In San Diego, Jay Posner reported announcer Dick Enberg this year will be "working at Wimbledon for the final time." This year's tournament marks the 32nd time Enberg will call Wimbledon, and he said, "The decision was mine to make this my last Wimbledon and ESPN was sensitive to give me a chance to say goodbye to an event that has been my favorite." Enberg became the Padres' TV announcer last year, and he said the team has "become my total thrust." Enberg: "That's why I gave up the NFL and NCAA with CBS this past year. I have come to realize that doing baseball is my love and have elected to devote full time to our home team" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 6/19).
NEW FOX NFL ANALYST: In Miami, Barry Jackson reports free agent QB Chad Pennington "will take the season off and work as a game analyst for Fox." Pennington signed a one-year deal with the net and will be paired with play-by-play announcer Sam Rosen. Pennington suffered a knee injury playing basketball in April. Fox Sports VP/Communications Dan Bell said, "He came to Los Angeles for an audition a few weeks ago and we think he has a chance to be a pretty successful analyst" (MIAMI HERALD, 6/19). SI.com's Peter King writes Pennington "will be a natural doing games for Fox this fall." King: "The big question is: Will Pennington be able to talk critically -- if he needs to -- of a team that he may hope to play for in 2012?" (SI.com, 6/20).
BRINGING A UNIQUE VOICE: In Dallas, Barry Horn noted MLB Rangers radio analyst Steve Busby "brings a pitcher's perspective to broadcasts." Busby had served as a studio analyst before being moved to the radio booth, but during that time he "frequently would appear in the TV booth for one inning during home games and answer all of the pitching questions." When the Rangers replaced John Rhadigan as the TV play-by-play voice last month and put him back on the FS Southwest studio show, Busby "was surprised to hear he would be getting another shot in the booth." He is "only guaranteed work through the end of the season" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 6/18).
