti-NCAA rants both on TV and online are getting old (especially considering how he makes a living)
Jay's anti-Duke statements during games are annoying, at best

I'm on this team. I often have to mute Jay entirely. I just turn down the volume on Dickie V!

[golfinesquire]

I really do not get the anti-Bilas sentiment on this board. I thought he did a nice job last night discussing what both teams did well and what they did badly. I also thought it was completely appropriate to call out the refs the way he did. All announcers do it and it is probably one of the easier ways to fill air time, which they all are supposed to do. I appreciate that Bilas is a complete professional and not just a homer and I have never felt that he went way overboard the other way as some have said. I know people were upset with him when he talked about why the NCAA was not going to wade into the UNC cheating mess, but he made really good points about why the NCAA would want to stay out of that minefield and his analysis was spot on. I will admit I have a fond spot for Jay. He was a freshman at Duke my second year at law school there and he played his heart out, really maximizing his skills as an undersized big man.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

I really do not get the anti-Bilas sentiment on this board. I thought he did a nice job last night discussing what both teams did well and what they did badly. I also thought it was completely appropriate to call out the refs the way he did. All announcers do it and it is probably one of the easier ways to fill air time, which they all are supposed to do. I appreciate that Bilas is a complete professional and not just a homer and I have never felt that he went way overboard the other way as some have said. I know people were upset with him when he talked about why the NCAA was not going to wade into the UNC cheating mess, but he made really good points about why the NCAA would want to stay out of that minefield and his analysis was spot on. I will admit I have a fond spot for Jay. He was a freshman at Duke my second year at law school there and he played his heart out, really maximizing his skills as an undersized big man.

Well you're gonna have to agree to disagree with pretty much the entire board. Bilas does call out refs, but when an apparent bad call helps Duke, he goes on and on and on and on and on about it...when it goes against Duke, he mentions it once, then onto the next thing. This is blatant and quantifiable. And it's not that he's just not a homer - he is WAAAY off the charts in the other direction. Again, quantifable.

[golfinesquire]

Well you're gonna have to agree to disagree with pretty much the entire board. Bilas does call out refs, but when an apparent bad call helps Duke, he goes on and on and on and on and on about it...when it goes against Duke, he mentions it once, then onto the next thing. This is blatant and quantifiable. And it's not that he's just not a homer - he is WAAAY off the charts in the other direction. Again, quantifable.

Or the people who go on ad nauseam about Bilas's weak points. They salt the dig.

[SouthernDukie]

Well you're gonna have to agree to disagree with pretty much the entire board. Bilas does call out refs, but when an apparent bad call helps Duke, he goes on and on and on and on and on about it...when it goes against Duke, he mentions it once, then onto the next thing. This is blatant and quantifiable. And it's not that he's just not a homer - he is WAAAY off the charts in the other direction. Again, quantifable.

THIS! In triplicate! Jay is good for multiple rants against calls that go Duke's way every single game. It's utterly ridiculous and it does help foster the "Duke gets all the calls" nonsense because most casual viewers just take in what they hear. Jay is apparently blind to this major fault in his commentating. Surely people have brought it up to him. Yet he persists in it year after year. And it is a Duke thing, not a Jay does this with all calls and all teams all the time thing.

[uh_no]

Well you're gonna have to agree to disagree with pretty much the entire board. Bilas does call out refs, but when an apparent bad call helps Duke, he goes on and on and on and on and on about it...when it goes against Duke, he mentions it once, then onto the next thing. This is blatant and quantifiable. And it's not that he's just not a homer - he is WAAAY off the charts in the other direction. Again, quantifable.

the thing that gets me is the degree to which he rips them. you point out a missed call...but going on and on about how the reffing is unacceptable, etc. Well Jay, why don't you get out there and show-em how it's done. It's armchair criticism.

It's even worse when the replay shows he's wrong and he doesn't back off, instead saying the rule should be changed.

Look, I get we all rant at refs, especially during the game...but for a commentator to be so hyperbolic in his criticism of a single missed call in a game, while not admitting when he gets it wrong himself is insufferable.


The missed goaltend was the epitome of this. It was super close in real time, and where the ref was running trying to catch up to the play, I can see how it would have been tough to see if it hit the board or the hand first. I thought it probably was, but the camera had a better angle...and wasn't entirely certain until they showed the replay. Jay could have said he thought they missed the call and moved on...but instead he's spewing vitriol about how unacceptable the refs are to have missed that. And then he's calling the clear make-up call another blown call and using it to pile on about the sub-par quality of the reffing.

[OldPhiKap]

I'm fine with both Bilas and Vitale. In truth, as long as it is not Len Elmore I'm fine.

I frankly don't see how Seth keeps his job in the studio. He was not a good or notable coach; he does not bring a lot of insight; and as best I can tell his only skill is to talk loudly. I don't say that as a snide joke -- I really do not see how he stays employed in that role. Is he really the best ex-coach available?

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

I'm fine with both Bilas and Vitale. In truth, as long as it is not Len Elmore I'm fine.

I frankly don't see how Seth keeps his job in the studio. He was not a good or notable coach; he does not bring a lot of insight; and as best I can tell his only skill is to talk loudly. I don't say that as a snide joke -- I really do not see how he stays employed in that role. Is he really the best ex-coach available?

Well, you’re talking about a network that just recently made Stephen A Smith its highest paid “sportscaster” paying him nearly $8M per year! What?!?!

Sooooo... does it REALLy surprise you?

[OldPhiKap]

Well, you’re talking about a network that just recently made Stephen A Smith its highest paid “sportscaster” paying him nearly $8M per year! What?!?!

Sooooo... does it REALLy surprise you?

You raise a valid point. With SAS, at least, he has apparently built up a sizeable following that likes him after a decade of radio shows, print columns, and solo-or-paired shows. I don't care for him at all but respect that (apparently a lot of) others disagree.

What's Seth's constituency?