In a US Open without Tiger Woods, NBC was blessed with anything but your average, Tigerless major championship. Rory McIlroy rebounded from his Masters meltdown and won his first major in record setting fashion at Congressional, shooting a tournament best 268 (-16) and besting the field by 8 shots. It was an incomparable performance that captivated a large audience and had golf fans, tv execs, and sports watchers salivating over the next big thing in golf. NBC should have been reveling in their good fortune of having golf's newest superstar come to life on their network.
Instead, the major story coming out of NBC's coverage of the US Open is their inexplicable decision to cut out the words "under God" from a patriotic opening montage that included the Pledge of Allegiance. Dan Hicks was then forced to sheepishly apologize later during the broadcast. Before we break it down, here's the video...
With that little omission, the internet was thrown up in arms and NBC was caught in the middle of political, social, and religious crossfire, and all of it totally unnecessary...
Nowadays, even I'm beginning to feel just a bit of sympathy for LeBron James. Now that it's become fashionable to hate on LeBron, everybody under the sun has had to get in their jabs at the Miami Heat superstar. I'm sure you've all heard the dollar jokes amongst countless others by now a thousand times. Making fun of LeBron has even reached crossover appeal to other sports - Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo was saddled with the nickname "LeBrongo" for his lack of clutchability (imagine that in the realm of possibilities when The Decision happened last summer). I'm no fan of LeBron James, and I couldn't be happier that he and the Heat got so close to the NBA title only to choke mercilessly and be denied by Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs. But, maybe with this clip below, dissing LeBron James has officially jumped the shark, at least for the time being. Listen as Hollywood Park track announcer Vic Stauffer takes his swing at James during a recent race...
Say what you will about the pros and cons of interleague play, but it made for a nice moment this weekend when Derek Jeter chalked up his 3,000th hit in the Yankees 3-2 victory over the Cubs didn't play due to a calf strain. And because the future Hall of Famer crossed that coveted baseball milestone in Chicago, kicked back and enjoyed a few hot dogs while watching the game in his mansion, we were treated to this little number by Ryan Dempster, who paid tribute both to Jeter and the late Harry Caray.
I don't know who this Caray fella is, but Ryan Demptser sure does a solid Will Ferrell impression.
In today's Cubs-Yankees game at Wrigley Field, the Cubs (who I am a diehard fan of, unfortunately) were trailing 4-2 as they entered the bottom of the ninth inning. Then, Reed Johnson led off the ninth inning with a home run off of future Hall of Famer, Mariano Rivera, to cut the Yankees' lead to 4-3.
But, Joe Buck, the play-by-play announcer today for the Fox broadcast, thought Johnson's home run tied the game. And thankfully, I had my Flip camera handy to get video of his gigantic fail of a home run call.
Check it out:
Seriously, how does the play-by-play announcer not know the score in that situation? As a Cubs fan, if I walked into a room without knowing the score and heard Buck's call, I would be furious.
I'm in amazement that we've only just now found this announcing clip, which could be in the running for the call of the year. This video is from the MIAA high school lacrosse playoffs in Maryland from back in May and the teams featured are the Boys' Latin School (which you can send your child to for his HS education for the low, low price of $90,080 for four years) and McDonogh (which you can also have your child attend for the incredibly cheap price of $93,480 for four years... sorry if I sound bitter about those numbers, but it's hard to relate to private school kids playing lacrosse when you grow up in a poor public school and go to class in auxiliary trailers every morning). This play by play fella's name is Booker Corrigan and our research department tells me that he does lacrosse pbp for Kudda.com and coached lacrosse previously at the McDonogh School. One lacrosse website calls him "catch-phrase happy and exhuberant." (sic) You'll see why in just a second.
In this clip, as Boys' Latin scores a goal, Booker channels his inner B.I.G., ripping off a few lines from "Big Poppa" for his goal call. An adult high school lacrosse broadcaster quoting Biggie lyrics may be one of the greatest announcing feats I've ever seen...
