Bruce Beck

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Bruce Beck is the Friday, Saturday and Sunday Sports anchor at WNBC-TV. He is currently in his eleventh year with News 4 New York. He also files numerous sports reports for the station's various newscasts.

The versatile sportscaster has covered a multitude of events for News 4 New York, including Super Bowl XLII, The NBA Finals, The Stanley Cup Finals, The World Series, The U.S. Open Tennis Championship, The U.S. Open Golf Championship, The NCAA Final Four, The 2006 Winter Olympics from Torino, Italy, The 2004 Summer Olympics from Athens, Greece and The 2002 Winter Olympics from Salt Lake City, Utah.

Beck has hosted and contributed to a number of WNBC-TV specials including the live broadcast of the ING New York City Marathon, The Belmont Stakes, The U.S Open Golf Championship and "Glory Days," which preceded New York Yankees post-season games. In the summer months, Beck hosts WNBC'S popular Sunday night show Mike'd Up - The Francesa Sports Final.

In addition, Beck has hosted the Sun America Sportsdesk and the All-State Sports Update for NBC Sports and has served as a sideline reporter for the network's coverage of the NBA and WNBA on NBC. Beck is a studio anchor for NBA-TV and the host of the weekly Rutgers University basketball and football shows which air on the Madison Square Garden Network.

[edit] Career

From 1982 to 1994, Beck was a staff broadcaster with the MSG Network. Among his many duties, he hosted the station's coverage of the Knicks, Rangers, and Yankees. He was the play-by-play announcer for college football and basketball, professional and Golden Gloves boxing and professional tennis. He hosted the Millrose Games, The Virginia Slims Championship, The National Horse Show, and the Lou Carnesecca Show.

From 1994 to 1997, Beck hosted "Sportstalk" and "Sports Images" on CN8, the Comcast Network. He also was the play-by-play voice of Atlantic 10 Conference Basketball and Hofstra University Football, while calling college basketball games for CBS Sports. He was the host of CBS' coverage of the Hambletonian and The American Championship Harness Series on ESPN. He was a play-by-play voice and host of Showtime's Championship Boxing.

Beck was the play by play announcer for the Ultimate Fighting Championship from 1994 to 1997, calling UFC 4 through UFC 15 with partner and olympic gold medalist Jeff Blatnick.

[edit] Awards

Beck was elected New York State Sportscaster of the Year for 2007 by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. He also received the 2006 New York Emmy as Outstanding Sports Anchor.

Beck was twice named New Jersey Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. He also was the recipient of the 1999 New York Emmy for outstanding On-Camera Achievement: Sports Reporting. Overall, he has received eight New York Sports Emmys, one Mid-Atlantic Sports Emmy, and three national Cable Ace Awards.

[edit] Personal life

A graduate of Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York., Beck received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1978. He currently resides in Westchester, NY with his wife Janet (JJ), two sons Jonathan and Michael and his dog, Pepper.

Each Thanksgiving, Beck and his family serve those in need at the St. John's Bread and Life Program, the largest soup kitchen in Brooklyn. Among his other charitable endeavors are The Alan T. Brown Foundation to Cure Paralysis, The Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation, The March of Dimes, Page Morton Black's Parkinson's Disease Foundation, The Exchange Club Child Abuse Prevention Center of New York, The Multiple Sclerosis Foundation, The Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Hudson Valley and PACE (Parents Against Childhood Epilepsy).

Every summer, Beck, along with CBS Sports announcer Ian Eagle run a Sports Broadcasting Camp at the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center in Montclair, New Jersey. The camp teaches the fundamentals of broadcasting and features lectures by big name broadcasters. It culminates with students calling play-by-play of a minor league baseball game. It has quickly become one of the New York area’s hottest specialized summer camps and the only one of its kind.