Nov 26, 2017

NFL Week 12: Sam Rosen

Your week 12 announcer in focus: Sam Rosen!

Yes, it's rare that I include FOX announcers on here, since we have so few games on FOX. But there was one game in the past that sticks out with Rosen on the call - it was so good, Rosen is my favorite FOX announcer. Those readers out there that are Giants, Redskins, or Cowboys fans may disagree vehemently.

Rosen was born in Germany in 1947 and moved to Brooklyn when he was 2. He started following the Rangers early, and going to several Rangers games when he was young. It sounds like from youth he knew what he wanted to do - be a sports broadcaster for a New York team. He went to CCNY for college and started at ESPN in 1979.

It says he broadcasted college baseball, college wrestling, ping pong, Australian Rules football, and the NASL. Remember those days? ESPN would have 10 hours of Australian Rules Football programming from 1979 until about 1985. I always wanted that white suit with the hat to signal a partially good or fully good try. One hand or two?


Rosen became the Rangers' full time play-by-play announcer for the New York Rangers in 1984. He's still on the job there after 33 years, and (I guess) is still considered an icon in New York. For the first 20 years or so, he was paired in the booth with John Davidson, the ex-goalie for the Rangers. Davidson left the booth to go into the front offices for the Blues and then to America's favorite team, the Blue Jackets.

Rosen has his signature call when the Rangers score on the power play - "It's a power play goal!" The inflection makes the signature; here's a link of all his power play goal calls from a recent season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHp6hBE5E4M

For any Rangers fan, the highlight of their history is 1994, when they won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 54 years. I was a big NHL fan at that time - even going to a NHL game in Cleveland that season. (Thanks, Steve!). Here's his call of the final 2 seconds of Game 7, when the Rangers won the Cup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wzq2AhbXSeY

(An even bigger moment was in Game 4, when Richter stopped Pavel Bure on a penalty shot in the finals....)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulUFtK2xLnY

Rosen has been used by FOX for NFL games since the 90s, and he has consistently been on the 3rd or 4th string broadcast team. The list of color announcers he has worked with - wow, this is a cornucopia of B-list NFL players/coaches..... ready?

Ray Bentley
Jerry Glanville
Brady Quinn
Bill Maas
Brian Billick
Chad Pennington

Yikes!

There was a game during that magical 2007 Browns season that no one remembers....the Browns, 4-4, were hosting the Seahawks, 5-3 and the favorites in the NFC. This was at 4 pm; No one watched this games because the CBS game at the same time was the Patriots-Colts, where the undefeated Patriots went to Indy to play Manning; that game was a classic, with the Pats keeping their perfect season alive with a comeback vs. the Colts.

Our game was a good one; we ended up winning 33-30 in overtime to start our push in the second half. Rosen was on the call and he was into the flow of the game perfectly. If there was a FOX announcer to do a Browns game, it was him.
Sadly, I can't find his calls for the game (it used to be there on YouTube), but here's a recap of that game.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSLa4dott3s&t=3s

Hopefully Rosen will get a more steady partner for his last few years at FOX. Well hell, if Dick Stockton is still doing games now, maybe Rosen has a good 15 years left....

On to the games....

Atl 31, TB 20. I think Fitzpatrick has brought the Bucs offense to life a bit; it would not surprise me to see the Falcons lose this game after that dramatic win last week.

Ind 27, Ten 20. Ind off bye, Ten off extra rest. I think the Colts play much better in the dome, and the Titans' D does not scare me. The Titans are overrated.

KC 27, Buf 13. Just don't think the Bills have enough firepower to take advantage of the Chiefs bad D. And who knows how their locker room is after last week.

NE 27, Mia 10. Who knows. Have to believe that Miami will be somewhat shut down, and don't think the Pats will run up the score.

Car 23, NYJ 13. The Panthers need every game they can get to stay alive in the NFC, and Olsen is back. The Jets may be sliding downward after their surprising start. 10 pts. vs Tampa???

Phi 31, Chi 16. When will the Eagles have a week off? So impressed by the Eagles D as well; I can't trust Chicago right now, and still can't back the Eagles on that large spread.

Sea 28, SF 13. What's the Seahawks weakness? The secondary. I don't see the Niners taking advantage of that. Seattle is desperate and knws they can't take SF for granted.

NO 20, LAR 17. This game will be a run fest; both teams have great pass D. I just think the Saints are a more complete team right now.

Az 16, Jax 13. Yes, I know, Gabbert. But the offense for the Jaguars is soooooo conservative, and Arizona's run D is decent. If the Cards just don't turn the ball over.......

