The best of booth worlds.(Remote Patrol)(sportscasters)

Notice a dearth of dream teams in college football? Announcing teams, that is.

No dynasties in this dimension. Not a single Summerall-Madden nor a Michaels-Madden, has transcended the glut on Saturday afternoons for the last 20 years. Not even the BCS has produced a dynamic duo to bowl over the national consciousness; in the first five made-for-TV championships, ABC has used five different pairings of announcers.

There is one icon, Keith Jackson, kicking off a 38th season; the unmistakable voice of ABC'S Brent Musburger, in his fourth decade of "You are looking live!"; the smoky goodness of CBS' Verne Lundquist and ESPN's Ron Franklin; the sophisticated stylings from Mike Tirico of ESPN and Barry Tompkins of Fox Sports Net and CSTV. But they're all play-by-play guys. Can you name their current partners? Didn't so.

Anyway, counting down the preseason top 10 announcing teams on campus (with accessorized sideline reporters):

10. (tie) Pam Ward-Chris Spielman, ESPN2 and Don Thulin-Charles Davis-Craig Sager, TBS.

9. Dave Barnett-Bill Curry-Craig James, ESPN2.

These analysts apparently perform under the influence of canine tranquilizers. With the possible exception of James, back at ESPN after six forgettable years at CBS, none say anything as striking as Sager's jackets. Somehow, college football is one of the last holdouts--a show where the play-by-play person, not the expert ex-player/coach, is the thing. Must be an NCAA rule.