Behind the Mic: Enberg To Join Scully in Retirement Following 2016 MLB Season; Lavin Lands at Fox, Pac-12 Networks
Story Highlights
Hall of Fame broadcaster Dick Enberg says 2016 will be his final season as the primary play-by-play television voice of the San Diego Padres. Enberg, 80, made the announcement just before the Padres played the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday night. He has been with the Padres since 2010. The Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer received the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award this summer. He also has received the Rozelle Award from the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Gowdy Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Famed for his exclamation of “Oh my!” Enberg has been calling major league games in Southern California for nearly 20 seasons, split by stints as one of the most recognizable voices on NBC and CBS. (ESPN)
Enberg’s announcement comes less than a month after Vin Scully revaled that 2016 will be his final season in the broadcast booth for the Dodgers, which would mark the end of his record 67-year tenure with the same franchise. The Hall of Fame announcer turns 88 in November. Scully has yet to discuss with the team how much he will work next season. He currently calls all nine innings of home games and road games in California and Arizona for the Dodgers’ television home on SportsNet LA, while the first three innings of his games are simulcast on the radio…
…Former St. John’s and UCLA head coach Steve Lavin has joined FOX Sports’ and Pac-12 Networks’ college basketball coverage beginning this fall with the 2015-16 season. For Fox, he will serve as a studio analyst for college basketball coverage on FOX broadcast network and FS1, appearing on pregame, halftime and postgame shows plus the weekly FS1 program INSIDE THE BIG EAST. He also calls select games for FOX Sports throughout the season and makes appearances on FS1 signature programs AMERICA’S PREGAME and FOX SPORTS LIVE. For Pac-12 Networks, Lavin will contribute to the Networks’ fourth season of men’s basketball coverage as both a studio and game analyst
Lavin enters his 28th consecutive year associated with college athletics, having previously served as head coach at St. John’s and UCLA and as a broadcaster with ESPN and ABC. In 11 years as a head coach, Lavin led teams to 10 postseason appearances, including eight NCAA Tournament berths, nine seasons of 20 or more wins and posted a career record of 226-131 (.633). Between his coaching stints at UCLA and St. John’s, Lavin worked at Disney Corporation from 2003 to 2010 as an ESPN/ABC college basketball and NBA Draft color commentator…
…Dusty Baker, a three-time National League Manager of the Year, has joined Turner Sports as a studio analyst for MLB on TBS coverage leading up to and throughout the 2015 MLB Postseason. Baker, 17th on baseball’s all-time managerial wins list, will team with 2015 Hall of Fame inductee Pedro Martinez and nine-time MLB All-Star Gary Sheffield as studio analysts and host Casey Stern for pre- and post-game shows during TBS’ exclusive 2015 National League postseason coverage. The studio team will also offer pre-game coverage for the final two Sunday MLB on TBS regular season telecasts (Sept. 27 and Oct. 4). During a 20-year managerial career, Baker led the Cincinnati Reds (2008-13), Chicago Cubs (2003-06) and San Francisco Giants (1993-2002) to a total of seven playoff appearances. As manager of the San Francisco Giants, he was a three-time NL Manager of the Year (1993, 1997 and 2000) and guided the team to the NL pennant in 2002. Baker also had a 19-year playing career, including two MLB All-Sar selections, with the Oakland Athletics (1985-86), San Francisco Giants (1984), Los Angeles Dodgers (1976-83) and Atlanta Braves (1968-75) – and won a World Series championship as a member of the Dodgers in 1981. He most recently served as a studio analyst for ESPN in 2007…
…David Feherty has made NBCUniversal his exclusive media home, which will include adding Feherty to NBC’s golf tournament coverage team, including the Olympics; an extension of his award-winning series Feherty on Golf Channel; and a slate of new ventures highlighted by a Universal Television development deal. In his new role with NBC Sports, Feherty will be a walking and tower analyst on NBC and Golf Channel, primarily for their slate of marquee PGA TOUR events, including the “Florida Swing,” THE PLAYERS, and FedExCup Playoffs. Additionally, Feherty will be a fixture on NBC Sports’ coverage of the Olympic Games, Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, as well as select PGA of America and European Tour events. Feherty also will call golf’s original championship, once NBC Sports becomes the home of The Open Championship in 2017. In addition to calling golf at a majority of NBC’s 24 golf events on broadcast television in 2016, Feherty’s addition to the NBCUniversal family also includes a First Look Development Deal Universal Television, a division of NBCUniversal. Golf Channel has also extended his award-winning self-titled talk show, Feherty, which helped propel him to a 2014 Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Sports Host. Feherty will continue to be a regular guest on Golf Channel’s two daily news programs, Morning Drive and Golf Central, including when Golf Central goes “Live From” golf’s biggest events. Exclusive Feherty long- and short-form content will have a dedicated digital home, reflective of his unique personality. Golf Channel to collaborate with Feherty on his one-man stage show…
