Sports Radio running thread

I have to think hockey must be the hardest sport to do on radio, with the constant action and having to stay on top of the line changes.

 

Definitely the hardest.

I'll take horse track announcer for second place.

 

The very few times I’ve tried, I have never been able to visualize a soccer game based on a radio call.

 

Same for me with volleyball.

 

The answer is table tennis.

But Westwood One, please let Kevin Harlan try.

 

When I worked at a grocery store (Jewel!) in high school, the produce department guys would have Blackhawk games on the radio in the back shop, where they washed and sorted out the fruits and veggies. Foley had a great voice, and some entertaining teams to call, too, in the late 1980s.

 

My first two trips as a pup to Los Angeles were to call college volleyball on radio ... the first a mens Final Four at Pauley Pavilion.
I learned quickly not to try to call every touch. Next to impossible. Similar to hockey in that regard.
What impresses me about the NHL guys these days is they are in the rafters and back further from the ice.
Foley's location back then at the Stadium was pretty high, but closer to the ice.

 

Of the major sports, hockey is the hardest I've tried, for the reasons already given. Yes, teams usually have specific lines of forwards and defensemen, but unlike soccer, they interchange a lot and you really have to familiarize yourself with styles of play because everyone is wearing a helmet.

Auto racing, particularly if you don't have multiple corner positions, is a lot harder than you might realize. Even a quarter-mile track requires a head on a swivel -- or a great spotter -- to help watch for cautions or close racing if the leader is way out front.

Almost every Olympic sport is darn near impossible to convey with sound alone. I can only imagine the difficulty in describing ski jumping or yacht races.

 

I've stated it here before but will again: MRN and Indy 500 radio is the best p-by-p I've ever heard.
The corner guys seemed to never step on each other. Amazing!
For the Indy 500s, I always tried to have our local spots dry since the network provided live natural sound during those avails.
Joe could plug his business with live track noise in the background. Of course, you needed a competent board op. who understood the mix.
Otherwise, Joe would get drowned out when Tony Kanaan roared by.