Donny sucks. Help me Celtics fans.

[shiggins]

I just wrote a message to Comcast regarding Donny Marshall.  Please help me and the rest of the community by doing your civic duty as a Celtics fan, in putting in a little time and writing them a message with your feelings on Donny.



My poorly written letter:

Donny Marshall is terrible.  Get rid of him.  Please give Cedric Maxwell or somebody a call.  Its almost unwatchable.  I am not the only one who feels this way.  He is trying to use this as a launching pad to get a national job and is petrified to step on anybody's toes.  He only says nice things because he wants people to like him.  Its boring, its bland.  He offers nothing in terms of commentary or experience.  He was a terrible player in his own right and when he offers meaningless insight its vomit worthy.  All he talks about is "by the way I was in the NBA", "I watched Jason Kidd for a bit", "By the way Ray Allen invited me to his house for mac and cheese at uconn".  Its awful. 

Here are examples from one of the largest online communities dedicated to the celtics on fan response to Donny.

http://www.celticsblog.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=64&topic=23019.0

http://www.celticsblog.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=64&topic=22932.0

http://www.celticsblog.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=64&topic=22988.0

"I can barely watch the game, because this guy just doesn't know when to stop talking.

Somebody please tell him that it's not the pre-show and he doesn't have to fill every second with his commentary....

This is the best guy the world champion Boston Celtics could get for a commentator to sit next to Mike Gorman? Even Scott Pollard would be better.

I can't take it... please tell me I'm not alone."

"3 things suck big time here:

1.  no more Cous - for 10 games a year, yeah the man was great.  I loved hearing him for 10 games a year.  Cousy wanted to come back but this guy  - Comcast general manager and vice president Bill Bridgen - decided no.

How can I send this guy an email?

2.  Tommy for only half the time - that's what happened the end of last year and I thought it was because of Tommy's health(hip?).  If this is what Tommy wants, then so be it.  Is it what Tommy wants?  Maybe its because of the old redhead's health.

3.  More Donny Marshall - oh my God I am just sick of him.  This guy - Comcast general manager and vice president Bill Bridgen - thinks Donny is good.  What a load of crap.  Donny Marshall PLAIN VANILLA BRAN CEREAL THAT YOU EAT WITH WATER.  He's as boring as watching paint dry.  How many times do I have to see him introduced wearing Nets or Cavs uniforms?  For the color guy there should be a law - only Celtics are allowed.  And certainly not anyone with no personality who is as political correct as they come."


Donny's bland, uninteresting form of commentary is ruining my Celtics experience.  His attempt to not burn any bridge and just say nice things schtick is wearing thin.  He tries to be the "anti-Tommy" at the expense of his own integrity and ends up making excuses for the other team and the referees.  In his attempt to sound objective, he ends up being the complete opposite since he tries to side with the other side just trying not to be a homer. 

As an example, last year against the Nuggets was in my opinion one of the worst referree'd games i had ever watched.  Donny made one negative comment about the referee'ing all game and said.  On a blatant charge he decided it was a "tough call" for the ref to make but he could understand it.  After watching that debacle, the numbers backed it up and it was one of the most lopsided officiated games in the history of the league and Donny failed to make any mention of it. 

This bubble gum, cotton candy commentary is a disgrace.  With a championship level team and organization it is a shame to have such a non-qualified, untalented man be the voice of this team.  I am a life-long fan and it really has started to bother me.  I am on the verge of watching it on TV and just turning the radio on, and I am not alone.  Those are just a few examples of many from the largest online Celtics community as well as many people i know personally feel the same way.  Please make a change or look into it because he is a reflection of your organization and frankly it is embarrassing.

[soap07]

Wow, over the top and unnecessary IMO.

[bdm860]

I know I'm in the minority, but I like Donny Marshall.  (I have yet to make a pro-Donny post, despite the many opportunities with all the posters commenting how they don't like Donny).

- I like the insight he gives from having sit on the bench of several NBA teams.  Jason Kidd was like this in practice, so-and-so was like this in the locker room, etc.

- I like the idea of having a more recent former player. (I love the old guys like Tommy and Cornbread don't get me wrong).  It's just a fresher insight to the more modern day NBA player and lifestyle.

- I like that he was an end-of-bench player and realizes it.  He talks about sitting on the bench and not playing.  Just a different view that isn't often talked about.

- I like the UConn connection.  I know people complain about it, but it's not like UConn is some scrub college.  UConn has more players in the NBA than any other school.  It seems like almost every team has a UConn player on it, so it's nice to have a commentator that can relate to them in some way.

