BC867
Long time Phoenician!
BUMP.It's Wednesday May 17th and I'm watching Kevin Ray call the Mercury game. He's driving me freaking crazy! He doesn't speak in sentences calling the game.
He says three or four words, then pauses, then another few words, then another pause, then he finishes the sentence. It takes him 3 paragraphs to finish one sentence.
I've seen him do this before, so it's nothing new. I'm shouting at the TV, "Just say it, will 'ya!" I'm telling you, guys. He's not the clown show that the Albert brother was, but Kevin Ray makes you feel uncomfortable watching the game.
And his habit of inverting words. "She made just it.", instead of "She just made it." He's done Mercury games before. If he is this nervous now, imagine when he tries to be the voice of the Suns.
I think the front office made a terrible mistake. But, they're consistent. Not just cheap lightweight coaches, but cheap lightweight announcers. The small town banker from Tucson strikes again. Robert Sarver, the bird-brained owner -- cheap, cheap, cheap.
Man, Kevin Ray is worse than ever. I don't know how Annie doesn't scream at him, "Finish your sentences, damnit!" He goes on an on, probably with no clue what he is going to say next. He says four words at a time, then a long pause, then three more, then a long pause, then four more. And quite often, he'll leave it hanging and not even finish the sentence.
I feel for Annie. The game moves quickly. It is the job of a professional play-by-play announcer, who has to cover the promo's as well, to lead the color commentator into her time. She shouldn't have to guess or, worse, interrupt, to do her job. But she has started doing that.
He is not an "F-minus" like Steve Albert, but KRay is a "D". And he does the same thing that the runt of the Albert litter used to do. When the knowledgable color commentator (and former player) makes a basketball observation, he repeats it, changing a few words, as though as it were his idea. Or worse, that he is giving his approval. Who the hell is Kevin Ray to judge Annie's or EJ's basketball knowledge?
When the Suns are getting blown out and I shut off the game during the fourth quarter, it is because of Kevin Ray. Another example of, "Hey Sarver, you get what you pay for."
Also, I don't want to offend any Chicagoans, but I cringe every time I hear KRay use his Chic-yeah-go accent. If only that were his only annoyance.
When I moved here from New Jersey decades ago and people would ask where I'm from, I'd say, "New Jersey" and they'd say, "Ya don't sound like yaw fum Joisey." And I'd laugh as say, "Thank you."