The Hornets on Thursday named Eric Collins their new TV play-by-play announcer on FS Southeast, while pregame host/sideline reporter Stephanie Ready "will have an expanded role," according to Rick Bonnell of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. Collins has "previously done" Big East basketball, college football and MLB games for Fox. He replaces Steve Martin, who will "return to his original role" doing radio play-by-play. Ready will "go full-time as a game analyst, alongside fellow analyst Dell Curry" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 8/28). ESPNW's Shana Renee noted Ready will become the NBA's "first full-time female game analyst." Ready, who also has coached in the NBA D-League in the past, said, "I always wanted to be a game analyst. I have a passion for the game of basketball and being a coach, you teach the game and you learn how to explain the game (for those) who may not understand it. I thought being a game analyst on television would be perfect, because that's what you get to do." She added, "I didn't set out to blaze a trail or be the first. It just naturally came because of the work that I was doing" (ESPNW.com, 8/27). She added, "The reason why I got in the business in the first place and into sports broadcasting was because I wanted to be a full-time game analyst. At that time, the NBA part was not really part of the aspiration. I thought if I could just cover basketball on a full-time basis and analyze the game and help viewers at home understand the game a bit better, than I would be very happy. But once I got involved with the NBA, with the team in Charlotte back in 2004, I fell in love with it and that became my true passion. That was the goal and now I'm finally here today" ("America's Pregame," FS1, 8/27). In Charlotte, Erik Spanberg notes part of Ready's role had included "subbing for Curry as the game analyst when he missed games," but he "missed all of one game last season." Ready's contract "expired after last season and she had told her bosses ... for several years that her career goal was to work as an analyst" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 8/28).
