Mr. Button

[Spider68]

I have the greatest respect and awe of his knowledge and achievements. That said, during this USFSA championship broadcase, was it me or did others notice a lack of "punch" in his delivery and a lot of stammering (not that I blame him in the Men's final!)...Friends watching with me commented on how gaunt he appeared. Hopefully, it's just all part of his recovery from the fall and given a few more months, we'll all have "Dick" to pick apart and criticize.

[Sk8n Mama]

And he was confusing all the jumps-calling triples doubles and vice-versa. That's not like him. he really did not look well.

[Inside Edge]

Since his injury, he has not looked as well as before. He is thinner and one eye appears to squint a little.

Because his age is advancing and he has been the dominate commentator of figure skating, I wish ABC would allow Dick to be hired by NBC for the 2006 Olympics. A precedent has bee set for this. ABC allowed Jim McKay to work for NBC in St. Lake City. As many quirks as Dick has, he is much better than the announcers hired by NBC in the past.

[Spider68]

As much as I would love to hear Uncle Dick do the color commentary, NBC already set the precedent...I expect that CBS will "loan" Scott Hamilton again to do the Olympic commentary. I guess it's a good deal -- we get the usual Hamiltonism's (nails it, hardest jump after a fall, etc.). I also enjoy Brian Boitano's comments - he's very knowledgeable and never (to my recollection) overly critical. Either would be great if Dick is not available.

[duane]

Dick has lacked "punch" for a while now--at least several years. personally, i think he did much better at this years Nationals than he's done in a while.

Scott probably will commentate at the Olympics, but i hope not! i'll take Dick Button's stammering commentary over Scott's anyday!

[joyjoy]

I appreciate Button's honest words in his figure skating commentaries but during the us championships, he seemed to grasp for words very often. He seemed lost for words. A lot of stuttering, stammering and a lot of miscalls such as saying doubles instead of triples or miscalling jumps were very noticeable. I like peggy fleming's commentaries. She takes her time when she speaks. It's very comforting to listen to her voice. Should Button retire, I would say put Peter Carruthers and give him a chance.

[mskater13]

I think at the U.S. Nationals this year, Button was definitely lacking something.. I was kind of annoyed with some of his commentaries, he seemed a bit too critical on most of the skaters, with about 75% critical statings and 25% positive. It's always good to be critical, but overly critical can be a little offensive. If some non-skating spectators were listening to Button, they would get pretty confused and really not understand it.. I remember Button at Nationals this year relating skating to some sort of Russian Opera..where's the sense in that? I think Peter Carruthers is a good commentator. Peggy Fleming is also good, but she sometimes only states the obvious.

[JillLaQ]

Nationals without Dick is like the Stones without Mick. I agree that he's getting old, but I'm really going to miss him when he finally retires. I don't know who could do the sport as much justice. Scott is rather biased, Peggy is too nice, I like Peter, and Brian isn't bad either.

I wonder if one day Michelle will pick up the gauntlet and get in the booth one day? She is the most decorated skater of this generation, and seems to have a likeable way about her.

[Sing_Alto]

I miss the days of Dick, Brian and Terry. They seemed to have a lot of fun in the booth. I especially enjoyed it when Brian and Terry would jokingly gang up on Dick when he was getting annoying. I also think that Brian was the perfect counterpoint for Dick's acid tongue. Dick would get too mean, so Brian would point out something good the skater had just done. That said, I think that we got to see a bit of the "Kinder, Gentler" Dick Button this year. He wasn't nearly as mean as he's been in the past.

[md2be]

Did you also notice that Terry kept interrupting Dick when he started rambling?

I think the head injury affected his speech pattern, and unfortunately I think it is time for him to retire. If he stepped back and looked at his present day performance comparted to years past, I think he would be embarassed.

On the other hand, my father is about his age, and to be honest, his speech flows less easily these days, too. Maybe it isnt the head injury, although I remember starting a thread like this the season after it occurred.

just my two cents.

[yogurtslinger]

Yeah, I agree with whoever said that he really hasn't seemed the same since his injury. I feel really bad about it since Dick is probably my favorite commentator because he can be so insightful!

(referring to Oksana): "... her legs are like exclamation marks..."

And of course, that comment about some skater being the "quint-essential pre-Raphaelite heroine" (hope I didn't just mess that up), to which some other jockish commentator replied "... Yes."

Man, I miss him a lot.

[love2sk8]

I say we lend the Americans Tracey, Debbi and Rod for US Nats;)

I really like Peter tho!

[Charis]

You've got to be really quick to do play-by-play commentary, even in figure skating. Maybe they could use Dick like Jim McKay to do in-depth pieces. I'd love to see him do an exposé on bloc judging through the years! The nice thing about gettting older is you don't care what anybody thinks! 8-)

[bcskater]

Originally posted by Charis
You've got to be really quick to do play-by-play commentary, even in figure skating. Maybe they could use Dick like Jim McKay to do in-depth pieces. I'd love to see him do an exposé on bloc judging through the years! The nice thing about gettting older is you don't care what anybody thinks! 8-)
that sounds like a really good suggestion! have him out of the booth, so that he won't be confusing spectators of what is a lutz or a toe loop or a spiral or a flying camel is, and just have him do important 5 minute pieces. it could work really well, an expose on the bloc judging... im sure he'd do a great job - just for the very reason you mentioned..... the older he gets, the less he probably cares about what others think.

[Spider68]

We re-watched the tape of the men's final last night to clear something up (just a stupid thing). Anyway, in retrospect, I think this will go down as one of Dick's shining moments. HE REALLY WAS HILARIOUS. It's something only skating fans can appreciate. As each more ridiculous and bizarre thing happened, our Mr. Button becomes more incredulous and digs deep for something. As skaters continue to crash and burn, he manages to keep us on edge. Long may you comment, Mr. Button. This tape is a keeper!:D

[LadyNit]

Originally posted by JillLaQ
Nationals without Dick is like the Stones without Mick.

I hope they keep him around for as long as he wants to come to the show...and doing whatever he feels like doing.