Bingo Announcer
The young man plays five bingo cards, wins, and mounts the stage. He finds being on stage confusing. The lights are blinding, he does not understand the jokes and comments of the announcer,. Free Online Bingo Caller: use this bingo caller to host your own bingo games at home! Now with a bingo card generation tool so you can print cards to play with!
- Announcer Bingo is on Facebook. Join Facebook to connect with Announcer Bingo and others you may know. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected.
- ”Welcome to bingo night,” said the announcer, as everyone was sitting down.”There's quite a lot of senior citizens here,” said Lincoln, as he looked around the room.”We don't usually get younger people here Lincoln,” said Pop-Pop. “In fact, I think you're the first kid to play in quite a while.”.
Lawler calling a Clippers game in 2011. | |
Born | April 21, 1938 (age 82) |
---|---|
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Bradley University |
Occupation | Sports commentator |
Organization | Los Angeles Clippers |
Television | Fox Sports Prime Ticket |
Predecessor | Jerry Gross (1981-1982) Eddie Doucette (1984-1985) |
Spouse(s) | Jo Lawler |
Children | 3 |
Ralph Anthony Lawler (born April 21, 1938) is an American former television and radio personality. Lawler is best known for his 41-year tenure as the voice of the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Clippers. Going back to the franchise's six-year stint in San Diego (1978–84), Lawler has broadcast virtually every Clippers game since the franchise moved from Buffalo, New York in 1978, whether it be radio and/or television. There were only two seasons when Lawler did not serve as the team's primary play-by-play broadcaster: 1981–82 (Jerry Gross) and 1984–85 (Eddie Doucette); Lawler returned as the full-time voice in 1985–86. In 2019, Lawler was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Although the Clippers have been among the least successful NBA franchises, Lawler would provide Clippers fans with his enthusiastic commentary, which has made him a fan favorite. He has broadcast more than 3,000 Clippers games, including more than 1,600 consecutive games. He reached the 2,500-game milestone in a game versus the Boston Celtics, on February 26, 2011. Lawler reached the 3,000-game milestone on December 10, 2016 versus the New Orleans Pelicans.
Life and career[edit]
Lawler was born in Ohio and raised in Peoria, Illinois. His broadcasting career began in the 1960s upon graduating from Bradley University in his hometown. Lawler initially worked as a sports announcer at 1440 KPRO in Riverside, California and did some announcing at the Riverside International Raceway nearby. From there, Lawler went on to work in Philadelphia, where he broadcast games for the Flyers of the National Hockey League, the 76ers of the National Basketball Association, the Phillies of Major League Baseball, Big 5 college basketball, and Temple college football. He also worked as a sports reporter for then-CBS station WCAU-TV, before returning to Southern California for good in the late 1970s, calling the San Diego Conquistadors of the American Basketball Association and the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League.
Lawler has worked with Basketball Hall of Famer and current ESPN/ABC commentator Bill Walton, on locally televised Clippers broadcasts. Their broadcasts were wildly popular among Clippers (and many NBA) fans, because of their witty banter. Walton left the Clippers to work exclusively with ABC/ESPN when the two networks acquired the NBA broadcasts in 2002. Lawler's biggest broadcasting influences included Irv Kaze, a former sports executive (who had a stint as a San Diego Clippers general manager and hired Lawler in 1978) and long-time Los Angeles-area sports talk show host, before he died in 2003; and Los Angeles Lakers voice, Chick Hearn, who like Lawler, grew up in Illinois before moving on to Southern California. Lawler and former Clippers guard Shaun Livingston are alumni of Peoria (Central) High School. Lawler had previously worked on Clippers telecasts on Prime Ticket/Fox Sports West alongside former Clipper player and former color analyst, Mike Smith, over 15 seasons from 2002 to 2017. He worked alongside former San Antonio Spurs player Bruce Bowen, during the 2017/18 season.
