Announcers:Just for fun

[arakwafan2006]

OK. Some off season fun

Rules. There will be 3 different announcer comparisons to chose from. Only choose one and feel free to explain why you did or didnt pick the other. Ready?

ME FIRST

1)Dick Button OR Scott Hamilton?
2)Suzy Wynn OR Sandra Bezic?
3)Paul Wylie OR Peter Carruthers?

1-Dick Button; I pick Dick because i am so used to him for starters. Plus, he is just so damn interesting. He is like the Tim Gunn of announcing/skating. Indeed he talks a lot and is annoying to the mainstream media but Scott Hamilton is just too corny for me.

2-Suzy Wynn- She is really relevant and positive and objective at the same time. She is really pleasant to listen to and she's complete. I also like that unlike Sandra she does not really sho whom her personal bias is slanted to favor.

3-Paul Wylie- Peter Carruthers is not easy to listen to. I think that he is skatings "masculine" commenter but i always want to tell him to STFU! sometimes his comments are a little out there. Paul is my pick obviously. I like that when he tells why he does or does not like something he backs it up with a why that has nothing to do with personal preference.


BTW, i had no one to compare her to but i actually love Tracy Wilson.

[RumbleFish]

1-Dick Button; I pick Dick because i am so used to him for starters. Plus, he is just so damn interesting. He is like the Tim Gunn of announcing/skating. Indeed he talks a lot and is annoying to the mainstream media but Scott Hamilton is just too corny for me.

Dick Button is entertaining, but he needs Terry Ganon by his side to contain his rants. Button at 2006 Torino without Ganon was just awful, making meanest remarks to some skaters.

2-Suzy Wynn- She is really relevant and positive and objective at the same time. She is really pleasant to listen to and she's complete. I also like that unlike Sandra she does not really sho whom her personal bias is slanted to favor.

I love Suzy Wynn, but consider Sandra Bezic a good comentator also. She says interesting things about choreography drawing from her own experience, and does the best work on pairs commentary.

3-Paul Wylie- Peter Carruthers is not easy to listen to. I think that he is skatings "masculine" commenter but i always want to tell him to STFU! sometimes his comments are a little out there. Paul is my pick obviously. I like that when he tells why he does or does not like something he backs it up with a why that has nothing to do with personal preference.

I like Paul Wylie as well, but Brian Boitano also did some wonderful work with abc at US Nationals and Worlds.

BTW, i had no one to compare her to but i actually love Tracy Wilson.

Tracy is great as long as she doesn't commentate about Canadian skaters. I ed during 1999 Worlds OD when Tracy picked apart Anissina & Peizerat in favor of Bourne & Kraatz but judges put A&P ahead of Krylova & Ovsianikov for the first time in their career.

[skfan]

anybody but bezic and hamilton. a more biased crew with more obvious agenda does not exist in the world--yes, i heard plenty of canadian commentary, for 8 years i had CBC coverage in michigan. even though canadian commentators do often cheer their own, bezic and hamilton are still 100x worse.

[emason]

Dick Button is entertaining, but he needs Terry Ganon by his side to contain his rants. Button at 2006 Torino without Ganon was just awful, making meanest remarks to some skaters.

Sorry, but Ganon is just awful. He's the most over-rated, unknowledgeable skating announcer out there. Button by himself, please.

[RumbleFish]

Sorry, but Ganon is just awful. He's the most over-rated, unknowledgeable skating announcer out there. Button by himself, please.

Really? I never saw Ganon comment about merits of certain skating moves or programs in general. I thought he was excellent at administrating overall commentary with his team of expert commentators.

[arakwafan2006]

anybody but bezic and hamilton. a more biased crew with more obvious agenda does not exist in the world--yes, i heard plenty of canadian commentary, for 8 years i had CBC coverage in michigan. even though canadian commentators do often cheer their own, bezic and hamilton are still 100x worse.

Its funny that you mention that because i live in Michigan as well and i love when CBC covers an event. Before the popylarity of Youtube, i could rely on them to cover the main events.

I do think that Dick Button is tough to stomach especially for the fans who only watch the ladies event every 4 years ( you know...that people who think that Michelle Kwan is an olympic champion.) He's rough and brash. I just like him though. He's hillarious. The thing about Sandra and Scott is that for them to be experts they dont provide much by way of compelling commentary.

I also liked Boitano doing worlds coverage.

[paskatefan]

Really? I never saw Gannon comment about merits of certain skating moves or programs in general. I thought he was excellent at administrating overall commentary with his team of expert commentators.

I also liked Boitano doing worlds coverage.

I have to defend Terry here. As far as I'm concerned, he never professed to be an expert on figure skating, and he would defer to the former skaters for their input. He did show a genuine interest in the sport, and has been a great balance to "Uncle Dickie" (whom I personally adore). He is a heck of a lot better to listen to than Tom Hammond, IMHO.

Count me in as another person who always appreciated Brian B.'s commentary (Worlds 1996 comes to mind).

[Cheylana]

^ Agree; the skating commentary always includes 1-2 experts paired with a non-expert. I guess one can argue whether a non-expert is really needed in the booth, but Terry Gannon fills his assigned (non-expert) role very well...IMO

[RumbleFish]

Regarding Scott Hamilton and Sandra Bezic, I thought they were pretty decent in Torino except talking too much during peformances, and had made even more progress at Vancouver. They weren't nearly as biased as they were in Salt Lake City, where Scott said Yagudin was bettered by Goebel and Sandra screamed wuz robbed for pairs result.

