Grading The Announcers: 2010 NCAA Tournament 1st And 2nd Round Edition

If I remember correctly, I am pretty sure I put something up last year grading the announcers for the NCAA Tournament in the first couple rounds. Well guess what? I am doing it again, bitches. And in fairness to keep my judgment of the teams to what they did this year, I have not looked at what I wrote about them last year (although if I ever find the post again, it would be pretty neat to compare the two from year to year). Now when doing this, I am not ranking them in any particular order, but rather analyzing the body of work, and giving them a grade based on that. If you want to interpret the different grades as a means of ranking, then go right ahead, but for the sake of ease, I am doing them in reverse order from the depth chart. So here ya go!

8. Spero Dedes and Bob Wenzel - Maybe they were the product of low expectations, but I will tell you what, I feared the worst when Spero Dedes replaced Craig Bolerjack, the only thing remotely positive about this crew. No review of Dedes' work I had read before this had ever been positive. Most said he was unenthusiastic, bland, and boring. From what I heard this tournament, that could not have been further from the truth. He was into the game and while he is no Gus Johnson, he did deliver solid buzzer-beating calls when he got the opportunity and overall sounded very into the games. Was he perfect? No, as Mookie pointed out in the live blogs, he made several mistakes during U-Dub's game with New Mexico. But for a 30-year old calling his first NCAA Tourney with freakin' Bob Wenzel, I do not think there was more that you could ask out of Dedes. Aspeaking of Wenzel, he drags the grade down half a letter grade just for being Bob Wenzel. Giggling and speaking in fragments all game is not quality broadcasting. It is the kind of stuff I would expect to hear from a high school kid working a high school game, not a professional working the Big Dance. Overall grade: B-.

7. Tim Brando and Mike Gminski: "The iron unkind!" "It may be spring, but it's Summertime today!" "Hot time Summers in the city" "Meet me in Saint Louie". I know what people think. I want Tim Brando fired. Acutally, that could not be further from the truth. I hope CBS keeps the NCAA Tournament and Brando decides to pull a Jim Nantz on the Masters and work 50 more in his lifetime. I can never get tired at laughing at his cliche and over-the-top puns and in turn, reading other people's hilarious critiques of said puns. It has become a staple of the NCAA Tournament on CBS that I will miss greatly if ESPN takes the reins next year. Somethings are so bad that they are good. Brando's announcing is one of them. That being said, that in no way makes him a quality basketball announcer. The constant puns and wordplay are enough for an F, but Mike Gminski's quality analysis saves this team from that. Overall grade: D.

6. Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel: Does Ian Eagle have cheesy phrases like Brando? Yes. Is he a much better announcer? You betcha. Maybe I am biased in this regard because I have listened and watched Eagle do interviews and seems to be one helluva an awesome person, but the guy is animanted, excited, and enthusiastic, without being too over the top. Jim Spanarkel is never going to wow me, but at the same time, he is not a hopeless case in the booth. Overall grade: B.

5. Kevin Harlan and Dan Bonner: There were factors beyond Harlan's control that are contributing to this review. Firstly, the egregious error of saying that NIU was the first MVC team in the Sweet 16 since Larry Bird was probably the fault of someone in the crew giving him misinformation. Secondly, he was not the one that placed himself in Oklahoma City where his alma mater was playing. Thirdly, it was not expected for his alma mater to lose. That being said, you have to be conscious of the situation that you put yourself in and call the game without biases and without favoring one team over the other. Harlan was perfectly fine for the first 58 minutes. But in the last 2 minutes when it mattered the most, Harlan failed. Miserably. You could tell he was not happy seeing his Jayhawks losing. Complete that with the most non-enthusiastic and nonsensical call at the buzzer ("It's the first day of spring, but number one has fallen") that very Brando-esque, and Harlan more than just underwhelmed. This is not a local broadcast. This is a national broadcast of the NCAA Tournament. I don't expect every announcer to yell like Gus Johnson, but I do expect announcer's feelings for one school to not infiltrate the broadcast and it was becoming painfully obvious that Harland could not do it. Complete silence after the Koch dunk (I don't mind silence but I don't think he even acknowledged the dunk afterward), only saying "OHH!!!!!" after the Farokhmanesh three and calling the subsequent offensive foul on Kansas immediately afterwards as if it was just routine and not the foul that ensured the biggest NCAA Tournament upset since George Mason beat UConn and the first time a #1 seed lost in the 2nd round since Kentucky lost to UAB in 2004. That soapbox out of the way, I am enhancing the grade for an overall relatively solid body of work throughout the first couple of rounds and Dan Bonner's performance, who is always one of the best in the tournament. His enthusiasm during those final moments of the NIU-Kansas game was off the charts fun to listen to. Spero Dedes is an inexperienced newcomer. His mistakes are forgivable. Kevin Harlan is a seasoned vet. His poor performance during the upset of the tournament is much more unforgivable. Yes, this is supposed to be the overall body of work, but when that overall body includes the biggest announcer blow job of the tournament, the grade is going to take a beating. Overall Grade: A very generous C+.

