Paul Sunderland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men's Volleyball | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | Los Angeles 1984 | Team Competition | |
Paul Benedict Sunderland (born March 29, 1952) is an American sportscaster based in Los Angeles, California.
Over his broadcast career, Sunderland has covered almost every major sport played in Southern California. He has been a studio host for the local affiliate of Fox Sports Net, was the analyst for professional beach volleyball on both FSN and NBC, and has called Olympic sports and the NBA for NBC.
However, his most famous assignment was calling the Los Angeles Lakers telecasts on FSN. In January 2002, he took over as play-by-play announcer when Chick Hearn took a leave of absence due to a heart procedure. Hearn had called 3,338 consecutive Laker games, including playoffs. Sunderland called 17 games until Hearn returned. When Hearn died in August 2002, Sunderland returned to the Lakers, this time for good, paired with Stu Lantz. In the 2002-03 season, the team retained the simulcasts that began under Hearn's tenure. The following year, the Lakers split the broadcasts and Sunderland and Lantz called games only for television (FSN and KCAL-TV).
In the summer of 2005, Sunderland was released by the Lakers and replaced by Joel Meyers. Team officials cited poor ratings for the change; however, the decision was criticized because of the difficult position Sunderland was in. He was "replacing" one of the most legendary voices in the history of the NBA. Still, fans noted Sunderland's style was not conducive to the fast pace of basketball.
Sunderland continued to do the Southern California Sports Report, but FSN West cancelled the show at the end of 2005. He continues to do freelance assignments, including a 20 game college basketball schedule, for the network.
Sunderland was a member of the 1984 United States Olympic volleyball team that won the gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics. Among his teammates were eventual broadcast partner Chris Marlowe and Volleyball Legend Karch Kiraly.
