He was my favorite player as a kid and I hated that I was right handed.

But he has almost singlehandedly ruined tennis over the last 15 years. Completely changed the way people watch the game when it was perfectly fine just the way it was. Pat Summerall and Tony Trabert were the best team, and Cliff Drysdale and Fred Stolle were great covering the circuit events. Although Cliff appears to have been forced in recent years to overanalyze every shot, spin, step and grunt. At least he doesn’t declare each point the “greatest of all time” in McEnroe fashion.

I miss Summerall’s cool reporting of the match. Just like he did with football, he undrstood that we were all watching the same thing he was, and he didn’t have to build it up any more than the game did itself. That style made us appreciate the mystique and the grandeur of the sport. Now people are explicitly told by McEnroe that “this is the greatest match of all time” whenever Sampras/Agassi Williams/Williams or Federer/Nadal happens. His incessant hype kills it, and I can’t bear to watch.

Baseball – Dan Shulman (pbp), Al Leiter (color) – Shulman is everything a play-by-play guy should be. Great pipes, accurate on the details, on-the-money with the analysis he offers, and, despite the fact that ESPN insists on surrounding him with idiots, he’s a great “banter-er;” that is, when he’s filling air time, he always seems to be bringing up discussion topics relevant to the current game situation, or at least to the game we’re watching. I love listening to him call a game. Most color guys rarely offer analysis beyond “Hey, how about that Derek Jeter?” Leiter is a glaring exception. He offers better insight into the batter-pitcher confrontation than anybody I’ve ever heard. Most color guys have nothing to say unless there’s a ball in play. Leiter teaches me more about a changeup on the outside corner taken for a strike than anbody else teaches me on a scorching double to the wall.

Football: I loved Keith Jackson doing college football. His folks-y charm never seemed contrvied, and he had a tremendous sense of “The Moment” (unlike, say, Thom Brennaman calling a 2-yard Tim Tebow run or Joe Buck calling the Helmet Catch). Chris Spielman, despite his association with that horrendous school, is growing on me. He does a little too much of the John Madden “Boom” stuff, but his insight into schemes and line play is as good as there is, mostly because he’s the only color guy talking about line play. He doesn’t talk down to the fans, and I like that. In the Pro game, I think Ian Eagle is tremendously underrated. He’s one of the few announcers who seems more interested in the game than he is in hearing his own voice. For a color guy, Cris Collinsworth is excellent, as is Ron Jaworski. I know it’s been said a thousand times, but the MNF game called by Nessler, Jaws, and Vermiel was one of the most pleasant and least intrusive football broadcasts ever conceived.

Basketball: Gus Johnson. Remember what I said about Keith Jackson and “The Moment”? Multiply that by a thousand. I don’t often give a shit about college basketball, but when Gus is calling the game, I get fired up. The aforementioned Dan Shulman also calls a great game. And, I know I’m not supposed to say it, but I like Vitale as long as he’s not calling a Duke game. The catch-phrases can get old, but he’s the one announcer in any sport who sounds like he’s actually happy to be there, not just doing a job.

Boxing: Jim Lampley on blow-by-blow, Al Bernstein on color. Lampley certainly has his flaws, but it doesn’t feel like a big fight unless he’s calling it. Bob Papa is quite good, too. Bernstein is more the lesser of many evils. Lennox Lewis is definitely terrible (anybody who’s heard Lennox will understand the reference), Larry Merchant has lost it, Max Kellerman is insufferable at times trying to be the next Larry Merchant, Emmanuel Steward seems to have the biggest affinity for the most boring boxers. Bernstein is just……….good.

Anyone who’s watched the tour de france will understand. Liggett has terriffic delivery and cadence in his broadcasts. Both he and his usual colour anlayst Paul Sherwin are former pro cyclists, but unlike guys like Joe Morgan or Tim McCarver they truly keep abreast of the sport’s latest developments and players and don’t rely on anecdotes from their competitive days. Liggett’s a lot like Vin Scully in his ability to keep viewers engaged in even mundane contests and the way he introduces personal details about the athletes that doesn’t seem forced. Scully and Jon Miller are probably my favorite baseball announcers.
 
My least favorite is Joe Buck, hands down. I don’t ask for much from my baseball broadasters but I do require that they show enthusiasm for the game and check their egos at the door. Buck accomplishes neither. I don’t know how else to describe it other than he seems too concerned about looking cool. Plus, nepotism annoys me in general, which doesn’t help his case.

Check out the final installment of Men and Their Balls…it has a happy ending for some anyway, See something for Andewmackey.

Baseball: I can’t get enough of the Red Sox team of Don Orsillo (PBP) and Jerry Remy (color). Orsillo play calling is straightforward with wonderful tone and Remy’s insight as a former player is never over the top or self-aggrandizing. That would be enough, but what I love about this team is their filler chatter and obvious comfort with one another. I’ve watched a few games in which one or the other or a guest in the booth will say something so hilarious that none can keep from laughing uncontrollably in the booth. I remember a game in which actor John O’Hurley (Seinfeld’s J. Peterman), a New England native, was visiting in the booth. O’Hurley had just recently gotten married and told a joke about his new bride, saying she still had that “new wife smell.” This comment so struck both Orsillo and Remy that neither could stop laughing enough to comment on the game for the rest of the inning. When the broadcast returned for the next half inning, the two were still catching their breath. Eventually, things returned to normal, but late in the game, you could hear Remy chuckle and mutter to himself, “new wife smell,” and he’d start laughing again.

College Football: I want to hear Musberger, Danielson, and Herbstreet in the booth together. I love Musberger’s timbre, and the honest and intelligent commentary from both Danielson and Herbstreet.

I will watch just to listen to Brent Musberger and Kirk Herbstreit. They obviously love the game, and you always get the sense that it’s important. Plus, Herbstreit is incredibly knowledgeable, which is really important from your color guy.

I love watching Bengals games with either Gus Johnson or Ian Eagle. They have an excitement and enthusiasm which is impossible to hide. That’s also part of the reason I’ll watch a few minutes of a Vitale game. I want my announcers to have some enthusiasm.

College Hoops – Bill Raftery. Onions, with a kiss, mantaman. Nothing better than Billy broadcasting an early round March Madness game.

Baseball – obviously Marty and Joe. In the past few years I’ve really gained an appreciation for Harry Caray, he was a pretty damn interesting person away from the ballpark also. Vin Scully is incomparable, one of a kind.

Football – Gus Johnson and Cris Collinsworth would be my ideal team. Cris has a wicked sense of humor to boot. I remember growing up listening to Phil Samp on the Bengals radio network, he was pretty good and I dont remember him being as much as a homer as the current broadcasting team. Worst ever? Chris Berman. Barf bag bad.

Soccer – that guy that shouts “gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooaal”. soccer is much better to watch when its broadcast in Spanish. sometimes less comprehension is more!

Tennis – McEnroe hands down.

Curt Gowdy, along with Jim Palmer, Tim McCarver, Dick Vitale, Mel Allen, Dick Enberg and Dr Joyce Brothers

But I go out of my way to listen to a basketball game with Bob Knight doing color commentary. Nobody brings a more interesting perspective to the game.