[kwanatic]

I'm missing the combo of Dick & Peggy here recently. They did have their faults though. The two of them were excessive gushers...to the point it made you want to mute the TV. Sandra & Scott are becoming intolerable. At times their commentary is spot on, insightful and helpful...but Scott and his happy piddle fits of excitement get very annoying very quickly and Sandra's biases are clear as day.

Who I really like are the British commentators...I don't know their names but they are great. They're helpful when they need to be but, unlike a lot of the others, they don't blabber through the entire program.

Nancy Kerrigan's commentating is slightly annoying at times because she always talks about herself. She's also a bit more critical than other commentators, but she's usually right so I don't mind too much...

Tara Lipinski is a decent commentator. I was actually a bit surprised by it! The only thing I don't like is the somewhat know-it-all stance she takes when it comes certain things but for the most part, she's good to listen to.

Point is, for an educated skating fan, there really is no need for a commentator. Let me know what's going on with the skater before they skate and then shut up...I got it from there. I honestly think fans can do a better job of commentating than half of the commentators out there...

[PeterG]

BTW, i had no one to compare her to but i actually love Tracy Wilson.

That's because she's uncomparable.

[RockTheTassel]

Why so much love for Tracy Wilson? I find her speaking awkward and she's not particularly insightful when it comes to skating. Not the worst, but certainly not great.

[arakwafan2006]

I dont like Tara's commentary. She seems mean to me. Its almost like whelp... show me why i should like your skating! Plus it seems like nothings ever good enough for her in a skater. Just my thoughts

To the poster earlier who mentioned Boitano in 1996, i agree

[Jammers]

Dick is the Simon Cowell of skating announcers before there was a Simon Cowell. Yes he can be blunt but he is always honest whether people like it or not.

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Nobody has filled the role as the "non-expert" commentator better than Gannon. He was wonderful in that unlike Tom Hammond or Al Trautwig (who fills this role in gymnastics), Gannon actually shows respect and interest in figure skating. To me, that is the most important element one needs to have if they're going to cover a sport.

I remember reading an interview of his a few years ago and he spoke about watching figure skating at either the 2002 or the 2006 Olympics on tv (since ABC does not have the rights to it) and couldn't help but start commentating on the skating much to his wife's annoyance.

[REO]

Button, Wynn and Wylie are my choices. I agree with those who like Terry Ganon He kept things in balance. NO Hamilton and Bezic. They have no objectivity - unless things are going Scott's way of course. lol
kwanatic your term "happy piddle fits" made my day. So true.

[kwanatic]

kwanatic your term "happy piddle fits" made my day. So true.

You're welcome! He just gets so excited, I always picture a little puppy dog leaking all over the tile floor. You just want to slap him on the nose with a newspaper and say, "Calm down!"

ITA with the person who said Dick Button was like Simon Cowell. Lol! Definitely. Uncle Dick told it like it was. But he did, on occasion, go off on a tangent whenever he'd start a comment. Half the time I found myself wondering what the hell he was talking about...

[Cheylana]

I do think that Dick Button is tough to stomach especially for the fans who only watch the ladies event every 4 years ( you know...that people who think that Michelle Kwan is an olympic champion.) He's rough and brash. I just like him though. He's hillarious.

I dont like Tara's commentary. She seems mean to me. Its almost like whelp... show me why i should like your skating! Plus it seems like nothings ever good enough for her in a skater. Just my thoughts

To each his own, but I think Dick has been far meaner in his comments than Tara has been (though I enjoy them both).

[Garden Kitty]

1. Dick Button, but I agree he needs a Terry Gannon or a Scott Hamilton to do most of the "routine" coverage. Dick's knowledge and perspective is incomparable, and I love to see him in the booth, but I don't think he's the main "play by play" announcer.

2. Suze Wynne - I'm really sorry she's not on the air anymore. I loved how she used to do a great job of highlighting what each team did well and where they needed to improve to improve.

3. Peter Carruthers - but I like Paul as well. I know a lot of people don't like Peter, but I enjoy his obvious enthusiasm for the sport, his approachability and his ease with interviews.

[skfan]

Its funny that you mention that because i live in Michigan as well and i love when CBC covers an event. Before the popylarity of Youtube, i could rely on them to cover the main events.

I do think that Dick Button is tough to stomach especially for the fans who only watch the ladies event every 4 years ( you know...that people who think that Michelle Kwan is an olympic champion.) He's rough and brash. I just like him though. He's hillarious. The thing about Sandra and Scott is that for them to be experts they dont provide much by way of compelling commentary.

I also liked Boitano doing worlds coverage.

i envy you. i miss CBC. i'd love to one day move back to one of the border states. rather, aren't you in the capital of american skating right now, with S&Z and the canton ice dancers, sato and dungjen (sp?) coaching the hottest names in singles as well?

i also like terry gannon. he asked, "what does that mean, dick?", when dick said sasha cohen skates to _more_ than the music. and to hear dick spazz out explaining was pure comedy gold.

dick can be harsh, but i've heard him and peggy wax eloquent over skaters who are not at all exhibiting the qualities they are extolling--in _that_ particular performance. they seem to have pre-written their script and are unable to alter it on the fly sometimes.

STILL, 100000000000x better than scott and sandra.

kwanatic i love your piddle term and your dog and newspaper imagery

VIETgrlTerifa i agree terry gannon's respect for figure skating really comes through--and further endears him to me.