Hopefully.SpartanBear20 said:
Rich Lieberman suggested last week that the Big Game was the "swan song" for Cal Bears radio announcer Joe Starkey, who recently turned 79.
Starkey and Brent Musburger have to be (among) the oldest active sports announcers now that Vin Scully has retired.
TomBear said:
As I wrote last week, Joe isn't as quick as he used to be. But NO ONE in the Pac sets the foundation nor the color of the game as Joe does. And with Mike beside him, corrections are made promptly and accurately. I was a commentator in Eugene, Portland, and Seattle, and have heard every broadcasting team in the Pac. Cal football isn't like any other in the conference. There are a lot of decent and some good PxP guys. But NONE of them.....not one......could give you the color and atmosphere of Cal football like Joe. So while some may look upon the possible (and at this time only a rumored) retirement, just remember.....there are dozens of good PxP guys, even at the high school level. But unless you get someone like Roxy or Kate Scott, you will find you miss Joe's voice. He makes the game fun, entertaining, and colorful....as it should be. Trying to get someone else (besides previously names people) who "get" Cal football and can share what Cal football is over the air will be a mighty tall order. Enjoy him while we can.
TomBear said:
But unless you get someone like Roxy or Kate Scott, you will find you miss Joe's voice.
I used to think Starkey gets Cal football and, when I was a boy, listening to him was addicting. I thought I learned so much listening to him and I agreed with most of his takes. Now, I realize that I could not think clearly about Cal football because Starkey was always so slanted on things. When you listen to him, you think every official on the field is out to screw over Cal football and that Cal is losing only because of something unfair or unusual.TomBear said:
As I wrote last week, Joe isn't as quick as he used to be. But NO ONE in the Pac sets the foundation nor the color of the game as Joe does. And with Mike beside him, corrections are made promptly and accurately. I was a commentator in Eugene, Portland, and Seattle, and have heard every broadcasting team in the Pac. Cal football isn't like any other in the conference. There are a lot of decent and some good PxP guys. But NONE of them.....not one......could give you the color and atmosphere of Cal football like Joe. So while some may look upon the possible (and at this time only a rumored) retirement, just remember.....there are dozens of good PxP guys, even at the high school level. But unless you get someone like Roxy or Kate Scott, you will find you miss Joe's voice. He makes the game fun, entertaining, and colorful....as it should be. Trying to get someone else (besides previously names people) who "get" Cal football and can share what Cal football is over the air will be a mighty tall order. Enjoy him while we can.
boo hoobearister said:
"...But I'll be first in line to shake his hand..."
That's not going to happen if he reads your accurate analysis.
"Too much mustard on the hot dog." "He's in the popcorn machine." "The refrigerator door is closed. The butter is getting hard, ...and the jello is jiggling." I don't remember it all, but it was a fun way to end a Laker game with Chickie. I really miss that guy. He was one in a million.01Bear said:TomBear said:
As I wrote last week, Joe isn't as quick as he used to be. But NO ONE in the Pac sets the foundation nor the color of the game as Joe does. And with Mike beside him, corrections are made promptly and accurately. I was a commentator in Eugene, Portland, and Seattle, and have heard every broadcasting team in the Pac. Cal football isn't like any other in the conference. There are a lot of decent and some good PxP guys. But NONE of them.....not one......could give you the color and atmosphere of Cal football like Joe. So while some may look upon the possible (and at this time only a rumored) retirement, just remember.....there are dozens of good PxP guys, even at the high school level. But unless you get someone like Roxy or Kate Scott, you will find you miss Joe's voice. He makes the game fun, entertaining, and colorful....as it should be. Trying to get someone else (besides previously names people) who "get" Cal football and can share what Cal football is over the air will be a mighty tall order. Enjoy him while we can.
As someone who lives in SoCal without (1) cable/satellite or (2) a fast enough internet service to stream a pirate channel of the game, I rely on the radio broadcast of the games to follow the team. As much as I enjoy Joe Starkey bringing color and atmosphere, I very much would like to know who did what when it happens. I would also like to know the score of the game as well as the down and distance. Joe Starkey would probably work better as a TV broadcaster, since his audience would be able to see all that information, but on the radio, that paucity of information is something that cannot happen.
