Having given this some thought

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husker70

husker70

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Its one thing to say Dave Lee is not the answer. The next is to suggest some candidates to replace him.

What is needed is a quick delivery, with the ablity bring insight, passion, and excitement in his voice. The ablity to turn a phrase, actually root for the home team, and even occasionally stick to a rival or even the officals.

I have a couple. In an early post someone mentioned Dan Rowe. Rowe is currently doing Stillwater Football and Basketball games. My word, the man has done major college football at Oklahoma, was the Vikings guy. Certainly, he would be not only available but a huge improvement. And Learfield could still use the 3-D promo. He is a big time talent worthy of the job.

Second, why not give Mike Grimm the nod, he is only bright spot in the Saturday Broadcast. When he sends it off to Evanston and Dave------ I get a sinking feeling and have scream NOOOOO! I have turned off the radio right there, and screaming why do that? I think Learfield could strike a deal with Mike and he would be the voice of the Golden Gophers move Eric Nelson into the pregame and tell Mike Max, ahh just go hunting.

Three, a dark horse Dan Terharre. Again a play by play guy stuck as a sports director. While he doesn't have the clout of Rowe, he is vastly superior to Lee. He would be an improvement.

I guess my idea here is to plead for additional candidates to send to Learfield and Joel Maturi. Can you help get rid of Dave Lee?
 


Have any of you heard Mark Lewandowski that does St Johns football and Basketball. I think he is outstanding.
 

Great Go4nut!

Add Lewandowski. I have heard him, and he has got it. He has all of what I stated above and more. I think he is KBHR 660 AM's go to guy, the rest is ESPN and some programing from Eric Nelson and Wally Langefellow.

As it stands right now, I would rank them

1. Rowe
2. Lewandowski
3. Grimm
4. Terharre


come on guys I am trying to be positive, lets have some more candidates.
 

husker70 said:
Add Lewandowski. I have heard him, and he has got it. He has all of what I stated above and more. I think he is KBHR 660 AM's go to guy, the rest is ESPN and some programing from Eric Nelson and Wally Langefellow.

As it stands right now, I would rank them

1. Rowe
2. Lewandowski
3. Grimm
4. Terharre


come on guys I am trying to be positive, lets have some more candidates.
Click to expand...

Another good candidate would be Warren Swain, current voice of USD but was previously at programs like Oregon and Nebraska.

http://www.usdcoyotes.com/sports/news/release.asp?release_id=4524
 


Tell Ray Christensen it's time go get back to work :). I know that won't happen, but he hardly sounded like he'd missed a beat in his short time during the AF game last year.
 

Warren Swain makes the list. I would think a simple phone call would do.



Give me some feedback on these 5. Have you heard them, do they have it?

The 2009 AP Award winner for play by play is Aaron Ziemer on KARL FM doing Minnesota State at Marshall Football.


The old horse is still going, whether he would take on the Gophers it might be worth asking.
Larry Knutson doing Cobber Football.


Now some lesser known, but better than Lee candidates.

Mike Morriesy KDHL doing Saint Olaf games, I have heard him and while he is engaging may not ready for prime time.

A second 2009 AP Award for play by play based on size of the station went to Jay Caldwell on WJON doing Saint Cloud State Football.

and finally a 2009 AP Honorable mention to the best highschool broadcast went to Joel Niemeyer. Joel is the voice of the Hutchinson Tigers. His talent is beyond the level of high school. But he is king of Hutchinson on Friday nights. Is he ready to step up?

I agree Ray still has it, he has it, but come on. The guy deserves his retirement, maybe a special occasion call but not the long term answer. Maturi and Learfield owe it to Ray and the fans to find the next Voice of Golden Gopher Football.


One caviate, the announcer is hired and employed by Learfield. Learfield and the U make the choice. Learfield buys the air time from WCCO to originate the broadcast. All advertising is arranged through Learfield. So the idea it has to be a WCCO guy, or someone acceptable to WCCO is of no concern. I think Learfield also sells the network stations on the broadcast not WCCO.
If I am wrong about this please correct me.
 

husker70 said:
I guess my idea here is to plead for additional candidates to send to Learfield and Joel Maturi. Can you help get rid of Dave Lee?
Click to expand...

