After battling the ESPN College Football schedule press release for over an hour and a half as I edited it and tried to get it to format properly, this release from Westwood One Radio arrived in the Fang’s Bites inbox. This should be considerably easier to edit compared to ESPN’s mile long release. Take a look at who will call NFL games for the league’s national radio partner.
ANNOUNCES
ALL-STAR BROADCASTERS
FOR THE 2009-2010 NFL SEASON
–– The Best NFL Announcers on Radio Featuring Hall of Fame Players and Broadcasters –
— Marv Albert & Boomer Esiason Return as Lead Monday Night Football Team –
–– Kevin Harlan & Warren Moon join the NFL on Westwood One with Dave Sims, James Lofton,
Ian Eagle, Randy Cross, Howard David, Dan Reeves, Kevin Kugler,
and Mark Malone rounding out the lineup —
New York, NY – July 22, 2009 – Westwood One announced today its lineup of all-star broadcasters for the 2009-2010 NFL season. Marv Albert and Boomer Esiason will return as the lead announcers for Monday Night Football and Super Bowl XLIV. In addition, veteran NFL broadcaster Kevin Harlan and Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon join Westwood One and will also provide play-by-play and analysis for Monday Night games and the Playoffs. Dave Sims returns as play-by-play announcer for Sunday Night games and will be joined by NFL Hall of Famer James Lofton. Ian Eagle and Randy Cross will team up for Westwood One’s Thursday Night broadcasts.
“The best quality games call for top quality broadcasters and we are thrilled to have assembled such an amazing lineup for the 2009 NFL season,” said Gary Schonfeld, President of Westwood One Network. “Legendary sportscasters, Hall of Fame NFL players, winning NFL coaches and an unparalleled schedule of games will make for great radio t
his fall. Fans, stations and advertisers are in for a real treat.”
Full broadcast teams for the NFL on Westwood One are as follows:
Sunday Afternoon Doubleheaders
Play-by-Play: Howard David
Color Analyst: Dan Reeves
Play-by-Play: Kevin Kugler
Color Analyst: Mark Malone
Sunday Night Football
Play-by-Play: Dave Sims
Color Analyst: James Lofton
Monday Night Football
Play-by-Play: Marv Albert (or Kevin Harlan)
Color Analyst: Boomer Esiason (or Warren Moon)
Thursday Night Football
Play-by-Play: Ian Eagle
Color Analyst: Randy Cross
Westwood One has been an NFL network radio partner for more than four decades and the exclusive network radio partner since 1978. As the exclusive radio partner of the NFL, the Westwood One 2009 NFL broadcast schedule features 57 national games, including: the Hall of Fame game, Opening Night game, 17 Monday Night games, including one doubleheader, 16 Sunday Night games, seven Thursday and Saturday Night games (including Thanksgiving Night), Thanksgiving Day doubleheader, Christmas Night, 12 Postseason games, including the NFL Playoffs, the AFC and NFC Championship Games, the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl and Super Bowl XLIV in South Florida. Westwood One also delivers specialty programs, including: The NFL Today, NFL Preview, NFL Insider, NFL Sunday, and NFL Fantasy Football Forecast.
In addition to the 57 game primetime package, Westwood One will also present a weekly Sunday afternoon doubleheader starting Sunday, September 13, 2009 and continuing each Sunday through January 3, 2010.
Westwood One is home of the most prestigious sports broadcasts on radio. Westwood One’s lineup includes regular season NFL football, the Playoffs and the Super Bowl; NCAA Football and Basketball including the Final Four; College World Series; Frozen Four; the Olympics; the Masters and more.
WESTWOOD ONE 2009-2010 NFL BROADCASTERS
Marv Albert, the voice of Monday Night Football on Westwood One, returns for his eighth year as play-by-play announcer. For over 25 years, Albert has served as primary play-by-play voice for the NBA on NBC and TNT, along with play-by-play announcing for NFL football, college basketball, boxing, NHL All-Star games, and has hosted studio and pre-game shows for Major League Baseball. Albert has won six Cable Ace Awards, three New York Emmy awards and was named New York State Sportscaster of the Year an unprecedented 20 times. In 1997, he was awarded the Curt Gowdy Media Award by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, one of the highest honors given to sports journalists.
Boomer Esiason provides color commentary for Westwood One’s critically acclaimed Monday Night Football broadcast team and this marks his ninth year broadcasting for the network. Esiason co-host’s The NFL Today for CBS Sports and also served as the Monday Night Football analyst for ABC Sports for two seasons before joining Westwood One. Boomer also spends mornings co-hosting a daily radio show on WFAN in New York, and co-hosts NFL Preview each week on Westwood One as well. Prior to embarking on a broadcasting career, Esiason was one of the most prolific quarterbacks in NFL history. He spent 14 years in the NFL and quarterbacked the Cincinnati Bengals to Super Bowl XXIII. In 1988, Esiason was named NFL MVP by the Pro Football Writers of America and the Associated Press and was named the NFL’s Man of the Year in 1995.
