Radio and television personalities have a few responsibilities to their viewers/listeners that are very critical. Yes, they need to inform you. Letting the audience know the latest information going on with the game they are covering. These folks also have a job to entertain, to keep an audience when a game is a blowout and to help the casual fan enjoy what they’re seeing or hearing. This applies to play-by-play announcers, booth analysts, studio hosts, and studio analysts. It takes a special skill to be able to keep tabs on a game and find ways to keep it light when the moment calls for it.
After careful consideration, I’ve constructed a list of the top 5 current personalities (play-by-play, game analyst, studio host and studio analyst) that are currently working. Entertaining can mean a few things among the people on this list. Humor is obviously one of the criteria. In the case of the play-by-play announcers here, the way they are able to work laughs into the broadcast without compromising it is critical. As far as the analysts go, it’s all about personality. I think you’ll understand better as we document the folks on this list. Remember also, this is a list of those currently working in the industry.
Kevin Harlan
He is perhaps one of the most enthusiastic of the play-by-play announcers out there. His voice screams excitement, without screaming at you. Harlan is a wordsmith. He can weave in some of his catchphrases, right in the flow of the broadcast, but the point still makes it across the airwaves.
Whether it’s LeBron James dunking on someone, “with no regard for human life” or a play in a Ravens game featuring Lamar Jackson, where he escaped trouble. For that escape he was rewarded with a patented OHHHHH and a “HE IS HOUDINI!” I love his calls because while they are up there in excitement, Harlan always, forgive the sports cliché here, stays within himself. It’s not over the top.
Another reason he’s on this list is his ability to improvise, overcome and adapt. Like this gem from a year or so ago, during a Monday Night Football radio broadcast, when a runaway cat got loose on the field.
“Oh, and there a cat, a cat black has taken the field. A black cat is running from the 20 to the nearside the 10, from the 39 of Dallas here is a short throw down the middle caught by Engram. Caught at the 35 to the 30, now the cat running the other way and so is Ingram at the 25 near the 24-yard line of the Dallas Cowboys. It’s a catch-run of 15. Now the cat is stopped at the 50 … he’s at the eight … now he is at the five … he’s walking to the three, he’s at the two… and the cat is in the CDW Red Zone… now a policeman, a state trooper is on the field- AND THE CAT RUNS IN THE END ZONE! THAT IS A TOUCHDOWN!”
Gold, I tell you, gold!
Bob Uecker
Uecker is as much a part of Brewers lore as Bernie Brewer, who goes down a slide into a beer mug when Milwaukee homers. The guy has had an extraordinary run, not just in baseball, but in movies and television as well.
For those too young to remember, Uecker made numerous appearances on ‘The Tonight Show’ with Johnny Carson, who nicknamed Uecker ‘Mr. Baseball”. He starred in his own sitcom in the 80’s called ‘Mr. Belvedere’ and appeared in memorable commercials for Miller Lite beer. In one ad he exclaimed, ‘I must be in the front row’ a line uttered by many at baseball games. Of course, he is well known for his role in the movie ‘Major League’ where he plays baseball announcer Harry Doyle.
Uecker’s announcing style is not much different than ‘Doyle’s’, in that he always seems up beat. But it’s the stories that he tells, most are self-deprecating in nature, referring mainly to his playing career which wasn’t as spectacular as his post-baseball career. Here’s one from his Hall of Fame induction speech on July 27, 2003.
“My two boys are just like me,” Uecker told a crowd. “In their championship Little League game, one of them struck out three times and the other one had an error allowing the winning run to score. They lost the championship, and I couldn’t have been more proud. I remember the people as we walked through the parking lot throwing eggs and rotten stuff at our car. What a beautiful day.”
Uecker is beloved in his hometown of Milwaukee where he was recently celebrated for 50 years behind the microphone. At the ceremony he did have a thought for the final giveaway that would include his likeness.
“My last bobblehead, this is what I want,” Uecker said. “It’s going to be a box, the top will open, I will get up, and do my get up, get up, get out of here, and back down, close the cover and that’s it. That’s the way I want to go.”
Uecker is a baseball treasure.
Charles Barkley
The debate has been raging now for about 20 years. Was Charles Barkley a better player or broadcaster? If you watch him regularly on ‘Inside the NBA’ on TNT, you’ll likely vote for the latter choice. He’s about as real and as entertaining as it gets on television. That statement isn’t just limited to basketball either.
The former Philadelphia 76er, Phoenix Sun and Houston Rocket, played for 16 seasons in the NBA. He was an NBA MVP, 11-time All-Star and a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, enshrined in 2006. While most know him for the career on the hardwood, some know him better for sitting behind the desk on set with, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal.
Barkley definitely keeps it real and entertaining. His opinions are without filter and his personality is endearing. He plays along well with everyone on the panel and even when he’s on a different show, hilarity usually ensues. Just like when he appeared on the inaugural Manningcast a few weeks ago.
