Murph on TV and the rockets radio team gave us a unique 'vibe' while listening to the games that I doubt will ever be matched.
I'll tell ya why Bill shouldn't get an A When the Rockets lose, he's still a happy, chipper guy. I don't like that. I friggin' hate it when the Rockets lose, and so should every Rocket fan. That's why I like Gene Peterson. When the Rockets lose, his tone sounds like he's at his mother's funeral. Sometimes it sounds like he can't bear to watch it. That's how it should be.
True dat. Somehow, I've never been able to truly warm up to Bill as an announcer. It's hard to put my finger on it, but he just seems so impersonal. Now Peterson, on the other hand: there are many times I feared for his health while listening to him call a game. I figured any second I would hear "Yergh!" and he'd collapse from a ruptured aneurysm. You gotta love a guy who's that heavily emotionally invested in the game.
I have to give Bill an A. He may be a bit of a homer, but he does express disappointment with team play and individual effort. Even when he talks critically about the team or a player, he maintains a positive tone of voice and is hopeful of improvement. This is taking care of both those who pay you (The Rockets) and helping to maintain positive interest in the team. Sometimes he coins a phrase that he overuses, but that is easily forgiven, I think. In fact, I think he does a better job than most of the ABC and TNT commentators. Often when listening to ABC/TNT/ESPN, the commentators will begin talking about some thing or another, meanwhile 4 big plays have occurred on the court with no comment made about them. Bill primarily keeps his comments focused on the current action and mixes his side comments well with the color commentator. As far as color commentators go, Bullard is the definitly the best right now. I would rate them: Bullard = B, provides interesting insights and doesn't just talk about the obvious action on the floor. Clyde = D, love him as a Rockets player, but has to be one of the most annoying so far with Rockets. Calvin = C, though he provided some good insight sometimes, his sillyness and sometimes cringe-worthy comments made him annoying at times too. McCoy Mclemore = D, truly uninspiring from what I can remember of him. There have been one or 2 more before McCoy but there names don't come to mind right now.
