Paul Sherwen and Phil Liggett
Bob Roll and Al Trautwig

there is no ''i'' in team

dobuel you tee eff

Definitely the Englishmen. Bob Roll's accent just pisses me off - it sounds like he's intentionally trying to pronounce everything with the sharpest northern-midwest twang - really overdone. And I'm originally from Michigan...

Plus Liggett and Sherwen have such great word-images.

I like Phil, Paul and Bob. Al is just annoying. Bob has humerous insights. That said, I like the way Phil and Paul call the races, so I watch the early coverage.

If I have to see Bob Roll's tortured, overstudied hand gestures and listen to his "tour day france" one more time, I'm going to throw something at the TV. He is really getting annoying. His commentary is good, but I just can't stand his buffoonish delivery anymore.

The brits, on the other hand, I never tire of hearing. They have an elegant, understated style.

If I have to see Bob Roll's tortured, overstudied hand gestures and listen to his "tour day france" one more time, I'm going to throw something at the TV. He is really getting annoying. His commentary is good, but I just can't stand his buffoonish delivery anymore.

The brits, on the other hand, I never tire of hearing. They have an elegant, understated style.
+12

The guys on France 2/3. Unfortunately not available over here. :(

Paul and Phil.

Phil and Paul, but I also like the guys at eurosport's website, Sean Kelly does the color, not sure who the play-by-play guy is.

there is no ''i'' in team

there is a "me" though.:p (that got me tossed out of more than one team meeting)

Paul and Phil are my chosen voice of the tour.

If I have to see Bob Roll's tortured, overstudied hand gestures and listen to his "tour day france" one more time, I'm going to throw something at the TV. He is really getting annoying. His commentary is good, but I just can't stand his buffoonish delivery anymore.

The brits, on the other hand, I never tire of hearing. They have an elegant, understated style.
my sentiments exactly

I like Phil, Paul and Bob. Al is just annoying. Bob has humerous insights. That said, I like the way Phil and Paul call the races, so I watch the early coverage.

+1 Al has gotten better since last year (not that it matters he's still a tool) and they've gotten rid of that airheaded moppet Kirsten Gum
http://img345.imageshack.us/img345/7190/kirstengumbusted9di.jpg

is it just me or does bob roll have a lisp?

I didn't think Kirsten Gum was airheaded. I was just thinking that they have absolutely no females now - Paul, Phil, Bob, Al, Frankie, Robbie and Craig are it.

xxx

Kirsten wasn't hired because she knows cycling.

That doesn't make her an airhead. You could say the same about Al.

I like David Duffield and Sean Kelly on Eurosport. Not so keen on Liggett and Sherwin. They do the ITV coverage in the UK (which explains the "pro-British bias)...

phil and paul for sure...the eurosport audio guys are good, and i actually liked the RAI commentators during the giro.

I'm just poor bike trash with limited access to any other coverage, so I'm pretty happy with the VS team. The way I figure it, Bobke, Al, Phil and Paul give us 20 to 30 hours of TDF coverage per week that I wouldn't get any other way. I think the a.m. coverage is better thant Bob and Al's "expanded coverage."

+1 Al has gotten better since last year (not that it matters he's still a tool) and they've gotten rid of that airheaded moppet Kirsten Gum
so let me get this strait... you actually prefer looking at robbie ventura to kirsten gum during the filler segment? FO/KY.

I'm not very impressed with any of the vs team. That said I remember when I had only been watching the Tour for a few years when Mig was king and how bad the announcers were. Just days after Mig lost a couple of minutes on Alp de Huez in the final couple of Kms and they say he has won the Tour they are commenting while the Final ITT is being run and saying he is in trouble (almost implying he could lose the Tour). So how much time was he dropping? None, the feed was much better and they provided times at each KM. Mig was mqarking his closest competitor to the second and looking like he is only doing a brisk training ride. I commented at the time that it was obvious that Mig was going out saying I'm a few minutes up, I'll mark you. If you want to beat me you take the risks, no sense risking blowing up by going to hard. Then with a few milkes to go it was like he said. OK close enough to the end that even if I do blow up I can't lose enough time to lose the Tour, lets streach my legs a bit and took off.

