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Post by gvt11 on Nov 7, 2024 13:19:21 GMT -5
And no, that’s not a slur. That’s just what we called him when I was in school a hundred years ago.
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Post by ticklesthetwine on Nov 7, 2024 13:44:17 GMT -5
BOTTOM!
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Post by pdlglm on Nov 7, 2024 14:40:53 GMT -5
I think he is pretty good. He just had to follow Ward, an nobody could have done that and been favorably compared.
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Post by cherokee04 on Nov 7, 2024 14:45:39 GMT -5
And no, that’s not a slur. That’s just what we called him when I was in school a hundred years ago. Congrats to Bob. He has always conducted himself like a pro. I think he was better in hoops. |
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Post by tns56 on Nov 7, 2024 14:54:49 GMT -5
I was attending a UT function in Memphis after Bob had been named as John Ward’s replacement. I had walked out to my car in the parking lot to place something that I had picked up at the event. Bob Kesling was walking towards me carrying a bunch of items. He placed the items on the asphalt, stuck out his hand and introduced himself to me. I was impressed that he would do something like that to somebody he did not know. www.rockytopinsider.com/2024/11/07/tennessee-bob-kesling-retiring-as-voice-of-the-vols-after-26-years/ |
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Post by ticklesthetwine on Nov 7, 2024 15:34:03 GMT -5
I guess I'm suppose to say Bob's a seemingly nice guy and all that, and probably he is, but his play by play left me wanting something more. But I wish him well.
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Post by wtmvol on Nov 7, 2024 16:21:32 GMT -5
I think he is pretty good. He just had to follow Ward, an nobody could have done that and been favorably compared. He is pretty good at basketball and mediocre at football. It would have been better if he were objectively bad. Then he could have been a short term interim and buffered the next person from Ward. He's like the announcer version of Bald Kevin 2. He wasn't bad enough to get rid of, so we had him for 25+ years. |
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Post by John C. on Nov 7, 2024 17:39:23 GMT -5
Kudos for a long career. I often listened to Bob while watching basketball games on TV. He actually did a very good job of keeping up with the action. I felt he was better for basketball than football. Upon hearing of his retirement plans, I immediately thought of potential successors. John Wilkerson and Mike Keith came to mind as good possibilities but I have no idea how Keith would do on basketball. Wilkerson has filled in for Kesling on basketball broadcasts in the past and done an excellent job. My "no way in h***" candidate would be Brian Rice. The Lady Vols have got him and they can keep him. Mike Wilson of the News Sentinel put together this list of candidates who have the requisite professional experience as well as a connection to Tennessee... www.knoxnews.com/story/sports/college/university-of-tennessee/football/2024/11/07/tennessee-voice-vols-bob-kesling-mike-keith-roger-hoover/75914728007/Mike Keith: Mike Keith has been the play-by-play announcer for the Tennessee Titans since 1999. He has worked for the franchise since it moved to Nashville in 1997. Keith, a UT graduate who idolized Ward growing up in Chattanooga, has won the Tennessee Sportscaster of the Year Award 12 times. Keith started his career at Tennessee working alongside Ward with the Vol Radio Network. He hosted daily sports talk shows in Knoxville for a decade and covered the Vols for WBIR. John Wilkerson: John Wilkerson is the longtime voice of Tennessee baseball of the Vol Network. His game-ending baseball call of "Hello, Win Column!" is widely adored by Tennessee fans. The baseball play-by-play commentator also co-hosts the morning radio show SportsTalk on WNML. Wilkerson, a Knoxville native and a 1988 Tennessee graduate, also handles in-studio anchoring for Tennessee football and men's basketball. Darren Headrick: Darren Headrick is on the broadcast team at Kentucky. The UT graduate is the play-by-play announcer for Kentucky women’s basketball and baseball, while hosting weekly coaches shows. Headrick's career includes more than a decade spent in college and professional sports. He worked as the TV and radio play-by-play announcer for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders prior to being hired at UK. He was named a Baseball America Best MLB Broadcaster Prospect honoree in 2015. He also was the play-by-play announcer for East Carolina baseball from 2012-14. The Maryville native has broadcast UT games on SEC Network+. He worked for the Vol Radio Network as an intern. Neil Price: Neil Price is the "Voice of the Bulldogs" at Mississippi State, where he is the general manager of WMSV radio. He has been the radio play-by-play announcer for MSU football and men's basketball since 2017. He served as the radio broadcaster for women’s basketball and baseball at Kentucky, as well as being the network manager for the University of Kentucky Sports Network from 2005-17. He was the broadcast coordinator at Middle Tennessee State from 2002-05. He is an MTSU graduate and a Morristown native. Roger Hoover: Roger Hoover, a UT grad, works in a full-time role for Alabama's Crimson Tide Sports Network. He hosts the football broadcast and calls play by play for basketball and baseball. Hoover has extensive experience across a variety of sports as a play-by-play broadcaster on SEC Network+ and ACC Network Extra. He spent 12 seasons broadcasting professional baseball, including five years doing the Miami Marlins spring training broadcasts. He was named the 2018 Southern League Radio Broadcaster of the Year while working with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. He started his career working for the Vol Network in 2006 as a student. |
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Post by brewii on Nov 8, 2024 6:47:05 GMT -5
Mike Keith would be the homerun hire here, but don't expect it to happen. He was the one I hoped would replace John back in 1999, but got a wonderful opportunity with the Titans which he has excelled at (I've been a Titans season ticket holder for years until this past season and listened to many of his play calls on the radio).
