Contact: Dave Goren, Executive Director [email protected] 704.633.4275 ext. 1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
STEVE HOLMAN NAMED GEORGIA SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR FOR SECOND TIME RADIO VOICE HAS BROADCAST MORE THAN 2,500 HAWKS GAMES NSMA AWARDS WEEKEND IS JUNE 25-26 IN WINSTON-SALEM, NC
SALISBURY, N.C. – Linda Cohn, the late Frank Gifford, Mike Lupica and the late Sam Lacy will be inducted into the National Sports Media Association Hall of Fame this June, NSMA executive director Dave Goren announced. The NSMA will also honor 2016 National Sportscaster of the Year, Vin Scully, 2016 National Sportswriter of the Year, Tom Verducci, and 106 State Sportscasters and Sportswriters of the Year from 49 states, plus the District of Columbia. They will be honored during the 58 th annual NSMA Awards Weekend, June 25-26, in Winston-Salem, N.C. The NSMA recently announced that it is moving its operations to Winton-Salem from Salisbury, N.C., where it was founded in 1959.
Cohn is best known for her work and versatility at ESPN, where she has anchored more of the sports network’s SportsCenter shows (5,000-plus) than anyone. After starting her career in radio, Cohn moved into local television sports, before starting at ESPN in 1992.
Gifford was one of the first athletes to leave the playing field and succeed in the broadcast booth. A football star at the University of Southern California and with the New York Giants, Gifford worked as a sportscaster while still playing in the NFL. Starting at CBS and moving to ABC, Gifford eventually worked his way into regular roles with Wide World of Sports and Monday Night Football . From 1971-1985, he was the lead play-by-play voice for Monday Night Football , transitioning to an analyst’s role from 1986-1997. Gifford died at the age of 84 in 2015.
Lupica became the youngest columnist ever at the New York Daily News in 1977 and 40 years later, is still there. For the last 30 years, Lupica has expanded his repertoire, writing books and magazine articles, hosting his own radio and television shows and, for the last 15 years, appearing as a regular panelist on ESPN’s The Sports Reporters .
Lacy was a sportswriting pioneer. After short stints at the Washington Tribune and Chicago Defender , Lacy moved to the Baltimore Afro-American , where he covered sports for 60 years. He was instrumental in helping to integrate Major League Baseball, using his status as sports editor to push baseball’s owners to consider it. Lacy wrote his final column for the Afro-American just days before his death at age 99, in May of 2003.
* * * Winning his fourth NSMA National Sportscaster of the Year award to go along with his 33 rd NSMA California Sportscaster of the Year award, Scully retired in October after broadcasting Brooklyn -- then Los Angeles -- Dodgers’ baseball for 67 seasons, the longest tenure of any broadcaster with one professional team. Scully also called major sporting events for both CBS and NBC, and was elected to the NSMA Hall of Fame in 1991.
Verducci has won his third straight NSMA National Sportswriter award. A 24-year veteran at Sports Illustrated , where he is now the senior baseball writer, Verducci has branched out in recent years to television, as a commentator for the MLB Network and FOX Sports. He has written several books, with one on the 2016 World Series champion Chicago Cubs due out March 28. * * *
Among the state winners, Scully’s 33 rd award as California Sportscaster of the Year is a record. There are seven others who have won double figure times in their states. And John Blanchette, who has been elected Washington State Sportswriter of the Year nine times, also won five awards in Montana, giving him 14 total.
There are also 40 first-time winners of state awards. They include Erin Cofiell (sportscaster) and Lauren Read (sportswriter), who make Vermont the first state to have women win both awards. Of the 106 state winners, six are women, the highest total in the NSMA’s history.
Below is a list of all of the Hall of Fame inductees, National and State winners, with number of times won in parentheses.
