Sean Grande is in his seventh season as the radio play-by-play voice of the Boston Celtics.
When Grande took the Celtics job alongside Cedric Maxwell in 2001, he was mostly known among New England sports fans for his role as Pete Sheppard’s predecessor in the “Flashboy” role on WEEI’s Big Show. He was also known for his work on Hockey East TV telecasts, and as the Boston College Football announcer from 1996-1999. He was also the program director at WEEI for three years.
In 1998, he took the job calling Minnesota Timberwolves television games, becoming the youngest announcer in the NBA, at the age of 28. He has done some national work calling college football for ESPN. When he came back to Boston to cover the Celtics, he also became a programming consultant for sports radio 1510 The Zone.
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Popularity: 17% [?]
His 1990 no sideburn look annoys me. Dude, you’re not 16. Disapprove.
his sideburns really bother you on AM radio? jeez
Good broadcaster. Does his best to keep Max under control and interesting to listen to.
Approve.
Too smarmy and way too much a know-it-all. Opinion as fact gets too heavy to indulge for the listener. If you like Mike Gorman (as we all do) how do you square up approving Grande, who is the total opposite? DISAPPROVE.
He refers to Pete Shepard as a “flash middle-aged man” instead of “flash boy.” He gets my approval for that line alone.
…Never listen to the Celtics on radio…as a matter of fact NBA Basketball is the one sport I really don’t pay attention to…..ABSTAIN!
Pretty good as a play-by-play man, but as an old S.O.B., I have to say that listening to the Celtics on the radio can’t ever be the same without Johnny Most calling out the “yellow, gutless way they do things here!!!!” (in Detroit, or wherever else the C’s were playing).
Besides, every game is on TV now, so the only reason I’d ever listen to a game on the radio is if I was out of the house and in my car.
I’ll abstain from this vote too.
…I agree, I agree,…even though I’m not a big basketball guy, listening to Johnny Most was a ALOT of FUN. …. In this day and age when EVERYBODY in the media is SCARED S_ITLESS to be called a “homer” (god forbid!) we’ll never see anybody like Johnny Most again
Excellent PBP guy.
Former hockey announcer. “Approve!”
‘Flashboys’ must be heard and not seen. Massive ‘Disapprove’ for someone who obviously did not get the memo that being FlashBoy is a dead-end job with no remedial upside value. Now, FlashBoys the world over will start getting all hot & bothered about being a play-by-play person for a major-league team. Great job, SHAWN. His resume reads like: “I was a ditch-digger before I was a truck driver. Before that I was a garbage collector. Before that, I worked as a bug-squasher.”
Starbucks named a cup after him … often wakes up screaming thinking he ‘could have been Pete Shepherd’ .. thinks this years Celtics team is a lot better than last years .. once drank Vin Baker under the table .. when he sees a lady he fancies his pick and roll can’t be denied
Very good at the play-by-play aspect, but the hyperbole that he mixes into the calls are ridiculous.
A play-by-play guy should set the scene and convey the crowds emotion to the listener but Grande takes it to another level.
Disapprove.
Highly approve.
He’s entertaining and skilled as the Celtics play by play man. Unpretentious …articulate…very excitable during big moments/plays in the game…
Love his enthusiasm and the way he works w/Max. However, it seems like everything he says is geared toward being a “signature” line on some highlight show rather than just calling the game. It comes across as shilling (the verb, not the bloated ex-pitcher) the game instead of letting the game speak for itself.
disapprove
Actually seems like a decent guy but I do not enjoy his play by play; he calls it like every play is the last play of the game or will be remembered for years to come “Celtics fans may look back at this moment years from now.”); not everything has to be historic Sean!
His #1 goal is to be Shakespeare behind the mic so he gets his call played on Sportscenter. Second only to John Dennis on the smarm-o-meter. Call the game and leave the solliloquies out.
Disapprove.
Does a good job on the radio, the rare times I actually listen to games on the radio. Not classless, so approve.
Agree 100% with Ironhead – it’s like he’s written his script in advance of the game. Doesn’t feel natural at all. Respect his knowledge of hoops, but he gets a disapprove in terms of overall listening experience.