As the professionals leave the basketball court behind for the courtroom, there are 24 straight hours of college ball that begin tonight at midnight for all the hoops junkies out there.  Seriously though, if you're tuning in to CS-Northridge/Hawaii at 4 AM you are either a hugely dedicated hoops fan, have serious sleep deprivation issues, or you're already up watching old episodes of Cheaters.  With all the great players that had the prescience not to turn pro, this could turn out to be one of the best college basketball seasons in many years.  The highlight game on Tuesday night might be Coach K going for the wins record with Bobby Knight in the house (that should be fun) in NYC.  But, Kansas-Kentucky and Florida-OSU may be two of the better games we'll see all season.  Several tournaments all over the country tip off later this week as well.  

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You can kiss the 2011-2012 NBA season goodbye.  This afternoon, the NBA players rejected the NBA's last, best offer to end the lockout that began July 1st of this year.  The NBA players union plans on disbanding and taking the league to court.  If you're looking for a ray of hope in this news... there isn't one.  Both sides will now dig their trenches deeper - the union marching towards decertification and the courts, the owners promising to drop their next offer to a 53-47% income split from a more reasonable, negotiable position.  I'm guessing nobody on either side is thinking of all the arena and ticket workers that will lose their jobs in this, but that's the cold, hard reality of what these two sides have done and are planning on doing.

I'm no labor expert, and I'm not even sure which side is most to blame (my heart tells me the owners), but if the 2004-2005 NHL lockout and history is any aide, then the season is finished.  And, all the good things the NBA had going for it is down the crapper in this instant.  Opinion seems to be on the side of the players eventually being crushed under the weight of the extended lockout and folding to a deal that is much worse in the long run, while sacrificing the season.  Perhaps the players show more resolve than that, but I wouldn't count on it.  The owners are in this for the long haul... which sucks for NBA fans.

So here we are.  Any good vibes about the NBA was just given a Bill Laimbeer clothesline.  There's no telling just how damning a lost season will be to the league's popularity.  The NHL was hurt badly after their own lost season, but the sport is back on an upward swing (albeit, playing their games on Versus).  Will the NBA be punished more than the NHL because of their increased popularity, or will it mean that more fans get pissed off at the league and its players?  Depending on how the next few months evolve, it could speak to just how much damage will be done to the sport.  In my opinion, losing any fans to a lockout is too much, but some have cynically stated this is what Stern and the NBA wanted all along.  If so, it's one of the most maddening, selfish, ridiculous power plays in the history of sports.

Congratulations, David Stern and company.  Well played.  You had the league at its highest point in over a decade.  You had more young, personable, likable stars than any league except the NFL.  Hell, you even had LeBron James and the Miami Heat as the perfect supervillains too!  I'm an NBA fan through and through.  While everyone else was out partying in high school, I was watching Clippers/Warriors on League Pass Friday nights.  That's how much I love the Association... and a sad social commentary on my life.  This news rips me up on the inside.  Sure, I'll come back eventually, but it won't be easy and it won't be without a lot of conflicting emotions of rage, anger, and regret.  You had everything going for you and you decided to blow it up. 

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Sadly, the Pammies season is almost coming to a close.  There's only a couple weeks left in the regular season before conference championships and the bowls arrive.  Can Matt Millen continue his dramatic comeback or does Craig James extend his lead this week?  Both have multiple nominees this week as well as the Versus crew being well represented thanks to the eyes on TCU's upset of Boise State.

As a reminder as to how the Pammy vote works, each week we'll nominate 15-20 quotes for you to pick the best 10.  The winning quote of the week will earn that person 10 points all the way down to 1 point for 10th.  Remember, you can vote for your favorite five quotes.  Here are your Week 11 nominees...

1) "This is just out of QB sneak range. It's 3rd and 7." - Craig James (via sctvman)

2) "Depth is a problem on defense all over the Southeast Conference, especially on defense." - Gary Danielson (via TheBlightning)

3) "The Breakfast Club has turned into Happy Hour at Ross-Ade Stadium." - Tom Hart (via BloggerJustinF)

4) "He does a good job of reading, coming out of his zone and splitting the defenders on the screen. What I mean by defenders is the big offensive linemen." - Chris Spielman (via TheBlightning)

5) "Fans are wearing blue in honor of child support, err, child abuse" - Tom Rinaldi (via AlexFromBuffalo)

6) "The Gamecocks lead it by nine." - Tim Brando (via Dascenzo) It was 14-3.

