Who are the best analysts on TV in each sport?

During the Notre Dame-USC game on Nov. 24, USC quarterback Max Wittek threw what appeared to be a gift-wrapped interception directly into the arms of Notre Dame star linebacker Manti Te’o. At least, that’s how it looked live on television.

Within seconds, analyst Kirk Herbstreit quickly diagrammed on replay exactly what Te’o did, what a truly remarkable play it was, and how it wasn’t a case of a quarterback showing his freshman inexperience. Sure, Herbstreit couldn’t have done it without All Stars in the production truck – the director, producer and person working replay all have to working together in sync – but it was the latest example of what makes Herbstreit so good at his craft.

This got us thinking. Who are the best analysts working on television these days in their respective sports?  It’s common for fans to mock/heckle/rip/laugh at many of the ex-athletes and ex-coaches who “analyze” the games we watch. But who are the best?

Josh Suchon and Matt Hurst decided to make their own separate lists, without consulting each other, and they are comparing their lists below.

The ground rules: this is a TV analyst working a live game. No play-by-play announcers. No studio analysts. Nobody on radio. We’re also not including any local analysts because regional biases always cloud your judgment (pro or con). These analysts, in theory, should be the best of the best, network TV analysts doing national games on TV.

"40 Before 40" checklist -- No. 19 -- Watch a game with The Show

-- by @Josh_Suchon

I'm in the red-black rugby shirt, about 5th row up, next to the railing.

My hands are still sore, especially my right thumb. My voice is a little hoarse.

It was totally worth it.

When I originally compiled my “40 things to do before turning 40 years old” list, watching a San Diego State basketball game with the famously outrageous student rooting section -- known as “The Show” – was intended to be accomplished at a home game at Viejas Arena.

While I’m still hopeful that opportunity presents itself in the next four months, the next-best option manifested Sunday night (for this Los Angeles resident) when the Aztecs played at USC’s Galen Center.

Greg Block, my friend and fellow Daily Aztec alum, drove up from San Diego to join me at the game. We met another Daily Aztec alum, Vinnie Batra, his brother, and what turned into hundreds of other SDSU fans inside The Gastropub Lab before the game.

The tickets I purchased for the game were at the top row of the Galen Center. Upon entry, it was clear this game would not be sold out and we could sit wherever we wanted.

But this was not a time to sit closest to the floor. This was a time to find where The Show was standing (they don’t sit) and join them. Oh yes, you knew the 124 miles between SDSU and USC were not going to stop The Show from exerting its collective will on a non-conference game.

This is pretty stupid, but I’ll admit that I actually had butterflies as we walked over to The Show’s section. What if they looked at us funny? What if we weren’t welcome? Would we have to ask permission to join them? Was there an initiation routine? Is it creepy that two guys who were students 15-20 years ago would join the student rooting section?

The small things that I'm grateful for ...

--by @Josh_Suchon

I’m thankful that …

... Ken Levine gave me this idea to steal.

... half of LA residents leave the city during the holidays, so it’s super easy to get around town.

... I can walk to the grocery store, to get coffee, to my yoga studio, dentist, multiple bars, restaurants and other businesses. Who says nobody walks in LA?

... I went to college at San Diego State.

... I didn’t go to BYU.

... We have the freedom to criticize this country because that’s how you get better.

... My TV is huge and awesome.

 

... I don’t snore.

... Dexter and Homeland exist.

... The Hollywood sign always helps me get my locational bearings.

... I live where others vacation.

... Twitter gives me instant news and prevents me from being bored.

... When a plant dies, I can buy another and not feel like a total failure.

... Somebody invented cocktail sauce for shrimp.

... Somebody else realized if you smash avocados up and mix with other ingredients, it tastes even better.

... All of my CDs are now on a hand-held device and sound much better.

... Simply clicking the “like” button can make somebody’s day.

... Josh Rawitch convinced me to go to Iguazu Falls when I went to Brazil, and I now have hundreds of photos likes this to show off.

