How much does a broadcaster enhance, or destroy, the experience of watching or listening to a game?

The thought came to mind last week with the passing of Phillies and NFL Films announcer (not to minimize his work on the Puppy Bowl, of course) Harry Kalas and the retirement of former Raiders coach turned analyst John Madden.

I can't speak for his baseball work, having never been in broadcast range of the Phillies' radio network, but Kalas had that booming voice that commanded attention without having to go over the top, like, say, a Chris Berman. And on many a long drive on Sunday afternoons while fleeing the sun and fun capital of Arizona, Lake Havasu City, finding a station that was carrying an NFL game he was calling on Westwood One meant a few hours of good company.

And Madden? Yes, his work over the past few years his work, like so much sports TV nowadays, seemed to get bogged down with puffery, like having to show what was served at every tailgate party at the stadium, but he always kept one thing in mind - it was a football game, not nuclear physics, and didn't need to be described as such.

In this region, on the front lines of the NorCal vs. SoCal rivalry, we've been fortunate to have wonderful wordsmiths bring us the games of our favorite teams, whether its the distinctive sound-and-word pictures of Jon Miller or Vin Scully, someone with quick, descriptive phrases like Bill King or Chick Hearn, or someone that can keep it interesting when our team is being led to slaughter again, like Hank Greenwald or Ralph Lawler.

Do we get that on national broadcasts, outside of Marv Albert on TNT's NBA coverage?

Not really. It's generally somebody totally vanilla, like a Jim Nantz or Mike Breen, or someone who has the need to show us how much smarter he is than the rest of us, like most football analysts or Tim McCarver on baseball.

Perhaps the networks can take a clue from this to right their ratings - cut the number of in-game promotions, graphics (save for basic game information) and cheerleader cheesecake shots in half, and instead give us the games without all the jargon or information offered out of context, like quarterback ratings or obscure records.

And now, a few more thoughts hopefully worth that second cup of coffee as we wait to see if it's the NBA, NHL or MLB that will catch our attention this afternoon - or maybe we'll say the heck with it and enjoy the sunny weather outside.

l More kudos for Hanford High School's Cougar Williams, who was named to Cal-Hi Sports Division II all-state boys basketball team announced Saturday. Williams, a two-time West Yosemite League MVP in basketball who's headed for Cal Poly on a football scholarship, was named to the Division III team in football last fall.

l The upcoming week should be an interesting one around the Hanford-Lemoore area, with the first Hanford-Lemoore matchups in West Yosemite League action in softball (Tuesday) and baseball (Wednesday), the Hanford-Hanford West track and field meet on Wednesday, Hanford West-Lemoore duels in softball (Thursday) and baseball (Friday) to open the second half of WYL play, plus Thursday night's boxing-mixed martial arts card at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino featuring Hanford products Shawn Estrada and Chad Mendes.

l Lemoore High School will rename its JV softball field for Bob Smith, who recently passed away, before Tuesday's game with Hanford. That field is the old varsity field, when Smith coached the Tigers, current mentor Dionne Ewing said. The current varsity field is named for the late Lori Romero-Gardner, a former LHS and Fresno State pitcher and wife of Giants coach Mark Gardner. First pitch is at 4:30 p.m.

Richard de Give is The Sentinel's sports editor. He can be reached at 583-2430 or rdegive@HanfordSentinel.com

(April 19, 2009)