2017 NSMA Hall of Fame Inductees HALL OF FAME SPORTSCASTERS Linda Cohn, ESPN Frank Gifford, ABC/ESPN, others
HALL OF FAME SPORTSWRITER Sam Lacy, Baltimore Afro-American Mike Lupica, New York Daily News
2016 NSMA NATIONAL WINNERS NATIONAL SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Vin Scully, Los Angeles Dodgers
NATIONAL SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Tom Verducci, Sports Illustrated
2016 NSMA STATE WINNERS ALABAMA SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Chris Stewart, Crimson Tide Sports Network, Tuscaloosa (5) ALABAMA SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Cecil Hurt, Tuscaloosa News, Tuscaloosa (1)
ARIZONA SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Tim Healey, Arizona Sports 98.7 Sun Devil Radio Network, Tempe (2) ARIZONA SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Paul Coro, Arizona Republic, Phoenix (3)
ARKANSAS SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Bo Mattingly, SportsTalk With Bo, Fayetteville (3) ARKANSAS SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Troy Schulte, Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Little Rock (1)
CALIFORNIA SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Vin Scully, SportsNet LA TV/Dodgers Radio Networks, Los Angeles (33) CALIFORNIA SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Scott Ostler, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco (14)
COLORADO SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Drew Goodman, ROOT Sports Rocky Mountain, Denver (13) COLORADO SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Terry Frei, Denver Post, Denver (Tie) (4 1) Mark Kiszla, Denver Post, Denver (Tie) (2)
CONNECTICUT SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Joe D’Ambrosio, WTIC-AM, Hartford (9) CONNECTICUT SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Paul Doyle, Hartford Courant, Hartford (1)
DELAWARE SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Scott Klatzkin, 94.7 WDSD, Wilmington (3) DELAWARE SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Kevin Tresolini, The News Journal, Wilmington (10)
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Grant Paulsen, 106.7 The Fan, Washington (Tie) (1) George Wallace, WTOP Radio, Washington (Tie) (2) DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Barry Svrulga, Washington Post, Washington (2)
FLORIDA SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Mick Hubert, Florida Gators Radio Network, Gainesville (1) FLORIDA SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR David Whitley, Orlando Sentinel, Orlando (1)
GEORGIA SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Steve Holman, Atlanta Hawks Radio Network, Atlanta (2) GEORGIA SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Steve Hummer, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Atlanta (8)
HAWAII SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Rob DeMello, KHON-TV, Honolulu (2) HAWAII SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Brian McInnis, Honolulu Star Advertiser, Honolulu (1)
IDAHO SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Dennis Patchins, Idaho Vandal Sports Network/Learfield, Spokane, WA (1) IDAHO SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Rachel Roberts, Idaho Statesman, Boise (1)
ILLINOIS SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Len Kasper, WGN-TV/Comcast Sports Network, Chicago (1) ILLINOIS SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, Chicago (2)
INDIANA SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Mark Boyle, 107.5/1070 The Fan Pacers Radio Network, Indianapolis (5) INDIANA SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Gregg Doyel, Indianapolis Star, Indianapolis (2)
IOWA SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Keith Murphy, WHO-TV, Des Moines (2) IOWA SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Mike Hlas, Cedar Rapids Gazette, Cedar Rapids (4)
KANSAS SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Gerard Wellbrock, KAYS Radio, Hays (1) KANSAS SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Kevin Haskin, Topeka Capital-Journal, Topeka (4)
KENTUCKY SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Rob Bromley, WKYT-TV, Lexington (Tie) (1) Bob Valvano, ESPN Radio, Louisville (Tie) (1) KENTUCKY SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Jen Smith, Lexington Herald-Leader, Lexington (1)
LOUISIANA SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Doug Mouton, WWL-TV, New Orleans (2) LOUISIANA SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Ross Dellenger, Baton Rouge Advocate, Baton Rouge (1)
MAINE SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Tim Throckmorton, WABI-TV, Bangor (1) MAINE SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Mike Lowe, Portland Press-Herald, Portland (2)
MARYLAND SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Pete Gilbert, WBAL-TV, Baltimore (2) MARYLAND SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Eduardo Encina, Baltimore Sun, Baltimore (1)
MASSACHUSETTS SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Joe Amorosino, WHDH-TV, Boston (Tie) (1) Mike Gorman, CSN New England/Celtics TV, Boston (Tie) (1) MASSACHUSETTS SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Kevin Paul Dupont, Boston Globe, Boston (4)
MICHIGAN SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Matt Shepard, Fox Sports Detroit/WDFN Radio, Detroit (2) MICHIGAN SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press, Detroit (2)
MINNESOTA SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Mark Rosen, WCCO-TV, Minneapolis (1) MINNESOTA SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Chip Scoggins, Star Tribune, Minneapolis (2)
MISSISSIPPI SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR David Kellum, Ole Miss Radio Network, Oxford (8) MISSISSIPPI SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Rick Cleveland, Freelance, Jackson (10)
MISSOURI SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Mike Kelly, Missouri Tiger Radio Network, Columbia (4) MISSOURI SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Vahe Gregorian, Kansas City Star, Kansas City (4)
