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English commentators Eddie Hemmings and Mike Stephenson at Parramatta Stadium during the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.

In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator is on screen rarely if at all. In North American English, other general terms for a commentator are announcer and sportscaster. ("Sportscaster" may also refer to a newscaster covering sports news.) In British broadcasting, the presenter of a sports broadcast is usually distinct from the commentator, and often based in a remote broadcast television studio away from the sports venue. Often, the main commentator (called a play-by-play in North America) is assisted by a color commentator, and sometimes a sideline reporter. In case of big events, teams consisting of many sideline reporters are placed strategically so that the color commentator has many sources to turn to, for example some sideline reporters could be in the dressing room area while others could be between the respective team benches.

Types of sports broadcasters[link]

Play-by-play announcers are the primary speakers, valued for their articulateness and ability to describe the events of an often fast-moving contest. Color commentators are valued for experience and insight into the game, and are often asked questions by the play-by-play announcer to give them a topic for analysis. The latter most often have gained their experience in the sport as a player and/or coach, while the former is more likely to be a professional broadcast journalist than a participant in the sport, although there are numerous exceptions to these general trends.

The most common format for a sports television broadcast is to have one of each type. An example is NBC Sunday Night Football in the United States, which is called by Cris Collinsworth, a former American football receiver, and Al Michaels, a professional announcer. In the United Kingdom however there is a much less distinct division between play-by-play and color commentary, although two-man commentary teams usually feature an enthusiast with formal journalistic training but little or no competitive experience leading the commentary, and an expert former (or current) competitor following up with analysis or summary. There are however exceptions to this - all of the United Kingdom's major cricket and snooker commentators are former professionals in their sports, while the legendary Formula One racing commentator Murray Walker had no formal journalistic training and only limited racing experience of his own.

Another difference between the two types is that color commentators will almost always announce only a sport in which they played or coached, while play-by-play announcers, such as Michaels and David Coleman in the UK, may have careers in which they call several different sports at one time or another. However, Brad Daugherty, a former professional basketball player, currently appears on coverage of NASCAR auto racing on ESPN.

Although the combination of a play-by-play announcer and one or more color commentators is standard today, in the past it was much more common for a play-by-play announcer to work alone. Vin Scully, longtime announcer for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, is one of few examples of this practice still existing today.

United States[link]

While there were sports broadcasts from 1912, the first sports commentary was broadcast in April 1921 by Florent Gibson of the Pittsburg Star newspaper covering the fight between Johnny Ray and Johnny "Hutch" Dundee at the Motor Square Garden, Pittsburgh.^[1]

In the United States, nearly all professional sports teams, most collegiate teams—as well as a dwindling number of high schools have their own Sports commentators, who are usually recognized as the voice of the team on radio broadcasts and are often identified as part of the team like the players or the coaches. In addition, television networks and cable channels will have their own stable of play-by-play announcers that work with various teams.

See also[link]

Look up sportscaster in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• List of sports announcers
• List of Major League Baseball retired numbers#Broadcasters

References[link]

External links[link]

• Sportcaster Chronicles - Internet radio show in which John Lewis interviews leading American sports announcers.

Boom goes the dynamite is the nickname given to a college sportscast at Ball State University in March 2005 that became an internet sensation. Covering the March 22, 2005 NBA game between the Indiana Pacers and New Jersey Nets, sportscaster Brian Collins monotonously says the phrase "boom goes the dynamite" as Pacers shooting guard Fred Jones hits a 3 with 2:03 left in the first quarter. Collins incorrectly gives the final score as Pacers 63 - Nets 61 (which was the score with 3:42 left in the third quarter); it was actually Nets 98 - Pacers 91.^[1]

During his freshman year, Collins agreed to appear on Ball State University's campus newscast in place of the regular sportscaster who was ill. The teleprompter was operational, but an inexperienced operator accidentally fast-forwarded through the script, leaving Collins with no choice but to ad-lib most of his script.^[2] Eventually posted on YouTube, the newscast is now known as "the Collins incident" in communications classes.^[2][3]

