AH, THE VOICE OF REASSURANCE.Byline: TOM HOFFARTH Media Vin Scully For the American architecture historian, see . Vincent Edward "Vin" Scully (born November 29, 1927, in The Bronx, New York) is an American sportscaster, known primarily as the play-by-play voice of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers baseball teams. may be cutting back, but he isn't cutting out. Promise. Fact is, if his contract runs as scheduled, the Hall of Famer will be doing Dodgers games through 2006, by which time he'll be closing in on 79 years young. As storm clouds gather over Chavez Ravine with the start of Frank and Jamie McCourt's regime and several key front-office people having decided to move on, Scully's voice is one of the few comforting things Dodgers fans have left. Before the skies open up any more, allow Scully to provide an umbrella. ``No one likes change, and you see how it can be unsettling un·set·tle v. un·set·tled, un·set·tling, un·set·tles v.tr. 1. To displace from a settled condition; disrupt. 2. To make uneasy; disturb. v.intr. to everyone, even on the periphery,'' said Scully, starting his 55th season. ``I understand the uneasiness, but if I can help by being allowed to do the games, it'll be my honor and pleasure. ``I told the McCourts that when the O'Malleys sold the team to News Corp. a few years ago, someone alluded to the fact that I was a bridge for the team from Brooklyn to Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. and now from one ownership to another. So I guess I'm an additional bridge to Frank and Jamie McCourt.'' Don't assume the changes haven't affected Scully. He calls former team president Bob Graziano Bob Graziano is a former president of the Los Angeles Dodgers of American Major League Baseball. He is currently Managing Director for the Western Region of Northern Trust, an investment management company. ``a dear friend'' and his departure ``definitely hurt.'' Director of communications Director of Communications is a position in the private and public sectors. The Director of Communications is responsible for managing and directing an organization's internal and external communications. and broadcasting Derrick Hall
 This article or section is written like an . is ``another good pal'' and a
longtime security blanket security blanketn. 1. A blanket carried by a child to reduce anxiety. 2. Informal Something that dispels anxiety. Noun 1. who will soon go elsewhere. In addition, Fox Sports Net stage manager Boyd Robertson, whom Scully calls his ``right-hand man'' on TV broadcasts the past 12 years, will not travel on road games, so ``that'll be a blow.'' ``I do wonder, with some worry, about the people in the office who are all good friends, but in a new administration there'll always be change,'' Scully said. ``I really want to concentrate on doing play-by-play and getting back to the roots Back to the roots, also called Spurensuche, is a program by the Republic of Austria's well established exchange-programm. Whereby a group of 15 young Israelis, who have Austrian family roots, are invited to Austria and together with 15 young local Austrians do research about their of the game.'' From Scully's perspective, having interviewed and spent time with Frank McCourt
Francis "Frank" McCourt (born August 19, 1930) is an Irish-American teacher and author. during spring training in Vero Beach, Fla., he thinks the new ownership team ``means well.'' The problem, in his estimation, is when the McCourts were trying too hard to accommodate the media in the first few weeks but made a few statements that ``sound OK when you say them but once they're in print, you're horrified hor·ri·fy tr.v. hor·ri·fied, hor·ri·fy·ing, hor·ri·fies 1. To cause to feel horror. See Synonyms at dismay. 2. To cause unpleasant surprise to; shock. . I think they realize now that it's best if (new general manager) Paul DePodesta does the talking now and they'll stay in the background like most owners eventually do.'' Despite the fact the Dodgers have increased their total number of local televised regular-season games on Fox Sports Net 2 and KCOP-Channel 13 to an all-time high of 144, Scully has pulled back on his play-by-play assignments to 110 games, which is 10 fewer than 2003. The plan is for him to do all home games, all road games involving West Division teams and make one trip to the East (the interleague series in Boston and Toronto in June). That will give Ross Porter and Rick Monday, each entering the final year of their contracts with the team, a few more TV appearances. ``Having done these trips for X-number of years, I decided what I'd like to do is basically stay in the West to give me more time at home with my family,'' Scully said. Although many fans would like Scully to do more radio broadcasts - or at least stay longer, coming back at the end of the games to call what turn out to be the climactic moments - the compromise in place of simulcasting his TV call on KFWB-AM (980) for the only first three innings will stay in effect this season. ``When I first started doing the simulcast, I had some fears and trepidation, but I realized that Chick Hearn, God bless him, did the simulcast for so many years (on Lakers games) that people have come to accept it and it wasn't the problem I was afraid it might have been,'' said Scully, who will do tonight's Dodgers-Angels exhibition game for Channel 13 before the home opener on FSN (Full-Service Network) A communications network that provides shopping, movies on demand and access to databases and a variety of interactive services. 2 against San Diego on Monday afternoon. ``I'm happy doing exactly what I'm doing. And I'm not only rested up, I'm overly rested. I've done my share of splitting infinitives and dangled a few participles, so I'm ready.'' CAPTION(S): box Box: SOUND BYTES By Tom Hoffarth |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion