The second game of the Talkhoops.net Announcer Critiques happened on November 11th between the Utah Jazz and the Seattle Supersonics at Key Arena in Seattle. It was the Seattle Supersonics’ (or Oklahoma City Cyclones, whatever you want to call them a year from now) announcing crew that consisted of play-by-play announcer (middle-right), Kevin Calabro, and color commentator (below), Steve “Snapper” Jones. At the time, the Sonics were winless in 5 attempts and the Jazz were 3-2 after surviving LeBron James and his monster effort 2 nights prior to this game. This was a great game and ended up being a close contest the entire night. We had very high expectations of this announcing crew going in and were confident that they could meet those goals of ours.
The game itself was extremely entertaining. The stats for both teams in the game were practically identical. Both were good from the field, terrible from the 3-point line and decent at the free-throw line. They were within 6 rebounds of each other (Utah with the advantage), close in steals and blocks, and the Sonics only had one more turnover than the Jazz. The Jazz won 103-101 after Andrei Kirilenko blocked Kevin Durant on a last second, game-tying attempt. Andrei Kirilenko was the player of the game by far, despite scoring only 10 points. He did everything on the court. Andrei also had 8 rebounds, 4 steals, 4 blocks, and 11 assists. Kevin Durant got his 20 points but it came on 7-21 shooting and 1-8 from long range. His fellow rookie, Jeff Green, was able to come off the bench and provide the Sonics with 19 points and 4 rebounds.
The nice thing about this game was with two young phenoms (Kevin Durant and Jeff Green) the announcers could easily be gushing over their young guys and talking about how great they’re going to be for this franchise. But Kevin Calabro and Snapper kept it completely professional the whole time. They were entertaining, didn’t take away from the game and were able to keep you enthralled with the action. They were the anti Eric Reid and Tony Fiorentino.
Nicknames- Zach Harper: 9; Brandon Gallawa: 9
Zach Harper- Calabro and Snapper showed how professional they are and kept the first names and nicknames to a minimum. There were the occasional Delonte and Wally, but overall, Calabro stuck to calling out the last names of players to make it as easy as possible to follow for the average/casual fan. Most importantly for me, they didn’t have stupid nicknames already made up for their young guys. There wasn’t a KD or JG in the telecast.
Brandon Gallawa- These guys were absolute pros when it came to using last names and full names of the players on either team. I don’t know that anyone would get a perfect score in this category, but this announcing team was as close to perfect as anyone in the league. I may have even been a little knit-picky in this category because Calabro literally only used a handful of first names/nicknames throughout the entire game. It is such a joy to hear a local crew that sounds so professional.
Objectivity- Zach Harper: 10; Brandon Gallawa: 10
Zach Harper- This is really as good as it gets with these two guys in this business. It was like listening to Gus Johnson in tournament time, Marv Albert in the Finals, or Kevin Harlan Thursday night on TNT. If I didn’t know the affiliation of the announcing crew, going into the game, I would have thought that it were being done by a major network like TNT or ESPN. Kevin Calabro is so professional that he could be announcing his kid’s basketball game where the outcome determined whether his kid lives or dies and he’d still call an objective game.
Brandon Gallawa- If you were just listening to this game on the radio, you would be convinced that this was a national broadcast. There was never a hint of favoring the Sonics at any point. Calabro and Snapper didn’t question the officiating like most local crews often do. They didn’t get overly excited when a player for the Sonics did something great. They even were questioning the decision making of the Sonics’ players and coaches during key points of the game. I don’t turn on a game to hear someone else root for the home team. Hearing objective commentary was very refreshing.
Color Commentator (Steve "Snapper" Jones)- Zach Harper: 10; Brandon: 10
Zach Harper- I love Snapper. Going back to the days when NBC was a relevant sports station on weekends, their basketball coverage was legendary. A combination of Bob Costas, Bill Walton, and Snapper usually meant that you were going to be entertained whether the game was competitive or not. Snapper is still the exact same color commentator now that he was then. He gives you poignant information at the correct times and never steps on the toes of the play-by-play announcer. He correctly dissects replays and gives you insight into why the players are doing what they do. He’s the best out there.