Getting back to Alp de Huez. Mig only had a few minutes. I thought the odds truely favored him once the stage was over. But why did he lose so much time? Illness or injury were quite possible and I sure would have wanted to see how he looked the next day before pronouncing the Tour alll but over.

I didn't think Kirsten Gum was airheaded. I was just thinking that they have absolutely no females now - Paul, Phil, Bob, Al, Frankie, Robbie and Craig are it.

i dunno .... robbie missed a good chance to be :eek:.

ed rader

+1 Al has gotten better since last year (not that it matters he's still a tool) and they've gotten rid of that airheaded moppet Kirsten Gum
http://img345.imageshack.us/img345/7190/kirstengumbusted9di.jpg

kirsten....the name reminds me of karsten. adrian karsten.

sort of a laughing stock back in the day but i liked the guy. unfortunate demise for karsten :o.

ed rader

Phil Liggett is a living legend.
May he grace the TDF broadcast for many years to come.

I like all four of them. If you want to hear poor announcing listen to professional golf tournaments aired on Thursdays and Fridays on the Golf Channel. Then you would appreciate Al, Bob, Paul and Phil. All four add something to the telecasts.

I got lucky enough to be in Slovenia last year for part of the Tour, and got to watch it on Eurosport. I think that is the best coverage by far.

I used to love Phil and Paul in the first few years I watched, but as time goes by their terrible pronunciations (Phil more than Paul) and mistakes get on my nerves. And as a cycling news rat who spends WAY too much time reading up on everything that is going on in the Tour and otherwise, and am often chagrined to find that I seem to know more about what's happening than they do!

Al's improved but still a tool (as has been established), Bob's pronunciations are great for Italians but murderous on the Spanish, but he is funny sometimes. One thing I prefer about Bob and Al is that they don't fill every second with blather. Phil and Paul seem to think they're being paid by the word, and they pack'em in there!

But there is some occasional poetry with Phil and Paul. No one else would give give us "dancing on the pedals," "suitcase of courage," etc.

So I guess they all have their good and bad points (except Al---pretty much bad :D)

Of course, I am happy to get coverage at all, so these complaints should be taken in that light. I'd even watch if the only coverage was in Yiddish.

I like all four of them. If you want to hear poor announcing listen to professional golf tournaments aired on Thursdays and Fridays on the Golf Channel. Then you would appreciate Al, Bob, Paul and Phil. All four add something to the telecasts.

I can hear it now (in a whispered voice) "The road is as hard as a table top and has a slight left to right break. Although the breakaway leads the peloton by over four minutes, it still has some work to do before the finish--there are 115 km left in the stage.

Why are Bob and Al even on? I guess Bob is supposed to be the comic relief but he comes off as an ass. Al, well, I don't even know what his purpose is.

I got lucky enough to be in Slovenia last year for part of the Tour, and got to watch it on Eurosport. I think that is the best coverage by far. ...

In English, yes. But you have to see/hear what they do on the French stations. It is unparalleled.

Commentary typically by J.F. Bernard and Laurent Jalabert (usually on a moto) among others. Morning intro shows. Commercial free race coverage from noon or so (earlier on big mountain stages), and post-race shows with the riders, D.S.s, former big name riders, big time press, etc.

The Italians do the same thing for the Giro, but the French have them beat by a bit.

so let me get this strait... you actually prefer looking at robbie ventura to kirsten gum during the filler segment? FO/KY.

Apparently you need to put away the kleenex and put your pants back on before you watch the Tour. Ms. Gum didn't know jack about the subject she was covering and made it painfully obvious with every segment. She's much better suited to hosting dog shows

Harry Carey and Jack Brickhouse.


But...I guess that aint gonna happen.:(

Harry Carey and Jack Brickhouse.


But...I guess that aint gonna happen.:(

Anything but Phil Rizzuto.

The brits, on the other hand, I never tire of hearing. They have an elegant, understated style.

You mean vague, tirelessly repetitious style?

