Turner Sports has reached an agreement with WNBA L.A. Sparks F Candace Parker to serve as an analyst and commentator for "NBA on TNT" and NBA TV throughout the season. She will join the "Players Only" studio team and will also provide analysis for NBA TV's "GameTime." Parker, who will remain an active WNBA player, also will provide commentary for Turner and CBS' coverage of the NCAA Tournament (NBA). In Chicago, Phil Rosenthal writes, "Women on men's sports telecasts aren't yet so commonplace that the addition of another fails to be noteworthy" (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 10/10).
END OF THE ROAD: Tigers broadcasters Mario Impemba and Rod Allen will not return to FS Detroit in ’19 after getting into a physical altercation after a game in early September. In Detroit, Lynn Henning in a front-page piece notes Impemba's contract, which ran through the '18 season and is "estimated to have paid him more than $500,000 annually, will not be renewed." Sources said that Allen also had a “one-year deal, with a salary pegged at about $350,000.” He had a network option for '19 that attorneys are "working to settle." The Impemba-Allen team was the "second-longest Tigers TV duo ever, behind George Kell and Al Kaline (21 years)" (DETROIT NEWS, 10/10).
SIGNING OFF: AT&T SportsNet Southwest host Bart Enis said that his contract with the RSN was "not renewed." Enis, who hosted pre- and post-game shows and served as a field reporter for Astros and Rockets games, said that his "final day with the network was Sept. 30" (CHRON.com, 10/8).
SILENT NO MORE: In Raleigh, Luke DeCock noted former longtime Hurricanes radio play-by-play man Chuck Kaiton has a "new outlet for his thoughts: a podcast with friend and financial planner 'Coach Pete' D’Arruda." Kaiton was unable to agree to a new deal with the NHL team this offseason, and his new "Live Happy Show" focuses on things like "wine, cigars and sports." Kaiton: "It’s something temporary for me. I do want to get back in the NHL, but I want to pick a good spot. I’m not just going to go anywhere. Whether that materializes or not is out of my hands" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 10/9).
