Blazers to Hire Lamar Hurd as New Color Commentator

I would like to see the multiple camera option available online similar to TNT Overtime.

 

BRIAN WHEELER

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Brian Wheeler has served as the radio play-by-play voice of the Portland Trail Blazers for the last 18 years. Only eight other NBA radio play-by-play announcers have been with their current teams longer. Wheeler’s exciting style and trademark “BOOM-SHAKA-LAKA” dunk calls have endeared him to basketball fans throughout the Pacific Northwest. Wheeler is a regular co-host of the team’s weekly radio, TV and internet show, “Trail Blazers Courtside.” “Wheels” has 32 years of broadcasting experience overall, and was named the Oregon Sportscaster of the Year for 2007 by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. Prior to joining the Trail Blazers, he spent three years as a member of the Kings’ broadcast team in Sacramento, serving as the team’s pre- and post-game show host as well as handling the play-by-play for a select number of games each season. “Wheels” was also the original play-by-play voice on radio and television of the WNBA’s Sacramento Monarchs. Before Sacramento, Wheeler spent two seasons working in Seattle as part of the Sonics’ broadcast group and also hosted a daily talk show on their flagship radio station. Wheeler has NBA ties to Chicago, where he worked on the Bulls’ radio broadcasts in their first championship season. “Wheels” got his start in broadcasting in Chicago, earning a broadcasting/communications degree from Loyola University. He then spent nine seasons as the basketball play-by-play announcer on both radio and TV for his alma mater. His extensive experience in the Windy City also included broadcast stints for the Chicago White Sox, Northwestern University and SportsChannel.

KEVIN CALABRO

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Popular national NBA voice Kevin Calabro joins the Trail Blazers for his first season as play-by-play television broadcaster in the 2016-17 season. Calabro most recently served as a regular postseason national play-by-play announcer for ESPN Radio, Turner Broadcasting and NBA TV, and as a broadcaster for Westwood One Radio during the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. A veteran of the NBA, Calabro spent 21 years as a television and radio broadcaster for the former Seattle SuperSonics until that franchise moved to Oklahoma City in 2008. Instead of relocating with the team, he chose his love for the Pacific Northwest and remained in the Seattle area. Calabro has received a number of accolades for his broadcast work on the national level with TNT, TBS, ESPN Radio and NBA TV. He was most recently honored with the 2016 Keith Jackson Western Sports Star of the Year award, given to a member of the media for communicating sports stories in the state of Washington. Calabro has also been honored by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association as Washington’s “Sportscaster of the Year” in 1997, 2000-2003 and again in 2006. Calabro has also lent his voice to several Microsoft video games, including NBA Inside Drive, NBA Full Court Press, and NFL Fever, and as the play-by-play voice of Sony PlayStation NBA games. A native of Indiana and graduate of Butler University, Calabro’s NBA broadcasting career began in 1983-84 as play-by-play announcer for the former Kansas City Kings, now the Sacramento Kings. Calabro and his wife Sue have four children – Anthony, Nick, Lauren and Joe.

LAMAR HURD

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Lamar Hurd joins the Trail Blazers for his first season as Television Analyst in 2016-17. He will provide basketball analysis and insight on all Trail Blazers broadcasts and across social media channels. He will also join game-day segments on the Toyota Pregame Show and make appearances on Trail Blazers Courtside on Monday nights. Hurd comes to the Trail Blazers from the Pac-12 Network, where he was a college basketball analyst for four years. In 2014, he began broadcasting games for ESPN as well. From 2008-11, Hurd served as a primary college basketball analyst for Fox Sports Northwest and Root Sports. With these networks, he provided commentary and basketball insight for their studio show, College Hoops Northwest, and also live broadcasts at Oregon State University men’s basketball games. Hurd was the starting point guard for Oregon State from 2002-06; he received All Pac-10 Honors, shared the team’s MVP award, and was named to the Pac-10 All Academic first team. He played professional basketball in Germany from 2006-07, but returned to the United States in order to share his love of the game with local kids. He is the President of the youth organization The Other Side of Basketball, a program that uses the influence of basketball to positively impact lives through integrity, honesty and discipline. Hurd graduated from Oregon State with a degree in Communications. His two brothers, Khari and Richard, Mother Marlene and two nieces live in Houston, Texas.

JORDAN KENT

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Jordan Kent begins his first season as Television Studio Host in the 2016-17 season. Alongside Michael Holton, he will host the Toyota Pregame Show, McDonald’s Halftime Show and the Postgame Show. Kent brings more than five years of experience as a studio host to the Portland Trail Blazers as he continues to serve as host for Talkin’ Ducks, Ducks Football, and Ducks Postgame Live on CSN Northwest. He also brings more than 20 years of basketball knowledge to the desk after a successful basketball career that included Oregon first team all-state recognition in high school and three defensive player of the year awards for the University of Oregon men’s basketball team. He also received Pac-10 first team All-Academic honors twice during his career. Kent graduated from the University of Oregon in 2006 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration. During his time at Oregon, Kent lettered in three sports - basketball, track and field, and football. During his football career, he earned Pac-10 honorable mention honors during his senior year before being drafted in the sixth round of the NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks and completing a 3-year NFL career with Seattle and St. Louis. In his free time, Jordan enjoys spending time with his wife Tiffany as they travel and cook recipes for her blog. In addition, the two of them host the Jordan Kent Skill Camps every summer, where they work with more than 1,000 kids across the state.