For the record, I grew up watching the Lakers with Chick Hearn broadcasting the games in simulcast. Those times I couldn't watch the games, I listened to them on the radio. Although I would've preferred to see the action unfold live, it almost didn't matter as Chick Hearn's play by play calls were so detailed and up to the minute I could just about see the game playing out in perfect detail in my mind. Additionally, Chick Hearn provided all the relevant information in real time and still brought atmosphere and created the culture of Lakers Basketball. While it's undeniable that Chick Hearn was a generational talent (if not a once in a century talent), it does show that a good play by play man can also provide color and culture while describing the action live as it happens.
Maybe the play by play guys went back to focusing on detailing the action as it happens and left providing the color to the color commentators, that could be something. At least maybe try that for radio. You know, the medium where the audience literally has no idea what's happening on the field except via the broadcaster's words.
FWIW,, the worst broadcasters IMO are Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson. They provide zero value to the game. Neither really breaks down the strategies nor even discusses the fundamentals at play in a game*. Instead, they just make fun of each other, make outrageously hyperbolic statements, disagree with said hyperbolic statement, make up other inanities, reminisce about their time as coach/player in the league, and exhibit a poorly concealed contempt for successful NBA teams (especially those on the West Coast).
*Something else Chick Hearn and Stu Jackson did phenomenally well in my youth. I swear, watching a Lakers game with them calling it was like attending a class in both Basketball 1A and a graduate course basketball in one. They often broke down plays and explained what a player did right or wrong while providing nuances that few other broadcasters ever do now.
Yeah, but he never got called for a technical foul for calling referee Ed Rush a motherf.... like Bill King once did (yes, you could hear it on the air). Bill King was the greatest hoops announcer ever.......Bear8 said:"Too much mustard on the hot dog." "He's in the popcorn machine." "The refrigerator door is closed. The butter is getting hard, ...and the jello is jiggling." I don't remember it all, but it was a fun way to end a Laker game with Chickie. I really miss that guy. He was one in a million.01Bear said:TomBear said:
As I wrote last week, Joe isn't as quick as he used to be. But NO ONE in the Pac sets the foundation nor the color of the game as Joe does. And with Mike beside him, corrections are made promptly and accurately. I was a commentator in Eugene, Portland, and Seattle, and have heard every broadcasting team in the Pac. Cal football isn't like any other in the conference. There are a lot of decent and some good PxP guys. But NONE of them.....not one......could give you the color and atmosphere of Cal football like Joe. So while some may look upon the possible (and at this time only a rumored) retirement, just remember.....there are dozens of good PxP guys, even at the high school level. But unless you get someone like Roxy or Kate Scott, you will find you miss Joe's voice. He makes the game fun, entertaining, and colorful....as it should be. Trying to get someone else (besides previously names people) who "get" Cal football and can share what Cal football is over the air will be a mighty tall order. Enjoy him while we can.
As someone who lives in SoCal without (1) cable/satellite or (2) a fast enough internet service to stream a pirate channel of the game, I rely on the radio broadcast of the games to follow the team. As much as I enjoy Joe Starkey bringing color and atmosphere, I very much would like to know who did what when it happens. I would also like to know the score of the game as well as the down and distance. Joe Starkey would probably work better as a TV broadcaster, since his audience would be able to see all that information, but on the radio, that paucity of information is something that cannot happen.
For the record, I grew up watching the Lakers with Chick Hearn broadcasting the games in simulcast. Those times I couldn't watch the games, I listened to them on the radio. Although I would've preferred to see the action unfold live, it almost didn't matter as Chick Hearn's play by play calls were so detailed and up to the minute I could just about see the game playing out in perfect detail in my mind. Additionally, Chick Hearn provided all the relevant information in real time and still brought atmosphere and created the culture of Lakers Basketball. While it's undeniable that Chick Hearn was a generational talent (if not a once in a century talent), it does show that a good play by play man can also provide color and culture while describing the action live as it happens.
Maybe the play by play guys went back to focusing on detailing the action as it happens and left providing the color to the color commentators, that could be something. At least maybe try that for radio. You know, the medium where the audience literally has no idea what's happening on the field except via the broadcaster's words.
