Top 5: Best Sports TV Theme Songs

I came across a story on Sports Media Watch about the infamous NBA on NBC theme returning and it got me wondering what sports themes on TV do I really like hearing, what themes get me hype for sports. There are a few that stick out in my mind as classic sports themes.

5) NCAA on CBS: This theme screams March Madness and every time I hear this song, it brings a smile to my face because it's buzzer-beater time. My favorite part of the song is the way it ends, it's packs a great college basketball punch, whatever that may mean. The ESPN theme is good, but no other theme in college sports matches this.

 

4) Monday Night Football (ESPN/ABC): While there are higher ranking football themes on the list, none of them can match these popularity of this theme. This song has become synonymous with Monday nights and not only is it a great theme, the weird thing about this song is that it packs some bass on your speakers, more TV themes need bass. A weird request, but yes I am asking for more bass in my TV sports themes please.

3) NFL on Fox: Let's put the dancing robot and Joe Buck aside, this is one thing the football coverage on Fox has done right. This song gets me ready for football every Sunday and when I hear it I know that I'm about to see some important NFC football. From start to finish, this song doesn't let up and that's why it makes it inside my top 3.

2) MLB on Fox: Well, for all of the flak we give Fox's sports coverage, they were able to produce two of the three best themes in sports. But for whatever reason Fox decided to discontinue the MLB theme and replace it with the NFL on Fox song, it makes no sense at all and it really confused me when I was watching the NLCS last year and I heard football music, but that aside, I always equate baseball with this song.

1) NBA on NBC: The...best...theme...ever, there's no argument that this song didn't do it's job better than any other theme ever. I know that it's only my opinion, but there's no one I've talked to that hasn't said that Roundball Rock wasn't the most kick-butt (I have to watch my language) theme in sports period. It's so great that it was even resurrected for the '08 summer Olympics. It's majestic, it's fitting and it's just right. No words can describe this song, I'll let the song do the talking for me.

Hustle Points: NBA Thoughts

It's always a big night for the NBA when the Lakers and Celtics meet and tonight is one of those nights and there's a myriad of things to discuss about the NBA, so welcome to my NBA thoughts column.

• It's nice to have a rivalry that is the magnitude of Lakers/Celtics, I feel that after these two teams met up again for the 2008 Finals it resparked the flame between these two organizations that has kept up ever since and around the time of that Finals series we've seen other current day NBA rivalries pop up. They're certainly not on the scale of Lakers/Celtics but they're entertaining games. There's Celtics/Magic, Celtics/Bulls, Heat/Lakers, Nuggets/Lakers and of course Mavs/Spurs has always been a good one and I'm sure there are others I'm neglecting, but I'm so glad that the NBA is rich on games like tonight because they are the match ups that the fans look for now. 

• The Carmelo Anthony Saga Continues- 'Melo in the purp and yellow, not going to happen, but boy did it spark up a huge debate about which big three would be the league's best if 'Melo joined Kobe and Gasol. My pick would have to go to the Lakers because Gasol overrules Bosh any day of the week and Boston's Big 3 is unfortunately on the way out. But in terms of Big 2, it would have to hands down be Miami because Wade and James are to explosive and Bryant has aged too much for that duo to be better. 

• Jerry Sloan is apparently calling it a career after 23 seasons with the Utah Jazz...I can't believe that number, 23 seasons. He was hired as the head coach of the Jazz five months after I was born, that's insane! There seemed to be issues between Sloan and his star point guard Deron Williams and it looks like Sloan may have had enough and the Jazz is a franchise that has rode with Sloan since 1988 and they weren't going to move Williams, so the issues between the two were definitely going to continue until one had enough and it seems like the 68 year old Sloan is now ready to call it a career. It'll be interesting to see what stories come out now that Sloan has stepped down.

• The Cavs, oh my goodness the Cavs, they were actually favored to beat the Detroit Pistons and then proceeded to put forth one of their worst performances of the season. One of my favorite shows from the 90's was Kenan & Kel and I have to quote Kenan on this issue regarding the Cavs' loss to the Pistons last night, "Whhhhhyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?"

• The Sixers lost a tough one last night to the Orlando Magic, in the fourth quarter they just couldn't keep up with all the shooters the Magic put on the floor late in the game and J.J. Redick killed them. The Sixers have always had a problem keeping tabs on the Magic and it showed again last night, I had a sense of deja vu watching the game, it took me back to the playoff series the two teams played a couple years back when it seemed like Orlando would hit 12 threes a game and I actually think they did.

Photos Courtesy ESPN and Reuters