Ranking the Broadcasting Teams

[steelhammer]

I am Beninati biased as I got to meet him once, as in literally stand around talking with him with no one around, and he had to be one of the nicest, most down to earth people around. Laughlin with his "dasher" comments every 5 seconds though makes me want to pound his face in. Ugh, the way he used to "Pivonka" was grating.

I like Beninati as we'll. I was just becoming a huge fan of his when they took him off of the national broadcasts. On the same token, I hung out with Steiggy outside of a music club once (guy is down with Motown). He was very nice and attentive and we talked hockey for almost 20 minutes (local, history, goaltending, how he got into the game, strategy, etc.). He was actually a real pleasure to talk to and his knowledge of the game at every level is impressive (as it should be).

[shmenguin]

the worst play-by-play guys are the ones who editorialize or think they're clever. steigy, beninati, jim "my van has no windows and is full of candy" jackson come to mind

[Zach6668]

I don't mind local broadcasters being a tad homerish, but when they whine about missed calls or penalties or whatever, that's where I draw the line. Denis Potvin is a big offender of this. Just brutal. Whines non-stop.

[Sam's Drunk Dog]

[llipgh2]

I find almost all hockey announcers annoying.

I do like Doc Emrick, I know a lot of people here don't. I like when he works Devils games for MSG. I can't listen when he works NBC games because of Edzo and Pierre.

[MRandall25]

Doc Emerick could make watching paint dry interesting...

Pretty much the only reason I watched Water Polo at the Olympics.

[Rylan]

Steigy just occasionally annoys me with some of his sayings. But I accept that the Pens won't change and continue on with my life. I like Bob Errey though and wouldn't trade him for any other color guy.

[Eismann]

I love Steiggy and Errey. Tehy are teh number 1.

Spoiler:

Number 1 worse broadcasters of all dee time.

[Penspal]

I disagree with so much of the auhtor's rankings. So much so, I had to go back and look at the criteria he used to "objectively" rate them. The author must not have really used his own criteria, or was not "objective". I've had Centre Ice for years, am familiar with most of the guys mentioned, and no matter how much you hate Steigy, I can give you 10 play by play guys who are no where near as good.

A lot of what happens in the booth is under the direction of a producer. They deserve credit and blame, which does not appear to be factored into things. The Pens just got a new one, a former CBC guy, so hopefully he can improve the broadcast team.

[brwi]

Totally agree with the Carolina & Florida guys high up on the list. Always enjoy hearing them do a game, they're about as unbiased as it gets.

IMO Dean Brown & Denis Potvin (Ottawa) are way too far up the list. It's pretty painful catching one of their broadcasts.

I totally agree with both of your points. This list overall is very good IMO, though I wouldn't necessarily have Steigy/Errey dead last but probably in the bottom 5.

[no name]

Steigys nick names are the worest, Little tiger, 2 headed monster??? I got a good nick name for steigy, super lame broadcaster guy. Steigy was a ok color guy with Lange, but i like Erreys player perspective, and Errey can be entertaining sometimes.

Now i like Rob and Jay post game show, they work well together, i just wish Jay would quit with chewing on his mouth durring the show. Dan Potash, now he really has to go, can't stand his "news worthy reports" they are far from. They had Troy Loney for a short time and by god he was terrible.

[Chefpatrick871]

I think its funny we call local broadcasting teams homers. What would you rather have?

[mikey287]

I think its funny we call local broadcasting teams homers. What would you rather have?

You don't learn from hearing "all of our prospects are the best" "all of our plays were perfect" "none of those penalties were justified" "Fleury is the best goalie" "Letang is the best d-man" ...it breeds stupidity, again, look at Red Wing fans, they are the just terrible people and it comes from their broadcast crew a lot of it...

A more objective fan is a smarter fan...

[stonewizard51]

I rarely listen to the announcers during a game as I usually mute them. With rare exception most are way over the top homers for me. Ex: An elbow to the head is just that. Stop with rationalizations as to why it should be legal for your guys and a 5 game suspension for the same hit to your guys. Call the game as it is not as you want it to be.

[raewhit]

I think its funny we call local broadcasting teams homers. What would you rather have?

