If you listened to portions of Sunday's 49ers-Dallas and/or Raiders-Buffalo NFL games, you get a clear reason as to why Ted Robinson is the gold standard of Bay Area sports broadcasters. As a play-by-play caller, he's easily more listenable than the Raiders Greg Papa.
Whereas Papa is decent enough, (I'd wish he be more careful and watchful on the absurd "Touchdoooown Raiderzzzz" signature call), Robinson's 49ers calls are exciting, informative, and carry extra weight. I'd call this the Bill King card: his calls when the opponent scores are just as exciting as when the Niners score.
Moreover, Robinson is the quintessential non-homer professional so prevalent in other broadcasts in other markets across the country. (Midwest baseball pbp guys are the worst--have you heard the ChiSox, "Hawk" Harrelson or NYYankees tonsil, John Sterling?)
I'm going to take a wait-and-see on Robinson's new color analyst, ex-Niner player, Eric Davis. I like Davis' relative calm and cool takes, but he's way out front on the cliche bandwagon. Over time, and with assistance by Teddy ballgame, I expect Davis to improve.
With regards to Papa, I like his propensity to detail on various player's backgrounds and style. He's good when talking about an obscure 4th-round draft pick. I'm not crazy about Tom Flores as his analyst for all the well-known reasons. Flores, as a past coach and player, is astute enough to provide pretty keen insight, but his homer-itis on the radio is much-to-much to listen to. The frequent use of "we" and "our guy got jobbed" doesn't add much to the broadcast.
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I tend to hear Papa as NOT being a homer. He does put "two-on-the ten" with the touchdown calls for the Raiders when perhaps the TD has little effect on the game. But Papa also gives almost equal excitable play by play when the other team makes a play. Papa is not quite Bill King, but a worthy successor (should be doing Warriors also but we know that story all too well).
ReplyDeleteFlores however,(Respect given for all he's done in the NFL)is HORRIBLE. He can't keep up with Papa and slows him down. Time for some new blood with Papa in the booth.
Your way off here. First-Ted Robinson is a guy who has decided he wanted to be a sportscaster when his voice has no timbre or depth,and reaches screachy when he wants to convey excitement. Second-not a homer? What has he ever said that was Gary Plummer like, critical? And Ted goes back -two years? as the team broadcaster?
ReplyDeletePapa's call is TRULY Bill King like,his rat ta tat voice easily keeps up with the action,and frankly Rich his references show he's no carpetbagger. Lately,he has been more critical of the team..but he holds back I give you.
Tom Flores? He's likeable...like a Dan Dibbs..sometimes thats why you listen. He's not who you look for to say the Raiders stink. But,he did do that this week about the Raiders secondary-"Like Jr.High Schoolers". You heard that.
Eric Davis? overkill..too much the 49ers do no wrong 2-5..then weekends he's just critical of whoever played his old position. He doesnt argue with Harbaughs choices of plays or players.
I like Papa and Flore's old school..like going back in time of the good old RAIDER excellence.
Robinson and Davis have Jed's thumbprint all over them. You know Jed doesnt want to hear about the west coast offense and winning like Al Does about the Raiders past. Hence,the 49ers broadcast is second tier.
I don't understand why people are so easily annoyed or angered by "homer" announcers. The days of "unbiased" media ended last century. Even in news, where unlike sports, the topics actually matter, the old standard of unbiased reporting has come to an end with the proliferation of cable news and blogs catering to a certain world view. When I listen to John Miller or Ted Robinson announcing a successful play by the opponent with a sense of gusto, it doesn't bother me, but I don't enjoy it either. What I do remember are classic calls like Kuip's "this is not good folks" against the Rockies in 09 when the Giants lost a heartbreaker. The Hawk might get annoying on a daily basis, but in limited doses, I think the guy is hilarious... he gone...
ReplyDeleteThis is what Eric does-he explains Harbaughs reasoning for why he's doing what he does and why. OK,good..but Eric will NEVER say if that's a BAD thing. So,he's a sly homer.
ReplyDeleteThey both have styles that take a little getting used to.
ReplyDeleteFlores though is so bad it makes the Raider broadcast unlistenable, no matter how good Papa is.
Are you insane, Rich?! Robinson is the most bland announcer this side of Joe Starkey. Papa blows him out of the water. You can't really believe that.
