For a while, I have wanted to do a list like this. While I think ESPN has jumped the shark, the channel still permeates our homes, our bars, and our lives a majority of our television-viewing time. I was originally going to do a ranking of the current SportsCenter anchors, but some of the best ESPN has to offer either don't anchor SportsCenter anymore or never did and simply appear on other shows in the family of networks.
So, here is my top ten current ESPN personalities. Please note this list does not include anyone from the talking head shows (PTI, Around the Horn, First Take) which means that Wilbon and Reali won't be on the list. But you can rest assured Skip Bayless wasn't making this list if it the best ESPN personalities named "Skip."
Honorable mention to those who are no longer with the network: Dan Patrick, Keith Olbermann, Rich Eisen, Craig Kilborn, and Charley Steiner. There was no better duo than Patrick and Olbermann back in the day. That was destination programming night in and night out. Anyway, without further ado...
10. Karl RavechRavech's main duties is hosting Baseball Tonight, and he seems to anchor the show more than most. What separates this show from the other shows on the network is the rapid fire in-game highlights that are aired (especially during the 10pm edition). And Ravech handles these almost flawlessly. He seems to have a fantastic rapport with the revolving door of analysts that sit to his left each night. He even makes them all sound smart (though making Eric Young or Eduardo Perez sound smart is like running a 3 minute mile). He's got a good sense of humor too but he's not over-the-top. Just a very solid host who moves the show along with ease.
9. Trey WingoWingo is to NFL Live what Ravech is to Baseball Tonight. They have very similar styles. Wingo famously was given the NFL Live gig instead of Rich Eisen, which caused Eisen to bolt ESPN and begin working at the NFL Network. I was a bit unsure of that decision when it happened, but Wingo has answered the call. He seems to be at his best when Mark Schlereth and Merrill Hoge are in studio with him, though he handles things fine when "experts" like Tim Hasselbeck join him in studio. Wingo will likely take over for Chris Berman whenever he abdicates his throne as the NFL Czar at ESPN.
8. Chris BermanSpeak of the devil. If this were 10 years ago, Berman might be close to #1. I'll admit...being President, Vice President, Secretary, and Member-at-Large of the "Superman Wears Brett Favre Pajamas" Club has tempered my rank. But, looking past that, and his tiny bit of senility, Berman still does it for me as the Big Poppa of the NFL at ESPN. Tom Jackson deserves mention here because their chemistry has been evident for over a decade. The way they feed off each other when doing highlights on "The Blitz" makes me miss the days of (the real) NFL Primetime. Berman's "WOOP's" still make me giggle like a schoolgirl. And while the "back back back" gets annoying, I still enjoy him during the Home Run Derby each summer (though I miss the days when Piazza was in the booth with him...those made for some of the most awkward/hilarious interactions I've ever heard in broadcasting). Berman will always have a spot on this list until he gets arrested for watching Brett Favre sleep in his home.
7. Barry Melrose
Sure, hockey does not draw like the old days. And this may be labeled as a pseudo-homer pick due to my love of hockey. But Barry Melrose is simply awesome for several reasons: his Canadian accent, his mullet (see right) laced with gray, and his recurring goatees. When he had a cup of coffee with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2008-2009 season, ESPN had Matthew Barnaby handle the hockey analysis and the void without Melrose was tangible. Melrose is very direct and rarely minces words (not to be confused with TSN's Don Cherry, who is actually full of hate and an admitted xenophobe). The guys at SportsCenter seem to love him too. While there is a minute part of me that reserves hatred for him because of his not so subtle bias against the Rangers, his personality and look make him hard to stay mad at for long.
6. John BuccigrossBoy do I miss the days that ESPN carried the NHL. Because that would mean we can still be treated to NHL 2night, which Buccigross hosted back in the day. But he is still with the network and does SportsCenter and does a damn good job. He always finds a way to crowbar hockey information into his broadcasts. Not only that, the guy's hilarious and is a huge music fan. One of his mainstays is "What (insert band member here) is to (insert band here), (insert athlete here) is to (insert team here)." Some are beyond obscure so I have zero idea what he's referencing, but I still laugh nonetheless, much like at Family Guy references I pretend to get sometimes.
