Cavs Make Mistake with Reghi
Maybe I am a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to sports, maybe I am just a little weird. Not getting the chance to get to many games I rely on the TV and Radio broadcasts to make me feel like part of the action. I become nearly as affiliated to the voice I hear everygame as I do to the team itself. It’s for that reason the the ouster of Cavaliers TV voice Michael Reghi is so disturbing to me. Reghi brought knowledge and energy to the broadcast, and his energetic calls of everything LeBron James became a nightly occurrence on SportsCenter.
Maybe more disturbing to me is the replacement for Reghi. Dan Gilbert FSN Ohio is bringing in Fred McLeod, former cable voice of the Detroit Pistons. We all know Cavs owner Dan Gilbert hails from Michigan and has been a longtime season ticket holder of the Pistons. He has copied alot of the presentation and gimmick found at a Pistons home game right down to the annoying P.A. guy.
Fans talk all the time about loyalty, but everyday we see in the real world that the term is just a P.R. statement used when times are tough. Reghi has been the voice of the Cavs for 12 years. Those 12 years have been some of the worst years in team history. Finally, with the team finally breaking out they dump Reghi in favor of a Detroit homer, just what Cleveland needs….
Though no formal statement has been made there is no doubt that the team grew incresingly annoyed with Reghi’s brash commentary, that at times was critical of the Cavs and the organization. Unfortunitely the team doesn’t realize that most fans WANT that type of coverage from the TV/Radio team. Sometimes longevity allows those freedoms, similar to what Joe Tait and Tom Hamilton(Cavs and Indians Radio, respectively)enjoy. I guess a dozen years wasn’t long enough for Reghi.
Looks like I’ll have to turn down the sound and turn up Tait. This may not affect them on the floor, but the Cavs got a little worse today.