ReplyDeleteI hate to bag on Flores as he is a link back to better days, but he sounds like some old guy trying to find his teeth or maybe remember where he put his pants.
ReplyDeleteNo disrespect intended but the radio is not where he should be anymore, better he sits in Al's box and just smiles and waves a bit.
Flores is there for a reason, the Raiders make damn sure they have a house guy on the games. Yes, he's horrible.
ReplyDeleteRobinson may be a nice guy, but he is a weak PBP guy,others have pointed it out but his pipes, timbre, and delivery is lacking. Papa is annoying, because he openly imitates Bill King, however he understands how to create excitement and actually do a "radio" broadcast.
Got stuck listening to the 1st 45 minutes of yesterday's Niner game on the radio while driving home from the airport - half the time I had no idea what was going on because Robinson forgets to tell listeners what the result of a particular catch, run, tackle, etc. is. Was it a first down? Sack? Who knows?
ReplyDeleteCouldn't wait to get home and watch the game on TV (with the sound off, thanks to FOX's 5th-string broadcasting crew).
Greg Papa's touchdown call is forced, disingenuous and painful to listen to.
ReplyDelete"Greg Papa's touchdown call is forced, disingenuous and painful to listen to. "
ReplyDeleteDisingenuous? You mean it wasn't really a touchdown? That's funny...
Is Duane Kuiper's "out of here" call genuous?
I prefer Papa over Ted Robinson, although most of Ted's calls are solid. Both men are very good at doing a lot of different things on the air, but Papa's best at play by play of football and basketball, while Ted's strongest suits are tennis and baseball. Both are very hard working and get along well with their fellow broadcasters, and both know how to play the game...that's how they've managed survived this long in the cut throat world of the media.
ReplyDeleteNo one will ever equal Bill King as he was like Miles, Picasso, or Oliver. While his best sport was basketball , he broadcast his Warriors' last game in 1982 before the NBA was taken over by marketing geniuses who changed the whole game experience at the arena to attract a bigger audience. But the Warriors in those days (pre 1982) were so much more exciting and successful than any we've had in recent years, and those of us who went to the Cow Palace or the old Civic Auditorium in downtown SF, (Now renamed in honor of rock impresario Bill Graham) fondly remember King's brilliant calls of a Rick Barry jumper or a Nate Thurmond blocked shot.
Of course King was most famous for his calls of iconic Oakland Raider moments such as the 'Heidi Game' vs the Jets, the 'Sea of Hands" playoff win over Miami, or the 'Holy Roller' at San Diego. We were lucky to have him around for so many years, and he was also the consummate gentleman who wasn't burdened with an annoyingly large ego. Bill had a lot of other interests outside of sports that complimented his work, helping to make him a better announcer. Well read, curious, and highly intelligent, King also was very creative and unique in his style. Unfortunately today, individuals such as Bill King just don't come along too often anymore. Robinson and Papa are among the best around here with Miller, Kuiper, Ken Korach, and Randy Hahn of the Sharks (very underrated but terrific), but then , the people who run the broadcast industry don't hire many broadcasters of that ilk very often.
That's because most of the fools making the big decisions are either bean counters who care nothing about the quality of what's on the air and only worry about the bottom line, or 'consultants' who failed to make it as broadcasters and programmers, but somehow managed to present their BS so effectively that the nit wits at the top were convinced to hire them!
I agree with everything 7:28 said. We have been very fortunate in this area to have had announcers like King, Simmons,Greenwald,etc. While Papa and Robinson may not be at that level they are still better than most of the announcers you hear in other markets.
ReplyDeleteRich, I will disagree with you slightly regarding Sterling. His pet phrases do get on the nerves, but at least he does show some excitement when someone on the other team does something unlike the "Hawk" or Mike Shannon of the Cardinals.
Papa is fantastic, but would be a lot better if Flores wouldn't step on Papa's calls with loud and long "Oohhhhhhhhhhh!"'s.
ReplyDeleteTeddy's too tinny for me.
While sports radio broadcasts in the Bay Area have variety, here are my thoughts anyway:
ReplyDelete- Raiders. Papa's penchant for details is impressive. Unfortunately, Flores is there because of Davis. Solid on-field contributor, not-so-solid analyst. Yes, he's too biased.
