Our announcer in focus this week is: Al Michaels!
I don't have the space or the time here to detail Al's entire career here. Any sort of casual sports fan knows he is currently the #1, premier announcer in all of sports broadcasting right now - yes, even over Jim Nantz. I think Al was at his best about 5-10 years ago, and is starting to slip ever so slowly on broadcasts - but still, when he is doing an event, you stand up and take notice.
Al started at ABC in 1977; before that, he bounced around doing local broadcast in Hawaii, San Francisco, and yes, Cincinnati. He was the Reds play by play announcer with Joe Nuxhall fo
r the early days of the Big Red machine. His first year was 1972 - which was the first year the Reds made the World Series. Here's the deciding game 5 at Old Riverfront, 9th inning, with the Pirates leading 3-2. Bench homers to tie it up; after a couple more singles, the winning run for the Reds comes in....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4EijwKZaCI
It's amazing how similar Michaels is to Vin Scully on some of those calls.
He then went to ABC sports in 1977 where he became an instant superstar in 1980 with the Winter Olympics and the call of the US-USSR hockey game. Legend has it that the ABC Olympics team had no one who did Hockey play by play regularly; they asked for volunteers and Michaels said he had done 1 game in the past - so voila! He's doing hockey!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gfD134ED54
I am just amazed at how Michaels can keep getting the Russian names correct during that last minute. How do you maintain the professionalism and call the play with 5 and 6 syllable foreign names during that? Amazing.
In the 80s, ABC seemed to be the premier network for sporting events - they had baseball, boxing, and the Olympics, and Monday Night Football. Michaels was on the call for the 1989 series - the Quake - and then the 1985 Series. Going back and watching game 6 of the 1985 series, I underestimated how tense this was. A team (Royals) trying to win their first series against their cross-state rival that clearly made them feel inferior.
And I don't know how I would have reacted if I was a Cardinal fan and seeing this happen to my team....this is worth a watch if you have a free 15 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iL_W9MucEk
(Fun fact: When I played in the 2005 Iowa Mid-Am at a country club in Waterloo, IA, we had a rain delay; we all went into the locker room to wait out the storm; I was changing into dry
clothes next to Don Denkinger's locker. Didn't have a camera phone at the time)
Al's gambling references are now legendary. Here's the best one I could fine, from 2013; the over/under on this game was around 50.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol_2OjtDieA
As for the Browns, not too many highlights on Michaels doing Browns games. I do remember this Monday Night game from 1990; this is a Browns-Broncos game in Denver in early October; this is after we had lost the AFC Champ to Denver in 3 of the past 4 years. We were 1-3 are really needed a win...... we cut Matt Bahr in training camp for a CFL kicker, Jerry Kauric....down 29-27, we'll let Al take it from here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56vQgMtoU7o&t=132s
I remember watching that as a sophomore and getting excited. OK! We're back! 2-3! Now we will rally and win the weak AFC Central!
We won one more game that year; finished 3-13 and hired a new coach next year..... whose name we all know.
More recently, the last time the Browns were on Sunday Night football was in 2008 for week 2, at home against the Steelers. I know, many of you can't believe this - but Michaels and Madden were in Cleveland for a Sunday Night Game! In our lifetime!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d45ucbB2Tx0&t=15s
I was so ready for this game - we were going to kick their ass! Do I remember watching this game? No. Hurricane Ike came through Cincinnati that afternoon, knocking out power for 300,000 people in Cincinnati (including us), and causing ~$15,000 of damage to our roof. Power was out at our place for 4-5 days, and that was fun with a 2 week old Martin in the house.
Of course, we lost.
Vegas has put up odds:
Will Michaels be the play by play announcer for another Cleveland Browns game in his career?
Yes +300
No -450
I assume we will lose 30-10 this morning, by the way.
On to the games:
Buf 27, Oak 16. I can't see the Raiders putting up the same emotion on the road as they did last week. Their defense also has issues.
Cin 23, Ind 13. Don't like either of these two teams. Look for a low scoring game in the rain/cold.
NE 26, LAC 13. Not sold on the Chargers' O. They should have scored more against Oakland and Denver. The Pats' D is getting better. I don't see how they stay close here.
NO 31, Chi 17. Maybe I'm even being generous with the 17. How will the Bears score if the other team doesn't give them points?
Atl 27, NYJ 16. Betting that the Falcons are trying to save their season with this game. If the Browns could outgain the Jets by 200 yards, I have to believe the Falcons will find something.
Phi 24, SF 20. The inevitable letdown by Philly. And I still like Kyle Shanahan.
Car 30, TB 23. The Bucs' D is awful. Carolina has to be pissed after last week. And is Winston hurt?
Sea 24, Hou 22. Sea's W last week masks their problems they still have on O. They can't reliably move the ball. Everyone is focusing on Watson vs the Seahawks D, but what about Sea O vs Hou D?
Dal 23, Was 20. Something about this game tells me both teams will try to run the ball. And what the heck happened to Terrelle Pryor?
Pit 27, Det 24. I see a high scoring game here, lots of passing, and a patented 4th quarter Detroit comeback/flurry before a last second Steeler field goal.
KC 23, Den 20. KC is vulnerable against the run, and I expect Denver to run run run the ball to keep it close. They have no other choice.
Best bets: 13 of them. Last week: 6-6-2; overall: 57-39-2
NO -9.5
Atl -6.5
Car +1.5
Car/TB over 46
SF +12.5
Buf -2.5
Ind/Cin under 42.5
NE -7
LAC/NE under 48
Hou +6.5
Dal/Was under 46.5
Pit/Det over 45.5
Den +7
Supercontest picks: Last week: 2-3; overall: 21-14
Buf -2.5
Atl -4.5
Car +2
Hou +5.5
Den +7
I don't have the space or the time here to detail Al's entire career here. Any sort of casual sports fan knows he is currently the #1, premier announcer in all of sports broadcasting right now - yes, even over Jim Nantz. I think Al was at his best about 5-10 years ago, and is starting to slip ever so slowly on broadcasts - but still, when he is doing an event, you stand up and take notice.