FWIW,, the worst broadcasters IMO are Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson. They provide zero value to the game. Neither really breaks down the strategies nor even discusses the fundamentals at play in a game*. Instead, they just make fun of each other, make outrageously hyperbolic statements, disagree with said hyperbolic statement, make up other inanities, reminisce about their time as coach/player in the league, and exhibit a poorly concealed contempt for successful NBA teams (especially those on the West Coast).
*Something else Chick Hearn and Stu Jackson did phenomenally well in my youth. I swear, watching a Lakers game with them calling it was like attending a class in both Basketball 1A and a graduate course basketball in one. They often broke down plays and explained what a player did right or wrong while providing nuances that few other broadcasters ever do now.
Bear8 said:"Too much mustard on the hot dog." "He's in the popcorn machine." "The refrigerator door is closed. The butter is getting hard, ...and the jello is jiggling." I don't remember it all, but it was a fun way to end a Laker game with Chickie. I really miss that guy. He was one in a million.01Bear said:TomBear said:
As I wrote last week, Joe isn't as quick as he used to be. But NO ONE in the Pac sets the foundation nor the color of the game as Joe does. And with Mike beside him, corrections are made promptly and accurately. I was a commentator in Eugene, Portland, and Seattle, and have heard every broadcasting team in the Pac. Cal football isn't like any other in the conference. There are a lot of decent and some good PxP guys. But NONE of them.....not one......could give you the color and atmosphere of Cal football like Joe. So while some may look upon the possible (and at this time only a rumored) retirement, just remember.....there are dozens of good PxP guys, even at the high school level. But unless you get someone like Roxy or Kate Scott, you will find you miss Joe's voice. He makes the game fun, entertaining, and colorful....as it should be. Trying to get someone else (besides previously names people) who "get" Cal football and can share what Cal football is over the air will be a mighty tall order. Enjoy him while we can.
As someone who lives in SoCal without (1) cable/satellite or (2) a fast enough internet service to stream a pirate channel of the game, I rely on the radio broadcast of the games to follow the team. As much as I enjoy Joe Starkey bringing color and atmosphere, I very much would like to know who did what when it happens. I would also like to know the score of the game as well as the down and distance. Joe Starkey would probably work better as a TV broadcaster, since his audience would be able to see all that information, but on the radio, that paucity of information is something that cannot happen.
For the record, I grew up watching the Lakers with Chick Hearn broadcasting the games in simulcast. Those times I couldn't watch the games, I listened to them on the radio. Although I would've preferred to see the action unfold live, it almost didn't matter as Chick Hearn's play by play calls were so detailed and up to the minute I could just about see the game playing out in perfect detail in my mind. Additionally, Chick Hearn provided all the relevant information in real time and still brought atmosphere and created the culture of Lakers Basketball. While it's undeniable that Chick Hearn was a generational talent (if not a once in a century talent), it does show that a good play by play man can also provide color and culture while describing the action live as it happens.
Maybe the play by play guys went back to focusing on detailing the action as it happens and left providing the color to the color commentators, that could be something. At least maybe try that for radio. You know, the medium where the audience literally has no idea what's happening on the field except via the broadcaster's words.
FWIW,, the worst broadcasters IMO are Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson. They provide zero value to the game. Neither really breaks down the strategies nor even discusses the fundamentals at play in a game*. Instead, they just make fun of each other, make outrageously hyperbolic statements, disagree with said hyperbolic statement, make up other inanities, reminisce about their time as coach/player in the league, and exhibit a poorly concealed contempt for successful NBA teams (especially those on the West Coast).
*Something else Chick Hearn and Stu Jackson did phenomenally well in my youth. I swear, watching a Lakers game with them calling it was like attending a class in both Basketball 1A and a graduate course basketball in one. They often broke down plays and explained what a player did right or wrong while providing nuances that few other broadcasters ever do now.
Larno said:
A Starkey call: "Garbers under center, there's the snap and he is back to pass............he has his man! (Long pause)...........oh, it's incomplete. That was a key play for Cal and I don't see how they're going to overcome this. (Ten minutes follow without one mention of the score or how much time is left).