Brandon Gallawa- The biggest factors when breaking down a color commentator are what he adds to the broadcast, how he compliments the announcer, and how he breaks down replays/footage. Snapper would bring any broadcast up a notch. I always looked forward to the games he announced for NBC because he was the anti-Walton. No hyperbole. He just called it like he saw it, and he was always going to entertain the audience and bring the bad announcing up to his level. He works extremely well with Calabro. It’s like the two were made to work together. They are both knowledgeable, and they never step on each other’s toes. They get along, so their banter isn’t forced. And there may not be a better person at breaking down a replay than Snapper. I learn more about the game in one timeout than any other color man in the league can give me in an entire game.
Sideline Reporter (What's Her Face)- Zach Harper: 3; Brandon Gallawa: 4
Zach Harper- I’ve got to be honest with you, I forgot to write down this girl’s name and I haven’t been able to find it online. I’ve even watched a few telecasts since and haven’t seen her. She may or may not have been demoted to Seattle Storm games or maybe they shipped her to Oklahoma City early. Either way, she wasn’t very good. She was good looking but that’s about all she had going for her. Here’s what I don’t need from a female sideline reporter: don’t try to be one of the guys. There’s one female sideline reporter that can pull it off and it’s Cheryl Miller. You know why she’s the only one that can pull it off? She’s the best female basketball player of all time. This Sonics’ reporter too often tried to be Snapper’s pal, especially during the halftime show. Just give me your report and get off of the telecast (and that goes for ALL sideline reporters, female and male).
Brandon Gallawa- She was very easy on the eyes, and that is all I remember about her. That is never a good sign. You should at least remember something about what she brought to the table. I’m going to reiterate. The only broadcast that will get a perfect score in this category is the broadcast that doesn’t use a sideline reporter. Sideline reporters are really only there to give us insight on information that we couldn’t readily obtain ourselves. Don’t tell me that P.J. Carlesimo wants his team to play harder on defense. We get enough coach speak from the coaches; we don’t need some semi-attractive women giving us more of it.
Halftime Show- Zach Harper: 9; Brandon Gallawa: 7
Zach Harper-The whole setup of the halftime show was the sideline reporter split screen with Snapper and they discussed the game. It was pretty decent actually despite my despising the sideline reporter. However, Snapper was great. He gave you all of the pertinent information from the first half and broke down what was going right for both the Jazz and Sonics. It wasn’t a love fest for the good things that the Sonics were doing. It was completely unbiased and even in their coverage of both teams. It would’ve been a 10 if it were Snapper and Calabro doing the discussion.
Brandon Gallawa- Snapper giving his insight on what happened in the first half was the only reason this halftime show didn’t crash and burn. He broke down stats and trends, but his conversation with the sideline reporter was labored at best. I just mostly felt bad because Snapper had to go from a give and take with Kevin Calabro to some female that is about a hundredth as informed. I had even more respect for Snapper after the halftime show. They probably do it to ensure that Snapper remains thankful of his situation during the game. But in all seriousness, I would have much rather gotten a chance to hear more from the commentating crew.
Replay/Production- Zach Harper: 7; Brandon Gallawa: 6
Zach Harper- The replay breakdowns were fantastic because Snapper diagrams the plays perfectly. He gives you a few different things that are going on in the play that most fans probably wouldn’t able to see unless they knew to look for it. The broadcast production of this crew was great. Most of your audience for local and national NBA broadcasts is going to be men. What do guys like to look at between the action? That’s right; the answer is cheerleaders. Every cut away from the action was a shot of the cheerleaders, which is the correct way to go if you want to keep your male audience captivated. The only thing that takes away from the production value of this broadcast is the cookie-cutter style of FSN networks. There was nothing special in the way the game was presented.
Brandon Gallawa- This was nothing truly special. It was a Fox Sports Net broadcast down to the graphics coming in and out of commercials. Like most FSN broadcast we got to see a lot of the aforementioned Hero Shot that I love so much. There was really nothing too special about it. There were a couple of things that stood out in the production department. They kept showing shots of the cheerleaders and the mascot Harry. Both are at the top of their class when compared to the league. Their replay production was fantastic, and they always had great footage available to lead to very insightful commentary. Those factors are the only thing that brought the score up.