5. John KrukSomewhere, my dad and brother, both big fans of Filthadelphia, are smiling. Kruk has worked his way up to the top team on Baseball Tonight and with good reason. He simply brings it every single broadcast. I had no idea what to expect when ESPN brought him on, but he has shattered whatever expectations I had. He's intelligent, he's funny, and he has fantastic stories about his playing days. Plus, who can get enough of this video (
http://mlb.mlb.com/media/player/mp_tpl_3_1.jsp?w_id=344794&w=/library/open/allstar/qa/93as_bigunit_wild_350.wmv&pid=false&cid=mlb&fid=350&v=2) of Randy Johnson v. Kruk in the 1993 All-Star Game?
4. Neil EverettWhen Everett first came on the scene, I couldn't stand him. But much like "Cooo-stanza," the more I heard him, the more I liked him. I like a lot of his euphamisms: "Bartender...JACK!" for a home run. Or "(insert football player here) has reservations for 6." And what other ESPN guy loves Hawaii as much as him? He handles the full-time 1am duties on the Left Coast now and has handled the new responsibility quite well. I get somewhat annoyed with the LA-centricity of that version sometimes though. But I suppose that balances out Bristol's love affair of the New York and Boston markets.
3. Peter GammonsThe Godfather of baseball. It takes a lot for a Boston guy to win me over but he did so with ease. He's been voted National Sportswriter of the Year three times (1990, 1991, and 1993) and was honored at the Hall of Fame in 2005. He is a legend and shows why each time he appears on Baseball Tonight or SportsCenter. His knowledge about the game, appreciation for its history, and heightened intelligence make him a joy to watch night in and night out. I mean, the guy suffered from a brain aneurysm in June 2006 and returned to ESPN three months later. I have yet to talk to a person who had a bad thing to say about him (besides being a Red Sox fan I guess).
2. Scott Van PeltQuick story: Through my fraternity, a bunch of us got jobs working as ushers for the Final Four when they were at the Georgia Dome in 2002. I was lucky enough to get assigned to one of the lower sections at the north end of the court. I was completely ignoring orders to keep my back to the action and kept my attention on the court the whole time. It just so happens that Maryland was in the Final Four that year. A gentleman was trying to not so subtly sneak into my section and I yelled at him and asked to see his ticket. It turned out to be Maryland alum Scott Van Pelt. Once I saw that, I shook his hand, told him what a big fan I was, and let him go wherever he pleased. The guy was incredibly nice. Anywho, my brief run-in with him aside, Van Pelt is a complete package on the SportsCenter set. He's hilarious, he's knowledgeable, and he's not full of himself when he does highlights. He's getting up there in age but he still brings some youth to his broadcasts. And, perhaps most importantly, he's an inspiration to us hair-challenged all over the world.
1. John AndersonIt's weird. This was an easy choice for me and yet there's nothing that stands out about Anderson. He's simply great. I think I rank him as the best because I think I would bring a similar personality to the broadcast. He doesn't go out of his way to be funny, he calls the highlights to near perfection, and, to his credit, doesn't lean on too many canned catch-phrases and euphamisms to get the point across. He seems to have good chemistry with any anchor ESPN teams him with, which appears to be difficult for some.
And that's it. Notables not on this list include
Stuart Scott (soon became his own biggest fan and went from one of the top personalities to borderline unwatchable),
Kenny Mayne (I love the guy, but he doesn't do ANYTHING anymore),
Steve Levy (this was an unfortunate cut, as he is not only Jewish but a hockey fan and hilarious), and
Linda Cohn (See: Steve Levy).
And for what it's worth, if we're ranking the "talking heads" personalities...
1. Tony Reali (admitted man-crush on the guy...what can I say?)
2. Michael Wilbon
3. Woody Paige (misunderstood!)
4. Tony Kornheiser (would be higher but honestly doesn't seem like he knows a lot)
5. Tim Cowlishaw
6. J.A. Adande
7. Mike Lupica
8. Bob Ryan (feels like blasphemy but the guy is on point a lot)
290821852. Skip Bayless
Considering I'm already pondering changing my list, I'm sure the calls for snubs will be endless. Let the discussion begin.
hit himself in the face with a bat, let alone get a hit a baseball in the majors). 
3. I think everyone in the gambling community is puking this morning looking at the fact Jamarcus Russell was 17/28 and had only 2 picks vs. the Eagles…NOW YOU DECIDE TO HAVE A NON-APOCALYPTIC GAME?! Speaking of which, I blame the SportsGuy for mushing the 3-team teaser/heavy favorite run everyone was on. Vegas won big this weekend on the NFL. 
