As July kicks off, we begin our quest to definitively name the greatest announcing call in the history of sports.  We started with a list of 64 (the top 32 of which were seeded) that will be narrowed down to 1 at the end of the month that will earn the greatest of all-time title thanks to your votes.  Each day will bring a list of new matchups as we march our way through the tournament.  There are certainly some heavy favorites, but also some upsets in the making along the way.  Throughout the first round, polls will be open for a day until the next batch of matchups are published.

With a tip of the cap to the WGC Match Play, each bracket will also pay tribute to one of the great announcers in sports.  Here's the first quartet of 16 in the Curt Gowdy Bracket…

Monday

1) Miracle on Ice vs Aussie Rules epic finish
8) TO's TD vs Jim Marshall's wrong way run

4) Manchester City's title winner vs Tracy Porter's SB winner
5) MJ over Ehlo vs Bobby Orr flying through the air

Tuesday

3) Secretariat's Belmont domination vs The best of Gus Johnson
6) Music City Miracle vs Ding dong, the witch is dead!

2) Havlicek stole the ball vs Abby Wambach saves the USA's life
7) Holy Buckeye vs This is not Detroit, man!

Today the votes take place in the top half of the Gowdy Bracket…

1) "Do you believe in miracles?"

Al Michaels delivered one of the most iconic lines in sports at the 1980 Olympics as the USA Men's Hockey Team defeated the heavily favored Soviet Union in one of the greatest upsets ever seen.  The call from Michaels lends its name to this iconic moment – the Miracle on Ice.

"I see it, but I don't believe it!"

In this 2005 AFL semifinal, Sydney trailed Geelong by 23 points and had kicked just 3 goals the entire game.  Nick Davis of the Swans then kicked 4 goals in the 4th quarter with the last one coming just before the final siren for one of the most dramatic moments in Aussie Rules history.  Anthony Hudson with the call…

Winner: Miracle on Ice 90% – 10%

8) "Owens! Owens! Owens!"

49ers radio announcer Joe Starkey (with his first appearance in the tourney) calls TO's game winning touchdown catch on the last play of the game in a Wild Card playoff game against the Packers in 1999.

"He thinks he has scored a touchdown, he has scored a safety!"

Before Starkey was the voice of the 49ers, it was the legendary pipes of Lon Simmons.  His most famous call is the wrong way run of Jim Marshall in 1964 that perfectly captures the shock, excitement, and absurdity of the moment.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=0eBrb00pdGw

Winner: Marshall's wrong way run 58% – 42%

4) "I swear you''ll never see anything like this ever again!"

On the last day of the 2012 EPL season, Manchester City scored 2 goals in the final minutes to beat QPR and win their first title since 1968 thanks to Sergio Aguero's game winner.  Martin Tyler's call is nothing short of extraordinary.

"It's picked off!  It's picked off!  It's Tracy Porter again!"

What are the odds of picking off Brett Favre and Peyton Manning in back to back games… and having the latter be a Super Bowl clinching INT return for a touchdown?  That's exactly what Tracy Porter did in 2009 for the New Orleans Saints.  The hometown radio call from Jim Henderson expresses the jubilation of the Saints doing the impossible and winning a Super Bowl.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=k7LtGOQ6ygs

Winner: Martin Tyler 64% – 36%

5) "The Bulls win, they win!"

Michael Jordan's shot over Craig Ehlo from the 1989 playoffs is one of the most iconic moments in NBA history.  Jim Durham's classic call certainly plays its part.

"And what could be better than that!"

Like Jordan's shot, Bobby Orr flying through the air is one of the greatest images in hockey history.  Here, Bruins radio play by play man Fred Cusick gives the call for the goal that won the 1970 Stanley Cup.

Winner: MJ over Ehlo 60% – 40%  

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