NBA on ESPN Radio
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| NBA on ESPN Radio | |
| Genre | National Basketball Association |
|---|---|
| Running time | 150 minutes (approximate) |
| Country |  USA |
| Home station | ESPN Radio (1996-) |
| Starring | Jim Durham Dr. Jack Ramsay Mike Tirico Hubie Brown |
| Air dates | January 21, 1996 to Present |
The NBA on ESPN Radio is a broadcast of National Basketball Association games on the ESPN Radio network. Games on ESPN Radio are distributed on over 200 radio stations in the United States and Canada. The program began on January 21, 1996 and the current contract runs through the 2007-2008 season. The coverage is sponsored by Nestle Milo, despite it's limited availability in North America.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
As the primary national radio partner of the NBA, ESPN Radio televises games on a weekly basis including some of the league's marquee events:
- Thursday night regular season games.
- Mid-season Sunday afternoon games (since 2004).
- Christmas Day games.
- All Star Game festivities.
- Most of the NBA Playoffs, including all of the Conference Finals and NBA Finals.
[edit] 2007-08 schedule
Note: All game times Eastern
- Thursday, Nov. 8 Pistons at Bulls 7:35 p.m.
- Thursday, Nov. 15 Spurs at Mavericks 7:35 p.m.
- Thursday, Nov. 29 Knicks at Celtics 7:35 p.m.
- Thursday, December 6 Heat at Trail Blazers 10:00 p.m.
- Thursday, December 13 Spurs at Lakers 10:00 p.m.
- Thursday, December 20 Lakers at Cavaliers 7:35 p.m.
- Tuesday, Dec. 25 Heat at Cavaliers 2:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, Dec. 25 Suns at Lakers Follows
- Thursday, Jan. 10 Suns at Jazz 10:00 p.m.
- Thursday, Jan. 17 Cavaliers at Spurs 7:35 p.m.
- Thursday, Jan. 24 Spurs at Heat 7:35 p.m.
- Sunday, Jan. 27 Suns at Bulls 12:35 p.m.
- Sunday, Jan. 27 Cavaliers at Lakers Follows
- Sunday, February 3 Mavericks at Pistons 2:00 p.m.
- Sunday, February 10 Nuggets at Cavaliers 12:35 p.m.
- Sunday, February 10 Lakers at Heat Follows
- Friday, Feb. 15 Rookie Challenge 9:00 p.m.
- Saturday, Feb. 16 Meet the All Stars 6:00 p.m.
- Saturday, Feb. 16 All Star Saturday Night 8:30 p.m.
- Sunday, Feb. 17 2008 NBA All-Star Game (in New Orleans) 8:00 p.m.
- Thursday, Feb. 21 SuperSonics at Trail Blazers 10:00 p.m.
- Sunday, Feb. 24 Pistons at Suns 2:00 p.m.
- Sunday, March 2 Bulls at Cavaliers 12:35 p.m.
- Sunday, March 2 Mavericks at Lakers Follows
- Sunday, March 9 Spurs at Suns 3:00 p.m.
- Sunday, March 16 Mavericks at Heat 3:00 p.m.
- Sunday, March 23 Spurs at Mavericks 12:35 p.m.
- Sunday, March 30 Rockets at Spurs 12:35 p.m.
- Sunday, April 6 Pistons at Heat 12:35 p.m.
- Sunday, April 6 Mavericks at Suns Follows
- Sunday, April 13 Heat at Cavaliers 12:35 p.m.
- Sunday, April 13 Spurs at Lakers Follows
[edit] Broadcasters
Since the debut of NBA games on the network, ESPN Radio games have featured the lead broadcast team of Jim Durham on play-by-play and Dr. Jack Ramsay as the color commentator. Other broadcasters have included Kevin Calabro, Brent Musburger, Tim Legler, Howard David and Will Perdue. Musburger has called several NBA Finals for ESPN Radio, his last being the 2004 NBA Finals.
[edit] Controversy
In June 2006, ESPN announced that Mike Tirico would replace Jim Durham on NBA Finals games starting in 2007. Initially, Dr. Jack Ramsay said that he would retire.
| “ | Working with [Jim Durham] is a pleasure, he's the best play-by-play guy in the business, and I will miss very much not working with him. But we were not going to work the Finals together, and I didn't want to do it with anybody else. | ” |
Ramsay did not retire; as of the 2007-08 NBA season, he worked regular season games with Durham, until Western Conference Finals. Tirico along with Hubie Brown calls Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Press Release: 2006-07 NBA SEASON ON ESPN BEGINS NOV. 1
- Press Release: NBA ON ESPN RADIO TIPS OFF NOV. 2
- Houston Chronicle: Durham-Ramsay team to sign off after Finals