4. Gus Johnson and Len Elmore. In a tournament of upsets, Gus and Len once again ended up with clunkers. However, unlike last year, I did not think that Gus was trying too hard to make a big call when there just was not anything there to be made. The distractions from last year were gone (GuJo with the PUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNCH!!!!) and while he did not get the big upset this year, he toned it down a bit for the blowouts and it worked well. Len Elmore works well with Gus as he is much more soft spoken and will not yell over top of Gus. Len is a bore when he has to say a lot. Gus prevents that which optimizes the effectiveness of Len Elmore's analysis. Gus did not have the screaming upset, but that should not detract away from a solid comeback year after the debacle last year. Overall grade: A-.

3. Dick Enberg and Jay Bilas. I will admit, I heard the least of Dick Enberg and Jay Bilas this tournament, so if there is one grade that is poorly skewed or possibly inaccurate, it is this one. I love Enberg, but he just cannot do college basketball anymore. He is a great announcer, but the game is too fast for him. What can I say about Jay Bilas. As of now, he has been right on the money. He said Cornell would go to the Elite 8 and they are one win away from doing so. Cornell dominated both of their games and it was never even close. Bilas works best when he is with McDonough and Raft to lighten the mood. Him and Enberg is not a great pairing for him as Enberg forces him to come off as the know-it-all persona he takes in the ESPN studio. It's nothing against Enberg, he just is not Sean McDonough or Bill Raftery. Overall grade: B.

2. Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery. The gold standard of the tournament. For as bad as Verne may be doing football, he is just as good, if not great, doing basketball. Raftery is the perfect partner for him. Everything about them is flawless. Some want Raft to work with Gus Johnson should Enberg retire for good from college basketball and CBS keeps the tournament. I say keep it as it is. Why mess with perfection? Overall grade: A+.

1. Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg. Last year Clark Kellogg was a disaster. This year, I think he has improved in leaps and bounds. Last year Jim Nantz was married. This year he is divorced and free. Kellogg toned it down a lot this year from his constant screaming analysis last year and Nantz is not the dull bore he was when he was married. Maybe it's just me, but it seems like since the divorce he has been much more excitable in the booth. That being said, Nantz can still be too boring and and Kellogg's analysis can still be over the top. They have not reached the Verne/Raft level of perfection, but it is a work in progress and a solid improvement from last year. Overall grade: B+.

Do realize that this is just one man's opinion and not some permanent mark on their resume or something. However, I put a lot of thought into this and in the end, I think everyone was giving their fair shake, even in the case of Kevin Harlan and Dan Bonner. If I had nothing but those last two minutes to focus on, he would at best be given a D. I looked at the body of work and gave him a C+. I still feel that is being overly kind on my part, but Bonner deserves better than a C or a C-. I know bashing Harlan is never the most popular thing to do, but I will leave you with this thought. If you were an NIU student/alum/fan and assuming there was no radio broadcast and the only broadcast and call you had to remember this game by was what Kevin Harlan gave you at the end of this game, Harlan's KU background aside, knowing what Harlan has done in the past and what he is capable of, is that a call that you would remember? Or better yet, is "on the first day of spring, number one has fallen" something that you would want to remember? All I'll say is if someone showed me that quote and said it was announcer during the NCAA Tournament, my first question would be "why are you showing me a quote from Tim Brando?"

