Best and Worst TV announcers, per sport.

[Ottobon]

Every time i see a rally car, anywhere, i cry a little inside. Its not because of the track-side spectators that have been killed over the years, the driver deaths, or even the loss of cold machinery put forth for the effort of rally. No, the reason i cry is because rallying is probably more let-down by its presentation then almost any other sport in the world, maybe besides golf. I can't put my finger on i exactly why but something about the way all the video is thrown together and then talked about at auctioneer speeds just makes me feel queezy. I mean to be honest Rally has all the things a sport needs to be awesome, it has not only physical demands on mman and machine, but demands on teamwork, communication, and true strategy. None of that matters though because the whole damn sport is letdown by the damn announces, and because of this i may never ever watch another damn rally event on TV again.

On the other hand one of they most worthless sports ever made is my favorite, Monster Trucks! I know its childish but i love the way the announcers go out of there way to sound involved and ecstatic about whats happening in-front of them. It may be stupid from time to time, but it is never cold and emotionless like Rallying can be, and even though monster trucks themselves don't usually seem to attract the brightest people it simply doesn't matter because i can't think of a crowd that makes a motor-sport seem more gladiatorial.


I've had my say, So what do you think?

 

[Necx0]

I don't the guy who does the Eurosport WRC coverage. Would totally ruin it if it had someone going "WOW thats awesome did you see that!!!!".

Neil Crompton is my favourite commentator. Australian V8 Supercars commentator. Incredibly knowledgable, knows everyone in the paddock and very enthusiastic. Bit boring with the stats at times but a great guy.

 

[Loz]

The British Eurosport WRC commentator seems ok. A few years ago they had a few commentators like Penny Mallory ect. They seemed good.

Shame Allen is doing the F1. There are a few good commentators out there, like some from Motors TV. Or bring back Murray.

 

[DaShowstoppa]

The British Eurosport WRC commentator seems ok. A few years ago they had a few commentators like Penny Mallory ect. They seemed good.

Shame Allen is doing the F1. There are a few good commentators out there, like some from Motors TV. Or bring back Murray.

The guy who does the main commentary for Skysports' A1GP coverage is better.But then does James Allen suffer from being the successor to the greatest motoracing commentator of all time - Murray Walker.

 

[ESPNSTI]

I agree with you about some of the WRC coverage I've seen.
Eurosport's coverage is ok, but in the past I've seen them from other channels that were appalling.
Aside from that I don't understand why the coverage is so short, and why they still haven't managed to get a proper in-car camera angle (one that shows more that 10 feet of road in front of the car).

The most annoying commentator award in my book goes to John Watson (A1GP).
He always comes off as if he's king shit and other people aren't worthy to be in his presence, the way he speaks is annoying and he just gets things completely wrong at times.

In contrast, I think the F1 commentators on Speed TV are absolutely top notch I think.

 

[vikiradTG2007]

Best commentator in motorsport has to have been Murray Walker; he's mostly famous for his Murrayisms and for his F1 commentary, but he also commented on many other motorsports in the UK.

Worst? I'll name two people.
1) James Allen. Splits your ears when he screams in his idiotic falsetto "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO", in a pathetic attempt to mimic Murray at the start. Also contradicts himself a lot of the time, and like all the ITV F1 crew this year, lost touch with reality and live in a Hamilton dream-world.

2) Romanian commentator Dan-Mihai Alexandrescu. Opposite voice to Allen, I swear that only cats can properly hear him blabbering on; a voice that puts you to sleep. He claims to be an expert and the "friend" of pretty much ALL of the people in the paddock. Well sorry, my dear sir, you are NOT. And when I get a TV tuner on my new PC, I'll record all F1 races on our national TV feed and wipe his annoying voice which is obscuring a perfect musical piece for 22*8 cylinders. Plus, he's even more confused than Allen and keeps blabbering on about who-knows-what even when something dramatic happens on track.

STOP THESE COCKS!!!!!!!!

 

[Gibby]

James Allen is a cock

 

[janstett]

- Any of the NASCRAP announcers. Not that I watch it.
- NFL -- Cris Collinsworth and Bryant (Winter Olympics suck because there aren't enough black people) Gumbell must die. Two frigtards now paired together on NFL Network. You got shit in my vomit. No, you got vomit in my shit.
- Throw in Jerry Glanville.
- While I'm at it, can I throw some hate towards Don "Mumbles" Anus on his return?
- NBA -- I hate Bill Walton, sounds like he has wood chippings in his mouth.

