By the way, isn't Eric Smith the radio voice of the Raptors? How can they possibly spare him when Toronto's NBA team is in the playoffs, while the Jays are just getting started on their season? Odd. 

When Jessica Smith does the weather on CTV Toronto - which is relatively rare these days - she always seems obsessed with conditions in "the downtown core." I'm sure many people live there. But I also believe that most don't.

Tell us the forecast for ALL of Toronto. Not just the downtown core. I've never been able to figure out why she gives it so much prominence over North York, Etobicoke, Scarborough, Thornhill, Ajax, Brampton, Mississauga - well, you get the idea. There are a lot more places than just downtown. 

paterson1 wrote:

Jimmy Fallon has a lot of annoying phrases that he has been using over and over for years. Whenever he introduces a guest and the audience goes wild, Jimmy will usually shout..  "That's what I'm talkin' about..." as the guest sits down.  Or if he plays a clip from a celebrities TV show or movie, the first thing out of his yap, and again yelling over the audience is "That's how it's done..."  I know he wants to be everyone's pal and be cool but he overdoes the flattery.

100% agree. I think Jimmy Fallon is a very talented guy, but his Sammy Maudlin-like fawning over everyone makes it almost impossible to watch him. 

What would happen if the Jays game ran overtime and somehow conflicted with the Raptors playoff? Unlikely given the time they took place, but hey, you never know when there might be a 22-inning contest. 

AspectRatio wrote:

His Wikipedia entry mentions "He is the radio play by play voice of the Toronto Raptors and the alternate radio play by play voice of the Toronto Blue Jays". I wonder if the "alternate" means it's not common for him to do the Blue Jays gig?

I'm pretty sure Eric Smith only calls Jays games whenever Ben Shulman is off, or filling in for his dad on TV as he did this weekend.

The one that annoyed me was back when 640  had Bill Watters and Jeff Mareck doing a Leafs inspired talk show in the afternoons. At the conclusion of every interview , or going into every break, Mareck would utter ' we've gotta hustle '. After about the 1000 th time, I just didn't tune in anymore. 

RadioActive wrote:

What would happen if the Jays game ran overtime and somehow conflicted with the Raptors playoff? Unlikely given the time they took place, but hey, you never know when there might be a 22-inning contest. 

Actually the MLB record is 26 innings on May 1, 1920 between the Brooklyn Robins and Boston Braves. It ended 1-1. The AAA International League had one game on April 18, 1981 between the Pawtucket Red Sox and Rochester Red Wings that went 33 innings. Pawtucket won 3-2.

LOSat wrote:

turkeytop wrote:

Julie Atchison who does weather on CTV London. Her favourite annoying phrase is "in through." Instead of saying it's raining in London, she'll say "It's raining in through London." It's foggy in through Windsor." It's snowing in through Goderich." She's such a bimbo.

Might as well let the whole world know of misogynistic tendencies with this comment.  
 

I can't read what was on TT's mind here, but I agree. The word "bimbo" is a bit much and unfair. 

I agree paterson1, she's completed her studies as a meteorologist.  She is not deserving of such of derisive term.

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To get back to the original post that started all this, I was out for a walk on Monday night - one of the few dry and warm ones we've had of late - and was listening to the Jays game on the radio. 

Eric Smith was back calling the game against the Rays and I heard about three innings. In all that time, he used that annoying phrase "he sits down" no less than 12 times in half an hour. (He sits down the Jays with that strikeout, he sits down Dalton Varsho, Eric Lauer sits down the Rays etc. etc. etc.)

And those were only the ones I heard, when neighbours interrupted me to say hello. When a listener can actually start counting the repetitions, you know he says it way too often. 

On the flipside, I just want to chime in and say Ben is doing a great job on the TV broadcast. As good as he is on radio, I think he's even better for tv - every bit as good as his father.

RadioActive wrote:

I'm not sure who Eric Smith is, but he's been subbing for Ben Shulman on the Jays radio broadcasts over the past few series. He's serviceable enough, though his style isn't to my taste. But there's one thing he does that absolutely drives me crazy. 

After almost every out, he says the same thing over and over and over. "And he sits down Vladimir Guerrero  Jr."  Or "And Kevin Gausman sits down the Twins." Or the outfielder's catch sits down Davis Schneider."

He seems to have fallen in love with the term "sits down" and he says it several times an inning. By the time you reach the 9th, it has started to set my teeth on edge. 

And then there's analyst Chris Leroux, who continues to use the non-word "velo" (short for "velocity") over and over and over and over until I want to veto "velo" forever. It's not an actual word and to use it interminably 17 times a game in reference to a pitcher's delivery speed makes me want to pierce my eardrums with a sharp pencil. 

Can we please "sit down" "velo" once and for all? 

Can't wait for Ben to sit down back on the radio. With all due velo.  

It was nice to hear Ben Shulman back on the Jays radio play-by-play Friday. Hopefully, they've let Eric Smith "sit down" for the rest of the season.