Joe Pope
Ridiculous handle, contortionist dunks, trash talk, Blocks that send the rock into the stands and DJs are not the only form of entertainment on the streets of NYC in the summer. Every announcer has his own swag. Some have jokes, others are great at coming up with nicknames. AG gets the kids involved at halftime for dance contests. Joe Pope has the celebrity check in. Tazz has unlimited energy. Some announcers get the crowd involved or joke on the crowd. Craig banned jean shorts from 119th. Announcers play a major role and, in some cases, can be the X-factor that separates the good from the great. So, who is the best of the best announcers?
Feel free to add in candidates, cast a vote and leave a comment to support your vote. Remember, this is for this year. Not five years ago or last summer or when Dr. J was playing. 2009 only.
Pro City's Big Brawley Chisholm & Joe Pope at TOC '09
October 10th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
kenny Patt says:
1)Joe Pope is hillarious
2)Jose is entertaining and he goes in depth with the players backrounds
3)Taz has funny one liners.
4)Boobie Smooth brings wit and wisdom (outside of hoops).
October 10th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
40 cal says:
1) The play by play assassin, he got me good when I played my first game in tri state, you know i had the beard thing going all summer and like an idiot walked into 145th with no shape up, next thing I know it Jose comes out of left field and says you look like a walking armpit, I almost fell out, you know I cut my hair the next day!
2) Joe Pope & Kenny combo at dyckman, there the funniest tandem in America, I refuse to play in dyckman cause of these two, I might end up being called air jumanji or something with the way these two crack jokes,
3) both announcers at 119th, it’s hard to even put them at number 3 cause they are funny as $#&@, just dont be the one out there in jean shorts
4) the new guy at watson, cool bob knows why, he pulled out the joke of the year but I’m not going to put bob on blast, if he decides to tell yall what the joke was then thats on him!
October 10th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
True balla says:
1) joe pope
2) ready rock
3) Taz
October 10th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
40 cal says:
Yo this TAZ guy from KINGDOME, I hear about him a lot but unfortunately I wasn’t able to get up there due to the conflict of schedules, but I hear he is one funny dude!
October 10th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
chris (bx) says:
ok this is gettn absurd lol, AG dont count cuz he did TOC (1 day), bobbito dont count cuz he did elite 24 (1 day), we’re talkin about the SUMMER of 2009, the summer had more than 1 day – 2.5 months to be exact fellas…i love pope, ready rock is cool, uncle g stacks thats dat dude right there and kenny stevens from dyckman, bobby cey i mess with too cuz that boy knows and studies the game, prob da smartest of them all, so again ill go with pope, stacks, stacks, bobby cey and kstevens
October 10th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
chris says:
ok this is gettn absurd lol, AG dont count cuz he did TOC (1 day), bobbito dont count cuz he did elite 24 (1 day), we’re talkin about the SUMMER of 2009, the summer had more than 1 day – 2.5 months to be exact fellas…i love pope, ready rock is cool, uncle g stacks thats dat dude right there and kenny stevens from dyckman, bobby cey i mess with too cuz that boy knows and studies the game, prob da smartest of them all, so again ill go with pope, stacks, stacks, bobby cey and kstevens
October 10th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Elliot Rosado says:
Joe Pope hands down & my man the Marv Albert of streetball Boobie Smooth.
October 11th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Jon says:
40 Cal,
Third Degree up at Watson heated Bob up something crazy! He called him rooftop! Ha ha! Check out an early Watson recap to read more of the nicknames Bob earned up there (http://www.bouncemag.com/2009/07/14/watson-classic/)
I agree, 1-day tournament announcers can be disqualified. Although, they did cover some of the major highlights of the summer, it’s hard to dismiss them.
Kenny Stevens is a Renaissance Man up at Dyckman, he does it all – and well!
A walking armpit is crazy though! I know the crowd must’ve bugged out when they heard that one.
October 12th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
bobbito garcia says:
chris-
i announced nike toc and elite 24, two of the biggest events of the summer, but i hear you–i’m not out in the parks on the mic on the regular. i announced the chosen league nyc on houston st. one day in july, too. reason why i’m not out there more is that i still enjoy playing ball honestly, and prefer to be part of the action than on the sideline! perhaps one day down the road i’m take a more permanent role somewhere cuz i can’t front–it’s mad fun calling a game and having that power to affect the players’ ability to step it up or step off while getting the crowd amped. if i can critique myself, 2009 wasn’t a great year for me. i was just ‘okay’ at elite 24. i didn’t engage the crowd and the nicknames i gave out didn’t resonate during the contest. i needed to be more energetic and animated. i had mad fun doing back and forth with joe pope at the nike toc. his wit and energy with my history and know-how was a dope combo. we may be going to japan together in 2010 to rock out there.
if you caught the nike toc women’s game on saturday at the goat before it rained, that i felt was my best performance. it was also my favorite experience of 2009. i grew up in that park so i feel most comfortable there. it’s my homecourt advantage if you will.
if cats out there haven’t seen or heard taz, he’s someone to definitely witness. his cadence is original, and he was schooled by none other than the amazing gumby, the dude who literally was responsible for infusing humor and street into playground announcing back at King Towers during the ’70s.
Joe Pope is bananas funny. i wish sometimes he’d give more info on the players though. as announcers, we can’t always assume everyone in the crowd knows them like we do, especially considering all the tourists that come watch during the summer. maybe i’m just a nerd, but i like to be informed on where cats have played, their real names, etc. i know sometimes the nickname exists solely to protect a player’s eligibility, but if they’re out of college, let us know.
