Thorne on the Art and Science of Play-By-Play | PODCAST

Broadcaster Gary Thorne has been a steady voice on the sports airwaves, providing play-by-play for parts of six decades. And yet, he still hasn't found his broadcast voice.
"Still finding it," Thorne told the Speak of the Devils podcast with a grin. "I don't think it ever ends.
"There are still things I say during games and think, 'oh my god, what was I thinking? Why did I do that?' I've got phrases I've used that I didn't like. I'm trying to get rid of those."
As he continues to work his own craft while being "partly retired," he's also teaching the next generation of broadcasters at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at ASU. His course is titled 'The Art and Science of Play-by-Play Broadcasting.' There's a reason art and science are part of the description.
"I can give you a little bit on the science. I can give you the habits you want to get and ones you don't want to have, and how to put a play-by-play broadcast together," Thorne said. "But the art is up to you. It's who you are and finding a way to be who you are while doing a broadcast, and not trying to be somebody else."

Thorne has called every sport imaginable during his illustrious career, including hockey and baseball at the regional and national level. He began his career in the NHL by calling games for the New Jersey Devils from 1987-93 after being hired by Lou Lamoriello. And even to this day he is amazed by the skill level in the NHL.
"I'm always in awe of hockey players. Everyone forgets that you have to skate. That's No. 1," he said. "That's not the easiest thing in the world to do. Granted these guys have skated for a long time, but it's still not easy. And then you have to make decisions on what to do with the puck and where you're suppose to be and which way you should be going. To me the job of playing hockey, the players are exceptional."
And since he started calling games in the late 80s, Thorne has watched the game and the players evolve over time.
"The ability of the players continues to rachet up which almost seems impossible. You look at how good they are and how good they've been," he said. "The game's opened up with some of the rule changes, the double-line passes where you get to move the game along a little quicker than before, which keeps the flow going which I think is good. I look in amazement at the way guys play."
Other topics discussed on the podcast…
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Gary Thorne | Speak of the Devils