Larry and Sonny--how much does Sonny have left for booth work? (M.E.T.)

[1972dodgedart]

Maybe it was because the game was flat, but I wasn't crazy about the radio broadcast today.  Larry was OK but Sonny seemed to have nothing to say in the second half.  There were long stretches where he offered zippo except on the Texans' last drive ("They're in field goal range.").  Sam may have said too much, or too much of the wrong thing ("[Any current Redskins player] reminds me of Otto Graham!"), but I'm wondering how much Sonny has left for booth work.

[tomwvr]

Sonny stays as long as he wants to - they cannot fire him.

[1972dodgedart]

Sonny stays as long as he wants to - they cannot fire him.

I know -- I'm not calling for his head, he's there as long as Snyder wants him there.  I just remember him being a little more engaged than he was today.  I've heard from people on the inside that they went as long as they possibly could with Sam but felt they had to phase him out for his own sake (plus it was becoming very hard to manage him over the air).

[Dan T.]

Never mind. Misread the OP.

[Mocountyskins]

Sam made the games just unbearable to listen to. Talking about players who had not been on the team in years or getting the Redskins confused with the opponent and cheering for the wrong team for half a second. Sad really.

[CrazyZeb]

Cooley would normally be there to fill in some of that airtime. Sonny may be too old and tired to offer much, but at least when he does it's still coherent.

[1972dodgedart]

Sam made the games just unbearable to listen to. Talking about players who had not been on the team in years or getting the Redskins confused with the opponent and cheering for the wrong team for half a second. Sad really.

I get where you're coming from, but I remember listening to games and having to stop raking the leaves because I was laughing so hard.  That part I miss.

 

And some of the guys on the national broadcasts are worse but for different reasons.  Hines Ward, dear god . . .

[pjfootballer]

The teams performance over the years is slowly killing Sonny. I'm right behind him.

[C.Taylor]

I noticed the same thing about Sonny. He as very lethargical with no real contribution. The only thing he was emphatic about was the Redskins deferring on the opening kickoff. I couldn't believe my ears. For years he was bemused by teams that did that, arguing that he wants the ball.

 

My increasingly OCD efforts to sync the broadcast to T.V. may be coming to an end. I hope not.  

[The Trashman]

I was going to start a thread about Sonny yesterday but never got around to it.

 

I actually listened to the show on 92.7 before the game yesterday and they were talking to Sonny and I vividly noticed a huge difference in Sonny's voice. It was low, lethargic and he seemed very sick. I told my wife something was very wrong with Sonny. maybe he had a stroke or something within the last year.

 

Not sure what was wrong with Sonny but it was very, very troubling.

 

Hopefully he bounces back to himself and has a good year in the booth...or maybe this is it for him. Hope not.

[88Comrade2000]

Sonny was horrible.  It's time for him to hang it up.

[RemoveSnyder]

Live on, Legend. 

 

 

[Larry]

I "watch" the Skins, when I can't get them on TV, by streaming the radio feed. And I was really missing Cooley. There's a HUGE difference in the knowledge between him, and the Old Geezers.

I haven't heard why he wasn't there. I really hope it was just for this one game. He tells me a lot of things that I don't get from the other two.

[autoidiodyssey]

I "watch" the Skins, when I can't get them on TV, by streaming the radio feed. And I was really missing Cooley. There's a HUGE difference in the knowledge between him, and the Old Geezers.

I haven't heard why he wasn't there. I really hope it was just for this one game. He tells me a lot of things that I don't get from the other two.

 

His wife or girlfriend is having a baby any day now. He should be back at it for the rest of the year. Cooley is really good. I think they are working towards Sonny being the 3rd man. I wouldn't be surprised to see Sonny just be at home games in a year or two. He sounds really tired.

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

The teams performance over the years is slowly killing Sonny. I'm right behind him.

 

If you're gonna' slowly kill a guy from behind you might not want to make it public knowledge man. 

 

Just saying. 

 

Hail 

[Hail4Life]

What got me was during the locker room interviews after the game Sonny & Larry were interviewing D. Young and Larry asked him about the punt return mishap and DY talked about it for a few then a minute later Sonny says "was that you who ran into the punt returner?".  

 

I noticed during preseason that Sonny just sounded like he was not interested in being there at all.  Didn't listen to him during the game yesterday but I'm not surprised to hear this.   

[s0crates]

Remember when Sonny, Sam, and Frank were the best in the business? We used to turn down the TV to listen to them on the radio.

[gortiz]

Sonny stays as long as he wants to - they cannot fire him.

No, thats not the right approach. They should not let him embarrass himself. It's really sad, but he's almost unlistenable now. He has really lost a step.

[Zazzaro703]

Sonny is def in his last season or two. Being out of the area I listen to the broadcast sometimes and always during preseason. Larry even makes snide remarks towards him which is sort of irritating that he is poking fun at him. I'm sure it's probably all in good fun but I don't really like it. Cooley is fantastic in the booth though.

[More Complete]

I thought the same thing. He was silent most of the game and even when Larry would ask him a question, it was a one or two word response. Seemed like his mind was elsewhere. Maybe it was because Cooley wasn't there but it was bad.

[abdcskins]

Sounds sad. I haven't listened in years but I can see what you guys are talking about.

 

I just checked, Sonny is 80 years old.  No wonder.  Some times you gotta just hang it up.

[Dissident2]

Horse Hockey on all this "Sonny needs to hang it up" crap! Hell's wrong with youse?

 

Sonny stays as long as SONNY WANTS TO STAY. Period.

 

SONNY will tell you when he has lost a step.

 

SONNY will tell you when he wants to leave.

 

SONNY will speak when he wants to speak, and if Sonny wants to be "lethargical," as suggested above, Sonny will damn well be "lethargical." You see, Sonny simply does not suffer fools ... or the play of fools on the field ... lightly. Fools make Sonny lethargical. If Sonny is reading this thread right now, he's probably epically lethargical.

 

Sonny has earned the right to ignore the babbling from the rabble. He is a friggin' Redskins King. If he utters two sentences during a broadcast, your life has most likely been improved just by hearing those two sentences.

 

In fact ... Sonny has now decreed that everyone who has bashed him on this thread must forever refer to him by his given name, "Adolph."

 

Finally, Sonny will never get so old that he'll start soiling his own pants. Sonny will soil YOUR pants. From the booth! In another state! That's how good Sonny is.

[SB17]

Remember when Sonny, Sam, and Frank were the best in the business? We used to turn down the TV to listen to them on the radio.

I remember.  They were the best.  What I fail to understand is how Larry Michael keeps his job and why Dan Snyder never wanted Frank Herzog to do the games.  Can someone give me some background on why Frank was not brought in to do the games?

[rskin72]

Agree with many....I turned down the TV and listened to the internet broadcast....even though they were a play behind....but at least I heard information about the Redskins.  Missed Cooley, though.  Should have gotten Bmitch down there.....

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Sonny is 80. Unless you are Vin Scully, that's pretty freaking old for a broadcaster.

 

If I recall correctly, the reason for Frank getting fired was that WJFK unilaterally made the decision and Snyder responded with "Oh, darn."

 

Karl Swanson is around. Someone should ask him what happened.