Perhaps Joe was reliving the moment ... bliphf ... ~*?#*?...!01Bear said:Exactly! That drives me nuts when listening to the game. The radio-listening audience has no idea what the score is, how much time is left, what the down and distance to go is, how much yardage was gained/lost, who did what, or anything else related to the game except via the broadcasters' words. Heck, take even The Play. Just imagine hearing that on the radio (and never seeing it). Then imagine being asked to describe what happened. Anyone would be left saying something like "I don't know, but it sounds like Cal won?"Larno said:
A Starkey call: "Garbers under center, there's the snap and he is back to pass............he has his man! (Long pause)...........oh, it's incomplete. That was a key play for Cal and I don't see how they're going to overcome this. (Ten minutes follow without one mention of the score or how much time is left).
OMGCALiforniALUM said:
3........2........1........
Bill Walton
01Bear said:Bear8 said:"Too much mustard on the hot dog." "He's in the popcorn machine." "The refrigerator door is closed. The butter is getting hard, ...and the jello is jiggling." I don't remember it all, but it was a fun way to end a Laker game with Chickie. I really miss that guy. He was one in a million.01Bear said:TomBear said:
As I wrote last week, Joe isn't as quick as he used to be. But NO ONE in the Pac sets the foundation nor the color of the game as Joe does. And with Mike beside him, corrections are made promptly and accurately. I was a commentator in Eugene, Portland, and Seattle, and have heard every broadcasting team in the Pac. Cal football isn't like any other in the conference. There are a lot of decent and some good PxP guys. But NONE of them.....not one......could give you the color and atmosphere of Cal football like Joe. So while some may look upon the possible (and at this time only a rumored) retirement, just remember.....there are dozens of good PxP guys, even at the high school level. But unless you get someone like Roxy or Kate Scott, you will find you miss Joe's voice. He makes the game fun, entertaining, and colorful....as it should be. Trying to get someone else (besides previously names people) who "get" Cal football and can share what Cal football is over the air will be a mighty tall order. Enjoy him while we can.
As someone who lives in SoCal without (1) cable/satellite or (2) a fast enough internet service to stream a pirate channel of the game, I rely on the radio broadcast of the games to follow the team. As much as I enjoy Joe Starkey bringing color and atmosphere, I very much would like to know who did what when it happens. I would also like to know the score of the game as well as the down and distance. Joe Starkey would probably work better as a TV broadcaster, since his audience would be able to see all that information, but on the radio, that paucity of information is something that cannot happen.
For the record, I grew up watching the Lakers with Chick Hearn broadcasting the games in simulcast. Those times I couldn't watch the games, I listened to them on the radio. Although I would've preferred to see the action unfold live, it almost didn't matter as Chick Hearn's play by play calls were so detailed and up to the minute I could just about see the game playing out in perfect detail in my mind. Additionally, Chick Hearn provided all the relevant information in real time and still brought atmosphere and created the culture of Lakers Basketball. While it's undeniable that Chick Hearn was a generational talent (if not a once in a century talent), it does show that a good play by play man can also provide color and culture while describing the action live as it happens.
Maybe the play by play guys went back to focusing on detailing the action as it happens and left providing the color to the color commentators, that could be something. At least maybe try that for radio. You know, the medium where the audience literally has no idea what's happening on the field except via the broadcaster's words.
FWIW,, the worst broadcasters IMO are Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson. They provide zero value to the game. Neither really breaks down the strategies nor even discusses the fundamentals at play in a game*. Instead, they just make fun of each other, make outrageously hyperbolic statements, disagree with said hyperbolic statement, make up other inanities, reminisce about their time as coach/player in the league, and exhibit a poorly concealed contempt for successful NBA teams (especially those on the West Coast).
*Something else Chick Hearn and Stu Jackson did phenomenally well in my youth. I swear, watching a Lakers game with them calling it was like attending a class in both Basketball 1A and a graduate course basketball in one. They often broke down plays and explained what a player did right or wrong while providing nuances that few other broadcasters ever do now.
