Hawk Harrelson Talks Catchphrases And Fighting Lou Pinella
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
I absolutely can't stand Hawk as an announcer but the guy sure is crazy enough to give one hell of an interview. The White Sox play by play man did a piece for the Chicago Sun-Times and here's a snippet....
I've called 4,500 ball games -- at least.Annnnnnnnnd, Scene! Oh why not....one more line....
I was blessed to know Howard Cosell and Curt Gowdy. In separate conversations, they both told me the same thing -- don't ever try to please everybody. And I don't. My detractors? I've been around too long to let it bother me.
Put it on the boooard . . . Yes! just evolved. I was playing a PGA tournament and birdied a tough par 3. The guy working the scoreboard was reading a book, so I yelled, "Hey, put it on the board." One day at the old ballpark, somebody hit a home run and I said, "You can put it on the boooard . . . Yes." That's where it came from.
He gone! Grab some bench! Can-o-corn. All the phrases from my baseball vernacular are things I said when I played.
Can-o-corn is an expression used by old storekeepers 60 years ago. They'd have aprons on and use a hook to pull the can of corn off the shelf and catch it in their aprons. Easy catch.
The Cubs-Sox rivalry is huge. I get goosebumps just thinking about teeing it up.
Lou Piniella is one of my dear friends. I just want to kick his ass.
When I say, "This ball game is ovaah," that means we won.And that my friends is Hawk Harrelson in his own words. Kicking ass and taking names baby! I always love the stories about how the White Sox decided to make him a General Manager in 1986. He spent his days on the Golf course, fired both Tony LaRussa and Dave Dombrowski and traded Bobby Bonilla for Jose DeLeon. Now that's a hell of a year.
Ken "Hawk" Harrelson (Sun-Times)
16 Comments:
Is this tard trying to say that he was the first to start saying can of corn for an easy pop up in baseball? Or I'm reading too much into that explanation...
Hawk once said he got the "yes" part of put it on the board from his daughter. She wanted to go out and he gave her permission to which she gleefully responded "yeeessss."
If you are a Sox fan, you love Hawk the same way that Yankee fans like John Sterling. Besides, anyone is better than Dave Sims.
Hawk is a tool
This a-hole makes my ears bleed. He is absolutely unlistenable (?)
...except, like Dan said, when the Chisox are losing. Then he's freaking hilarious. Sounds like my son when he's grounded.
But NOBODY is worse than Michael Kay. Not even Dave Sims.
I'm not particularly fond of my own home team announcers (Cubs), but the Hawk is really idiotic. He actually comes across like Bob Ueuker's role in the first "Major League" Film, where every pitch by a WS pitcher is "juuuuus a little outside." This, even though the hurl in question was over the catcher's head. Worst hambone homer announcer since Mel Allen.
BTW, for those too young to have ever been inflicted with having to listen to Mel Allen, that's really saying something.
Hawk, Darrin Jackson, Ed Farmer & Rod Allen will be the announcers for baseball games in Hell.
Woah, woah, woah- as a Yankee fan, I don't know which I resent more. Having my announcers compared to Hawk (bad for them), or the implication that Yankee fans LIKE John Sterling (bad for us).
After I realized that both teams' announcers were doing the game, I switched telecasts on Saturday from Comcast (Hawk and Jackson) to WGN (Kasper and Brenly). What a drastic improvement, from terrible to terrific. Kasper can tow the company line a bit, but is superb overall (without lame signature lines), and Brenly is like a smart uncle sharing a beer with you, i.e., awesome.
My pick to click today is Jermaine Dye.
Hawk can't even spell "biased".
For those who watch and listen to Hawk. Jay Mariotti=Hiney Bird
As most White Sox fans will tell you, either you listen to the radio (not a great upgrade), or you make up your own words, because Hawk isn't a great broadcaster, and DJ is just there for the ride. It's fun when they are winning and he has his fun catchphrases added to big moments.
And I watched Kaspar and Brenly this weekend, not that much better, but they aren't blathering idiots.
there's nothing better than watching a white sox game when he's on the air and they are getting their asses kicked.
-dan