With the 2008 Beijing Olympics now concluded, here is a look at how critics viewed NBC’s announcers.
Al Neuharth of the Oregon Statesman-Journal says “If individual media medals were awarded for Olympic coverage, NBC’s Bob Costas would be the runaway gold winner.” Neuharth: “Costas was at his best in Beijing with interviews of everyone from champion gold medalist Michael Phelps and his mother, Debbie, to President George Bush. … My hunch is he’ll be tapped to moderate NBC’s Sunday morning “Meet the Press” after the election…” Awful Announcing notes that “Costas himself pulled no punches in delivering controversial pieces himself and his interview with George W. Bush was surprisingly eye-opening. I don’t think anyone else has gotten more out of the Leader of the Free World in eight years.”
Awful Announcing also writes that NBC basketball play-by-play man Mike Breen “[solidified] himself as the second voice of the NBA after Marv [Albert].” Mizzo of The Starting Five says that Breen “had a chance to cement his voice in history by correctly putting Kobe?s four point play [Sunday morning] in the annals of legendary announcing sound bites. Instead, he?d rather go with the status quo and sit on his voice box. Put me in that moment and I would have kicked it good and hood like Andres Cantor does it every single time someone scores a goal.” Gerald Nicdao on the Sport for Thought blog says “I know Mike Breen and Doug Collins are the American broadcasters, but the players shaking their hands after the game, totally unprofessional on Breen and Collins’ part.” By contrast, The Bleacher Report‘s Anthony Wilson says Breen and Collins shook the players’ hands “because [they] are American announcers, and so dadgummit, they’re a part of this redemption, too.”
On the gymnastics front, the Los Angeles Times‘ Steve Springer notes that NBC’s broadcast team “reacted with an embarrassing display of jingoism” while covering the tie between Nastia Liukin and He Kexin that resulted in the American finishing with a silver medal instead of gold. Springer: “‘They are tied,’ a perplexed Al Trautwig said when the scoreboard showed that, despite the even score, He was listed as the winner. … Trautwig has been the lead gymnastics announcer since the tiebreaking mechanism was installed for the 2000 Olympics and he still doesn’t know it exists?”Bob DiCesare of The Buffalo News says “[Tim] Daggett and [Bela] Karolyi lost credibility with their continued whining over how the American women had been slighted by the less experienced judges.” Derek Taylor of the Charleston Daily Mail writes that “the broadcast team of Daggett, Elfi Schlegel and play-by-play man Al Trautwig was nearly nauseating in their heavy bias in favor of American Shawn Johnson, even after fellow American Nastia Liukin took gold in the women’s all-around.” The Oklahoman‘s Jenni Carlson says “Lots of times when Daggett is talking, you don’t just want to mute the TV. You want to break the speakers.”
Not all of the critique of the gymnastics team was negative. Awful Announcing says “I truly enjoyed the excitement of Bela Karolyi and the heartfelt love for his Sport.” On The Huffington Post, Jason Linkins suggests that Karolyi take over the vacant hosting job on Meet the Press. Linkins: “A man with passion, bravely speaking truth to power? What better host could Meet The Press ask for?” On KeepMeCurrent.com, Mike Higgins says “I could only understand about a third of what [Karolyi] was saying, but even that third was more entertaining than anything the three announcers NBC had doing gymnastics ever said.”
Swimming broadcasters Dan Hicks and Rowdy Gaines were generally well regarded. The New York Times‘ Richard Sandomir wrote that their call of Michael Phelps eighth gold medal “avoided the histrionics that have characterized some of their past swimming calls. They balanced emotion during the 4×100 medley relay with clearly-spoken narration and analysis, without losing lucidity.” Molly Willow of the Columbus Dispatch writes, “Hicks went appropriately bonkers at each Phelps victory and ably rooted for foreign world-record holders when the American in the race didn’t have a shot. … I particularly enjoyed how Hicks would speed up his commentary each time the leader neared the wall, urging them on.” Daily News Group’s John Reid suggests that “Someone upstairs needed to give swimming analyst Rowdy Gaines a stern memo reading: ‘You’re the analyst, not the play-by-play man! And lower your voice while you’re at it!’“
Via the Sports Business Daily is the New York Times’ Sandomir praising track and field analyst Ato Boldon as “one of NBC’s best analysts, a blend of athletic smarts, charisma, precise analysis and brashness.” Boldon, along with Lewis Johnson and play-by-play man Tom Hammond made up Dallas Morning News‘ writer Barry Horn‘s favorite announcing team. Horn: “Hammond is a pro’s pro whose voice and delivery never change regardless who is winning or losing. Boldon never once tried to make an excuse for the disappointing U.S. track team.” Boldon did receive some criticism for harping on Usain Bolt’s perceived showboating during the 100m. After being confronted by Bryan Cummings of the Jamaican Observer, Boldon “backed down to admit that he did not know Usain that well and that he had misread his celebration.” Heather Havrilesky on Salon.com says Boldon’s criticisms allowed Bob Costas to “[hop] on board the controversy train with his usual recklessness on Monday night, marveling with Boldon over Bolt’s performance, then playing the scold, unprompted … Costas has been trilling about “class” and “classiness” among athletes for decades now, as if it’s the pinnacle of human achievement to reach a seemingly impossible goal, and then celebrate by acting like you’re waiting for the F-train.” The New York Daily News‘ Jared McCalister says of the online reaction to NBC’s scolding of Bolt, “Yes, there were some who sided with Costas and Boldon … but the overwhelming bulk of the responses were vehemently pro-Bolt.”