"And there they are the riders of the Tour de France. And here they go. And now it's blue at the front. Oh but now it's green. And there they go....blue is going....now it's green...what an amazing finish!"

Bob, character quirks aside, actually explains why the moves are happening, what the racers hope to gain, and just how they are planning to win. Phil just rambles excitedly about something (yes yes, we love the British accent, he's a prominent figure in cycling history, etc, etc....but he makey no sense!)

Take the dorkiness of Frankie, combine with the genuine substance of race coverage by Bob, and render it in the words and accent of Phil, and you would have an awesome commentator. Then again, they're already on the same team. I just wish they would split their coverage time more equally. Who decided that Phil alone gets to cover the last 5k while everyone else shuts up?

You mean vague, tirelessly repetitious style? ...

In their defense, he is speaking to the LCD, which here means almost everyone, who don't understand the first thing. They are trying to build an audience, which is good, because we may then be able to see the TdF again next year.

... Who decided that Phil alone gets to cover the last 5k while everyone else shuts up?

Phil, probably. :p

In their defense, he is speaking to the LCD, which here means almost everyone, who don't understand the first thing. They are trying to build an audience, which is good, because we may then be able to see the TdF again next year.



Phil, probably. :p

Hard to top that bike throwing flashback from Bobke's Tour days :roflmao::beer:

I like David Duffield and Sean Kelly on Eurosport. Not so keen on Liggett and Sherwin. They do the ITV coverage in the UK (which explains the "pro-British bias)...

Duffers is a windbag, talks absolute rubbish, and should stfu. Sometimes I wonder if he is actually watching the race.

Kelly barely speaks English IMO.

I like Phil and Paul out of ANY announcing team. Seriously - I think the best announcing team in the business. The accents, the emotion. Nobody does a hill climb or sprint better in terms of building up the tension and excitement. Even my fiance found the Alps stages highly entertaining because of their announcing job.

Bob - he is growing on me, and quite frankly, he does add more insight than either Phil or Paul, who are typically left with "He is riding as if he has 4 legs?" Huh????

Al - cannot stand him. He sounds as if they asked the Golf Channel if they had any extra announcers and lo and behold, TGC said - sure. He is so cookie cutter, with that deep voice and perfectly annunciated delivery. It sounds too corporate.

My opinion: all cycling announcers in English should either have British, Australian or South African accents.

Although: I would like to hear what a Southern accent would be like with a bike race. It would make me want to drink Busch Light beer and smoke a pack of Reds.

Boston Accent: would add an edge to the telecast.

I wish Phil Liggett would narrate the mundane parts of my life like mowing the grass or emptying the dishwasher. He could make the anything sound interesting.

What I find a little disturbing is the opening segment of each day when Phil and Paul sit so close to each other, that they are touching. When Paul speaks, Phil looks at him longingly. The matching shirts make them look like conjoined twins. I know Europeans don't need as much personal space as we Americans, but I don't like seeing two men sharing the same chair. Can you imagine Monday Night Football commentators sitting that close?

BTW, no matter how bad I think Phil is at commentary - mainly because of his many mistakes - he is a nice person. We met him briefly at the 2005 Dauphine start in Vaison la Romaine, and he was quite willing to chat.

Of course, I love the British and their home countries in general, so perhaps I am biased. :rolleyes:

I wish Phil Liggett would narrate the mundane parts of my life like mowing the grass or emptying the dishwasher. He could make the anything sound interesting.

What I find a little disturbing is the opening segment of each day when Phil and Paul sit so close to each other, that they are touching. When Paul speaks, Phil looks at him longingly. The matching shirts make them look like conjoined twins. I know Europeans don't need as much personal space as we Americans, but I don't like seeing two men sharing the same chair. Can you imagine Monday Night Football commentators sitting that close?

it's probably a really small space...imagine being an astronaut! i remember seeing the gemini space capsule and being amazed that grown men could even fit in there....

i agree, though they could make anything interesting. I've watched old stages of the vuelta and even on the long,flat road stages you never got bored because phil and paul always had something interesting to say or they were really funny. And they love animals...i love when they talk about the migrating birds or whatever. Can you imagine the guys on monday night football talking about birds? They'd probably talk about duck hunting or something.

