Ranking Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan Among the Major Broadcasting Teams

There are no competent broadcasters working in sports media today, at least if the Internet is to be believed.

Joe Buck? A pompous windbag. Jim Nantz? A simpering suit. Jon Gruden? An insufferable sycophant. And the worst part is, none of them Know the Game the way you Know the Game.

This article is about some of those broadcasters. And yet, I've come today not to bury Caeser, but to praise him. For the most part, anyway.

I think a lot of them get a bad rap. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I feel bad for them—after all, it's a pretty decent gig. But I do think they make for something of an overeasy target.

Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan, the cornerstone announcers of the UFC, are no exception. As you may be aware, MMA and UFC opinions run rather hot on the web, where discussion board warriors grow strong and thick on a diet of Goldie blood and Emelianenko memories.  

I lost my train of thought. Right, so Goldberg and Rogan are wacky, maybe a little sloppy, perhaps a little stilted in one way or another. Maybe they don't Know the Game the way you do. But by and large, I think they're pretty good, and getting better.

Regardless, it looks like Joe and Mike are the UFC's A team for the foreseeable future. So how do they stack up against a cross-section of the nation's most visible sports broadcasting talent?  

5. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman

Joe Buck: "As I turn now to my partner Troy Aikman, Troy, it seems to this set of eyeballs that all the eyes in Carolina today are trained on one man: Mr. Cam Newton."

Troy Aikman: "That's absolutely right, Joe. Cam Newton is a promising young quarterback in this league.  When he throws the football down the football field, there's always a chance for six. He's special. He's a special player, Joe. I talked to Carolina's offensive coordinator yesterday, and he told me, he said, 'Cam Newton is a playmaker for us, and we will calibrate our offensive philosophy accordingly.' So look for him to be a focal point—for BOTH teams, not just Carolina and their offense, but for the defense of, you know, the OTHER TEAM—today."

Me: Mute.

4. Dan Shulman and Dick Vitale

This college basketball tandem of has actually grown on me a little in recent years.

Dickie V (or, as we call him in ACC country, Dookie V) has lately dialed back the "awesome baby"s and what not, leading me to believe he's a little more adept at hint-taking than another warmed-over ESPN shtick peddler I won't name here, but whose name could maybe rhyme with Fiss Ferman.

He's still Dick Vitale, though. What can you say? He's getting on in years. If I were him, I'd make a graceful transition into a well-cushioned retirement and let Jay Bilas assume the throne.

In the other seat, Dan Shulman is the guy who holds Vitale's leash while simultaneously trying to call the ball game. And he does a pretty fine job of it, as evidenced by his ever-widening portfolio. 

3. Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan

Call me crazy, but I think this is one of the better sports broadcasting tandems that I watch. And I watch a good amount of sports on TV.

Don't get me wrong: I see the warts. Goldberg talks sometimes when he should be watching (how many times has a crashing overhand right inconveniently interrupted one of his yarns about a fighter's childhood?), and he is prone to toeing the ol' company line a little too fervently. But he is a seasoned broadcaster, and his MMA knowledge base is growing all the time.

Joe Rogan is a little excitable, a little prone to hyperbole. But you know that going in. Personally, I enjoy it. It's an exciting sport; why not get excited? Plus, on more than one occasion, I've heard Rogan predict extended sequences of action almost to the inch. That's no small thing.

A few less "is this the greatest job in the world or what, bro?"s, and I think we'd be all set.

2. Jim Nantz and David Feherty

Hello, friends.

It always feels to me like Nantz is just a few seconds away from breaking down and crying on the air (especially at The Masters). 

I truly believe it will happen one day...he'll just get overwhelmed by some storyline and choke up. (And if Tiger wins the jacket this year, watch out.)

To be honest, I hope it does happen. Because the hilarious and underrated Feherty will be there to give him a good, old-fashioned, drunken Irishman's wench-slapping.

1. Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth

Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan have a long way before they reach the level of Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth.

Then again, so does pretty much everybody else.