Unlike other announcers who use headsets while calling the game, Lawler relies exclusively on a handheld microphone during games. His reasoning for it is because he feels he has 'much more control over the microphone by holding it.' He also added 'I've been doing it so long that if I wear a headset, I don't know what to do with my hands.'[1]
Lawler and his wife, Jo, have three grown children and seven grandchildren.
On March 3, 2016, Lawler was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Clippers coach Doc Rivers and several players attended the ceremony.[2]
On September 12, 2018, Lawler announced he would retire at the end of the 2018-19 season. He has missed only three games in his 40-year career.[3]
On February 15, 2019, Lawler was named the 2019 winner of the Curt Gowdy Media Award for electronic media by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.[4]
Quotes[edit]
- Bingo!: when a player makes a three-point basket. The 'Bingo' term derives from one-time Clipper and Cleveland Cavalier player Bobby 'Bingo' Smith,[5][6] who hit 22 threes for the San Diego Clippers in the three point shot's inaugural 1979-1980 season.[7]
- Bank Shot Bingo: The rare three-point basket off the backboard elicits this enthusiastic 'Lawlerism.'[8]
- ...Plus One: A scoring play and a foul resulting in one free-throw.
- Lawler's Law: The first team to 100 points wins the game.[9]
- Lawler's Law Corollary: The team that shoots 50% in field goal percentage wins the game.
- Lawler's Overtime Law: The first team to lead by four points in overtime wins the game.
- Fasten your seat belts, gang. We're going down to the wire!: It refers to when a close game is coming down to final minutes (or seconds). The phrase originates from Lawler's desire to emulate Hank Fisher,[10] who was a radio broadcaster for the Bradley Braves men's basketball team during Lawler's childhood.[11] According to Lawler, Fisher used to tell fans to, 'get up on their feet and help this ballclub get to the win' whenever the Braves were in a crunch time situation.[10]
- Oh Me, Oh My!: When a player makes an unbelievable and exciting play. Used with positive or negative inflections of the voice, according to whether a player plays for the Clippers or an opponent.[12]
- The Lob! The Jam!: When the team scores off of an alley-oop.[13]
- Out of the Box: When the team with the most turnovers is winning by over fifteen points.
- Settle Down Now, Mike Smith/Bruce Bowen: When Ralph has to tell his announcing pair, Mike Smith (Bruce Bowen in later seasons), to calm down after an exaggerating claim or stat.[14]
- My computer-like mind tells me that's…: introduction to giving a statistical percentage figure (such as shooting percentage, for a player or a team) after having given the raw data. Presumably the 'computer-like mind' is actually a calculator Lawler employs.
- Wedgie!: Whenever the ball gets stuck between the rim and the glass of the backboard during a shot attempt or a dunk.[15] This phrase and action is sought after by The Starters, who track and showcase all Wedgies that occur in the NBA on their show.[16]
References[edit]
Bingo Announcer App
- ^Clipperholics, FS. 'LA Clippers' Ralph Lawler Interview'. YouTube. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
- ^http://www.foxsports.com/san-diego/story/clippers-broadcaster-to-get-hollywood-star-030116
- ^https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-longtime-broadcaster-ralph-lawler-retiring-after-2018-19-season/
- ^'Marc Stein and Ralph Lawler Named Recipients of Basketball Hall of Fame's 2019 Curt Gowdy Media Award'. hoophall.com. February 15, 2019. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
- ^'The Many Meanings of 'Oh Me, Oh My' Lawlerisms'. YouTube. LA Clippers. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- ^'Ralph Lawler and the Origin of 'Bingo!''. YouTube. Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio: LA Clippers. 1 March 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- ^'Bingo Smith'. Basketball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- ^'Chris Paul BANK SHOT BINGO!!!!!!!'. YouTube. STAPLES Center, Los Angeles, California. 1 January 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- ^In a March 2009 interview with Larry Fleischer of InsideHoops.com, Lawler admitted to having lifted the idea of 'Lawler's Law' from Al Domenico, a former trainer of the Philadelphia 76ers. Lawler recalled that 'Al used to always say 'I'm telling you first team to 100 always wins.' When I started with the Clippers in San Diego in 1978, I thought maybe I'll steal that from him and make it alliterative and Lawler's Law kind of worked, so I used it a few times and began to hear it back from fans around the league and (I said) 'oh this works' and every city I go to now, the people quote it — it's amazing.' See: Larry Fleischer, 'Ralph Lawler Interview,' Inside Hoops.com, March 27, 2009. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
