When one decides to watch or listen to their favorite sports team’s game, they do not only expect to see a game. It is all about what commentary comes alongside which intrigues the viewer/listener. They have people for these jobs, and they are called Sportscasters. Not only is it the job of the caster to provide play-by-play, but it is also their duty to educate the audience about what is going on, usually using stories or past experience to do so. We have had many great broadcasters in our time (Mel Allen, Bob Costas, Al Michaels, and so on), but we have also been cursed of having to listen and process the “information” given by others. Here is a list of those Sportscasters that the world might be better off without:
10. Rick Jeanneret-The longtime hockey play-by-play man has been worshiped by the people of Buffalo for many years. However, his extreme outburst of emotion has provided for many viewers to hide under their couches, as well as for some awesome Youtube videos. He has been recorded as for saying and holding the phrase, “SCORE!” for more than 15 seconds! Rick also will repeat a player’s name during a play more times than is necessary, something that often aggravates the viewer.
9. Charles Barkley-If I may use one of his own phrases, Chuck is just “Turribul”. While Barkley enjoyed an extravagent NBA Career, his mistake to move to the TNT NBA Crew was a bad idea. While he does provide for comical moments at times, he is also known for his use of hyperbole much to often. He frequently will disrupt quality analysis from his colleagues to present the viewer with useless information. During the 2007 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, Barkley made over 10 references to Dwayne Wade’s Red Suit rather than paying attention to the actual event.
8. Joe Buck-I am sure to draw some fire with this one. While Joe Buck has won numerous Emmy’s (Which I have the utmost respect for), he has also been known for his bleak attitude during a game. While it is important for a broadcasting personality to not show bias, it is also necessary to show enthusiasm, which he does not display. Take Super Bowl XLII, Giants vs. Patriots. David Tyree makes what is regarded now as one of the best plays in maybe NFL History. Joe Buck began by painting the picture well of Giants QB Eli Manning rolling out, but then only to follow with, “Tyree makes the catch.” Buck even stated he has no passion left for baseball on numerous occassions. He has also been marred in controversy with former Giant Barry Bonds as well as the Minnesota Vikings for an onfield incident in 2005.
7. Keith Hernandez-Hernandez is a very smart man, don’t get me wrong. He was an All-Star multiple years, and will often provide good insight. However, it is the stupid things that he says which makes you want to do a face-palm. During a game in San Diego, Hernandez spotted a girl employee in the Padres’ dougout. Upon realizing herself as an employee, Hernandez stated, “I won’t say that women belong in the kitchen, but they don’t belong in the dugout.” Why Keith, why? This brought large amounts of criticism to himself, which he may never recover from. It is said to “Have a Keith Hernandez Moment” when you have a sudden realization of what you have done, all in reference to his appearance on Seinfeld.
6. Tim McCarver-Another Emmy Award winning Broadcaster finds himself on the list. Now you may be callng me crazy right now, but I know for a fact I have this one right. McCarver has been known to cause a lot of problems with players. For example, Tim often used to criticize Deion Sanders for playing two sports, baseball and football. When Sanders’ Braves won the 1992 NLCS, Sanders dumped 3 buckets of Ice Water on McCarver’s head, while he was still on assignment. Many think of this as Tim’s punishment for making the remarks. He also often flubs names, recently pronouncing Yankees Pitcher Joba Chamberlain’s name as J-OH-BUH. SI’s Norman Chad once said, “When you ask Tim what time it is, he will tell you how a watch works.” This is in reference to him often over-analyzing everything. His work has been even mentioned on FOX’s hit show Family Guy, saying that, “…well, at least he couldn’t be any worse than Tim McCarver is at sports casting”.
5. John Madden-Madden is regarded as one of the most knowledgeable men in the NFL. He coached the Raiders to a Super Bowl title, as well as has his own line of video games. However, Madden will often find himself on the end of ruthless, tasteless (and often hilarious) jokes about his actual broadcasting ability. During Super Bowl XL, Madden said the word “Bootleg” 10 times in a span of 30 seconds. He will often fumble over his words in mid-sentence, sounding almost like he is “eating” his own words (not a joke at his weight). His willingness to endorse almost anything is paradied by comedian Frank Caliendo, having in a skit Madden endorsing the women’s product Vagisil. It has also been known during the broadcast for John to overuse the telestrator, drawing things numerous times during the game. He is also known for his sudden outbursts of “Boom!” during big plays.
4. Joe Morgan-Joe Morgan is arguably the most indecisive and irritable announces in sports history. The combination of himself and Jon Miller has turned Sunday Night Baseball into a drag. Regardless if it is him criticizing a player three innings after he made an error, or even if it is him simply just rambling about playing with their heart, nothing get more tiring than Joe Morgan. Don’t forget to mention how he looks like droopy-dog out there during a cast.
