SPTO's top sports commentary teams of All-Time (TV) - SPTO's Blog

SPTO's Blog

SPTO's top sports commentary teams of All-Time (TV)

Posted on November 13, 2008 at 04:36 PM.

(2)

Time to put the ribbon on the commentary topic for now I present to you my top sports commentary teams by sport of all time on television.

NFL: This one is arguably the hardest category to fill out as it's a 3 way toss up:

Pat Summerall and John Madden (1981-2001)If little green men came down to Earth and demanded to see an example of the most popular game in America I sure as hell wouldn't show them a broadcast of today's game. No, i'd show them a game called by these two at the height of their popularity. Pat Summerall oozed football. I can still close my eyes and imagine him calling a game from time to time. The guy just had the perfect voice for the game and was a wonderful foil to John Madden especially in the '80s when he was more bombastic and full of energy. Summerall would often engage in conversation with Madden and get Madden to explain the game in a concise manner yet not in a way that talked down to people watching at home. They were the odd couple of football broadcasting but they worked wonderfully together.

Even when Summerall was showing signs of sticking around a little too long Madden helped out his partner immensely by sticking to the game and conversing about what was going on on the field. You rarely if ever saw Madden correct his partner on the air when Summerall would make a mistake with a name or the down and distance. The two had way too much respect for each other to do that.

Gifford/Cosell/Meredith (1971-1973, 1977-1983) Depending on how old you are (well I know the majority here aren't old enough) THIS was Monday Night Football. These three made Monday night @ 9 PM appointment television. They were three very distinct personalities that despite sometimes having professional problems never really let it be shown on the air. They worked well together with a great mix of humor and entertainment.

Gifford wasn't the best play by play guy as he saw no evil, always made excuses for bad plays or performances and generally got names and down/distance wrong at times. That being said, there was a sense of comfort in listening to him and he was never too full of himself. Honestly he probably would've made a better college PBP guy in a perfect world. Cosell, well what can be said about him that hasn't already been said? The guy had a huge ego, spoke as if he knew everything BUT he also had the sense (unlike Kornheiser) to talk about what he definitely knew about on the field and use Meredith or Gifford to go deeper in the analysis. Cosell was also great at mixing in human interest stories and his halftime highlights were a treat to watch. I honestly think he could've done some NFL Films work if approached. Last but not least there was Dandy Don Meredith, he portrayed himself as the Good ol' Boy who openly (at times) cheered on great plays especially if Dallas was on but despite his outward country bumpkin presentation he provided some okay analysis.

As a package these three men laid the groundwork for what would be an American sports broadcasting institution. The first stint was the truly great years as Meredith wasn't nearly as enthusiastic when he came back in '77 still, there was a magic in the air when those three called a game.

Al, Frank and Dan (1987-1997) For people my age this was the pinnacle of MNF. Gifford was moved to a secondary color position while Al Michaels continued being the PBP guy (He came in in '86) and Dierdorf was brought in as the main color guy. These three had a great chemistry with each other. The dynamic was different then the classic MNF years as they got more technical which was sorely needed after having bums like Namath and OJ Simpson in the booth. Dierdorf was and still is a great color guy who can tell you exactly what's going on on the field while Michaels has always been a darn good PBP guy. Gifford almost seemed like a 3rd wheel but he was never out of place. At times the trio could be very conversational. In fact, I have a game where Michaels actually laughs for a good minute or two after a joke made by Dierdorf and Gifford! They were truly a great team and it still saddens me that they were broken up at the end of the '97 season. It was probably warranted though as Gifford had gotten up there in years. Ever since the breakup of that crew MNF has never been the same.

NCAA FB: This one is pretty easy. Keith Jackson with anyone. Jackson was THE voice of college football. The guy called many a great game and had the kind of voice that just SCREAMS college football. I only really paid attention to Jackson's last few years but even when he was clearly not at his peak he was still like a well worn shoe, very comfortable and you can't imagine a world without him. I thought he worked well with Dan Fouts who I think is a bit of an underrated analyst.

MLB: Well this is going to be a huge homer pick. I'd say Vin Scully but he's more of a radio guy and brings more of a radio approach to his TV broadcasts. So i'm going to go with a pick that most of you only heard a handful of times because I know for a fact they worked together at ESPN for a few games. That would be Dan Shulman and Buck Martinez.

Dan Shulman is incredibly underrated by the American sports viewer when it comes to baseball. The guy has one of the purest baseball voices and has a good knowledge of the game. Unfortunately he's working for a company that has Jon Miller as the number one guy. When Shulman's contract was up last year or the year before I lobbied hard for him to sign with FOX but that was not to be. Shulman is one of those baseball announcers that can paint pictures with words and he also has the sense to lob questions or make observations to his color man so that you can get real insight into the game. This is what he did so well with Buck Martinez when they worked Jays games back in the day.

Buck Martinez is one of the few pro athletes who actually worked hard at his craft. After he suffered his career ending injury as backup catcher with the Jays he was offered the opportunity to work with Tom Cheek and Jerry Howarth on radio. There are no two better guys that one can learn broadcasting from. From what i've heard Martinez was ATROCIOUS early in his career but he worked at it and became quite good. He's a guy that can provide great insight on the pitcher/catcher dynamic and when he worked with Shulman they just knew when and how to say things that made the game interesting.

NHL: Bob Cole/Harry Neale were the deans of hockey on TV in Canada. Bob Cole just had that flair and showmanship that all great commentators have and he brought great excitement to the game. HIs last few years were terrible to listen to though as he would often get names wrong or lag way behind the action on the ice. The majority of his career though, he was pure dynamite. Harry Neale was the perfect complement and would often provide good insight and stories about the players and the game. The best duo i've seen/heard on US television easily goes to Mike Emrick and John Davidson when they worked together at FOX. Emrick is a great fan of hockey and his enthusiasm shows. JD was like the Madden of hockey. He showed great enthusiasm for the game but he was a little more grounded as he also had the great ability to break down the action and give insight into exactly what was going on. It seems to me that former goaltenders are a lot like former catchers. They make for excellent analysts.

NBAThis is a bit of a toughie. It's hard to go against Marv Albert but to me he never really had a great color guy and when he did get one it was after Albert became a bit of a caricature of his former self. If I was just going with PBP guys Marv Albert would win hands down but unfortunately that's not the case.

I have to go with Bob Costas and Doug Collins. Costas was pretty cerebral in his play by play duties. He wasn't the most excitable guy but he also wasn't boring to listen to. He tended to give Collins a ton of leeway and at times maybe TOO much leeway as it truly developed Collins' one weakness, the guy just talks WAY too much. Collins is one of the smarter analysts around but I find that he goes on and on a little too much and he also has the problem of over inflating his influence as a coach especially in games involving Michael Jordan as he'd often talk about how he helped develop Jordan into the mega star that he is. All in all though they worked well together.

Well thus ends my foray into sports commentary. Maybe at some point down the line i'll delve into this topic again. Until then, I hope you enjoyed my thoughts on this.