Grant Napear
- Thread starter Mozart
- Start date
He's a good announcer I think, I like Gerry better though, he comes across a lot better and has a softer tone and is easier to listen to. I think the 2 of them compliment each other a lot, Grant being dryer and faster talking, and Gerry being slower talking and being full of knowledge as well, he's a old time country boy from Indiana. I'm from Illinois so I guess I relate to him better, from Chicago, but still lots of farmland and a slower pace out in the Midwest being more conservative and such.
Koz is a guy I thought I recognized from back in Chicago and I was right, he was a announcer on the news or in some capacity not that long ago from what I hear.
Koz is a guy I thought I recognized from back in Chicago and I was right, he was a announcer on the news or in some capacity not that long ago from what I hear.
Sac News Review article
Here's an interesting article on the local media alliances with the Kings.
http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/Content?oid=oid:14863
Here's an interesting article on the local media alliances with the Kings.
http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/Content?oid=oid:14863
Grant is a really good game announcer especially so with sidekick Jerry Reynolds on the NBA package broadcasts on Direct TV. But the G-Man is the best.
As for his show I think he is also really good. Sure he has a somewhat short fuse, he is a New Yorker after all. But my wife and I both enjoy his short fuse with "idiots" and "morons". Sometimes a bit too short but overall enjoyable. You have no idea what it is like to sit there day after day and have to put up with the type of fans (and non-fans, ie., Stanley) who call in to those shows.
He knows sports and the Kings and will forever be a NY Giants/Ranger fan.
Two thumbs up from down here.
As for his show I think he is also really good. Sure he has a somewhat short fuse, he is a New Yorker after all. But my wife and I both enjoy his short fuse with "idiots" and "morons". Sometimes a bit too short but overall enjoyable. You have no idea what it is like to sit there day after day and have to put up with the type of fans (and non-fans, ie., Stanley) who call in to those shows.
He knows sports and the Kings and will forever be a NY Giants/Ranger fan.
Two thumbs up from down here.
I don't consider game announcers journalists. So the fact that all the people that do announcing and pre- and post-game shows are MSE employees doesn't really bother me.
As to what they do on KHTK time? I honestly don't consider talk show hosts journalists, either, unless its PBS, BBC or CBC or something llike that.
Anyone who listens regularly knows Grant works for MSE during games and KHTK for the talk show. Same for Kozimor. Most people certainly know that Jerry Reynolds works for the Kings period. During games he's a color-commentary on the team, the game and the league. Tha's not journalism either, in my book. None of that is hidden knowledge, so people can take any comments made and judge them based on those affiliations.
As to what they do on KHTK time? I honestly don't consider talk show hosts journalists, either, unless its PBS, BBC or CBC or something llike that.
Anyone who listens regularly knows Grant works for MSE during games and KHTK for the talk show. Same for Kozimor. Most people certainly know that Jerry Reynolds works for the Kings period. During games he's a color-commentary on the team, the game and the league. Tha's not journalism either, in my book. None of that is hidden knowledge, so people can take any comments made and judge them based on those affiliations.
I enjoy Grant
Grant has been the voice of the Kings for over 20 years and he would be hard to improve upon, in my opinion. I grew up listening to Vince Scully (another New York transplant) in So Cal, for the Dodgers, and he's the one I judge others by. Grant isn't quite a Vince Scully, but he is knowledgeable and able to Paint the Picture in a way that adds to the game without becoming the main attraction. Jerry Reynolds is a great and even more knowledgeable sidekick-I wouldn't change a thing about this team.
As far as Gary Gerould, he's not my cup of tea. I know he is highly respected and a top notch pro...but he often tries so hard to be even handed that he appears to be too respectful and appreciative of the opposing team. It's a fine line that Grant and Jerry seem to observe more successfully, for me anyway. If in doubt, err on the side of the homeboys, I say, and screw the competition, let their announcers sing their praises. Oh well, I guess that's what makes a horse race.
Grant has been the voice of the Kings for over 20 years and he would be hard to improve upon, in my opinion. I grew up listening to Vince Scully (another New York transplant) in So Cal, for the Dodgers, and he's the one I judge others by. Grant isn't quite a Vince Scully, but he is knowledgeable and able to Paint the Picture in a way that adds to the game without becoming the main attraction. Jerry Reynolds is a great and even more knowledgeable sidekick-I wouldn't change a thing about this team.
As far as Gary Gerould, he's not my cup of tea. I know he is highly respected and a top notch pro...but he often tries so hard to be even handed that he appears to be too respectful and appreciative of the opposing team. It's a fine line that Grant and Jerry seem to observe more successfully, for me anyway. If in doubt, err on the side of the homeboys, I say, and screw the competition, let their announcers sing their praises. Oh well, I guess that's what makes a horse race.