- ^ ab'Ralph Lawler Shares the Origins of 'Fasten Your Seatbelts!' Lawlerisms'. YouTube. LA Clippers. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- ^'Aggies Entertain Bradley Tonight'. The Daily Oklahoman (VOL. 60 NO. 51). The Oklahoma Publishing Company. 26 February 1951. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- ^'Ralph Lawler Explains The Origins of 'Bingo!' Lawlerisms'. YouTube. LA Clippers. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- ^'DeAndre Jordan: Dunk of the Year!?!?'. YouTube. STAPLES Center, Los Angeles, California: NBA. 10 March 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- ^Arnovitz, Kevin (17 April 2010). 'Lawler is Clippers fans' best friend'. ESPN. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- ^'Clipper's legend Ralph Lawler gives us the inside scoop on the origin of the wedgie'. Twitter. The Starters. 20 November 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- ^'Wedgie of the Year — The Starters'. YouTube. NBA. 6 April 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
External links[edit]
- Kevin Arnovitz, 'Ralph Lawler is a Clippers fan's best friend,' ESPN.com, April 16, 2010.
Play bingo with our virtual bingo caller
This tutorial explains how to play a bingo game with our virtual bingo caller. It was designed to facilitate the organization of a bingo game, to reduce the necessary equipment and to easily validate the winning cards. You can play with virtual cards, and/or printed cards. The virtual bingo caller is linked to the bingo cards of a game, and thus allows to track when a card is a winner in the “Winners list”.
You can have one active caller at a time. The caller will be activated for 3 hours, and you can play as many games as you want by clicking “Restart the game”. If you want players to have multiple cards, you’ll need to distribute printed cards. Players can have only one virtual card per web browser. When you restart the game, the caller and the players cards will be reset, and they keep playing with the same cards.
At this stage, you should already have created new game, and you can see it on the main page in your Games List. Go in the line of your game and click the “Play” icon.
Game Settings:
Let’s take a look at the game settings.
Number of virtual cards
This is where you choose if you play a game with printed bingo cards, with virtual bingo cards, or both. The game will be played by default with printed cards. To change the ratio of printed cards and virtual cards, modify the number of virtual cards. If you would like to play only with virtual bingo cards, click “Set all to virtual“. Enter a game name and a password for players to join your virtual game at BingoMaker.com and click “Join a game“.
Here is a video that demonstrates how the host and the players are connected using the virtual bingo caller.
Game name
When you have some virtual cards in your game, you can select the game name. The game name will appear in the Game List page.
Password
Enter a game name and a password for the players to join your game.
Game Type
If you have a simulation with your project, you can select “Simulation” and the caller will make the draws in the same order previously selected in your simulation. When the selection is at “Bingo Caller”, the caller works as a regular bingo caller.
Bingo Caller: The bingo caller will draw the values randomly during the game as a standard bingo caller used in bingo halls (cage with balls). To print the bingo cards for the game, choose a card template, click “View” and print out the number of cards required. If you plan to play multiple games, print the same cards several times.
Simulation: This option is only available if you have done a simulation for this game. The bingo caller will draw the values like a standard bingo caller, but it will follow the predefined order to reproduce the results. The winning combinations will respect those defined during the simulation and will be displayed in the lists as the game progresses. Select from the versions the simulation you wish to play during the game. If you restart a new game, the bingo caller will replay the same simulation.