My Week 3 Reaction

What an exciting Week 3. And while Vick's return was everything but eventful (0 for 2 passing and 1 carry for 7 yards), some promise was shown. He did not make any big mistakes, and I really like that last number. His only carry was a scramble and it went for 7 yards. Just his presence on the field is enough for defenses to scramble and panic, even if all he does is hand it off. Aspeaking of handing it off, how about Shady McCoy! The Eagles have found themselves a pure running back for the first time since Duce Staley. And as far as the Chiefs go, they all but gave up on life in that one. Even though they ran a couple of trick plays, the players on the field showed one thing and that is they did not care about that game. Constantly they were handing it off on 3rd and long and throwing short passes that was just depressing to watch. If I were a Chiefs fan, I'd be ashamed of my team after that one. For more thoughts, check out my vlog entry below!



What I need to start doing is let it overrun a minute and publish the video like that and if there is a few seconds of dead air of me not doing anything then so be it. Basically all I talked about in the last minute was the Bengals beating the Steelers and how incredible it was. It appears as if I'm hosting the blog next week so I will definitley see you there! I'll get the schedule and links to the maps up as soon as the506 makes them available.

Review: Ted Williams Bio

(Guest posted by 49er16 from Keith's Sports Journal)

HBO delivered another top notch documentary last night. This time it was a biography on the late great Ted Williams. The bio delved into Williams' life as a ballplayer, his time as a Marine Corps pilot, his marriages, his relationships with his children, and the bizarre happenings around his death.

The first part of the movie explores his childhood. This section really gives you an idea of what Ted Williams would become as a man. He was born in San Diego to parents who really weren't there for him all the time. His mother was more concerned about her duties to the Salvation Army. His father had multiple jobs and was rarely at home. Baseball is what kept Williams active and it became his obsession. Because his parents were absent all the time, this would factor greatly into Williams relationships with his own children.

Williams was brought up by the Boston Red Sox in 1939 and he immediately wished to become "the greatest hitter of all-time." As Williams was just beginning his career, the United States became a part of WWII. Williams would serve as a Marine Corps pilot. Williams had his choice though with the army. He could have joined the Navy and stayed at home to play baseball. Instead he chose to become a pilot. He began his military career in 1942 and he wouldn't play baseball again until 1946.

Williams returned to the Boston Red Sox in 1946. That year he won the MVP and led Boston to the World Series. But of course the Red Sox lost the series to the Cardinals and Williams would become known as a player who couldn't play in the clutch. The next two years the Red Sox were beaten out of the Pennant by the Indians and the Yankees.

By 1953, Williams was called back to action, this time to fight in the Korean War. But because the army was using jet planes, Williams had to completely re-learn how to fly a plane again. During a mission in Korea, Williams had to land his plane on its belly after his hydraulics were damaged by an anti-aircraft weapon.

Eventually Williams returned to the Red Sox to finish his career. Also to say Williams didn't like the media would be an understatement. He despised the media and he wouldn't mind letting them know that. Also by the end of his career, Williams was struggling at the plate. During one game he started spitting at media members in press row and started spitting at the fans. When Williams hit his last home run, which would turn out to be his last hit, Williams didn't tip his cap to the fans.

After his career Williams was a very active sportsman. He loved to fish and to be outdoors. He also coached the old Washington Senators for a couple of years. The bio also delved into Williams' love life. He married three times and divorced three times. He had three children who he had a very cold relationship with.

