As for me, ever since I have always been a huge huge fan of Sports Analyst Tracy Wilson of CBC. She is the most articulate commentator out there, her comments are very educational very knowledgeable and perfect timing. I love her voice so much its very pleasing. And TBH, I have never heard of her being unbiased, she gives superlatives to each worthy skater canadian or not in an equal and just manner. She started with ESPN if I;m not mistaken then went on to CBC. But sad though she was'nt on the Sochi. Where is she now? Is she still with CBC?
... ...Edited to add: Tracey Wilson works for both CBC and NBC. She tends to provide the ice dance commentary for NBC during Nationals, etc.
The problem with Wilson is that she is extremely biased.
Tracy Wilson was involved also in most of NBC's GP coverage this season.
For example, for two or three of the GPs, Wilson was NBC's only presence on location at the event -- with the ladies and men's disciplines (as NBC's emphases) as her purview.
aw in the likes of?
Tracy Wilson was involved also in most of NBC's GP coverage this season.
For example, for two or three of the GPs, Wilson was NBC's only presence on location at the event -- with the ladies and men's disciplines (as NBC's emphases) as her purview.
Joanne was... not good. Hypercritical, often off-base (Gracie Gold will lay down a clean LP? All of Sergei Voronov's programs look the same?)... Mark Hanretty actually... wasn't too bad. His tastes are very different from mine, but he makes interesting observations (change of edge in spins), and he recognizes the strength and validity of even the styles he doesn't like.
Browning/Lane were good at the Olympics, but I found them too critical and repetitive on the GP circuit this year.
I found all the Canadian contingent during Sochi surprisingly biased--Tracy Wilson and Kurt Browning in particular (Carol Lane was the best of the bunch I thought).
Johnny Weir is surprisingly good, but Tara is nails-on-a-chalkboard bad (and they are both beyond useless when it comes to Ice Dancing).
And Terry Gannon is always a pleasure.
But the best overall commentator today I think is Robin Cousins. He is insightful and, most important, he knows when to shut up and just let us watch the show.
But I do think she was much better years ago. Now, she's so partisan it's harder to take her seriously.
ETA: What would really be a useful and probably very interesting experiment would be to take one program and transcribe the various commentaries from different countries and compare them. I'd be happy to do it for English-speaking commentary. Of course since this is an English-language board, we would probably miss nuances as the commentary is translated from the original language to English, but then again I think it would be a useful and interesting experiment. I'm game if anyone else is.
Oops, you're right about Tracy and Sochi. Of course I was watching feeds, so I didn't watch all of CTV's skating coverage at Sochi. But I do think she was much better years ago. Now, she's so partisan it's harder to take her seriously.
I actually also liked the commentators during the infamous "Only covered by Latvian TV" Worlds a few years ago. I had NO idea what they were saying, but they were speaking with such passion it was quite fun to listen to.
ETA: What would really be a useful and probably very interesting experiment would be to take one program and transcribe the various commentaries from different countries and compare them. I'd be happy to do it for English-speaking commentary. Of course since this is an English-language board, we would probably miss nuances as the commentary is translated from the original language to English, but then again I think it would be a useful and interesting experiment. I'm game if anyone else is.
Japanese commentators talk too much IMO.
Perhaps Worlds might be the best time to do something like I'm proposing, since most countries with skaters in it to win it will probably show the programs. Probably The US, Canada, Russia, Japan, China, England, France, Ukraine, Italy. If you're seriously interested, feel free to send me a message and we'll see if we can get this off the ground. Like I said, I would be be very interested to see the results, because I think the biggest problem in skating isn't the judging per se, it's national bias. And I will bet cold hard currency it will show up all over the commentary.
Plus, it should provide something juicy to talk about in the off season besides, you know, things like, Who Has The Most Athletic/Artistic Boot Laces?
totally agree. I mean Japanese commentators sometimes make me want to cry because I couldn't hear the music. :hopelessness: it's like watching sport anime in which skaters took 20 minutes to land a jump thanks to the comments on TV.:scowl: I know what you mean
It's hard watching Japanese fs videos (esp. from Nationals) due to their usual commentators. I'm like, please calm down PLEAAASE. Their enthusiasm is great but they get waaay too carried away.
Of course, Nobu is an exception. He sounds nice and a bit more helpful than the others.