Bill King, RIP; props to David Lazarus
The Bay Area has lost one of the finest sports announcers around in Bill King, who just passed away at the age of 78. Since he came to San Francisco in 1958, he has called play-by-play for the Giants, the Warriors, the Raiders, and the A's, among others. I've never been able to go to as many A's games as I would like, and I rarely get to see the A's on TV since I don't have cable, but listening to Bill King's broadcasts on KFRC provided me more than adequate compensation. Admittedly, I knew little about Bill King as a person, but I always got the feeling while listening to him that he knew far more than just sports. He came across as someone you could talk to about Lenny Bruce at the Purple Onion in the 1960's, or a Sonny Rollins album, or about great writers. In fact, KRON showed an old interview yesterday in which Bill King briefly discussed his love of opera with sports anchor Gary Radnich.
Many commentators noted that Bill King was masterful about bringing passion to the game without being too flamboyant, boisterous, or cheerlead-y. Indeed, you could feel the tension in a close game, or the excitement of witnessing a spectacular play, when King was on the mike.
By contrast, a lot of other play-by-play announcers that I've heard in sports highlights sound slightly unhinged and/or boorish-- "Hit deep to left...yeah, baby...GET OUT OF HERE! GET OUT! GO! YEAH!!!" That type of announcer is known as a "homer"-- that is, unabashedly plugging his team. I prefer the Bill Kings and Jon Millers of the sports world...I've taped memorable radio broadcasts of both of them (King when the A's won 20 straight in 2002, Miller when the Giants clinched the NL West in 1997 and when they ended their time at Candlestick Park in 1999), and am still impressed with how well they captured the emotions of the moment while remaining in control.
Another announcer I really enjoy is Bob Murphy, who does play-by-play for Stanford football and basketball. He's another older veteran who brings both passion and decorum to the proceedings. I don't if anyone can do a better job of conveying the pressure of a close basketball game, down to a single free throw ("Stanford up 67-64 with 8 seconds to go, still a one-possession game with Hernandez at the line. He puts it up....SIXTY-EIGHT!").
Item #2 for today: I wanted to gave a big thumps-up to David Lazarus's article in the San Francisco Chronicle today (available online at www.sfgate.com). He addresses the catastrophic state of health insurance in the U.S. today, and his recommended solution is rather atypical for a business writer in a major metropolitan newspaper:
"I've written repeatedly how a single-payer health-care system could provide universal coverage for all Americans at a long-term cost to taxpayers well below what's now paid annually by employers and workers...Single-payer systems are the norm in virtually all other developed democracies. While far from perfect - long waits for treatment are a frequent complaint - such systems ensure that any citizen can receive care from any doctor in any hospital...There are no co-pays or deductibles, no private-sector premiums soaring year after year."
Many commentators noted that Bill King was masterful about bringing passion to the game without being too flamboyant, boisterous, or cheerlead-y. Indeed, you could feel the tension in a close game, or the excitement of witnessing a spectacular play, when King was on the mike.
By contrast, a lot of other play-by-play announcers that I've heard in sports highlights sound slightly unhinged and/or boorish-- "Hit deep to left...yeah, baby...GET OUT OF HERE! GET OUT! GO! YEAH!!!" That type of announcer is known as a "homer"-- that is, unabashedly plugging his team. I prefer the Bill Kings and Jon Millers of the sports world...I've taped memorable radio broadcasts of both of them (King when the A's won 20 straight in 2002, Miller when the Giants clinched the NL West in 1997 and when they ended their time at Candlestick Park in 1999), and am still impressed with how well they captured the emotions of the moment while remaining in control.
Another announcer I really enjoy is Bob Murphy, who does play-by-play for Stanford football and basketball. He's another older veteran who brings both passion and decorum to the proceedings. I don't if anyone can do a better job of conveying the pressure of a close basketball game, down to a single free throw ("Stanford up 67-64 with 8 seconds to go, still a one-possession game with Hernandez at the line. He puts it up....SIXTY-EIGHT!").
Item #2 for today: I wanted to gave a big thumps-up to David Lazarus's article in the San Francisco Chronicle today (available online at www.sfgate.com). He addresses the catastrophic state of health insurance in the U.S. today, and his recommended solution is rather atypical for a business writer in a major metropolitan newspaper:
"I've written repeatedly how a single-payer health-care system could provide universal coverage for all Americans at a long-term cost to taxpayers well below what's now paid annually by employers and workers...Single-payer systems are the norm in virtually all other developed democracies. While far from perfect - long waits for treatment are a frequent complaint - such systems ensure that any citizen can receive care from any doctor in any hospital...There are no co-pays or deductibles, no private-sector premiums soaring year after year."
posted by Tom (a.k.a. "G-Man") at 4:43 PM
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