Wow. Speechless. That takes some major stones to even attempt. I'm usually not one for going too far overboard in the schtick department, but a play by play guy quoting rap lyrics for boys high school lacrosse is fine by me. The extra oomph on "layaz" is just the icing on the cake. I'm just disappointed his analyst didn't provide the beat for him! If only guys like Joe Buck could sound like they're having this much fun announcing, then they wouldn't be trending every Saturday on Twitter.
Now that the weekend is upon us, we are thankfully finished with Chris Berman announcing the US Open for another year. It's probably a good thing that Berman doesn't get on the internet or have much knowledge of Twitter, or else he may have this reaction to our Real Tweets compilation...
But alas, with the nightmarish combination of Berman and the US Open behind us, my mind got to wandering... what would be the worst possible marriage of announcer and sporting event? Boomer at one of golf's majors is certainly near the top of the list in terms of awful, random, and bizarre matches... but what are some other announcing assignments that would equal or surpass what we've seen and heard the last two days? Like we did with our fantasy Spelling Bee announce teams earlier this month, we reached out to our tweeps for some creative and inspired choices and as always, you delivered. Dick Vitale at the Masters, John Clayton at the World's Strongest Man, and Vin Scully calling a UFC fight are only a few of the imaginative selections sent to the AA Twitter inbox. As always, these are Real Tweets from Real People...
psicherJohn Clayton hosting Worlds Strongest Man Baroque97 Don Cherry and a cheerleading competition. JimPap Doc Emrick & tennis NOTSportsCenter Gus Johnson & The World Series of Poker djstevemJohn Sterling calling the Little League World Series "...and Jaaaapaaan wins.." courtgolf Dick Vitale at Wimbledon sdavis1980 Mark Jackson at the World Series of Poker highwayman394 Bill Maas and tractor racing.
RoneFace Marv Albert and figure skating. Dascenzo Scott Hamilton and March Madness. GeneInMalvern That soccer guy who screams "goooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal" announcing the Masters JagsFan93 Pierre McGuire and Horse Racing JimMckaySaidSo brace yourself for this one: bill walton for Isner Mahut rematch. BravesAndBirds Dick Vitale calling the Masters. The only way that Hootie Johnson would be sympathetic. philiptang77 pam ward doing autoracing she would be about 3 laps behind
AHubb71 john madden and the ncaa volleyball final four grantjess Jenn Sterger and anything. Or John Madden and World Series of Poker mr_anderson_99 joe theismann and olympic curling Ramblin1963 - Jack Edwards and UFC: "Mine eyes have seen the gory!" mhfight Charles Barkley - Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest matt_08 Hawk Harrelson and softball. SHE GAWN! psicher Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless hosting the World Chess Championships sportthink Vin Scully and UFC
And then, there were tweets sent into us that weren't fantasy announcer/sporting event pairings, but actually ones that are quite real. Yes, meaning the worst possible announcing assignments imaginable are indeed reality. With some of these reminders, I might have to agree...
jon_ard Chris Berman and anything ever broadcasted brianhowieMatt Millen and the NFL Draft. Oh, wait... Dascenzo Chris Myers (or Rose) NFL. mr_anderson_99 pam ward and anything she does. odonnelltw emmitt smith and, well, just about anything where the audience has an IQ > a rock. robrosson Mike Greenberg calling the NFL or Chris Berman doing baseball marksaenz3 Pam Ward and college football...oh wait... Aaron_Torres Tim McCarver and Baseball JamieDupler mark may. Period
And finally, you knew there just had to be a section entirely devoted to Joe Buck...
tcopain Joe Buck and overtime playoff hockey. JPGueretteJoe Buck/Tim McCarver and anything. Literally- anything. Jearly84 Joe Buck and ANYTHING. Curtos07 Joe Buck: Baseball and Football. tvsportsratingsJoe Buck and the World Series....oh, wait polychester Joe Buck announcing first round games of March Madness JimPap Joe Buck & World's Strongest Man
What are your nightmare announcing scenarios that our tweeps might have missed? Pam Ward calling the Super Bowl? Dick Enberg and Dick Stockton at the Running of the Bulls? Harry Caray announcing the World Cup? Let us know your choices in the comments below!
