Figure Skating TV Commentators thread

[Scrufflet]

Don't be too hard on her. The Eurosport Brit guys are shocking at mispronouncing & getting people mixed up.

The woman at SA said Marino, Marinario, Mariano for Marinaro! And I lost track of the variations for Knierim! This could make a good drinking game.

 

[VGThuy]

Terry Gannon has historically been good especially compared to others who play his position elsewhere, but he some times has a habit (probably commanded to by the higher ups) of taking through some important moments in the program just to fill the space. I think he has some talking points he has to get through and waits for an opportunity after Tara and Johnny are finished but I wish that they would work on the timing so he can get through some mostly inconsequential information at better times in the program. That said, I do understand why NBC feels like they need him to say it because they're working to humanize the skaters this season and make them relatable for the build up to Pyeongchang.

 

[clairecloutier]

What annoys me about Johnny, Tara & Terry is how often they talk about themselves. It's just a shtick with them; I guess it's part of their act. Like at some point during SA, Tara made a comment about a score. And Terry responded with something like, "You're saying that?" The conversation then became about Tara and her remark, not the actual skater who was performing. I'm just not that interested, I would prefer to keep the focus on the skaters who are competing.

Another commentator thing ... The Universal Sports anchor guy, Steve Schlanger, is not bad, and I appreciate his efforts to actually research the skaters a bit. I like that he notes the skaters' earlier scores/results in the season (whereas Johnny/Tara largely act as if the CS series doesn't exist). However, he tends to repeat the same info for each skater at the beginning of both their SP and LP in each competition. So it does become a bit repetitive. He should just mix it up a bit--tell some tidbits during the SP and save other things for the LP. I suppose that is being pretty nit-picky, though.

 

[Dobre]

Johnny-Like as long as he doesn't commentate on dance.
Tara-Nope
Ben-Love
Charlie-Like
Tanith-Love
Tracy-She drives me nuts.
Carol-Seems fine, but I haven't listened to her much.
Chris-I like.
Simon-He's fine.
Hanretty-He's right up there with Tracy on my I-can't-stand list after his stint on TSL.
Dick Button-Not repetitive? You must be kidding. But he had good moments. He appreciated dance, not just ice dance but the history of dance in general.
Scott-Mostly fine, though he was off his rocker during Yagudin's skate in '02.
Sandra-Mostly fine as long as she doesn't commentate on dance.
Kurt-Harmless. Gets his facts wrong, but he's nice about it. (Like Carol, I haven't seen him much).
Terry-Like
Judy-Judy is good as long as she isn't commentating about Americans.
Michael-Meh.
Sinead-Meh.
Tonia-I haven't heard her enough to have an opinion.
Ryan-Like.
John-Love.
Peggy-Generally harmless.
Peter-I liked Peter for pairs. He never explained IJS well.

In general, the less you hear a commentator, the less their hangups drive you crazy & the less opportunity they have to destroy one of the best skating moments in history. Once they do, it's hard to forgive. Sometimes, though, commentators can really add to your understanding of the sport. Sometimes they contradict your initial impression & help you see things in a new way. And now and then they say exactly what you have been dying for someone to confirm aloud for ages. Which is kind of awesome.

 

[Aceon6]

I've been watching a lot of NBCSN/OChannel to catch up on the other winter sports. I wish figure skating had someone as knowledgeable, articulate and hilariously funny as Joey Cheek who does speed skating. Of course, that would never happen as the figure skating insiders take themselves way too seriously to take a risk on someone who calls 'em like he sees 'em.

 

[Seerek]

Something that NBCSN/Olympic Channel needs to ensure they take care of by the time of Pyeongchang is to update or expand on their "crib notes" on the skaters that the commentators use during the broadcasts.

Hearing different commentators use the same exact talking points for skaters across different broadcasts...a little lazy from the research teams, imo.

 

[VGThuy]

Terry Gannon can do what he used to do and talk about how a foreign skater likes hot dogs like he did for Lu Chen during her 1996 Worlds LP. It's sort of funny that that beautiful performance was accompanied by commentary containing hot dogs in it.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

I think Im sorta over Tara and Johnny now.

I was a cheerleader for them their first 2 seasons... but now... meh.

First, they can't stop yapping. As soon as one stops, the other starts. I couldn't enjoy any of Jason's free on NBC because it was like they were doing a podcast instead of commentating.

And lastly, Good Lord Tara. ...... OF COURSE we know Carolina at the moment has the weakest technical. We have eyes ourselves. My God between the 2 of those yappers they musta said it like 14 times in a row. In fact thats all they said regarding Carolina... over and over and over and over.... I'm like... "What else ya got?"

Not sure why they are on her back... homegirl was almost 3rd best in the world as of yesterday. They speak of her as if they are watching a competition of the 6 worst of the GP series.