You don't learn from hearing "all of our prospects are the best" "all of our plays were perfect" "none of those penalties were justified" "Fleury is the best goalie" "Letang is the best d-man" ...it breeds stupidity, again, look at Red Wing fans, they are the just terrible people and it comes from their broadcast crew a lot of it...

A more objective fan is a smarter fan...

I don't listen to the announcers to learn about hockey. I want the announcers to be entertaining.

[mikey287]

I think its funny we call local broadcasting teams homers. What would you rather have?

You don't learn from hearing "all of our prospects are the best" "all of our plays were perfect" "none of those penalties were justified" "Fleury is the best goalie" "Letang is the best d-man" ...it breeds stupidity, again, look at Red Wing fans, they are the just terrible people and it comes from their broadcast crew a lot of it...

A more objective fan is a smarter fan...

I don't listen to the announcers to learn about hockey. I want the announcers to be entertaining.

Every game should be a learning experience, whether the announcers are part of that or not...I don't need the announcers to be entertaining, the game itself provides plenty...

[raewhit]

Every game should be a learning experience, whether the announcers are part of that or not...I don't need the announcers to be entertaining, the game itself provides plenty...

Mikey- you sound like my husband(he's a hockey coach). He's is forever rewinding games to show me something on the power play or on the breakout. I just want to watch the game & listen to Errey saying stupid things.

[mikey287]

Every game should be a learning experience, whether the announcers are part of that or not...I don't need the announcers to be entertaining, the game itself provides plenty...

Mikey- you sound like my husband(he's a hockey coach). He's is forever rewinding games to show me something on the power play or on the breakout. I just want to watch the game & listen to Errey saying stupid things.

Good on him. I'm a coach myself, I'm the same way. Always analyzing, taking notes on things, etc. I'm not afraid to admit I have a problem...

[jcgopens]

Every game should be a learning experience, whether the announcers are part of that or not...I don't need the announcers to be entertaining, the game itself provides plenty...

Mikey- you sound like my husband(he's a hockey coach). He's is forever rewinding games to show me something on the power play or on the breakout. I just want to watch the game & listen to Errey saying stupid things.

Good on him. I'm a coach myself, I'm the same way. Always analyzing, taking notes on things, etc. I'm not afraid to admit I have a problem...

My husband is a referree and a coach, so any time I make a comment regarding a play, I seem to get it wrong! Steigy drives him crazy, Bob Errey, not as much.

[Digitalgypsy66]

Razor Reaugh for president. He makes watching a boring Stars team enjoyable.

[sil]

My favorite aspect of Jackson's PBP is when he says the phrase, "no call"? And, if you haven't seen many Flyers games on comcast, let me tell you, he says that phrase A LOT. The only way you could actually write out that phrase to represent the way Jackson actually calls it, would be to put more emphasis on each successive letter...in that high pitched voice he has.

NO CALL!!??

[shmenguin]

My favorite aspect of Jackson's PBP is when he says the phrase, "no call"? And, if you haven't seen many Flyers games on comcast, let me tell you, he says that phrase A LOT. The only way you could actually write out that phrase to represent the way Jackson actually calls it, would be to put more emphasis on each successive letter...in that high pitched voice he has.

NO CALL!!??

jackson's most annoying trademark is, "THEY SAY it's onside", "THEY SAY it's a penalty", "THEY SAY it's a goal". translation: "i think that's bull**** but i'm going to phrase it this way so people don't think i'm whining".

[profpolisci]

Laughlin sucks.

This guy must have a poster of Beninati on the ceiling over his bed and dreams of him riding on the back of his vespa to rank them that high.

[profpolisci]

Two things:
Razor is my favorite.

Errey is a wit who really understands the game. Steigy understands the game and has proven himself a very capable play by play guy but he's less clever than Bibs by half. When they merge their roles -more appropriately- when Steigy decides to overly intrude on Bibs' role it too often reduces their effectiveness and watchability. Rather than be irritated I'll just switch announcer's on GCL.

[Froggy]

Yeah, steigy is ok when he's not trying to be funny. The problem is that he's always trying to be funny