So the MoneyBall trailer has been released featuring Brad Pitt as Oakland A's GM Billy Beane. Apparently the full story of Beane's time in charge of the Athletics won't be told until Hollywood is allowed its take. The entire MoneyBall era (which has still brought ZERO championships by the way to Oakland while other smaller market teams have found similar if not greater success) seems like more myth than reality at this point. The sabermetric debate seems so tired in 2011 with the only interested parties being the most hardcore of stat geeks and the most stubborn of traditionalist dinasours (see Joe Morgan). Will the release of Moneyball: The Movie only stir the debate again? Hopefully not.
Here's also hoping Hollywood doesn't take too much of a dramatic license by giving the A's some sort of dramatic World Series victory in Game 7 with an infield single by Eric Chavez. Unfortunately, the trailer looks headed for an overly dramatic resolution. The movie already looks like it wants to combine the comedy of Major League, the underdog story of Hoosiers, and the genius of A Beautiful Mind. Having lived through the real thing, forgive me if I'm not reserving my seat at the local cinema. For a true understanding of how Billy Beane has truly influenced the way teams are built in today's MLB, stick to the outstanding book by Michael Lewis. For an overdone drama presenting Beane as baseball's revolutionary, witty, handsome, and courageous messiah, by all means check out the movie later this year.
By the way, Billy Beane's Oakland A's currently sit in last place in the AL West 10 games below .500.
Someone that is so legendary in the annals of Awful Announcing and the sports blogosphere, that we commemorate his contributions to the sporting media via immortalization on the Mount Rushmore of Awful Announcing. After what seemed like an eternity away from the airwaves, this man has returned...
Joe Morgan is back folks! The former ESPN Sunday Night Baseball analyst and scorn of intelligentsia will be the new host of... prepare yourself... The Joe Morgan Show, an hour long daily sports show covering all topics in the world of sports. For those of you out there that have longed to hear Joe's thoughts on the 3-4 defense, LeBron James, and the offside trap, your wish has finally come true! Before you get too excited (worried), The Joe Morgan Show will be syndicated from Sports USA Radio, which is an "independent national syndicator of sporting events." In other words, you will probably have to work hard to actually find The Joe Morgan Show (the network currently has 111 followers for its Twitter account). Here's some details and a quote from the man himself from the Sports USA Radio release...
Sports USA is pleased to announce the debut of “The Joe Morgan Show” on August 22. The one-hour show will be hosted by baseball Hall of Famer and Emmy Award winning analyst Joe Morgan. Airing Monday through Friday year-round, the show will feature conversations, opinions and news from every corner of the sports world.
“While I’m best known for baseball, I’ve always had a love of all sports,” said Joe Morgan. “I’m fortunate that my career has allowed me to meet some of the most amazing people, and I have heard so many remarkable stories. With my new show, I am looking forward to sharing these stories, as well as speaking with today’s sports personalities and newsmakers.”
This is just too good to be true. There are a couple other sentences in the press release that are just laugh out loud funny, referencing Joe's "overall knowledge of sports" that "will captivate sports fans nationwide." Also, a shout out to Joe's "extremely loyal fan base." I wonder if they are talking about these guys. Seriously, if you want to kill a good six to seven hours then read over Joe Morgan's ESPN chats that are worthy of placement in the Smithsonian. And now, we'll be blessed (cursed) with that same wisdom and expertise every Monday through Friday on a limitless array of topics. The possibilities are endless.
Chris Berman is a polarizing figure. On one hand, there are sports fans that wish he would just go away. On the other hand, there are sports fans that wish he would just go away and never come back. Berman has been an institution at ESPN since the network's earliest days, but his schtick has lost much of its luster in recent years. Last we saw Boomer, he was having a bit of trouble with the concept of a walk off win in baseball. Although Berman is most synonymous with the NFL and some MLB work, ESPN has also experimented with him providing play by play coverage of golf's US Open in recent years. The results have been met with something less than worldwide acclaim. Today, viewers took to Twitter to voice their displeasure, especially golf fans and several established golf writers included in this list. Seems like they aren't fans of da Schwam. As always, these are Real Tweets from Real People...
