Fox' Joe Buck writes a first-person account in the June issue of GOLF DIGEST and discusses calling the U.S. Open next month at Chambers Bay, noting he has "fear of the unknown." Buck: "I haven't felt this way since I called my first World Series, in 1996. Back then I had this sensation in the pit of my stomach, this nervousness, that took me right to the edge. And that's how hosting the U.S. Open for Fox is." He added, "We did these dry runs at Pinehurst, using a feed from Golf Channel. Greg (Norman) and I did 20 hours, and when it's over I get the tape, go home and watch it." Referencing his daughter, Buck writes, "Two minutes into it, Trudy says, 'It sounds like you're doing football, Dad. Doesn't sound like golf.' Note to self: new golf tone needed." Buck added of Norman, "He's sort of a terminator. He's going at this endeavor with a commitment and focus I'm not sure I've seen anywhere else. He's attacking it like a competitor. ... He'll be good, trust me" (GOLF DIGEST, 6/ '15 issue).
INTERESTING CONFLICT OF INTEREST: In Boston, Chad Finn notes ESPN/ABC play-by-play voice Mike Breen’s "lack of allegiance or direct history" with either the Warriors or Rockets makes him the "outlier on his own broadcast team" during the Western Conference Finals. Both analysts for the series -- Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson -- "have been fired by the teams playing." The scenario "is unusual, not only because both analysts worked for teams involved, but because in Jackson’s case, the parting was recent and especially messy." But Jackson, who was fired last summer, said, "There’s a lot of recognition across the board including this current staff of [Warriors coach] Steve Kerr and his guys. They’ve done an outstanding job, so wish them nothing but the very best." Finn notes Van Gundy’s connection to one of the conference finalists "is less compelling, in part because of the passage of time and in part because it wasn’t particularly contentious as far as firings go" (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/22).
EYE OF THE TIGER: LSU SID Michael Bonnette said that the school hopes to choose a successor for retiring radio announcer Jim Hawthorne "by the end of the summer." In New Orleans, Jim Kleinpeter noted LSU has "narrowed the list to 'about 10 people' to step in for Hawthorne, who has served as LSU's radio play-by-play man in football, men's basketball and baseball for the past 31 years." LSU "conducted a national search and had more than 100 applicants for the job." Bonnette said that the job "will not be broken up despite the grueling pace Hawthorne kept as one of the few college sports play-by-play men to handle three major sports" (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 5/21).
FINDING HER BALANCE: In Des Moines, Andrew Logue noted Gold Medal-winning U.S. gymnast Shawn Johnson "served as an analyst for the Big Ten Network the past two seasons and hopes to make a third-go-around" in '16. She brings "plenty of personality and remains one of the most popular figures in gymnastics," but transitioning to the broadcast booth is "not as easy as flipping a switch." Johnson: "It's kind of hard, but I feel like I have a view that's a little different. Because I've been there, I can see a lot of the technique that maybe a normal commentator wouldn't see" (DES MOINES REGISTER, 5/19).
ON THE RIGHT TRACK: In Indianapolis, Dana Hunsinger Benbow noted ESPN's Kate Jackson this weekend will become the first woman to "produce the pre-race coverage" of the Indianapolis 500. Jackson, who oversees motor sports, college football playoffs and the Special Olympics World Games, said, "It is like taking a drink out of a fire hydrant. You just try to stay standing up. ... This is an American institution and the responsibility that you feel to do well with that is huge" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 5/20).