... I told Orel Hershiser he was lucky.

... Oakland A’s announcers Ken Korach and Vince Cotroneo never go longer than two minutes without giving the score.

... Most people still do the right thing most of the time.

... The stupidest things make me teary-eyed … and Jim Valvano taught me that if you think, laugh and cry, that’s a heckuva day. 

Top sports power couples

On the latest Out of Ink podcast, Matt Hurst and Josh Suchon discuss the Top Sports Power Couples. Where do Justin Verlander and Kate Upton rank? Where do we place Jenna Jameson and Tito Ortiz? Or tennis stars Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi? Or what about Mia Hamm and Nomar Garciaparra?

-- by Matt Hurst

It's too early in their relationship to deem Justin Verlander and Kate Upton as a top-5 athlete power couple. It could happen some day, but let's allow them to be together at least a year before they crack this list. Until then, here are my top-5 all-time sports-related power couples.

What we've learned in baseball's playoffs so far

On the latest Out of Ink Podcast, Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com joins Josh Suchon and Matt Hurst to discuss what we've learned so far in the baseball playoffs. Topics include Justin Verlander, laser beams coming out of foul poles, tequilla shots to start a rally, how Seven Nation Army is played endlessly, that Tim Lincecum is alive, how the St. Louis Cardinals never die, and a bunch of slobbering over how cool the baseball playoffs have been.

UPDATED Why Bay Area fans like all their teams ... unless they hate them

--by Josh Suchon

People will never understand it outside the Bay Area.

Fans in other two-team markets shake their heads in disbelief, call it blasphemous, wonder what they’re smoking up north, mock the Bay Area, and use it as proof there’s something wrong with the people who live there.

The truth is, especially for people who spent their whole lives in the Bay Area, it’s more common to like both baseball and football teams than hate one team.

Alright, it might be a stretch to say the football fans “like” each other. It can feel like a war zone in the stadiums when the 49ers and Raiders play each other. There are plenty of fights and bullets to prove it. But don’t let the couple hundred knuckleheads obscure the larger truth.

Bay Area fans of one team don’t hate the other team. In some cases, they like both baseball teams equally. If nothing else, they go to both ballparks, and enjoy being able to see American League and National League baseball. If their favored team wasn’t very good that year, regional pride dictated you cheered for the other team.

Sometimes a photo is worth a thousand words

This is Space Shuttle Endeavour, flying over the Griffith Park Observatory with Downtown Los Angeles in the background. Happy retirement, Endeavour.

Putting the cork in baseball champagne baths

--by Josh Suchon

While reading a story this morning about Dodgers pitcher Jamey Wright, who expressed how much he wants the opportunity to get champagne sprayed in his eyes and feel that burn for the first time in his career, it got me thinking about the champagne protocol in light of baseball’s new postseason.

Under the new rules this year, a second wild card team was added. The two wild cards will meet in a one-game, winner-take-all showdown to advance to the best-of-5 division series.

Will the teams that “win” a wild card berth spray each other with champagne to celebrate reaching a one-game playoff? Will the teams that win the one-game playoff pop the bubbly to celebrate winning a single game?

I’m in favor of neither. If I had to pick one, I originally thought that clinching the wild card berth would be better, since it’s a reward for a 162-game season. My friend and colleague Jeff Fletcher point out on Twitter that the one-game playoff is essentially game 163 in the season, and the celebration should take place after winning that game. I still want neither, but I agree with Fletch.

Overall, this year is the perfect time for baseball to overhaul its champagne celebration tradition.

“40 Before 40” checklist -- No.4 -- Watch a movie in the Hollywood Cemetery

On my 39th birthday, I made a list of "40 things to do before turning 40." Each time I check an item off the list, I'll write about it here. This is item No. 4, watching a movie at the Hollywood Cemetery.

