It’s becoming rare these days for fans to turn on a sporting event and not hear Dan Shulman’s voice.
The versatile commentator provides play-by-play for ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball and, this time of the year, NBA and college basketball action.
I wouldn’t want to be his travel agent.
His upcoming schedule: Duke/Florida State (Saturday, Jan. 14), Phoenix/San Antonio (Sunday, Jan. 15), Baylor/Kansas (Monday, Jan. 16), Dallas/L.A. Clippers (Wednesday, Jan. 18), Minnesota/Clippers (Friday, Jan. 20) and Louisville/Pittsburgh (Sat., Jan. 21).
On Friday, Jan. 6, however, he was enjoying some quality time with his wife and children at home in Toronto. In fact, he was at Blue Mountain ski resort in Collingwood, Ontario, when his cell phone vibrated.
“I was waiting with my kids at the chair lift when the phone rang,” Dan said. “I took my glove off and quickly glanced at the phone, but I wasn’t able take the call at the moment.”
A few hours passed and Dan returned the call. On the other end was Dave Goren, executive director of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (NSSA) & Hall of Fame. Dave was calling to congratulate Dan on being named the NSSA Sportscaster of the Year.
“I was very surprised and honored,” Dan said. “When you look at the names of the other nominees and recent winners, it’s a tremendous honor to be included in such company. It’s very nice to be acknowledged by your peers, those who do what you do. That was particularly gratifying.
“I’m truly blessed to have worked with all the great people I’ve worked with over the years, not only the analysts, but the producers, directors and other behind-the-scenes people as well. Broadcasting is a team effort and I’m honored to have worked with them throughout my career.”
Dan was not the only ESPN commentator honored by the NSSA.
Current SportsCenter anchor Lindsay Czarniak was named Washington, D.C. Sportscaster of the Year for her work with NBC-4 (WRC-TV). She joined ESPN in August 2011.
“It means the world to me because I love what I do,” Lindsay said. “My time in Washington was special because that’s where I grew up and it was an opportunity to cover that area and those teams and bring their stories to our viewers.”
“The transition to ESPN has been awesome because the people are great. It’s an exciting place to be because there are new opportunities and challenges on a national scale.”
Past ESPN honorees have included NSSA Hall of Fame recipients Brent Musburger (2011), Peter Gammons (2010) and Jon Miller (1999); Sportscasters of the Year: Mike Tirico (2010), Chris Berman (2001, 1996, ’94, ’93, ’90 and ’89) and Dan Patrick (1999) and Sportswriter of the Year (Gammons, 1993).
