Favorite announcers....

[stix]

Light-hearted topic here, but after listening to weeks of endless hockey play-by-play gold from Doc Emrick, I was wondering who everyone regards as their favorite announcers.

For me, national category, it's Doc Emrick. Local, Ted Davis, the Milwaukee Bucks' radio man. Literally the best thing that franchise has going for it.

Maybe this thread has been done, but I dug back awhile and didn't find anything on the topic.

 

[proudpittsburgher]

I know this is coming from a homer but to me, Mike Lange will forever be the gold standard for local hockey announcers. I agree with your assessment of Doc, just a solid announcer.

For baseball, just because he's a bit out there, I like the San Diego play by play guy. Don't know his name but I heard him on XM a few times and I just love listening to him because he's different.

 

[writingump]

You're thinking of Ted Leitner, who's been in San Diego for about 30 years. He's an acquired taste and, from what I understand from reading a couple of features about him in the Union-Tribune, polarizing. His style isn't for everyone, but if he's made it this long, he clearly has something going for him.
Emrick's the gold standard these days in announcing. I also like Mike Breen a whole lot. Pat Hughes (Cubs radio) has grown on me over the years. Brings great enthusiasm to every game, even with a bad team to watch every day.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

I have said this before, but Mike Gorman, who does the Celtics broadcasts here, is as good a basketball play-by-play man as there is. He is by far the star local announcer here in Boston as far as I'm concerned.

 

[93Devil]

I would love to hear Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley call a game. Especially a college game on CBS.

 

[Writer33]

Agree with Michael Gee on Gorman. He is simply great. I always thought Fred Cusick was as good as anybody. Emrick is a marvel. My favorite though is Martin Tyler. He is smooth as silk.

 

[proudpittsburgher]

You're thinking of Ted Leitner, who's been in San Diego for about 30 years. He's an acquired taste and, from what I understand from reading a couple of features about him in the Union-Tribune, polarizing. His style isn't for everyone, but if he's made it this long, he clearly has something going for him.
Emrick's the gold standard these days in announcing. I also like Mike Breen a whole lot. Pat Hughes (Cubs radio) has grown on me over the years. Brings great enthusiasm to every game, even with a bad team to watch every day.

Can't believe I forgot Hughes, even as a Pirates fan. As much as I hated listening to Santo, Hughes was so good he made it worth it for me when I needed a ballgame to listen to in the car.

And yea, I totally get that Leitner was/is an acquired taste, but I just get tired of the same guys from one broadcast to another. Seriously, scrolling through games on XM, I would swear I was listening to the same announcer on every game.

 

[gravehunter]

I grew up listening to Vin Scully and he'll always be my favorite baseball announcer.
I think LA was also blessed to have had Chick Hearn doing the Lakers, and Bob Miller, who still does the LA Kings. I never really got to know Chick but Vin and Bob are two of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet.

 

[proudpittsburgher]

Agree with Michael Gee on Gorman. He is simply great. I always thought Fred Cusick was as good as anybody. Emrick is a marvel. My favorite though is Martin Tyler. He is smooth as silk.

I was surprised to learn that Emrick studied under Bob Chase, who is a long-time (and I mean very long-time voice of the Fort Wayne Komets. While Chase is an icon around these parts, his play-by-play just isn't very good. Although I guess I shouldn't expect a whole lot out of a guy in his 70's or 80's. Maybe he was much better back in the days.

 

[MTM]

I grew up listening to Vin Scully and he'll always be my favorite baseball announcer.
I think LA was also blessed to have had Chick Hearn doing the Lakers, and Bob Miller, who still does the LA Kings. I never really got to know Chick but Vin and Bob are two of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet.

LA also had **** Enberg doing Angels, Rams and UCLA. He and Don Drysdale made a great team.

It was growing up listening to all of the above that made me want to be a sports broadcaster, although I turned to print media instead.

 

[TheHacker]

Ted Leitner is fantastic because he is irreverent. That's what I like about him. He doesn't just sing everyone's praises, and when he thinks something sucks, he says so. I was listening to a Padres-Brewers game a couple weeks ago where he flat-out called Ryan Braun a cheater.

And proudpittsburgher and I agree on Mike Lange. Also the Calgary Flames' radio guy, whose name I can't remember, is very good.

I also like to listen to Bob Uecker, just because every so often you get a Harry Doyle moment out of him. About a week ago, the Brewers were in New York and the crowd was sparse, and around the 7th inning he asked the other guy on the broadcast if they had announced the attendance. Upon being told they hadn't, his response was -- sounding very much like a Harry Doyle outtake -- "I don't blame 'em!"

