All I want for Christmas is...

[lothar98zag]

...for the 3 ESPN guys that announced Sat's game vs Uconn to call the rest of GU's games this year.

Can someone make this happen? Please!

[former1dog]

Although Bilas bothers me sometimes, I pretty much agree.

Raftery is simply a joy to listen to.

[lothar98zag]

I'd also accept Gus Johnson w/ Raftery...

[ZagNative]

Was it Rafferty who did the OK State Battle in Seattle game? Whoever it was made Adam's game winning shot unforgettable!

Who did Maui? Wasn't that Rafferty as well?

I suppose a pact with the devil would be out of the question when begging for a Christmas gift ....

[Vizagra]

My favorite line of the night:

"PARGO WITH THE CARGO, TO THE TIN!!!!"

Everyone at my house was rollin after that one!

[former1dog]

Was it Rafferty who did the OK State Battle in Seattle game? Whoever it was made Adam's game winning shot unforgettable!

Gus Johnson did that. He also did the Sweet 16 game against Florida, immortalizing "the runner"! And the "slipper still fits!"

Who did Maui? Wasn't that Rafferty as well?

I suppose a pact with the devil would be out of the question when begging for a Christmas gift ....

Rafferty did the Maui classic in the 3OT game against MSU. He's just great. A joy to listen to.

Gus is a play by play guy.

Rafferty is a color commentary guy.

[SunDevilGolfZag]

Onions!

I'll take Rafferty any day

[lothar98zag]

Was it Rafferty who did the OK State Battle in Seattle game? Whoever it was made Adam's game winning shot unforgettable!

Who did Maui? Wasn't that Rafferty as well?

I suppose a pact with the devil would be out of the question when begging for a Christmas gift ....

Gus & Raftery did the Ok St game.

IIRC, the 3 that called the UConn game (which include Raftery) have called Maui the past few years.

[lothar98zag]

btw, since this thread is about announcers - here's a quote I agree w/, A LOT:

Now, an assertion that's become so commonplace it's a cliché. I can't help that. It needs to be said again. And again, and again, and again.

The announcing team working the game last night posed a constant and intractable obstacle between viewers and the game. Which, not to put too fine a point on it, is pretty much the precise opposite of what an announcing team is supposed to do.

I literally found myself leaning in toward the TV and squinting at the screen, as if that would help me follow what Gerald Henderson was doing while the announcers went happily and blissfully AWOL, addressing such pressing matters as Ronde Barber, the new College Basketball Experience in Kansas City and, inevitably, Jimmy V.

This announcing team has been tarred on occasion with the easy catch-all pejorative "ESPN," but let us be clear. It's not ESPN. Jay Bilas, Bill Raftery and Sean McDonough share a water cooler with these guys, yet they're consistently outstanding. No, it's simply that last night's announcing team has apparently been given free reign by someone in the organizational chart to ignore the game whenever they want. Which, as it happens, is very often.

That's worse than annoying. It's unprofessional in the most literal sense of the term. Anyone else in the world is free to talk about whatever they want to talk about. Last night's announcing team, on the other hand, was paid specifically to talk about Wisconsin vs. Duke. They should have tried it from time to time.

http://basketballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=55

[BoltZag]

Santa won't be delivering this year

McDonough, Bilas and Raftery will work the Big Monday Big East games all season. It's unlikely they'll call another Zag game this year.

And don't hold your breath for Gus Johnson, unless we land in his region during the NCAA tourney. And FWIW, he is back on the regional semi and finals (you may remember James Brown [worst pxp man alive] took his place last year). CBS is starting come to terms with Gus's immense popularity.

[ZagNative]

We could hire WooHoo to chauffeur Ehlo to the games. . .

[exiledhusky]

...for the 3 ESPN guys that announced Sat's game vs Uconn to call the rest of GU's games this year.

Can someone make this happen? Please!

I'll take Heytfelt at 100% in time for the Memphis game.

Careful what you wish for, in the eyes of the hype machine, you ain't there until you get ACC biased puke duke Vital.

[zagster318]

"When you're sleepless in Seattle, why not get a little kiss, Gus? Oh, major onions!"

The greatness of Bill Rafferty after the Morrison game winner against Oklahoma State.

I was sitting in the front row for that game on the end where Morrison made the shot. What a game!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmY-BXzMc5g

[ZagNative]

I don't believe it's possible to listen to/watch that video too often. What a terrific few moments of college basketball and announcing by masters of the mike. Gosh, that stuff just comes off the top of the guy's head! And another Zags' game with the flavor of March.

[Birddog]

What's great about Raftery is that none of his stuff seems forced or too contrived. It just flows naturally. Many a noob announcer/color dude feels compelled to come up with some cute couplet or otherwise clever word pairing and most seem forced or rehearsed. One of my favorites from Raftery was a year or two ago when he was commenting on Pendo and he said something like "He just grabs his lunchpail puts on his overalls and goes to work". Raftery is a Pendo fan, you can tell if you pay attention.

With a couple of exceptions, James Brown among them, it's quite obvious that most of the broadcast teams genuinely like Few and the staff. Mark is a huge promoter of the Coaches vs Cancer program and they never miss the opportunity to mention it. Coaches (staff) need the media, and the media need them. Mark and the guys have figured out perfectly the balance needed to get some props and still feed the machine in what is (or can be) a very incestuous affair. When you listen, you can tell it's not just the regular old "lip service" when they make their comments. Few has also enamored himself with the print media in much the same way. It's my belief that this is all possible for a variety of reasons. Although it's getting old now, this is still a good story (GU BB and it's rise), the staff is open and genuinely likable, and the team has some legit talent. In what many would perceive to be a crummy assignment (going to Spokaloo) they now seem to rather enjoy the off the beaten path, laid back atmosphere of Few and Co. and the area. I don't get the sense of anything like this occurring in places like Lubbock. I believe a lot of this can be attributed to the fact that Mark and the guys are just genuine, not phony, and because of that are genuinely likable. I'm sure glad we have Few for more reasons than just the X's and O's, and I'd be willing to bet Spitzer does too.

Birddog