I couldn’t stand Dr. Z growing up because he never picked the Redskins in any key games. Stuff like that will lead you to hold grudges as an adult. His shoddy picking skills aside I to look forward to his TV Commentator Rankings every year.
Unlike last year’s list though this one is pretty hit and miss for the most part. He ranks the teams based on a 5-star system and here are some of the highlights (my comments are in italics)….
The Hits:
5 STARS
“None. Last year’s only five star team, ESPN’s second unit, was broken up. Dick Vermeil is tending his beautiful vineyards in Calistoga, Brad Nessler is back in college and Ron Jaworski … ah, this is a new, corporate, center stage Jaws who makes me want to cry.”
(I can buy that. I don’t feel that way about Jaws, but I could see how he could rub some people the wrong way in that environment.)
Kevin Harlan and Rich Gannon, CBS
I’ll say it again. Any game Harlan works will get a good grade because he and Rosen are my favorite play-by-play guys.
(I’m beginning to feel that way about Harlan as well…in any Sport. I always hate his partners though. Doug Collins and Rich Gannon always do the “When I was coaching”/”When I was playing” crap for 4 quarters.)
Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, CBS
Well, Phil used to be a friend, but I’m sure he thinks I’m the worst kind of traitor during the past few years because, as his star had risen to the top of the network’s roster, his ability to tell me stuff I don’t know has not progressed. Which is a long way of saying that, whereas he’ll provide a good sense of excitement when he’s doing a significant game, he has fallen into cliché patterns that don’t help.
(Dead on assessment of Simms right there)
The Misses:
Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, CBS
And Simms, who is blessed by working with one of the smoothest, most competent play-by-play men in the business, feels compelled to constantly remind us about the things he predicted early in the show and how they’re working out, etc., neglecting the stuff that he had wrong.
(Dead wrong assessment of Nantz right there)
Dick Stockton and Brian Baldinger, Fox
Down a star from last year. Baldy used to be one of the best, but he has come down with a severe case of talkitis. It’s tough to shut him up, and working with one of the most modest and polite people in the business only spurs him on.
(I’m pretty sure he’s the only person on the planet that can stand Baldinger.)
1 STAR to 1½ STARS
A blanket grouping, which I’ve never done before, but I’m getting tired of leveling the same criticisms at the same people, who are doing the best they can and make some errors, get some things right, don’t really tell me anything I don’t know. This group includes the following:
J.C. Pearson and either Matt Vasgersian or Matt Devlin, Fox
Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker, CBS
(What is it about the older generation that think Sports can’t be exciting. I like each and every one of those people….yes even Tasker. Just blows my mind how an entertaining broadcast with excitement is lost on some people)
All three of those misses palled in comparison to this final paragraph….
Oops, I’ve forgotten a team, the one-shot threesome of Mikes, Greenberg, Golic and Ditka, lashed to the mast for an evening of Arizona-San Francisco for ESPN’s second game in Week 1. Yes, an honest job. Real football. The booth clear of debris. Call it 3 ½ stars.
Are you kidding me? There’s no way he watched that game. That was the worst game I’ve ever seen from a broadcast standpoint and they would get negative stars from me. But again, just like Dr. Z’s views…these are just opinions which is what makes the internet great. Read his whole article and share your favorites from this past season.
Oh and his favorite team this past season was Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan……riiiiiiight.
TV Commentator Rankings (SI.com)
One Last NFL Announcing Post- Part 1 (Awful Announcing)