Al started at ABC in 1977; before that, he bounced around doing local broadcast in Hawaii, San Francisco, and yes, Cincinnati. He was the Reds play by play announcer with Joe Nuxhall fo
r the early days of the Big Red machine. His first year was 1972 - which was the first year the Reds made the World Series. Here's the deciding game 5 at Old Riverfront, 9th inning, with the Pirates leading 3-2. Bench homers to tie it up; after a couple more singles, the winning run for the Reds comes in....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4EijwKZaCI
It's amazing how similar Michaels is to Vin Scully on some of those calls.
He then went to ABC sports in 1977 where he became an instant superstar in 1980 with the Winter Olympics and the call of the US-USSR hockey game. Legend has it that the ABC Olympics team had no one who did Hockey play by play regularly; they asked for volunteers and Michaels said he had done 1 game in the past - so voila! He's doing hockey!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gfD134ED54
I am just amazed at how Michaels can keep getting the Russian names correct during that last minute. How do you maintain the professionalism and call the play with 5 and 6 syllable foreign names during that? Amazing.
In the 80s, ABC seemed to be the premier network for sporting events - they had baseball, boxing, and the Olympics, and Monday Night Football. Michaels was on the call for the 1989 series - the Quake - and then the 1985 Series. Going back and watching game 6 of the 1985 series, I underestimated how tense this was. A team (Royals) trying to win their first series against their cross-state rival that clearly made them feel inferior.
And I don't know how I would have reacted if I was a Cardinal fan and seeing this happen to my team....this is worth a watch if you have a free 15 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iL_W9MucEk
(Fun fact: When I played in the 2005 Iowa Mid-Am at a country club in Waterloo, IA, we had a rain delay; we all went into the locker room to wait out the storm; I was changing into dry
clothes next to Don Denkinger's locker. Didn't have a camera phone at the time)Al's gambling references are now legendary. Here's the best one I could fine, from 2013; the over/under on this game was around 50.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol_2OjtDieAAs for the Browns, not too many highlights on Michaels doing Browns games. I do remember this Monday Night game from 1990; this is a Browns-Broncos game in Denver in early October; this is after we had lost the AFC Champ to Denver in 3 of the past 4 years. We were 1-3 are really needed a win...... we cut Matt Bahr in training camp for a CFL kicker, Jerry Kauric....down 29-27, we'll let Al take it from here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56vQgMtoU7o&t=132s
I remember watching that as a sophomore and getting excited. OK! We're back! 2-3! Now we will rally and win the weak AFC Central!
We won one more game that year; finished 3-13 and hired a new coach next year..... whose name we all know.
More recently, the last time the Browns were on Sunday Night football was in 2008 for week 2, at home against the Steelers. I know, many of you can't believe this - but Michaels and Madden were in Cleveland for a Sunday Night Game! In our lifetime!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d45ucbB2Tx0&t=15s
I was so ready for this game - we were going to kick their ass! Do I remember watching this game? No. Hurricane Ike came through Cincinnati that afternoon, knocking out power for 300,000 people in Cincinnati (including us), and causing ~$15,000 of damage to our roof. Power was out at our place for 4-5 days, and that was fun with a 2 week old Martin in the house.
Of course, we lost.
Vegas has put up odds:
Will Michaels be the play by play announcer for another Cleveland Browns game in his career?
Yes +300
No -450
I assume we will lose 30-10 this morning, by the way.
On to the games:
Buf 27, Oak 16. I can't see the Raiders putting up the same emotion on the road as they did last week. Their defense also has issues.
Cin 23, Ind 13. Don't like either of these two teams. Look for a low scoring game in the rain/cold.
NE 26, LAC 13. Not sold on the Chargers' O. They should have scored more against Oakland and Denver. The Pats' D is getting better. I don't see how they stay close here.
NO 31, Chi 17. Maybe I'm even being generous with the 17. How will the Bears score if the other team doesn't give them points?
Atl 27, NYJ 16. Betting that the Falcons are trying to save their season with this game. If the Browns could outgain the Jets by 200 yards, I have to believe the Falcons will find something.
Phi 24, SF 20. The inevitable letdown by Philly. And I still like Kyle Shanahan.
Car 30, TB 23. The Bucs' D is awful. Carolina has to be pissed after last week. And is Winston hurt?
Sea 24, Hou 22. Sea's W last week masks their problems they still have on O. They can't reliably move the ball. Everyone is focusing on Watson vs the Seahawks D, but what about Sea O vs Hou D?
Dal 23, Was 20. Something about this game tells me both teams will try to run the ball. And what the heck happened to Terrelle Pryor?
Pit 27, Det 24. I see a high scoring game here, lots of passing, and a patented 4th quarter Detroit comeback/flurry before a last second Steeler field goal.
KC 23, Den 20. KC is vulnerable against the run, and I expect Denver to run run run the ball to keep it close. They have no other choice.
Best bets: 13 of them. Last week: 6-6-2; overall: 57-39-2
NO -9.5
Atl -6.5
Car +1.5
Car/TB over 46
SF +12.5
Buf -2.5
Ind/Cin under 42.5
NE -7
LAC/NE under 48
Hou +6.5
Dal/Was under 46.5
Pit/Det over 45.5
Den +7
Supercontest picks: Last week: 2-3; overall: 21-14
Buf -2.5
Atl -4.5
Car +2
Hou +5.5
Den +7
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