Collins' sportscast was also featured on television and radio throughout the country and earned him an appearance on The Late Show (hosted by Ball State alumnus David Letterman).^[4]

A trademark application on the phrase was filed but ultimately abandoned by a San Diego-based speculator who offered it on t-shirts, saying that part of the proceeds would go to a scholarship fund at Ball State for journalism students.^[5]

ESPN SportsCenter anchor Scott Van Pelt sent Collins words of encouragement and paid homage to him using the "boom" catchphrase on the air several times.^[2]

In 2009, the Fox Sports program Best Damn Sports Show Period called the clip the #1 biggest "sports blooper" in all of televised sports reporting history.

Collins, among other internet stars, is set to star in the upcoming film The Chronicles of Rick Roll.^[6]

Popular culture[link]

The line Collins made famous has appeared in popular television programs.

• It is a catchphrase of animated character, Cleveland Brown, during or immediately following coitus.
  • Cleveland first used in the Family Guy seventh season premiere episode, "Love Blactually."^[7]
  • The phrase followed Cleveland to his spin-off, The Cleveland Show. During the January 23, 2011 episode, "Like a Boss", Cleveland uses the phrase during spontaneous, off-camera sex in the living room with his wife
  • He and Donna utter it twice and once, respectively, in the December 4, 2011 episode, "Sex and the Biddy".
• In "The Boy Can't Help It" episode of King of the Hill, one of Bobby Hill's "girlfriends" uses the phrase while they are playing video games at the Hill's house.^[8]
• In Pride FC "Best of Knockouts, Vol. 2," Mauro Ranallo used the line to describe the "Fastest Knockout" segment of the program.
• In the episode of How I Met Your Mother titled "I Heart NJ", Stella introduces her basement as "the coolest bar in the state, which is so close it will blow your mind," using the line.^[9]
• In the Veronica Mars episode "Welcome Wagon," Veronica uses the line when the police open a garage full of stolen goods.
• On the October 15, 2008 episode of The Colbert Report, Colbert uses the line while providing commentary on an unexciting chess match during his "Sport Report" segment.
• Will Smith used the line after a mispronunciation during the 81st Academy Awards.^[10]
• A character in Wanted uses "Boom goes the dynamite." ^[11]
• On the March 12, 2009 episode of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, host Jon Stewart exclaimed "Boom goes the dynamite!" after insulting Jim Cramer.
• In the Disney series Jonas, Kevin Jonas uses the line when his father says that Kevin's mother was the 23rd love of his life.
• Big D and the Kids Table's song "Doped Up Dollies On a One-Way Ticket to Blood" from their 2009 album, Fluent in Stroll, opens with the lyric "Boom goes the dynamite, dynamite, dynamite, boom goes the dynamite, dynamite, boom!"
• Borderlands for Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 3 has an achievement titled "Boom Goes the Dynamite!" for killing 50 enemies with explosive-based attacks.
• Keith Olbermann has used the phrase during highlights on Football Night in America and on occasion on his self-titled Countdown program.
• In 2010, Woody and Rizzuto Show sports reporter Tony Patrico started using the phrase, "Boom Goes The Dynamite" on KPNT after he botched up the sports reports numerous times. He closes every sports segment with Brian's famous line.
• In the Travel Channel show Man vs. Food, during a live eating challenge at Shula's Steakhouse before Super Bowl 44, after an awkward comment from one of the color commentators for the challenge, host Adam Richman used the phrase.
• In the season 2 premier of Warehouse 13, Claudia uses the line when Artie exposes a chameleon mine. Also said by Claudia in the season 3 episode Don't Hate the Player, when retrieving game-Leena's feather from her inventory.
• In the popular online video series, Marvel vs. DC by ItsJustSomeRandomGuy, Deadpool uses this line after shooting Watchmen star The Comedian.
• The line is spoken by the title character in the satirical Broadway musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson.
• In Episode 3 of "Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse", a game by TellTale Games, "...and boom goes the dynamite" is one of several lines that can be heard from the radio sports announcer when the player is waiting to hear the finishing move that "Skunkape" uses on his opponent.
• In the November 22, 2010 episode of House M.D. entitled "Small Sacrifices" (Season 7, Episode 8), Dr. Gregory House, portrayed by Hugh Laurie, exclaimed, "Boom goes the dynamite, scores are tied, and we are even-steven!" after purportedly catching Dr. Lisa Cuddy, portrayed by Lisa Edelstein, in a lie.
• During the January 24, 2011 episode of Gossip Girl, 12th episode of Season 4 "The Kids Are Not Alright" Nate Archibald's recently paroled father wins a Wii Tennis Game against two women in maids outfits and exclaims, "Boom Goes the Dynamite".
• While giving the Fox 4 (Kansas City) morning weather report on February 1, 2011, Don Harman utters a "Boom goes the dynamite" at the 2:00 mark in regards to a sudden precipitation expansion on the radar replay.
• NBA Jam (2010 video game) includes "Boom goes the dynamite" as one of the many one-liners used when players score a basket.^[12]
• In the pilot episode of Breaking In, Cash uses the phrase as he continually pranks the new team member.
• Brian was featured in the "Web Redemption" segment of the May 24, 2011 episode of Tosh.0 ^[13]
• In the episode of Dan for Mayor on July 17, 2011 entitled The Art of Gambling, Deputy Mayor Alan is heard saying "...boom goes the dynamite" in a conversation with a new artist.
• In a Kiowa Casino commercial near Lawton, Oklahoma, after an old woman wins a poker hand, she slams the cards down on the table and says "And boom goes the dynamite!"
• In the video game Saints Row: The Third, the achievement/trophy for completing all instances of the "Heli Assault" activity is called "And Boom Goes the Dynamite."^[14]
• In the video game APB:Reloaded, the Steam achievement for killing all the enemy players at a time by making a vehicle explode is called "Boom goes the Dynamite"
• On the NBC Sports Report during the 2012 Bay Hill Invitational, host Jimmy Roberts uses the phrase, "and as a sportscaster once famously said, 'Boom goes the dynamite.'", while reporting on the implosion of the Amway Arena in Orlando, Florida.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Boom Goes the Dynamite on YouTube
• Article from Ball State Daily News

