Commentators - Who do you NOT Want to See Cover the Olympics?

slutskayafan21 · Dec 15, 2005

SkateFan4Life said:
OK, here's the reverse side of the question. Who do you NOT want to see and hear broadcast the figure skating competition in Torino?

Personally, there are just a handful of people who qualify, and most principal is Sandra Bezic. IMHO, she comes across as an insufferable snob of the first order, arrogant, opinionated, and she just thinks she knows absolutely everything that there is to know. UGH. In Salt Lake, Ms. Bezic went ballistic over the pairs judging, and her outrage was fueled, for the most part, because two of her fellow Canadians, Sale and Pelletier, received "unfair" scores that gave them the silver medal. Make no mistake about it, if S & P had been of any other nationality, she would have said precious little. The woman was so biased for her own countrymen that it was laughable.

Scott Hamilton is a wonderful champion, and I admire his tenacity in overcoming a host of health issues. For that, I give him a standing ovation. However, as a figure skating commentator, I just can't stand him. He gushes, talks far too much, acts goofy, and, well, enough is enough, IMHO.

I agree with you. Bezic and Hamilton both need to go. Bezic is snobbish, arrogant, and more concerned about presenting things a desired way than being real and natural. Hamilton is too biased to Americans, too childish, and gushes far too much as you said.

jesslily · Dec 15, 2005

Why does NBC always get the deal to cover the Olympics? If NBC gets the deal, they will hire the weired people to comment.

skatergirlaj · Dec 15, 2005

Looks like i'll be in the minority here,but I find Dick B. to be annoying as a commentator.

SK8LUVR · Dec 15, 2005

I too find Dick Button and Peggy Flemming annoying. And let's add Peter Caruthers to that as well. They need an entire new team.:agree:

Tonichelle · Dec 15, 2005

skatergirlaj said:
Looks like i'll be in the minority here,but I find Dick B. to be annoying as a commentator.

you're not alone... people say Scott is biased, but I feel Button is even more so.:sheesh:

Frau Muller · Dec 15, 2005

From a post above, it sounds as if Scott is in. So all of our whining won't change that fact....although perhaps its not too late to avert NBC signing-up arrogant Sandra. For that alone I will be grateful.

But the Gee-Whiz Kid (Scott) is "on," I'm afraid. Prepare for his trademark comments, such as:

#1 - "That is so uncharacteristic of him (or her)!" after a fall, even in a skater who does fall a lot, such as Sasha or E-man

#2 - "His (or her) greatest weakness is that he has no weakness!"

#3 - "Ohhhh, he's struggling at the end. The last thing skated leaves the freshest impression with the judges."

p.s. - It will be deliciously wicked fun to watch Scott (& Sandra?) struggle with the new CoP system. NBC hasn't covered events that use the CoP system...this is where it would make sense for NBC to hire someone from the ABC/ESPN team (to have at least one person who is knowledgeable on CoP). Sandra will no longer be able to blah-blah about subjective qualities; give us the facts, ma'm.

SkateFan4Life · Dec 15, 2005

Scott's favorite phrase seems to be "He NAILED that jump!!!"

Egads.....talk about killing the King's English. :banging: :banging:

slutskayafan21 · Dec 15, 2005

SkateFan4Life said:
Scott's favorite phrase seems to be "He NAILED that jump!!!"

Egads.....talk about killing the King's English. :banging: :banging:

Also, "that was SOOOOOOOO HUUUUUUGGGGGGEEEE", "that was SOOOOO UNBELIIIIIIIIEEEEEVVVVVABLE." Those are two of his new favorites. :rofl:

SkateFan4Life · Dec 15, 2005

slutskayafan21 said:
Also, "that was SOOOOOOOO HUUUUUUGGGGGGEEEE", "that was SOOOOO UNBELIIIIIIIIEEEEEVVVVVABLE." Those are two of his new favorites.

Touche!!

TNT2012 · Dec 15, 2005

rain said:
I actually like Bezic. I dislike most of the American commentators, Dick and Peggy especially drive me up the wall. Being Canadian, fortunately, I'm more likely to be watching a Canadian channel.....Of the Canadians, I can't stand Rod Black - the guy doesn't know a damn thing about skating and just sits there to ask moronic questions and make moronic statements about whatever the latest controversy is. I like Barb Underhill and Paul Martini, like Debbie Wilkes and Tracy Wilson....I appreciate the CBC coverage because they will often commentate very little or not at all during the actual programs, so you can watch and listen without a lot of annoying nattering.

Were Barb Underhill and Paul Martini the commentators for CBC for 2004 Worlds, who basically stated after Kwan's free skate to Tosca that she should seriously consider hanging up her skates? Uh...The girl just finished the second-best free program of the night, having to skate right after the "tutu guy on the ice" scare, and earned herself a bronze medal....and they are suggesting that she should just retire??!!! Talk about making "moronic statements".

SkateFan4Life · Dec 17, 2005

I replayed part of my videotape from Salt Lake, and HRH Bezic was interviewed where she defended her commentary concerning the pairs competition. In essence, she stated, "I felt obligated to speak the truth."

Oh, really?? Make no mistake about it, if Bezic is commentating at Torino, I'm hitting the mute button on my remote.

SkateFan4Life · Dec 26, 2005

skindocdenise said:
I have no liking for Sandra at all. Goodness, don't bring up Bob Costas. I think he has a terrible personality. I always hated his comments during the Olympics.