Kevin Harlan makes his return to Westwood One to do play-by-play for Monday Night Football games. Harlan was the play-by-play voice of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four on Westwood One from 2003-2007 and currently calls play-by-play for CBS Sports’ coverage of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and NBA Basketball on TNT. Harlan joined CBS Sports in 1998 as an NFL play-by-play announcer, after having served in the same capacity for Fox Sports since 1994. A veteran football and basketball broadcaster, this will be his 26th consecutive season broadcasting the NFL and this year’s NBA season marks his 23rd broadcasting the NBA. Harlan spent nine seasons (1985-93) as the voice of the Kansas City Chiefs and was the voice of the Minnesota Timberwolves for nine seasons as well.
Warren Moon returns to Westwood One as an analyst, where he worked for three seasons from 2001-2003. He is also entering his 6th season as the radio analyst for the Seattle Seahawks, and has served in numerous capacities over the years on television, including a stint in the booth for the Pac Ten College Football Game of the Week on FOX. Moon began his pro career with the Edmonton Eskimos in the Canadian Football League, winning an unprecedented five straight Grey Cups. He signed with NFL’s Houston Oilers in 1984, and played 17 seasons in NFL where Moon completed 3,988 of 6,823 passes for 49,325 yards and threw 291 touchdowns. Despite spending his first six professional seasons in the CFL, Moon ranked third all-time in NFL passing yardage and fourth in touchdown passes thrown at the time of his retirement. Moon was selected to nine Pro Bowls; was named the NFL’s Man of the Year in 1989 and was inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
Dave Sims returns for his fourth season as Westwood One’s play-by-play announcer for Sunday Night Football. Before switching to primetime, Sims called Westwood One Sunday afternoon games as well as the NFL Playoffs for nearly a decade. The two-time Emmy Award winner has also called play-by-play for NCAA Basketball regular season games and tournament coverage for the past seven years and in 2003, also hosted the NCAA Women’s Final Four. In addition to his Westwood One duties, Sims called the Big East Football TV Game of the Week for many years, is currently the TV play by play voice of the Seattle Mariners and has written for the New York Daily News.
James Lofton returns to Westwood One after a seven-year coaching stint with the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders. Lofton served as analyst and sideline reporter for the NFL on Westwood One from 1999 – 2001. He was the No. 1 draft pick of the Green Bay Packers in 1978, beginning a long career as an NFL wide receiver. In 16 season playing for Green Bay, the Los Angeles Raiders, Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Rams, and the Philadelphia Eagles, Lofton caught 764 passes for 14,004 yards, which was the most in NFL history at the time of his retirement. In 13 playoff games, Lofton caught 41 passes for 759 yards and eight touchdowns, including a seven-reception game in Super Bowl XXVI. He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003.
Ian Eagle enters his second year as play-by-play announcer for Westwood One’s NFL Thursday night coverage. For the past two years, Eagle also called the action for Westwood One’s coverage of the SEC Basketball Championship and the Regional Semi-Finals and Finals of the NCAA Tournament. Eagle is primarily known for his work with CBS Sports, calling NFL games and NCAA Basketball games since 1998. He also has served as the play-by-play announcer for the NBA’s New Jersey Nets television broadcasts since 1995, after having called play-by-play for radio broadcasts the previous year. He was the play-by-play radio voice for the New York Jets in 1997 and hosted Jets pre- and post-game shows on WFAN from 1993 to 1996. Eagle joined WFAN Radio in New York in 1990 as a producer and debuted as host of his own show in 1992. Eagle was awarded the Bob Costas Award for Outstanding Sportscasting while attending Syracuse University.
Randy Cross returns to Westwood One as an analyst, where he worked for three seasons from 1990-1992 including the network’s coverage of Super Bowl XXIV. He will continue to call games for CBS Television as well, where he has worked as a booth analyst from 1989-1993 and then again from 2002 – present. Cross also served three years as a studio analyst for THE NFL TODAY on CBS and four years at NBC Sports as an analyst for its NFL broadcasts, selected Notre Dame games, the 1995 Fiesta Bowl and as a reporter for Super Bowl XXXII. A 13-year NFL veteran and three-time Pro Bowler, Cross was a center and guard for the San Francisco 49ers and helped lead the team to three Super Bowl championships. A two-time All-American at UCLA, he was the 49ers’ second-round pick in 1976 and missed only eight games over 13 years.
