Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Air It Out! The Worst Play-by-Play Blunders You Ever Heard

It doesn't matter what your favorite sports is, we've all heard a sportscaster say something so ridiculous it will stay with us until the day we die (and maybe after that).

As a sports anchor on ESPN Radio and 1010WINS-AM in New York and during my play-by-play hockey career, I've certainly uttered my share. Now in all fairness, the blunder could be something that was blurted out in the heat of the moment, or it could've been caused by momentary brain failure, lack of preparation or simply the result of too much drink.

One recent beauty that sticks out in my mind was uttered by Dan Dierdorf on CBS during the New York Giants-Oakland Raiders game during week 5. Dierdorf, who I think is the NFL's best television color commentator because of his relevent insight and sound, was talking about Giants coach Tom Coughlin's kids, or grandkids, and then instead of saying "Tom", or "grandpa Tom," or "grandpa," or something like that, said "uncle Tom." I was facing away from the tv and practically snaped my neck when I heard it. To Dierdorf's credit, he didn't stumble and quickly recovered (unlike JaMarcus Russell in that 44-7 loss). The play-by-play announcer was cool too by not drawing attention to it.

What are some of your all-time favorites? It could be from a national broadcast or a local one- doesn't matter. A line that would make "Family Guy's" Peter Griffin sound like a Harvard professor.

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