AOL Sports And AA Bring You The Worst Announcer Tournament

Wednesday, November 07, 2007


Good day my fellow AAers. Ever since I started this site back in April of 2006 I've wanted to come up with a ranking system for the best and worst announcers and have a page where they rise and fall based on your input. Obviously time is a concern when it comes to these ideas and I never really could find a spot to fit this in. Well now I/we can.

AOL Sports tabbed me to put together a list of 32 of the Worst of the Worst in Sports Media, and break them up into categories. The brackets are broken up into 4 divisions with 8 Awful Individuals in each. The categories are Play by Players, Analysts, Sideliners, and Studio Hosts/Analysts. AOL posted the brackets last evening, and the response and emails I've received so far are tremendous. Please take the time to head over there and vote for the following matchups and read my thoughts on each.....

Who's The Worst Studio Host (AOL Sports)

Studio Host/Analyst Division:

CHRIS BERMAN (1) vs. MAGIC JOHNSON (8)
STUART SCOTT (2) vs. TIKI BARBER (7)
EMMITT SMITH (3) vs. SHANNON SHARPE (6)
STEPHEN A. SMITH (4) vs. LEE CORSO (5)

Analyst Division:


JOE MORGAN (1) vs. REGGIE MILLER (8)
TONY KORNHEISER (2) vs. CHRIS SPIELMAN (7)
TIM MCCARVER (3) vs. BRIAN BALDINGER (6)
DICK VITALE (4) vs. PAUL MAGUIRE (5)

Sideline Reporter Division:

JIM GRAY (1) vs. SAL MASEKELA (8)
TONY SIRAGUSA (2) vs. SHELLEY SMITH (7)
ARMEN KETEYIAN (3) vs. KEN ROSENTHAL (6)
HOLLY ROWE (4) vs. CHRIS MYERS (5)

Play by Play Division:

PAM WARD (1) vs. THOM BRENNAMAN (8)
MIKE PATRICK (2) vs. KENNY ALBERT (7)
DICK STOCKTON (3) vs. BRAD NESSLER (6)
CHIP CARAY (4) vs. BRYANT GUMBEL (5)

One caveat I wanted to clear up before you bring out the pitchforks.....

I was a bit handicapped when making my list because AOL had already come up with the brackets for the "Best Announcers". If you know me, and I think you do by now, there is no one I hate more as a Play by Play Announcer than Joe Buck. For some inexplicable reason they listed Buck as a #7 Seed in the best of category, and I have no words to describe how this happened. Also another AA stable of disdain, Brent Musburger, is a #5 Seed in that bracket.....again, not my doing.

I think you'll find the rest of the division perfectly laid out, and hopefully you'll play along. Special thanks to AOL for giving me the opportunity and vote early and vote often!

P.S.- Please look at that picture above again! To not let the AOLers knock Chris Berman out of this competition. He should win this hole thing, but Magic is going to Santa Clara him in the first round!!!

30 Comments:

This is Tim McCarver's tournament. This is going to be as anitclimactic as Erin Andrews' run through the Would You Do tournament.

GMoney said...
Nov 7, 2007, 10:30:00 AM  

G- McCarver is losing to Baldinger by a good margain. You better start voting.

Nov 7, 2007, 10:56:00 AM  

I think you should redo this tournament on your own blog, AA. Knowing the AOL commenters, this is just going to turn out stupidly.

Unknown said...
Nov 7, 2007, 11:00:00 AM  

I might do that John. I'm going to see how it turns out and then we'll go at it again.

Nov 7, 2007, 11:08:00 AM  

This is a travesty. Both McCarver and Joe Morgan are losing. The AOLers really are going to turn this into a travesty.

Mike said...
Nov 7, 2007, 11:09:00 AM  

Totally agree with John. Joe Buck not being a #1 seed, oh wait not even being in the tournament is terrible.

And people don't really know the terribleness of Paul Maguire either.

Brett said...
Nov 7, 2007, 11:14:00 AM  

Seriously, the AOL commenters are killing this tourney already. Morgan, Berman and McCarver should all be locks for the final few rounds. Ugh.

Anonymous said...
Nov 7, 2007, 11:19:00 AM  

Ive gotta choose between Emmit and Shannon? I think my heads gonna explode.

Steve M said...
Nov 7, 2007, 11:39:00 AM  

Is the "Best Announcer" poll a goof? I refused to finish the Play-by-Play bracket when I got to the 4-5 matchup of Jon Miller vs. Brent Musberger.

Anonymous said...
Nov 7, 2007, 11:57:00 AM  

No Dierdorf? How can you have a "Worst" list and not have him on it.