You know, when VS first had Frankie Andreu doing some announcing, I was quite disappointed. He seemed to lack the "smoothness" of a seasoned announcer, and his interviews with riders felt very uncomfortable. I got the impression that the pro's didn't really want to talk to him; they seemed to have some disparagement in their comments.

This year, my opinion has softened considerably. When they get him doing color commentary with Al and Bobke, he sounds way more confident, and he really does know a lot about what's happening regarding team strategy. A lot fewer interjections ("ums" and "ahs") than before. When they're off camera, I find it difficult to distinguish him from Robbie Ventura...

- Luis

You know, when VS first had Frankie Andreu doing some announcing, I was quite disappointed. He seemed to lack the "smoothness" of a seasoned announcer, and his interviews with riders felt very uncomfortable. I got the impression that the pro's didn't really want to talk to him; they seemed to have some disparagement in their comments.

This year, my opinion has softened considerably. When they get him doing color commentary with Al and Bobke, he sounds way more confident, and he really does know a lot about what's happening regarding team strategy. A lot fewer interjections ("ums" and "ahs") than before. When they're off camera, I find it difficult to distinguish him from Robbie Ventura...

- Luis

As a former pro cyclist, I would hope that he knew something.

The British dudes rule,They know what anouncing bicycling is all about. the Americans, though nice guy's are hard to follow and certainly not as good at telling what is going on. They often get riders confused and miss certain key moves. I also blame the editing for this. Multiple comercial breaks don't help. If the French had to watch the VS version of the Tour all hell would break loose, riots and strikes etc. In France they have continuous race coverage -- in real time with no editing. It's broadcast in the subway so while you are waithing for your train you can check for breakaway's etc.

If I have to see Bob Roll's tortured, overstudied hand gestures and listen to his "tour day france" one more time, I'm going to throw something at the TV. He is really getting annoying. His commentary is good, but I just can't stand his buffoonish delivery anymore.

The brits, on the other hand, I never tire of hearing. They have an elegant, understated style.

And much like Pat Summerall (NFL football commentary) seem to be half in the bag a lot of the time and say some of the most idiotic things that anyone that was actually watching the race would never say. But, Hey! That's why I love them.

Bob Roll is purposefully trying to piss off the ASO with his antics/accents. The guy rules. Plus if you ever spent anytime with him (I was fortunate enough to do support for him at Chequamegon for a couple years), you would see what an exceptional, intelligent, and generous person he really is.

I appreciate Bob Roll's presence. He's entertaining. Al's realy not that bad if you consider he's there to help the new folks. He doesn't pretend to know everything and in discussions with the others, makes no bones about the fact he's not the expert at the table. I like Paul and Phil too, but they do make mistakes, Phil likes to interject thoughts and words into riders that seem a bit oversimplified or nearly non-sensical. And Phil and Paul rehash the same lines. I'm glad they mix it up in the expanded coverage and I don't have to hear just 2 people's perspectives.

there is a reason why they are doing it and you are not....

i remember not being very impressed with frankie andreu...he WAS kind of stiff and just didn't have a lot of personality even if he is goodlooking. It shows you...looks don't really matter as much as we think they do. Phil and Paul are not fashion models but we love them! I'd rather have phil paul and bob than some himbo who can't read!

is it just me or does bob roll have a lisp?

Just you - you may be thinking of Andreau

I'd prefer Phil and Bob together. It seems we've heard all Paul has to say years ago. He's now just plugging in standard phrases and stringing them into sentences. Sure he gets along with Phil, but he has nothing else to add.
Phil's still the best, most exciting commentator when it comes to a fast sprint finish, and on a solo victory, he wraps up the days effort with the right words as the winner crosses. Bob has his head in the game when it comes to explaining tactics, has more stories, and is still fresh.
Frankie is getting better. I remember how stiff he was years ago. He's still like that in the features, but he's nice and clear when it comes to calling the race.