Who are the GOOD sports presenters on TV?

there is no need for presenters. the eurosport format (as used by espn for the copa america)  is fine. the sky sports/bbc attitude that we aren't going to show anything unless we have at least three blokes to discuss it in a studio is daft. sometimes the "experts" they have in the studio add some insight (like mike carlson) but this is the exception rather than rule. however the presenters are rarely wise enough to ask them the right questions. show us some other action or news at half time instead. most sports have ample time for the commentators to lecture us on the finer points so if they do a good job the goons in the studio are usually just repeating what they have said.

so having damned the whole lot of them as pointless i'll say my favourite presenter was mark webster because i liked his sweaters. i don't think he can count as eye candy.

Only one tonic....gutteridge and carpenter...now we're talking quality...but it seems like a lifetime ago.

DonNo1 - I haven't seen Humphries on F1...but isn't he exactly the sort of presenter Charltan is talking about? I remember Humphries from his time as a children's tv presenter and it's impossible for me to imagine him making a credible sports anchor. Isn't he just the male presenting version of Fearn Cotton??? (who I personally absolutely detest)

Dan Walker was getting some stick to. It seems he is among the new breed of BBC presenters, who are getting much younger...but are they any good?

Maybe it's tv that turns people into morons?

Gary Richardson is aggressive and rude but tackles the tough questions in his radio interviews. They put him on tv to interview Murray at Wimbledon - and he turns into the biggest kiss-ass I've ever heard. It was embarrassing stuff.

Likewise, Mark Pougatch has fronted the sport on Radio 5 for years. Yet I saw him working as a reporter for TV at the Open Golf (where his interviews only consisted of maybe 3 questions) and he was awful. No, he was worse than that. Asked the most stupid, pointless questions that weren't even questions sometimes.

Is it an ability to make us go 'Ooh, I hadn't thought of that' quite a lot?

Yes otherwise they aren't adding much and I might as well watch it with the sound turned off (except for where the sound is necessary for betting as in rugby union where you need to hear what the ref says) and music on instead. My choice of music is more entertaining than most "entertaining" commentators (although bumble has his moments).

Not so much an commentator, more of an analyst but I think Michael Johnson (athletics) is class.

DonNo1
I like Jake Humphrey and the BBC F1 coverage, that's about it

Me too, and I like Coulthard and Brundle - Eddie Jordan though constantly makes a t1t of himself imo.

It's tough to constantly come up with insights that'll be new to experienced Betfairers though

agreed but it would be useful if they could come up with something i may not have spotted when i wasn't concentrating rather than rehash of the blindingly obvious (or even worse a biased one as in mos tinternational events).

I know what you mean h-bomb, I hate the way BBC find a presenter they like and then stick them on every sport.  But Humphrey seems to have a fair knowledge and high enthusiasm for F1 and imo is a likeable guy.  With Coulthard, Brundle, Croft (5 live+Davidson/Chandhok) and even Jordon (who might be a bit of a clown but isn't afraid to speak his mind) you've got a great team and it's the only sport coverage where I actually enjoy the presenting/analysis aside from perhaps NFL on 5 with Coombs and Carlson.

As far as presenters go I hate Inverdale (used to like him on WSM for some reason)and Balding (I hate their demeanour and the way they start chatting irrelevant bollocks about sports they really don't know), don't mind but don't like Irvine+Lineker+Barker.
I think the general level of commentary/punditry across all sports is atrocious, I can't think of a single football person I like (perhaps Richardson if I saw more of him and Seedorf was decent last year), Tennis has a couple of great pundits but is let down by a number of idiots, same goes for Athletics (Johnson is superb and a great scoop for the BBC)

I'll reserve a special spot for Adrian Chiles who is a complete disgrace.  The clown should be presenting Soccer AM or something, I tune into watch sport for some serious discussion and this mug is cracking jokes every 2nd sentence (usually about some irrelevant people in the crowd), I seem to remember him having a good chuckle after/during one of the England games as if he really didn't give a ****. He made ITV's WC coverage completely unbearable for me.
I have fond memories of Vine, Ryder and Lynam but this new breed do my head in.  I'm just grateful if I can tune into sport these days and not get wound up more than a few times during the broadcast, a sad state of affairs.

Personally I just want a presenter and a team who have deep knowledge and enjoyment for the sport and aren't patronising to the viewers but chip in at the right times with insightful views.

Gary Imlach always seems to do a good job whatever the sport.
James Richardson on footy Italia was class...