We Were Just Treated to Another Episode of the Most Underappreciated Thing in Sports Broadcasting: The Sean McDonough Voice Crack

Gonzaga's Jalen Suggs caused another Sean McDonough voice crack

1. Jim Nantz had the call on CBS. Former Gonzaga star Adam Morrison got a lot of attention for his reaction on the Zags radio broadcast. But it was Sean McDonough, calling Gonzaga-UCLA for ESPN International on Saturday night, who had the best call of all thanks to his signature voice crack.

The versatile McDonough, who does an excellent job calling MLB, college football and college basketball, has a long history of giving us thrilling calls while his voice goes through a range of octaves.

It happened again when Jalen Suggs nailed the surreal game-winning three-pointer. Here was McDonough’s call:

“With 3.3, Gonzaga for the win, SUGGS BANKS IT INNNNN AT THE BUZZER. UNBELIEVABLE!!!

An excellent call made even better by the patented McDonough voice crack during “banks it in.”

We’d give this voice crack an 8 out of 10 on the McDonough Voice Crack Scale.

We can now add this call to the list of Memorable McDonough Voice Cracks we’ve been treated to over the years, which include:

• The Chiefs return fumble for touchdown against Titans in 2018 wild-card game: 10 out of 10 on the McDonough Voice Crack Scale.

• The Michigan State punt block and game-winning return for a touchdown against Michigan in 2015: 8.5 out of 10 on the McDonough Voice Crack Scale.

• The Alabama game-winning touchdown pass against Georgia in 2018 national championship game: 9 out of 10 on the McDonough Voice Crack Scale.

2. When I last left you on Friday, I was telling you about ESPN-on-ESPN crime with Kirk Herbstreit's blasting colleague Dan Orlovsky on Twitter.

Things didn't get much better for ESPN's PR department because late that evening, network NBA analyst Paul Pierce, looking, shall we say, rough, decided to go on Instagram Live while partying with strippers.

Say what you want about Pierce's actions here, you can't deny that his tweet addressing the matter a day later at 10:50 p.m. isn't anything but outstanding.

3. Charles Barkley got a ton of coverage over the weekend for saying the following during the NCAA tournament:

"Man, I think most white people and Black people are great people. "I really believe that in my heart, but I think our system is set up where our politicians, whether they're Republicans or Democrats, are designed to make us not like each other so they can keep their grasp of money and power. They divide and conquer."

Charles Barkley speaking the truth pic.twitter.com/lt9jBldV2a

— RunBMC (@runBMC57) April 3, 2021

There seemed to be universal praise for Barkley's comments from what I saw on social media, so I was bummed to see no pushback because, in my opinion, the bigger problem than politicians in this country is social media. I'm not saying that some politicians don't want to divide us, but social media has done much, much, much more to divide us.

4. I don't like this news at all.

5. Reminder: Aaron Rodgers's two-week stint as Jeopardy! host begins Monday night.

6. This week's SI Media Podcast features an interview with WWE superstar Edge.

Topics covered include his main-eventing this year's WrestleMania with Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan, coming back 10 years after retiring, the importance of humor as a wrestler, his best friend Christian leaving WWE for AEW and much more.

You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Stitcher.

You can also watch the SI Media Podcast on YouTube.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: It's WrestleMania week, with the WWE's Super Bowl taking place over two nights this Saturday and Sunday. In honor of that, I'll be posting vintage Mania videos all week. First up, the memorable opening to Hulk Hogan vs. the Rock at WrestleMania 18.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Stitcher. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.