MICHAEL HOLTON

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Former Trail Blazer Michael Holton begins his 10th season with the Trail Blazers as an in-studio analyst. Prior to his current role, Holton served as a radio analyst for the Trail Blazers and was also a color analyst for ESPN’s coverage of NCAA basketball. In addition, Holton served as a co-host on 750 KXL’s “Ducks Rewind,” a weekly show analyzing Oregon Ducks men’s basketball. Holton has also worked for NBC/KGW-TV and 1080 The Fan. After retiring from the NBA, Holton served as head coach of the University of Portland from 2001-06. Prior to that, Holton served as an assistant coach for Pasadena City College (1993-94), Oregon State University (1995-96) and UCLA (1996-01). Holton began his NBA career as a third-round selection by the Golden State Warriors in the 1983 NBA Draft but did not play until the 1984-85 season when he suited up for Phoenix. In six seasons, Holton played for the Suns, Bulls, Trail Blazers and Hornets. Holton played in 325 NBA games, averaging 6.2 points, 1.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists. Before beginning his professional career, the Seattle native earned his degree from UCLA, where he was a four-year letter winner for the basketball team from 1979-1983.





BROOKE OLZENDAM

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Brooke Olzendam begins her first season in 2016-17 as Courtside Reporter for all home and road Trail Blazers game telecasts. She will be the host for digital, web and social content, as well as player feature stories throughout the season. Olzendam comes to the Trail Blazers from CSN Northwest, where she served as the All-Purpose Host for the network from 2014-16. Previously, Olzendam served as TV Host / Sideline Reporter for Pacers TV Broadcasts. She also spent the off-season reporting and hosting for the Pac-12 Network. She has performed sideline and reporting duties for CSN Northwest, covering a broad spectrum of sports from professional baseball to horse racing; and hosted pregame and postgame shows for the Trail Blazers. Olzendam began her career covering the University of Washington, both as host of “Huskies All-Access” as well as doing sideline reporting for both football and basketball. She also hosted “Runnin’ with the PAC”, a nationally televised magazine show focused on the Pac-10 Conference. Born in Spokane, Washington, and a graduate of the Edward R. Murrow School of Communication at Washington State University, Olzendam has a passion for basketball that stems from her father Dave Olzendam, a member of the Washington State Coaches Hall of Fame.

BILL SCHONELY

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“Mr. Rip City,” aka Bill Schonely, is serving as the Trail Blazers family’s Founding Broadcaster/Ambassador for the 13th year. "The Schonz," who was the voice of the Trail Blazers during their birth in 1970 and the team’s championship run in 1977, is in his 47th year of association with the franchise. He currently serves in a variety of ways as the organization’s ambassador to the community. The legendary broadcaster was recognized by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame with the Curt Gowdy Media Award during the 2012 Hall of Fame reunion dinner in Springfield, Mass. The prestigious award is presented annually to members of the print and electronic media whose longtime efforts have made a significant contribution to the game of basketball. Schonely then received the Special Achievement Award at the 2013 Governor’s Gold Awards. The Oregon Association of Broadcasters also recognized Schonely with the 2012 Tom McCall Award, named after the former Oregon governor. In 2009 alone, the local legend was named Portland First Citizen by the Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors, Grand Marshall of the Rose Festival Starlight and Grand Floral Parades, and had the “Bill’s Kids Fund” established in his name by Providence Child Center to honor his longstanding dedication to and compassion for the medically fragile children who call the center home. The city of Portland declared April 3, 2010, a day of appreciation for Schonely. His 30 years behind the microphone was the second-longest tenure in the NBA at the time to the late Chick Hearn, the legendary voice of the Lakers. Schonely's popularity has prompted the city councils and mayors of Portland, Vancouver, Wash., Lake Oswego and Gresham to pass resolutions calling for his inclusion into the Hall. Schonely called his last Trail Blazers game on April 30, 1998, a first round playoff contest with the L.A. Lakers. The next two years he hosted Rip City TV specials and provided sideline commentary during BlazerVision telecasts. He was courtside calling the action when Portland played its first-ever preseason game on Sept. 24, 1970, in Longview, Wash., and over the next three decades did the play-by-play for close to 3,000 Trail Blazers contests home and away. Schonz was honored as Oregon’s Sportscaster of the Year in 2003 by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. Nine years earlier, he was named Broadcaster of the Year by the Oregon Association of Broadcasters and three times has been honored as the state’s Sportscaster of the Year by the OAB. In 1998, the OAB established an annual college scholarship in Schonely’s name for aspiring sports broadcasters and writers. In 2002, he was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame. A native of Norristown, Pa., he served in the Marine Corps and did a sports show for Armed Forces Radio overseas before going to work for radio station KVI in Seattle. He was the voice of the Seattle Totems hockey team in the Western Hockey League. He also did University of Washington football, Seattle Angels baseball, the Oakland Seals in the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball’s Seattle Pilots. After the Pilots moved to Milwaukee in 1970, the Portland Trail Blazers came calling. Schonely is involved in helping support numerous charitable causes, including the American Heart Association and Life Flight, and is a board member of the Providence Child Care Center Foundation. Bill and his wife, Dottie, live in Charbonneau.

 

We also got Comcast employees, I don't think that was a coincidence either.

 

Can you imagine being stuck on a plane with both HCP and Dwight Jaynes?!?