He says "....that's my guy" a lot. No harm there. Yeah, he's cheesy and a goofball but it's a broadcast that has to play to a number of demographics and I think he does a good job of keeping it light and fun and entertaining regardless of whether it's a close game of if we are up by 20 or down by 20. In the grand scheme of things, Craig and Ryan are some of the better home team announcers. Ask anyone with league pass just how bad some of the announcing teams are out there - I mean half the league is borderline unwatchable. Some sound like AM radio announcers describing everything to you(while you are watching it with your eyes), some are complete homers to the point where they are outraged at every call that goes against them and it's embarrassing when they are clearly wrong, some are soar losers and get mad when their team is down and shut down and don't talk a lot, some have poor understandings of the rules or the game or know very little about other players outside of their team, some have no humor or personality to their call, some are even kind of mean to opposing teams/players. I'll admit they started a bit rough initially but I think Craig, Ryan, and Vanessa(she's a real pro - appreciate her asking great questions, keeping it moving yet focused - very polished) are doing a great job overall and have improved this year. I got nostalgia for Bill, Clyde, Bullard, Calvin, etc but those first 3 guys weren't great towards the end there. We needed a new direction and I think the team got it right with the current crew. They do a good job making it seem like there is a family of Rockets fans watching these broadcasts every game and keeping it positive and I think that's the right energy there.
Mario Elie, if he'd do it. Mario would be great sitting next to Craig, in my opinion. We could improve on Craig, but he's okay. Not a fan of Hollins at all. I find it amusing that he "suddenly" has fans here. By the way, it's possible to be thrilled about the direction the team is headed in and wishing we had better TV broadcasters at the same time. Some of us can multitask.
I've enjoyed Hollins from day one. It's not new. You can go back and see my posts on it when this came up that year.
Rocket legend Ron Artest would like a word. I get that Ryan and Craig aren't the same as TNT announcers but they are WAY better than most home network announcers. If we want Doris Burke, Mike Breen, and Jeff Van Gundy, we gotta actually start winning enough to get televised nationally.
Now that Hollins has learned that the player holding the ball when the 24 second clock expires doesn't get charged with a turnover, I can live with him.
My comment wasn't really aimed at you, but rather to fans in general. Other folks liking Ryan doesn't bother me. Ryan bothers me. Maybe he'll get better, but I'm not holding my breath. Forgot about Ron! I don't know what he's up to, but Mario sat in with the post-game crew before and did fine. I like Mike and I'm a big fan of Jeff Van Gundy. Not a big fan of Doris, though.
Yeah, and I just remembered that Jeff doesn't announce anymore since he is sitting on the sidelines for the Clippers now so that's not even possible anymore. I was kidding about Ron - I just like that he is a complete loose cannon and would make broadcasts interesting but probably inappropriate at times. I don't think Mario is the answer - he hasn't played for the team in nearly 30 years. Maybe he resonates with you but more than half the fanbase would be saying "who is this old dude?" and probably weren't even alive when he last suited up as a Rocket. 60yr old Mario Elie is not the answer to the new age of the social media news cycle. That's why Ryan is a good fit to the current crew because he sounds more like a fan than a professional announcer and those are the media cycles the team is trying to tap into because kids increasingly watch a quick series of plays queued up rather than produced and scripted highlights segments. Whether you are on board or not, the way media operates today has moved significantly away from the old methods you seem to be nostalgic for....and I say that as a person who absolutely remembers the Mario Elie era(I remember Phi Slamma Jamma on a black and white TV!)...but the times are just changing and those are dusty memories now.