Make Funability- Zach Harper: 9; Brandon Gallawa: 9
Zach Harper- They get a high score because it’s almost impossible to make fun of these guys. The voices aren’t fake at all. There isn’t any routine and you don’t feel like you’re apart of someone’s attempted highlight reel to send off to a major network. These guys are just real and calling what’s in front of them. You can’t knock something like that. There’s no opportunity for embarrassment. It’s like trying to make fun of Stockton and Malone running the pick-and-roll.
Brandon Gallawa- The only reason they didn’t get a perfect score really harkens back to the days of Snapper on NBC. There were moments during the game where we would revert back to using our Snapper voices to berate an imaginary Bill Walton. Which of course led us to using out Walton voices. Also it doesn’t really speak to the broadcast crew, but Carlesimo being the coach will always lead to an endless wave of choking jokes.
Post-Game Show- Zach Harper: 7; Brandon Gallawa: 6
Zach Harper- The post-game show was extremely short. The setup was Kevin Calabro and Snapper sitting in front of the camera, discussing the game. They went over what they thought went right for both teams and that was about it. Not much in terms of statistics for either team was presented. The show lasted just a few minutes and only had a couple of highlights from the end of the game. Had they been on the television for a few more minutes, it would have been good enough for at least a 9.
Brandon Gallawa- Once again it was nothing special. It was still your standard FSN-type broadcast. The only factor that brought the score up was the interaction between Calabro and Snapper because you can tell these guys appreciate working together. I’d like to see some statistics from the game. I don’t mind when those two are giving me information, so I would have loved to hear some scores around the league. I also wouldn’t have minded a breakdown of key points in the game. Just give me more.
Play-by-Play Announcer (Kevin Calabro)- Zach Harper: 10; Brandon Gallawa: 10
Zach Harper- I can’t tell you what a joy it is to listen to this man call a basketball game. He’s the consummate professional and he does his job better than anybody in the game today. That’s including Marv Albert, Mike Breen, Mike Tirico, and Kevin Harlan. I don’t know if Mr. Calabro hasn’t been offered a major network job or if he’s just declined the offers, but this is the guy that should be doing playoff games in the summer. Maybe he isn’t sexy enough for the networks, but ask anyone in the broadcasting industry and they’ll tell you that Calabro is the best. If I could give him a 20 out of 10 here, I would.
Brandon Gallawa- Best in the business, and that is really all that needs to be said. It angers me that the Kings had him announcing games, but they let him go. I would trade a thousand versions of Grant Napear for one Kevin Calabro. This is his twentieth season calling games in Seattle, and he has gotten down to an absolute science. He takes absolutely nothing away from the game. He could get any casual fan excited for a game. Not to mention he has some of the best catch phrases in the league. I would be more excited if the Kings signed him as a free agent when his contract is up in 2009 than just about any player in the league.
Would We Watch Again? Zach Harper: 10; Brandon Gallawa: 10
Zach Harper- I would watch the Sonics lift weights if Calabro and Snapper were describing it. It’s rare that you feel this way from an announcing crew but these guys add to the game in the way that announcers are supposed to do it. Snapper is probably the best color man in the business and Calabro is definitely the best play-by-play man. On any given night, if the Sonics are on, then it’s a guarantee that I will be turning the game on. These guys are that good.
Brandon Gallawa- I definitely would. I could listen to these guys describing a girlfriend breaking up with me, and I would probably enjoy it. There may not be a better one-two punch in the league. Honestly Marv Albert and Steve Kerr are jealous of these two. I want there to be a show called “Kevin Durant Goes Grocery Shopping” so I can hear Calabro and Snapper call that. I wish I could watch a Sonics game right now. That is how much I love this crew.
Zach Harper’s Final Score: 84/100; Brandon Gallawa’s Final Score: 81/100
Andy Eisner’s Dickter Scale (aka Hot Chick Bonus): +7.5 Points
Once again, the Sonics' brass knew their audience and were constantly showing hot girls in the crowd and cheerleaders going to and coming back from every commercial break. This is the game that officially changed the name of this category from Hot Chick Bonus to Dickter Scale Bonus. Andy was very happy with Chris Wilcox's tattoo that looked just like Nick Lachey's tattoo. I know; Brandon and I were as stunned as you are that it would be a major factor. But you'll just have to get to know our resident cynic better to understand why a statement like that is never out of the norm.
Overall Score (Average of 2 sides + Andy’s Bonus): 90/100