JohnStrege The Human Vuvuzela returns, Chris Berman anchoring ESPN's U.S. Open coverage. Stay tuned for "David 'Ground Control to Major' Toms." Alas.
GolfweekLavner The US Open marks the unofficial start of the season for a nation of amateurs ... but it also means Chris Berman in a TV tower. #mutebutton
JaredHollier Chris Berman calling golf is like Gilbert Gottfried reading scripture. #USOpen
austincollins My god. Chris Berman calling the US Open? It's hard to relax and enjoy golf with all that heavy breathing going on.
robrosson@awfulannouncing it is the 2 worst days of golf broadcasting every year. Thank goodness ESPN doesn't take him to the UK
shanebacon Every year I block out the fact that Chris Berman mans the ESPN coverage and every year I'm frantically searching for the mute button early
AC830 Chris Berman anchoring #USOpen is like Larry The Cable Guy hosting the Oscars in a sleeveless tux.
chad_hartley Please get Chris Berman off #USOpen coverage. While we're at it, get Berman off TV completely. #YoureWithMeLeather.
rick_avidgolfer Chris Berman's contract clause that he announces U.S. Opens surely must give ESPN execs pause for the cause. Brutal.
starnewsacc@awfulannouncing That's because Berman is an idiot. Why do you think they keep him as far away from Augusta as possible?
eamonlynch I'll see Kelly Tilghman and raise you a Chris Berman. There is no bigger jackass -- and more ill-informed idiot -- in broadcasting.
AlanShipnuck Chris Berman? Curtis Strange? Does ESPN hate us that much?
JimNeveau Memo to @ESPN: having Chris Berman anchor your golf coverage is a surefire way to get me not to watch it.
matt_08@awfulannouncing is there somewhere I can watch the US open other than espn? Chris Berman is the worst announcer in the history of tv
bkgolfguide It's not that I won't watch a golf telecast with Chris Berman announcing, it's that I can't. Broken too many TVs that way in the past.
steveflynnlfc Chris Berman as the main anchor for the US Open?? Did ESPN have a meeting and say "Ok..how can we make 5 hours of TV almost unwatchable?"
bigpaulyb Berm must have pics of ESPN exec with barn animals to keep getting that gig.
chrabe I could really use a lot less Chris Berman on this ESPN US Open broadcast. Like, none at all.
SportPundits@awfulannouncing I turned on and immediately Chris Berman used a "patience of Job" pun after Grant Jobe birdied...I switched the channel
JasonKirkSBN Chris Berman is calling the US Open, so I'm going with the Boston police scanner for audio again
michaelwalkerjr After Chris Berman makes a good U.S. Open point, he pauses like George W. Bush after correctly pronouncing a foreign leader's name.
Rickybouchard@awfulannouncing Chris Berman is famous for being a loudmouth, cheesy nickname giving knucklehead Just perfect for quiet, sophisticated golf
bigByoung Is anyone listening to Chris berman on espn? He keeps going to some slingblade type voice. Frigging hilarious
BigEyedFisch Nothing like the bumblings of Chris Berman to ruin US Open coverage on ESPN.
The College Baseball World Series begins Saturday at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, NE. ESPN will bring you all the action with Mike Patrick, Robin Ventura, Orel Hershiser (& Jenn Brown) being the main announcing crew.
Here are some notes from the press release:
-- Two of the eight qualifying teams are making consecutive College World Series appearances, including defending National Champion South Carolina and Florida. No team has won the national championship back-to-back in over five decades.
The first four matchups: -- First-time College World Series participant Vanderbilt will take on North Carolina, playing in its fifth College World Series in the past six years. -- Texas will play in its record 34th College World Series, taking on Florida which is making its second since 2005. -- California, making its first College World Series appearance in 19 years, will take on Virginia, which earned its second berth in the event ever and finished the season with the best record in college baseball. -- Champion South Carolina will take on Texas A&M, playing in its first College World Series since 1999.
Date
Time (ET)
Game
Matchups / Commentators
Network
Sat, Jun 18
2 p.m.
1
Vanderbilt vs. North Carolina Mike Patrick, Robin Ventura & Jenn Brown