Carl Froch
Statistics
Real name	Carl Froch
Rated at	Super Middleweight
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Reach	74½″ / 189cm
Nationality	English
Born	(1977-07-02) 2 July 1977 (age 34) Nottingham, England
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	31
Wins	29
Wins by KO	21
Losses	2
Draws	0
No contests	0

Medal record
Competitor for  England
Men's Boxing
World Amateur Championships
Bronze	Belfast 2001	Middleweight

Carl Froch (born on 2 July 1977) is a British professional boxer and the current IBF Super Middleweight Champion and former two-time WBC Super Middleweight Champion. He has also held the British, Commonwealth and English titles at super middleweight.

Amateur[link]

Froch began boxing at his home in Colwick, Nottingham at 9 years old. He later joined the Phoenix ABC in Gedling, near Nottingham. As an amateur, he won two ABA Middleweight titles in 1999 and 2001 and a bronze medal at the 2001 World Amateur Boxing Championships before turning pro and having his first pro fight in March 2002. As an amateur, Froch lost to American Peter Manfredo Jr. in a 4th round technical knock out.^[1]

During his amateur career, he lost a fight to Denis Inkin, who he was scheduled to fight in a title eliminator in 2008, but Inkin pulled out on three occasions.^{[citation needed]}

Professional career[link]

Froch has had 31 professional fights, with 21 knockout and 8 decision victories, suffering defeat only twice.

Froch is trained by Robert McCracken and managed by Barry Hearn.

