I know Joe's getting a little old in the tooth, but no one can doubt his love
for the Bears. This one's for you, Joe.

Here's what I heard in the two minutes or so that I listened to Starkey tonight:

"Well Cal's up 17-3, but with 8:45 left in the third, there's plenty of time for Stanford to get back in it."

If the scored were reversed, old Joe would have said something to the effect of: "With 8:45 left in the third, time is really getting to be a factor......if the Bears don't score on this play, the game is over.

And this attitude is the least of the reasons why I never listen to him.

BadNewsBear1 said:

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Here's what I heard in the two minutes or so that I listened to Starkey tonight:

"Well Cal's up 17-3, but with 8:45 left in the third, there's plenty of time for Stanford to get back in it."

If the scored were reversed, old Joe would have said something to the effect of: "With 8:45 left in the third, time is really getting to be a factor......if the Bears don't score on this play, the game is over.

And this attitude is the least of the reasons why I never listen to him.

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Starkey sucks. Time to hang it up.

BadNewsBear1 said:

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Here's what I heard in the two minutes or so that I listened to Starkey tonight:

"Well Cal's up 17-3, but with 8:45 left in the third, there's plenty of time for Stanford to get back in it."

If the scored were reversed, old Joe would have said something to the effect of: "With 8:45 left in the third, time is really getting to be a factor......if the Bears don't score on this play, the game is over.

And this attitude is the least of the reasons why I never listen to him.

---

Yep. Because of the thing you think he would have said you never listen to him. I see.

BadNewsBear1 said:

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Here's what I heard in the two minutes or so that I listened to Starkey tonight:

"Well Cal's up 17-3, but with 8:45 left in the third, there's plenty of time for Stanford to get back in it."

If the scored were reversed, old Joe would have said something to the effect of: "With 8:45 left in the third, time is really getting to be a factor......if the Bears don't score on this play, the game is over.

And this attitude is the least of the reasons why I never listen to him.

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This attitude is based on watching a lot of Cal football games.

BadNewsBear1 said:

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JimSox said:

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BadNewsBear1 said:

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Here's what I heard in the two minutes or so that I listened to Starkey tonight:

"Well Cal's up 17-3, but with 8:45 left in the third, there's plenty of time for Stanford to get back in it."

If the scored were reversed, old Joe would have said something to the effect of: "With 8:45 left in the third, time is really getting to be a factor......if the Bears don't score on this play, the game is over.

And this attitude is the least of the reasons why I never listen to him.

---

Yep. Because of the thing you think he would have said you never listen to him. I see.

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OK. It's why I never listen to him since all games are now televised. You see jackass?

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Yes, I see. You don't listen to him because you watch on TV. That's a fair criticism of him. And please don't stoop to name calling just because someone disagrees with you. Thanks, and Go Bears!

JimSox said:

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BadNewsBear1 said:

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JimSox said:

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BadNewsBear1 said:

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Here's what I heard in the two minutes or so that I listened to Starkey tonight:

"Well Cal's up 17-3, but with 8:45 left in the third, there's plenty of time for Stanford to get back in it."

If the scored were reversed, old Joe would have said something to the effect of: "With 8:45 left in the third, time is really getting to be a factor......if the Bears don't score on this play, the game is over.

And this attitude is the least of the reasons why I never listen to him.

---

Yep. Because of the thing you think he would have said you never listen to him. I see.

---

OK. It's why I never listen to him since all games are now televised. You see jackass?

---

Yes, I see. You don't listen to him because you watch on TV. That's a fair criticism of him. And please don't stoop to name calling just because someone disagrees with you. Thanks, and Go Bears!

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There is a big difference between disagreeing with my opinion and saying that I'm not entitled to that opinion because I don't listen to Starkey, especially the snarky way that you did.

I think you know what I meant. But just to be absolutely clear for you, I have "listened" to Starkey since he said to "bet the house" that Cal would beat Temple in the '79 Garden State Bowl, so I think I have an idea of what Starkey is all about as an announcer: incredibly infuriating to have to rely on for descriptions of games if radio is your only option.

Go Bears!

I don't care about whatever technical faults he may have as an announcer. His passion, historical knowledge, and longtime association with the program are unrivaled, and I will listen to Starkey until his last broadcast. Paws is fantastic and will be a more than worthy successor.

johngalenhoward said:

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I don't care about whatever technical faults he may have as an announcer. His passion, historical knowledge, and longtime association with the program are unrivaled, and I will listen to Starkey until his last broadcast. Paws is fantastic and will be a more than worthy successor.

