Annual Announcer Kvetch Thread, 2022-23

[arnie]

Antonelli is awful. I don’t ever want to hear her on the call. And pairing her with Wes Durham makes me cringe. The officials are bad enough. Why do we have to put up with clowns in the announcers’ booth, too?

Thank you. Just horrible game calling.

[DoubleBlue]

Antonelli is awful. I don’t ever want to hear her on the call. And pairing her with Wes Durham makes me cringe. The officials are bad enough. Why do we have to put up with clowns in the announcers’ booth, too?

Debbie Antidukie.

[AGDukesky]

Thank you. Just horrible game calling.

Yeah terrible calling and noticeably agreed with the refs every time it went against Duke. There was a replay where VT threw an elbow at the guy setting a pick (Flip I think). No comment at all even though it was in slow motion. Of course the refs “missed” it too…

[accfanfrom1970]

Debbie antiduke is bad enough. Then you put uncheats wes with her? Wow. It’s like we’re some D3 game. No pros available at all?

[tommy]

Antonelli is awful. I don’t ever want to hear her on the call. And pairing her with Wes Durham makes me cringe. The officials are bad enough. Why do we have to put up with clowns in the announcers’ booth, too?

She has nothing of value to say. Not informative. Not insightful. Not funny. And a grating voice to boot. Just diarrhea of the mouth. Words and more words without saying anything. Terrible.

[JStuart]

Debbie antiduke is bad enough. Then you put uncheats wes with her? Wow. It’s like we’re some D3 game. No pros available at all?

Plus, Wes's dad, Woody, never sat in the Crow's Nest, as he was the unc radio guy. Hope they sanitize the seats after he's left.

[KandG]

She has nothing of value to say. Not informative. Not insightful. Not funny. And a grating voice to boot. Just diarrhea of the mouth. Words and more words without saying anything. Terrible.

I guess we have different expectations of analysts then. I heard her identify multiple actions that both teams were running to gain an advantage, and she was complimentary of Scheyer on multiple occasions for what Duke was doing on both ends of the floor. She sounded more knowledgeable about basketball than many of the louder analysts with overused catchphrases that get attention on broadcasts.

“Nothing of value to say” “Not funny”, “grating voice”, huh, I remember things being said like this about Doris Burke when she does basketball analysis. Wonder what her and Antonelli have in common? (also, i wasn’t aware being funny was crucial for analysts to pass the test around here)

As far as being anti-Duke, I understand there’s some background with her and the Duke women’s program which I’m not qualified to comment authoritatively on regarding her intent, but she sounds fine on men’s broadcasts. I don’t agree with her call or opinion on everything that happens in the course of a game, but she seems more than capable and far from the disaster you make her out to be. But it’s a weird bunch here that whines about broadcasters, I’ll say that.

[rasputin]

I guess we have different expectations of analysts then. I heard her identify multiple actions that both teams were running to gain an advantage, and she was complimentary of Scheyer on multiple occasions for what Duke was doing on both ends of the floor. She sounded more knowledgeable about basketball than many of the louder analysts with overused catchphrases that get attention on broadcasts.

“Nothing of value to say” “Not funny”, “grating voice”, huh, I remember things being said like this about Doris Burke when she does basketball analysis. Wonder what her and Antonelli have in common? (also, i wasn’t aware being funny was crucial for analysts to pass the test around here)

As far as being anti-Duke, I understand there’s some background with her and the Duke women’s program which I’m not qualified to comment authoritatively on regarding her intent, but she sounds fine on men’s broadcasts. I don’t agree with her call or opinion on everything that happens in the course of a game, but she seems more than capable and far from the disaster you make her out to be. But it’s a weird bunch here that whines about broadcasters, I’ll say that.

This. I don't understand the bashing of Antonelli. She is better than most, in my opinion. I do concede that her pro-N.C. State and anti-Duke biases show up occasionally in her commentary, but it's not like the Len Elmore brand.

[Phredd3]

As far as being anti-Duke, I understand there’s some background with her and the Duke women’s program which I’m not qualified to comment authoritatively on regarding her intent, but she sounds fine on men’s broadcasts.