3. John Sterling-In no attempt to brag, I may be the biggest non-bandwagon Yankee fan writing for this site (Natesh Sood). What I am about to say will anger any true bandwagon fan. John Sterling is the worst play-by-play announcer in the history of sports. Working for the Yankees Radio Affiliate WCBS 880 AM, Sterling has covered New York Sports for years. As a matter of fact, he has never missed a Yankee Game (including Spring Training) in all of the years he has covered them, which is more than 19 years. I 100% praise him for this. It is his handling of the game and EXTREME hyperbole which can agitate any sports fan. He will overuse the phrase, “Theeeee Pitch…” when a pitcher is ready to deliver a ball. However, his home run catchphrase, “It is high, it is far, it is gone!” is by far the most frequently spoken of them all. On one occassion, Sterling exclaimed this 4 times in a game, none of which were even a home run (obviously excluding the “gone” part). He aggrivates the whole sports world with his, “Yankees Win. TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTHHHHHHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE YANKEES WIN!” call after every Yankee win as well. I was once at a sports broadcasting lecture given by an NBC sports personality, and he even warned the whole audience to not be like Sterling.
2. Stephen A. Smith-Will someone get me some cheese doodles (you will have no idea what I am talking about if you have never seen the hit Stephen A. Youtube video)? “Stephen A.” is by far the most opinionated sports analyst in the whole entire nation. In fact, Smith used to have his own talk show, Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith, which failed miserably on ESPN. He would often hold a question and answer with fans, in which it seemed he would bash almost anything they would say or ask. Smith brings a new meaning to the word “hyperbole”. He is known to shout words such as “How-evuh!” or something along the lines of “The New York Knicks of New York are…” In fact, Smith once stormed off the set of an ESPN NBA Halftime show after ranting on the Knicks. Smith regularly hosted a radio show on ESPN Radio, which was canceled due to lack of viewers this year. 2008 has continues to be dismal for Stephen A., as he has been fired from the Philadelphia Inquirer and demoted from NBA Lead Analyst to Interviewer.
Before I give Number 1, I would like to list some other “Honorable Mentions”:
- Mike Adamle
- Jon Miller
- Troy Aikman
- Dennis Miller
- Charlie Steiner
- Mike Patrick
And the Number 1 Worst Sportscaster Today is…
1. Suzyn Waldman-Rated the worst Sportscaster in New York by the citizens of New York City, Waldman has been the Yankees color commentary announcer since 2005. Her and the aforementioned John Sterling undoubtedly are the worst duo of all-time (yes even worse than Captain and Tenneal). Waldman made national headlines last season, for her call when Roger Clemens announced his comeback to the Yankees. Being from New England, her accent took control of her actions. “RAGAH CLEMENS, IS STAHNDING RIGHT OWTSAHDE OF GEAHGE’S BAWKS!” The call earned her many appearances in the popular radio show, Mike and the Mad Dog, in which she called in warning them not to play the clip again. This was to no avail. When the Yankees were eliminated during the playoffs last year, Waldman cried on air after fearing manager Joe Torre would leave. This earned her much criticism, as it is widely known not to express personal emotion during a broadcast. She has also been involved in minor run-ins with players, such as an incident with former Yankee Jesse Barfield.
So there you go, this is my list of the Top 10 Worst Sportscasters of all-time. Am I saying that these people have put in no work? Absolutely not. All I suggest is that these people figure out alternate ways to present the game to the audience. Do you agree? Disagree? Leave a comment!
[...] Alba of Sports Full Circle takes a look at the top ten worst sportscasters of all-time. It’s an interesting list to say [...]
This list can’t be taken seriously with out Joe Morgan on it. Let me take that back, it can’t be taken seriously with out Joe Morgan as the #1 worst announcer. I’ll take listening to Buck or McCarver any day over Morgan
Actually Jeff, I came very close to putting Joe on the list, but I felt Rick J. had more of a history with Hockey fans.
[...] reading Sports Full Circle’s Jon Alba give his take on the top ten worst sportscasters of all-time, I began to wonder [...]
charles barkley isn’t bad lmao, hes hilarious, and also u said barkley’s mistake was coming to TNT was a bad idea, mistake implies that it was a bad idea, otherwise very well written article
yea dun hate on charles barkley i love his fat ass lol
Some others……(in no particular order) Some are annoyances of my wife and sons.
1. Mike Patrick
2. Chris Wheeler(Phillies)
3. Gary Cohen(OK sometimes, but a little too dramatic
4. Phil Simms
5. Steve Phillips
6. Pam Ward
7. Brent Musburger(how the heck does he keep his job!!)
8. Michael Kay
Very Important Addendum!
1. TONY KORNHEISER
2. TONY KORNHEISER
3. TONY KORNHEISER
4. BOB COSTAS
lets add Ian Eagle to this list
awful for the NFL specifically Jets games
and a really bad Nets announcer as well
oh and Suzy Kolber for being somewhat annoying, smug, and for taking advantage of an aging and intoxicated Joe Namath.
This is outrageous i completely disagree, how dare you say Sir Charles is a bad sportscaster. His associate Kenny Smith is the bad one and you did not mention him?! Charles is a very intelligent NBA analyst and sportscaster, that is a disgrace that you mention him.
well i like barkley, but i also like kenny smith
Barkley brings life to the NBA, while many others are boring
However, the best crew of guys around the league this year was definitely Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, and Mike Breen.
