The favorite sports broadcasters bracket!

 

Vin Scully calls the 1965 World Series.
That's the criminally underrated Ray Scott behind Vin.
Ray was the anti-Gus Johnson

"Hello again, everybody..."

"Hello, friends..."

"And a very pleasant good evening to you wherever you may be..."

Joe Manniello, who has become the master of all things brackets in my life, has done it again.

Recently, I did brackets of greatest Best Pictures, and Billy Joel songs, and Beatles songs. But today (echoing "today" Lou Gehrig-style), he brings us perhaps the most fitting of them all...

THE FAVORITE SPORTS BROADCASTERS BRACKET!

Now, look, I didn't pick those in the bracket and neither did Joe. I'm told that four people did a draft of the 32 participants.

Let's dispense with a few things here:

- Gus Johnson didn't get drafted. No further comment.

- Red Barber and Mel Allen also didn't, which is largely indicative of a need for a historian in the group, but we shall not quarrel.

- Not a single Caray to be found. 

- No Ernie Harwell. 

- No Marty Glickman.

- I can keep going but you get my point (no Phil Rizzuto, Joe Garagiola, Bill White, or basically any Yankees voices...).

Lastly, and I can't stress this enough...

Who's playing to lose to Vin Scully in the final because you all know he's winning this.

We'll start in the "I Don't Believe What I Just Saw" region.

Vin/Doris Burke -- Sigh. I'm a big Doris fan, but this isn't fair. Vin.

Bob Costas/Mike Tirico -- An all-Syracuse matchup (read: sports broadcasting elitism in the non-Fordham/Arizona State/etc division). Like Tirico. Love Costas. Bob.

Jack Buck/Joe Buck -- We will see JACK tomorrow night! (This one is just mean)

Howard Cosell/Don Criqui -- Question: How well do you all know me? Don Criqui is an all-time great PBP voice. Cosell is an all-time great mouth who stepped on countless PBP announcers. As Don Imus called him, "The Great Don Criqui." Yes. Really.

Sweet 16:

Scully/Costas -- That's rough for the second round, Bob. You deserved better. Vin.

Jack Buck/Criqui -- Damn. Sorry, Don. Jack Buck.

Regional final:

Scully/Buck -- "I don't believe what I just saw" gets steamrolled by "In a year that has been improbable, the IMPOSSIBLE has happened." Except, it's not impossible. It's Vin. All day.

To the "Do You Believe In Miracles" region.

The team of John Madden-Pat Summerall against Leslie Visser (who wasn't a PBP voice anyway) -- Unfair. Pat and John.

Jim Nantz/Ian Eagle -- This will break over certain lines. I love Nantz. 

Curt Gowdy/Kevin Harlan -- I bet Harlan wins this one big. "The Cowboy" (Gowdy) was the voice of the big games when I was a kid. I'm taking Gowdy.

Al Michaels/Tony Romo -- Al is miraculous and one of the great PBPers of all time. He's also a Scully disciple. Al.

Sweet 16:

Madden-Summerall/Nantz -- Goodbye, friends. Pat and John.

Gowdy/Michaels -- Curt hit the back nine in the 70s. Al was on the front nine and is still swinging. Al's got a lot of great calls. Curt goes all the way back to Mel Allen in the 40s. But Al is Al.

Regional Final:

Madden-Summerall/Michaels -- two against one. Telestrator against sarcasm and gambling. Summerall did tennis and golf away from football and was an early sports reporter in New York. Al has done baseball, hockey, and basketball. It's tough. The edge -- slightly -- goes to Al Michaels.

That leaves us a Final Four matchup of Al Michaels against his idol Vin Scully and let's not kid ourselves, shall we? Vin.

The "Whoa Nellie!" region.

Doc Emrick/Charlie Jones -- An inspired call with Charlie Jones but he's no match here. He's been ladled away and shuffleboarded by Doc.

Verne Lundquist/Gary Thorne -- Great first-round matchup. I could go crazy with this one but the number of great calls in Uncle Verne's career is overwhelming. YES SIR!

Brent Musburger/Tim McCarver -- "You are looking live!" at two guys who weren't initially known for play-by-play, at least nationally. T-Mac became a World Series staple doing color, and Brent is Brent. I'll give the edge to Brent.

Keith Jackson/Bill Raftery -- Oh this is just wrong! First, I'm a play-by-play guy. But Raft is one of my favorites. But Keith IS college football (even if he called so many baseball games that sounded like he'd rather be anywhere else). Can I "send it in JEROME!?" No. I just can't. "Hello, Heisman!"

Sweet 16:

Doc/Verne -- I hate to say that you know how this one is going. Doc waffle boards Uncle Verne aside.

Brent/Keith -- I love hearing Brent tell stories but Keith is Keith.

Doc/Keith -- Remember, this is my bracket. It's not who I think will win. As I said, I always felt Keith was ambivalent at best when calling baseball (and he was on the "Bobby Murcer" game when Cosell allowed him to talk). But Doc changed how I viewed hockey and definitely how I called it. "WHAT CHAOS," indeed!

Lastly we head to the "OH MY!" region.

Marv Albert/Sam Rosen -- This had to be a local pick. Marv is a New York institution that became huge nationally. YES!

Howie Rose/Mike Breen -- I was going to "Put it in the books!" but then "BANG!" Mike Breen is one of my heroes. Love Howie (really, I do) but Breen is a different level. 

Kenny Albert/Gare-Keith-Ron -- Er...what? The Mets fans will whine. Kenny will understand. GKR. 

Dick Enberg/Dan Shulman -- This is so unfair to Shulman but Dr. Enberg has been one of the voices of my life, in fact even "BV" (Before Vin). The Renaissance Man himself, Dick Enberg.

Sweet 16:

Marv/Breen -- This was a setup. A tough one. Both can claim the hand of Marty Glickman as guidance. Both worked with the irascible Imus. Both are hysterically funny. Both did local sports (Breen on WFAN and Marv on Channel 4). Breen did football at one time in addition to basketball while Marv did the NFL, Knicks, and Rangers. Plus he anchored the World Series on NBC at one time. But I've met Breen and love his style. That's literally the only edge. Breen.

G-K-R/Enberg -- Dick Enberg. Next.

Breen/Enberg -- I love you, Mike. I really do. But Dick Enberg helped me love tennis from Wimbledon. He helped me get more entrenched into the NFL with Merlin Olsen. He nudged me along with college basketball. Plus he hosted the "Sports Challenge" TV show. He goes to the Final Four with Doc Emrick, Al Michaels, and Vin Scully.

I've already moved Scully into the championship.

Now it's Doc versus Dr.

I hate that it's come to this. Each man has impacted me profoundly. I never had a chance to talk to Dr. Enberg but I did talk to Doc Emrick last year. I've made it clear how both helped guide me as a broadcaster. Dick Enberg's two edges are that he has a longer impact on me and that he did more sports, though some forget all the different things Doc Emrick called.

You know how this is going to turn out anyway, and I'd love to call a draw but I can't. Dick Enberg sashays into the final by a whisker.

I told you from the beginning who would win this all along and everyone else was fighting for second place.

Vin Scully over Dick Enberg.

Which is no crime.

Oh my!