I tend to agree with the "he sounds like a 9 year old" contingent. BUT, his verbal ejaculations got the game on Sportscenter in what the anchors said were "announcer highlights". If they love him so much that they'll show highlights of his calls, I guess I can ignore him.
The "Oh doctor" exclamation was originated by the baseball announcer Red Barber (primarily Brooklyn Dodgers but also NY Yankees). It probably goes back to the 1940s or even earlier. Why not have Ty and Ray Hudson switch jobs? The broadcast team would improve and I doubt United would do any worse.
Soccer is all about passion, Rob Stone has passion for this game, which is a good thing... thats what soccer's announcer (any sports announcers for that matter)supposed to be... Good Job Rob !!!
stone is the best guy we've had calling MLS games yet. the guy who started this thread would probably find something to complain about no matter who they put in there.
i like rob. i like waldo. i don't like ty. i like tommy. i really like jp. will jack edwards go out with me? ()yes ()no.
Rob's OK. He overdoes it somewhat. To my ears, the disappointing thing is that he doesn't seem to be growing into the job. I hope/wish he'd get tapes of the matches and listen to them. I think he'd go, oh, man, I can't believe I said that. Jot notes to himself about what he did "wrong," and work on that. His amplifier goes to 11. I'd like to see him turn it down to 10.
Rob Stone entertains me several times a game with his mannerisms, sure he gets a bit tireseome, but he entertains me nonetheless. Jack Edwards entertained me too. Wynalda, hes great. He tells it like it is, no nonsense, hes a welcome addition. As a viewer, I dont care what they do, as long as they entertain me, so they work for me.
Dear Rob, Please, I earnestly entreat that you never use the phrase "Ante's Inferno" ever again. Signed, Concerned MLS Fan
Rob is good as a studio guy, where his enthusiasm can shine through, but he sounds so juvenile out there and a pro announcer's voice should not crack like that. There are few replacements out there though - JP being one of them, (hm, Steve Cangelosi as metro PBP...sorry thinking out loud there), but I don't know who else. I woudl like to see Dir as color guy instead of Ty, who just sucks.
Yo Adrian! Adrian Healy is a great bpb guy for the Revs. He is understated when appropriate (run-of-the-mill passing in midfield), but gets excited and shows emotion when interesting things happen. He works well with a number of different commentators, this year with Brad Feldman, which can't be overlooked. Listen to his calls on both the Heaps and Twellman goals http://www.mlsnet.com/multimedia/pepsi/index.php Tom
so i think we all agree that ty sucks....and he does... as for stone...if he tried to do play by play, he may not be bad, but the game can go on for a few minutes and they never even mention what's going on on the field....they're trying to be funny....which is annoying.... i'd rather have jp doing the play by play with tommy doing color.....waldo is fine...but a little too opinionated at times... rob is too busy trying to come up with, and saying, catch phrases....which is very very annoying...
Slightly off topic, but does anybody here remember who it was a few years ago that described one vicious shot on goal as "having no regard for humanity" I heard it live and thought it was great at the time. mike
I have to admit, I'd have grievances with half of the people that might commentate. But I think a commentator that gets so excited that his voice cracks relatively consistently is a no-no. Ty's boring, and not very bright. Wynalda's good in this role, he just doesn't have what it takes for a play by play, maybe he can graduate to replace Ty though... What's wrong with getting JP? The only 3 commentators that I've ever really liked are JP, Tommy, and Mike Hill. Tey are really classy. Anyone else ever notice how JP says sort of provocative statements to get Tommy to talk about something/give analysis? Mike Hill would be nice because he has experience both with analysis and play by play. Tommy's, a funny guy, esp when he's paired with JP. And don't forget about the bulges in the old onion bags! On a totally separate note, do any regs have advice with regard to going back to a thread? It always goes to the beginning, and it's a pain remembering where I was, not to mention a big timewaster.
Rob is an alright announcer....he sounds like he really cares about the games he does....sometimes he tries to hard and tries to say things European announcers say....i find myself laughin at times wondering if he really said what i thought i heard....i remember during a USA game a ball was played up and there was no forward or defender from the defending team around the ball and rob says "played into pasture"....i thought it was funny and hope i never hear it again...but what are ya gonna do he's tryin....
my take... Rob's a genuinely funny and smart guy, who's informed about the sport, the rules, and the players. His problem is that he doesn't really belong as a PBP guy. Look, Kenny Mayne never did PBP, and he was funny, irreverent, and (yeah) knowledgable. Rob was great as the studio host for the WC. Canned phrases work there, and it's easier to modulate tone when you're not as pumped up as you are when a game is live. (Yeah, Rob's a fan, just like the rest of us.) But give the guy some slack - he's still working with Ty, and he works well with Wynalda, something that's hard to do when the third guy's not in the booth. Look, in the best of all possible worlds, Bob Ley would come back and do the games.
At risk of restarting a flame from some time ago, I still remember the one and probably only time Rob did commentary, with Phil Schoen play by play (and Ty nowhere to be heard). It wasn't a great match, but for announcing, it was one of the best MLS on ESPN telecasts. The best MLS NOT on ESPN were the couple of matches with Jorge Ramos and Ricardo Mayorga just before Cantor moved to Telemundo.
Or that Joe Cannon is on the Gold Cup roster? Or, the Metrostars are back to 11 men? Or no one commenting when Magee was subbed out for Leitch rather than Moreno, that Moreno has played, what 20 minutes in the last 2 months, and would undoubtedly need to come out?
Rob's ok, but at times he sounds like Jim Lampley on acid. He overdoes the excitement thing on average a couple of times a game.
Excitement is good My wife really enjoyed Rob's call of the end of the Metros/DC United game. She must have had me replay the Tim Howard save - Eddie Gaven goal sequence four times. That's the closest we've heard an American English-speaking announcer come to the excitement level of the Spanish-speaking guys. Good job, Rob. I liked it. And my taste usually runs toward the more cerebral style of JP Dellacamera.
If Spinal Tap were in the broadcast booth, Rob would probably fit right in. We're not England, we're Americans! We're goofy, unorthodox, and march to our own beat. Nothing wrong with Rob. And bring back Jack.
TOMMY: He raaaaces in and puts the ball in the old onion bag! RAY: I'll be kissing his bum in the showers. What a majestic touch, a really ballet dancer of a footballer!
Rob's ok Rob's ok but he needs to talk about the game that's being played and he needs to more frequently identify who's on the ball. Ty needs to go. Mike Hill is da man. JP is a close second. Waldo is ok as a color commentator. I prefer having 1 announcer. There's an inverse relationship between the quality of commentary and the number of people providing it. The more folks, the more time they spend talking to each other, usually about irrelevancies. And no guests in the booth during play, please.