Detroit area sportscasters

[jackie5275]

I miss George Kell immensely. Rod & Mario are blah. I especially gained extra contempt for Rod Allen after I looked up his MLB stats-parts of 3 years, 50 at bats in 31 games. Yeah, that extensive career qualifies you to do color commentary.

[jackie5275]

Tim McCarver adds absolutely no insight for a guy who played the game.

Terry Francona wasn't too bad.

[paddlebobb]

My personal favorite for calling any of the major sports in Detroit was always Bruce Martyn. Whether he was paired up with Budd Lynch, Sid Abel or Paul Woods- I've always enjoyed his call of the game. The excitement and rising pitch as he'd announce a goal was a thing of beauty to hear.

Oh how I miss the days of when the television and radio broadcasts were done simultaneously. Granted back then seeing the Wings on ol' WKBD was truly a treat as opposed to practically watching every game on cable now. And I remember when ON-TV and eventually PASS had a handful of those games on too. Those few televised games back then really meant something to me in my youth.

"Oh and Bruce, this score just in - Winnipeg 3, Montreal 7". The late great Sid Abel.

[paddlebobb]

I miss George Kell immensely. Rod & Mario are blah. I especially gained extra contempt for Rod Allen after I looked up his MLB stats-parts of 3 years, 50 at bats in 31 games. Yeah, that extensive career qualifies you to do color commentary.

"Well, he's gonna be out because Vic Voltaggio says he's out".

[firstandten]

I have begun to appreciate over time Jim Brandstatter, he has a great knowledge of both pro and college football. I would rather listen to him than the network broadcasters on the Lions games. The delay between the radio broadcast and what you see on TV is why I don't turn off the sound completely on the TV.

[Thruster315]

"Oh and Bruce, this score just in - Winnipeg 3, Montreal 7". The late great Sid Abel.

One of my fondest moments of Sid Abel's knowledge & humor of the game was back in the 80's when the great Edmonton teams were just running rampant in the NHL. The Oilers were playing our hapless Dead Wings and just controlled the flow of the game. Our Wings just couldn't keep up with that sort of talent. Sid Abel calmly and succinctly threw out this barb about tossing another puck out there on the ice so the Wings could play with it every now and then.

In my mind's eye I could pictured two pucks out there on the ice and our poor Wings scrambling like mad just to have a shot at touching the second puck. I busted out laughing at how calm and absolutely ridiculous that Sid Abel comment was. He was frank, genuine and honest with us fans. His credibility was second to none and his call alongside Bruce Martyn was top notch.

[Roq]

I miss George Kell immensely. Rod & Mario are blah. I especially gained extra contempt for Rod Allen after I looked up his MLB stats-parts of 3 years, 50 at bats in 31 games. Yeah, that extensive career qualifies you to do color commentary.

I see you! have to admit, Rod has grown on me and I totally dig him now.

[Thruster315]

I see you! have to admit, Rod has grown on me and I totally dig him now.

I agree. So Rod's career wasn't country strong in MLB, but he still made the roster on several teams [[not exactly an easy feat), played in Japan [[his youtube video of him going apesh!t is still classic), was a hitting instructor, and a hitting coach. He's obviously a pretty bright guy who knows the game and can bring some insight to the game.

Not every sports broadcaster has to be Hall of Fame material. One of my personal favorites, Paul Woods was pretty much a defensive shadow for the opposing team's best forwards during his playing days. And yet he brings a pretty sharp commentary to the Wings broadcasts.

Be bright, intelligent, have some insider knowledge and above all- be somewhat entertaining; I think those are what makes a pretty good broadcaster. Rod's got that.

[Thruster315]

The man is a joke to journalism and a consistent race baiter when it comes to his line of questioning.

http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/8...d-espn-30-days

The Detroit News canned him here and he doesn't deserve to be seen on any local TV broadcasts much less ESPN. There are stories to be told and written about here and there are ways to get answers from our athletes & coaches. Rob Parker is an asshat who has to consistently apologize for his ignorant and selfish actions. Just when one thinks that we've evolved beyond playing the race card, he hauls us back into that quagmire.

The only reason he even apologized for his comments is so he can keep his job. Rob Parker is a train wreck.

[Wingnatic]

The story of Christmas told by former Red Wings player/coach/radio play by play man Sid Abel [[Disabled) and former Red Wings radio play by play man Bruce Martyn[[Martyr)
actually this is two Detroit radio host J.J. and the Morning Crew on Detroit radio from the past

[ggores]

I love the Ken Kal calls on the radio but no one had the timber that Bruce Martyn had. And pair him up with the old school candor and charm that Sid Abel had, they were Detroit hockey broadcasting.

It was a real treat to listen to Ken Kal do play-by-play on tonight's Tiger's broadcast. I assume he was filling in due to the day-night double-header tomorrow. There are no quotes I could put here that would do justice, there were SO many. Let's just say that he called the ball game just like it was a Detroit Red Wings hockey game. Priceless! [[no pun intended :-)

[douglasm]

Someone mentioned Rick Rizzs and "Goodby, baseball", his home run call. I always felt a bit sorry for Rick, who left the Mariners broadcasts to take the Tiger job. He got thrust into an awkward situation with the "firing" of Ernie Harwell, and in a situation like that, there would be no way he could survive in the Detroit market.

It's similar to when Dave Sims took over Mariner broadcasts for Dave Neihaus a few years back. At least Neihaus had the decency to die in the off season so there wasn't any controvercy and shadow hanging over the job, but people SITLL hated him for the first year or two.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

^^"The decency to die in the off season"? Like he has a choice in the matter. SMH on that one.