When Peyton Manning asked, “Hey Charles, you ever get booed at home? Never happened to you, right?” Barkley quickly responded, “I played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. That was a regularity.” “You were lucky, Peyton. Everybody liked you. Eli knows what it’s like to get booed at home.”
Barkley appeared on the debut edition of ‘The NHL on TNT’ pregame show with Wayne Gretzky. The former NBA star is a big NHL fan and threw shout-outs to ‘his’ Tampa Bay Lightning on the show. But nothing was better than watching ‘The Great One’ shoot hockey pucks and arguably one of the biggest goalies ever on live television. Barkley learned how to hold a goalie stick with his blocker hand and learned what the ‘5’ hole was. He was able to stop 1 of Gretzky’s five shots.
Later in the evening, video surfaced of Gretzky in a hockey fight with Minnesota’s Neil Broten. Upon seeing Gretzky beaten in the fight Barkley yelled, ‘you lost to a guy with a perm? Are you serious?’ Remember it was the 80’s so the hairstyle of choice for many was the ‘perm’. Great stuff.
Barkley on air is charming and acts like a big kid, which is a lot of fun for everyone.
Peyton Manning
Who knew that Peyton Manning was such a fun-loving personality when he played in the NFL? We got a glimpse of it as he was getting ready to finish up his great career as a quarterback for the Colts and Broncos. Peyton became that ‘geeky guy next door’ spokesman for several companies and left us with some memorable lines from his commercials.
As a spokesman for Nationwide Insurance he had the ad where everything he said was in the tune of ‘Nationwide is on your side’. Like “Chicken Parm you taste so good…” or “that’s a first rate queso dip.” He was also known for a legendary Mastercard commercial where he plays a ‘fan’ of people doing every day tasks. Lines like ‘Cut that meat, cut that meat’ and ‘Charlie you’re my favorite accountant, come on you’re on my fantasy team’. Manning was seen leaning over a railing like some young fans that are seeking autographs from their favorite players.
The work he and his brother Eli are doing on the “Manning MegaCast” during some Monday Night Football games is fantastic. He and Eli are funny and play off of each other well. Peyton is genuinely entertaining and not afraid to put himself out there for ridicule. Eli continues to make fun of Peyton’s forehead and it’s all good. Peyton relies on his perceived personality to take advantage of most situations. People saw him as this, ‘buttoned up’ athlete, but now he’s a must-watch whenever he appears on his own show or any other for that matter.
Manning is almost like a ‘dad joke’ waiting to happen.
Bill Walton
Then there is the granddaddy of them all, Bill Walton. Half the time I’m not even sure what the heck he is talking about, but I guess that makes it entertaining, right? Walton can be a play-by-play announcer’s worst nightmare, except most of, if not all of them, get it. They understand that Walton stands out in the crowd. I guess, literally (6’10”) and figuratively.
His rants are epic. They usually have nothing to do with the game he’s calling, whether it be basketball or baseball. Yes, he got a chance to call a baseball game in August of 2019. The White Sox and the Angels played in Anaheim and what ensued was the stuff of legends.
After a James McCann grand slam, he exclaimed, ‘What a fantastic turn of events if you love the White Sox, and I’m falling in love by the breath.’ Then after Mike Trout took Lucas Giolito deep,
‘That’s Trout? Swimming upstream, avoiding all the flies and sending one ricocheting through the universe,’ Walton said. Then there was the Walton everybody knows and loves, just stringing together words. ‘Woodstock. 50 years. ’79. Full moon. Waterfall. Exploding volcanoes. Baseball. White Sox. Angels. Summertime. No rain on the horizon. Greg Gumbel. Sam Smith. David Axelrod. Wow.’ Walton exclaimed. Ok, sure.
During the typical game called by Walton, there will likely be just as much discussion about non-basketball topics than basketball topics. Walton’s rants can drive some fans crazy, but most viewers love them. Take for example a game between Colorado and Oregon in February of 2020. Mark Jackson joined Dave Pasch and Walton on the call. Going to break, Walton exclaimed, ‘Get me some grass!’. I mean Buffaloes do graze on grass, but the double entendre works so well here. It continued after the break.
Jackson politely asked, ‘You said ‘Get me some grass.’ What kind of grass do you want?’ Walton replied quickly ‘I want Oregon grass! In Oregon, when you live here… what you do all the time is you cut firewood & you cut the grass. And then you gotta get rid of both of those, so you use them all.’
That is just one example of MANY that are out there if you search the internet. It’s awesome that his bosses at ESPN let him be himself. Remember, it’s Walton’s World and we’re just living in it.
That’s my list, hope it entertained you, as much as these five people entertain you and me, every time they open their mics.
Andy Masur is a columnist for BSM and works for WGN Radio as an anchor and play-by-play announcer. He also teaches broadcasting at the Illinois Media School. During his career he has called games for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox. He can be found on Twitter @Andy_Masur1 or you can reach him by email at Andy@Andy-Masur.com.
