Denver Nuggets, Make-A-Wish Give Broadcasting Hopeful a Shot on Altitude TV
Chris Marlowe offered the board he uses for all of the player information during the broadcast. But the youngster declined, saying he already knows the players pretty well.
Thursday’s Phoenix Suns-Denver Nuggets telecast on Altitude TV featured a cool moment for an aspiring broadcaster, courtesy of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
The Nuggets welcomed 16-year-old Levi Lips for a tour of Ball Arena, taking the stage at a press conference, and getting some shots on the court. He was also interviewed on Altitude TV’s pregame show and announced the game’s starting lineups.
We got Levi in the house as our Nugget for a Day! We're so happy to partner with Make-A-Wish to have him on board tonight! pic.twitter.com/gZtPFxrB22
But most importantly for the broadcasting hopeful, via Awful Announcing, Levi got to sit with play-by-play announcer Chris Marlowe and analyst Katy Winge during the second quarter of the Nuggets telecast. Marlowe teased Levi about wanting to take his job, which he’s not ready to give up yet, before turning the mic over for calling some play-by-play.
Just before Levi took over the call, however, there was a funny exchange in which Marlowe offered the board he uses for all of the player information during the broadcast. But the youngster declined, saying he already knows the players pretty well.
Winge teased Marlowe about giving up the mic during a free throw, when there’s not a whole lot of action on the court. But that was probably an astute move by the veteran play-by-play broadcaster, giving Levi a chance to survey who was on the court and get his bearings.
Levi quickly learned just how much you have to talk while calling play-by-play, more than a fan might guess. And he was surely nervous, as most any non-professional would be in that situation. But the high school senior showed his potential with a nice call on DeMarcus Cousins’ three-pointer.
Altitude posted Levi’s interview with Winge on Twitter, giving a wider audience a chance to see it on social media.
As detailed on the Levi’s Prayer Warriors Facebook page, Lips required brain surgery at just 10 months old to prevent him from a number of seizures he was experiencing. In 2019, Levi had a seizure for the first time in 14 years. A subsequent seizure caused a fall resulting in a concussion. An exam revealed a brain tumor.
During surgery to remove the tumor, Levi suffered a stroke and was paralyzed on his left side. Since then, he’s undergone physical and occupational therapy to regain function and control.
Judging from the videos above, Levi appears to be recovering very nicely and he’ll attend Utah State in the fall to study broadcast journalism. And thanks to Make-A-Wish, the Nuggets, and Altitude TV, he got to experience a special evening. Hopefully, it’s just the first step in a properous life and broadcasting career. Many of us will be able to say this is the first time we saw and heard Levi Lips on the call.
Ian Casselberry is a sports media columnist for BSM. He has previously written and edited for Awful Announcing, The Comeback, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation. You can find him on Twitter @iancass or reach him by email at iancass@gmail.com.
ESPN aired Tuesday night’s New York Rangers and Washington Capitals game. DisneyXD and Disney Channel aired an alternate broadcast that included players being 3D animated to resemble the cast of Disney Channel’s popular cartoon Big City Greens. It turned into a ratings win for the networks.
The alternate broadcast featured players animated in real time to mimic what was happening on the Madison Square Garden ice. Players were equipped with special chips in the padding to aid the animation, and special pucks were used to ensure a smooth transition from video to computer-animated graphics.
An average of 589,000 viewers tuned into the game on ESPN. Meanwhile, nearly 175,000 watched the broadcast between Disney Channel and DisneyXD.
The figure for ESPN represents its largest NHL broadcast since a November 1st broadcast featuring the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins.
The combined total for the broadcast — 765,000 — outdrew the World Baseball Classic broadcasts but did not top the NCAA Tournament’s First Four round that was broadcast on truTV.
This week, it was announced that Greg Gumbel will no longer be a play-by-play announcer for the NFL on CBS after working on CBS’s NFL coverage every year since 1998. Gumbel has had an illustrious career and he takes pride in the fact that one thing has never happened to him.
Gumbel was a guest on the Tell Me A Story I Don’t Knowpodcast with George Ofman (Part 2 from an interview back in September) and he told Ofman that while he has never been fired before, but he doesn’t think broadcasters should be embarrassed when they get fired because of what the business is.
“It’s the nature of the business. I honestly think I’ve been extremely fortunate in that I’ve never been fired in a business that is known for firings. Being fired in this business is no shame, no embarrassment because it’s a subjective business. Because this guy at this network likes my work, it doesn’t mean that this guy at that network does. It’s extremely subjective and if you can buy that and understand it the way it is, then it shouldn’t bother you at all.
“It’s never happened to me. If it had, it would not have surprised me. I worked for some people who didn’t like me, I’ve worked for some people I didn’t like. It’s a strange business, there’s no doubt.”
Gumbel has been the host of CBS’s NCAA Tournament coverage for the last 25 years and he knows it’s a job that he is very grateful to have.
“I know there are people who would give their right arm to be sitting there next to Clark Kellogg and Seth Davis on Selection Sunday or sitting next to Kellogg, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley when the tournament begins to talk about what we’ve just seen or what we are going to see. I am never, ever going to take for granted the fact that I have been very fortunate to be able to do that.”
One thing Gumbel tries to avoid whenever he is on air is the mispronunciation of someone’s name because he knows how it feels to have his name distorted accidentally by some people.
“Pronunciations are important to me. There’s been a lifetime of people who may not completely mispronounce my name, but distorting it a little bit from time to time. I never want to do that to an athlete. If I ever mispronounce an athlete’s name, I hear it from his family, I hear it from the school or the team and I apologize for it as soon as I can. I don’t think that is something light or should be taken for granted.”
Toward the end of the interview, Gumbel was asked by Ofman when he will know it will be time to end his career.
“Other people have given it more thought than I have. I think when that time comes around, it will hit me over the head more than I will think about it. There are people who ask me why I still do what I do. The very bottom line is I love it, I enjoy it.”
Ricky Keeler is a reporter for BSM with a primary focus on sports media podcasts and national personalities. He is also an active podcaster with an interest in pursuing a career in sports media. You can find him on Twitter @Rickinator555 or reach him by email at RickJKeeler@gmail.com.
Diamond Sports Group Misses Arizona Diamondbacks Rights Payment
It is believed that the missed rights payment by Bally Sports Arizona triggers a clause in the contract that reverts the television rights back to the Diamondbacks and Major League Baseball.
Last week, Diamond Sports Group — operator of the Bally Sports-branded regional sports networks — claimed it had paid every rights fee it was contractually obligated, except for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
At the time, the company said it had a grace period until it needed to make a payment. That payment was due by Thursday, March 16th at 11:59 PM. That time has come and gone, and the company failed to deliver its fee.
It is believed that the missed rights payment by Bally Sports Arizona triggers a clause in the contract that reverts the television rights back to the Diamondbacks and Major League Baseball.
The Diamondbacks are not the only team affected by the situation. Bally Sports — which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this week — has also reportedly entered a grace period with the San Diego Padres. According to a report from Sports Business Journal, that grace period ends on March 30th, baseball’s Opening Day.
Previous reporting claims that contract is one the network hopes to get out from under. The company loses a reported $20 million per season on its television deal with the Padres. The Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Guardians are the other two baseball franchises the network holds the rights to that it hopes to terminate deals for.