…Veteran Hispanic television broadcaster Jessi Losada has joined FOX Deportes to serve as its play-by-play announcer for NFL and College Football and blow-by-blow announcer for Premier Boxing Champions. Losada makes his debut today on the network’s Tuesday night PBC series. Losada joins FOX Deportes from Telemundo, where he hosted a variety of shows including TITULARES TELEMUNDO, BOXEO TELEMUNDO, LOS TRIUNFADORES, JUNTO AL TRI and the Halftime Highlights weekly segments featured within the network’s live soccer matches. He served as anchor for the first U.S. Spanish-language telecast of the Olympic Summer Games in Athens in 2004 and later covered Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012. He also called the first NBA game in Spanish in 2002 and the first NFL game in Spanish in 2010. He began his broadcast career in Los Angeles with Spanish International Network (SIN), which later rebranded to Univision and moved its headquarters to Miami. In 1980, Losada anchored SIN’s first Spanish-language sports program from its Los Angeles studios and was later named co-host and co-executive producer of MUNDO LATINO, the network’s first daily show, a production similar to THE TODAY SHOW. During his time with Univision, Losada covered multiple World Cups and was part of the broadcast team to be honored with a regional Emmy award for its coverage of the 1990 Italy World Cup telecast and a national Emmy in 1994 for the USA World Cup which broke Nielsen Hispanic ratings records. Losada was also part of Univision’s NFL coverage, serving as anchor for five pre-Super Bowl specials and as color commentator for a number of Los Angeles Raiders games on the Univision affiliate in Los Angeles. In addition to his role on television, Losada has extensive experience in radio, having worked with the Los Angeles Rams Radio Network from 1984 to 1987 as the Spanish-language voice of the team. In addition, he worked with CBS Hispanic Radio on projects ranging from the NFL Playoffs and multiple Super Bowls and several World Cups…
…NHL Network has unveiled its on-air talent lineup for its three signature studio shows, NHL Live, NHL Tonight and On The Fly. The roster of analysts includes longtime NHL Network personalities E.J. Hradek and veteran goaltender Kevin Weekes, plus Hall of Famer and three-time Stanley Cup champion Scott Stevens, 20-year veteran and two-time Stanley Cup winner John MacLean, two-time Stanley Cup champion Dave Reid, 2003 Stanley Cup winner Mike Rupp, longtime NHL executive and GM of the 1994 Stanley Cup-winning New York Rangers Neil Smith, 14-year head coach, 2004 Stanley Cup champion and Team USA 2016 World Cup head coach John Tortorella, and 16-year veteran Martin Biron, 15-year veteran Brian Boucher, and 12-year veteran Mike Johnson. Beginning on Monday, October 5 at 5:00 p.m. ET, NHL Live will be anchored by returning hosts Steve Mears and E.J. Hradek. NHL Tonight, NHL Network’s flagship program, will be hosted by former NESN anchor Jamison Coyle and former NHL.com and CBS Sports Radio voice Tony Luftman, with interviews and comprehensive highlights, look-ins and analysis of every game. On The Fly, revamped for the 2015-16 season as NHL Network’s nightly game recap show, will be hosted by former Fox Sports North host and reporter Jamie Hersch. Veteran NHL Network host Kathryn Tappen will appear across NHL Network programming after the new year…
…Sports journalist Gary Lawless has signed an agreement to work with TSNon a full-time basis, appearing exclusively on TSN platforms – including writing exclusively for TSN Digital properties. Continuing to be based in Winnipeg, Lawless expands his weekday drive show on TSN Radio 1290 in Winnipeg, HUSTLER AND LAWLESS, to three hours. Lawless will also appear regularly as a senior correspondent for TSN’s exclusive live coverage of the CFL, as a Jets Insider for TSN’s live regional coverage of the Winnipeg Jets, and will expand his broadcast presence, making frequent appearances on TIM HORTONS THAT’S HOCKEY and THE REPORTERS. Lawless joined the Winnipeg Free Press in 1999, covering pro hockey, baseball, and football before becoming the newspaper’s lead sports columnist…
…CNN International added Kate Riley to its anchor roster, where she will join CNN World Sport team as a full-time anchor. The CSE client launched her career as an anchor for both Sky News and the BBC covering international sports across Europe, the Middle East and now North America. (Cynopsis Sports)…
… NBC UNIVERSO’s Combate Americas, the first U.S. Hispanic Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) sports franchise in history, has brought former, four-time WWE champion and MMA star Alberto El Patron a.k.a. Alberto Del Rio on board to serve as a color commentator for its highly-anticipated “Road To The Championship” live MMA event series. The first event kicked off on NBC UNIVERSO on Spet. 17. El Patron, whose real name is Jose Alberto Rodriguez, is the son of famed Luchador “Dos Caras,” El Patron and is a native of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, who now resides in San Antonio, TX, is a former member of the Mexican national Greco-Roman wrestling team and a medalist at the Pan American Games. During his four-year tenure with the WWE, El Patron tussled with a host of rival name competitors and champions include CM Punk, Rey Mysterio, Big Show, The Miz, Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger and Matt Hardy. As an MMA fighter, El Patron holds a career record of 9-5…
… All-Pro wide receiver Roddy White, who is going into his 11th season with the Atlanta Falcons, is now hosting a new weekly fantasy football show on SiriusXM throughout the 2015 NFL season. Going Deep with Roddy White airs every Tuesday night (6:00 to 8:00 pm ET) and debuted on September 8 on the SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio channel…
…SiriusXM and the Pro Football Hall of Fame have teamed up to create a new exclusive weekly show that will air nationwide on the SiriusXM NFL Radio channel. Pro Football Hall of Fame Radio on SiriusXM debuted on Sept. 12, and will air live every Saturday from 2:00 to 4:00 pm ET. Pro Football Hall of Fame Executive Vice President Joe Horrigan, a foremost historian on the NFL, and SiriusXM’s Howard Balzer will host each week and will be joined every Saturday by a Hall of Famer who will co-host the show, including Anthony Muñoz (Class of 1998), James Lofton, Bill Polian and others. Balzer has served as a member of the Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee since 2006.
