3. Dan Hicks – This guy came on really strong as the decade progressed. He was always a solid golf announcer but at the 2008 US Open he went from solid to legendary. As Tiger Woods dropped that 10 footer on the 18th green to force an 18 hole playoff with Rocco Mediate, Hicks was the voice of the moment. As the ball curled around and into the hole and Woods and the crowd were basked in insanity Hicks delivered a line that will no doubt be the sound of that moment when he exclaimed, “Expect anything different!?!”
Only two months later came the 2008 Olympic games and Hicks was on the call of all swimming events with Rowdie Gaines. The Water Cube in Beijing was the venue for the best event of the 08 summer games. The US were underdogs to France in the 4 x 100m freestyle relay. And going into the anchor leg the US was one full body length behind the French, until Jason Lezak did what Rowdie Gaines called the most “incredible relay split ever seen.” And fortunately enough Hicks was there to capture the moment. Lezak began to catch Alain Bernard of France (as Hicks discussed the US securing silver) and then all of a sudden as Lezak made a strong move Hicks screamed, “Here comes Lezak!” In the background Gaines began to yell, “He’s locking, he’s locking up;” in reference to Bernard. And as they touched the wall and the US lit up as number one and new world record; and Phelps, Lezak, Weber-Gale, and Jones were going crazy; Hick’s delivered a message to the French when he bellowed out, “Who’s talking now!”
2. Verne Lundquist – Verne has been a sports voice of a generation on CBS. College Football, Golf, and College Basketball are his forte. My favorite College Football moment with Verne happened in a 2006 game in The Swamp between Florida and LSU. The Gators were at the one yard line ready for Tim Tebow to punch it in when he did something crazy…The Jump Pass. But as Gary Danielson and the Gator faithful were scrambling trying to figure out what was happening, Lundquist was all over it with a quickly stated “Jump pass” as soon as Tebow took one step back. Although in my mind that play hadd’nt been seen since the 1947 Army / Navy game, Lundquist remembers the good old days of football. Classic.
But Lundquist may be best known for arguably the best call in the past 20 years. I usually try to YouTube this clip once a week if I can find the time. Tiger Woods stimied behind the storied 16th green at Augusta National in the final round of the 2005 Masters, he executed one of the most amazing shots in the history of the game, which led to one of the best calls ever. The ball was chipped to the top of the slope and as the ball curled around and started its descent down the hill there was a small but apparent buzz in the crowd. As the ball got closer and closer to hole the buzz grew more and more. The ball came to rest for a split second just short of the hole before finally rolling over and disappearing the Nike Swoosh to the bottom of the cup. The crowd exploded and wrapped up in the pageantry of the moment Lundquist exclaimed something as good as his, “Yessir” in the 1986 Masters. He started with a classic Verne, “Oh Wow!” And then uttered one of my favorite lines of all time when he yelled, “In your life, have you seen anything like that!” The moment was slightly ruined by the uncoordination of caddie Steve Williams failure to execute a simple high five. What a douchebag.
1. Gus Johnson – I love Gus, plain and simple. He is without a doubt the most enthusiastic most entertaining announcer in sports. Although he has had great moments in NFL football he is best known for his work in College Basketball. His first year at CBS in his first NCAA Tournament he called Princetons upset of defending National Champion UCLA, a little foreshadowing I would say. I could describe Gus’ calls for pages and pages, but I’ll just mention a few of my favorites: “Slipper stillllll fits!” “Lewis, he’s been awesommme!” “And we’re going to overtime…Innn Lexington…Haha.” “Sylvesterrrrrr, OHHHHHH” “Sorrentine hit that one from the parking lot!” “He banked in a three!” “Larry Bird…Maybe.”
Gus’ best call came in the Sweet 16 of the West Region at “The Pond” in Anaheim in the 2006 NCAA Tournament. Gonzaga led UCLA by 17 points in the late first half, only to let the lead deteriorate in the second half. And with 19 seconds left in a one point game, television gold was struck. The energy and intensity of Gus was so prevalent, that it rubbed off on the usually stoic Len Elmore. There is absolutely no way of capturing the essence in words but here are my fovorite quotes from this epic moment. “And a steal! Farmar! Inside! The freshmannnn…up OHHHH! And they go in front! Ravio, last chance to dance!” “Oh, what a game! What-A-Game! UCLA!” (all with Len repeating ‘Unbelievable’ and finishing with, ‘Are you kidding me!?!’) “After being down by 17…Heart, Break, City! 2.6 to go UCLA has climbed the mountain!” (with a classic Len ‘Holy Mackerel’) “(Interrupting Len) In the front court…Batista with the Caaaaaetch! That’s it! What a comeback! UCLA defeats Gonzaga, 73-71, after being down by 17!” In a 2008 interview with Michael Smith, Gus claimed that he might have gone a little overboard with the call. I beg to differ. Forget “Do You Believe in Miricles” this was the most amazing call in the history of sports.
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