- I have no problem with Donny being a nice guy and not wanting to step on anyones toes. Does Gorman ever step anyones toes?  I don't need a commentator to rip a player/coach/ref, I cam do that myself (and do often do too )

Again I know I'm in the minority, but thought I'd finally post my thoughts.  

[bdm860]

And on a side note:
Last year was a good year for me with travel and the Celtics.  In December I traveled to Toronto to visit a friend a catch the C’s as they were in town, and ended up meeting the whole team in the airport and got to shake everyone’s hand. (Including Brandon Wallace who I told not to worry, he’d get some time soon and I couldn’t wait to see him play, the next day he was cut...).  I made a post about it then.

Then in March I went to Dallas to visit some other friends and conveniently catch the C’s as they were in town.  Since the game was on TNT Donny Marshall and Mike Gorman weren’t doing the game, but they were still there and sitting in my section.  At halftime I got up and was going to try to talk Mike, Donny, and Greg Dickerson, and I was walking up the stairs (they were sitting in the back of the lower level) trying to work my way over to them, they got up and started to walk out into the corridor. Donny was closet to me, so I called out his name.  I shook his hand, told him I was a C’s fan, and we chatted it up for like 5 minutes.  Real cool guy. He could have just shook my hand and walked away, but he actually engaged in a conversation with me. (When I met the team in Toronto earlier, Dickerson was a real cool guy and actually engaged in a conversation with me too). 

My favorite part was, I told him how I grew up in and currently living in Connecticut and how my last name is Marshall too, so when I was younger I used to tell everyone how him and Donyell were my cousins, (they’re not). We got a good chuckle out of that. 

I know this has nothing to do with his commentating skills, but he’s still a real nice guy. Just wanted to finally share a story I could have shared back in March.

[bleedingreen]

I think a more constructive target is Gary Tangay. I can't stand him. I can't stand that idiot taking up the spotlight with Tommy. The man is a fraud. Donny has some quirks, but it seems like Mike can stand him, so I can too. But if Maxwell joined Mike, that'd be awesome. I already emailed comcast about the Bob Cousy dealio so I've already used up my angry email of the year, towards comcast anyways. But good luck with allll that....

[The4Time2Doctor0]

i like Donny as well. hes no Tommy , but i enjoy his incites.

[KJ33]

I have stated my disdain for Donny on other threads, so I am right there with you.  Comcast adores him for all the things you hate, they do not care whatsoever about providing any Celtics angle.  Did you hear how defensive the Comcast rep sounded in his response to Cousy, saying how with all their magazine programs and such, they have demonstrated a commitment to the Celtics? The Cous and Donny thing are related, and they are misjudgements by Comcast both.  

Let's not forget, it was Comcast who blew the end of the Toronto game, some lame excuse like TBS, when that has never happened before with the same set of circumstances they described.  The same Comcast which took 1/2 the season to give their own station a dedicated HD Channel while they make us pay for Home and Garden many, many others in their own HD lineup.  The same Comcast who constantly cuts away from the action at hand, to show a close up of a player that made a previous good play, or while an announcer is talking about him, that cost us the live view of Bill Walker's alley oop from Pruitt.

Donny is fine for the pregame, postgame, and magazines, at least I can choose not to watch them, the games I have no choice.  When he has time, lots of time, to make a point, he can sometimes end up at something close to a worthwhile point.  This just doesn't work on the broadcast.  Mike pays him such deference and sets him up constantly asking what he thought of this or that that just happened.  But in all the vanilla, say nothing language you have mentioned, he takes an hour to say it, talking over the game, all while just giving us cliche after cliche after cliche.

Many here will rise up and attack you for being so mean, Donny's not so bad, etc. but even if one discounts the non-Celtic angle and his obsessive need to let all that listen know he had a cup of coffee in the league that ended in 2003, but he has friends all over the league 5 years later, he just says nothing, and won't stop talking trying to say it.  Simply put, he may look and sound smooth, but he has zero talent doing color analysis on a live broadcast, it is obvious he has never done it before.  Let him get his experience on the pre and post game, not 41 games that we as Celts fans have to suffer through.

