Least Favorite Announcer

[ctblaisdell83]

I had to start this thread while watching the Ravens and Texans. Announcers are an ex-Chicago sportscaster (Greg Gumbel) and an ex-StL Cardinal (Dierdorf). I know I'm gonna get flak from the St Louis crowd, but boy do I hate listening to Dierdorf announce a game. He dominates the discussion, rarely leaves a thought unspoken, and loves the clever wordplay that makes a McCarver baseball broadcast painful.


I grew up on Summerall / Brookshire, then Summerall / Madden in the heyday of NFL on TV, so maybe the bar is set pretty high.

I think I'd rather have Beth Mowins with Dick Vitale on color than anyone + Dierdorf.

Too harsh?

[The Galloping Ghost 77]

Cris Collinsworth is someone who I get sick of. Especially when playing any of the Madden video games, although I believe he's not on the new game. I like the MNF announcers a lot though. Jon Gruden is one of my favorites. Also, whoever was announcing that Texas Tech v TCU game this past Saturday should be ashamed. One guy said he was going to jump out of the booth if Tech ran wildcat again. Tech ran wildcat again. He didn't jump out. I was very upset.

[IlliniSteve]

Joe Buck and Cris Collinsworth

Dick Stockton too

[stevo99]

1. Tim McCarver (by a wide margin)
2. Cris Collinsworth
3. Matt Millen

[-josh-]

From my blog...it's two years old but it still applies for the most part, i edited for foul language.

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There are some voices in sports that make me cringe and angry just to hear them. I seriously wish my opinion meant something so I could get these pathetic people off of tv. For now i'll just make my top 10 list. Plus i'm also angry from watching tonights Illinois game so it's just fueling my fire.


10. Billy Packer (pretty much the anti Illini, if you're from Champaign you hate this guy)
9. Troy Aikman (we get it, you know the game...that doesn't mean you get to act like a douche bag on the air)
8. Chris Berman (The Swami...yeah you had your hay day when espn was new...please retire...or just go somewhere...)
7. Clark Kellog (nothing to say but LOL)
6. Doris Burke (this **** does college basketball sometimes...send her and whoever thought it would be a great idea to put her on air to an island somewhere)
5. Lou Holtz (occasionally does college football but never succeeds at color commentary...and if i see another Dr Lou segment i might go insane)
4. Erin Andrews (I know she's just a sideline reporter, but i'm very thankful that she hasn't moved up to something better like a color commentator, she's awful in every sense of the word Journalism...complete garbage)
3. Phil Simms (This guy had a great arm as a QB...but he has **** for brains and he doesn't know when to shut up, we really dont care about your opinion mr simms..)
2. Chris Collinsworth (he should get biggest douche bag on TV award with Kanye, and the he should be taken behind a woodshed and shot)
1. Joe Buck (2005 ALCS, the only thing i kept hearing during that great series that put to tears to my eyes was Joe Buck talking about how the White Sox didn't deserve to be there, they went 11-1 in that postseason and won the world series you dip!!!!...he hasn't gotten any better at his job since and the fact i keep seeing him spew his garbage in major sporting events makes me hate him even more every time i see him... WORST SPORTS ANNOUNCER OF ALL TIME!)

[illinifan3923]

I personally don't like Gus Johnson anymore. I used to like him, but I feel he looks for things to scream over rather than the game, resulting in a lot of mistakes. The thing that put me over the edge was he called Indiana's arena the house of pain last year during the Illinois-Indiana game.

[ctblaisdell83]

josh - 100% agree on Berman - loved him in the 70s/80s. Now praying he'll retire

steveo - ditto on McCarver. Clever wordplay and endless in-game predictions

On the good side - anyone remember Lloyd Pettit doing the Hawks? He was just the best

[Ransom Stoddard]

Originally Posted by illinifan3923

I personally don't like Gus Johnson anymore. I used to like him, but I feel he looks for things to scream over rather than the game, resulting in a lot of mistakes. The thing that put me over the edge was he called Indiana's arena the house of pain last year during the Illinois-Indiana game.

Gus is a fool, second only to Vitale on the list of fools that are paid to sit in front of a microphone.

[PoundFoolish]

Originally Posted by illinifan3923

I personally don't like Gus Johnson anymore. I used to like him, but I feel he looks for things to scream over rather than the game, resulting in a lot of mistakes. The thing that put me over the edge was he called Indiana's arena the house of pain last year during the Illinois-Indiana game.

I still like Gus, but you have a good point. He is in danger of becoming a caricature of himself. Vitale used to be good once upon a time. But he found a few things that worked and then proceeded to do them constantly (same with Madden).

