Jim Nantz
| Jim Nantz | |
|---|---|
 Jim Nantz by set of The NFL Today, 2001. |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | James William Nantz, III |
| Born | May 17, 1959 Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Genre(s) | Play-by-play |
| Sports | Lead Play-by-Play Announcer, NFL on CBS Play-By-Play Broadcaster, College Basketball; Golf |
James William Nantz, III (born May 17, 1959) is an American sportscaster, known primarily for his work with CBS Sports television.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Nantz grew up in Colts Neck, New Jersey[1] and attended Marlboro High School.[2] In high school, he was co-captain of the basketball team and co-captain and number one player on the golf team. He was a member of Bamm Hollow Country Club.
Nantz then went to the University of Houston in Texas, where he majored in broadcasting and played briefly on the Houston Cougars men's golf team, rooming with future professional golfers Fred Couples and Blaine McCallister.
[edit] Before CBS Sports
Nantz worked as an anchor and sportscaster for KSL TV in Salt Lake City.
[edit] At CBS
Nantz joined CBS in 1985, initially working as a studio host for the network's college football and basketball coverage, and as an on-course reporter for PGA Tour golf, as well as calling NFL games on Westwood One. Nantz has anchored CBS' coverage of the Masters tournament since 1989. He has teamed with Billy Packer to call the NCAA Final Four men's basketball finals continuously since 1991. Since the 2008-09 season, Clark Kellogg has been his analyst.[3]
[edit] The NFL on CBS
After hosting CBS's pre-game program The NFL Today from 1998-2003, he became The NFL on CBS's top play-by-play announcer in 2004. That move sent Greg Gumbel to the studio, and Nantz to the stadium booth with Phil Simms.
On February 4, 2007, Nantz called the play-by-play of Super Bowl XLI. He joins Curt Gowdy and Dick Enberg as the only play-by-play announcers to ever call both a Super Bowl and an NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Game. (Greg Gumbel called CBS' previous Super Bowl, Super Bowl XXXVIII.)
Nantz is also one of two men to host a Super Bowl, announce an NCAA Men's Basketball Championship game, and host coverage of the Masters from Butler Cabin with Brent Musburger being the other. Musburger also accomplished all three feats with CBS.
[edit] Career timeline
- 1985–1988; 1997–1998: NCAA Football on CBS - Studio host
- 1986–present: PGA Tour on CBS (since 1994 as host)
- 1986–1990: College Basketball on CBS - Studio host
- 1986–1989: NBA on CBS - Play-by-play
- 1987–1990: NFL on CBS Radio - Play by play
- 1987–1995: US Open (tennis) - Play-by-play
- 1989–present: The Masters host
- 1989–1991; 1996–1997: NCAA Football on CBS - Lead play-by-play
- 1990–present: College Basketball on CBS - Lead play-by-play
- 1988–1993: NFL on CBS - Play-by-play (1993 as #2)
- 1992 and 1994: Winter Olympics - Weekend daytime co-host
- 1994–1995; 2000–2001: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
- 1998–2003: The NFL Today host
- 1998: Olympic Winter Games - Primetime host
- 2004–present: NFL on CBS - Lead play-by-play
[edit] Personal
Nantz's first book, Always By My Side – A Father’s Grace and a Sports Journey Unlike Any Other, was released in May 2008. Nantz tells personal stories from football, basketball, and golf, and how he has met people along the way who remind him of the virtues his father instilled in him. The foreword to the book was written by one of his father figures, friend and frequent golf partner, former President George H.W. Bush. Nantz’s father, Jim Nantz Jr., died in 2008 after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease; he was treated at The Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas. In January 2011, Jim Nantz and The Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas launched the Nantz National Alzheimer Center. The mission of the Center is to improve care and treatment for patients with Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research and the investigation of its causes, including the role of concussions and other past neurological trauma.
Nantz received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Houston in 2001. He also is one of the youngest recipients of the Basketball Hall of Fame's Curt Gowdy award for broadcasting.
In a radio interview with KTCK in Dallas, Nantz said that he would like to announce 50 Masters before he retires.
Nantz teamed with Gary McCord to provide extensive commentary in the 1990s PC golf game Jack Nicklaus 6 - Golden Bear Challenge, and his commentary is featured in the Golden Tee golf arcade game series.
Nantz had been living in Westport, Connecticut with his wife, Lorrie, and daughter Caroline. The Nantzes are currently in divorce proceedings, the Connecticut Post reported on October 18, 2009.[4]
Near the end of a live radio interview on the syndicated Rush Limbaugh radio show on May 16, 2008, Nantz told the Republican talk host that he would like to talk about politics and his possible involvement in politics someday. The interview ended before the subject could be pursued.