Agree with the consensus here that Bob was better at B-ball rather than F-ball. I just didn't enjoy listening to him call a football game. His desire to not use any of the catch phrases that we grew to love John Ward utter sealed the deal on me. I understand wanting to plow your own path, but to just to refuse saying any of the beloved phrases sealed the deal for me and I haven't listen to any of his football calls in years.
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Post by smyrnavol on Nov 8, 2024 8:29:47 GMT -5
Maybe Mike will realize he’s tired of calling games for an awful, dead franchise with no hope in sight.
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Post by cherokee04 on Nov 8, 2024 10:15:39 GMT -5
Mike Keith would be the homerun hire here, but don't expect it to happen. He was the one I hoped would replace John back in 1999, but got a wonderful opportunity with the Titans which he has excelled at (I've been a Titans season ticket holder for years until this past season and listened to many of his play calls on the radio). Agree with the consensus here that Bob was better at B-ball rather than F-ball. I just didn't enjoy listening to him call a football game. His desire to not use any of the catch phrases that we grew to love John Ward utter sealed the deal on me. I understand wanting to plow your own path, but to just to refuse saying any of the beloved phrases sealed the deal for me and I haven't listen to any of his football calls in years. Yep, I would guess that almost every Vol fan over the age of 35 or so though of Mike Keith as soon as the news of Kesling's retirement was released. But like you, I don't think we'd get him at this point unless AD White just threw money at him that we don't need to throw at a radio guy. With virtually every game televised these days, even factoring in that a segment of folks will turn down the TV volume and listen to the radio broadcast instead, it doesn't make sense to spend a TON of money on a radio PBP guy. JMO |
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Post by cherokee04 on Nov 8, 2024 10:20:00 GMT -5
Vince Ferrara (spelling?) who does baseball radio broadcasts with Wilkerson might be a dark horse kind of candidate. But of course some folks will be very good in one sport and maybe not so good in another.
The only concern I have with Wilkerson is that he's around 60 now, so you wonder how long he would want to even do it. And again, who knows if he'd be good at football?
My guess is White will want to go with someone a bit younger but who also has football PBP experience. At any rate, I'm sure White had a list of candidates on hand before any of us heard that Kesling was stepping down.
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Post by glenstorm on Nov 8, 2024 10:26:57 GMT -5
Mike Keith would be the homerun hire here, but don't expect it to happen. He was the one I hoped would replace John back in 1999, but got a wonderful opportunity with the Titans which he has excelled at (I've been a Titans season ticket holder for years until this past season and listened to many of his play calls on the radio). Agree with the consensus here that Bob was better at B-ball rather than F-ball. I just didn't enjoy listening to him call a football game. His desire to not use any of the catch phrases that we grew to love John Ward utter sealed the deal on me. I understand wanting to plow your own path, but to just to refuse saying any of the beloved phrases sealed the deal for me and I haven't listen to any of his football calls in years. Yep, I would guess that almost every Vol fan over the age of 35 or so though of Mike Keith as soon as the news of Kesling's retirement was released. But like you, I don't think we'd get him at this point unless AD White just threw money at him that we don't need to throw at a radio guy. With virtually every game televised these days, even factoring in that a segment of folks will turn down the TV volume and listen to the radio broadcast instead, it doesn't make sense to spend a TON of money on a radio PBP guy. JMO Bob was the sports guy at WBIR in Knoxville when I was a UT student. I'll miss Bob. Not like I still miss John Ward, but yeah. I love Bob, and he's a great VFL, but I always thought he was just a bit bland, lacking color. And I probably should keep my mouth shut on this, but I'll say this... For several reasons, if Mike Keith is the new Voice of the Vols, I will not listen to the Vol Network again until he retires or leaves. |
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Post by pdlglm on Nov 8, 2024 11:47:20 GMT -5
Keith is 57, so he is up there as well.
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Post by brewii on Nov 8, 2024 12:06:40 GMT -5
Yep, I would guess that almost every Vol fan over the age of 35 or so though of Mike Keith as soon as the news of Kesling's retirement was released. But like you, I don't think we'd get him at this point unless AD White just threw money at him that we don't need to throw at a radio guy. With virtually every game televised these days, even factoring in that a segment of folks will turn down the TV volume and listen to the radio broadcast instead, it doesn't make sense to spend a TON of money on a radio PBP guy. JMO Bob was the sports guy at WBIR in Knoxville when I was a UT student. I'll miss Bob. Not like I still miss John Ward, but yeah. I love Bob, and he's a great VFL, but I always thought he was just a bit bland, lacking color. And I probably should keep my mouth shut on this, but I'll say this... For several reasons, if Mike Keith is the new Voice of the Vols, I will not listen to the Vol Network again until he retires or leaves. Hmm, I've never heard a disparaging word about Mike Keith that I can recollect. |
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