And I probably let her extreme biases from the women's game carry over to the men. I admit to hearing her voice and not starting from a neutral point of view at this point. But I didn't think she was exactly objective last night. She did have some nice things to say about Scheyer and the team from time to time, but she has a habit when Duke is playing about talking about what the other team needs to do to win. She rarely says anything about what Duke needs to do to win the game. I find that unbelievably frustrating. But I'd rather hear Doris Burke or Beth Mowins any day. And Wes. Man, he is just not good at play-by-play. Many times it seems like he doesn't even know what just happened. And he doesn't seem to have synergy with anyone who does color. It almost seems like he doesn't understand his role.

Make no mistake, though: I recognize that what all of them do is really hard, and I could never do it.

[Matches]

This. I don't understand the bashing of Antonelli. She is better than most, in my opinion. I do concede that her pro-N.C. State and anti-Duke biases show up occasionally in her commentary, but it's not like the Len Elmore brand.

I’m not sure she adds much of anything, but she doesn’t detract from the broadcast, and that’s really all I’m looking for. She’s professional, pays attention to the game, and doesn’t do schtick. Low bar, maybe, but she clears it.

And I feel dirty even typing it, but I kinda like Wes Durham. I’m sure he’s a Tar Heel homer but I think he makes an effort to tone that down. It might just be familiarity/ nostalgia/ PTSD but his voice is so similar to his dad’s that it feels familiar and on brand. The Duke broadcast last night was IMO way better than the UNC game, where Corey Alexander was busy trying to convince the audience that there are 11 good teams in the ACC.

[kmspeaks]

I’m not sure she adds much of anything, but she doesn’t detract from the broadcast, and that’s really all I’m looking for. She’s professional, pays attention to the game, and doesn’t do schtick. Low bar, maybe, but she clears it.

And I feel dirty even typing it, but I kinda like Wes Durham. I’m sure he’s a Tar Heel homer but I think he makes an effort to tone that down. It might just be familiarity/ nostalgia/ PTSD but his voice is so similar to his dad’s that it feels familiar and on brand. The Duke broadcast last night was IMO way better than the UNC game, where Corey Alexander was busy trying to convince the audience that there are 11 good teams in the ACC.

Give me Antonelli and Durham over Bilas, Vitale, or Alexander any day, but I don't watch the women's game so I don't have any bias against her from anything that happens there.

One thing I really like about Debbie, and notice every time she calls a game, is her ability to point out certain plays or schemes without it feeling like she's reading from a cheat sheet. I know Jay Bilas is very smart and knows a lot about basketball, and maybe it's because he does so many games with so many different teams, but it seems like he is handed a scouting report - Team X likes to run middle third ball screens and then that's all you hear from him the whole game middle third ball screen over and over and over. Antonelli does a great job of being able to diagnose what's happening in front of her in real time and then point it out to the audience. I love it.

[arnie]

Give me Antonelli and Durham over Bilas, Vitale, or Alexander any day, but I don't watch the women's game so I don't have any bias against her from anything that happens there.

One thing I really like about Debbie, and notice every time she calls a game, is her ability to point out certain plays or schemes without it feeling like she's reading from a cheat sheet. I know Jay Bilas is very smart and knows a lot about basketball, and maybe it's because he does so many games with so many different teams, but it seems like he is handed a scouting report - Team X likes to run middle third ball screens and then that's all you hear from him the whole game middle third ball screen over and over and over. Antonelli does a great job of being able to diagnose what's happening in front of her in real time and then point it out to the audience. I love it.

Give me Bonner or G-Man over any of the above. There are also excellent announcers assigned to other conferences without an agenda and willing to call the action.

[gumbomoop]

Give me Bonner or G-Man over any of the above. There are also excellent announcers assigned to other conferences without an agenda and willing to call the action.

Amen. And Spanarkel and Robbie Hummel. I also like Jon Crispin a lot. Have heard Crispin just occasionally somewhere, and then saw him for a few minutes last week with Wojciechowski as studio analysts.

[kmspeaks]

Give me Bonner or G-Man over any of the above. There are also excellent announcers assigned to other conferences without an agenda and willing to call the action.

No argument from me. Unfortunately, ESPN seems to rank announcers in the opposite order I do

[ClemmonsDevil]

I don't have a problem with any current announcer, but I HATED Billy Packer. I found him to be skilled and insightful, but I did feel like he ushered in the era of Duke hate with his call of the 2001 Final 4. So I despised him. I didn't reply to the RIP Billy Packer thread, because I can hold a grudge.