I like Charles Barkley, very funny, but how can you call the whole list a disgrace? Barkley doesn’t provide pure insight on the game at all, he provides his INPUT. Which is very different from insight. Back up yourself Yair.
ya Jon i gotta agree wit everyone else Charles may not be the greatest sportscaster ever but he is certainly competent enough. Btw it wasnt dwayne wades jacket that he made fun of it was Damon Jones and it was hilarious!!!!!!!
Oh and also would you really call Sir Charles a Sportscaster?
He really only does a pregame/halftime/postgame show. He’s not announcing during the games so i don’t know.
i have to say, suzyn waldmen definitely is the worst sportscaster, her voice makes me want to jump out of a building, and she knows absolutely nothing about baseball. I kinda like sterling tho, he does a pretty good job covering the game, and his phrases are practically trademarked. Plus, he came up with “the melk man always delivers” for my bf melky cabrera : )
WAIT WAIT WAIT
Alex, did you just insult Ian Eagle?
Are you serious?
Ian Eagle is the heart of the Nets since as far as I can remember watching — i.e. 2000-01.
Don’t hate – Eagle’s great.
Jon. Listen I didn’t say the whole list was a disgrace just that Charles Barkley was on it, so excuse me I wasn’t trying to insult your entire list. As for backing myself up you answered it for me, Charles puts in his insight. He cannot merely put in “pure insight”, no analyst can. An NBA analyst is there to give in his opinion which is exactly what Charles does, he is not there to give advice or help anyone. He is there to voice his opinion which he does each day and he does a great job at it.
my god indraneel dont hate eagles great u are great and jon i want a reply
Chill Yair I was kidding. You and I are coming from two different perspectives on this one. I am looking at in from someone who is studying to be a sportscaster/journalist. I have taken clinics, been to camps, all in an attempt to learn the qualities needed to become the perfect broadcaster. I put Barkley on there because he is everything that a “proper” sportscaster/analyst shouldn’t be. Am I calling him stupid? Absolutely not. It’s great that everyone provides their own sense of “Uniqueness” to a discussion, such as him and Stephen A. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. But I wrote this article to compare them to how a sportscaster SHOULD act and do their job. I understand it’s not good to be straight to the book, but you don’t want to be too off the hammer all the time.
haha jon your perspective comapred to yairs seems to be
“i know this shit better than you do because i did blah blah blah blah”
lol Jay that is not where I am going with this.
ok I relent you clearly know more about this then me; however, I don’t even think he should be considered a sportscaster, he hasn’t been prepared for being one either. Charles is merely a retired player I guess i took this list as an insult to all the sportscasters you mentioned but I was wrong i’m sorry for arguing and attacking your opinion.
[...] these jobs, and they are called Sportscasters. Not only is it the job of the cast … Source: Top 10 Worst Sportscasters of All-Time Who Would Be A Worse Mom? Paris or Lindsey? Vote Now And Get A Free iPhone. Vince Mcmahon Used [...]
i want free iphone
what does any of this have to do with an iphone?
[...] to thank all of the people at http://www.hotfootblog.com for expressing so much interest in my list of Worst Broadcasters of All-Time. A note, I was going to put in Joe Morgan, but felt I owed it to the Hockey Community to put [...]
You forgot Michael Kay. The first and most important job of a play-by-play man is to give the listeners basic information, such as who is up at bat, the count and the number of outs. Kay is so busy asking inane questions of his booth partner or partners that he rarely calls the game. And when he runs out of stupid remarks there is often dead silence. Let’s face it, with 4 hour Yankee games, especially when you turn away at times, it is nice to hear the calls.
The only saving grace is that it spares me from having to listen to Sterling on radio. They both sprang from WABC radio when it was the flagship station. When you listen to other announcers on MLB.TV or audio you realize how awful the both of them are! Can’t the great and powerful Yankees do better than these two schmucks?!!
I don’t buy what you just said.
[...] you honestly expected me to quote Joe Buck? With all due respect Mr. Buck, a dying mule may have been able to make a better call than you [...]
Is this place good?
[...] I personally was never high on Madden, his antics will certainly be missed. He was an insightful commentator, and despite [...]
I disagree with Barkley and Morgan I think they both do a great job and Barkley isnt even an announcer he’s an analyst he is there to give an opinion thats why they have the Color guy for and to the guy that said Brent Musburger Brent Musburger is awesome but you people do not believe how hard it is to do the job that these people do to have to talk through people in your ear telling you to say something or to “send it over” constantly while you are talking is hard if people actually did the job they wouldnt handle it
Suprized the list of top rated bats wasnt littered with more big bames!
[...] Top 10 Worst Sportscasters of All-Time « SportsFullCircleJul 7, 2008 … Marcus Billups says: November 26, 2009 at 5:45 am. I disagree with Barkley and Morgan I think they both do a great job and Barkley isnt even … [...]
Are you kidding??? Bob Costas, hands down, is the worst in the history of the universe. He’s the reason I dont watch the Olympics anymore. This guy is horrible.
I’m not certain how lengthy you have been performing this weblog, but you have genuinely got it going on! Keep up the excellent function!!