49ERS ANNOUNCE FIVE-YEAR EXTENSION WITH VOICE OF THE 49ERS TED ROBINSON
Ted Robinson --one of the best, just signed a five-year contract extension with the 49ers.
Good for Ted, good for the 49ers.
I want to say a few things about Ted.
First, he's a good broadcaster. Not a homer. Does he get excited when the 49ers play well? Sure, he's supposed to. But he's also supremely critical and will call out players and the team if they play poorly.
Another thing: Robinson gets an occasional whack from critics who think he's overrated. He's not. And he's about as close to Bill King on football as there is. Props to Mr. Robinson.
He may not be as excitable or unique as Bill King but he's heads and shoulders above King when it comes to football knowledge and objectivity. As a die-hard Raider fan and hater of everything SF I know you don't see that.
ReplyDeleteDead wrong.
DeleteI grew up in the 70's and lived and died Raiders, A's, and Warriors. Still miss Bill King and his calls. The "House of Thrills" will forever be ingrained with me.
What Rich said.
DeleteI also grew up in the 70's. To suggest anyone is "head and shoulders" above King with regards to football knowledge and objectivity, may be the single stupidest comment in the history of this blog. That takes some talent.
Ted Robinson does a fine job, but there is nothing more lame than when KGO and KNBR interview him for expert analysis about upcoming games. The guy gets more played out than Lindsay Lohan news. He's not an EXPERT just because he calls the games. The NBA shops out Mike Breen, and you do hear him on local stations, but no city uses their play-by-play guy more than San Francisco does Ted, and it's weak radio.
ReplyDeleteBill King is in the endzone of broadcasting talents while Ted barely can see the 50 yard line. He's like anything part of KNBR,he's through the extruder that makes all of them hamburger. if the 49ers had gone with another announcer,not a single 49 fan would have cared. As long as the 49ers win,I guess everybody keeps their job is the bottom line.
ReplyDeleteIt's about time talent is recognized in this market. Usually, the mediocre (hello Rudy) get more attention than they deserve here.
ReplyDeleteTed is a pro. He is not very flashy or overly dramatic but he is very solid
ReplyDeleteTed is a pretty benign play by play announcer, I don't mind him at all. What I do mind is his cohort cheerleading partner, Eric Davis. I guess I'm old school. No one will ever match Wayne Walker in color commentary. He was the epitome of football knowledge. BTW-Bill King was the best football and basketball announcer or all-time. Anyone is going to pale in comparison to him.
ReplyDeleteTed is a solid and versatile announcer, and I am glad that he has been (and will continue to be) at the mike for Niner games. Met him back in the early '90s, and he was very friendly and knowledgeable.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of homers, the Raidas are (over)due for a change.
ReplyDeleteWhat are his contract terms?
ReplyDeleteBill King was, by any objective measure, one of the greatest and most versatile broadcasters who ever lived. He was a local treasure because he chose not to go national, but to those of us who had the privilege of listening to him call games, we know that nobody is even in the same time zone as Bill.
ReplyDeleteI've always said, King was great at baseball, sublime at football, and absolutely other-wordly in basketball, which was his best sport. His style was so well suited for the non-stop action on the court.
How he could provide so much detail and illustration while describing game action still amazes me.
Ted Robinson is talented, and I like him infinitely better than the abomination that was Joe Starkey, but is voice is not as deep or resonant as King's, which is not a drawback in tennis but is noticeable in football. And he can't measure up to King in those special, magical moments when just the right words are required to make it live forever. ("Blanda is king of the world!") As a first semester course in Bill King studies, I'd suggest listening to some of the clips of the master on the SF Radio Museum site, including an entire Warriors game from 1978, and the last 14 minutes of the Holy Roller game from the same year.
http://www.sfradiomuseum.com/sports/raiders/raiders-chargers_sept-10-1978.shtml
Ted tries to analyze the game too much, at the expense of delivering thorough play-by-play.
ReplyDeleteHe also raises his voice pitch during the dramatic moments, which grates on you.
Robinson has that rare ability to keep working at high profile jobs because he understands how to deal with flighty and capricious radio and TV management. He's very good, but his greatest skill is always looking ahead for a better job. Why do you think he's moved around so much?
ReplyDeleteBut I like him very much as an announcer. One guy I wish to heck would just GO AWAY is the insufferable Bob Fitzgerald, who will kiss anyone's ass to make sure he gets to work at a better job.
Bob learned that disreputable skill from his dad and from Notre Dame. Fitz isn't a bad announcer technically, but he has no conscience about stealing other people's jobs, and once he gets them, he's an insufferable homer. He'll never measure up to any of the great ones in this area, and he isn't even close to being in the class of a Ted Robinson.