- Sid Waddell
Sid Waddell (born
August 10 ,1940 inAlnwick, Northumberland ) is a British born "Geordie "commentator and television personality. The son of a Northumberland miner, he attended King Edward VI School (KEVI), Morpeth, and he went on to obtain a scholarship to St John's College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a degree in modern history. He currently lives inLeeds . [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/article3048278.ece Man who delivered whole new language to sport remains as sharp as an arrow] ]Early TV career
Shortly after finishing University, Waddell joined
Granada Television working withMichael Parkinson on documentary programmes. In1972 he moved toYorkshire Television where he created the showIndoor League [ [http://www.sidwaddell.compsyswebdesign.com/w.htm Profile from Waddell's web site] ] which featured various pub games includingdarts . Between 1972 and 1974, he was a producer for over 600 editions of local news programme, "Calendar".In
1976 , he switched to the BBC and his prior experience with televised darts helped him to become one of the commentators on the firstWorld Professional Darts Championship when it began in1978 . He stayed with the BBC until1994 .Other television credits
During his time with the BBC, Waddell penned ten episodes of a successful children's television series,
Jossy's Giants in 1986. He was also the writer of two series of another children's showSloggers which ran from 1994 to 1996.His credits also include working with the eccentric scientist
Magnus Pyke and wasAlan Whicker ’s producer on "Whicker’s Women" in 1972.He worked on "The
Russell Harty Show" and in 1993 did a series forTyne Tees Television called "Waddell’s World" in which he was a butler to a posh Tweeddale family, a caravanner and on the dole.He made one performance as the "Voice of the Balls" on the "National Lottery Red Alert" on
BBC in 1999. He claims to have been sacked for being "tooGeordie ". [ [http://www.sidwaddell.compsyswebdesign.com/pre.htm Waddell's television career] ]Besides darts, he has commentated on numerous other sporting events produced by
Sky Sports and/orMatchroom Sport . Most notable, he regularly commentated on the four annualnine ball pool events on which the two companies collaborated (World Pool Championship ;World Pool Masters ;World Pool League ; andMosconi Cup ). However, as these events began to be hosted further away from the UK, Waddell gradually withdrew from the sport. His commentaries in these events gained him an international following, particularly in thePhilippines .In 2007, he recorded a series of darts programmes about the World Darts Championship from 1978 until 1990 for ESPN Classic, which were later broadcast on the channel in December 2007.
PDC darts
Contrary to popular belief, Waddell wasn't part of the PDC revolution from its beginning.
Dave Lanning andJohn Gwynne were the commentators on the first PDC World Championship in 1994. Waddell was still with the BBC for the first BDO Championship after the split in 1994, although it was later in the year that he joined theSky Sports commentary team. Waddell now commentates on all major PDC televised darts tournaments.He has written eleven published books, including biographies of
John Lowe ,Jocky Wilson andPhil Taylor and his new book, 'Bellies and Bullseyes ' publishes on 30th August 2007 (Ebury Press ).At the 2008 PDC Awards Dinner he was incepted as a member of the PDC Hall of Fame along with fellow commentator
Dave Lanning .Quotes
His skewed eloquence has won him great affection among fans and fellow commentators. Here are some of the most notable quotes from Waddell down the years.
*"Fordham is sweating like a hippo in a power shower."
*"He's majestic, just like that great big fat bloke singingNessun Dorma ."
*"He's got a heart as big asMoby-Dick !"
*"That's the greatest comeback sinceLazarus ."
*"Bristow reasons ... Bristow quickens ... Aaahhhhh, Bristow."
*"Jocky Wilson ... what an athlete."
*"When Alexander of Macedonia was 33 he cried salt tears because there were no more worlds to conquer - Bristow is only 27"
*"The atmosphere is so tense, if Elvis walked in with a portion of chips, you could hear the vinegar sizzle on them"
*"BigCliff Lazarenko 's idea of exercise is sitting in a room with the windows open taking the lid off something cool and fizzy."
*"As they say at the DHSS, we're getting the full benefit here."
*"There hasn't been this much excitement since the Romans fed the Christians to the Lions."
*"The players are under so much duress, it's like duressic park out there!"
*"This lad has more checkouts thanTesco s."
*"You might see someShakespeare on BBC2 but how about this for drama"
*"John Lowe is striding out like Alexander the Great conquering the Persians"
*"When I seeSteve Davis I see two letters... C S... Cue Sorcerer"
*"Barneveld's copying of Taylor's understacker will be his downfall" - (Mentioned more than once during early rounds of the 2007 PDC World Championship which Raymond van Barneveld went on to win - beating Phil Taylor in the final!)
*"This guy's so good, he could play without arms!"
*"There's only one word for that - magic darts!"
*"Keith Deller 's not just an underdog, he's an underpuppy!"
*"I don't know what he's had for breakfast but Taylor knocked the Snap, Crackle and Pop outta Bristow"
*"Even Hypotenuse would have trouble working out these angles"
*"Steve Beaton - The adonis of darts, what poise, what elegance - a true Roman gladiator with plenty of hair wax."
*"Eat your heart outHarold Pinter , we've got drama with a capital D in Essex."
*"Steve Beaton, he's notAdonis , he's THE donis"
*"That's the créme da le milk, that is".
*"He's twitching like a Frog in a Blender."
*"Mark my words, this kid is a future World Champion" - said about virtually every player under the age of 30 that appears on television while he is commentating, includingColin Lloyd ,Wayne Mardle ,Mark Dudbridge ,Adrian Lewis ,James Wade andMichael van Gerwen , none of whom have won the World Championship yet.
*"Not evenHarry Houdini covered in rubbing oil could have got out of that one!" (Commentating on a particularly tricky pool shot)
*"James Wade is a bag of nerves, like a bag of ice cold spanners in a sack."
*"He's got the body language of a snake with a hernia!"
*"He's got the hand-to-eye coordination of a rattlesnake."
*"He's like a kangaroo on a pogo stick!"References
External links
* [http://www.sidwaddell.compsyswebdesign.com/q.htm Classic Waddell Commentary] from Waddell's Official web site.
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