One of the more familiar voices in sports television during the 1990s has died. In other news, one of the longest-tenured and most-respected sportswriters of all-time passed away on Thursday, and ESPN has reached a contract extension with a SportsCenter anchor.
NBA on NBC Voice Fagan Dies at 72
- Former NBC Sports and NBA voice over artist Jim Fagan, who may be most familiar as the voice who told viewers “This is the NBA on NBC” throughout the 1990s, has passed away at age 72 due to Parkinson’s disease. Fagan was NBC Sports’ primary promotional voice from 1989 to 2005, contributing to the network’s biggest-ticket events such as the NBA, NFL and Olympics. He also worked for NBA Entertainment, voicing programs such as NBA Action. (WVU Mountaineers 1/20; additional info from Charleston Gazette-Mail 5/28/10)
Miami Herald Sportswriter Pope Dies at 88
- Former Miami Herald sports columnist Edwin Pope, who worked for the newspaper from 1956 through 2013 and was its sports editor from 1967-2003, died Thursday after battling cancer. As noted in his Miami Herald obituary, Pope began his sportswriting career at just 11 years old, became a sports editor at 15, joined United Press International out of college, and wrote a book that got mentioned on The Ed Sullivan Show — all before joining the Miami Herald at age 28. Pope, one of just four writers to cover the first 47 Super Bowls, was 88 years old. (Miami Herald 1/19)
ESPN Extends Morales
- ESPN has reached a contract extension with SportsCenter anchor Sarina Morales, Sporting News reported Friday. Morales has been with ESPN the past two years and is part of the SportsCenter:AM morning team. She may soon have a new role if ESPN follows through with its decision to launch a new Mike Greenberg-hosted morning show sometime in the near future. (Sporting News 1/20)