Den 24, Oak 20. The Raiders are in free fall, and I think the firing of the offensive coordinator (McCoy) by Denver will re-energize the offense. But Jesus, Brock, you are bad.

Pit 27, GB 10. Should be a snoozefest; Pit won't show much and do just the minimal things to win. And I can't see Hundley taking that much advantage of it.

Bal 23, Hou 10. How many points will the Ravens score on D? 10? 14? Look what they did in Lambeau....now Savage comes to Baltimore in a prime time game?

Best bets: 14 of them. Last week: 6-6; overall: 80-65-3
TB/Atl over 47.5
Ind +3
KC -9.5
KC/Buf under 46.5
Mia/NE under 48
Car -5.5
Sea +6.5
NO +2
NO/LAR under 53.5
Az +4.5
Az/Jax under 38
Den +4.5
GB/Pit under 43
Bal -7

Supercontest: last week: 2-3; overall: 33-21-1
Ind +3
Car -4.5
Sea -6.5
Az +5.5
Bal -7







Nov 25, 2017

NFL Week 12 Anagram

Happy Thanksgiving! Your week 12 anagram:

"Near Moss!"

That's what is usually said to me in March after I hit my 3rd shot on
Southern Highlands' 9th hole, a par 5 with the green protected by a large lake. I never hit a good approach into there - and the ball either end up 50' above the hole on the 18th green or rolls down the hill towards the lake.

Oh yes - Vegas planning for 2018 is beginning!

Your non-Browns clue this week: the curse of 1940!


Nov 19, 2017

NFL Week 11: Kevin Harlan


Our NFL Announcer in focus this week: Kevin Harlan!

Kevin is a native Wisconsiner, and his first job in broadcasting was being the play-by-play voice of the Kansas City Kings in the early 80s. He did not make the move to Sacramento, however. He stayed in the Midwest and did Jayhawks game, Chiefs radio, and then the T-wolves. Kevin started doing national TV NFL games in 1991 for NBC - where I'm sure he did his share of Browns games - and then Fox in the mid 90s.

Kevin then moved to Turner sports in 1996 and has been with Turner/CBS ever since. Most people know him for his NBA work - he has a few classic catch lines that we all know:
"Right between the eyes"
"With no regard for Human life!"

Here's a sample of his best NBA lines....yes, I could listen to the LeBron one all day....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y0T6k2k90w

He then got into NFL, doing some games for CBS as the 4th or 5th announcing team. His current responsibilities now are focused on radio, as he is the lead radio announcer for MNF and has done a few Super Bowls on radio for Westwood One. The most famous moment on radio for Kevin in the NFL has to be the fan on the field during a forgettable Rams/49ers game - the opener last year in the late Monday night game. Here's the radio call of the idiot on the field. How does it take them so long to corral this person?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBnTJ-L0EMI


"Somebody stop him! That's the most exciting thing that happened tonight!"

Of course, since he is with CBS, and he loves basketball, Kevin is a new staple presence on NCAA Tournament broadcasts. I think he is now the #3 team behind Jimmy N and Uncle Verne; he is in the top 4 as he does the regional semis and finals for CBS. His best moment must have been painful for him personally - 2010, Northern Iowa vs. Kansas. Kansas, the #1 overall seed playing #9 seed Northern Iowa. I remember exactly where I was watching this; I was just outside the poker room at the Mirage watching the TVs trying to stop Northern Iowa from choking this away...... and then Ali Farokmanesh took things into his own hands.

This - and TJ Sorretine's shot - are the 2 most ballsy shots I have even seen in an NCAA tourney....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzUFz-58PPA

(Go to the 1:20 mark for the sequence and the shot)

(wow ... and now I just find out that Harlan called the Weber State - N Carolina game back in 1998 with Harold "The Show" Arceneaux leading Weber....)

Somehow, two of the best fakes I have seen the Browns execute over the last 10 years came with Kevin on the call. First - here's the best rushing attempt by the Browns this decade, by #2...no, not Johnny Manziel - it's Reggie Hodges!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFLUfpXU-KA

(How does he not score here? How many so-called "blockers" are downfield doing nothing?)

And how about the quote " How about that game plan by Eric Mangini!" .... my God....

And - in 2013, we played the Vikings right after the Richardson trade. No one gave us a chance...and then this fake field goal to Jordan Cameron. Remember when he was going to be a star?

(Go to the 6:15 mark)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoxxXqS_sDY

Anyway - today's game; Tashaun Gibson says the Jaguars will beat us 40-0. Who am I to argue otherwise? Will I watch any of this game?

