Voicing an opinion
I nearly fell out of my La-Z-Boy laughing after the following exchange between Mike Gorman and Tommy Heinsohn during the Celtics' game the other night. (In fact, I even Twittered this. Still not sure what that means.)
Gorman, after an Eddie House 3-ball: "Who is the Celtics all-time leader in 3-point percentage?"Heinsohn, droll as can be: "Not Antoine."
- Tommy still has his fastball after all these years, bless his sarcastic soul.
- Man, Antoine really did dent a lot of rims in his time here. I liked him, but I will never miss him.
- And, most notably for today's purposes: Our favorite New England sports teams all have outstanding broadcasting crews, both on television and radio.
It's true. Gorman and Heinsohn. Gil and Gino. RemDawg and Orsillo. They're all good. After giving this a little more consideration -- and checking in with some Bruins-savvy cohorts -- I even ranked them, best to worst, with the caveat that I enjoy the duo rated last nearly as much as the one in the top spot. Hey, we're lucky that way. There are no more Glenn Geffners here.
As always, I expect you will tell me where I was right or wrong in the comments section . . .
1. Heinsohn and Gorman, Celtics television: As good as it gets, locally, nationally, anywhere. Gorman and Heinsohn have been calling Celtics games together since 1981 (remember "SportsChannel New England"?), and their comfort with each other is obvious. Gorman isn't a relentless self-promoter like so many others in his line of work, so he doesn't always get his due in terms of media appreciation. But thinking Celtics fans sure as heck respect and appreciate him. He calls a game smoothly, has a short list of enjoyable but not overused catchphrases ("Allen for 3 . . . Got it!"), sets up Tommy like a savvy point guard . . . oh, and he also handles the crucial task of preventing Heinsohn from mauling Kenny Mauer or the Enemy Zebra of the Game. As for Tommy, while his constant harping on the refs can be a distraction, his knowledge of the game is unsurpassed and he doesn't even consider tempering his opinions. He's a local treasure, and you know what? So is Gorman. (Note: We also like Donny Marshall, who handles the road games in place of Heinsohn. But no one really replaces Tommy.)
2. Joe Castiglione and Dave O'Brien, Red Sox radio: Joe Castig, a member of the Red Sox radio team since 1983 (the Ralph Houk era), has become the voice of summer in New England, particularly to the generation of fans too young to remember Ken Coleman or Ned Martin. While he lacks the classic radio pipes -- dogs in particular are not big fans of his work -- he has a kind, jovial manner and clearly loves the Sox, to the point that his annoyance is barely disguised in his voice when things are not going well on the field. After all these years, he's as comfortable as your favorite faded Sox cap. And O'Brien's the ultimate pro. He has a polished voice -- a nice contrast to Castiglione's --a good feel for the pace of the game, doesn't start jumbling his words incoherently in the biggest moments (WAY BACK!!), and unlike his most recent predecessor, the horrific Geffner, has apparently gone through puberty. He's the partner we wished Castig had all those years.
3. Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy, Red Sox television: There's been some backlash against the ubiquitous RemDawg in recent years, but I thought he toned down the hucksterism last year and got back to doing what he does as well as analyst -- telling you why something will happen, not just why something already happened. He's still about as good as it gets. As for Orsillo, he's pleasant, and yes, I realize that's a lukewarm compliment. He's come a long way since he replaced sound-alike Sean McDonough in voice only before the 2001 season, but the first time he says something remotely critical about the Sox management or a player will be the first. (Whenever Tim Wakefield gives up, say, seven runs in 2 1/3 hideous innings, Orsillo never fails to call it a "tough outing." Drives me nuts.) That said, spend an hour or so jumping around to various teams' broadcasts on the the MLB.com package, and I guarantee you'll appreciate what we have in Remy and Orsillo pretty fast.
