His twangy voice often resembles an out-of-tune guitar.
And Scott Hastings talks too fast, often swallowing words like a hungry python.
As I’ve noted previously, such negatives can produce a grind- the-teeth viewer response when watching the Nuggets on Altitude, particularly in close contests in noisy arenas.
But Hastings now offers positives to counter this negative voice criticism.
In his fourth season as a Nuggets analyst, Hastings has developed into a knowledgeable NBA broadcaster who regularly does his homework.
And I enjoy Hastings’ self-deprecating style when he talks about his 11-season NBA career — much of which was spent on the bench.
A “homer” (in the positive sense), Hastings has been effusive in his praise of this season’s playoff team while regularly pinpointing its specific deficiencies.
During last Monday’s Nuggets division-clinching game against the Kings, Hastings deftly summed up the problems of Nene, saying the Nuggets center needs to “toughen up” for the playoffs, particularly under the offensive basket.
Hastings added that NBA players feel they can “get into Nene’s head,” thus throwing him off his game.
While regularly praising the explosive offensive ability of J.R. Smith, Hastings constantly reminds that Smith is a work in progress on defense. And Hastings supplies specific examples.
Such analysis by Hastings is usually made during timeouts or when the action slows on the court.
My frustration in deciphering Hastings occurs when the game action is fast and furious.
Hastings has been in Denver broadcasting for more that 16 years, after his career with five NBA teams, including the Nuggets.
He was with KOA 850 AM for a dozen years, teaming with Dave Logan on Broncos coverage and “The Sports Zoo,” a weekday sports-talk show.
In those KOA days, his delivery, while still rapid, was somewhat slower, possibly because of Logan’s patented, low-key style. Now, in addition to Nuggets coverage, Hastings works with Alfred Williams on a weekday talk show on The Fan (104.3 FM).
Does the pace of this often-frenetic show carry over to Hastings’ work in Nuggets games?
A native of Kansas and an alumnus of the University of Arkansas, Hastings’ twang probably is in his DNA.
Let’s call it a “KanArk” brogue and leave it at that.
But Hastings’ broadcasting profile could rise considerably if he’d slow down his game delivery.
The current playoff series with New Orleans would be a logical starting point.
Ratings roulette.
The final round of CBS’s coverage of the Masters was down 3 percent from last year, even though Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were in the championship hunt until the final holes. CBS executives point to the Easter celebration as the reason for the decline. Ratings of the Saturday telecast were 6 percent higher than in 2008. . . . The seasonal NBA audience ratings on TNT, ESPN and ABC were up an average of 6 percent over last season.
That’s why ABC bean counters dream nightly about a Finals matchup pitting the Kobe Lakers against the LeBron Cavaliers.
Longtime Denver journalist Dusty Saunders writes about sports media each Monday in The Denver Post. Reach him at tvtime@comcast.net.
A broadcasting legend.
Seemingly everyone but President Barack Obama and Rush Limbaugh have weighed in with opinions about John Madden’s 30-year broadcasting career.
Most commentaries have been positive, with a few pundits saying Madden’s style had become too predictable, too forced in recent years.
Still, Madden’s work on four networks certainly qualifies him as a legend — a term tossed around too casually in the broadcasting business.
Madden gained early success with Pat Summerall on CBS with his use of crude telestrators and his “Boom!” and “Whap!” descriptions of line play, particularly on snowy, muddy fields.
Offensive tackles and defensive ends loved him.
And Madden always was popular with guys at the bar who felt more comfortable with his sock-it-to- me style than with the growing breed of more erudite analysts.
It should be noted that Madden’s NFL analysis normally centered on the game at hand.
Rarely did he comment, away from the telecasts, on the numerous off-the-field problems that have risen in the NFL during the last 30 years.
NBC, logically, projected a sad corporate face because of Madden’s decision.
But with Cris Collinsworth taking over, Dick Ebersol and his sports comrades aren’t going to spend much time wringing their hands.
Collinsworth, based on his recent work on the NFL Network and two NBC stints replacing Madden last season, already qualifies as the best analyst working on television.
