Sports media: Who would call your ‘Game of the Week’ in each sport?

“Games of the Week” aren’t just games of the week. They’re broadcasts of the week, no matter the sport.

Back in the day, baseball players called them “Games of the World,” with their tongue firmly in their cheek. If it wasn’t the only nationally televised game of the week, it was one of two aired regionally, and all the trappings that came with it drew players’ sarcasm.

Now we have multiple baseball games of the week. Fox will show a game on FS1 and its broadcast network on Saturdays. ESPN has “Sunday Night Baseball.” TBS will carry a game on the last 13 Sundays of the regular season. MLB Network has showcase games.

The NFL has national games Sunday, Monday and Thursday, with some late Sunday afternoon games airing across the country. The NBA and NHL have put so many games on their broadcast partners that you wonder why anyone would buy NBA League Pass or NHL Center Ice.

Games of the week have lost their cachet, but they’re not going anywhere. And they still can make for memorable moments, with the best in broadcasting putting their voice to the action. So I’ve been thinking …

If each sport had one game of the week, whom would I want to call it?

I chose from broadcasters who regularly call(ed) national games. To make this more fun, I have two pairs for each sport: One is current, the other all-time. Granted, my all-time might not coincide with your all-time, so please don’t be offended by any omissions. In fact, feel free to send me your picks. Here we go:

Baseball

Current: Bob Costas and Tom Verducci

Costas has always been at his best calling baseball. It’s his true love. Cubs fans might remember him best for his call of the Sandberg Game (hopefully not for chastising Pedro Strop; not his best moment). He sets up situations and delivers a great call of the action. Verducci is the best baseball writer today. He has keen insights on the game and great stories from his extensive reporting. With him, you don’t need an ex-player in the booth. These two are as thorough, thoughtful and knowledgeable as they come.

All-time: Vin Scully and Joe Garagiola Sr.

I can’t count how many times I listened to these two on NBC’s “Saturday Game of the Week” in the 1980s. Scully is arguably the best baseball broadcaster ever. It was like story time at the library when he called a game. Garagiola added insight and levity. They were on the mic for so many big moments (Bill Buckner’s error and Kirk Gibson’s homer in their respective World Series, to name two) that their voices are ingrained in fans’ memories. Whether it was June or October, they made the game feel important.

Basketball

Current: Marv Albert and Hubie Brown

I’ve always thought sports have accents. Football has a tinge of southern drawl. Hockey has the whole Canadian thing going. And basketball has Brown. He is the dialect of the sport. A former coach, he teaches the audience and calls the game simultaneously. Albert was practically the Bulls’ play-by-play man in the postseasons of the 1990s, and he still has the big-game voice. Brown is 85 and Albert 77. Appreciate them while they’re still behind the mic.

All-time: Jim Durham and Brown

There’s no substitute for Brown, so I won’t even try. Durham was the basketball voice of my youth, and as they say, everything was better when you were younger. He passed away far too early, at 65 in 2012. He was as descriptive as they came and full of energy.

Football

Current: Al Michaels and Tony Romo

In an era with more discussion about rules than ever, Michaels rules. He’s as well-versed in a sport’s rulebook as they come. It also seems he’d make a better clock manager than a lot of coaches. He’s as smooth as they come, and he has enough big-game calls and memorable moments to fill a greatest-hits album. Romo is a phenom. He’s passionate and prescient and brings a youthful energy to the broadcast. He was a hit from his first game only two seasons ago, and he has raised the bar for all football analysts.

All-time: Pat Summerall and John Madden

Madden is a no-brainer. He made broadcasts fun because of his exuberance, with a “Boom” here and a “Bang” there. He could draw ratings on his own. As for a partner, I wondered if Madden and Howard Cosell could coexist, but such strong personalities probably would clash. Then I figured you can’t have Madden without Summerall, who was the perfect complement. They partnered for 22 years on CBS and Fox, and that was after Summerall already had been with CBS for 20 years. All due respect to John Facenda, but Summerall was the voice of the NFL.

Hockey

Current: Mike “Doc” Emrick and Eddie Olczyk

Emrick might be the most eloquent hockey announcer ever. He’s the sport’s Vin Scully, able to weave in stories while keeping up with the action. And when the pace turns frenetic, so does Emrick, who can reach a decibel level that belies his stature. Olczyk is one of the best analysts among all sports. He’s so quick with an observation that the game must be in slow motion to him. Viewers learn about the game from listening to him, and that’s the biggest compliment an analyst can receive.

All-time: Gary Thorne and Bill Clement

The retiring Bob Cole of “Hockey Night in Canada” is a legend, and I enjoy listening to Jim Hughson when NHL Network airs “HNIC.” But sticking with U.S. broadcasts, Thorne and Clement were fantastic when they called games on ESPN. Thorne was as exciting to listen to as anyone, and Clement provided strong analysis and opinions.