Nantz has appeared on episodes of The Price Is Right to present a Showcase prize that involves CBS Sports properties, one to with the 2009 Final Four in Detroit and another in 2010 for Super Bowl XLIV (with Phil Simms), as part of changes to the long-time game show to use product placement models and CBS crossovers, including sports packages.
Nantz appeared as himself in the 1996 film Tin Cup, and has appeared in episodes of several television series including Arliss, Yes, Dear, Criminal Minds, and How I Met Your Mother. He portrayed the announcer for the fictional baseball team in the short-lived series Clubhouse, and his voice can be heard in the 1998 film Scrapple.
On April 27, 2009, Nantz was given the Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports Personality, Play-by-Play, for his work in the 2008 calendar year. Nantz is the first CBS Sports personality to win the award since its inception in 1993. Nantz won the award again on April 26, 2010.
Nantz has been honored with the NSSA’s National Sportscaster of the Year award five times (1998, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009).[5]
Since 2009, Nantz has guest commentated on the final round of The Open Championship for the BBC.
In November 2009, Jim Nantz was ordered to pay his ex-wife $916,000 a year in child support and alimony. According to the Associated Press, "Nantz must pay $72,000 a month in alimony until either he dies or his ex-wife remarries, and another $1,000 week in child support for their 15-year-old daughter, Caroline, for the next two years...Nantz acknowledged that he began dating 29-year-old Courtney Richards, an employee of IMG, whom he met during his book tour before his divorce was final." Nantz earns $4 million per year from CBS, and has another $3 million in "yearly assets."
In 2011, Nantz was named as a recipient of the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award from the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[6]
[edit] Quotes
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This section is a candidate to be copied to Wikiquote using the Transwiki process. |
| “ | Hello, friends! (Nantz's usual opening line on broadcasts) | ” |
[edit] 1980s
| “ | The Bear...has come out of hibernation. (final round of 1986 Masters, referring to Jack Nicklaus) | ” |
[edit] 1990s
| “ | There was a wizard in the stands and some magic on the floor (After UCLA won the 1995 National title in basketball. He was referring to John Wooden, the legendary coach of UCLA.). As Jim Harrick and UCLA now can hang a banner in Westwood. (referring to UCLA's tradition of hanging only national championship banners at Pauley Pavilion). | ” |
| “ | There it is, a win for the ages! (1997 Masters, referring to Tiger Woods) | ” |
| “ | I don’t want to hear about bumpy greens, I don’t want to hear about six-hour rounds. This is the showpiece for the PGA Tour. Get out here and play. (prior to the final round at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, talking about the Tiger Woods no-show) | ” |
| “ | Just when everybody says you can't, you can, and U-CONN has won the national championship! (1999 NCAA Basketball Championship Game, Connecticut vs. Duke) | ” |
[edit] 2000s
| “ | And you can leave it to Cleaves! He has reinstated the Magic at Michigan State! (2000 NCAA National Championship Game) | ” |
| “ | Yes you May. (2000 PGA Championship) | ” |
| “ | There it is -- as grand as it gets! (2001 Masters) | ” |
| “ | That's it. Duke has the Championship! And Coach K is the proud father of three in more ways than one. (2001 NCAA National Championship) | ” |
| “ | Hinrich puts up the shot, it's too long, and Syracuse is your National Champion! (2003 NCAA National Championship) | ” |
| “ | The mecca of college basketball is in Storrs, Connecticut! (2004 NCAA Tournament, as Emeka Okafor and the UCONN men joined the UCONN women as NCAA Champs) | ” |
| “ | Is it his time?...Yes!..At long last! (2004 Masters, as Phil Mickelson made the tournament-winning shot for his first major) | ” |
| “ | Watch his life change right here. (2004 Masters, while watching Mickelson's reaction to his winning putt on videotape) | ” |
| “ | It started in March, ended in April, and belonged to May (2005 NCAA Tournament) | ” |
| “ | The March to the Arch belongs to Michigan State in double overtime! (2005 NCAA Men's Basketball Division I Austin Regional Final) | ” |
| “ | There's a new Dean in college basketball! (2005 NCAA Tournament, referring to Roy Williams leading North Carolina to the 2005 NCAA Championship) | ” |