I agree with the article's point that the Kings' announcers --- and for that matter, the announcers on other sports teams --- are actually employees of the team's owners. Therefore, the bias is there.
It wasn't always that way. There was a time, IIRC, when baseball radio announcers were employed by the sponsor, and not the team they covered. So, the announcer(s) wouldn't sound like they spouting stuff from their P.R. departments.
The problem has become increasingly worse: The Chicago Cubs team is owned by the parent company of the Chicago Tribune newspaper. The Sacramento Bee and Channel 10 are a media partners with the Kings. Say what you want about Marcos Breton, but at least he sometimes can rip the Kings in print, and get away with it. But in most cases, if a sports team think a reporter is being too "negative", they will reduce or cut access.
It's almost getting to be like the time before Jim Bouton's book "Ball Four" came out: when sportswriters would agree not to write "negative", or highly personal, or potentially unflattering articles in exchange for access to the athlete.
We could all agree to disagree on how much we like his style of calling the games. I personally kind of enjoy it. Others may not and that is fine.
Beyond style though, I think we could all basically agree that he calls the game accurately, sees what is happening on the court ect. Compare this to many college f-ball games I have had to endure. Guys like Dan Fouts, Brent Mussburger and Keith Jackson call the game like they can't even see what is going on in front of them. They miss all kinds of stuff and it is truly painful to watch.
Beyond style though, I think we could all basically agree that he calls the game accurately, sees what is happening on the court ect. Compare this to many college f-ball games I have had to endure. Guys like Dan Fouts, Brent Mussburger and Keith Jackson call the game like they can't even see what is going on in front of them. They miss all kinds of stuff and it is truly painful to watch.
He's very good (play by play) when he's focused but he seems to be developing this complex lately, where he feels like he has to be some kind of Alpha Male. He gets to running his mouth a little and starts saying corny stuff and it's funny but not in the way he's intending it. If I were a relative, I'd be kind of embarassed at some of the stuff he says.
I like Grant as PBP and on 1140, though he's obviously much more restrained when calling Kings games than on radio. It's funny to hear him go off on idiots that call in, and funnier yet to listen to people call in and remind him that his predictions were wrong. I called in a few weeks ago and Mike Lamb was very easy to talk to, but Grant didn't say much on my topic.
As for PBP, I think it's cool that he and Jerry are pulling for the home team. Watch K-mart's winning shot over the Spurs last year with Napear announcing, then watch it with the ESPN team announcing (youtube). It's no contest as to which one makes it sound more exciting.
As for PBP, I think it's cool that he and Jerry are pulling for the home team. Watch K-mart's winning shot over the Spurs last year with Napear announcing, then watch it with the ESPN team announcing (youtube). It's no contest as to which one makes it sound more exciting.
I get a kick out of Grant's dry humor as a play by play announcer, it's usually pretty much the way I'm thinking. I get tired of his catchphrases around midseason though, though the same goes for Jerry Reynolds tenfold( I really do not need to hear "Bibbylicious" ever again in my life.)
Gerould has a real smooth voice, a bit too smooth for my ears. Grants scratchier style doesn't paint the picture or describe the action , but it complements the action on the court by adding emphasis, much like a musical score does for a movie. This is probably due to the differences between the TV and Radio PBP formats.
That said, my tastes are suspect; I enjoy Bill Walton as a color commentator. That man is not afraid to use big words
Gerould has a real smooth voice, a bit too smooth for my ears. Grants scratchier style doesn't paint the picture or describe the action , but it complements the action on the court by adding emphasis, much like a musical score does for a movie. This is probably due to the differences between the TV and Radio PBP formats.
That said, my tastes are suspect; I enjoy Bill Walton as a color commentator. That man is not afraid to use big words
I enjoy Bill Walton as a color commentator. That man is not afraid to use big words
The best b-ball (at any level) commentator would be Hubie Brown IMHO. I learned a little something everytime I watched with him commenting.
I find Walton entertaining, despite his favoratism. Hubie Brown is good, but I can't watch him anymore without laughing at something pointed out by Bill Simmons; that being Hubie Brown constantly referring to people in the second-person.
"Where are YOU going? YOU can't have that kind of position and not expect a foul..."
I've subscribed to League Pass for the past four years, and have come to the conclusion that Napear and Reynolds are one of the worst announcing duos in the league. I pretty much only rate Gorman/Heinson, Albert/Jackson, Frazier/whoever the hell announces with Frazier and Sunderland/Lantz behind Napear and Reynolds. They'd be better off letting Gerould call the games by himself.