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Been there since the start of Starkey. Much, much to like, but it has disintegrated into stories of days gone by and no clue on "down and distance". Get someone in there (yep, Paws) to give all the pertinent info and then let Joe tell stories in breaks. He has been a great Cal fan. I love what he has brought to us, but it is time to either move over or move out. And yes, I am his vintage and understand that all too well.

I've listened to Joe off and on since the 90s and feel his tone of voice is all I need. He could speak gibberish for all I care, and I don't seem to mind him not being as specific as he could be. Mike fills me in on all the details. They are always better than the TV announcers, although since they can't do an intentional delay to match the on-screen action I don't listen as much as I used to. I'll often listen while doing something else around the house, and then if I hear a big play, I'll walk into the room with the TV. There is some new Internet streaming-based + DVR combo now to make your own delay, except I'm so old school I still watch on a tube TV and listen on a C Crane AM radio.

And for those of you who didn't listen, we did get a "Oh what a bonanza!" after one of the trick plays in this game.

johngalenhoward said:

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I don't care about whatever technical faults he may have as an announcer. His passion, historical knowledge, and longtime association with the program are unrivaled, and I will listen to Starkey until his last broadcast. Paws is fantastic and will be a more than worthy successor.

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Agree with all of this.....it's just that someone long ago should have said, "Joe--you're welcome to stay on as our color guy, but we need someone who actually lets the listeners know what's going on in the game doing our play-by-play."

BadNewsBear1 said:

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JimSox said:

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BadNewsBear1 said:

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JimSox said:

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BadNewsBear1 said:

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Here's what I heard in the two minutes or so that I listened to Starkey tonight:

"Well Cal's up 17-3, but with 8:45 left in the third, there's plenty of time for Stanford to get back in it."

If the scored were reversed, old Joe would have said something to the effect of: "With 8:45 left in the third, time is really getting to be a factor......if the Bears don't score on this play, the game is over.

And this attitude is the least of the reasons why I never listen to him.

---

Yep. Because of the thing you think he would have said you never listen to him. I see.

---

OK. It's why I never listen to him since all games are now televised. You see jackass?

---

Yes, I see. You don't listen to him because you watch on TV. That's a fair criticism of him. And please don't stoop to name calling just because someone disagrees with you. Thanks, and Go Bears!

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There is a big difference between disagreeing with my opinion and saying that I'm not entitled to that opinion because I don't listen to Starkey, especially the snarky way that you did.

I think you know what I meant. But just to be absolutely clear for you, I have "listened" to Starkey since he said to "bet the house" that Cal would beat Temple in the '79 Garden State Bowl, so I think I have an idea of what Starkey is all about as an announcer: incredibly infuriating to have to rely on for descriptions of games if radio is your only option.

Go Bears!

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Okay. I see his shortcomings. On balance I like him. A lot. Difference of opinion. Leave it at that, without the snark or the name calling.

I love listening to you Joe, the trouble is that often times I care about knowing what is happening in the game more. And I no longer can have both.
Paws is nice but I disagree that he can fill me in when Joe is lacking.
I appreciate that someone put a thread in dedicating this win to Joe.
He deserves that as do all of us who have been through so much as Cal fans, much of it at the expenses of Furd, with all of their snotty arrogance and smirks.

I love the way the arrogance karmically backfired on Shaw. The fact that they went for it on 4th down and 3 to go and ran the ball against one of the best run defenses in the conference. BTW, Furd has one of the worst run offenses in the conference. So, despite the fact that they failed, they then try to do it with 5 yards to go later in the half, and, of course failed. The game should have been 14-9 at the half, which would have been a completely different game than 14-3.

Anyway, Starkey has seen it all and I don't blame him for his negativity at times because, especially when you consider the officiating of most big games, no lead is secure for Cal.

But, sorry Joe, I don't listen to you anymore because I like the game more than you and following it is critical to my enjoyment of it. If you would tell me where the ball is, the time on the clock, down and distance and how the play is developing like you used to, that would be a whole different thing.

I watched the game on TV and listened to the KGO feed on my Kindle. Didn't have to rely on Joe for game info because I could see it myself, and got to listen to two guys who know and love Cal call the game. Worked out well.

He was likely listening to the Starkey of 2021, the one that does an abysmal job with such 'mundane things' as down and distance, accurate play calls, time on the clock, and the score. Aside from our love for The Play, how is the Starkey of 1982 - 39 years ago - relevant to listening to the Starkey calling a Cal game today?