Barstool Chicago Sports Broadcaster Draft Grades

Round 1 Pick 1: Charles Barkley, Chief

Don't get me wrong, Chuck is great at his craft. But there are plenty of people I think should go before him. I think he is probably a late first or early second round pick. He is funny and actually has a decent bit of analysis, plus his feud with San Antonio women is unmatched. But he just is not first overall material.

Grade: B

Round 1 Pick 2: John Madden, Eddie

Great pick, he was the godfather of the goofy color commentary guy. I never got to listen to him myself, but having seen clips of him I completely understand the hype. He is just an incredible man and an incredible broadcaster. 

Grade: A

Round 1 Pick 3: Lee Corso, Jake

Does his recent downfall counteract his decades of stardom? I don't think so. He is currently awful on Gameday, but I still love to tune in for his picks. He has so many legendary moments and I hope he does it for as long as he wants. Overall a great pick, but I don't think it will be as well received as it should be. 

Grade: A

Round 1 Pick 4: Bill Raftery, Jeff

I love when an announcer has a signature saying and Raferty's may be one of the best. He has a good big-game voice as well. He is also one that will look very good on the graphic. 

Grade: A

Round 1 Pick 5: Hawk Harrelson, Dave

Frankly, I don't know a lot about ol Hawk right here, but it's to be expected given he is a White Sox play-by-play guy and I have never been to Chicago. This is a bad pick, you can't pick someone like this in the first round. 

Grade: D

Round 2 Pick 1: Stuart Scott, Dave

I like Stu Scott. He was great on Sports Center and just seemed like an all-around wholesome guy. A great pick from Dave. 

Grade: A

Round 2 Pick 2: Mike Breen, Jeff

I don't watch a ton of NBA, but Mike Breen's a legend in every sense of the word. He probably has the most iconic phrase of any sports broadcaster, at leat in the modern era. The "bang!" is just so awesome, I will never get sick of it. 

Grade: A+

Round 2 Pick 3: Chris Berman, Jake

This was a great pick from Jake. I love Berman, he is just awesome. He probably could have been a first-round pick. I used to love come on man on Monday Night Football and the swam was always a great segment. There is nothing but good things to say about Boomer. 

Grade: A+

Round 2 Pick 4: Vin Scully, Eddie

He is certainly in the consideration for the best play-by-play announcer of all time. I have always found it so cool that he was with the team when they were in Brooklyn. That is something that will probably never happen again. Just an all-around good pick.

Grade: A+

Round 2 Pick 5: Keith Jackson, Chief

Another strong pick. He is probably the first or second most recognizable voice in college football, but he really was an all-around type guy. Just another great pick in a second round full of them.

Grade: A

Round 3 Pick 1: Peyton Manning, Chief

I don't know about this one. He has picked up a lot of steam in the past few years, but I think the Manning Cast can sometimes be a bit boring. The interviews are great on the broadcast, but the overall football watching is ok. 

Grade: B

Round 3 Pick 2: Erin Andrews, Eddie

Good pick. I would argue that Erin Andrews is the most notable sideline reporter right now. When I think of sideline, she is the first one. Great value in the third round. 

Grade: A

Round 3 Pick 3: Craig Sager, Jake

Pretty good one. The suits are iconic and he was a good interviewer. It is also not common that you have a super famous male sideline reporter, so good for him to find his niche. 

Grade: A-

Round 3 Pick 4: Bob Ley, Jeff

I don't know a bunch about Bob Ley, but he seems kinda meh. Not a good reaction from everyone else so you would have to say it isn't a great pick. 

Grade: C

Round 3 Pick 5: Suzy Kolber, Dave

Pretty solid pick from Dave. Probably one of the more recognizable sideline people out there. Not the best one, but a very good one. 

Grade: B

Round 4 Pick 1: Stephen A. Smith, Dave

I think Stephen A. is fine. I think he is very good when he is not debating if we are being honest. I know that is kind of opposite of his thing, but when he is calm and just talking ball, he is fantastic. One thing I don't like about him is that he is pretty much the pioneer of the take culture that has kinda ruined sports coverage. I hate that the best way to become famous in sports media is to just say controversial things that you don't necessarily believe. Anyways, he will do well on the graphic.

Grade: B

Round 4 Pick 2: Doris Burke, Jeff

Solid pick. I like Doris Burke. She always seems to know what she is talking about and is good at her job. Never heard anything bad about her either. 

Grade: B+

Round 4 Pick 3: Bill Walton, Jake

I think the pick is going to end up being good, but I just want it out there that I am so out on Bill Walton. He offers almost zero in-game analysis, he just does wild antics, and he praises the Pac-12 far beyond anything reasonable. He is just not entertaining. It was cute when he was doing the Stanford vs Washington State game on Tuesday night, but now he is getting marquee matchups and is forcing me to watch them on mute.

Grade: C

Round 4 Pick 4: Scott Van Pelt, Eddie

As a Maryland guy I always have to shout out a fellow Terp. But, despite his Maryland connection, he is just really good at being a host. He always has good insight, he asks good questions, and he never dominates an interview or conversation. Just the gold-standard host in the modern era. 

Grade: A

Round 4 Pick 5: Eddie Olczyk, Chief

Meh, this seems like a bit of a homer pick since he played for the Blackhawks. I don't necessarily hate the pick, but hockey nevers does amazing on the graphic. 

Grade: B

Round 5 Pick 1: Melissa Stark, Chief

I like to do some research on people that I don't know quite as much about for these and I found out that she is from Baltimore, so good for her. Apart from that she is just solid. I feel like it is hard to grade sideline people because most of them are just fine at their job. She is solid, but not quite as well-known as the other sideline reporters. 

 Grade: B

Round 5 Pick 2: John Kruk, Eddie

I have always been a baseball guy, so picking Kruk makes a ton of sense to me. He is solid on baseball tonight. Although I think it is a good pick, I don't think it will be received overwhelmingly well by voters, so I can't grade it too highly. 

Grade: B

Round 5 Pick 3: Ian Eagle, Jake

Ian Eagle is the definition of solid announcer. He isn't amazing but he is certainly not bad. He is just a very solid announcer. Maybe I am not up to speed on him, but I feel like I cannot remember and iconic call that he has had, which definitely hurts him. 

Grade: B

Round 5 Pick 4: Paul Bissonnette, Jeff

Hmmm, this isn't terrible but could be a bit of a Barstool homerism. He is very funny in general, but he can't use his full bag on TV. Nonetheless, he is great in round five. 

Grade: B+

Round 5 Pick 5: Pat Summerall, Dave

Man I loved Summerall as a color guy, how about you? But seriously, how can Dave not know what a color guy is or refuse to acknowledge that he was not naming color guys. 

Grade: F

I think Eddie has a very good draft from top to bottom. He has the best sideline, color, and studio in my opinion. It could also be argued he has the best play-by-play, just a truly great draft.

Predicted Winner: Eddie