Yeah, I miss Chickie Baby, too. I honestly feel bad for those who didn't get to hear him call games live. His "word's eye view" game calling was phenomenal. Like I said before, I learned so much about basketball by just watching/listening to him call games. The closest broadcaster to Chick Hearn might be John Madden who used to break down plays on air during games. However, Madden wasn't the play by play guy. He was the analyst. Chick Hearn did it all!
noooooooooCALiforniALUM said:
3........2........1........
Bill Walton
I recall when SoCal had 3 long term HOF announcers in Hearn, Scully and Bob Miller of the Kings.Bear8 said:"Too much mustard on the hot dog." "He's in the popcorn machine." "The refrigerator door is closed. The butter is getting hard, ...and the jello is jiggling." I don't remember it all, but it was a fun way to end a Laker game with Chickie. I really miss that guy. He was one in a million.01Bear said:TomBear said:
As I wrote last week, Joe isn't as quick as he used to be. But NO ONE in the Pac sets the foundation nor the color of the game as Joe does. And with Mike beside him, corrections are made promptly and accurately. I was a commentator in Eugene, Portland, and Seattle, and have heard every broadcasting team in the Pac. Cal football isn't like any other in the conference. There are a lot of decent and some good PxP guys. But NONE of them.....not one......could give you the color and atmosphere of Cal football like Joe. So while some may look upon the possible (and at this time only a rumored) retirement, just remember.....there are dozens of good PxP guys, even at the high school level. But unless you get someone like Roxy or Kate Scott, you will find you miss Joe's voice. He makes the game fun, entertaining, and colorful....as it should be. Trying to get someone else (besides previously names people) who "get" Cal football and can share what Cal football is over the air will be a mighty tall order. Enjoy him while we can.
As someone who lives in SoCal without (1) cable/satellite or (2) a fast enough internet service to stream a pirate channel of the game, I rely on the radio broadcast of the games to follow the team. As much as I enjoy Joe Starkey bringing color and atmosphere, I very much would like to know who did what when it happens. I would also like to know the score of the game as well as the down and distance. Joe Starkey would probably work better as a TV broadcaster, since his audience would be able to see all that information, but on the radio, that paucity of information is something that cannot happen.
For the record, I grew up watching the Lakers with Chick Hearn broadcasting the games in simulcast. Those times I couldn't watch the games, I listened to them on the radio. Although I would've preferred to see the action unfold live, it almost didn't matter as Chick Hearn's play by play calls were so detailed and up to the minute I could just about see the game playing out in perfect detail in my mind. Additionally, Chick Hearn provided all the relevant information in real time and still brought atmosphere and created the culture of Lakers Basketball. While it's undeniable that Chick Hearn was a generational talent (if not a once in a century talent), it does show that a good play by play man can also provide color and culture while describing the action live as it happens.
Maybe the play by play guys went back to focusing on detailing the action as it happens and left providing the color to the color commentators, that could be something. At least maybe try that for radio. You know, the medium where the audience literally has no idea what's happening on the field except via the broadcaster's words.
FWIW,, the worst broadcasters IMO are Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson. They provide zero value to the game. Neither really breaks down the strategies nor even discusses the fundamentals at play in a game*. Instead, they just make fun of each other, make outrageously hyperbolic statements, disagree with said hyperbolic statement, make up other inanities, reminisce about their time as coach/player in the league, and exhibit a poorly concealed contempt for successful NBA teams (especially those on the West Coast).
*Something else Chick Hearn and Stu Jackson did phenomenally well in my youth. I swear, watching a Lakers game with them calling it was like attending a class in both Basketball 1A and a graduate course basketball in one. They often broke down plays and explained what a player did right or wrong while providing nuances that few other broadcasters ever do now.