On to the games:

Chi 24, Det 16. Det showed nothing against the Browns' run last week; I think this is a perfect matchup for the Lions.

Bal 20, GB 17 . Who in the world can I trust here? Huntley, going against the Ravens D? Or the Ravens absolutely abysmal O? I'll pass.

Hou 20, Az 16.  I think Houston still has some strength on D; their weakness in the secondary won't be exposed by Blaine Gabbert....will it?

Min 26, LAR 23. Should be a fun game to watch. Not sure how well the Rams will play against a quality opponent.

NO 27, Was 16. Boy, this looks too easy on paper. I just like the Saints D too much and believe they will contain the Redskins O.

KC 27, NYG 20. KC is not good defensively and the Giants should score some points. Are they motivated at all on defense to show up and hold the Chiefs to less than 30? I hope so....

TB 30, Mia 26. I'm done waiting for Cutler to play well....

LAC 23, Buf 16. Curious move to bench Taylor by the Bills. But I can't back the Chargers as this big of a favorite.

Den 20, Cin 10. Third road game in a row for the Bengals. I think they are ready to pack it in. The Bengals main offensive weapons are in the running game - and that's what Denver excels at stopping.

NE 31, Oak 23. I'd be worried about the backdoor if I were Patriots backers. Still think a team with a good passing attack can score on this team.

Phi 30, Dal 24. A desperate Cowbys team usually means lots of points....

Sea 27, Atl 16. I know Seattle has lost a lot in their secondary. But I've seen Atlanta enough to know I can't trust them on the road and Seattle's home magic (and Wilson) will find a way.

Best bets: 12 of them. Last week: 6-8; overall: 74-59-3
Chi +3
Hou -2
LAR/Min over 45.5
NO -7.5
Was/NO under 52
NYG +10
TB pk
TB/Mia over 42.5
Den -2.5
Cin/Den under 38.5
Phi/Dal over 48
Sea -2

Supercontest picks: Last week: 3-2; overall: 31-18-1
Chi +2.5
Hou pk
NYG +10.5
Den -2.5
Sea -2.5

 





Nov 18, 2017

Week 11 Anagram

Here's your week 11 anagram:

Hark! Vine! LAN!

This may be what a Napa Valley visitor would exclaim upon seeing that his wireless isn't working and he has to get bets in for the 4 pm College Basketball games * - but rearrange these letters to form what NFLannouncer?

Your Browns related clue: Fakes!



Nov 12, 2017

NFL Week 10: Greg Gumbel

Your week 10 announcer in focus: Greg Gumbel!

I know of no one out there that dislikes Greg. He is a perfect lead broadcaster for a network - affable, knowledgeable, clear, and a somewhat vanilla personality. That makes him the ultimate combo for a studio host for big events or play by play announcer for key games. You know what you are getting - professionalism and no controversy.

Gumbel is from Louisiana and somehow went to college at Loras college in Dubuque, Iowa. I can't tell you how much of culture shock that had to be for a Cajun.

(Fun Fact: there is an indoor waterpark in Dubuque; I was in Dubuque when Don called me at the end of the 04 season to say that Phil Savage - our last good GM - was fired. Random note).

Gumbel started at a Chicago TV station in the 70s, and then got into the New York/Northeast scene with MSG and ESPN. He is one of the first few anchors of SportsCenter. There is that smarmy clip out there of he and Berman doing a song on air and then cracking up - I won't link to that since our readers have probably seen that 1,000 times.

Gumbel then moved to CBS in the late 80s, and then started hosting the NFL Today (I guess Musberger moved to ABC by then). Here he is in late 1993 hosting NFL Today with some idiot ex-jock that probably will go nowhere in broadcasting....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2aoEfPWXDc

(watch for Gumbel, stay for the best NFL opening song in history and the open to the Game of the Week by Mr. Smarmy himself....)

Not many of you young 'uns remember, but CBS had the Winter Olympics for a while in the 90s; Gumbel became the studio host for the most-watched Winter Olympics ever in 1994....in Lillehammer, Norway. Here's the opening - Gumbel co-hosted with Andrea Joyce; love the theme song; however, Joyce's comments around the 1:00 mark are a little creepy given today's environment.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IF6ZYessi0&t=72s

Oh hell, because I can't help myself - this link is labeled "part 2". What's part 1? My Smarmy himself has a breaknews update. Put on a tie, for God's sake!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKuKrcVTNno

Most casual fans now know Gumbel as the host for the NCAA Basketball tournament. How many of us count down the minutes/hours until 6:00 pm on the second Sunday in March, when Gumbel announces the 64 (or 65, or 68) teams for the tourney..... I think he started this in the early 2000s.....remember when these were 30 minutes? That's all you needed to announce a bracket...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juKOzOC6oBQ