| “ | I'm blessed to have great friends, and there's a lot of men in my life who've been more than just friends, particularly in the last 10 years with my dad battling Alzheimer's.(Golf Digest, April 2005) | ” |
| “ | Gators... as good as it gets (2006 NCAA Tournament) | ” |
| “ | Florida takes its place in history, back-to-back and unforgettable! (2007 NCAA Tournament) | ” |
| “ | A tradition unlike any other, The Masters on CBS.(Used annually during promos for and coverage of the tournament, although not always by Nantz) | ” |
| “ | ...and now Luke Donald trying to solve this piece of geometry." (Donald reading a putt at The 2007 PGA) | ” |
| “ | And, talk about David and Goliath! I submit to you Davidson College, to the Sweet 16!" -- Nantz, as the clock hit 00.0 in Davidson's thrilling upset in the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament over Georgetown. | ” |
| “ | A Kansas comeback for the history books, Rock Chalk, Championship! Kansas takes the title! (2008 NCAA Tournament) | ” |
| “ | A performance from the start that could not have been any finer, North Carolina is the 2009 National Champion! (2009 NCAA Tournament) | ” |
| “ | Y.E YES... Y.E Yang has won the PGA Championship!" -- Nantz as Y.E. Yang hits his birdie putt to defeat Tiger Woods and win the 2009 PGA Championship. | ” |
| “ | Picked off. Look out! Gets past Manning. And it's Tracy Porter taking it all the way! Touchdown New Orleans!" (Nantz calling Tracy Porter's fourth quarter 74-yard interception return for a touchdown as the New Orleans Saints upset the Indianapolis Colts to win Super Bowl XLIV.) | ” |
| “ | That's a win for the family. (As Phil Mickelson seals the 2010 Masters with a birdie on the 18th hole on Sunday) | ” |
[edit] 2010s
| “ | Oh it almost went in! It almost went in, and Duke is the king of the dance 2010! (Gordon Hayward missing the final half court shot of the 2010 NCAA Tournament) | ” |
| “ | Everyone talked about the dog fight coming in, right? Huskies and Bulldogs. But one thing was very clear tonight, here in Houston. Connecticut wins best in show! (UConn clinching the 2011 NCAA Tournament) | ” |
| “ | Got him at the 40! It's (Demaryius Thomas) at the 50! Stiff arm got him free to the 30. To the 20, Thomas to the 10...Denver's going on to New England! They win it on the first play of overtime! (Denver Broncos with Tim Tebow at quarterback defeating the heavily favored Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2011-12 NFL Playoffs) | ” |
| “ | Here comes Billy Cundiff to tie this game and in all likelyhood send it to overtime. The last two years, 16 of 16 in the 4th quater on field goals. 32 yards to tie it. And the kick... Lookout! Lookout! It's no good! It's no good! (Baltimore Ravens losing the AFC Championship Game to New England Patriots after a missed field goal with 11 seconds left of the 4th quater) | ” |
[edit] References
- ^ CBS Sports Team: Jim Nantz, CBS Sports. Accessed April 4, 2008. "He was born May 17, 1959, in Charlotte, N.C., and grew up in Colts Neck, N.J."
- ^ Cox Classic Headliners, accessed November 29, 2006.
- ^ Fine, Marshall, "The Voice of Sports", Cigar Aficionado, June 2011, pp. 62–76.
- ^ Connecticut Post CBS sportscaster, wife testify in Bridgeport
- ^ http://www.nssafame.com/General/15266
- ^ "Jim Nantz named Rozelle Award winner". 2011-07-06. http://www.profootballhof.com/enshrinement/2011/7/6/jim-nantz-named-rozelle-award-winner/.
In the Davidson quote from 2008. He says "talk about david versus goliath" not and.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Dick Stockton |
Studio Host, College Basketball on CBS 1986-1990 |
Succeeded by Pat O'Brien |
| Preceded by Brent Musburger |
Play-by-play announcer, NCAA Men's Final Four 1991-present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Preceded by Greg Gumbel |
American television prime time anchor, Winter Olympic Games 1998 |
Succeeded by Bob Costas |
| Preceded by Greg Gumbel |
The NFL Today host 1998-2003 |
Succeeded by Greg Gumbel |
| Preceded by Greg Gumbel |
Lead play-by-play announcer, The NFL on CBS 2004-present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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- American television sports announcers
- BYU Cougars football
- College basketball announcers in the United States
- College football announcers
- Golf writers and broadcasters
- Houston Cougars men's golfers
- National Basketball Association broadcasters
- National Football League announcers
- People from Charlotte, North Carolina
- People from Colts Neck Township, New Jersey
- Sports Emmy Award winners
- Tennis commentators
- Utah Jazz broadcasters
- Utah media
- 1959 births
- Living people
