It's "Lalas", NOT "Lawless"!

[NEKSoccer]

If any of you listen to Rob Stone call an MLS game on ESPN2, you'll notice that he pronounces Alexi Lalas' name incorrectly. He pronounces it "Lawless". Call me a nitpicker if you want, but is it too much to ask for a little professionalism here? It's not like the guy's name is "Papamichalopoulos" for crying out loud!!! It's the little things that announcers do that make them worth listening to. Correct name pronounciation is one of those things. And Stone is not the only one who does this. I've mentioned FSW's Carlos Machado in another thread. He mispronounces several names - names like "Maracana", "Morelia", and even "Portsmouth". When he pronounces the latter, he pronounces the "mouth" part of it exactly like the world "mouth". This is NOT the correct way to do it. It should be pronounced "Portsmuth" [sic] with a short "u". No self-respecting Briton would dare to pronounce it like Machado does. Again, correct pronunciation - getting the little things right - is part of professionalism.

While I'm at it, does anyone watch the George Michael Sports Machine on Sunday nights? Though it was a while ago (several years), I once heard him pronounce the word "steroids" with a long "e" (i.e. "steeroids"). Sometimes the English language does change. But it shouldn't change like that! Your thoughts, please?

[YanksFC]

:rolleyes:

We could have worse problems, such as ESPN or FSW not broadcasting MLS matches at all. Never look a gift horse in the "muth."

[kenntomasch]

I've heard that some folks say "LawnGUYland", too, but I can't confirm that.

[NEKSoccer]

Originally posted by YanksFC
:rolleyes:

We could have worse problems, such as ESPN or FSW not broadcasting MLS. Never look a gift horse in the "muth."
True, I am grateful for the chance to see soccer on TV. I remember well the days when you could not find a game ANYWHERE on the tube. But still, when was the last time you heard a mainstream sports announcer (i.e. baseball, gridiron, etc.) here butcher a name? Good announcers can attract people to the sport just as much as the game itself can. So it pays to have people who sweat details imparting soccer news.

[kenntomasch]

Originally posted by NEKSoccer
But still, when was the last time you heard a mainstream sports announcer (i.e. baseball, gridiron, etc.) here butcher a name?


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"That's never happened, has it, Harry?"

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"Never, Frank, never!"

[SoFla Metro]

Originally posted by NEKSoccer
But still, when was the last time you heard a mainstream sports announcer (i.e. baseball, gridiron, etc.) here butcher a name? Have you ever seen a hockey game on TV? Unless they have different rules in Eastern Europe, names are supposed to be pronounced one way, but hockey announcers didn't get that memo.

[Horizon]

I agree with NEKsoccer. Broadcasters have an obligation to pronounce names correctly.

Rule #1. If a word has no english origin, the "a" should be pronounced as a hard "a" like apple.

For example, many people mispronounce:

Ramos (Rahmos not Raeemos)
AJAX (Ahjax, not Aeejax)

Same thing goes for

Moreno (morehno, not mo_rai_nou)


Rule # 2. In Spanish, the "h" is silent.

Hernandez ( ernandez, without the "h")

and the worst ever mispronunciation:

Rule # 3

Perez ( the accent is in the first "e" not the second)

I can't believe TV people pronounce Shimon Peres correctly, but when they say the spanish version, they put the emphasis in the second vowel.


Thank you.

[Horizon]

By the way, I doubt that Jeff Agoos pronounces
his name as Aeegoos, I am sure it should be Ahhgoos.

[Beakmon FC]

Dumbest thread ever

[Horizon]

Originally posted by Beakmon FC
Dumbest thread ever

Beakmon, i bet you make the same mistakes. that's why you think this is dumb. Maybe you
should be more humble and start learning, instead
of continuing with your ignorance.

[kenntomasch]

I just think it's hilarious that two New Yorkers are complaining about how people pronounce things.




























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"I'm just keeeding!"

[Decent Guy]

Originally posted by Horizon
By the way, I doubt that Jeff Agoos pronounces
his name as Aeegoos, I am sure it should be Ahhgoos.

It's actually pronounced like Vegas (Las Vegas) without the V.

[Horizon]

Originally posted by Decent Guy
It's actually pronounced like Vegas (Las Vegas) without the V.

Sorry, my mistake.

[empennage]

Originally posted by Decent Guy
It's actually pronounced like Vegas (Las Vegas) without the V. .

Ahh... But the spanish pronunciation is different than the american way. Isn't it supposed to be (VeHaas)??

[dmets]

Hey, I was looking for a Zena connection here.... Oh well....

[wasdykec]

I think we miss pronounce Los Angeles and Detroit too, Detroit is a french name. We've got a lot of changing to do boys, lets get started!

[NEKSoccer]

Actually, there are other mispronounciations. Michelle Lissel made a couple on last night's FSW Report. She pronounced "Boavista" inccorectly. She said "Boy-VEE-sta" when it should be "Boh-ah-VEE-sta". She also pronounced "Gremio" incorrectly, pronouncing it "GRAMMY-oh" instead of "GREH-mee-oh".

I should add in fairness that certain members of the U.S. Spanish-language media have done this - most notably Andres Cantor. As much as I respect his announcing, historically he has mispronounced several Anglo names. "Trittschuh" became "TREE-toosh", "Gough" became "Go", and Gyau (which should be pronounced "Jao" - rhyming with "Yao") became "Gway" (rhymes with "Gray").

Not sure how long a way we've come in terms of getting pronounciations and people's names right. I remember during Italia '90 some local sportscasters here in New York mentioned players like "Larry" (Nery) Pumpido and "Randy" (Peter) Vermes. I hope things will improve as time goes on.

[kenntomasch]

Originally posted by NEKSoccer
and Gyau (which should be pronounced "Jao" - rhyming with "Yao") became "Gway" (rhymes with "Gray").

When Gyau was in the CISL (we traded for him, in fact, but he never played for us), I was told it was pronounced "jee-OW", two syllables instead of one-and-a-half.

[SoFla Metro]

I just read this thread. That's two minutes of my life I'll never get back.

[kenntomasch]

Do you ever get any minutes back? 'Cause if you do, let me know. I have a few I'd like back, too.