There's a limited amount of connection between Gumbel and the Browns - usually because Gumbel does good games and the Browns are the Browns...however, he was te announcer for our last playoff game - January 5, 2003, against the evil Steelers. Boy, it's still hard to watch this clip. I can't make it through. Up 14-0, 17-7...then up 33-28 with 1:30 left; we need to convert a third down. Butch Davis correctly calls for a pass; it's executed perfectly, and Northcutt drops it. Needless to say, The Steelers get the punt and go down for the winning TD.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rq3gifPZYI8&t=316s

If I had to rank Browns' coaches in my life, Butch is 3rd behind only Marty and Bill.

1. Bill - what he did in the early 90s was amazing. He built a solid team out of absolute crap.
2. Marty. Nothing else to say.
3. Butch - he took an expansion team that went 5-27 and went 7-9 in his first year.

Let's end on a good note; in 2014, our last decent year, Greg was on the call for a home game vs. the Steelers. Ben Tate - yes, he was our RB! - had 2 TDs. I watched a little bit of this live as we were house hunting in the US in my 90 hour trip from China with no sleep.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk6nrjUg3V4

That was 3 years ago --- we were beating the Steelers 31-3....How??????

On to the games:

NO 23, Buf 20. I just don't see the Bills having enough firepower here. The Saints D is good.

Chi 24, GB 13. This is an odd game. Don't see the Pack scoring much - but how will the Bears move? Will the bye week help Mitch?

Pit 23, Ind 17. Pit has not scored more than 21 points on the road this year. Something still is a little off with them - and the Colts are slowly improving.

Jax 24, LAC 16. Not sure how the Rivers and the Chargers O line will stand up to the #1 pass defense in the league.

NYJ 30, TB 27. I see a shootout here, especially with Fitzpatrick. He will fire the ball all over the place - let's see how that offense does without Jameis.

Cin 24, Ten 20. Who says the Titans are good? Cinci should stop the run, and I'm not sold on Mariotta yet. The only question - have the Bengals given up

Was 20, Min 17. Not really sure about this. Was last week's game against Seattle an aberration?

LAR 30, Hou 16. Hou still has some sort of defense, and now Savage will have a week under his belt. But boy, that Rams O looks unstoppable.

Atl 31, Dal 24. This is the last stand for the Falcons. Off a 3 game road trip, they have to come out ready for this one - against a team that can't stop anyone.

SF 23, NYG 20. I know, I keep picking the Niners to win. Is this it?

NE 24, Den 13. How exactly will Denver move the ball in this game? Brock is still the starting QB, right?

Car 23, Mia 20. I don't see the Panthers getting much past 24 points here - they just don't have the weapons. Cutler and Miami have some weapons to move the ball.

Best bets: 14 of them. Last week: 6-4-1; overall: 68-51-3
NO/Buf under 48
Chi -4.5
Ind +10
Pit/Ind under 45
Jax -5
NYJ/TB over 43.5
Cin +5.5
Was +2
Atl -3.5
Dal/Atl over 48.5
SF +2.5
NE -7.5
NE/Den under 44.5
Mia +9.5

Supercontest picks: Last week: 3-1-1; overall: 28-16-1
Ind +10
Jax -3.5
Cin +4.5
Atl -3
Mia +9









Nov 11, 2017

NFL Week 10 Anagram

Your anagram for week 10:

"Ggg! Bum Reel!"

This could be what David Niven said when he visited Alabama for the first time in the 70s and went on a fishing trip - only to find that his fishing rod was broken - but rearrange these letters to form the name of what famous NFL announcer?

Your Browns clue: Dennis Northcutt


Nov 5, 2017

NFL Week 9: Dick Enberg


This week's announcer in focus: Dick Enberg!

Everyone knows Dick Enberg - Oh My! is his traditional catch phrase. His early career before sports is extremely interesting and probably best forgotten. He grew up in Michigan, then went to Indiana and became an announcer there. His first really big gig - and the first college basketball game he ever announced - was the 1961 NCAA championship game between Cincinnati and Ohio State. Not bad - however, at that time, college basketball was as popular as, say, NCAA soccer is now. So not the biggest deal.

