We've discussed this on several occasions in the past.
Not so much pet peeves as things that are known to be "best practices.:
Avoid:
"We have..."
"...by the..."
"...on the..."
"Remains..."
"Still..."
"Replay..."
Reference to a team by its jersey color (probably the single most amateur thing a Referee can do when making an announcement).
Always:
Use Offense, Defense, Passing team, Kicking team, Fumbling team, Return team, or actual team name (Coronado, Eastern Hills, TCU, Oklahoma, etc., etc., etc.).
Pause between 'phrases' of an announcement. For most fouls, each phrase and the pause afterward should take about one full second.
"Holding." "Number 77." "Offense." "Ten yard penalty." "Second down."
That announcement should take a total of about 5 seconds.
The pause between phrases is very important. Don't rush your announcements.
A lot of folks these days are announcing the team before the player's number. That isn't "wrong," but the convention was always to hold the audience in suspense that extra second, as to the guilty team. Example:
Historically: "Holding. Number 99. Defense. Ten yard penalty. First down."
(Today, you hear, "Holding. Defense. Number 99. Ten yard penalty. First down." That takes all the fun out of the suspense in the announcement. Do what you want. But the suspense makes for good drama).
Most folks get hung up on announcing the enforcement spot. The only folks that know the difference between the 'previous spot,' the 'succeeding spot,' the 'spot of the foul,' etc., are officials. The fans have no idea what those are. Don't worry about that, at all. Just announce the distance, and then the next down number.
Having said that, personally, when a down is truly repeated due to a live-ball foul (or offsetting), I have begun to use the expression, "[n] down will be repeated." Like, "Holding. Number 55. Offense. Ten yard penalty. Second down will be repeated." And, if it is a Try, I will say, "The try will be repeated."
Similarly, don't get hung up on whether it is "...still...," "...remains...," or "...repeat..." the down. Maintain your phrases, and just say the number of the next down. "Offside. Defense. Five yard penalty. Third down."
For some time now (over 10 years), the directive has been to NOT use the dead-ball signal and NOT say anything like, "Prior to the snap," for false starts. Just say the foul: "False start. Number 66. Offense. Five yard penalty. Second down."
Again, for fouls that prevented the snap, something I have been doing is to announce, "Second down will continue." If it is a try, I will say, "The try will continue."
Now this is a personal problem, I will admit. To preface this, if a ball isn't snapped 100% properly, then there wasn't a snap. So, to say, "Prior to the snap," is, officially, saying something that didn't happen. For a very long time, for those very few occasions when I might need to let folks know that the action they saw was "nothing," because there was a foul or a time out, I have been using the phrase, "Before the ball could be snapped..." Like this: "Before the ball could be snapped - offside with contact. Number 55. Defense. Five yard penalty. Third down." (Or, "Third down will continue.")
Let's not forget time-outs: "Time out. Weatherford. That's their second charged time out of the first half." Or, "Time out. South Oak Cliff. That's their third and final time out of the second half."
Or, clock re-sets: "Clock operator. Please set the game clock to two fifty; two-five-zero." When re-set, say: "Thank you."
Practice. Get in front of a mirror, and practice routine announcements. Take a few minutes during lunch every day to script unusual and/or multiple fouls.
Unless you are working a state championship game, do not use the expression, "The ruling on the field..." If you need to explain something, then just say what happened. Like: "The ball was fumbled before the ball carrier's knee hit the ground, and the ball was recovered by Elkins - first down." Now, if you ARE using replay, then, yes, say, "The ruling on the field is that the ball was fumbled before the ball carrier's knee hit the ground, and the ball was recovered by Elkins - first down. The previous down is under further review."
Which brings me to "down" versus "play." A 'play' is a segment of a 'down.' Instead of saying, "During the play...," say, "During the down, personal foul..." Once in a great number of blue moons, you might have cause to use the term 'play' in your announcement. But that would be exceptionally rare.
I strongly recommend that the word "down" be used, in leu of "play," when making announcements. Example: "The helmet came off of number 99, defense. He may not participate in the next down."
I could go on for a long time. I'll stop now.