4. Sean Grande and Cedric Maxwell, Celtics radio: They might have the best give-and-take chemistry of any local tandem save for Gorman and Heinsohn, who have been working together since Grande was 11 years old. Grande's deep knowledge of the contemporary NBA comes through during every broadcast, although his introductory soliloquies sometimes run longer than one of my columns. Maxwell offers an appealing mix of casual humor and candid insight, and the difference between when he began and now is as wide as the gap between the 2006-07 Celtics and last year's champs. I'll never quite understand his bitterness toward Larry Bird, though I suppose it has something to do with Larry heartily endorsing the Bill Walton deal that sent Max to LA Clipper purgatory before the 1985-86 season.
5. Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley, Bruins television: I'm a casual Bruins watcher, at least in comparison to the other three major sports around here. And while I have my half-formed opinions of their announcers -- Edwards is eager but prone to ridiculous proclamations, Brickley knows his stuff -- I figured I'd turn over the keyboard to someone who hasn't missed a Bruins shift since before he was wearing double-runners. So I give you Matt Porter, one of our Bruins muckers-and-grinders here at Boston.com and the Globe, to give you an actual educated opinion on the TV voices of the B's:
Edwards is a fine announcer. He's technically sound, never leaves us lacking information. And he's creative, which is never usually a detriment to game-calling. However, some of his catchphrases can make you cringe, and he has dozens. So many that a hockey message board created a Jack Edwards Bingo card (which caused NESN to jump in front of the trend and create their own). Since you can't survive on junk alone, you need cool, clearheaded insight to balance Edwards's catch-phrase wackiness. And if Edwards a triple latte and a strawberry frosted, Brickley is a bagel and orange juice. He always delivers, providing Remy-level insight without the self-promotion, in an smart, easily digestible manner. He's one of the best color guys in the business, and we're lucky to have him.
So there you go. If you disagree, take it up with Ports.
6. Gil Santos and Gino Cappelletti, Patriots radio: Yeah, they've slipped some in recent years. The first time Joey Galloway takes one to the house this fall, I fully expect Gil to yell, "Touchdown . . . Harold Jackson!" Gino sometimes seems too preoccupied with squeezing in every last one of the out-of-town scores to notice that, say, Tom Brady has just been submarined in the knee by some obscure Chief. And it's probably time they replaced Mr. Magoo as the spotter. Despite the occasional frustrations and confusion, though, I still greatly enjoy listening to them call the game. Gil's booming pipes remain unmatched, and his call of Adam Vinatieri's first Super Bowl-winning boot still induces chills. ("It's good! . . . It's good! And the New England Patriots are Super Bowl champions!") Gino is like your beloved old uncle who doesn't really know the players as well as you do anymore, but remains good company on game day nonetheless. If these two are the worst we have to listen to, we must be the luckiest sports fans in the country.
Incomplete because I'm Hockey Dumb: Dave Goucher and Bob Beers, Bruins radio: In all honesty, I'm not sure the last time I listened to a Bruins game, but I'm pretty sure Pete Peeters was the goalie. So file this one under You Tell Me. But I've heard nothing but good things, especially about Beers.
* * *
As for today's Completely Random Baseball Card:
You might have heard former Phillies closer Mitch Williams's blunt and entertaining take on Curt Schilling this morning on WEEI -- I believe the key phrase was, "He was a bad teammate." Or: "We were like oil and water."
But it wasn't the first time Williams has made his dislike for his former fellow Phillie public. After Schilling lost his bid for a no-hitter two years ago with two outs in the ninth inning at Oakland, here is what Williams had to say about it to sports radio station WIP in Philadelphia:
"I heard right after he lost it, and I pulled my car over and got the pom-poms out and was doing all kinds of cheers,'' Williams said during a guest appearance on the station, which played clips of Oakland's Shannon Stewart's two-out hit in Spanish and English. ''You wouldn't have a French version? I could listen to that in every language.''I've always said, if there was a big game I had to win, I'd want him to pitch it. Then I'd want to hit him when it was over.''
Just so we have this straight, Mitch: Not a Schill fan?
ABOUT TOUCHING ALL THE BASESIrreverence and insight from Chad Finn, a Globe/Boston.com sports writer and lifelong and incurable sports nut. Yes, he realizes how lucky he is. You can e-mail him at chadfinn4@yahoo.com.
browse this blog
by categoryTHE BEST OF TATB
- Vote for Pedro
- The best day ever
- 'David Ortiz has done it again!'
