With Bill Raftery getting the call to call the Final Four for the first time, let’s take stock of the field. It takes a lot of voices to sing the full madness of March. Here’s a report card for the best (and worst) announcers in the biz.
A+ Bill Raftery (“with the kiss”)
A Doug Gottlieb (best ESPN drive time radio host ever, stolen away by CBS)
A Marv Albert (Marv! Living proof America can forgive anyone. Yesssss.)
A Greg Gumble (steady, even the hair hasn’t changed in years)
A Verne Lundquist (if he gets any bigger they will need to forklift him courtside; rock solid for decades)
A – Ian Eagle (a bit too Syracuse)
B+ Chris Webber (even if you hated him at Michigan)
B+ Kevin Harlan (always reminds me of football – excellent broadcaster)
B Spero Dedes (All-Name Team, a rising star)
B Kenny Smith (Clark Kellogg makes him look better than he is, but he’s still solid)
C+ Reggie Miller (anyone else find him annoying?)
C Charles Barkley (stick with the NBA Chuck, you need note cards to remember the point guards)
C Jim Spanarkel (laughs at his own jokes, Verne lifts his game above a weak D+)
C- Grant Hill (why? Every second he speaks takes a second away from Billy Raf)
D Len Elmore (can someone please retire this dinosaur, he’s still confused by the three point line)
D- Clark Kellogg
