Most people engage in spectator sports at one point or other in their lives but there’s a world of difference between watching the players and understanding everything that’s happening. Sports analysts are there to provide running commentary about the event, explain points of interest, talk about pre-match activities that may impact the gameplay and analyze what happened after the match has finished.
Most sports fans are unfamiliar with the intricacies of good sports analyses but true aficionados understand that having a good analyst review the match from all sides is akin to a FairGo Casino USA jackpot – there is non better. Some analysts specialize in a specific sport while others are qualified to give an accurate summary of different types of sports.
Who are the best sports analysts today?
John Smoltz
John Smoltz is a former Hall of Famer who was with MBL teams for 22 seasons, most of them with the Atlanta Braves. He was a starting pitcher for most of those years and is best remembered for having set a National League record for 55 saves and for enjoying a 20-win season. During his MBL career he was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1992 National League Championship Series.
Smoltz’s eye for detail has served him well as a commentator for Fox and MBL Network. He has also called regular-season and post-season games for TBS. Smoltz has been honored for his work with a 2021 Sports Emmy Award. He’s known for his witty, opinionated and humorous deliveries and his enthusiasm in teaching the game’s fine points.
Jeff Burton
For NASCAR racing commentary, there’s probably none better than NBC’s Jeff Burton. Burton is a South Boston native who grew up attending races at Martinsville Speedway. He was introduced to go-kart racing by his father along with his brother and both became racers – Jeff’s brother Ward is a former Cup Series driver. During his 20-year career Jeff scored 21 career victories in the NASCAR Cup Series. Today, his son Harrison and his nephew Jeb are NASCAR competitors.
As a driver, Burton was widely known as a thought-provoking interview. Sportscasters enjoyed interviewing him because he always added so much insight into his analysis of the events.
Jeff was a natural hire for NBC when they decided that they were going to bring in a top analyst for their 2015 NASCAR coverage. Previously, NBC had covered NASCAR up until 2006 when they halted their coverage but in 2015 Burton started broadcasting on the final 19 Nationwide Series events, the final 20 Spring Cup Series races, and NASCAR Regional and Touring Series events and other live content for the network.
Burton’s coverage was a success from the beginning and the following year the network hired Burton on a multi-year contract. He shares a booth with former crew chief Steve Letarte and is known for his deep knowledge and blunt opinions. In addition to his commentary, Burton is noted for his work on behalf of safety issues and programs in the industry including the creation of cockpits, uniforms, HANS devices, helmets, safer seats and track walls. He is known as “The Mayor by the media, fans and competitors.
Joe Micheletti
Hockey fans have come to rely on Joe Micheletti of NBC and MSG for their coverage of NHL action. Micheletti was a defenseman who has played with the Edmonton Oilers, the Calgary Cowboys the St. Louis Blues and the Colorado Rockies. He retired as a player in 1982 and over the years has worked as a color analysts or an ice level reporter for Fox, ESPN/ABC and NBC as their go-to hockey guy.
Over the years Micheletti has paired with hockey’s biggest and best commentators including Jiggs McDonald, Kenny Albert, Davd Hodge, Ken Wilson and Pierre McGuire. Before joining NBC he worked for a number of teams including the New York Islanders, the New York Rangers and the Minnesota North Stars.
Hockey fans turn to Micheletti for astute, observant and direct commentary that gives the listener the feeling that s/he is right up next to the ice.
Fran Fraschilla
Fran Franschilla comes to ESPN as an analysts for college basketball, primarily on Big 12 Conference men’s basketball games, with a long record as a college coach – 34th winningest active coach in man’s college basketball nationwide. The teams that he coached made 8 post-season appearances over the course of nine years including three NCAA Tournaments. At ESPN he has worked on NCAA Division | Wmen’s Basketball coverage and the FIBA World Championships as well as NBA and high school games.
Franschilla is best known for his almost-encyclopediadic knowledge of basketball. He works hard to understand the game and stay on top of the players, specifically the international talent and the new players coming up on the high school circuit. Hard-core basketball junkies turn to Franschilla for in-depth analysis of the games and of everything that happens off-court. A number of teams have asked Franschilla to return to coaching but for now, he is content to work as a broadcaster.