You're wasting your time. You could send them the names of 1000 viable candidates, but it won't matter. It isn't the lack of candidates keeping them from making a change. They have a guy in house (Grimm) who is clearly more qualified to to the job. They simply won't pull the trigger as long as Joel Maturi is the AD. Joel is a Dave Lee guy. End of story.
 

tjgopher said:
You're wasting your time. You could send them the names of 1000 viable candidates, but it won't matter. It isn't the lack of candidates keeping them from making a change. They have a guy in house (Grimm) who is clearly more qualified to to the job. They simply won't pull the trigger as long as Joel Maturi is the AD. Joel is a Dave Lee guy. End of story.
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:confused:

Weren't you the guy who reivewed the Zapruder film and determined that Maturi was firing from the grassy knoll?
 



Iceland12 said:
:confused:

Weren't you the guy who reivewed the Zapruder film and determined that Maturi was firing from the grassy knoll?
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Nope, not me. I'm a 100% Maturi guy. Defend him to the end on this board. Just saying he likes Dave Lee and will keep Dave Lee in the announcer's seat. That's all. No conspiracy.
 

why not Wally Shaver?

I think Wally could do it - he has paid his dues - Ray did football and B-Ball - Why couldn"t Wally do football and hockey
 

tjgopher said:
Nope, not me. I'm a 100% Maturi guy. Defend him to the end on this board. Just saying he likes Dave Lee and will keep Dave Lee in the announcer's seat. That's all. No conspiracy.
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Reports of Dave Lee's support in the Gopher broadcast booth, in all seriousness this time, always seem to show that he's popular with listeners. I've never gotten one of those surveys and I would have to vote strongly against Mr. Lee but everytime they are announced, he comes out on time. :eek:

I don't know, maybe the people who can't stand him have just quit listening. Maybe the majority of the demographic that still listens to CCO broadcasts just don't like change period.

As for Maturi, maybe he's just happy to have at least one broadcaster in town that doesn't see the Gophers as a quick and easy punchline. Or maybe Tubby and Tim like that aspect also.:D
 

His name escapes me

How about the guy from Princeton, MN? He used to be the pre-game guy on Twins broadcasts, but has parted ways for the last couple years.
I can see his face, dark haired, I'm guessing he's in his late 20's, early 30's. He will broadcast games on the minor ESPN channels, including football.
I thought he was pretty good, but I guess not good enough that I remember his name! :banghead:
Add him to the list after someone helps me with the name!
 



CWCWCW said:
How about the guy from Princeton, MN? He used to be the pre-game guy on Twins broadcasts, but has parted ways for the last couple years.
I can see his face, dark haired, I'm guessing he's in his late 20's, early 30's. He will broadcast games on the minor ESPN channels, including football.
I thought he was pretty good, but I guess not good enough that I remember his name! :banghead:
Add him to the list after someone helps me with the name!
Click to expand...

Clay Matvick. He's doing ESPNU college football games on Saturdays.
 

tjgopher said:
Clay Matvick. He's doing ESPNU college football games on Saturdays.
Click to expand...

Yes. And while ESPNU is not all-that, he's basically the #1 play-by-play guy on the network and going from that to radio for the Gophers would be a step in the wrong direction.
 

Just make Grimm the voice of Gopher sports, if the guy cuts down a little on his official bashing he could be the next Ray Christiansen. I heard him call some football during the high school tournament, and he is already infinitely better than Dave Lee, add to that the fact that he is already in house and it's a no-brainer to me.
 

If you don't actually listen closely to Dave Lee, he sounds like a radio sportcaster. It's when you actually want information on what just happened on the field that he is found lacking. Did a running play gain or lose yards? Was the pass caught, and if so how many yards did it gain, and was it a first down? It's the important details that someone covering a 9-man game would know are the most important things, and he so often leaves them out. You have to judge by the sounds the crowd is making. It's like he forgets we can't see what is going on.
 

husker70 said:
Warren Swain makes the list. I would think a simple phone call would do.



Give me some feedback on these 5. Have you heard them, do they have it?

The 2009 AP Award winner for play by play is Aaron Ziemer on KARL FM doing Minnesota State at Marshall Football.


The old horse is still going, whether he would take on the Gophers it might be worth asking.
Larry Knutson doing Cobber Football.


Now some lesser known, but better than Lee candidates.

Mike Morriesy KDHL doing Saint Olaf games, I have heard him and while he is engaging may not ready for prime time.

A second 2009 AP Award for play by play based on size of the station went to Jay Caldwell on WJON doing Saint Cloud State Football.

and finally a 2009 AP Honorable mention to the best highschool broadcast went to Joel Niemeyer. Joel is the voice of the Hutchinson Tigers. His talent is beyond the level of high school. But he is king of Hutchinson on Friday nights. Is he ready to step up?

