I've made my views on him known. I can't stand his voice, especially when he gets excited. It sounds like a dying cat doing his best imitation of a turkey with a mouth full of marbles. I also think he's one hell of a homer.
That said, he undoubtedly belongs in the HHOF. If you can look past his voice, he does a great play-by-play. He's been an institution in the game for 40+ years, and is apparently as classy a guy as you can meet.
Location: Matt Ellis is my patronus, NY Joined: 06.28.2011
May 9 @ 12:58 PM ET
Its similar to Marty and Joe doing Reds games as RJ hes been the voice for all of our lives with me included so hearing anything thing else would break us out of our norm. Yes he does make several mistakes during a broadcast but ill take that over not being able to hear him at all.
edit: Like when Joe Knuxall was clearly aginr Brennamen took over 90% of the calls and Joe put in a comment here and there, but with our broadcast team that is not the case someone else needs to step up and well I dont see anyone currently who can do that.
Hear what you are saying so happy Bob Miller finally got to see the Kings raise the cup and get his ring.
Bob is over 70, and he definitely makes more and more mistakes these days, but ya know what, guys like Jeanneret and Miller have earned the right for us to cut them some slack.
Love when Jeanneret calls out "the shot" he does it in such a unique way..
I got DirecTV when it first came out and back then you got the regional sports networks and they would allow you to see hockey games on EMPIRE if you paid extra, never hear Jeanneret much until the early 90's.
Would always make a point to watch Sabre's games just to hear him call them.
Plus liked guys like Rob Ray mix it up.
Hopefully he sticks around a few more years and the Sabre's make that magical run.
Hear what you are saying so happy Bob Miller finally got to see the Kings raise the cup and get his ring.
Bob is over 70, and he definitely makes more and more mistakes these days, but ya know what, guys like Jeanneret and Miller have earned the right for us to cut them some slack.
Love when Jeanneret calls out "the shot" he does it in such a unique way..
I got DirecTV when it first came out and back then you got the regional sports networks and they would allow you to see hockey games on EMPIRE if you paid extra, never hear Jeanneret much until the early 90's.
Would always make a point to watch Sabre's games just to hear him call them.
Plus liked guys like Rob Ray mix it up.
Hopefully he sticks around a few more years and the Sabre's make that magical run. - fsanford
As a Kings fan, I don't have much occasion to hear him call games, but hearing him go insane when the Sabres score is pretty awesome. I can imagine that it would get pretty old pretty quickly, though. We are spoiled in LA with Bob Miller doing our TV and Nick Nickson doing our radio (and probably our TV soon since Miller is 75 years young and likely to retire soon). RJ is definitely better than the quacks they have in Anaheim.
I've made my views on him known. I can't stand his voice, especially when he gets excited. It sounds like a dying cat doing his best imitation of a turkey with a mouth full of marbles. I also think he's one hell of a homer.
That said, he undoubtedly belongs in the HHOF. If you can look past his voice, he does a great play-by-play. He's been an institution in the game for 40+ years, and is apparently as classy a guy as you can meet. - jmatchett383
I disagree!!!
Homer is chico, doing play-by-play for the Devils on MSG.
Location: Matt Ellis is my patronus, NY Joined: 06.28.2011
May 9 @ 1:29 PM ET
Yeah, I couldn't eat this stuff so much if I lived here, but living in SC for 10 years now, I have to hit all the regular places when I come visit - stashu
I disagree!!!
Homer is chico, doing play-by-play for the Devils on MSG. - Sabresfan88
Well there's a ton worse out there. Jim Jackson in Philly is pretty bad. Edwards is by far the worst (in most facets of play calling). But here's a typical RJ call of a Sabres fight:
(in a high-pitched voice) "Kaleta and Player A are gonna drop the gloves!!!!!!!"
(Kaleta throws 1 punch and then eats 7 straight uppercuts) "And it's Kaleta POUNDING AWAY with the rights!"
(Kaleta recovers, throws 2 jabs with the hand he's holding the jersey with and then eats several more dozen punches) "Kaleta showing no mercy, throwing haymakers, and Player A is in trouble!"
(Kaleta finally goes down from a late barrage of punches) "And finally Kaleta is able to take Player A down! Patrick Kaleta, showing why you never mess with him!"
Obviously, I' overdoing it a bit. But you get the idea.
Rick is one of the links to a failing past, just as Darcy is. If the Sabres organization doesn't make those long needed changes, the culture of this team will never change. How many losing seasons does an announcer have to have to get fired around here? He has NEVER announced for a Stanley Cup Championin his entire career. We need a younger guy who knows how the game is played today, not some classic style announcer.
Location: "All things considered (defense) I'd put a prime Kunitz on par with one way kessel." Joined: 04.10.2010
May 9 @ 5:28 PM ET
As much as his style can grow old, at least it does for me, he is a part of Sabres history. Him calling a Drury or Pominville goal is the first thing that comes to mind when a person mentions the Sabres. It will feel incredibly weird when that finally comes.
Location: Cancel my subscription to the resurrection. Joined: 10.15.2007
May 9 @ 7:19 PM ET
I've made my views on him known. I can't stand his voice, especially when he gets excited. It sounds like a dying cat doing his best imitation of a turkey with a mouth full of marbles. I also think he's one hell of a homer.
That said, he undoubtedly belongs in the HHOF. If you can look past his voice, he does a great play-by-play. He's been an institution in the game for 40+ years, and is apparently as classy a guy as you can meet. - jmatchett383
Everyone has their opinions. Believe it or not there are some out there that think Rene Rancourt sings a killer anthem in Boston.