kirklandblue said:01Bear said:Bear8 said:"Too much mustard on the hot dog." "He's in the popcorn machine." "The refrigerator door is closed. The butter is getting hard, ...and the jello is jiggling." I don't remember it all, but it was a fun way to end a Laker game with Chickie. I really miss that guy. He was one in a million.01Bear said:TomBear said:
As I wrote last week, Joe isn't as quick as he used to be. But NO ONE in the Pac sets the foundation nor the color of the game as Joe does. And with Mike beside him, corrections are made promptly and accurately. I was a commentator in Eugene, Portland, and Seattle, and have heard every broadcasting team in the Pac. Cal football isn't like any other in the conference. There are a lot of decent and some good PxP guys. But NONE of them.....not one......could give you the color and atmosphere of Cal football like Joe. So while some may look upon the possible (and at this time only a rumored) retirement, just remember.....there are dozens of good PxP guys, even at the high school level. But unless you get someone like Roxy or Kate Scott, you will find you miss Joe's voice. He makes the game fun, entertaining, and colorful....as it should be. Trying to get someone else (besides previously names people) who "get" Cal football and can share what Cal football is over the air will be a mighty tall order. Enjoy him while we can.
As someone who lives in SoCal without (1) cable/satellite or (2) a fast enough internet service to stream a pirate channel of the game, I rely on the radio broadcast of the games to follow the team. As much as I enjoy Joe Starkey bringing color and atmosphere, I very much would like to know who did what when it happens. I would also like to know the score of the game as well as the down and distance. Joe Starkey would probably work better as a TV broadcaster, since his audience would be able to see all that information, but on the radio, that paucity of information is something that cannot happen.
For the record, I grew up watching the Lakers with Chick Hearn broadcasting the games in simulcast. Those times I couldn't watch the games, I listened to them on the radio. Although I would've preferred to see the action unfold live, it almost didn't matter as Chick Hearn's play by play calls were so detailed and up to the minute I could just about see the game playing out in perfect detail in my mind. Additionally, Chick Hearn provided all the relevant information in real time and still brought atmosphere and created the culture of Lakers Basketball. While it's undeniable that Chick Hearn was a generational talent (if not a once in a century talent), it does show that a good play by play man can also provide color and culture while describing the action live as it happens.
Maybe the play by play guys went back to focusing on detailing the action as it happens and left providing the color to the color commentators, that could be something. At least maybe try that for radio. You know, the medium where the audience literally has no idea what's happening on the field except via the broadcaster's words.
FWIW,, the worst broadcasters IMO are Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson. They provide zero value to the game. Neither really breaks down the strategies nor even discusses the fundamentals at play in a game*. Instead, they just make fun of each other, make outrageously hyperbolic statements, disagree with said hyperbolic statement, make up other inanities, reminisce about their time as coach/player in the league, and exhibit a poorly concealed contempt for successful NBA teams (especially those on the West Coast).
*Something else Chick Hearn and Stu Jackson did phenomenally well in my youth. I swear, watching a Lakers game with them calling it was like attending a class in both Basketball 1A and a graduate course basketball in one. They often broke down plays and explained what a player did right or wrong while providing nuances that few other broadcasters ever do now.
Yeah, I miss Chickie Baby, too. I honestly feel bad for those who didn't get to hear him call games live. His "word's eye view" game calling was phenomenal. Like I said before, I learned so much about basketball by just watching/listening to him call games. The closest broadcaster to Chick Hearn might be John Madden who used to break down plays on air during games. However, Madden wasn't the play by play guy. He was the analyst. Chick Hearn did it all!
I never got to hear Chick Hearn and I know he's universally recognized as the best-ever at NBA play by play, but I did listen to Bill King for years when he did the Warriors and it's hard for me to imagine anyone better at NBA games. His ability to maintain the clear visual without missing a dribble while the game was going a hundred mph and blend in his deeply knowledgeable and entertaining commentary in the same breath was not needed as much when he left and did just the Raiders and then A's. He was great with them too but I always thought leaving the W's was unfortunate.
01Bear said:Larno said:
A Starkey call: "Garbers under center, there's the snap and he is back to pass............he has his man! (Long pause)...........oh, it's incomplete. That was a key play for Cal and I don't see how they're going to overcome this. (Ten minutes follow without one mention of the score or how much time is left).
Exactly! That drives me nuts when listening to the game. The radio-listening audience has no idea what the score is, how much time is left, what the down and distance to go is, how much yardage was gained/lost, who did what, or anything else related to the game except via the broadcasters' words. Heck, take even The Play. Just imagine hearing that on the radio (and never seeing it). Then imagine being asked to describe what happened. Anyone would be left saying something like "I don't know, but it sounds like Cal won?"
