Another Must-Attend Luncheon

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1 SCSB Website: Facebook: Twitter: @scsbnews PRESIDENT Chris Roberts EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - VICE PRESIDENT Rand Elkins socalsportsbroadcasters@gmail.com (805) TREASURER Joe Cala alnoodge@gmail.com BOARD MEMBERS Ray Rosenbaum headlinesink@yahoo.com Pete Arbogast peteapete@ymail.com Lynda Burns labb913@gmail.com Jeff Rose Larry Stewart elstewarte@aol.com Patrick O Neal poneal@foxsports.net Tom Hoffarth tomhoffarth@verizon.net Isaac Lowenkron isaaclowenkron@yahoo.com Stephanie Corrales stephaniec174@gmail.com Kaitlin Miller kaitlinryanmiller@gmail.com NEWSLETTER EDITOR Larry Stewart MEDIA DESIGN Martin Leon mkleon@hotmail.com PRESIDENT S MESSAGE / Chris Roberts Another Must-Attend Luncheon I, for one, am really looking forward to meeting Alex Faust, the 28-year-old Brooklyn-born broadcaster who has the unenviable task of following the legendary Bob Miller as the Kings TV play-by-play announcer. I want to find out if this young man has grasped that he is replacing someone who not only dazzled us for 44 seasons with his broadcasting skills but also won us over with his charm. It is one thing to be good at your craft, it s another to be universally beloved by so many people. Alex Faust Bob Miller will always be a special person to the Southern California Sports Broadcasters. He was more than just our president for six years, he likely was also our savior. SCSB might have died without Bob s unwavering support. Faust will be one of our guest speakers at our luncheon on Sept. 27. Fittingly, he will be introduced by Miller. Dave Joseph, the Kings public address announcer, will also be a guest. Representing the Ducks will be Josh Brewster, the popular host of the Duck Calls post-game show on KLAA AM 830. Brewster, a native of Buffalo who now lives in Northridge, takes calls from not only fans but players, broadcasters, writers and others. You might say he never ducks a call. We also have a very special guest representing the Lakers Spanish language play-by-play announcer Adrian Garcia Marquez. We are thrilled to have Adrian with us and we thank board member and all-around SCSB MVP Martin Leon for making the arrangements. You can read more about that, and about Martin, in Larry Stewart s EDITOR S CORNER on Page 2 As for Faust, the Kings went outside the box to hire him, according to Helene Elliott of the L.A. Times. The Kings had given on-air auditions to several announcers last season while Miller recovered from a stroke last season. Faust wasn t among them, and his relatively low national profile didn t make him an obvious choice. Page 1 Continued on page 2

2 Continued from page 1 Believe me, it wasn t an obvious outcome for me either, he said, recalling that he initially hoped to merely get an interview with Fox executives and put his name in their minds for the future. Faust wasn t a diehard hockey fan until he immersed himself in the sport while calling hockey games for Northeastern University s student radio station. Faust has done play by play on college football, basketball and lacrosse for ESPNU and also has worked for a New England cable network. He also did radio play by play for the Utica (N.Y.) Comets of the American Hockey League and did some hockey as a freelancer the NBC Sports Network. Now he is attempting to fill some very big shoes. I want to let him know personally that we re all rooting for him. Chris Roberts EDITOR S CORNER / Larry Stewart Muchas Gracias to Adrian Garcia Marquez and Martin Leon At the SCSB awards luncheon in January, a new feature was introduced. It was the Call of the Year award, the brainchild of SCSB board member Isaac Lowenkron. Three 2016 calls were picked as finalists and put on the SCSB ballot along with accompanying videos. Two of the calls involved the same play Kobe Bryant s go-ahead basket with 31.6 seconds left in the Lakers improbable comeback in the final game of Kobe s career, a game in which he scored 60 points, 23 in the fourth quarter. One of the calls was by radio announcer John Ireland, the other by Spanish-language announcer Adrian Garcia Marquez. The third call was Vin Scully s call of Charlie Culberson s walk-off, pennant-clinching home run against Colorado in the 10 th inning of the last game Scully would call at Dodger Stadium, a 4-3 Dodger victory. Sentimentality won out, and Scully s call was the voters favorite. When Scully arrived at the podium to accept the award, he said, Muchas gracias, señores and señoritas. He then added, Come on. We did not know what he said but we love what he was saying, I gratefully and humbly accept this award, but I think you missed the boat here. He was the best with the best call. High praise for Adrian Garcia Marquez, who will be one of the featured guest speakers at the next SCSB luncheon. While Lowenkron gets credit for the Call of the Year award, another board member, Martin Leon, gets credit for Garcia Marquez s upcoming appearance. Martin is the person often seen taking photos at the SCSB luncheons. He is somewhat on the quiet side, but was outspoken Adrian Garcia Marquez Martin Leon Patrick O Neal in insisting we have Garcia Marquez represent the Lakers at our annual NBA/NHL Preview Luncheon. Martin watches the Lakers, long his favorite team, on Spanish-language Time Warner Deportes, which features the announcing team of Garcia Marquez and commentator Francisco Pinto. The interesting thing here is Martin is Chinese. But he speaks Spanish because he lived in Mexicali until moving with his family to Southern California when he was 15. He attended Dorsey High and Page 2 Continued on page 3

