Top 10 Embarrassing Live Announcer Mistakes
#10: Vancouver Canucks
Sometimes non-sports fans are forced to report on news, and this may result in some hilarious on-air gaffes. In this case, it was a number of on-air gaffes. A reporter for Washington’s Fox 5 was doing a segment on the firing of Vancouver Canucks coach Bruce Boudreau. Unfortunately, there were a number of notable mispronunciations during the segment. The reporter said Bruce “beau-dreau” instead of “boo-dreau,” “tookit” instead of Rick Tocchet, and most famously, “canooks” instead of Canucks. We guess these are understandable mistakes to make given their spellings, but surely these things should have been ironed out before going on air?
#9: Vance Joseph’s Diversity
You really have to watch what you say on TV. Sergio Dipp was appearing on “Monday Night Football” when he broke the internet with some rather unfortunate sideline reporting. During a game between the Chargers and Broncos, Dipp began speaking about the Broncos’ new head coach, Vance Joseph. After a rather awkward start, Dipp claimed that Joseph’s “diversity” and “background” was helping him coach the game. He was talking about Joseph’s varied career in football, but it sounded a little more, shall we say, racist than that. Many people took the goof in stride and joked about it on social media, knowing that Dipp had no ill intent.
#8: Gary Thorne Calls Player a Pejorative
Even the experts make hilarious mistakes. Sportscaster Gary Thorne has been in the business for a long time, and he did play-by-play for the Baltimore Orioles between 2007 and 2020. But all it takes is one slip up to become an internet legend. During a game between the Orioles and Angels, Angel Albert Pujols grounded out to third base. Rather than saying “Pujols is retired,” which is a common phrase in baseball, Thorne let slip a rather unfortunate pejorative that also starts with the letter “r.” Thorne quickly realized his error and corrected himself, but the damage had already been done.
#7: They Get a What?
Top 10 Mistakes Caught Live at Award Shows
After a number of years with the Philadelphia Phillies, Kevin Stocker became the team’s color analyst. In May of 2023, Stocker was provided a dense copy about an upcoming bobblehead promotion. Fans attending a game between the Phillies and Dodgers would receive a bobblehead of Phillies legend Dick Allen. You can see where this is going. Rather than saying “Dick Allen,” Stocker stumbled over the name and let loose a rather unfortunate word. He and fellow broadcaster Scott Franzke try their darndest to carry on, but all they give us are infectious giggles. We can’t help but laugh along with them.
#6: A Lot of Innuendo
Top 10 Most Embarrassing Moments Caught on Live TV
The unfortunate thing about sports with balls is that they come with a lot of innuendo. Commentator Brian Kinchen learned this the hard way while calling a college football game between Northern Illinois and Iowa. He was explaining the need to catch the football with your hands rather than your shoulders, resulting in some unfortunate discussion about balls and hands. If he just kept it there, it would have been hilarious. Even Kinchen giggles his way through the more obvious innuendos. Unfortunately, he then says the quiet part out loud, stating that his comments were “kinda gay.” Kinchen was suspended from ESPNU for the remark.
#5: You Can’t Say That on TV!
Top 20 Awkward Moments In Live Television History
Just one letter separates the word “clock” from another. And sometimes that razor thin line is accidentally crossed. Sportscaster Tom Hart was calling a college baseball game between Vanderbilt and Auburn when he attempted to say “you can’t turn the clock back.” Unfortunately, one of those word salads occurred at just the wrong time, and Hart said something you definitely can’t say on TV. Even funnier than the gaffe itself is the reaction of Hart’s co-host, who lets loose an audible “whooo.” Hey, these things happen. And they are very, very funny.
#4: AJ Clemente Is Not Happy
Top 10 Saturday Night Live Sketches That Went Wrong
First days are always stressful. And if you had a bad one, just remember, it could always be worse. It could be AJ Clemente bad. It was Clemente’s first day at North Dakota’s KFYR, and he was co-hosting a news segment with anchor Van Tieu. They were going to talk about the London Marathon, and Clemente was nervous about pronouncing some of the names. One of the biggest offenders was the Marathon’s winner, Tsegaye Kebede. Frustrated with the task, Clemente unleashed two consecutive words you definitely can’t say on TV. Unfortunately, Clemente was already on TV, as they had gone live without his knowledge. And with that, Clemente lost his brand new job.
#3: Howard Cosell Makes an Unfortunate Comparison
The Big Bang Theory's Howard Impressions vs the Actual Person
Howard Cosell was an enormously popular sportscaster, working with ABC for over thirty years between 1953 and 1985. He served as a commentator on “Monday Night Football,” but his time with the show came to an end in 1983 after an unfortunate on-air comparison. He was talking about Black wide receiver Alvin Garrett and stated the rhetorical question, “That little monkey gets loose, doesn't he?” Cosell claimed that “little monkey” was a playful nickname meant to reference Garrett’s physical height, as he is only 5’7’’. However, other people took his comment to be racist. While Garrett publicly defended Cosell, the sportscaster became the source of great controversy and left “Monday Night Football” at the end of the year.
#2: And Boom Goes the Dynamite
Top 10 Mistakes In TV Shows
There are legendary internet videos, and then there’s “boom goes the dynamite.” Having become a staple of pop culture, it seems like everyone and their mothers have referenced this famous video at least once in their lives. The subject at hand is poor Brian Collins, who was doing a campus newscast for Indiana’s Ball State University. The teleprompter was reportedly going too fast, so Collins was forced to ad lib the newscast. Is ad lib the right word? The result is total hilarity, with phrases like “oh no,” “passes it to the man,” and of course “boom goes the dynamite” becoming viewer favorites. This is cringe humor at its absolute best, and the video has aged like a fine wine.
#1: Steve Harvey Announces the Wrong Winner
Top 10 Best Steve Harvey Reactions to Family Feud Answers
Imagine being a beauty pageant contestant, making it to freaking Miss Universe, getting crowned the winner, and then getting awkwardly told, “Oh, sorry, you didn’t actually win. I read the wrong name.” Well, that’s what happened to poor Ariadna Gutiérrez, aka Miss Colombia, when Steve Harvey made his infamous blunder. During the 2015 ceremony, Harvey accidentally read the wrong name and crowned Colombia the winner. Harvey’s card said Colombia was the “1st runner up,” but Harvey misread it and thought it meant 1st place. He was forced to awkwardly apologize while crowning Miss Philippines the real winner, and it instantly entered the annals of the all-time worst live TV gaffes.
