Mike Barrett (sportscaster)

Mike Barrett (sportscaster)
This article is about the basketball announcer. For the basketball player by the same name, see Mike Barrett (basketball player).
Mike Barrett interviews Blazer Center Joel Przybilla in Portland at the time of his 2006 free agent signing.

Mike Barrett (born 1968), widely known as "MB", is the television play-by-play announcer for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association.

Contents

Biography

Early years

Mike Barrett was born in 1968 in Albany, Oregon, the son of a high school basketball coach.[1] He grew up as a fan of the only professional major league team in his home state of Oregon, the Portland Trail Blazers, regularly attending games with his father.[1]

Following his graduation from West Albany High School, Barrett attended Oregon State University (OSU), located about 10 miles away in neighboring Corvallis, Oregon. He graduated from OSU in 1991 with a degree in Journalism.[2]

Broadcasting career

After graduating from OSU, Barrett went to work for radio station KUIK-AM 1360 in Hillsboro calling high school basketball games.[2] He became Sports Director at KXL-AM 750 in Portland, flagship station of the Trail Blazers, in 1992.[2] While at KXL Barrett anchored the station's morning and afternoon sportscasts as well as working as a sideline reporter for University of Oregon football broadcasts.[2]

In 1999, he was hired by the Portland Trail Blazers as radio studio host and editor of the Blazers' official magazine, Rip City Magazine.[2] The next year he went to work as a radio and television play-by-play announcer for the WNBA's Portland Fire, a role which he continued until the team disbanded in 2003.[2]

Barrett was named the play-by-play announcer for the Trail Blazers for the 2003/04 season, working for the first two years next to Steve "Snapper" Jones.[2] From the 2005/06 season he has been joined by "The Wild One," Mike Rice on Blazer telecasts, an assignment which has often caused him to assume the role of straight man for his loquacious and unrestrained broadcast partner. Barrett has said of his partner:

"Rice is good, he's a character, and you strip away some of that cartoon character, and I'm so lucky to work with him. I think his calls are probably as memorable as anything I say. I like to give him that room. Some of the traditional broadcasters really want their own space, who get upset when their analyst gets in and steps on their call. I'm not into that. I want to be there to fill in the blanks and to provide some information and entertainment."[1]

In addition to calling the play-by-play, Barrett and Rice appear on a weekly radio and television show, Trail Blazers Courtside.

Barrett also writes voluminously for his blog on the Blazers' website, offering game reviews and a behind-the-scenes perspective on the team. Barrett recalled the origins of his on-line publication in a 2008 interview:

"The funny thing is that when the blog started at Summer League like 3 or 4 years ago, they said write some stuff for training camp, and that was kind of strange, but then they saw I could write in a real conversational way, that involved people. It was one of those odd things that you stumble into and all of a sudden you've created a lot of work for yourself. It's not a bad thing it's a good thing.

"It takes a lot of time, as you know. To do something like that and to maintain it — I moderate 95% of the comments, I see them all, I put the picture up, I do the headline, it's like my own little newspaper. And that's pretty cool for somebody who was into journalism anyway. Writing has always been pretty easy. To sit down to write after a game or after an event, positive or negative news, it's almost my way of going home and unwinding and reliving it. I think a lot of writers would say that. That's my way of going home and coming down from the high of the night. * * *

"I get wordy, I get long, I start writing. They tell me, 'just write a paragraph,' and I said, 'I get going, I can't.' The next thing I know I'm at 2,000 words. I've enjoyed sitting down after my kids and wife go to bed, sit down, and process through some things. It helps me remember the game better, it helps me realize it, the next time we play somebody, I remember not only the game but the blog. I can go back and review it if I want to."[3]

Family

Mike Barrett lives with his wife, Shelly, in Tualatin, Oregon. The couple have two children, a son named Jack and a daughter named Gabby.[2]

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c Ben Golliver, "Mike Barrett Interview — Part I", BlazersEdge.com, August 24, 2008. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Portland Trail Blazers 2009-10 Media Guide". p. 260. http://cdn.iamatrailblazersfan.com.s3.amazonaws.com/media/MediaGuide-Web.pdf. 
  3. ^ Ben Golliver, "Mike Barrett Interview — Part II", BlazersEdge.com, August 27, 2008. Retrieved October 6, 2009.

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Michael Barrett — may refer to: Michael Barrett (baseball) (born 1976), American baseball player Michael Barrett (Fenian) (died 1868), hanged for his alleged role in the Clerkenwell bombing Michael Barrett (Irish politician) (1927–2006), Irish Fianna Fáil… …   Wikipedia

  • Don Taylor (Canadian sportscaster) — Don Taylor (born September 25, 1959 in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a Canadian television and radio sportscaster. He currently hosts Rogers Sportsnet Pacific s nightly sports news program Sportsnet Connected and also co hosts the weekday… …   Wikipedia

  • Erin Andrews — Andrews at a 2007 college football game Born Erin Jill Andrews May 4, 1978 (1978 05 04) (age 33) Lewiston, Maine, United States …   Wikipedia

  • List of Alpha Phi Alpha brothers — The list of Alpha Phi Alpha brothers (commonly referred to as Alphas cite web |url=http://www.union.arizona.edu/csil/greek/chapters/view.php?id=39 |title=Arizona Student Unions |work=Fraternity and sorority programs |publisher=University of… …   Wikipedia

  • WTAM — For the unrelated Spanish language television station in Tampa, Florida, see WTAM LD. WTAM Broadcast area Greater Cleveland Branding Newsradio WTAM 1100 Slogan Cleveland s Only Newsradio The …   Wikipedia

  • Shawn Michaels — Ring name(s) Sean Michaels[1] Shawn Michaels Billed height …   Wikipedia

  • List of people from Wyoming — This is a list of prominent people who were born in or lived for a significant period of time in U.S. state of Wyoming. Native American Leaders* Red Cloud (1822–1909), chief of the Oglala Sioux * Washakie (1804–1900), renowned Shoshone… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Northeastern University people — The following is a partial, incomplete list of notable Northeastern University people. It includes alumni, professors, and others associated with Northeastern University. See also .AlumniBusiness* Leslie Abi Karam Executive Vice President and… …   Wikipedia

  • List of people associated with Madison, Wisconsin — The following people are or have been associated with Madison, Wisconsin. Contents 1 Artists and architects 2 Athletes and sports figures 3 Business and industry figures 4 Ent …   Wikipedia

  • List of people from Rhode Island — This is a list of prominent people who were born in the U.S. State of Rhode Island or spent significant periods of their lives in the state.Athletics*Bill Almon (1952 ), baseball player *Billy Andrade (1964 ), golfer *Rocco Baldelli (1981 ),… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”