Steve Albert retiring

[Sunburn]

Tom Leander is awful. Very corny and just not the voice to listen to for 2 hours.

I'll take corny over announcing the wrong name/wrong call/confusion any day. And Albert is damn corny himself.

 

[JS22]

Would like to see Vince Marotta get a shot. He is the current PA announcer for the Suns and does have some experience in doing play-by-play outside of the NBA. I might also be biased because his show with Bickley on 92.3 is the only sports show I try to listen to every day.

 

[ArizonaSportsFan]

You don't think they would bring in Kevin Ray for this, do you? I don't think I could take it. He is a classic "marble mouth".

 

[BC867]

You don't think they would bring in Kevin Ray for this, do you? I don't think I could take it. He is a classic "marble mouth".

I hope not. I find it very uncomfortable to listen to him. And even more so to watch him speak. His jaw mannerisms are almost painful to observe.

The Suns had the right idea in going for a national figure . . . and the Albert name. Unfortunately, Steve Albert was the runt of the litter, with the personality of a Catskill comedian. Self-deprecating. The same routines over and over. And, of course, no idea what was going on. His assessments were often wrong and his emphasis missed the point.

We need to go out of market again, but this time a skilled candidate, professional in his demeanor and a pleasure to listen to. Like the D-backs did with Steve Berthiaume.

 

[elindholm]

How about one of the guys ESPN recently fired, like Mike Tirico? Too big a name?

Edit: Okay, not Tirico, I forgot that he's huge at NBC now. So, someone "like" him.

 

[BC867]

My personal choice is Jeff Munn. I know I am in the minority in that opinion. Jeff's voice is the reincarnation of Vin Scully. When I visit my friends in Santa Barbara, I would always time it with the Dodgers being at home, so I could listen to a few innings of Vinnie. Until these last couple of years when Dodgers games were no longer on public TV in southern California and they don't have the sports package. I even bought Kevin Costner's movie "For Love of the Game" (not his best baseball movie) because it features Vinnie calling the game scenes throughout.

Jeff Munn started as arena announcer for the Suns and his last gig was pre- and post-D-backs games as well as backup radio play by play. He is an expert in basketball and baseball trivia. I was surprised his career never took off. I sent him a note a few years ago asking why and he told me what he was doing but didn't really answer the question.

Anyway, if I had my druthers, I'd choose Munny and the voice of Vinnie would live on.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Munn would be great

 

[SunsTzu]

I'll take corny over announcing the wrong name/wrong call/confusion any day. And Albert is damn corny himself.

I agree. I didn't like Leander when he first started because he lacks the voice, but he came off as one of the most knowledgeable play by play guys and was able to follow the action well.

Dave Pasch would be ideal because I think he's the best play by play guy in football or basketball and can even work well with personalities like Wolf and Bill Walton. I think it will likely be Jon Bloom who calls the NAZ games and is also a solid choice.

 

[Phrazbit]

I agree that I'd take Tom Leander's brand of corny over Albert's nonsense, however, that does not mean I want Leander back, I felt he was a terrible announcer. Gary Bender was good, McCoy is amazing. Go tap a new well Suns. I won't be apopoletic if Leander gets the gig but I won't be happy about it.

For anyone who needs a Leander refresher...

"Elevates and detonates!!!"
"You have been... YOUTUBED!!!"
"Free for three!"
"DOWNLOADS A THREE!!!"

uuuuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuh... I never need to hear that garbage again.

 

[slinslin]

Gary Bender was not good.

Go and make a forum search for Gary Bender. He was so awful. I even had a petition running to replace Bender and it had a lot of backers.

Gary Bender made mistakes non-stop.

Steve Albert was good, he had a pleasant voice. Was not annoying, was not a homer.

 

[slinslin]

NashDishesDimes said: ↑

She bothers me too. Way too many females reporting sports. If all these women are on ESPN then whose in the kitchen?

Anyways the only reporter/broadcaster that i hate more is Gary Bender who does the play-by-play for suns games. He is such a deusche..

BC867 said: ↑

At the start of the game, the graphics on the screen showed him as a PF, with Frye at Center . . . but Gary Bender announced the opposite.

AfroSuns said: ↑

Dont know what is more annoying. Suns blowing another lead or Gary bender harping on blowing a lead every freaking second.

leclerc said: ↑

I don't know how long it's been since I saw a game with Al commentating. All I get is Leander and Gary Bender. And that really bothers me.

Mike Olbinski said: ↑

Neither are as bad as Gary Bender, that guy sucks!

Chaz said: ↑

I like Scott Williams but I am not impressed with his broadcasting skills so far.


Of course then Gary Bender still has a job so......

TheHopToad said: ↑

It's Gary Bender, he's a little confused about everything.
(on Bender emphitically giving false information for tie-breaker in the standings

da_suns_fan said: ↑

"Come playoff time, we could see Penny Hardaway dunking like he did earlier in his career"

- Gary Bender

da_suns_fan said: ↑

After watching last nights game, I was blown away by just how many calls Gary Bender gets wrong. It got to the point where I was just laughing at how awful he was. I thought maybe we should start a drinking game for anytime he calls a game.


