We all know we're a pampered lot when it comes to having RJ in the booth (now if we could just get rid of Harry) but some teams and networks have crews that just plain suck. They suck for different reasons though, like being over biased, talking about random shit when the play is happening, making everything in a round about way relate to themselves, having annoying sayings, annoying voices, mis-calling things, being slow, having an orgasm over everything and so on.

Personally Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley in Boston are my anti-announcers. They are so fucking biased it's comical. Ugh...and Milbury....shiver

As for a Network it is of course the clowns at Versus. I like Doc but that's it. They all tend to be so long winded and so full of themselves that they forget that being a play by play announcer means you can't sit there talking about Sidney Crosby's junior days and how much you "just knew he was something special" when pucks are being drilled at the net.


So who would you file a gag order on if you could? Who just fucking makes you ears ache? Is there a duo that sucks? A network? Have any videos of announcers sucking it up?

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Joe Benanatti.
He is the the perfect representation of a versus play by play guy. He never talks about the game unless someone scores, in which case he'll just yell something stupid like "SENSATIONAL!!" Otherwise he'll go on about how one of the players held a job at McDonalds when they were 13 years old and then go on about how much he loves the food there. Shut the fuck up Joe!

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Rest in Peace Nani. 10/3/10

Gerbacity



"Grier coming in over the line. He leaves it to Gaustad. The shot. THEY SCOOOREE!! RING UP ANOTHER ONE FOR THE GOOSE!!! HONK IF YA HEAR THE GOOSE!! 3-0 BUFFALO!"

announcers eh? well, here comes the obligatory gary thorne reference.

i also love CBCs bob cole.

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I love Bob Cole. He's got such a great voice and he knows how to use it. He makes a game I couldn't care less about so much more interesting.

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Rest in Peace Nani. 10/3/10

Gerbacity



"Grier coming in over the line. He leaves it to Gaustad. The shot. THEY SCOOOREE!! RING UP ANOTHER ONE FOR THE GOOSE!!! HONK IF YA HEAR THE GOOSE!! 3-0 BUFFALO!"

This sums up my feelings about the Versus guys. Too much fluff, not enough commentary on the game itself. I also don't like the forced adjectives they throw in there too. (And sucking off Crosby at every opportunity.)

i have a theory on this. it seems every nationally televised sporting event has more stories on the players playing rather then the game its self. i think thats to familiarize new viewers with the teams they dont watch every night. you get a regional broadcast and chances are people already know those stories and its all about the game.

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My theory is that America has two iconic major sports: baseball and football. It seems to me that with this whole shift to make hockey more popular in America that the hockey announcers have begun to resemble other American sports announcers. With so much down time between actual action in baseball and football, the announcers have to fill the dead air with stories, facts and banter. Problem is that since hockey is fast paced with only short gaps between whistles, the filler crap actually hurts the game experience. I would like to know if this trend in calling is something the NHL is doing consciously.

I can understand explaining game play for new fans but most of the time when I get fed up with the Versus crew, they aren't explaining the game. They are usually off on some story about playing with so in so back in the day or some other shit so they can hear themselves talk and feel relevant.

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I remember the Isles and Rags guys being pretty boring.

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

I actually don't mind the Rags crew. Isles are pretty garbage.

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The Anaheim guys are douchebags. They're by far the worst in my opinion..

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"Let's just trap Sekera in the caverns underneath HSBC arena." -BlueandYellow

Reporter: "Steve, you guys now lead the league in defensive scoring."
Montador: "It's probably because of how good-looking we are."

ugh yeah anaheim

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

I hate Doc Emric. I know people will defend him, but he doesn't show emotion what so ever. Just boring. Patrick Kane's cup winning goal:

"Whoa. I think it's in the net... We're awaiting word from the officials..., They say yes. Kane scores the game winning goal." Then he spends the rest of the time talking about how the goal was hard to see.

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"Counting all the assholes in the room, I'm definitely not alone!" ~ Michael Poulsen, Volbeat, Still Standing.

Benanatti is pretty bad on Versus, but his regular gig is the Caps with Craig Laughlin. They are both clowns and putting them together is like torture.

The worst announcing I ever witnessed was a few years ago on the Panthers network. Denis Potvin was doing color. Potvin has some very well documented anger issues, and is pretty much known as an asshole. But on this particular night he really made an ass of himself. There were one or two plays that happened pretty close together and didn't go the Panthers way, and Potvin made no bones about how mad those calls/non-calls made him. He went on this tirade against the refs while play continued, not allowing the play by play guy to say a word. Then every once in awhile he would interrupt his bitchfest to sarcastically say "why wasn't that a penalty? He touched him.", and stupid shit like that. This went on for minutes. He was acting like a fucking 8-year old spoiled petulant child. I don't know if his crew finally told him to shut up, or if he was just so mad he said fuck it, but after that he didn't say a word for like 3 or 4 minutes. Nothing. It was just the play by play guy. For all I know he walked out of the booth. Very very unprofessional.

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This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.
--Emerson

Yeah, Potvin is pretty bad.

I actually like the Versus announcers.

The guys that I come the closest to really hating are Doc Emrick, Mike Milbury, and Pierre McGuire. Therefore I try to avoid NBC broadcasts as much as possible.

Gary Thorne is the man. I like David Strader too. He's not that colorful, but he's solid. He calls the game without letting other conversation pieces getting in the way.

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Wheelhouse

I want to put my fist through Doc Emrick's throat

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I'll do it simple, everyone who is not RJ and Harry Neale.

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I admire your spirit but seriously though, Harry sucks.

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Haha, I don't find him terrible.

I know some other guys are good in the league, but I don't care to look for them.

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I disagree here. Yes, they are biased, but so is Jeanneret. I think the NESN crew does a good job, the play-by-play guy actually calls the action, and Brickley does a good job evaluating play in his color role. They know what they're talking about and seem to enjoy themselves, I like them.