--by Josh Suchon

Watching a movie in the Hollywood Cemetery is similar to attending a football game. It’s more than a game (or movie). The movie is almost an after-thought. This is an (almost) all-night event, similar to tailgating. Except you’re not in a car and there’s definitely no BBQing. This is picnicking around the dead.

I felt right at home.

Thanks to my friends Emilie and Tyler, I was invited to join them last Saturday to see the Woody Allen movie “Manhattan” projected against a big white wall, surrounded by a bunch of really expensive tombstones and caskets.

Emilie and Tyler made sure we got there early. Very early. The movie started at 8 pm. The gates opened at 6:30 pm. Emilie and Tyler were there about 4:30 pm, making sure we were near the front of the line. I got there around 5:30 pm.

What do you do for an hour? Duhh. You drink. And eat. And play games. We had no shortage of any of these items. I did learn that certain games are better than others. The hosts made it clear they prefer games that involve “yelling out the answers.”

Top 10 most famous Foothill High alums

-- by @Josh_Suchon

A recent brief Twitter exchange between myself and former classmate Gabrielle Union got me thinking about the most famous alums at my high school. A quick check of Wikipedia showed that either my school is either really pathetic in developing famous people, or Wikipedia needs some help. Either way, I decided it was time to research my school further, and compile a list.

My school is Foothill High in Pleasanton, Calif., a middle-class suburb in the East Bay. It’s a fairly new school. It was founded in 1973 with a freshman-only class. Each year, a new freshman class was added, and the first graduating class was 1977.

The list will probably be a work-in-progress, as more names are brought to my attention. 

But for now, here goes:

1. Actress Gabrielle Union (Class of 1991)

Union was in my graduating class. It was easy to remember Nicky, as she was called back then, primarily because she was one of two black females in our graduating class. She was an all-league point guard on the girls basketball team, was involved in student government and leadership, and ran on the track team.

In college, Union started at Nebraska and played soccer briefly, then went to Cuesta College, then to UCLA, where she planned on attending law school and becoming a lawyer. Union did an internship at a modeling agency that changed her life. The agency realized she should be getting photographed, not making coffee and copies, and her modeling career was launched. That led to some acting roles.

Her break-through role was in 2000’s “Bring it On” as the cheerleader from the rival black school, opposite Kirsten Dunst. Union was in the blockbuster hit “Bad Boys II” and also “Deliver Us from Eva.” She appeared on a memorable 2001 episode of “Friends” when Joey and Ross were both into her. It was memorable because she was the first black character ever on the New York-based show. Her IMDB page lists all her credits.

Union is currently dating Miami Heat superstar Dwyane Wade, she was ranked 52^nd in Maxim’s “100 Sexiest Women” in 2002, and she has a couple new projects that should be in theaters in 2013.

Most impressive to her former classmates, she attended the 10- and 20-year reunions, and graciously posed for photos – even with people who didn’t know her then, but wanted to show off to their friends and kids by getting a photo with her. 

Same old Nicky. Just goes by Gabrielle now.

Sharpie Scribbles Chapter XII: The Pre-Fame Scribble

-- by Matt Hurst

As I've said before, I'm not a big autograph chaser. But if someone offers and I genuinely get excited at the prospect of getting someone's signature, then hell yes, count me in.

This happened in my final weeks working at UC Santa Barbara.

We had two bona fide student-athletes who were stars. Not on the Matt Barkley or Anthony Davis level, but pretty big time athletes in their respective fields.

One is basketball player Orlando Johnson, now a member of the Indiana Pacers. UCSB is a good mid-major basketball school ... not great, but pretty good. To have a player come from our school and get into the NBA, well that doesn't happen often.

I was very fortunate to work with Orlando in a variety of ways during his three years at UCSB and you might hear this a lot, but trust me on this - you won't find a better human being. Especially considering what he has gone through in his life (read about it here). Our last creative video shoot together was one of my absolute favorites.