I agree Ray still has it, he has it, but come on. The guy deserves his retirement, maybe a special occasion call but not the long term answer. Maturi and Learfield owe it to Ray and the fans to find the next Voice of Golden Gopher Football.


One caviate, the announcer is hired and employed by Learfield. Learfield and the U make the choice. Learfield buys the air time from WCCO to originate the broadcast. All advertising is arranged through Learfield. So the idea it has to be a WCCO guy, or someone acceptable to WCCO is of no concern. I think Learfield also sells the network stations on the broadcast not WCCO.
If I am wrong about this please correct me.
Click to expand...

Warren Swain co-hosts an hour long sports show on the ESPN affiliate in Sioux Falls called the sports buffet. I listen to the show occasionally and he seems very knowledgeable and down-to-earth. He has a good radio voice, and often talks about his experiences throughout his career from around the country. He seems interested in Minnesota sports and interviews Darrell Thompson and other Gopher Football contacts often. It could be fun to listen to him call the South Dakota-Minnesota game this fall. I've never heard his play-by-play call so I'm interested in checking him out.
 

I would be so happy if Dan Rowe could somehow get the job. I used to turn off the T.V. volume and turn up the radio when he did the Vikings' games, he's awesome.
 

JoeDirt said:
Warren Swain co-hosts an hour long sports show on the ESPN affiliate in Sioux Falls called the sports buffet. I listen to the show occasionally and he seems very knowledgeable and down-to-earth. He has a good radio voice, and often talks about his experiences throughout his career from around the country. He seems interested in Minnesota sports and interviews Darrell Thompson and other Gopher Football contacts often. It could be fun to listen to him call the South Dakota-Minnesota game this fall. I've never heard his play-by-play call so I'm interested in checking him out.
Click to expand...

I have listened to his play-by-play quite a bit and he is a very solid announcer who I enjoyed with a ton of experience and is obviously very well respected as he has won sportcaster of the year atleast once in every state he has worked in prior to going to USD. I think he is the most qualified and experienced of all the candidates listed and you would assume would be interested in an opportunity like this if it presented itself.
 

FYI,

If there is a change, Mike Grimm is going to be the guy. End of story. Learfield wants one guy to be the Voice of the Gophers.

They will hire somebody to work pregame/postgame on 12 Saturdays on a contract basis. Grimm is already on the Learfield payroll and they aren't going to add a second person.
 

Uh, we don't know that....

anonymous said:
FYI,

If there is a change, Mike Grimm is going to be the guy. End of story. Learfield wants one guy to be the Voice of the Gophers.

They will hire somebody to work pregame/postgame on 12 Saturdays on a contract basis. Grimm is already on the Learfield payroll and they aren't going to add a second person.
Click to expand...

Or, do you know that? Inside information?

I've never seen Learfield give public statements stating that, nor have they ever written that in my few e-mails directed to this issue.
 

CWCWCW said:
I've never seen Learfield give public statements stating that, nor have they ever written that in my few e-mails directed to this issue.
Click to expand...

Well, why don't you tell us what they told you then?
 



There's a guy in Duluth named Mark Fleischer. Does an outstanding job on Bulldog games. Really gets into it without sounding like a cheerleader (i.e. Paul Allen). Is very articulate and doesn't seem lost like Dave Lee.
Fleischer's best sport is hockey. He does local high school radio broadcasts and occasional televised Bulldog games. He actually sounds quite a bit like Al Shaver.
 

CWCWCW,

First, I have had conversations with some folks in the know.

Second, if you look at how Learfield operates its other college properties, the model is to have one play-by-play guy for both sports and to have "a voice" for its properties. It gives them a solid brand ambassador and it is the economically prudent way of doing things.

Yes, they might have to have somebody fill in on a basketball game or two or three, but the job can essentially be handled by one person.

So, yes, if the Gophers move off of WCCO, expect Mike Grimm to handle both duties.
 

Wally not an improvement

holereader said:
I think Wally could do it - he has paid his dues - Ray did football and B-Ball - Why couldn"t Wally do football and hockey
Click to expand...

'cause he sucks--really bad, agaaaaaaaain.

Wally Shaver vs. Dave Lee is like Michigan vs. Ohio State--I hope the visting team plane crashes into the home team stadium...
 

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