ITA with you. Bob Costas is fine for basketball, track and field, football, etc. but not figure skating. UGH! :rofl:

IcyBallerina · Jan 4, 2006

You guys must not remember Chris Schenkel:

"In Dutch, 'de Leeuw' means the lion." American Diane de Leeuw was taking advantage of dual citizenship to compete for the Netherlands.
He kept repeating the phrase over and over. I think that was the 76 Olympics. Does that phrase ring a bell?

Tonichelle · Jan 4, 2006

SkateFan4Life said:
Scott's favorite phrase seems to be "He NAILED that jump!!!"

Egads.....talk about killing the King's English. :banging: :banging:

no worse than hearing Button and Flemming blather on for eternity on MK's elegance or Sasha's flexability...

at least his tone is exciting and he is never "talking down" to the viewer... which both Button and Besic tend to do...

Scott has his flaws, and is aware of them... says he works on them, but you can work for years on annoying catch phrases and still over use them

Matt · Jan 4, 2006

The ideal commentators for the Olympics IMHO would be anyone from British Eurosport, especially Nicky Slater. I have a large amount of videos from the FSU video vault of 2005 Worlds with British Eurosport commentary. Even though I'd already seen half the footage on TV, I still was on the edge of my seat watching Lambiel's FP. They always find something nice/positive to say about a skater. Plus, they're knowledgeable about CoP, which would help the general US public who may still not be familiar with it like the avid FS fan

Any of the Canadian commentators as well (IIRC, they had Tracy Wilson covering dance in SLC for NBC); they also know a lot about CoP and will tell you what certain moves are called.

Of the American commentators, I would chose Terry Gannon. I've always loved him over the years and for a basketball player from Illinois, he's become pretty knowledgeable about FS. Paul Wylie is good for singles. Peter Carruthers good for pairs (and ONLY pairs). The problem is we've become so used to the American commentators, it would be weird if we didn't have them. You can have the Olympics without Scott Hamilton, but it just isn't the same.

Bezic can go. Not as biased as the French commentators covering TEB, but pretty bad.

Teledeporte's Spanish commentary is generally pretty good; it was for the GPF. The only problem is they need to speak louder into the microphone.

sk8addict · Jan 5, 2006

The talking head

Terry Gannon!!! Anybody who would say "now that we have a few minutes" in the middle of a pairs program deserves the axe! He new nothing of skating when they brought him on & learned all he knows from Dick, Peggy & Suzie! :rock:

guinevere · Jan 5, 2006

Sandra Bezic. She is just awful. I hated her commentating for Pro comps, and I hated her commentating for SLC. I don't believe that she loves skating. I think she likes certain skaters and will never veer from that path, no matter what happens on the ice, to her favorites, or to their competitors. I also don't think she has a very good voice for commentating.

I really like Paul Wylie's commentary during this year's GP. He doesn't talk all the way through the program, and his voice is low enough that it doesn't disturb the program when he does comment. He also seems to genuinely want ALL skaters to do their best, and is very knowledgeable about each skater's strengths and weaknesses.

I thought Kurt was ok, and Scott's enthusiasm doesn't bother me at all.

SkateFan4Life · Jan 8, 2006

guinevere said:
Sandra Bezic. She is just awful. I hated her commentating for Pro comps, and I hated her commentating for SLC. I don't believe that she loves skating. I think she likes certain skaters and will never veer from that path, no matter what happens on the ice, to her favorites, or to their competitors. I also don't think she has a very good voice for commentating.

I really like Paul Wylie's commentary during this year's GP. He doesn't talk all the way through the program, and his voice is low enough that it doesn't disturb the program when he does comment. He also seems to genuinely want ALL skaters to do their best, and is very knowledgeable about each skater's strengths and weaknesses.

I thought Kurt was ok, and Scott's enthusiasm doesn't bother me at all.

I would like to see Paul Wylie as an Olympic commentator. He has improved tremendously as a commentator and has lost the nervousness that seemed to show in his earlier appearances in the broadcast booth.

Paul is extremely intelligent (you don't graduate from Harvard without having a good brain), and his commentary is insightful, thoughtful, and right on target. And, thankfully, he doesn't yak and speak about trivia stuff like a skater's favorite foods and/or hobbies during his/her/their competitive performances! :clap:

mike79 · Jan 8, 2006

Along with the majority I would say that Sandra Bezic needs to go. In 1998 she covered the Olympics for CBC along with Paul Martini (Barb Underhill was under contract to CTV at the time I believe) and the commentary was unbelievably bad. When she went to NBC for 2002 I knew that American viewers were going to be disappointed with her, although I didn't think that it would be as bad as it turned out. It was nice to have Barb back together with Paul in 2002 and ever since. I'm looking forward to hearing them for Torino.

Joesitz (RIP) · Jan 9, 2006

sk8addict said:
Terry Gannon!!! Anybody who would say "now that we have a few minutes" in the middle of a pairs program deserves the axe! He new nothing of skating when they brought him on & learned all he knows from Dick, Peggy & Suzie!

When did he say that in the middle of a pairs program? Who would you propose instead to represent the general public?

Learning from Dick and Peggy, is getting good mentors for a student. They know skating. They lived it.

Joe

Commentators - Who do you NOT Want to See Cover the Olympics?

slutskayafan21

Match Penalty

jesslily

skatergirlaj

SK8LUVR

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll

Frau Muller

SkateFan4Life

Guest

slutskayafan21

Match Penalty

SkateFan4Life

Guest

TNT2012

SkateFan4Life

Guest

SkateFan4Life

Guest

IcyBallerina

Guest

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll

Matt

sk8addict

guinevere

SkateFan4Life

Guest

mike79

Joesitz (RIP)

Similar threads

Connect with us