He moved to Southern California in the 60s, and became a professor at Cal State Northridge. He started doing Angels games in the late 60s and was their main play by play announcer. He also did UCLA basketball games in the 60s and 70s. This led to Dick singing "Raindrops keep falling on my head" on center court at the end of the 1970 season. Take a look at this video explaining why - just tells you how wacko college basketball was back then. Minutes upon minutes of players just holding the ball on their hips....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uorpzVp6ROM



While in SoCal, Dick started getting involved in the entertainment industry, being a host for forgettable game shows and a voice-over for the many animated cartoons of that time. Now - as you all know, I am a game show fanatic, so if I have never heard of some of these shows, then you know they are obscure. Here are two of them from the 70s:

Baffle! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBNFxZkq1XE

Three for the Money!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A2oJ95e6ig&t=72s

Gah! The clothes! My eyes!

Hanna Barbera dominated the 1970-80s TV landscape, making so many animated shows like "The Jetsons", "Laff A Lympics", "Scooby Doo and Scrappy Too" and other forgetful shows. They wanted to take advantage of the growing popularity of the NFL - and created a show abot a family that played football -lots of it. Their neighbor was a cranky old guy voiced by Paul Lynde.

They needed an announcer to voice the "action" on the field during games. Who else, but Dick!
Here's the opening to that wonderful show. It lasted 14 epsiodes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLVQ9g_Tzt0

We all know what Dick did from there - he was the star of NBC sports from the late 70s on into the 90s. So many NFL game highlights; he did the 2 painful AFC championships games in 86 and 87 that I won't link to here. He also was the lead for the bowl games that NBC did - remember, in the 80s, NBC had the Rose Bowl (kick off around 5 pm) and then the Orange Bowl (around 8); ABC had the Sugar that ran opposite the Orange. Charlie Jones always did the Orange Bowl, and Dick Enberg had the Rose. It warmed the whole East Coast on Jan 1 when Dick opened with a scene from Southern California, showing a sunny day in the 70s while it was freezing in the Midwest/east:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOUwBuF-X50

Let's focus on some good Dick Enberg Browns moments - both from the 1994 season. We had a tense regular season game at Dallas (defending super bowl champions); Browns led by 5 with :10 left. Dallas has the ball at the 9 yard line, no timeouts. What a play.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbhtOX8UT0I&t=70s

That led to the playoffs - Janice and I were there, last row of the old stadium, January 1, 1995. I wanted these puffy coats....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qYnh1CBM_k&t=18s

Thank God it's a bye this week for the Browns! On to the games:

Car 24, Atl 17. I still don't trust Atl's offense. Home game for Carolina, 3 in a row on the road for Atlanta....I like the spot here for the Panthers.

Cin 19, Jax 16.  Jacksonville giving 6? That's too much! I think the Bengals have the run game to stay with the Jags.

LAR 20, NYG 16. This is the type of game where I can't fully trust the Rams - yet. Both off a bye.

Phi 24, Den 13. I give up. I keep hoping for any spark out of the Broncos....No spark is coming. What a great, balanced team the Eagles are.

Hou 20, Ind 17. Too bad about Watson. Seriously! Houston's D line should keep Ind in check while I don't trust Savage.

NO 31, TB 17. I have Tampa as the 30th rated team in the league; going on the road to a hot Saints team?

Ten 24, Bal 21. I have no clue here. Ten could win 37-3, and Baltimore could shut them out. No idea.

Sea 23, Was 16. This is not a layup as one might think. I still don't trust Seattle's offense.

SF 20, Az 16. This is the week for the Niners! I know the Cardinals are off a bye, but Stanton? I don't see the Cards moving the ball much. Cmon Shanahan!

Dal 31, KC 30. Should be a great game. Chiefs can't stop the run - so it will be Zeke, Zeke, Zeke - and Dallas can't stop anyone.

Mia 24, Oak 20. The Raiders are all out of sorts. I think Miami will stop Lynch and the running game with ease - and can focus on the pass defense.

Det 24, GB 20. I have no idea how the Lions will react after that last game.

Best bets: 11 of them. Last week: 5-8; overall: 62-47-2
Car +2.5
Cin +6
LAR/NYG under 42
Phi -7
Ind +7
Ind/Hou under 45.5
NO -7
Was/Sea under 45
SF +2.5
KC/Dal over 53.5
Mia +3

Supercontest picks: Last week: 4-1; overall: 25-15
Car -1
Ind +13 (line was set Wednesday evening)
NO -7
SF +2
Mia +3





 

Nov 4, 2017

NFL Week 9 Anagram

This week's anagram:

"Brick Degen"

That could have been my nickname as a small forward for the 1988-89 SCDS Cavaliers, as I constantly put up missed shots (but I was helping my teammate's offensive rebounding numbers in the process) - but rearrange those letters to form the name of what famous NFL announcer?

One hint this week - and you may have to do research on this - "Where's Huddles?"