Of course, former pro athletes have long been fixtures in broadcast booths as well. But while their playing experience endows them with invaluable first-hand knowledge of their respective sports, the ability to deliver pithy, to-the-point commentary on the fly is not something that just any former linebacker, shortstop or forward can provide.

One of the best ex-athletes to man a microphone today is former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman. As a color commentator for News Corp.-owned Fox Sports' coverage of the NFL, Aikman exhibits zero interest in flash or fooling around. Instead, he simply breaks down plays and a team's strengths and weaknesses with the precision of a surgeon — but in language a grade-school kid can comprehend.

Respected veteran NBC broadcaster Al Michaels narrowly missed the cut, hurt by relatively modest buzz online and in the press. Meanwhile, the profile of pro basketball announcer Marv Albert, who's still considered, by many, the best play-by-play man in any sport, still appears to be affected by his 1997 plea bargain on misdemeanor assault and battery charges.

In some ways, the continued prominence of sportscasters might seem a bit paradoxical. After all, the Internet gives sports fans access to a blizzard of information, statistics and up-to-the-minute news updates. Because the fan base is so much better informed than it used to be, aren't sportscasters becoming less relevant?

Not a chance, says Rob Vogel, president and chief operating officer of the Bonham Group, a Greenwood Village, Colo., sports and entertainment marketing consultancy.

Just as fans have benefited from the Web, so have sportscasters, Vogel says. Thanks to the plethora of available information, he argues that storytelling has improved in TV sports journalism, as has the ability of announcers to provide instant context to what's happening on the field.

"I think it just feeds the whole interest level out there,'' Vogel says. "More information in sports has added to the marketability and interest in sports broadcasting."

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