And at this point does the little purple or blue box need to be explained this many times still? When I watched the Green Bay game today the commentators don't need to reiterate to me what a touchdown is or what 3rd down 2 yards means. (I know NBC may be telling them to, but I think we all know. Even the ones who just casually watch.)

I miss the more mature voices now of Dick and Peggy. sigh.

 

[Amantide]

I suggest actually reading the ISU's criteria for components instead of using your own personal criteria.

I'll help. Via the ISU:


Zagitova's LP completely fulfills this criteria, and actually excels in several of these criteria (musical phrasing is superb, for example). So, no, via the ISU's rules, she should not get hit in components just because all seven jumping elements are in the second half of the program.

Obviously "witty" Pelletier isn't a fan, which is totally fine, but I will question the commentary when he misrepresents the rules to support his point.

There is a good article by Jackie Wong about this, which he did after NHK.

I really like the italian commentary, they have a good team of former skaters (Pedrazzini) and current coaches (Bianconi) that maybe sometimes talk a bit too much but they normally do it to give some information about levels, under rotations and since they go to the competitions (Europeans/Worlds) is very good to have their commentary right from the rink, also they tend to invite competitors (mostly italians) to do some commentary

Oh boy, I can't stand RAI commentators. I like Pedrazzini but Bianconi is blah, so biased, and Arianna Secondini is simply unbearable to listen and has no idea what's going on, despite the fact that she is doing this fo quite awhile now.
Now, ESP Ita, they're very, very good.

 

[Willin]

I like when Tara and Johnny explain technical stuff, and that's why I loved them in Sochi, but they've been going a bit overboard with the personal chatter or references recently. The occasional pop culture reference is funny, but when your commentary is 70% teasing each other, 20% references, and 10% substance, you need to rework it. I don't mind personal fluff during breaks or warm-ups, but in the middle of a program? Yeesh.

 

[snippy]

I’m not much of a watcher these days, I’m a very casual fan the past few years. But I used to love Tracy Wilson and Rod Black. Rod Black just thought that Elvis walked on water back in the day. He got so excited every time he saw him skate. Underhill and martini were very good as well. I found Paul Martin need to be incredibly unbiased and knowledgeable. There were times when he was ruthless with his commentary.

As for Kurt, I remember him having a hand I come in today at the worlds just after the Olympics when he retired and 94. I remember my mom saying I don’t think you’ll have much of a career in commentary because he just wasn’t very good. I suppose now that he’s semi retired with pro skating, He’s got to find something to do.

 

[Skate Talker]

Kurt has been doing commentary for years now on CBC.

 

[DannyCurry]

My fave is Terry. Obviously I don't care much about his figure skating knowledge. I just like his voice and his good looks
Second fave would probably be TAT. I don't understand Russian but her tone and reactions always make me laugh !

Least fave ? French trio Annick Dumont, Nelson Monfort & Philippe Candeloro. They're the absolute worst, along with some Japanese who won't stop talking during the performance

 

[screech]

Tracy and Rod made me laugh today after Tessa and Scott's SD, when she said something like 'the rhumba is said to be the vertical expression of a horizontal wish' and then Rod's hilarious 'can you actually say that? I guess you can say anything.'

 

[tylersf]

The name "Rod Black" sounds like a horizontal wish.

Tracy and Rod made me laugh today after Tessa and Scott's SD, when she said something like 'the rhumba is said to be the vertical expression of a horizontal wish' and then Rod's hilarious 'can you actually say that? I guess you can say anything.'

 

[snippy]

Kurt has been doing commentary for years now on CBC.

I haven’t lived in Canada for over 3 years now. I don’t recall him commentating back before I left.

 

[barbarafan]

I haven’t lived in Canada for over 3 years now. I don’t recall him commentating back before I left.

only on CBC- he is Carol Lane's sidekick

 

[WildRose]

I haven’t lived in Canada for over 3 years now. I don’t recall him commentating back before I left.

LOL, then you weren’t paying attention. He’s been doing skating commentary on CBC for at least 10 years.

 

[snippy]

LOL, then you weren’t paying attention. He’s been doing skating commentary on CBC for at least 10 years.

To be honest I haven’t watched a lot since 2010. The sport just isn’t the same anymore

 

[skatingguy]

To be honest I haven’t watched a lot since 2010. The sport just isn’t the same anymore

I can understand that perspective, at the same time you've missed so many great performances.

 

[snippy]

I can understand that perspective, at the same time you've missed so many great performances.

I’ve seen some here and there on YouTube.

 

[clairecloutier]

Commentators Ryan Bradley, Tanith White, Ted Barton discuss the state of the sport heading into the Olympics.

http://nbc4i.com/2018/01/29/figure-skating-from-the-judges-perspective/

Some good observations from Ryan and Tanith, and I appreciate Ryan's honesty about underrotations. As beloved as Ted Barton is around here, I find his comments in this article quite patronizing. ("Just stay calm and let the adults at the ISU handle everything.")