I don't like most of the kids of announcers. Many of them aren't that great and they only got their job because of who their dad was.

[carmelillini]

Boomer.

[Ransom Stoddard]

Originally Posted by PoundFoolish

I still like Gus, but you have a good point. He is in danger of becoming a caricature of himself. Vitale used to be good once upon a time. But he found a few things that worked and then proceeded to do them constantly (same with Madden).

I don't like most of the kids of announcers. Many of them aren't that great and they only got their job because of who their dad was.

How many of those are there? I can think of Joe Buck and Skip/Chip Carey. Joe's dad was a legend and Skip's was a legend that turned into a caricature.

[UIUC1867]

I have a 20-way tie for least favorite.
(in no particular order)
1. Joe Buck
2. Cris Collinsworth
3. Dick Vitale
4. Ken "Hawk" Harrelson
5. Bill Walton
6. Gus Johnson
7. Matt Millen
8. Chris Berman
9. Pam Ward
10. Gary Bender
11. Doris Burke
12. Verne Lundqvist
13. JP Dellacamera
14. Sean McDonough
15. Joe Tessatore
16. Pierre McGuire
17. Al Trautwig
18. Chip Carey
19. Dan McLaughlin/Al Hrabosky (This coming from a Cardinals fan)
20. Billy Packer
Could add a few more, but it's what I got so far. Thank goodness for the Mute button.

My all-time favorite? The late, great Chick Hearn

[BoyIllini]

Musberger has the tendency to get on my nerves quite a bit these days. My favorite is probably Brad Nessler.

[stevo99]

I'll also add a guy who would have his own wing in the 'Worst Sportscasters of All-Time' HOF and thankfully retired a few years ago.

Billy Packer.

[UIUC1867]

Originally Posted by stevo99

I'll also add a guy who would have his own wing in the 'Worst Sportscasters of All-Time' HOF and thankfully retired a few years ago.

Billy Packer.

Thanks for pointing that out. Reflected in my edited list.

[TyinLex]

I'm guessing most people who dislike Joe Buck hail from Northern Illinois if you know what I mean.

Joe Buck & Jim Nantz are the best at what they do.

[-josh-]

Originally Posted by TyinLex

I'm guessing most people who dislike Joe Buck hail from Northern Illinois if you know what I mean.

Joe Buck & Jim Nantz are the best at what they do.

I think anyone who isn't a Cardinals fan can't stand Joe Buck.

[ctblaisdell83]

Originally Posted by stevo99

I'll also add a guy who would have his own wing in the 'Worst Sportscasters of All-Time' HOF and thankfully retired a few years ago.

Billy Packer.

Al McGuire used to say he spelled his name pACCker

Al McGuire was a guy who was really good (and really different) at one time...he was the first Vitale (early, good Vitale) then he kinda went 2000's Vitale (all shtick, little substance)

[pizzaman]

Vitale is the only announcer that will make me mute the sound. There are lots of announcers I don't like but aren't "chalk on the blackboard" (I'm old) including Collinsworth, Gus Johnson, and Dierdorf. I hate listening to Lou Holtz but he doesn't do any games I'm aware of and I never pay attention to pre-game or post game shows.

My favorite Al McGuire moment was during a Notre Dame basketball game that got close at the end. Al stated: "the nuns are starting to work the beads."

[trevdv]

I really don't like Beth Mowins (not to be sexist). It's not the fact that she's the only woman announcer of "good" or "big" games, it's her voice. It's too raspy and slurred for my liking. Sounds like James Stewart meets Aflac duck.

[venfil]

I think you mean Pee Wee Herman meets Aflac duckl...

[FeelYourPaign]

Not even close.
Dicky V
No other bad announcer has ever approached him in my book.

Won't watch a game that he is calling unless we just turn the sound off completely. The way that I do that is to turn the volume down to 1, since I don't like to watch the "mute" symbol bounce around the screen.

[gibb52]

Al Hrabosky is awful. Mike Shannon is too. You fans of the other 29 MLB teams should be glad you don't have to listen to those two.

As far as national announcers Chris Berman and Dickie V are just horrible. Berman still thinks he has to have some kind of schtick every 30 seconds or so. Dickie never met a team or a coach that wasn't great. They can all "flat out coach" or "flat out play". And they are all "even better human beings" according to Dickie. Mute button for both. McCarver I can barely stand but will put up with him.

[gibb52]

Also I can't stand the idea the every network has to have a Chick as a sideline reporter. Go get somebody that knows the game.

[-josh-]

Originally Posted by gibb52

Also I can't stand the idea the every network has to have a Chick as a sideline reporter. Go get somebody that knows the game.

Like big Tony Siragusa!