Howard David returns to Westwood One as play-by-play announcer for Sunday Afternoon games. David spent 23 years with CBS Radio/Westwood One broadcasting College Football, College Basketball, Masters Golf, US Open Tennis, the Olympics and NFL Football including six seasons as the voice of Monday Night Football and the Super Bowl. David’s broadcast background also includes calling play-by-play for the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins, as well as NBA Basketball with the New Jersey Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics. He has also hosted talk shows at WQAM in Miami, Sporting News Radio and currently co-hosts a show for Sirius NFL Radio. David was chosen as New Jersey Sportscaster of the Year four times, the NY “Air Award” for broadcast excellence and is also a recipient of a New York Emmy Award.
Dan Reeves, former NFL player and head coach, returns to Westwood One for his fourth season as an analyst. Reeves played for the Dallas Cowboys from 1965-1972, during which the Cowboys went to the Super Bowl twice. After his retirement, he became a Cowboys’ Assistant Coach under Tom Landry for nine seasons, three of which resulted in Super Bowl appearances. In 1981, Reeves was named head coach and Vice President of the Denver Broncos, making him the youngest head coach in the league at the time, at age 37. Reeves piloted the team to three Super Bowl appearances in his 12 seasons at the helm. Reeves then took over as head coach of the New York Giants from 1993–1996, and in 1993 was named NFL Coach of the Year by the Associated Press. From 1997–2003, Reeves coached the Atlanta Falcons and in 1998, Reeves won his second Coach of the Year Award for leading them to the Super Bowl, his NFL record ninth appearance in the big game. Reeves won 201 games in 23 years as a head coach, ranking him 7th in NFL history. All six coaches ahead of him on the career list of victories have already been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Kevin Kugler transitions from NCAA Football on Westwood One and makes his debut as play-by-play announcer for Sunday Afternoon NFL games. For the past three seasons, he has been the lead voice of the College Football Game of the Week and has called the past five College World Series for the Network as well. Kugler also serves as the radio play-by-play announcer for the NCAA Men’s Final Four broadcast and as the lead announcer for Westwood One’s regular season college basketball package. In addition, Kugler broadcast the Masters and the 2008 Summer Olympics for Westwood One, including calling the Gold Medal Basketball game in Beijing. Kugler also co-hosts a daily sports talk show in Omaha, and recently won the Nebraska Sportscaster of the Year Awards for the 5th time in the past six years.
Mark Malone returns for a second season as an analyst and sideline reporter for the NFL on Westwood One, and will add duties as the host of NFL Insider. Malone spent a decade with ESPN where he hosted many NFL shows including Edge NFL Match-up, NFL Tonight, and Monday Night Countdown. Prior to joining Westwood One, he served as Sports Director for WBBM-TV in Chicago, where he garnered four Emmys for his work. Malone, an All-American quarterback at Arizona State and first-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers, played for 10 years in the NFL, quarterbacking the Steelers to the 1984 AFC Championship Game.
Jim Gray joined Westwood One in 2001 as host of the network’s Monday Night Football pre-game and halftime shows and this marks his ninth season fulfilling the same role for the network. Gray also serves as courtside reporter for Westwood One’s coverage of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four and as on-course reporter for the Masters. A prominent network television reporter for over two decades, Gray currently covers boxing for Showtime, is a contributor to NBC’s Today Show, and also has served as a courtside reporter for the NBA on CBS, NBC, ABC and most recently ESPN. Gray’s numerous credits include: seven Olympic Games, 22 Masters, twelve Super Bowls, seven World Series and 15 NBA Finals. Gray has won eight Emmy Awards and also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Scott Graham joins Westwood One as the new pregame, halftime and postgame host for the network’s Sunday NFL coverage. Graham has spent over twenty years as a radio and television sportscaster including play-by-play for both the NFL and NFL Europe on FOX. He has also spent the last 13 seasons as The Comcast Network’s primary play-by-play voice of college basketball, and continues to call college hoops for ESPN. On the radio side, Graham served as the play-by-play voice of the Philadelphia Phillies for eight seasons from 1999-2006. For nearly a decade prior to that, he hosted the pregame and postgame shows for the Phillies on CBS Radio in Philadelphia. He currently hosts a daily show on Sirius/XM’s MLB Channel. Since 2003, Graham has narrated a variety of programs, commercials, and features produced by NFL Films. His voice has most often been heard on NFL Game of the Week, in weekly game previews on NFL.com, and in various season highlight films for NFL teams.
Nice to see Tommy Tighe out of the studio host role. He was unlistenable with his stupid puns and silly rhymes. Scott Graham is a good choice to replace him. Much better than Tommy Tighe. I’m also glad to see that Howard David is back on Westwood One’s NFL coverage. Great radio play-by-play man. More later.
