Yet the announcer roles are still crucial for setting a tone.
One smart move would be to give Dave O'Brien, Channel 11's play-by-play announcer, that role.
The moment of truth came even before Billy entered, when a suspiciously crotchety-voiced announcer announced that "at this performance, the role of Billy Crystal will be played by Denzel Washington".
Andy Richter was back as an announcer, making Weinberg's role as a foil a little uncertain.
Andrew Daly, a comedy veteran, nerd favorite, and mainstream "that guy" (known for his roles as announcer Dick Pepperfield in Semi-Pro and Principal Cutler on Eastbound & Down) credits the show's success in part to the sheer absurdity of that concept.
Throughout the night, the comedian Jermaine Fowler, pulling slightly too much focus in his role as announcer-d.j., delivered fun facts about the winners as they ascended the stairs ("She graduated from high school two years early—I read that on the Internet").
Mike Tirico, the play-by-play announcer, seemed to enjoy the role of straight man, sandwiched between dual color commentators, Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden.
Mr. Kiner also reveals how he came up with his signature home-run call -- "That ball is gone, goodbye" -- and his role as an announcer today.
"Magic/Bird," a new Broadway play about Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, begins with the entire cast on stage, hopping to the front one by one as a bombastic announcer declares their name and role.
On CBS, as Bill Carter wrote in The New York Times, the line between news and entertainment is being further eroded by tacking on a network news announcer, Julie Chen, to play the role of Big Brother and to interview psychologists and sociologists who don't mind lending their credentials to the enterprise.