7) "I'm no math major. 6 out of 10 is 60%." - Craig James (via BloggerJustinF) on the number of Big Ten stadiums named after people who served in the armed forces.  There are 12 Big Ten teams.

8) "Two things that will not show up on the stat sheet: two-point conversions." - Paul Burmeister (via RonFlatter)

9) "We knew this game was going to be a game." - Shaun King (via Jarvidus)

10) "4 seconds left on shot clock." - Verne Lundquist (via govolx)

11) "Every once in a while you throw a box on your head and you show up." - Matt Millen (via HurricaneStiz)

12) "These 2 safeties have to come up and play the box tight and hard." - Craig James (via MattHoeppner)

13) "Harten listed as 5'7 163 yards" - Verne Lundquist (via Michael_Necci)

14) "That's not how they wanted to start, Sean." - Matt Millen (via chaimy4life) Michigan lost a fumble for a TD on 1st play from scrimmage.

15) "Michigan State can't take the metal off the pedal" - Mike Bellotti (apsports89)

16) "Sometimes you can do everything right and you're still wrong" - Matt Millen (via GDixon410)

17) "Boise doesn't lose at home. You have to beat them" - Shaun King (via SoonerCharley)

Vote For Your Week 11 Pammy Nominees! (vote for up to five)

The winners will come Wednesday morning so make sure you vote early and often and check back for the full Week 12 announcing sked later this week!

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If you're a fan of foreign soccer announcers screaming "GOOOOOOOLLLLLLLL!!!!!!" then this is the clip for you because it happens four times over in Uruguay's 4-0 win over Chile in 2014 World Cup qualifying.  As a proud Liverpool supporter, the video is only made better by the fact that it's the great Luis Suarez scoring all four goals.  Suarez is turning into one of the best strikers in the world for Liverpool and Uruguay, but we're here to talk about this amazing announcer who has some of the longest "GOOOOOLLL" calls I've ever heard.  The third goal may be one of my favorite goal calls of all-time because of the humming of what sounds like the chorus to Hey Jude.  That's just awesome.  You owe it to yourself to start the work week the right way by watching this video...

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Today is a great Sunday to carve out a nice space on your favored couch or recliner and settle in for the best week of action in the 2011 NFL season so far.  Bills/Cowboys, Bucs/Texans, Steelers/Bengals, and Sants/Falcons are the featured early games while Giants/Niners and Bears/Lions go in the national window at 4 PM ET on Fox.  And, that's all a prelude to Patriots/Jets on Sunday Night Football.

You can check the comments below and our Twitter timeline for all submissions.  You can also tweet us by using the hashtag #SOSAA to send in quotes.  Then, we'll be back on Tuesdays with 15-20 nominees and you'll vote on our Top 10 for the week.  SOS winners will be announced Thursdays with updated standings.  Below you can find the links to last week's Top 10 and this week's NFL announcing schedule with broadcast maps.

Week 9 Dickies Winners & Standings

Week 10 NFL Announcing Schedule 

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"They should've changed the last name, taken the B off and put an R in there. Rush instead of Bush." - Brad Nessler (via ConnorKiesel)

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Don't beat yourself up if you weren't able to watch last night's Marquez vs. Pacquiao fight. Although highly competitive and controversial, it never really popped off into a frenzy as in previous fights.

What I really enjoyed though was the post fight work of Max Kellerman who was thrust into the lead interviewing role with Larry Merchant sitting this fight out. This is probably something you'll see more often going forward as Kellerman has been groomed for awhile to replace Merchant, who is 80 years old. (Although still full of vigor, just ask Floyd Mayweather.)

The awkwardness started as Kellerman inquired if Pacquiao thought he definitively won the fight as it was pretty damn even in most people's eyes. Unfortunately, the mic cut out abruptly and Kellerman had to restart the interview a minute later when it was clear Pacquiao had spent some time already answering the question. 

Another odd issue was Kellerman clearly getting feedback in his ear as he was conducting the interview. After almost every answer that both Marquez or Pacquiao gave, Kellerman would stand there silent for a second or two, clearly listening to some feedback or potential translation before firing off another question. It wasn't a big deal and some didn't notice at first, but it seemed to make the post fight interviews seem less natural. I have no clue if Kellerman was being fed questions or what, but it was odd that it kept recurring and was noticeable throughout.