MONTANA SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Jason Walker, ESPN Montana, Helena (2) MONTANA SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Steve Schreck, Great Falls Tribune, Great Falls (1)
NEBRASKA SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Nick Bahe, 1620 The Zone, Omaha (1) NEBRASKA SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Dirk Chatelain, Omaha World-Herald, Omaha (4)
NEVADA SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Chris Maathuis, KLAS-TV, Las Vegas (2) NEVADA SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Ron Kantowski, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Las Vegas (1)
NEW HAMPSHIRE SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Mike Murphy, Wildcat Sports Properties/Learfield, Durham (6) NEW HAMPSHIRE SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Roger Brown, Union Leader, Manchester (Tie) (1) Tim O’Sullivan, Concord Monitor, Concord (Tie) (2)
NEW JERSEY SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Tom Williams, Prime Events, Ocean City (9) NEW JERSEY SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Mike McGarry, Press of Atlantic City, Atlantic City (2)
NEW MEXICO SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Jeff Siembieda, 610 The Sports Animal, Albuquerque (2) NEW MEXICO SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Rick Wright, Albuquerque Journal, Albuquerque (5)
NEW YORK SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Ian Eagle, YES Network/Nets TV/CBS Sports, New York (3) NEW YORK SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Tyler Kepner, New York Times, New York (1)
NORTH CAROLINA SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Bob Harris, Duke IMG Sports Network, Durham (4) NORTH CAROLINA SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Luke DeCock, Raleigh News & Observer, Raleigh (Tie) (1) Ed Hardin, Greensboro News & Record, Greensboro (Tie) (2)
NORTH DAKOTA SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Steve Linzmeier, KQDJ Radio, Jamestown (1) NORTH DAKOTA SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Brad Schlossman, Grand Forks Herald, Grand Forks (1)
OHIO SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Tom Hamilton, Indians Radio Network, Cleveland (6) OHIO SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Paul Dehner, Jr., Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati (1)
OKLAHOMA SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Cayden McFarland, KJRH-TV, Tulsa (1) OKLAHOMA SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Mike Brown, Tulsa World, Tulsa (1)
OREGON SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR John Canzano, KXTG Radio, Portland (1 2) OREGON SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Gina Mizell, The Oregonian, Portland (1)
PENNSYLVANIA SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Merrill Reese, 94 WIP Eagles Radio Network, Philadelphia (5) PENNSYLVANIA SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Bob Cooney, Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia (1)
RHODE ISLAND SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Ken Bell, WLNE-TV, Providence (3) RHODE ISLAND SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Bill Koch, Providence Journal, Providence (2)
SOUTH CAROLINA SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Mark Sturgis, ESPN Upstate, Greenville (1) SOUTH CAROLINA SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Lou Bezjak, The State, Columbia (2)
SOUTH DAKOTA SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Ben Root, Hub City Radio, Aberdeen (1) SOUTH DAKOTA SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Jeremy Hoeck, Press & Dakotan, Yankton (2)
TENNESSEE SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Pete Weber, Predators Radio Network, Nashville (5) TENNESSEE SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Teresa Walker, Associated Press, Nashville (2)
TEXAS SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Craig Way, Longhorn Sports Network, Austin (1) TEXAS SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Kevin Sherrington, Dallas Morning News, Dallas (4)
UTAH SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Steve Klauke, Salt Lake Bees, Salt Lake City (3) UTAH SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Dirk Facer, Deseret News, Salt Lake City (5)
VERMONT SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Erin Cofiell, ABC22/FOX 44, Burlington (1) VERMONT SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Lauren Read, Burlington Free Press, Burlington (1)
VIRGINIA SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Travis Wells, WDBJ-TV, Roanoke (2) VIRGINIA SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR David Teel, Daily Press, Newport News (10)
WASHINGTON SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Bob Rondeau, Washington IMG Sports Network, Seattle (11) WASHINGTON SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR John Blanchette, Spokesman Review, Spokane (9 3))
WEST VIRGINIA SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Steve Cotton, Marshall IMG Sports Network, Huntington (11) WEST VIRGINIA SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Chuck McGill, Gazette-Mail/HerdZone, Charleston/Huntington (5)
WISCONSIN SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Matt Lepay, Badgers Sports Network/Learfield, Madison (8) WISCONSIN SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Tom Oates, Wisconsin State Journal, Madison (1)
WYOMING SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR Frank Gambino, K2 Radio, Casper (3) WYOMING SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR Scott Nulph, Laramie Boomerang, Laramie (1)
* * *
About the National Sports Media Association
The National Sports Media Association & Hall of Fame is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, which seeks to develop educational opportunities for those who are interested in pursuing a career in sports media, through networking, interning, mentoring and scholarship programs.
The NSMA also honors, preserves and celebrates the diverse legacy of sports media in the United States.
For sponsorship and membership information, contact Danielle Randall at: [email protected] . For more information on NSMA, go to: nationalsportsmedia.org