 

[aftershocks]

The woman at SA said Marino, Marinario, Mariano for Marinaro! And I lost track of the variations for Knierim! This could make a good drinking game.

Another challenging name is: Nam Nguyen. His last name should be more accurately pronounced as: WIN, but is variously uttered as: New yin, Nuh gin, Nuh goo yin, etc.

 

[VGThuy]

Another challenging name is: Nam Nguyen. His last name should be more accurately pronounced as: WIN, but is variously uttered as: New yin, Nuh gin, Nuh goo yin, etc.

Although that's not my last name, I was at my cousins houses enough to answer the phones there and you basically described my childhood when I would hear someone asking for my Uncle or Aunt.

 

[Deleted member 19433]

Another challenging name is: Nam Nguyen. His last name should be more accurately pronounced as: WIN, but is variously uttered as: New yin, Nuh gin, Nuh goo yin, etc.

Here he pronounces in "noo-in" himself, which is how the Canadian commentators have typically pronounced it (and did during Nationals). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTRHAL1ulBY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WjXfeWk4Aw

 

[aftershocks]

Here he pronounces in "noo-in" himself, which is how the Canadian commentators have typically pronounced it (and did during Nationals). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTRHAL1ulBY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WjXfeWk4Aw

Right, that's the settled upon official pronunciation: 'Noo-in or New-in'. However, it's not as if Nam doesn't know the correct pronunciation of his own family name. He's just cool with the fact that the true pronunciation is so oddly different from the spelling, that he's willing to accept the most popular less way-out pronunciation that people can deal with. He's said as much in other interviews.

Another example is Caroline Wozniacki. We pronounce her name like it looks: 'Woz nee ack ee' but that's inaccurate. Caroline is easy about it and doesn't fret over the corrupt pronunciation of her last name:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyotWSnt3M0
Caroline: "Proper Polish is, 'Woz nee atz kah' (ah ending for female). I'm used to it being pronounced wrong in Denmark too, so it's okay. My parents are from Poland originally..."
Caroline: "Once you know a few languages, other languages become easier to learn."

Although that's not my last name, I was at my cousins houses enough to answer the phones there and you basically described my childhood when I would hear someone asking for my Uncle or Aunt.

Another problem I begin to realize, especially with Japanese names is that we place a wrong emphasis or stress on the wrong syllable, as in Keiji Tanaka. I thought it's 'Tah NAH ka,' but announcer at 4CCs pronounced it: 'TAHN ah ka.'

 

[Willin]

Here he pronounces in "noo-in" himself, which is how the Canadian commentators have typically pronounced it (and did during Nationals). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTRHAL1ulBY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WjXfeWk4Aw

It's interesting. I have three Vietnamese classmates with that name. One had her last name misspelled at immigration, so it's pronounced and spelled like "noo-in." Another pronounces her's "When" and a third "Win." We asked one of them to say the actual Vietnamese pronunciation and all of us agreed we probably could never pronounce it like that! So we just go with "When." (Even though "Win" is a better approximation)

I don't really mind when commentators can't pronounce names like that accurately, as there are some things you just can't pronounce accurately without a lot of practice or speaking the language. Sometimes, for languages like Chinese, the announcers mispronounce the names because that mispronunciation is how everyone in the US says it. On the other hand, pronouncing Japanese names wrong is impressive. Their language has simpler pronunciation than English as all the vowels are always pronounced the same way. Or a name like "Marinaro" that should be pretty self explanatory.

 

[screech]

It's interesting. I have three Vietnamese classmates with that name. One had her last name misspelled at immigration, so it's pronounced and spelled like "noo-in." Another pronounces her's "When" and a third "Win." We asked one of them to say the actual Vietnamese pronunciation and all of us agreed we probably could never pronounce it like that! So we just go with "When." (Even though "Win" is a better approximation)

Makes me think of the actor Alexander Skarsgård, whose name is pronounced in North America (even by him) as 'scars-guard' because it's easier, but in Sweden is pronounced more like 'skarsh-gourd' (with barely any 'r' sound in the 'gourd' part - almost like 'goad'). Or Charlize Theron's last name is pronounced more like 'tron' but she goes by 'there-in' because it's hard for people to properly pronounce it.

 

[VGThuy]

It's the "Ng" part that gets a lot of English-speakers, so most people I know are satisfied with something closer to a slightly drawn out version of "win".

This is how I learned to say it:

https://youtu.be/LXaZ6Q5JFxI

My family is Northern Vietnamese so we speak with the Bac (Hanoi) dialect as opposed to the Southern Nam (Saigon) dialect.

 

[Scrufflet]

Another challenging name is: Nam Nguyen. His last name should be more accurately pronounced as: WIN, but is variously uttered as: New yin, Nuh gin, Nuh goo yin, etc.

Completely new to me! Good to know!