[grumpyoldlady]

Ernie Harwell was the absolute best. That said, I liked Ray Lane and George Kell for Tiger baseball. Van Patrick was a good sportscaster too.

[Cliffy]

Rod Allen has to be the worst announcer in Detroit history. He is the biggest shill by far. Everything that comes out of his month is utter company man bullshit. Some guy could be batting .125 and he will start saying that he's been swinging the bat really well in practice and is close to breaking out blah blah blah. It never ends.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Rod Allen has to be the worst announcer in Detroit history. He is the biggest shill by far. Everything that comes out of his month is utter company man bullshit. Some guy could be batting .125 and he will start saying that he's been swinging the bat really well in practice and is close to breaking out blah blah blah. It never ends.

Yeah.... he's definitely got a bad case of homerism. If he says "he has late life on the fastball" or "these days" or " The Tigers have one of the best offenses in baseball" after they score one run one more time, I'm gonna puke.

[douglasm]

Yea, Cincy, that was crass on my part. But it does help to show the problem with replacing icons.

[erikd]

I miss George Kell immensely. Rod & Mario are blah. I especially gained extra contempt for Rod Allen after I looked up his MLB stats-parts of 3 years, 50 at bats in 31 games. Yeah, that extensive career qualifies you to do color commentary.

I love Rod Allen, and his MLB stats are irrelevant when it comes to his ability to be a quality baseball broadcaster. Bob Uecker was a shitty backup catcher and he is one of the best baseball broadcast men in the game.

Sparky Anderson and Jim Leyland were shitty pro baseball players, but they made pretty good managers.

Billy Beane was a monumental bust as an MLB player, but he revolutionized the way that MLB teams evaluate players and construct their rosters.

Ernie Harwell, Harry Caray, and Vin Scully never played a day of pro baseball, but they are baseball broadcasting legends.

The skills required to hit .300 or win 20 games are not the same skills required to be a quality baseball analyst, GM, scout, broadcaster, or manager.

I have watched and listened to thousands of baseball games, and I haven't heard any other baseball broadcaster point out the nuances of the game and predict what is about to happen next with the accuracy of Rod Allen.

Even without all of that, I love the flavor that Rod Allen brings to the broadcast. No other baseball broadcaster will say that "you can't be half-steppin' if you want to pitch Prince inside", or mention that a tricked-out truck on Kansas City B-roll is "sittin' on dubs."

Rod Allen is fucking awesome.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

^^Rod Allen is "ok" Don't see how you're proclaiming him to be great. A lot of things he says are redundant.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Yea, Cincy, that was crass on my part. But it does help to show the problem with replacing icons.

Ok, I gotcha.

[Hamtragedy]

My personal favorite for calling any of the major sports in Detroit was always Bruce Martyn. Whether he was paired up with Budd Lynch, Sid Abel or Paul Woods- I've always enjoyed his call of the game. The excitement and rising pitch as he'd announce a goal was a thing of beauty to hear.

If anyone can dig out of the WJR archives the call of Bruce Martyn on the Vladimir Konstantinov goal from outside the blue-line in the second overtime of the Western Conference finals in Chicago in 1994, that call will send more chills through your spine than the McCarty goal vs. Philly [[where he was invited to sit, after retirement.) It was around 1:30 in the morning, and very few people got to hear it live. Best Detroit sports call in my lifetime.

As for Channel 20 or 50 Wings telecasts, I remember the one year the Dead Wings went Zero-Channel 20.

[NoHeartAnthony]

Compare Rod to other TV broadcasters who are employed to be shills and you'll find he brings much more substance to the table than others. Of course, baseball is much more relatable and explanable to the populace than some other sports.

That boy needs to get back into coaching.

[daddeeo]

Amen to all of that. Harwell and Ray Lane were pretty good too.

[xayen]

I think Bud Lynch was so charismatic with his play by play. Example
and SAWCHUK stopped THAT.. also describing GORDIE HOWE s GORD HOWE

[MikeyinBrooklyn]

Unfortunately, I think for most people, sports "consumption" on TV and radio is now about a million things other than the game broadcast. Listening to Harwell or Kell or Martyn or Lane was listening to a set of skills long gone. Reminds me, in a way, of how stage actors today go through drama school and voice coaches, rather than working the Vaudeville circuit to hone their talent. In some ways they are better actors, but there is a reason why there are no longer Ethel Mermans, John Barrymores, or Zero Mostels. No one learns the same way they learned, so no one can do what they did. Sportscasters today may be people with some sharper skills, less idiosynchratic voices, better suits [[on TV), but they have also lost the ability to compellingly tell the story of the game live. It's not their fault; they learned their jobs in a different era. They have all sorts of audio and video toys to keep the viewer or listener tuned in. Nowadays, too, ratings drop when a game is a blowout [[especially a loss), because there is no one "narrating" the game the way the old timers did. You might care if the Red Wings win or lose, but you don't feel like you missed the "ending" of the show if you turn off the radio. Ronald Reagan [[this is NOT a political point) started as a sportscaster, before he was an actor. In his little Iowa studio, he would get the live scores over the ticker, along with the stats as the Cubs game was in progress. He would then "call" the game, making up the incidentals to go along with the information he was receiving. No one could do that today. The guys who came out of early radio [[and that would include JP McCarthy, Paul Harvey and Edward R. Morrow) painted with words- even when they worked on TV- far better than people today. Because they had to, they learned a craft that probably can't be learned now. I dare say fans today don't much care who's calling a game, because they'll check scores and stats on their phone, and post their own reaction to the home run on Facebook, rather than savoring Ernie Harwell's sweet, subtle, Southern satisfaction with a well-hit ball.