In 2004, he won the vacant British and Commonwealth Championships. He has defended both against Brian Magee, Tony Dodson, Matthew Barney and Damon Hague, and the Commonwealth belt alone against Ruben Groenewald and Dale Westerman.

Following a victory over the Russian Sergey Tatevosyan, on the 9 November 2007 at Trent FM Arena in Nottingham he stopped veteran ex-world champion Robin Reid, after which Reid retired.^{[citation needed]}

He is a supporter of Nottingham Forest and has a season ticket, making him a popular figure among Forest fans. He occasionally trains at Forest's training ground when a fight is upcoming.^[2][3] He has also appeared on the popular Sky Sports Saturday Morning Football show Soccer AM the week before a fight.^[4][5] He has been a special guest at the City Ground on a number of occasions and received a warm welcome from the Forest faithful.^{[citation needed]}

On 10 May 2008, at the Trent FM Arena in Nottingham Carl Froch stopped unbeaten Polish Albert Rybacki in the 4th round of a scheduled 12. Rybacki was drafted in as a last-minute replacement after initial opponent Denis Inkin pulled out on two occasions and no Top 30 fighter was willing to take the fight at two weeks' notice.^{[citation needed]}

Jean Pascal[link]

On 6 December 2008, Froch fought Canadian Jean Pascal for the vacant WBC super middleweight title and won after a hard-fought 12-round brawl.^[6] Both combatants showed enormous grit and determination, landing and taking huge shots from one another without even flinching. After the fight, it was revealed that Froch had sustained a perforated eardrum and a cracked rib in his final sparring session before the fight. Froch's promoter Mick Hennessy gave Froch the opportunity to withdraw from the fight, but Froch refused.^[7] Since the fight, Froch and Pascal (who has since become a Light Heavyweight Champion) have become friends on a personal level and have made a promise to face each other again in the future.^{[citation needed]}

Jermain Taylor[link]

On 25 April 2009, Froch fought Jermain Taylor in his first defence of his WBC super middleweight title, at the Foxwoods Resort in Foxwoods, Connecticut. Froch survived a third-round knockdown – the first of his entire career, amateur and professional – and, behind on two of the three judges' cards coming into the final round, he managed to stop his opponent with a 12th round knockout on to retain his WBC Super Middleweight title.

After the fight, Froch was quick to send out a verbal challenge to unbeaten Welsh boxer Joe Calzaghe and was also quoted as saying "Kessler, Pavlik, Hopkins, I want them all to feel the force."^[8][9]

Super Six World Boxing Classic[link]

On 13 July, Froch agreed to take part in the Super Six World Boxing Classic super middleweight tournament devised by American giant Showtime. The tournament features 6 boxers including Andre Dirrell, Mikkel Kessler, Arthur Abraham, Jermain Taylor, Andre Ward and Froch himself. Froch's first opponent in the Super Six was Andre Dirrell.

Andre Dirrell[link]

The bout took place in Nottingham on 18 October and Froch's WBC title was on the line. Froch won the fight and retained his title with a split decision victory over the previously undefeated Andre Dirrell.^[10][11] Two of the judges scored the bout 115-112 in favour of Froch, with the other scoring the bout 114-113 in favour of Dirrell.^[12] There is widespread discussion in the boxing community about the fairness of this result.^{[citation needed]}

Mikkel Kessler[link]

Froch's next fight was against Mikkel Kessler, who lost the WBA Super Middleweight title to Andre Ward.^[13] Froch's WBC title was again on the line. In a closely fought contest in Kessler's home country of Denmark where both men had great moments throughout the fight, Kessler took Froch's title and inflicted Froch's first professional defeat via unanimous decision, the judges scoring the contest by margins of 116-112, 115-113 and 117-111. The scoring was some what controversial, as some boxing announcers had scored the fight much closer, with some awarding Froch the win and others scoring it a draw.^{[14][15][16][17]} Froch later stated that the fight was close and that he believes the decision would have gone his way if the event had been held in Nottingham.^[18] The Fight was a contender for the 2010 Fight of the Year.