Through the years though Williams suffered a series of strokes. His son John Henry would take care of his father. Also the movie talked about how Williams son John Henry would take his father all around the country to sign memorabilia. Also the bio talks about Williams' great charity work with children's hospitals. They even talk about a story about Boston Globe's own Dan Shaughnessy and his daughter who was fighting leukemia. Williams would talk to Shaughnessy's daughter as she was fighting the illness. She would make a full recovery. The movie also talks about his memorable appearance at the 1999 All-Star game in Boston.

The movie also delves into what happened to Williams' body after his passing. His eldest daughter said that his will stated that he wanted his body cremated. His other children, John Henry and Claudia, said that he wanted his body to be frozen for he could meet his children in the future. The case went to court and his two children won the case and Williams' body remains in bio stasis in Arizona. In an ironic case of events, John Henry would die from leukemia and his body would eventually be placed in bio stasis.

If you are a baseball fan then you should check out this movie. It is well done and it delves into the many aspects of Williams' life. Just a great movie all around.

Reviewing The Announcers For The 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs

I don't think I am about to post anything outside of consensus online opinion (NBA will be different), but seeing as I saw ample amount of broadcasts from Versus, NBC, TSN, and CBC, I figured why not type up an announcing review. I am more or less going to focus on individual announcers rather than teams seeing as for the 1st 2 rounds of the playoffs Versus shuffled their announcers around and never had a constant team. PbP guys are first and analysts are second (who cares about sideline reporters?). As always feel free to disagree in the comments section.

Mike Emrick: Mike "Doc" Emrick is the fricken man! He is enthusiastic and he legitimately cares about the game of hockey and that comes across ever so clear during his broadcasts. His calls at the end of last night's game 5 were epic and the Red Wings fans that watched that definitley were not let down by an announcer ruining their moment. And it was not just last night. Doc has been solid all playoffs and this is actually the first Stanley Cup Playoffs where I have not missed Gary Thorne, who is one of my favorites.

Jim Hughson: While I enjoyed what I saw of Hughson, I must say that Doc Emrick's call trumped Hughson's call of the last goal by a mile (I could not find Doc's call last night so that's why I posted Hughson's). On the plus side, Hockey Night In Canada is in good hands with him as the lead announcer and Craig Simpson as the analyst.

Gord Miller: Gord Miller has a tendency to try too hard and sometimes his excitement can come off as manufactured and not as authentic as someone like Doc Emrick. However, it seems like that only applies in the middle of the game. When the game is on the line and a dramatic moment happens (i.e. Scott Walker in Game 7 vs. the Bruins), Gord is right on point and was for the most point very enjoyable to listen to call games.

Joe Beninati: OMG.....Where do I start with Beninati? The guy talks over games, has bad jokes, has no knowledge of 21st century English, has a horrible sense of fashion as evidenced by the 4 hideous suit jacket, shirt, and tie combinations he had over the course of this series, and is the flat out epitome of awful announcing. If he can just permanently leave my television, I would be quite happy. And if Versus really wanted to make me giddy, they would somehow bring over Gary Thorne from ESPN to replace Beninati as the 2nd PbP guy behind Doc Emrick. I'd miss Throne on the Little League World Series, but in the end, it would be worth it.

Bob Cole: See Dick Stockton and Dick Enberg. Old man must retire.

Daryl Reaugh: Razor!!!!!!!! I had never heard this guy before this post season, and now I can't hear enough of him. He has a perfect blend of humor and insight and when he was paired with Doc Emrick for the Caps-Pens series, it was nothing but pure broadcasting magic. Finally there was someone who can keep up with Doc. Come on NBC, replace Edzo with Reaugh now!

Ed Olczyk: While he is not a bad analyst, the guy is simply forgettable. Often times in the hockey off-season I have to think for a second who the lead analyst is for NBC, and with me, someone who focuses a lot on announcers, that should never happen!!!!! And he just flat out can't keep up with Doc and it seems like such a drop off when he chimes in for thoughts and analysis with Doc Emrick doing PbP. Such a shame for he's not a bad talent per se, his partner is just too good for him.

Pierre McGuire: I think that you are either going to love Pierre or you are going to hate him. His insight can be really good at times and other times, he just comes across as a whiny douche bag who won't shut up.