I have been fortunate enough in recent weeks to make two separate appearances on the Big Ten Network, broadcasting women’s lacrosse games between Northwestern and UNC and then Northwestern and Virginia.
For the UNC game, I was an analyst while I served as the PxP broadcaster for the game vs. UVA. After both games, we recorded post-game recaps for the network’s website.
You can find the recaps below. Both show highlights and give me a little camera time. Enjoy:
If you can’t get enough of me, here’s a link to my new STAA (Sportscasters Talent Agency of America) Talent Page, which hosts my resume and some of my audio clips.
The Sportscasters Talent Agency of America has recently released a preliminary Top 20 list of college broadcasters all across the country, and yours truly was on the list.
I would like to thank STAA for adding me to the list. It is definitely an honor. Stay tuned, as I have applied for the Jim Nantz All America Award, presented by STAA in June to the nation’s top collegiate sports broadcaster.
Haven’t heard enough of my voice lately? Look at the top of this site and click the link to “From the Headset” – it’s got the latest clips of my broadcast calls. Or, if you can’t look up, you can click here:
There’s an obvious difference between a national PxP sports broadcaster working for a big-time network and a local television or radio announcer. The difference, of course, is the fact that the national broadcaster (think Joe Buck, Al Michaels, Marv Albert) is supposed to stay neutral, giving equal time and excitement to both teams during a game.
The local broadcaster, on the other hand, does not hide behind a cloud of objectivity; rather, they make no secret of their hope for their team to win, and, for obvious reasons, devote more time and attention to that team. There are clear reasons behind this. For one, the broadcasters are often employees of the team, so if they are too harsh on their employer, they probably won’t last very long. The broadcasters are also playing to their audience, who is overwhelmingly going to be fans of that team.
For instance, Pat Hughes, radio PxP man for the Chicago Cubs, is going to yell louder when a Cubs player hits a home run as opposed to a Cardinals player because most people listening to the game on WGN are Cub fans.
But there is a line between pulling for a team and being an outright, obnoxious homer. Below are a couple examples of calls from announcers, both national and local. I want to know whether you feel any of them are too over the top in their excitement for the team, and whether the national broadcasters are being too objective (not showing any sort of passion).
John Sterling, Yankees’ Radio PxP Man:
Pat Hughes and Ron Santo during the ’98 season:
Marv Albert’s radio call of David Tyree’s great Super Bowl catch:
Hawk Harrelson’s call of a Mark Buerhle homerun:
A collection of NBA announcer Kevin Harlan’s best calls:
I actually don’t have a problem with a broadcaster favoring the team he announces; in fact, I prefer it when I am watching my local sports teams. As a fan, I want my announcer to share my passion for the team, without taking it too far. But if my team hits a three at the buzzer to win a game or a grand slam in the 11th inning to win, I want the announcer to go crazy just as I am.
But I don’t want the announcer saying “We are winning,” as Harrelson does. The announcer, even if he used to play, is not a member of the team, and thus has no business saying “We need some runs” or “The bad guys are winning.” That’s just plain amateurish.
My favorite broadcast team, though, might be what the New York Observer aptly named “The Anti Homers” crew of New York Mets’ television broadcasters. I have listened to these three a lot this summer, and find myself laughing out loud throughout the entire game. I highly recommend this article, which highlights all the reasons Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling make such a great team (hat tip: Whitehead).
The problem I have with some local announcers, such as Hawk Harrelson of the White Sox and John Sterling of the Yankees, is not their fanaticism for the team they broadcast; instead, it’s their gimmicks. I can’t stand “You can put it on the boaaarrrddd….YES!” I cringe when John Sterling goes into his “It is high, it is far” routine, only for the ball to land on the warning track. And, like everyone else, I can’t stand Chris Berman’s “Back, back, back.”
Genuine excitement is one thing. Gimmicks are another. Something simple like Marv Albert’s “Yes!” is fine with me, because it’s simple and pure and doesn’t sound forced.
Announcers don’t have to reinvent the wheel or spend their nights coming up with a catchphrase. I just want them to show some passion and let their calls come to them. Is that too much to ask?
Even to those who didn’t grow up watching him deliver the news, Cronkite is still an icon, even for those not interested in journalism. Since there’s no tribute I can properly give, I’ll just let the man speak for himself (which for many years, he did quite eloquently):
My favorite part of the second video comes from the former LBJ aide, who says, “The president knew that if he had lost Walter Cronkite, he had lost the war.” That certainly speaks volumes about the man’s integrity and influence.
I’m not the first person to link to this audio, but if you haven’t heard it yet, you must. My good friend Will Cinelli pointed it out to me, though I had heard grumblings of it before.
Mad Dog, now on SiriusXM radio, is not happy. His ratings are in the garbage, and he felt it was time for a change. So what does he do? He flips out on his staff LIVE ON THE AIR. Don’t take my word for it…watch it here (and watch all the way to the end…the last two minutes are pure gold.)
Unreal. I mean, wow. The man is completely unhinged, yet so great. How would you like to be in the room while the Dog is ripping you live on the air? Isn’t that a good way for Dog to get punched? Should he be worried that someone is going to be waiting for him with a weapon as he’s walking to his car at night?
SOMEONE WHO’S HEARD OF RUSSEL! WHO CAN TALK ABOUT THE 58 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME! BEN HOGAN!
The home run is the baseball pxp man’s best friend. During a typical three-hour baseball game, the ball is only in play for about 10 minutes. Of those 10 minutes, most of the action is routine- balls, strikes, ground balls, routine fly balls, etc. Thus, the home run gives an announcer a chance to stretch out the vocal chords, build some excitement and show some creativity and uniqueness.
Over the years, home run calls have ranged from the classic to the horrible to the downright bizarre. Below are some of the home run calls I could find online, with a test for all of you know-it-alls at the bottom. And, of course, this post wouldn’t be complete without a home run call from yours truly.
We’ll start with Kirk Gibson’s famous home run in the 1988 World Series, courtesy of Jack Buck:
The video below is of Harry Kalas, the late Phillies announcer. His signature “Outta Here” will always be remembered. Here is the last time he ever uttered that call:
There’s also John Sterling’s famous “It is high, it is far” call, followed by some sort of catch phrase for whoever hit the homer. He’s butchered the call many times, thinking the ball would be gone, only to see it stop at the warning track. Here, he went into the wrong catch phrase:
Often times, the best home run calls are the unscripted ones, where pure emotion shines through. Here are a couple examples of that:
Then there’s this great Joe Buck commercial. Whenever I sought the opinion of people for my own home run call, someone would inevitably recommend this:
As promised, here’s a home run call from your truly:
So here’s your test. Below is a link to a series of home run calls (click #7 on the playlist on the right side of your screen). In the comments section, write, in order, the pxp announcers calling the home runs. Whoever gets the most correct, wins.
This is a bit dated, but still worth passing along, especially since I spent the past weekend at Citi Field watching the second installment of the 2009 Subway Series.
The video’s quality isn’t great, as the original video was taken down by MLB. Basically, it shows the play in which Luis Castillo drops the A-Rod popup to lose the game for the Mets. There are four different replays, and each time the audio comes from a different broadcast crew (Yankees TV and radio, Mets TV and radio). The music behind the calls is a little loud, but you’ll get the idea:
I thought all of the calls were great, but the despair that comes from the Mets’ broadcasts, particular the radio call (per WFAN) is hard to beat. Almost makes you feel sorry for the Mets.