Anonymous said...
Nov 7, 2007, 12:02:00 PM  

Where is Lou Holtz? He's the Dwight Howard of this little game. Double-Double machine.

Worst studio analyst and Worst game analyst.

Other than that great job AA with what you were allowed to work with.

Rahul said...
Nov 7, 2007, 12:28:00 PM  

maybe you should start a website awfulfanvoting.com in memory of this tournament. Morgan and McCarver not even getting out of the first round is pathetic.

James said...
Nov 7, 2007, 12:43:00 PM  

Definitely need to do your own. And make it a full 64. Or split it into 2 tourneys: pro and college sports. I'm seeing Billy Packer and Dick Vitale in the college basketball regional finals.

And really, no Lou Holtz? The man's drinking game WILL kill you if you play it with liquor instead of beer!

Anonymous said...
Nov 7, 2007, 1:20:00 PM  

how the hell is emmitt only a 3-seed?

frank said...
Nov 7, 2007, 1:25:00 PM  

How the hell is Emmitt losing? Seriously!

Anonymous said...
Nov 7, 2007, 1:28:00 PM  

Where is the place to vote for an entire network (TBS) for overall awfulness?

806051 said...
Nov 7, 2007, 1:55:00 PM  

Who are these people who think Musburger is a good announcer? All I have to say is, "The road to Glendale is paved with Trojans."

Nov 7, 2007, 2:14:00 PM  

I assume that Joe Theisman is not in this tournament so as to be fair to the rest of the field. He is the absolute worst.

Anonymous said...
Nov 7, 2007, 3:05:00 PM  

This tournament is a great idea but with horrible execution. The American public truly is retarded if they can't recgonize the superior shittiness triumverate of McCarver, Maguire, and Berman.

GMoney said...
Nov 7, 2007, 3:51:00 PM  

I only have beef with Corso in the "worst" category. Yes he's a fool and kind of an idiot, but he is the only person in the sport of football that seems to remember that this should be fun. He's a goofball and corney, but it's refreshing to see a football analyst on TV who doesn't take himself so seriously.

And is there a really a place you couldn't work in Sean Salisberry. It seems like an Awful TV sports people tourney HAS to have him in there right?

Jibblescribbits said...
Nov 7, 2007, 4:19:00 PM  

If Erin Andrews does not win the best announced tournament, then there is something seriously wrong with people.

Anonymous said...
Nov 7, 2007, 7:17:00 PM  

Joe Buck in the best of category???
AOL must be a fan of smug, sanctimonious turdbags.

Anonymous said...
Nov 7, 2007, 7:22:00 PM  

I'm pleasantly surprised that Sal Masekela looks like he will sail through to round 2. That guy is one of the biggest retards on TV.

And am I the only one who thinks Shelley Smith would look pretty cute if she just lost some weight?

Anonymous said...
Nov 7, 2007, 7:31:00 PM  

Chip Caray rules

Anonymous said...
Nov 7, 2007, 8:06:00 PM  

I think it's funny Nessler and Brennaman are on here. Nessler's nothing short of superb, he's just paired with a complete idiot.

Anonymous said...
Nov 7, 2007, 10:54:00 PM  

"And am I the only one who thinks Shelley Smith would look pretty cute if she just lost some weight?"

Yes...if you like someone who would still look like a female version of Corky from 'Life Goes On.'

Anonymous said...
Nov 8, 2007, 12:45:00 AM  

Everyone has my word that we will do our own sometime in the near future with 64 different people and I'll commission you all for entrees.

Nov 8, 2007, 10:51:00 AM  

I mean Joe Morgan is losing/winning against Reggie Miller. Come on.

Nov 8, 2007, 10:52:00 AM  

Yeah, who the hell is voting on these things. They're frickin idiots (except for the AA crowd). Almost everyone I voted for was losing. Rosenthal worse than Keteyian? Masekela worse than Gray??? Shannon worse than Emmitt??? But the most of all WTF vote has to be Tiki over
One-Eyed "I'm act ghetto/hood but I'm not" Stu Scott.

AA needs its own tourney with smart, informed voters.

Anonymous said...
Nov 8, 2007, 11:25:00 AM  

Where are Nantz and Tirico on the worst list? Nantz is more smug than Buck AND I'm convinced that he gets off on listening to his own voice. Tirico spends all his time trying to cram pointless stats down our throats and cracking cans of enthusiasm. And what about Hubie Brown? I have no evidence that he's actually attending and/ or watching the game he's calling. Special Canadian props go out to Rod Black - the Swiss Army knife of horrible announcers (from b-ball to football to figure skating to...)

Oh, and the Berman thing is insane. He should have been a lock for the final four.

Anonymous said...
Nov 8, 2007, 2:24:00 PM  

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