Is Jon Miller really a Hall of Fame-type announcer?
By Bryce Martin

NOTE: Jon Miller was in the news recently, and that reminded me of a past article in 2003 where I had mentioned him. It is reprinted below.


From the Merchant of Venom, Vitriol and Verisimilitude:

I've noted before from this sounding board how baseball broadcaster Jon Miller pronounced the Atlanta Braves' Rafael Furcal's last name three different ways in one game, actually in less than a minute in one game. There is no excuse for it.

I do not know what the practice is now, but I know that the Associated Press once sent out as part of its regular Teletype package a list showing how names were to be pronounced for any particular event. The AP got the lists from the various teams. My last name, for example, is pronounced Mar-tin. If I said I preferred Mar-teen, then that is how it would be listed for pronunciation.

Once a name was codified, so to speak, it was nearly impossible to change later on. The way a name was properly pronounced was considered important. Such pronunciation keys or guides are available from college and pro sports information departments.

When Dennis Rodman played for the Chicago Bulls, the public-address announcer for the Bulls always introduced him as being from "Southeast Oklahoma State University." It is Southeastern Oklahoma State University. Either no one noticed, cared, or wanted to bother in getting it right. Any of the three possibilities would likely fit Rodman. The error would be no different than referring to Western Kentucky's college teams as West Kentucky, or Northwestern University as Northwest University.

The most famous gaffe of this type is the one that gave the NFL's Tony Dorsett his "stage" name. His last name was always spelled Dorsett, but until he heard a PA announcer erroneously insert a long "e" at the end; he had never considered the possibility.

I know no one is perfect, and I like Mike Keith a whole lot and I think he does a great job with his play-by-play work for the Titans. In fact, I turn off the sound on my television and tune in Keith on the radio when the Titans are on the road. He does get the big bucks, though. For that reason and due to the fact he should know how to pronounce the names of all the Titans players and he should show consistency in doing so, I must criticize him for referring to Craig Hent-rich as Hent-rick. It is his job to get it right. Also, it helps to actually read what it is you are writing about. Print journalists take note.

Titans Football. That was the only wording on the front of the shirt worn by Titans head coach Jeff Fisher, "Titans Football" -- without the quote marks, of course. Fisher wore the shirt on the sidelines during the contest with the Steelers, and a similar one Sunday versus the Patriots. But, not according to The Tennessean sports columnist Joe Biddle. Biddle wrote a column after the Steelers-Titans game, in which he compared Fisher and Pittsburgh's coach, Bill Cowher. Biddle's point was that the two coaches were very much alike and that although they wore identical Reebok shirts for the game, there was a minor difference.

"The only difference was Jeff Fisher's shirt had 'Tennessee Titans' written on the chest while Bill Cowher's had 'Pittsburgh Steelers' on the front," Biddle wrote.

Fisher's shirt, in actuality, read "Titans Football," as I have mentioned. A little thing? Yeah, if you do it. However, Biddle gets paid to get even the little things right. Especially the little things.

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