Things only got better from there as Kellerman conducted a locker room interview with Marquez who decided to do the interview naked but covering up with a massive sombrero. It was an odd visual and something that would be a bit of a distraction given the interview could get risque if Marquez lets his sombrero slip. I wonder if Kellerman actually had his non microphone hand ready to catch it just in case. Only in boxing...

As Gameday was apparently coming out of a commercial break, a hot mic caught Lee Corso asking "Where's that little kid?" in something of an angry fashion.  Making things infinitely more awkward was the Gameday cameras focused in on the Penn State huddle at the time.  I'd have to imagine Corso thought he was off the air, but it's impossible to know the true context of what Corso was saying.  However, the combination of the audio and the video was far from the best timing in the world...

Update: Here's the word on what happened from ESPN PR...

MikeHumesESPN @awfulannouncing Corso's mic was open coming out break. It was in ref to charity auction winner at Stan who won opp to hand him mascot head

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All eyes are on Happy Valley this week where Dave Pasch and Chris Spielman have the task of presenting a football game amidst the Jerry Sandusky scandal.  Potential PSU head coaching candidate Urban Meyer misses the game due to the death of his father, thoughts and prayers certainly with him.  Elsewhere, Stanford/Oregon is the marquee on-field game this week in primetime on ABC.  You can check the full sked and updated standings at the links below.

Week 11 Announcing Schedule 

"This is just out of QB sneak range. It's 3rd and 7." - Craig James (via sctvman) 

"Let's have a come to jesus moment right now."- Jesse Palmer (via sctvman) 

"This Ga Tech/Va Tech game has the feeling of a playoff game". - Craig James (via BassinDawg) 

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When you hit the high school years, you are usually asked “What do you want to be when you get out of school?” at an insane rate. Some people just bust their ass to get to where they are at and others think they are blessed with a certain talent that they must share with the world.

Much like an early round American Idol castoff only put on the show for the embarrassment factor, it seems these two kids calling a local high school football game need to see the light and realize they do not have “it” when it comes to announcing skills.

Besides the fact it’s an utter snooze-fest listening to these two monotone voices, they can’t keep the play-by-by numbers or names right, there is zero enthusiasm in their voice and you can’t tell the difference in their voice between an injury and a touchdown.  Come to think of it, maybe they can announce the Super Bowl for Fox.

What makes it worse is that its not just one guy sucking the life out of the room, there’s TWO of them. Even though it’s high school, football is supposed to be exciting. (Just ask PYROTECHNICS.)  It’s not supposed to sound like an amateur golf matchup being called by two guys who just downed an off-brand of NyQuil.

They end the video with “man this is just sad to watch.” No sir, it was sad to listen to.

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ESPN's Jon Ritchie personally knew Jerry Sandusky as a teenager and had a close relationship with the man accused of some of the most heinous crimes ever associated with a sports figure.  We make fun of the frivolous nature of First Take quite a bit, but this may be one of the most hard-hitting segments regarding the Sandusky case.  Given Ritchie's personal relationship with Sandusky as a teenager and beyond, his shock, grief, and distress over the news is especially profound.  There are so many soundbytes worth pulling out of this segment and a few quotes from Ritchie are below.  But if you've been following this case, make sure you watch the entire ten minutes for some incredible perspective on this tragic story...

On Sandusky...

"I loved him.  I thought that he was what I wanted to be when I was old enough to be that."

On The Second Mile...

"When I first retired from professional football, my first thought was I should call Jerry and see if he'll let me join the Second Mile."

On rumors circulating as far back as 2009...

"There were rumors circling in 2009 in Pennslyvania... I think the general consensus where I lived was it was probably a disgruntled kid who had something in for Jerry.  Now, I think we all know that that is not the case.  That this is horrendous, horrifying, and tragic."

On the tragedy...

"These tragedies out now have brought everyone to the darkest place... I can't fathom sports right now.  I don't even care about sports right now because this picture of what I thought was good has exploded."

"This is just the beginning of the most horrific story in sports."

"It was impossible for me to conceive that this took place.  This has caused me to reevaluate everything I think is real around me.  My reality was Jerry Sandusky was Mother Theresa and I know all those kids, all those victims felt the same way because that's what he elicited in you."

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