UPDATED: How to win your Survivor Football Pool

--by Josh Suchon

My favorite football pool goes by many names. Some call it an Eliminator Pool. Others say “Last man standing” Pool. I’ve always known it as a Survivor Pool.

The basic rules: you pick one NFL game each week, point spreads don’t matter. If you win, you advance to the next week. If you lose, you’re done. In most of these pools, once you pick a team once, you can’t pick them again. I’m in a pool where you can pick the same team three times. I don’t like that rule, but I’m not the Commissioner. But in most pools, you can only pick a team once.

I’ve won two Survivor Pools in the last decade. I went 17-for-17 two years ago and split the pot with four others. I made it to Week 11 last year before losing, and week 9 three years ago. In 2003, I was one of two finalists and we split the first- and second-place money (a nice Christmas bonus for each of us).

These are my rules for how to win your Survivor Pool.

My "40 things to do before turning 40" list

-- by @Josh_Suchon

Yes, this is another list of 40 things to do before turning 40 years old. I have exactly 365 days to accomplish these 40 items. I plan on writing a separate blog entry each time I cross an item off this list. If you have any advice on one of these items, or want to join me when I check it off the list, let me know.

1. Rent a fancy sports car and drive along the coast for the day/weekend. If I haven’t bought a fancy sports car by age 40, it’s probably not going to happen. Might as well just rent one for the weekend.

2. Swim with dolphins. This will probably require a trip outside our borders, which is the whole point.

2-5-13 Update -- I've booked a week in Honolulu when I turn 40. This will be done that final week. 

3. Go visit a psychic. Really curious what the hell they might say. A friend of mine did this with his wife recently, and it was a trip what she said about our deceased friend Jeff Coulthart.

4. Watch a movie in the Hollywood cemetery. DONE. My recap can be found here.

5. Sleep under the stars. This was intentionally written very generically, so I can do it anywhere in the world.

Olympic sports and athletes aren't going away

-- by Josh Suchon

The end of the Olympics, traditionally, was the end of seeing those Olympic athletes in our lives. Some would re-appear four years later at the next games. Some would appear on a Wheaties box. Most were never heard from again.

That could be changing for a couple reasons:

* The staggering increase in sports networks requires programmers to find more content, and not just from the traditional Big Three of team sports (football, baseball, basketball).

* The explosion of social media allows athletes to connect directly with their fans, and allows them to direct those fans to their games in person or on television.

Despite annoying fans everywhere with tape-delayed coverage, NBC Universal set records with massive ratings in the 2012 London Games. It didn’t seem to matter that the audience knew the results. They watched, watched in groups, sat through commercials, and sat through sports they previously neglected.

It proved a strong market exists for these so-called niche sports. What the next three years and 49 weeks will prove is whether that market exists year-around, or just once every four years.

There should be plenty of opportunities for fans of Olympic sports to keep watching their new favorite athletes, or learn more about these less popular sports.

Chapter XII – The worst multi-scribble cards

-- by Josh Suchon

  

The previous chapter of the Sharpie Scribbles, which compared the Alomars to the Ripkens, got me thinking about the multi-autograph baseball card. Some of the best in my childhood collection are the cards, photos and SI covers from the Alomars and Ripkens.

Now it’s time to list the worst multi-autograph baseball cards from my collection. In honor of the Olympics, we’ll use the Bronze, Silver and Gold to rank the worst.

The Bronze

Game Closers -- John Franco and Steve Bedrosian

These two person cards were almost always photos taken during the all-star game. They were a fun break in the middle of sets. Fleer did a good job of pairing together natural fits. The 1988 Fleer “Super Star Specials” were extra cool to me because they were taken during the 1987 all-star game in Oakland, which I attended.

The problem with this dual signature card is the different colored Sharpies that were used. I remember getting Steve Bedrosian’s autograph first. Blue is always the preferred color. The Bedrosion autograph is solid. He doesn’t take up too much space, stays on his body, and doesn’t write on his face.