[footey]

While I think you go way overboard in your criticism, I tend to agree with you on your assessment that Donnie plays it way too safe, and does not add much insight. Tommy for all his homerism could make some good observations.  I wish we could get an ex coach like Bill Fitch. I bet he would give great insight.  Former players for the most part are not very good. There are a few exceptions, Jon Barry comes to mind as a guy who is not afraid to go contrarian, and ask good questions.   Donnie would be okay if he would just take a few risks, I think that is what he needs to do.  

[kharrig1]

The thing i hate most about donny marshall is when he relates things to himself.  He was a scrub in the league, I could care less about the time allen iverson fell down and they called a foul on poor donny marshall, and that AI is a flopper.  He's terrible, granted that letter isn't going to do any good but I'm sure it feels good to attack the people who are bringing this vocal plague upon us.

[PerkinsERA43]

You know, I'm guessing no one here has made it to the NBA. You gotta give Donny a ton of credit for making it to the most elite level of basketball in the world. He could probably still absolutely kill anyone on this blog in a game of one on one.

And his commentary isn't so bad. The only problem with him is that he isn't Tommy. I'm certain that even if we got someone like Bill Fitch, and he was the first color guy to replace Tommy in full, then he would get a negative response. Donny's a newcomer. He's got a different style. Maybe he's not as good as Tommy, but Tommy is a legendary commentator. He is my absolute favorite by a wide margin.

Donny is a perfectly serviceable commentator, and frankly, it shouldn't matter all that much who's doing the color commentary. Mike will give you all the details you can't see from your couch, and the rest will be laid out in front of you. Just enjoy the best basketball this world has to offer, and maybe an occasional anecdote from a guy who was once out on the floor with the guys you're currently watching.

[KJ33]

Here is the totality of where Donny gets all his name dropping, his street cred so to speak.  Notice over his last 3 seasons ending in '02-03, (how many players we now see "play on TV" were in the league 6 years ago when Donny last "played"?), he played a total of 29 games, averaging about 6 mins a game, barely time for AI or anyone else to even notice he played in the league. 

Also, see his .681 career FT% which he had answered "Excellent, I prided myself on it" in response to Mike Gorman asking him how he was as a free throw shooter.


CAREER SEASON AVERAGES
   
Year    Team    G    GS    MPG    FG%    3P%    FT%    OFF    DEF    RPG    APG    SPG    BPG    TO    PF    PPG
1995-96    Cleveland    34    0    6.1    .353    .233    .629    0.3    0.5    0.8    0.2    0.2    0.1    0.21    0.80    2.3
1996-97    Cleveland    56    0    9.8    .325    .379    .704    0.4    0.9    1.3    0.4    0.4    0.0    0.57    1.10    3.1
1999-00    Cleveland    6    0    6.5    .273    .000    .833    0.0    0.2    0.2    0.0    0.3    0.0    0.50    1.20    1.8
2001-02    New Jersey    20    0    5.9    .276    .500    .667    0.4    0.7    1.1    0.3    0.2    0.0    0.10    0.70    1.5
2002-03    New Jersey    3    0    2.0    .000    .000    .000    0.0    1.0    1.0    0.0    0.0    0.0    0.33    0.00    0.0
Career         119    0    7.7    .321    .336    .681    0.3    0.7    1.0    0.3    0.3    0.0    0.38    0.90    2.5

[GroverTheClover]

I don't mind Donny. He's definently not Tommy (no one is) and I don't hold him to that level. He'll have some occasional insight and seems to be developing some chemistry with Mike. He's much better than the national announcers (especially Breen and Harlan) so I have no problems. I do feel that your letter is overboard, if he irritates you that much, you could just lower the volume.  

[moskqq]

Totally disagree with the unjust criticism.  A rather poor attempt to prove the "herding instinct", let's all jump off a building because one person says that it's cool! It's amazing how many followers a misguided sports fan can attract.

Donny has NOTHING to do with the shoddy treatment Cousy received so let's not go there.  The Cousy situation was mishandled to be sure but through no fault of Donny Marshall so redirect the blame and criticism elsewhere.

I personally find Donny Marshall to be informative and entertaining and to send enough pearls and insights to keep me tuned in. This criticism is bogus and  "way over the top"!

[MaxwellSmart]

I think we have been spoiled for so many years with Mike and Tommy (Gorman is the BEST play by play guy in the country)...Tommy can no longer travel,so I'm fine with Donny Marshall (just tired of hearing how he's buddies with Ray Allen and Jason Kidd).....we could do a LOT worse----try watching a Miami Heat game---HORRIBLE!!

[Brickowski]

I like Donny.  He just needs to learn when to shut up.  Give him some time.