 

[Michael_ Gee]

The late Larry Whiteside covered the Brewers for the J-S back in the early '70s, when the Brewers were REALLY bad. He told me once that they'd lose a game like 17-3, but when the players got off the team bus at the hotel they'd be laughing like they'd won the Series -- all because of Uecker's comments from his seat on the bus.

 

[Small Town Guy]

Marv Albert remains my runaway favorite. Obviously especially on hoops. I can hardly stand Breen at this point, whether it's the sanctimony or just his voice inflections, not sure. But Marv is just the perfect blend of being able to convey a big moment, but during the game has the humor, the historical knowledge and gets the best out of his analysts.

Gorman is somehow good even after being paired with Heinsohn forever.

 

[casty33]

I can't pass up the chance to rave about Vin Scully, the best baseball announcer in history, someone who did his homework every day and never failed to visit the clubhouse regularly. He also talked to visiting media members to find out tidbits about the opposition.
I'd also like to congratulate Bob Costas, who does everything well, especially the interviews he does for the MLB network. And when he does a game with Jim Kaat doing analysis, it's always worth a listen.
Thanks,
Dan Castellano

 

[writingump]

Forgot about Mike Gorman, largely because he's not a national name. But I remember him doing Big East games with Bill Raftery in the late 80s and it was a great listen.
Vin Scully's lost a bit off his fastball, but he's still better than about 80 to 90 percent of the baseball announcers out there. I wish Bob Costas did more baseball play-by-play just to remind people of how good he is at it. When he and Tony Kubek were the "backup" team for NBC in the 80s, you rooted for a rain delay or rainout on the main game so you could hear them.

 

[albert77]

I was always a big fan of Skip Caray, and was seriously bummed when he died suddenly.

I guess because they're the team I listen to the most, but I really think the Saints team of Jim Henderson and Hokie Gajan are as good as anyone. Henderson has a pitch-perfect pxp voice and Gajan brings a Coonass mentality (not to mention a distinctly Louisiana accent in his voice), plus he's got the insights as a former player.

One thing I like about them is they're never shy about being critical of the Saints' play when it's merited, and they are often remarkably prescient about what's coming. I recall listening back in January in the Saints-49ers playoff game, they kept saying during the 3rd quarter that the defense was keeping the Saints in the game, but they were on the field an awful lot.

 

[Boom_70]

I have said this before, but Mike Gorman, who does the Celtics broadcasts here, is as good a basketball play-by-play man as there is. He is by far the star local announcer here in Boston as far as I'm concerned.

He learned at the heels of the great Chris Clark

 

[HanSenSE]

Greatest local guy ever, any sport: Bill King, on the Warriors, Raiders and A's. At one time briefly, he was doing all three.

You've heard him on the Raiders' Super Bowl highlights on NFL Films, but I thought he was best at basketball. He was one of the few who could describe, at least in basketball, what was going on away from the ball as well as what the ballhandler was doing. Why he's not in the media wings in Cooperstown, Canton and Springfield is a mystery. Holy Toledo!

 

[MTM]

Greatest local guy ever, any sport: Bill King, on the Warriors, Raiders and A's. At one time briefly, he was doing all three.

You've heard him on the Raiders' Super Bowl highlights on NFL Films, but I thought he was best at basketball. He was one of the few who could describe, at least in basketball, what was going on away from the ball as well as what the ballhandler was doing. Why he's not in the media wings in Cooperstown, Canton and Springfield is a mystery. Holy Toledo!

So true. Probably the most underrated great announcer.

Loved listening to him do Raiders games when they were in LA.

 

[Batman]

I guess because they're the team I listen to the most, but I really think the Saints team of Jim Henderson and Hokie Gajan are as good as anyone. Henderson has a pitch-perfect pxp voice and Gajan brings a Coonass mentality (not to mention a distinctly Louisiana accent in his voice), plus he's got the insights as a former player.

One thing I like about them is they're never shy about being critical of the Saints' play when it's merited, and they are often remarkably prescient about what's coming. I recall listening back in January in the Saints-49ers playoff game, they kept saying during the 3rd quarter that the defense was keeping the Saints in the game, but they were on the field an awful lot.

Those guys are good.
And this is one of the great "goosebump" calls of all time. The sheer joy in his voice captured what everyone in that city was feeling.