3 Continued from page 2 Cal State L.A. He works in the IT department for a major food market chain. So how did he end up on the SCSB board? I ll take credit for that. I got to know Martin at least 25 years ago, shortly after buying my first computer and struggling with it. Sportswriter Doug Krikorian, who had purchased a computer from Martin, suggested I call him. At the time Martin was working in Arcadia, the city where I live. A friendship blossomed almost immediately, particularly since Martin never complained when I pestered him with all my computer problems. But we also learned we had a lot in common, including golf. I had just started to play. Martin was then the president of the men s club at Whittier Narrows, and he invited me to play with him in the club tournaments. He also regularly sent me the newsletter he did for the club. It was an impressive looking newsletter. In 2010, Bob Miller, then the SCSB president, asked me to do this newsletter. I told Bob I could do the content and knew someone who could do the design. To help entice Martin to get on board, Bob came over to my house to meet him. You mean Bob Miller will be at your house? Martin asked. If the Lakers are Martin s favorite team, the Kings are a close second. Martin was sold. And he and Bob are now close friends. After Chris Roberts became president, he asked both Martin and me to join the board. Martin, besides designing the newsletter, now also handles the website, social media and all computerrelated matters for this organization. He is often referred to as the MVP. As for Garcia Marquez, it is noted in the Lakers media guide that the 43-year-old San Diego area native is one of the most diverse sports broadcasters in the country. He is entering his sixth season with the Lakers. The duo of Garcia Marquez and Pinto earned the NBA Broadcasting s Best Live Call honors in 2012 and 2015, and in 2013 won a local Emmy Award for best live sports coverage. The past two years, Garcia Marquez won the SCSB award for best Spanish-language play -by-play announcer. Besides the Lakers, he has broadcast games in English and/or Spanish for the Galaxy, San Diego Chargers, Dodgers, Angels, Clippers and USC. He has also been an anchor and reporter for KMEX, Univision and Telemundo, has been the lead baseball announcer for Fox Deportes and called boxing for Top Rank. He has also worked for Adrian Garcia Marquez Chris Roberts ESPN International and ESPN Deportes, the Boston Red Sox, the Oakland A s and Telefutura, for whom he covered the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He started his career in 1998 calling games of the San Diego Flash soccer team. García Márquez lives in Corona with his wife Erica and children Adrian Jr., 20, and Andrea, 18. At the luncheon, he will be introduced by Martin Leon. Page 3

4 NBA/NHL Preview - Wednesday, Sept 27, 11:30 a.m. Alex Faust Adrian Garcia Marquez Josh Brewster Tickets for this luncheon can be purchased by sending a check to: SCSB Village 44 Camarillo,CA Annual dues are $40 (anyone can join!) Looking forward to seeing everyone in August! Luncheon Fee SCSB Members: $55.00 Non SCSB Members $70.00 Reminder No Denim Allowed at Lakeside Golf Club Rand Elkins, SCSB Executive Director (805) Martin Leon 1329 East Bennett Avenue Glendora, CA PAST PRESIDENTS Tom Harmon Gil Stratton Bill Welsh Fred Hessler Chuck Benedict Allin Slate Stu Nahan Tom Kelly Mike Walden Ed Arnold Joe Buttitta 1980 Steve Bailey Chuck Benedict Steve Roah Steve Bailey Lisa Bowman 1989 Stu Nahan Mike Walden Bill Welsh Stu Nahan Bob Miller Joe Cala Chris Roberts Page 4

5 ATTENTION EVERYONE! As part of a new membership drive by the Southern California Sports Broadcasters, this message is intended for both SCSB members and prospective members. We want to get the word out that anyone can join our organization, whether you work or have worked in sports broadcasting or not. There are no requirements for membership, although it is recommended that you have an interest in sports. So please pass along this message to anyone who might want to join. The annual dues are only $40. And any new members paying their dues now will be covered through the rest of this year and all of As for current members, we encourage you to pay your 2018 dues as soon as possible. Checks should be made out to SCSB and mailed to this address: Joe Cala, SCSB Treasurer Carpenter Avenue - Studio City, CA As an SCSB member: --You get to vote for your favorite broadcasters prior to our annual awards luncheon in January. --You receive the SCSB newsletter, edited by former L.A. Times sports media columnist Larry Stewart. --You get bulletins regarding news involving our organization as well as local broadcasters. --You get to meet and network with current and former broadcasters. Another plus is a discounted admission to our periodic luncheons, held at the beautiful Lakeside Golf Club in Toluca Lake. In March, we had Ron Cey, Bill Russell and Mark Gubicza at our baseball preview luncheon. In May, we featured women who cover sports when our guest speakers included Ann Meyers Drysdale, Shelley Smith, Lisa Bowman and Ramona Shelburne. In August, the guest list included USC Coach Clay Helton, plus Charger executive John Spanos, former Ram quarterback Vince Ferragamo and others. Our next luncheon on Sept. 27 will feature Lakers Spanish-language announcer Adrian Garcia Marquez and new Kings TV announcer Alex Faust, who will be introduced by Bob Miller. Chris Roberts SCSB president Page 5

6 New Members: Pay now and your membership will be valid for the remaining of 2017 and all of Current Members: Pay before the end of the year for 2018 renewal. Come and join the fun! Page 6 Advantages in Joining The SCSB Ballot to vote on annual SCSB Awards SCSB Newsletter (edited by former L.A. Times media columnist Larry Stewart) Meet and network with current and former broadcasters Invitation to SCSB Luncheons (along with program information)