AG is bananas entertaining and informative and a one of a kind character! sometimes he gets too informative though and loses the action of the game, especially when he’s talking about someone in the crowd. when he’s focused though, he is a classic harlem mc and a joy to hear if you’re playing or watching.
bobby c and g staks at hits are incredible to watch as a tandem. it’s like play by play and color announcing at the level of a televised broadcast. they have something real different up there at the beach. it’s a good combo of hood and professional steez.
there are a lot of incredible announcers out there. i’m dying to one day hear cat from the goodman league in dc, heard he’s mad funny, too. we should invite him to nyc at some point to rock up here.
October 12th, 2009 at 9:26 pm
The Shermanator says:
Bob,
I gotta start by saying you did a good job at the Elite 24.
I also gotta say the team of Tango & Cash did an ‘incredible’ job of entertaining the crowd at 145th for 2 straight hours before the “80’s vs 90’s” All Star game with just knowledge and history. Then proceeded to call a great game. Bob you were invited and we missed you out there but Sean laced em up and held it down for Bounce though.
I also gotta give shout outs to Shai from Gunhill, He will have you rolling on the floor. Taz, with the foul line, three point line, half court line, three point line, foul line, LAY UP LINE!!!!! Joe Pope, with the crazy “Papi from the Bodega” nickname and the funniest jokes out. Jose’s energy level is crazy (He just gotta be able to do more than one game at that level) but he’s crazy. Horse with his “Put the money in the bag!” and the two funniest nicknames I’ve heard in a while, “The Sweaty Pigeon” and “The Wild Squirrel”. Bobby C & Gee Stacks with the knowledge and professionalism. Kenny Stevens with his all around game and one I have to add to the list Ralph Pena (Also at Dyckman) He’s becoming a favorite, especially with the Senior division.
Yo, 40 Cal, who did you play against that game at Tri state, I might have to look that footage up (hahaha)
We had a bunch of these guys work our tournament last year and this year we’ll try to get more of these great announcers. Maybe we can get Bob out there for a game or two (Hint, Hint)
October 12th, 2009 at 10:34 pm
40 Cal says:
We played most hated sherm, please don’t put that in the mecca two, I saw what you guys did to Pharm!
October 12th, 2009 at 10:54 pm
The Shermanator says:
40 Cal,
Nah man, wouldn’t do that to you. I do have to say, of all the craziest footage, Pharm is up there but not what’s on The Mecca. When we did NBA Street II, Shane killed Pharm all week, its the funniest we own. We usually don’t portray Streetball or players in a really negative light so you’re safe. Maybe one day, we’ll do a bloopers reel and put some embarrassing stuff in there!
October 13th, 2009 at 12:36 am
Hektek says:
Joe Pope is #1 for 2009’s Best Streetball Announcer.
Whats good Pope BX…
October 13th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
uh huh says:
G Stacks fav nephew of the game. Love that dude. Joe Pope is classic. Tango & Cash= Had game on lock. MC Brawley at Hunter is my dude too. He has to tone it down & still does his job very well.
October 13th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
raymond says:
uh huh – yea Uncle Gstacks “favorite nephew of the game award” is the new thing in town lol, he had people going crazy with the “text message to the defender…” “drivers license….is valid” , him and Bobby at HITS are one of a kind pair, kinda like a mike breen/mark jackson team, bob is prob most intelligent announcer with his knowing of the players and history behind them & the league – has espn/msg quality, those r my fav 2 if u ask me, great comradeship amongst the 2
October 13th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
Casey Lee says:
Shai from Gun Hill is definitely underrated and a must add to the list.
THE ONLY ANNOUNCER IN NYC WITH A WIRELESS HEADSET!
October 14th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
40 cal says:
HITS announcers are boring, sorry to say it but they remind me of Marv Albert & Walt Clyde Frazier. The league is poppin but the announcing is not so ray stop gassing it!
October 14th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Madmark (Young Boy Rah Rah talk all day) says:
IMO, Joe Pope is by far the funniest, Taz is by far the most creative, Kenny Stevens by far calls the best game, Jose amps up the crowd the most. I’d love to see Joe & Taz work together because the two of them together could be the next Tango & Cash. I also saw Duke Tango in the stands at a lot of games, somebody should stick a mic in his face(No Homo). You guys got me missing the summer already. Joe pope’s funniest line to me this summer was calling little Craig the ref the Midget from “Bad Santa”. Ready Rock got it poppin too.
October 14th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
40 cal says:
Looks like Pope reigns as KING of NY!
October 14th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Bobbito Garcia a.k.a. Kool Bob Love says:
sherm–
I’D BE HONORED IF YOU ASKED ME TO ANNOUNCE A GAME! for real, b. let me know what’s good and waay in advance cuz you know how our schedules get. but that’d be fresh, yo. good lookin’ on even thinking of me.
October 14th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
g stax says:
40 cal i respect ur opinion! howeva streetball has all kind of forms!LIKE RAP WE DONT HAVE THE SAME CROWD MENTALITY THAT THE HOOD TOURNEYS DO! POUND 4 POUND ME AND MY BOY WILL KILL ANY TANDEM! NO SHAG ! JUST TOO TO MUCH DATA AND HISTORY!
October 19th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
LZ says:
I think that taz is funny and he always has the people laughing and enjoying themselves. He is a pleasure to watch