Arthur Abraham[link]

Froch faced former IBF Middleweight Champion Arthur Abraham in the third stage in Helsinki Finland at the Hartwall Finland fearing that if he fought in Abraham's adoptive home country he may getted mugged. However, since an eye injury forced Mikkel Kessler to relinquish his WBC title and resign from the tournament, Froch-Abraham was for the vacant WBC super middleweight title. Both Froch and Abraham came off of a loss in stage two of the Super Six. Abraham lost after a disqualification against former Froch victim Andre Dirrell.

Froch regained the WBC super middleweight title by gaining a unanimous points victory over Arthur Abraham in Helsinki. Many^[who?] doubted Froch would last the distance against the more powerful Abraham and that made Abraham the bookies' favouite, Abraham would knock him out. Pundits^[who?] also felt that Froch's awkward and unorthodox hands by his waist style would be no match for Abraham's power. Froch won the fight against Abraham in a dominant manner, with the scores given by the judges of 119-109, 120-108 and 120-108, reflecting the one-sided nature of the bout.^[19]

Glen Johnson[link]

Off the heels of his victory over Abraham, Froch entered the semifinal stage of the tournament. His semifinal opponent on 4 June 2011 in Atlantic City, New Jersey was Glen Johnson. Froch retained his title with a majority decision victory, with the scores given by the judges of 116-112, 117-111, and 114-114.^[20] After the fight Froch criticised the Japanese judge Nobuaki Uratani an interview on Sky's Ringside show remarking that he "must have fallen asleep after round 3."^{[cite this quote]}

Andre Ward[link]

He lost to Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward in the Super Six final.^[21]

No Easy Way Out[link]

The IBF officially enforced Carl Froch as Lucian Bute's number one mandatory challenger. The fight, billed as "No Easy Way Out", took place on 26 May 2012 in Froch's hometown of Nottingham.^[22] Despite being the overwhelming underdog with bookmakers, critics and fans around the world, Froch dominated Bute throughout the fight to become the IBF Super Middleweight Champion via TKO in round five and also to become a three-time world champion.^[23][24]

Professional boxing record[link]