- 49ers. Very impressed that Robinson enjoys his work and has moved on passed both U.S. Open Tennis and baseball. This is Davis' first year as a full-time analyst. Give him a chance.
- Athletics. Korach & Cortroneo do a fine job. Yes, Glen is the inferior Kuiper and Fosse often proves he's been there the longest. But I've heard much worse.
- Giants. OUTTA HERE! With Philly's Harry Kalas now gone for 2 years, the best Outta Here call does belong to Duane Kuiper. Yes, Kuip & Kruk can be proudly biased at times, but if you can create your own crazy language like Mike Krukow can, you'll likely have a strong following. Flemming is okay, and Miller, of course, is a Hall-of-Famer for a reason. He literally has seen it all in baseball. As stated in many posts before, my closest Giants fans among family & friends can't stand Amy G, and I see why.
- Sharks. Randy Hahn is THE Voice of the Sharks. Rusanowsky is a solid radio voice, and Baker & Remenda are good analysts, but more often than not, Hahn is a pro's pro and is the Sharks' real MVP. Helps that he wants to keep his broadcasting level up just to keep up with his wife, CBS-5 Weather Anchor (and KPIX favorite of Rich's) Roberta Gonzales. And with Gonzales' energy level, Hahn is right to do so.
- Warriors. I'm very disappointed that Lacob & Guber haven't shown the guts to remove ALL of the team's past liabilities. The fact that Fitz is still there is very disturbing! Barnett and Roye are okay and can be left alone.
- The rest of this post. "YOU CAN PUT 'EM ON THE BOARRRD! YES! MERCY!" Yep, Hawk Harrelson cracks me up, but yes, his White Sox bias can grate on you. But 'BOARRD!', 'Mercy!', and 'He Gone!' can be nice tonics against a bad workday. As for the Yankees, I'll take Michael Kay's 'SEE YA!' call on TV anytime over the insufferable 'Theeeeee Yankees Win!' call of John Stirling. Guess Sterling reminded the late George Steinbrenner of himself and hence the present Steinbrenners keep him there. Might as well be hearing 'Duh Yankees Win!', Stirling is that long in the tooth!
Simply put, none of us can avoid play-by-play homerism. There will always be at least one in every region. The Bay is among the many who have several, with New York & Chicago absolutely leading the pack in this category.
Ted Robinson is OK, if you like plain vanilla.
ReplyDeleteI like a little excitement and Greg Papa provides that. While his time with the Raiders is relatively short-term, he has really studied the history of the Raiders and amazes with his rattling off of games long past.
I can validate ... I was there for Raiders at Day One ... September 1960 and have followed ever since.
You bring up Bill King. No one like him. He still has not received the formal recognition that he deserved. John Miller & Lon Simmonds are in the Broadcast wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame thanks to the "Sports Leader's" promotion of him at the time.
Will a special ceremony & eulogy be held at the Oakland arena after the passing of Miller and Simmonds? I doubt it.
The best solution would be for Miller & Simmonds to hold a news conference with a plan to have Bill King elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame along with some other recognition ... what about an annual Bay Area Announcer Award named in his honor.
Bill King was both a "homer" and an objective broadcaster ... one can wear both hats. Look at the career of Chick Hearn ... those two could really call the action on the basketball court!!!
Enjoy your column. Bob
King needs to be in the Pro Football HOF and the Basketball HOF because he was much better at football and basketball than baseball.
ReplyDeleteHe was good in baseball, but he was legendary with the Raiders and Warriors.
Can Ted Robinson ever complete a thought with out using the phrase "and the point is...". He marvels at making the simple hard and complex to grasp, hence the continual redux of "and the point is".
ReplyDeleteHere's a take from a Raider fan:
ReplyDeletePapa: Excellent. Not a homer. I've listened enough and know enough. Homers don't say the Raiders are "imploding on defense."
Robinson: Excellent. I've said as much to him. He's very, very good. Gives great detail.
A's: I like Korach. Don't like Cortreno. In fact, I don't think Cortreno and Korach are good together. He's a little chippy.
Giants: Kruk and Kuip ... good for Giants fans, but total homers. Too cute. Too PC. Miller is solid, although I don't like how he finishes each sentence with an exclamation point. Fleming? Very good, but will be better once he hits puberty.