Display “Current/Previous draws” on virtual cards
This option can hide the current and previous draw fields at the top and bottom of the virtual card.
Winning patterns to get a bingo
Choose from 64 patterns how players will get winning lines during the game. The boxes are all checked by default. The results will be displayed simultaneously during the game in the winners list. Winning Line (s) is a vertical and horizontal 5 consecutive squares, Winning diagonal (s) is and / (don’t click those ones if you just want the X) 4 corners is quite easy to get because it consider only B and O column, and it’s a requirement in order to get the X. Just select the pattern you want for the game. You can modify the winning patterns every time you restart the game.
Cost (credits)
The first game is free. The cost of using the bingo caller depends on the number of cards of the game at the price of 1 credit per 25 cards and it will be active for three hours. The 3 hours countdown starts when the caller is activate, and it is shown at the top right of the bingo caller.
Description of the virtual bingo caller interface
We tried to simplify the bingo caller in order to make sure anybody can use it. The bingo caller was designed in order to make the random draws, and manage all the other aspects of the game. The host can follow the game on his side using the different lists, and easily validate the winning cards. You can display the flashboard to players on an external screen like the giant board in the professional bingo halls.
Game Information
Players can join your game at this link with your game name and password. You can see in real time how many players are in your game, so you can start the draws when most players have joined. The caller will remain active for 3 hours, and you can play as many games as you want.
Manual and automatic draw
To start the game, manually click on “Make Draw“. To use the automatic draw, select the number of seconds between draws and click “Enable”. To disable the function, click “Disable“. When the option “Stop the draw when a card is winning” is set to “Yes“, the bingo caller will be deactivated when there is at least one winning card. If the option is set to “No“, the bingo caller will continue without taking into account to the winners. Draws will stop when all bingo values are drawn or when all the values of a simulation are drawn.
Board Options
Manual selection of the draws
The table allows organizers to quickly see the drawn values and follow the game. Current and previous draws are displayed at the top of the table. The table is automatically updated after each draw.
Make the draws with your bingo cage in the virtual world. Click the draw option “Manual selection of the draws” and select the numbers in the game table.
Open the board in an external window
This function opens the table in another window. Drag the window into the other screen (TV or projector) and display the board so that the players follow the draws as in professional bingo centers.
Playlist and Winners list
Bingo Announcer App For Computer
The Winners List displays the card numbers and the winning patterns of the winners.
Automatic validation of virtual cards
Only the cards that are played on a device will appear in the winners list. When a player has the possibility of having a bingo in his virtual card, the card number and pattern will appear in the winners list (not crossed out). Once the player clicks all the squares and get the winning pattern, a pop-up message will appear on the screen “Bingo”. At that moment, the card will be crossed out in the winners list to indicate that it has been validated.
Manual validation of printed cards
The validation of the winners in this table enables you to mark the cards that have been validated. To validate a card, click on the card in the winners list and click “Validate“. The card will be crossed out to indicate that it has been validated. If you have selected the option “Do a draw among winners at the end of the game“, only crossed out cards will be part of the final draw.
Ways to end the game
Electronic Bingo Announcer
End the game and do the draw
This function allows a draw among players who have won winning lines during the game. Making the draw finishes the game and displays the desired number of winners. Only validated cards will be part of the final draw among winners. This way of ending the game can be accomplished with printed cards by playing with the 4 corners method, read more at: How to play bingo?.
Restart the game
This function enables you to reset all the bingo caller tables and to start another gam. You can play as many games as you want until there is no time left on the active bingo caller. When you restart the game, players stay connected to your game, their cards are reseted, and they keep playing with the same card again.
Close the game
When you close the game, the caller is deactivated. Players will be ask to leave the game and then redirected to the Games List page. The remaining time of the 3 hours countdown is lost.