Torture to my ears

[Saboteur II]

Cue all the folks ready to pounce because I’m taking down a true legend or those wondering if I have anything better to do with my time.
I was driving all over central Florida to Daytona, etc Saturday during the game. I tuned into Pitt on Sirius.
The game was a train wreck.
But one thing made it worse. Hillgrove doesn’t call a game. He just talks like he is on the phone with someone who occasionally utters what is happening in the game he is watching on TV.
I can’t count the number of times I found myself not knowing what happened until it was long over…even then he made mistakes.
Here is a typical call

And there’s a run..going down thru tacklers is number….X… a host of Panthers missed tackles.

Now z Louisville has the ball around, let’s say the Pitt 11.

Silence.

First and 10 from the Pitt 16. Who was that with the carry?

Now we have a pass.

It was like listening to a blind guy describe impressionist art.

Drove me the short distance from upset to raving lunatic.

 

[Slick Manager of Champs]

Hillgrove is a great voice but should have stayed a sports anchor. Hasn't improved one iota in 40+ years of play by play. Still, he is a legend and a true friend of Pitt. But someone needs to have the talk with him and encourage him to maybe hang it up after this season.

 

[BigChungus90210]

Politicians and sports broadcasters - the two jobs we seemingly decided as a collective it was acceptable for 80 year olds to have for some reason.

 

[rpastir]

Hillgrove is a great voice but should have stayed a sports anchor. Hasn't improved one iota in 40+ years of play by play. Still, he is a legend and a true friend of Pitt. But someone needs to have the talk with him and encourage him to maybe hang it up after this season.

I just can’t imagine hearing someone else do the Pitt play-by-play. He may not be a great play-by-play guy, but he’s our not great play-by-play guy.

 

[Saboteur II]

I just can’t imagine hearing someone else do the Pitt play-by-play. He may not be a great play-by-play guy, but he’s our not great play-by-play guy.

Well I love Bill too. But he ain’t doing play by play anymore. He misses most plays.
Hey, if we were 11-0 it might not have bothered me, but sponsors still pay bills.

 

[mike 301]

To me Billy is off limits ...
There are 100 other things to bitch about ...
Just sayin' ..

 

[Joe Magarac]

If driving your car into a grocery store while being drunk won’t get you fired, nothing will.

 

[mike 301]

If driving your car into a grocery store while being drunk won’t get you fired, nothing will.

You gotta point there ...

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

If driving your car into a grocery store while being drunk won’t get you fired, nothing will.

And it wasn't even one of these new-fangled stores with a drive thru window!

 

[USN_Panther]

If driving your car into a grocery store while being drunk won’t get you fired, nothing will.

I thought it was a pharmacy. Did he do both?

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

I thought it was a pharmacy. Did he do both?

I think it was a Giant Eagle WITH a pharmacy, so it was kind of like a BOGO!

 

[Franb]

And it wasn't even one of these new-fangled stores with a drive thru window!

He was doing them a favor by making it easy to install one!

 

[PittPharm2002]

To me Billy is off limits ...
There are 100 other things to bitch about ...
Just sayin' ..

Being fully self incompetent at the job for 20 years and being a drunken old Man-
Shouldn’t be treated like a lifetime appointment.

 

[rmf05]

Last year I drove down and back to Hilton Head over a couple of fall Saturdays. I had a chance to listen to several college football radio broadcasts along the way. They all sound like Hillgrove. Folksy old guys chatting away through a dusjointed play by play while a former player adds the color. There were some decent color guys but all the play by play guys were homers who seemed a beat behind and a mile away on every play. Its kinda funny to listen to until you have a rooting interest and emotional stake in what is going on.

 

[TD_6082]

Hillgrove is a great voice but should have stayed a sports anchor. Hasn't improved one iota in 40+ years of play by play. Still, he is a legend and a true friend of Pitt. But someone needs to have the talk with him and encourage him to maybe hang it up after this season.

Funny story along theses line.

I lived in the Knoxville area 20 years ago. Tennessee's new play by play guy was also a former local sports anchor. I was driving home from the Pitt/Syracuse game in 2003 & tuned into the Tennessee/Alabama game on my way home (the luxury of my new dash top Sirius contraption) Bob Kesling was a really likable guy, but his first few years on radio were really an adventure for him. Anyways, I'll cut to the chase... Tennessee brought out the punt team. Kesling was calling the play by play and in real time & apparently his brain couldn't decide between the words "kick" and "punt" and he stutterd a big on his call which is now etched in my brain as my favorite play by play call of all time. "Colquitt gets off a nice ****." ...long awkward silence after that, followed by info on where Bama would have the ball after commercial.

Yes. I had a very sophomoric sense of humor. Still do, in fact.