Originally Posted by BillyMac (Post 809723)

It's only going to get worse, if nobody does anything about it.

Originally Posted by BillyMac (Post 809696)

And most of the play by play was not unsporting...

Originally Posted by bainsey (Post 809735)

Certainly not, if you're a play-by-play or color analyst. Players don't hear such things until they see/hear a recording after the game.

However, when you're a PA announcer, making such comments to a crowd could easily distract a player, and that's indeed unsporting, IMO. That's not the role of the PA announcer. From me, I'd tell game management "not again" once. After this, citing 2-8-1, removal and/or a T is justified, I say.

Originally Posted by bob jenkins (Post 809733)

So do something about it. Use 2-3 if you need to.

Originally Posted by bainsey (Post 809735)

That's not the role of the PA announcer.

Originally Posted by BillyMac (Post 809743)

The citation reference is great, but how about a definition to back me up? Why should an official prohibit (not unsporting) play by play by the announcer? I know the answer in my heart, but I would like an answer in my brain, as well.

Originally Posted by bob jenkins (Post 809774)

Call it an artificial noisemaker then.

Originally Posted by bob jenkins (Post 809774)

Call it an artificial noisemaker then.

Originally Posted by BillyMac (Post 809745)

Who says what can, or can't, be announced?

Originally Posted by bainsey (Post 809913)

To some degree, we can. If you find the announcer to engage in unsportsmanlike conduct, deal with it.

Originally Posted by BillyMac (Post 809745)

Foul shots? OK. Field goals? OK. Assists? OK. Personal fouls? OK. Team fouls? OK. One minute warning? OK. Personal point totals, and fouls at halftime? OK. Most of us that have been around the block a few times can agree on that, I'm sure.

Now let's have some fun. Steals? Rebounds? Blocked shots? Nice screens? "Assist" before an assist? Scores from other conference, or league, games going on at the same time? Do you see where this is going?

Originally Posted by BillyMac (Post 809640)

I had a big city, girls varsity, game last week. Not a big game. Just a big city. Midweek game, just a few dozen fans in the crowd. Game starts with the announcer doing a great job announcing the starting lineups, the coaches, and introducing the National Anthem singers. I turn to my partner and say to him, "This guy's going to really pump up this crowd."

I seldom actually listen to game announcers, but I noted a few odd "announcements" during the first period. Not only would he announce points, assists, personal fouls, and team fouls, but he would occasionally add in some comments, like, "That was a great steal by Mary Smith". I mentioned to my partner between periods that the announcer may be going over some editorial "line in the sand", but we decided to just let it go.

Same thing in the second period. The announcements are hard to describe, but they are like the games that some of us may have seen back when ESPN used to broadcast those "And One" games, where the announcer is actually on the playing court with a wireless microphone. We also have a summer "proam" league here, with local professional, and college players, in the same city where this varsity high school game was played, and they also utilize an announcer on the playing court.

My partner, and I, discussed this at halftime, and we decided that there were no NFHS rules being broken here, and to just let it go, with a report to our assignment commissioner to follow after the game.

Well, with the home team up by a wide margin in the second half, the announcer decided to take it up a notch. The visiting fans seemed to take offense at some of the announcements. They didn't complain directly to us, there was just an uneasy murmur in the crowd. The straw that broke the camel's back was the following, "How could she miss both free throws?", after a visiting player missed both free throws. My partner, the referee, went over to the table and told him to cease and desist.

After getting our report, our assignment commissioner backed us up 100%, and told us that he would contact the school, also telling them to cease and desist.

Anybody else ever run into this problem? Are there any NFHS rules that define what game announcers can, and cannot announce? I don't believe that we get any guidance from our state interscholastic sports governing body in regard too this. Do other states have such guidelines in place?

Originally Posted by BillyMac (Post 809977)

Unsporting makes it easy to deal with. Anything left, or maybe right, of that, along the "announcing spectrum" can present problems of interpretation.