After Steve Lyons’ “habla-ing” got him “en fuego” with Fox executives, I began to think of the colorful broadcasters put in front of cameras that become the entertainment themselves rather than the sports they cover.

Take Lyons who, after manager Lou Piniella’s comments about Athletics’ Marco Scutaro’s success at bat in the playoffs, made the analogy of finding a “wallet on Friday” in Piniella’s Spanglish address to what his players needed to do in the playoffs, including getting “en fuego.”

According to the Associated Press, Lyons joked that Piniella was “habla-ing Espanol” – butchering the conjugation for the word “to speak” – and added, “I still can’t find my wallet.”

“I don’t understand him, and I don’t want to sit too close to him now,” Lyons continued.

Fox executives told Lyons after the game it was his last.

Lyons isn’t the only athlete turned broadcaster that has shaken things up. Take fellow slugger Ron Santo who, after a career with the Cubs, turned in his glove for a microphone. Although Santo’s jersey has changed, he’s still a Cub at heart.

In his show, Santo has been known to slip in “we” when referring to the Cubs.

You may be asking yourself, “What’s wrong with that, Mike, all-knowing sports guru?”

The problem starts with W and ends with E. Hint: It rhymes with pee.

Santo makes it hard for journalists to argue that they provide unbiased reports. You get kicked out of press boxes for cheering on a team. That’s why fans don’t make good sports journalists and former players make for worse ones.

Can you say Bill Walton and Scottie Pippen? I’ll leave you to ponder those namesakes.

Or how about Charles Barkley, who’s never short of ear-waxing comments?

Take this analysis he had of Stromile Swift and his potential: “He’s one of those guys. We’re gonna be saying for years it’s time for him, and the time is going to be over. It’s frustrating for me, man, when I see a guy with that kind of ability.

“I think we can fairly say the jury is still out, but we’ve been saying that for (six) years. You know, one of my favorite lines on television – and he’s in that category – is, man, that boy can run and jump. So can a deer. But I’d never put a deer in a game.”

Barkley, who plans on running for governor of Alabama, doesn’t shy away from politics either: “Man, everything gets blamed on the Clintons, every single thing in this world. I think Bill Clinton shot JFK, too.”

Mispronounced names and repeated stories are notorious for this not-so-all-star team of sports broadcasters.

So why do we watch them? I don’t know. Perhaps it’s their keen sense in fashion, as TNT broadcaster Craig Sager showed by sporting a red velvet blazer in last year’s NBA playoffs.

Is there just no one better? If you’re going to be ridiculous, go big or go home. Take my man Brian “Boom goes the dynamite” Collins.

Thanks to Youtube.com, anyone can get 3 minutes and 44 seconds of fame. See for yourself.