I love Bonner and Bilas. My favorite 2 announcers. Bonner reminds me of my youth, Bilas makes it feel like a big game. Love both of them. I do think Antonelli does a good job. I think Wes Durham does a good job. I kind of like Alexander in that he knows everyone and gives personal insight into the players during the game. But he isn't my favorite. To put this in context with which everyone will agree, Cory is ribs at a BBQ joint. If the best thing a barbecue place does is ribs, then they should be judged. Ribs are fine as a tertiary meat in a three meat platter. But in no way should ribs ever be the primary meat. Fatty brisket or pork HAVE to be first. But ribs are a perfectly reasonable third choice. Just like Cory Alexander. Skinny brisket is pot roast. Turkey is just an embarrassing choice. You should be judged for either of those.

What I do love is y'all putti g your announcer thoughts on this thread and not the game threads. I support that!

[Southgate0809]

That's funny. The crew last night didn't bother me. I actually appreciated Antonelli's analysis at times. She broke down that player where Proctor cut to the basket, pretty much as a diversion to get Flip open underneath the basket. I definitely didn't notice that in real time, and I'm not sure if I would have picked up on it on the replay without her pointing it out.

[Son of Mojo]

Antonelli did show a bit too much glee with the wrong calls on Flip and Grandison, but she does seem to stay on topic of the game going on and do more analysis compared to suffering through BenedictBilas, Vitale, woody's boy, Davis, or Alexander (and don't EVER compare the greatness that are ribs to him...what an insult to ribs). But it was after those plays (and I've been doing this more during games) that I cut on different things on youtube to listen to while watching the game instead of listening to announcers. I would make more of an effort to listen if we had Gminski, Spanarkel, or Bonner, but we typically have none of them for whatever reason.

[KandG]

And I probably let her extreme biases from the women's game carry over to the men. I admit to hearing her voice and not starting from a neutral point of view at this point. But I didn't think she was exactly objective last night. She did have some nice things to say about Scheyer and the team from time to time, but she has a habit when Duke is playing about talking about what the other team needs to do to win. She rarely says anything about what Duke needs to do to win the game. I find that unbelievably frustrating. But I'd rather hear Doris Burke or Beth Mowins any day. And Wes. Man, he is just not good at play-by-play. Many times it seems like he doesn't even know what just happened. And he doesn't seem to have synergy with anyone who does color. It almost seems like he doesn't understand his role.

Make no mistake, though: I recognize that what all of them do is really hard, and I could never do it.

This is a reasonable counter argument, how announcing comes across is subjective and I'm not tainted by any overt biases she projected in other broadcasts, which I understand might color people's perspectives on the way she calls men's games. But I'm partial to analysts who do their homework and actually pass on knowledge about what teams are doing beyond what's going on with the players with the ball, and I think she does a pretty good job with that.

I do prefer Burke and Mowins, Antonelli can be a little dry by comparison, and sometimes I wish she'd make more of an effort to explain certain the rationale behind controversial or flagrant calls from the perspective of both teams beyond "Coach X didn't care for that and is letting the referee know it". But I will take her over most of the louder, more content-free analysts belaboring obvious talking points.

As far as Wes, I barely noticed him other than when he gushed over the energy Mark Mitchell was playing with, which as a homer I enjoyed a lot.

Agreed that announcing is difficult, and I try to cut announcers some slack knowing that my preference for more nerd-oriented play breakdowns doesn't necessarily jibe with what a broader audience might care for. I also get that these announcing threads skew toward very subjective, low content IC styled venting (hence the "kvetch" in the thread title), but I appreciate that the tenor of recent comments reflects that announcing isn't as black and white as viewing everything through the filter of pro vs anti-Duke.

[ClemmonsDevil]

(and don't EVER compare the greatness that are ribs to him...what an insult to ribs).

Ribs can be downright delicious. But they can never be as good as exceptional pulled pork or brisket. I published a meat power ranking last year that should be required reading. There are lots of skilled Cooks on here, but my expertise lies in the consumption realm.

[MChambers]

Debbie antiduke is bad enough. Then you put uncheats wes with her? Wow. It’s like we’re some D3 game. No pros available at all?

I thought she was fine last night. Did you hear her talk about attending Duke’s practice and extolling the coaching of Jon Scheyer?