1. If he incorrectly states which player a foul has been called on, you take a drink.




2. If he incorrectly states which TEAM a foul is on, you take two drinks.




3. If he incorrectly states what type of call is being made, you take three drinks.





Not sure how to handle simultaneous infractions:



And we got to have everyone drink for everytime he says "And all of a sudden...."

Can anyone else think of a good rule?

da_suns_fan said: ↑

I can't believe what Im reading.

First of all, I think Eddie Johnson is one of the best commentators out there. He doesn't just repeat what just happened like we didn't see it, he'll point what angle a guy has to take or whatever to prevent it from happening again. And his laugh is pretty funny too.

As far as who sux, Gary Bender is probably the worst announcer in the history of sports. Not only is he excruciatingly repetitive (and all of a sudden), he's got absolutely no clue whats going on.

"And do we have a foul?" - Gary Bender

"No, three seconds you moron". - DSF

"And theyre gonna call it out Bell" - Bender

"No..its on the other team....and Im not watching from halfcourt" - DSF.

Rab said: ↑

That had me laughing out loud, because I do the same thing when I have to listen to Bender. I get so frustrated because they've already announced the call over the loudspeaker, and Bender is still trying to figure it out. Thunder Dan has to correct him a lot, and you can tell sometimes he has to pick his spots because it happens so often.

Leander just plain reminds me of a local homer who sometimes has trouble finding the line between being a homer, and being a good local broadcaster who can recognize other teams other than the Suns. He would especially drive me nuts last year when they'd swap out Dan or EJ for someone from the other team's broadcast team. All he'd do is push how good the Suns were on the other guy, and completely neglect to say more than 2 sentences about the other team.

"Raja that"

"The Suns are beginning to percalate (sp)"

"The net result"

I can't stand those phrases.

azirish said: ↑

Maybe we could do a game and guess how many blunders Bender does each game. Then everyone submits their blunder examples to set the number (people who guess high will have an incentive to pay close attention")

Nash2Amare said: ↑

I've always hated Bender, Leander isn't much better, though. Majerle makes up for Bender's horrific play by play.

jbeecham said: ↑

I'd rather just have Eddie Johnson & Dan Majerle sit out there telling stories and talking about the game instead of ever having to listen to Leander or Gary Bender.

elindholm said: ↑

"Hall of Fame broadcaster"? Really? He's, um, not good.

nathan said: ↑

I can deal with Leander. Gary Bender is the guy that drives me nuts.

jbeecham said: ↑

I'm glad Bender is retiring... the guy missed plays multiple times every game... say there were fouls when the ball just went out of bounds, say the foul was on the wrong person, get names confused, etc. Whatever color guy he worked with seemed to have to constantly bite his tongue so he didn't correct him & embarrass him. I think the weirdest thing I ever remember hearing him talk about on air was that he showers every time after he poops... I don't know how that came up or why.

Joe Mama said: ↑

As much as I detest listening to Gary Bender he usually gives other team's players more than their fair share of first fact. Don't get me wrong. He is an enormous homer. He does usually give credit where credit is due though.

Joe Mama

newfan101 said: ↑

Nobody is worse than Gary Bender.

Nobody.

You could tie me to a chair in the most surreal Kubrickian fashion imaginable, blaring Dick Vitale through a stereo set at 11, in a room with Metal walls, while getting a root canal, and it would still be better than listening to Gary Bender, even in the comfort of my own living room.

scudney said: ↑

As far as Bender... I just started laughing as soon as I heard that distinct voice when I turned to TNT. I just couldn't believe he was doing a national broadcast.

carey said: ↑

How on earth did Gary Bender get a national play by play gig? He's doing the Knicks / Nets playoff game on T N T right now. I realize my hatred for his on-air ability runs deep, but I assumed (due to comments on this board) that a lot of people dislike him. What do you guys think?

 

[Hoop Head]

I agree that I'd take Tom Leander's brand of corny over Albert's nonsense, however, that does not mean I want Leander back, I felt he was a terrible announcer. Gary Bender was good, McCoy is amazing. Go tap a new well Suns. I won't be apopoletic if Leander gets the gig but I won't be happy about it.

For anyone who needs a Leander refresher...

"Elevates and detonates!!!"
"You have been... YOUTUBED!!!"
"Free for three!"
"DOWNLOADS A THREE!!!"

uuuuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuh... I never need to hear that garbage again.

"Throws down the ORANGE CRUSH!!!" is the Leander'ism that I despise the most. You nailed most of the others.

 

[SirStefan32]

Bender and EJ were my favorite tag team.

 

[sunsfan88]

I'd like Leander back. He always made Amare's dunks even sound more exciting...I figure he can do something similar for guys like Chriss/Jones Jr etc.

Is there anyway to steal Dave Pasch from the Cardinals? I love him and he's always a joy to listen to even in basketball when commentates the games for ESPN sometimes.