Sometimes, I don't mind watching sports at home instead of live, and these guys have a lot to do with it. I have tremendous respect for great sportscasters and I have not given up on my dream of being one. That's why it was such a great experience for me when I did coverage for the Philippine Bowling Open a few years back with Bill Velasco. I hope to do more in the future, maybe even with my former prof. Sev Sarmienta.
Parameters: To be fair, I gave 5 slots for foreign sportscasters and 5 slots for local sportscasters. Also, while I have been watching, studying and enjoying sports for over two decades, I can only include those I actually heard for at least 10 times. This means I can only give special mention to legends like Dick Ildefonso and Pinggoy Pengson.
10. Marv Albert
The NBA playoffs, people say, are like a different season, and so are the commentators. Even the TV stations bring their "A" game and among the best is Marv Albert. He does have a great television voice and he always develops great camaraderie with his panelists. The thing I love the most though, is his ability to make the game more exciting through his accentuation. He doesn't say anything too unique but the way he say lines like, "for three!" or "up high and down hard!" just sound awesome. I also love his penchant of starting disagreements with his panelists like Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson.
9. Richard del Rosario
While relatively new to the sportscasting game, this former PBA player is quickly becoming one of my favorites. He does have the voice to be a commentator and he does a good job of reining in his analysis so his partner can perform well. What really sets him apart though is his comedic ability, most especially his self-deprecating humor. He loves bringing up things like his lack of playing, free throw percentage and outside shooting to keep things light and funny. Just the other day, while asking his partner Ronnie Magsanoc about why players play well against the teams that traded them, shared his own story of how he played well against his former Mobiline team... by scoring 2 points.
8. Ed Picson
Like del Rosario, Picson does a great job of keeping the coverage light and funny. His great radio/TV voice, combined with the amazing pace that he can talk make Picson a more than competent commentator, whether in basketball or boxing. His greatest ability, though, is being able to take the "Every Man" approach. He assumes the role of the television viewer and makes sure to ask the proper and probing questions for his analyst partner, enabling the analyst to digest the game in a way that the lay man can understand. That is lot harder done than said. His talent for speaking multiple FIlipino dialects is quite an asset too.
7. Jim Ross
"Good Ole J.R." is quite the legend in professional wrestling circles and is widely recognized as the best at calling matches. In a world filled with hyperboles and wild proclamations, Ross is able to make those sound not only not silly, but also believable sometimes. He also finds the right time to give background info of the wrestlers, helping people realize that while professional wrestling is a "pre-destined," sport, the participants are real, top class athletes. Lastly, while he takes the "baby face" or good guy part of the panel, he is able to to do that while not sounding corny or hokey. His calls of "Stone Cold! Stone Cold! Stone Cold!" and "He broke him in half!" have become the stuff of legends, just like him.
6. Joe Rogan
The former Fear Factor host and now the resident UFC analyst has become quite a fixture in the young sport. He has a tremendous ability to keep the adrenaline flowing with his excitable voice and he does have his fair share of funny and snide comments. What really sets him apart is his research. He simply has to do a lot of it as he always has a ton of info about each of the fighters, including their strengths and weaknesses, favorite moves and past injuries. Add to that his stock knowledge on almost all of the submission holds and wrestling moves and you get a loud-talking encyclopedia of MMA. It also helps him that he keeps his analysis honest, as he does not try to hide things covering for an underperforming or overwhelmed fighter.
5. Andy Jao
One of the first analysts I heard on TV, Jao's knowledge of the rules is quite impressive; hence the name "Doctor J." This knowledge allows him to break the game down, including the plays that teams like to rely on. Usually, when he talks about what a team needs to do to win and the team actually does that, it wins. What makes him one of my heroes though, is his honesty. He never sugarcoats anything, whether he talks about a team or a player. When a player cannot make outside shots, he lets people know it. I will never forget his description of Nap Hatton, a former PBA player known for being selfish. When his partner said that Hatton likes that 18-foot jumpshot, he said, "Yes he likes that shot. He likes every shot!" Another of his abilities is to stay calm. While he sounds excited when exciting plays happen, his analysis of the game is always on target, and he is never prone to making motherhood or misleading statements.
4. Sev Sarmienta
He may be my former prof, but his position on this list has absolutely nothing to do with this. He's here because just like Picson, he possesses an excellent radio/TV voice and he has the ability to speak as fast a tempo as required. His great talent lies in two things. First is his ability to make the coverage more exciting almost on command. His control of accentuation and volume helps him control the excitement level. Second is the way he sets up his analyst partners. He changes the way he asks questions, constantly asking his partner based on what he thinks his partner's specialties may be. If he is paired with a coach or manager, he asks them about trades and what coaches would say during certain times. When paired with former players, he picks their brain on how it is to play against the players they are currently covering or what type of coaching they would respond too. Setting up partners well leads to a much smoother coverage and you know you'll get one when Sarmienta calls it.
3. Vijay Amritraj
Usually, verbose people like myself would love to do play-by-play and analysis for sports, but Amritraj is the total opposite, especially during the match. While his knowledge of tennis play and his personal knowledge of all the players is impressive, he astounds me when he is able to raise the excitement of the coverage or completely analyze the situation with very few words. Sometimes, he even just breathes in really loudly, to emphasize how important a certain development is, and that truly is impressive. I remember Ronnie Nathanielsz covering tennis during the Asian Games and when he called one play by calling a winning shot as, "a jumping double-handed crosscourt passing shot," as the next point was already happening, I truly recognized how good Vijay is. "Less is more," is quite an overused cliche, but it does apply to Amritraj. Plus, he appeared in Star Trek IV. What could be cooler than that?
2. BIll Walton
This former NBA great has to be an NBA junkie's favorite. While former players who analyze games usually have a soft, monotone voice when covering games, he is able to be more exciting by controlling his volume and accentuation and he is brutally honest. His best feature though, is his outrageous statements. While he usually says these tongue-in-cheek, they provide great comedic entertainment during NBA games. I remember, during a playoff game, he called the late Eddie Griffin, "the worst post up feeder in Houston Rockets history," as Griffin flubbed a pass into Olajuwon, causing more than a chuckle from his broadcast teammates. It's quite unfortunate that just like his playing career, his sportscasting career has been cut short by his aching back.
1. Joe Cantada
The commentators' commentator, "Smokin' Joe" was idolized not only by the viewing public but also by his fellow panelists. His smooth and smoky voice, combined with his excellent command of English and his enviable ability to speak quickly without misspeaking makes him unparalleled. On the humor side, he also has his fair share of comedic touches, which were most evident during times when he worked with Joaqui Trillo. I remember he even had the cameras take a full body shot of Trillo to show him in jeans and rubber shoes underneath his coat and tie. It was unfortunate that cancer took him away early, depriving us of more excellently covered games.
photos courtesy of cnn.com, insidesports.ph, lenet3000.com, celebritygossip.com, vanillaafro.com, bollywood.buzzine.com,
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No Quinito Henson?
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