 

[Cobol74]

When we had NFL on Ch4 I liked Madden.

 

[Loz]

The guy who does the main commentary for Skysports' A1GP coverage is better.But then does James Allen suffer from being the successor to the greatest motoracing commentator of all time - Murray Walker.

I forgot about him. He seems good. What is his name?

There is another commentator called Carlotn Kirby, he commentates on Motors TV i think, aswell as Eurosport.

 

[Karoug]

Carlton Kirby is funny..

 

[DaShowstoppa]

I forgot about him. He seems good. What is his name?

There is another commentator called Carlotn Kirby, he commentates on Motors TV i think, aswell as Eurosport.

Once again Sky Sports will provide full coverage, with commentators John Watson and Ben Edwards reunited as the action gets underway.


Quick trip to Skysports.com for ya!

 

[pfrocker]

In contrast, I think the F1 commentators on Speed TV are absolutely top notch I think.

Well I have to agree and disagree. I like Bob Varsha he is a very good commentator, but David Hobbs' voice is very annoying. The SPEED commentating would improve if they replace him and bring in Townsend Bell (the guy who did the Monza commentating). He has a very smooth voice (remind me a little like James Hunt commenating) and is a modern racing driver so he can give us more insight on what these drivers are going through.

But the Best? Who else? That has to by Murray Walker!

 

[InfernalVortex]

David Hobbs is amazing. I cant even begin to count all the things he's said over the years that's left me laughing hysterically.

We had a guy back in the day, before Steve Matchett, that was terrible. Rick Debruhl or somethin like that.

And Peter Windsor is absolutely nauseating. His intense sexual lust towards Lewis Hamilton is just disturbing.

 

[Elmo187]

- Any of the NASCRAP announcers. Not that I watch it.

then if you don't watch it, how do you know they're bad announcers? Darrell Waltrip and Rusty Wallace are 2 of my favorites next to the late, great Benny Parsons (god rest his soul). all former drivers themselves, meaning they're EXTREMELY knowledgable and VERY unbiased. the one who pisses me off the most out of the NASCAR announces is Larry McReynolds. he has to be the most ignorant redneck on TV. he's also like the redneck Jesse Jackson. he comes up with words outta nowhere that have absolutely no meaning to them whatsoever.

oh and Dave Despain has the coolest announcer voice of all of em. from the times he was doing NHRA to now with Wind Tunnel. Don Garlits is another good one when he's doing pit reporting for NHRA.

 

[maximus]

Carlton Kirby is funny..

Yeah, referring to sliding or oversteering cars as "bobbling", what a clot.

 

[DaShowstoppa]

We had a guy back in the day, before Steve Matchett, that was terrible. Rick Debruhl or somethin like that.

THE Steve Matchett? I wondered why he hadn't written a new book for a bit - you should all check out his books (two written while at Benetton)

Glad he's on TV and doing well for himself, he comes across as a genuine guy.

 

[Red_Bull]

THE Steve Matchett? I wondered why he hadn't written a new book for a bit - you should all check out his books (two written while at Benetton)

Glad he's on TV and doing well for himself, he comes across as a genuine guy.

I have all of his books, and they're terrific. I've watched a few SpeedTV grand prix coverages, and his contributions are pretty decent. He even commentated on the 2004 Canadian Grand Prix and did a competent job. More than could be said for the nauseating and utterly clueless Dave Hobbs.

He talks a little about his SpeedTV role in his most recent book 'Chariots of Fire'. I hope he considers writing part two of his autobiography about his TV career because I thoroughly enjoyed 'The Mechanics Tale'.

As for the ITV duo of Allen and Brundle, well I find them to be alright. Brundle is very good, but (and I'm probably going to make myself unpopular here) Allen is also pretty good at what he does. Ok, he isnt the most impartial commentator and frankly, his Hamilton and Button love fest is downright irritating and even sickening. Actually, his voice can get a bit annoying as well, it has a sort of nasal quality that doesn't work well for the sort of job he has. He was great as a pitlane reporter though. Louise annoys me.

There are better commentators out there though who I wish had the job instead of him - John Watson and Ben Edwards was a great combination back in the Eurosport days of the mid to late 90s. They had that rare ability to make even the most dullest of races quite entertaining. Of course, Watson's reaction to the Coulthard pitwall crash in Adelaide 1995 was utterly priceless!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqLTWyr836g&feature=related[/youtube]

 

[DaShowstoppa]

Murray was commentating on the Race of Champions for Sky! 8)