29 Wins (21 knockouts, 8 decisions), 2 Losses (0 knockouts, 2 decisions), 0 Draws[25]
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Win	29–2	Lucian Bute	TKO	5	2012-05-26	Capital FM Arena, Nottingham, United Kingdom	Won IBF Super Middleweight title.
Loss	28–2	Andre Ward	UD	12	2011-12-17	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	Lost WBC Super Middleweight title.
Win	28–1	Glen Johnson	MD	12	2011-06-04	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	Retained WBC Super Middleweight title.
Win	27–1	Arthur Abraham	UD	12	2010-11-27	Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland	Won vacant WBC Super Middleweight title.
Loss	26–1	Mikkel Kessler	UD	12	2010-04-24	MCH Arena, Herning, Denmark	Lost WBC Super Middleweight title.
Win	26–0	Andre Dirrell	SD	12	2009-10-18	Trent FM Arena, Nottingham, United Kingdom	Retained WBC Super Middleweight title.
Win	25–0	Jermain Taylor	TKO	12	2009-04-25	Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut, United States	Retained WBC Super Middleweight title.
Win	24–0	Jean Pascal	UD	12	2008-12-06	Trent FM Arena, Nottingham, United Kingdom	Won vacant WBC Super Middleweight title.
Win	23–0	Albert Rybacki	TKO	4	2008-05-10	Trent FM Arena, Nottingham, United Kingdom
Win	22–0	Robin Reid	TKO	5	2007-11-09	Trent FM Arena, Nottingham, United Kingdom	Retained BBBofC British Super Middleweight title.
Win	21–0	Sergey Tatevosyan	TKO	2	2007-03-23	Trent FM Arena, Nottingham, United Kingdom
Win	20–0	Tony Dodson	KO	3	2006-11-24	Trent FM Arena, Nottingham, United Kingdom	Retained BBBofC British & Commonwealth (British Empire) Super Middleweight titles.
Win	19–0	Brian Magee	KO	11	2006-05-26	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, United Kingdom	Retained BBBofC British & Commonwealth (British Empire) Super Middleweight titles.
Win	18–0	Dale Westerman	TKO	9	2006-02-17	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, United Kingdom	Retained Commonwealth (British Empire) Super Middleweight title.
Win	17–0	Ruben Groenewald	TKO	5	2005-02-12	Trent FM Arena, Nottingham, United Kingdom	Retained Commonwealth (British Empire) Super Middleweight title.
Win	16–0	Matthew Barney	UD	12	2005-07-09	Trent FM Arena, Nottingham, United Kingdom	Retained BBBofC British & Commonwealth (British Empire) Super Middleweight titles.
Win	15–0	Henry Porras	TKO	8	2005-04-21	Avalon, Hollywood, California, United States
Win	14–0	Damon Hague	TKO	1	2004-09-24	Trent FM Arena, Nottingham, United Kingdom	Retained Commonwealth (British Empire) and won vacant BBBofC British Super Middleweight titles.
Win	13–0	Mark Woolnaugh	TKO	9	2004-06-02	Trent FM Arena, Nottingham, United Kingdom	Retained Commonwealth (British Empire) Super Middleweight title.
Win	12–0	Charles Adamu	UD	12	2004-03-12	Trent FM Arena, Nottingham, United Kingdom	Won Commonwealth (British Empire) Super Middleweight title.
Win	11–0	Dmitry Adamovich	TKO	2	2004-01-30	Dagenham, Essex, United Kingdom
Win	10–0	Alan Page	TKO	7	2003-11-28	Derby, Derbyshire, United Kingdom	Won vacant BBBofC English Super Middleweight title.
Win	9–0	Vage Korcharyan	UD	8	2003-10-04	Alexandra Palace, London, United Kingdom
Win	8–0	Michael Monaghan	TKO	3	2003-04-16	Trent FM Arena, Nottingham, United Kingdom
Win	7–0	Varuzhan Davtyan	TKO	5	2003-03-05	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, United Kingdom
Win	6–0	Valery Odin	TKO	6	2003-01-28	Trent FM Arena, Nottingham, United Kingdom
Win	5–0	Mike Duffield	TKO	1	2002-12-21	Dagenham, London, United Kingdom
Win	4–0	Paul Bonson	UD	6	2002-10-25	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, United Kingdom
Win	3–0	Darren Covell	TKO	1	2002-08-23	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, United Kingdom
Win	2–0	Ojay Abrahams	KO	1	2002-05-10	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, United Kingdom
Win	1–0	Michael Pinnock	TKO	4	2002-03-16	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, United Kingdom	Professional Debut.

Titles in boxing[link]

Major World Titles:

• WBC Super Middleweight Champion (168 lbs)
• (2) WBC Super Middleweight Champion (168 lbs)
• IBF Super Middleweight Champion (168 lbs)

Regional/International Titles:

• BBBofC English Super Middleweight Champion (168 lbs)
• Commonwealth (British Empire) Super Middleweight Champion (168 lbs)
• BBBofC British Super Middleweight Champion (168 lbs)

Personal life[link]

Froch was born in Nottingham in 1977. He is of Polish heritage.^[26][27] Early in his life Froch wanted to become a footballer and play for Nottingham Forest, his local football team, and has stated that he would love to fight at the City Ground. Froch is an avid fan of Johnny Cash and is also a keen historian with regards to combat. His partner is UK glamour model Rachael Cordingley. In his column for the Nottingham Evening Post, he announced the birth of his first child Rocco who weighed 6 lbs 14.5oz. During a recent interview with Sky Sports, he described himself as a consummate professional without prompting.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Professional boxing record for Carl Froch from BoxRec