Counting Down the Most Annoying Sports Personalities

One of the things I look at before watching a game is who will be doing the play-by-play and commentary. Most of the time, things are pretty well done and go smoothly.

Then there are times where things get annoying——you just want to scream at your television and throw the remote into it.

This is my personal "annoying" list of sports personalities. Feel free to add yours with a comment at the end.

Honorable Mention: Dick Vitale

10. Digger Phelps

Yea Digger we get it, you like to match your ties with your highlighters...real cute. There are some special occasions where Digger offers some good insight, but with having Bob Knight in a chair next to him, Phelps looks like a little giddy schoolgirl who is afraid to say anything critical.

9. Mark May

Mark May's job at ESPN is basically to disagree with anything and everything Lou Holtz says. They seem to do this a lot (Kiper and McShay), but it's more annoying than insightful.

While Mark is right most of the time, his appearance at the national championship game this year was more embarrassing than anything else.

8. Lou Holtz

Speaking of May's sidekick... While Lou may not realize he is annoying, his Dr. Lou segments and constant slurring and slurping of Notre Dame really gets old after awhile. Love ya, Lou, but I can't watch you.

7. Bill Walton

Perhaps it's just his speaking style (loooong aaandddd sloooww), but Bill gets on my nerves in just seconds.

Former players are a big risk to hire as analysts because some of them are very good and offer a lot to the viewer, but others just don't seem to get it. That's you Bill. Sorry.

6. Mike Greenberg

As an anchor on ESPN, Greenberg does pretty well. On his Mike & Mike in the Morning show however, he is completely annoying.

His Danny Tanner-like personality is actually quite embarrassing, but he plays up to it like it's cute and funny.

The show in itself is hard to listen to because of the weird things they do and overflowing love they have for anyone associated with ESPN.

5. Ron Jaworski

If ever there was a reason to stop watching Monday Night Football, this guy would be one of the reasons (the other reason later in the countdown).

"Jaws" seems to know everything and always has a joke or punch line to throw in. There really isn't anything I like about Ron.

4 Mike Tirico

...and the other reason I don't watch Monday Night Football. As if "Jaws" wasn't enough, they had to stick Mr. Tirico on here as the front man. Talk about a guy that will never have the balls to speak what's really on his mind.

The problem is he does a lot of different sports, so there are a lot of games where he is front and center. I just can't stand Tirico in any type of game he does.

3. Jim Rome

This one was easy. Jim Rome seems to think that he is so incredible that he can create his own language and terminology about himself and his show.

Not only does everyone love the video of him being attacked on his show by Jim Everett, but nobody can understand anything he says. He tries so hard to be funny and it just comes off even stranger because nobody knows what he is talking about.

2. Gus Johnson

When Gus Johnson is doing a game that I like, I have to either mute the TV or sit down with a bottle of Tylenol for my upcoming headache.

If anyone has ever gotten more excited over nothing, I have yet to hear of it. Gus Johnson yells practically every play, even if it's a four-yard run in the second quarter of a preseason football game.

Even worse, when something dramatic actually does happen, he nearly wets his pants. I thought I was going to die of a migraine when he called the Bengals vs. Broncos game earlier this year on that final play to win the game. Gus...calm down.

1. Bill Raftery

Whether it's "Onions!!!" or "A KISSS!!!," nothing sounds more annoying on my television. Raftery offers the viewer absolutely no insight to what's going on in the game——or what the coaches and players might be thinking.

After a big shot is made and a situation is playing itself out, all Bill can seem to do is yell out one of his strange, odd sayings.

It's a shame that such a great play-by-play guy like Verne Lundquist gets stuck with such an annoying commentator.