Steele, who has been calling games since '89, will be the eighth member of the Magic Hall of Famemagic
In Orlando, Roy Parry notes Magic TV announcer David Steele, who has been calling games since their first season in '89, will be "inducted into the organization’s hall of fame during a ceremony Friday" and will be "honored during the Magic’s game later that night." Steele will become the "eighth member of the Magic Hall of Fame." Magic TV analyst Jeff Turner said, “To me it’s a no-brainer. He doesn’t like the attention, but he’s such a huge part of this team’s history" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 2/20).
NOT SLOWING DOWN: On Long Island, Neil Best noted Yankees radio announcer John Sterling is entering his 31st season calling games, with "no end in sight." Sterling, 80, said, “The Yankees and WFAN have assured me I‘m there as long as I want, and I’m very young in body and mind and spirit and voice." Sterling for many years had been "criticized for mis-seeing or wrongly anticipating plays, particularly on balls hit deep into the outfield." However, after laser cataract surgery on both eyes last January, there were "fewer such mistakes last season" (NEWSDAY.com, 2/19).
JACK OF ALL TRADES: THE ATHLETIC's Richard Deitsch noted Mike Tirico will call Blackhawks-Red Wings tonight on NBCSN, his first broadcast of a hockey game "at any level." Tirico was assigned hosting duties for the Stanley Cup Final last year as well as this year’s Winter Classic and NHL All-Star Game, which "led to conversations" with NBC Exec Producer Sam Flood about the "potential of calling an NHL game as a one-off." Tirico said, “I told him I’d love to try one. We figured it would be after football season when I could truly prepare for it.” He said that he has "watched more hockey this season as preparation for the assignment and has spoken to NHL broadcasters around the league to come up with a system for his spotting/information charts" (THEATHLETIC.com, 2/18).
SOUR GRAPES: The GLOBE & MAIL's Cathal Kelly wrote Sportnet's Don Cherry, who has taken aim at the Hurricanes' postgame celebrations this season, "gets paid a lot of money to be polarizing." After winning the NHL TV rights, Rogers "tried slowly nudging him out of the frame and was forced to think better of it." Cherry "can take whatever comes his way." But the "routine shouting down of him" has taken on the "queasy tone of a schoolyard mob trapping a teacher behind the portables, and then giving him the boots" (GLOBE & MAIL, 2/19).