- Better man
- End of the idiots
- U gut male
- Questions we'd have asked the Texas Con Man
- Anniversary of an Angel
- The Air Coryell Chargers
- The top 10 Maine Guides
- The 1985 L.A. Clippers
- The day Yankees fans discovered TATB
- 'Without a doubt, I'll be part of the Celtics' tradition'
- The empire strikes out
- Shortstops: The boy band
- For Greenie, and Brian Denman, too
- The Big Ticket comes to Boston
- Do not bat this man second
- TATB Live: World Series, Game 4
- Josh Beckett, and that time I was right about everything
- Eau de Intangibles
- The loneliest number
- Sleep through the static
- Shining moments
- This place is meant for me
- I don't like the drugs but the drugs like me
- Red Sox All-Time Dirtbag Team
- Live from Ft. Myers
- Quiz me
- Turn, turn, turn
- Happy trails, No. 11
- Two great seasons
- Fireworks on Cloud 10
- The enemies list
- Ultimate Patriots Quiz, Part 1
- Ultimate Patriots Quiz, Part 2
- Guess that '70s Ballplayer, Part 1
- Guess that '70s Ballplayer, Part 2
- Guess that '70s Ballplayer, Part 3
- Guess that '70s Ballplayer, Part 4
- Reeling in the years
- Daddy's girl
- It was the best of times . . . "
- As Teixeira turns
- Dave Bourque
- The 20 most important Red Sox
- Tito's parting thoughts
- About last night
- A brief tribute to ancient pitchers
- Manny moments
- Pied Papi
- Superiority complex
- Seventeen so sweet
- Lefthanded compliment
- I'm a believer
R.I.P., 'OT'
MORE WRITING FROM CHAD
- Where have you gone, Tom Newell?
- Our favorite obscurities
- Everything I know about baseball I learned from Strat-O-Matic
- Lyman Bostock: Fallen Angel
- America's Team
- Roger the Dodger
- Thanks, mom
- The Pitino Dynasty
- Aim blame at Little
- Why the Patriots will beat the Rams
- Patriots 20, Rams 17
- The case against Lawyer Milloy
- Remembering Reggie Lewis
- Extraordinary Joe Johnson
- A very Brady sequel?
- Brady's the QB now - and in the future
- Curtis Martin: The one who got away
- Sweet, embraceable you
- James gives Sox strength in numbers
- These sports books have the write stuff
links
THE FUNDAMENTALS
- Barstool Sports
- Baseball Analysts
- Baseball Cube
- Boston Dirt Dogs
- Boston Sports Media
- Dave D'Onofrio
- Jenna Fischer
- Joe Posnanski
- Ken Levine
- Maine Headlines
- Maple Street Press
- Office Tally
- Seamheads
- Sons of Sam Horn
- Sports Pickle
- Surviving Grady
- The Big Lead
- SI Vault
- Cardboard Gods
ROLE PLAYERS
CHICKS DIG BLOGS
- Baseball Card Blog
- Baseball Desert
- Basegirl
- Bloop Single
- Boston Red Thoughts
- The Boston Score
- Bronx Banter
- Can't Stop The Bleeding
- Card Junkies
- Celtics Blog
- Central Maine Sports Blog
- The College Baseball Blog
- Cursed and First
- Empyreal Environs
- El Guapo's Ghost
- Fenway Fanatics
- Fenway Nation
- Firebrand of the A.L.
- For Love of the Sox
- Hardball Heaven
- The House That Dewey Built
- The Joy of Sox
- Over The Monster
- Papel-blog
- Red Socks Diaries
- Roto Authority
- Singapore Sox Fan
- Small White Ball
- Sox and Pinstripes
- Sox1Fan
- Sports Couch Potato
- Sportsthodoxy
- Tossing Batting Practice
- TLBR
- Yanks Fan vs. Sox Fan
THE OMBUDSMAN









