1987-88 NBA Season
As originally posted by Tony Miller and avargha:
This series moves along to 1987-1988 and finds no new teams, cities or arenas. Billy Cunningham replaced Tom Heinsohn on the finals; Heinsohn worked the conference finals with Musburger, while CBS also used Tim Brant, Verne Lundquist, Hubie Brown, and Billy Packer. TBS’ coverage was anchored by Bob Neal, Skip Caray, Pete Van Wieren, Rick Barry, and Steve Jones. Don Nelson appeared in the playoffs.
Data transcribed from ”’NBA on CBS’ Regular Season Schedules” and ”NBA on CBS Playoff Games”. Additional listings and significant clarifications on which games have been confirmed came from jtgrace1 and Jeff79.
For the numerous games that are not confirmed, the initials of John Moynahan's guesses are given in parentheses. These are, for the sake of emphasis, GUESSES.
National Television
PRESEASON
1987
10/23
Tracer Milan-Bucks, 8:05, TBS. Mel Proctor, Rick Barry
McDonald's Open
10/25
Soviet National Team-Bucks, 3:30, ABC. Gary Bender, Dick Vitale, Cheryl Miller
McDonald's Open
11/3
Lakers-Bulls, 8:05, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry, Craig Sager (in Springfield, Mass.)
NOVEMBER
Friday 11/6:
Bucks-Celtics, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Steve Jones
Sonics-Lakers, 10:30, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Rick Barry
Tuesday 11/10:
Bulls-Hawks, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Friday 11/13:
Sonics-Mavericks, 8:00, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Rick Barry
Tuesday 11/17:
Celtics-Cavaliers, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Steve Jones
Friday 11/20:
Celtics-76ers, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Tuesday 11/24:
Pistons-Rockets, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Wednesday 11/25:
Hawks-Celtics, 8:00, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Rick Barry
Friday 11/27:
Bulls-Mavericks, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
DECEMBER
Tuesday 12/1:
Sonics-Knicks, 8:00, TBS. Announcers unknown (bn-rb)
Friday 12/4:
Lakers-Bucks, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Steve Jones
Tuesday 12/8:
Kings-Rockets, 8:00, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Rick Barry
Friday 12/11:
Lakers-Celtics, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Saturday 12/12:
Rockets-Bulls, 3:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham, Pat O’Brien
Tuesday 12/15:
Bulls-Pistons, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Steve Jones
JIP in second quarter due to technical difficulties. Pacers-Hawks aired in the interim.
Friday 12/18:
Nuggets-Spurs, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Tuesday 12/22:
Mavericks-Bulls, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Rick Barry
Friday 12/25:
Pistons-Knicks, 12:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham, Pat O’Brien
Hawks-76ers, 8:00, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Steve Jones
Tuesday 12/29:
Blazers-Knicks, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Steve Jones
JANUARY
Tuesday 1/5:
Pistons-Hawks, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Friday 1/8:
Lakers-Pistons, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Steve Jones
Tuesday 1/12:
Celtics-Bulls, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Friday 1/15:
Jazz-Sonics, 10:30, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Steve Jones
Saturday 1/16:
Hawks-Mavericks, 1:30, CBS. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham, James Brown
Tuesday 1/19:
Bulls-Hawks, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Friday 1/22:
Nets-Pacers, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Steve Jones
Sunday 1/24:
Lakers-Sonics, 3:30, CBS. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham, Pat O’Brien
Tuesday 1/26:
Bulls-Pacers, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Friday 1/29:
Celtics-Pistons, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Hawks-Lakers, 10:30, TBS. Skip Caray, Steve Jones
Sunday 1/31:
76ers-Celtics, 12:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham, Pat O’Brien
FEBRUARY
Tuesday 2/2:
Bullets-Knicks, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Sunday 2/7:
NBA All-Star Game at Chicago
West-East, 1:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham, Pat O’Brien, James Brown
Tuesday 2/9:
Jazz-Mavericks, 8:00, TBS. Announcers unknown (pvw-sj)
Friday 2/12:
Hawks-Pistons, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Rockets-Clippers, 10:30, TBS. Skip Caray, Steve Jones
Sunday 2/14:
Celtics-Lakers, 3:30, CBS. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham, Pat O’Brien
JIP late in first quarter due to Daytona 500 running long.
Monday 2/15:
Hawks-Bulls, 1:30, CBS. Verne Lundquist, Tom Heinsohn, Jim Nantz
Tuesday 2/16:
Warriors-Rockets, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Steve Jones
Friday 2/19:
Lakers-Hawks, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Steve Jones
Celtics-Blazers, 10:30, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Sunday 2/21:
Pistons-Lakers, 3:30, CBS. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham, Pat O’Brien
Tuesday 2/23:
Sonics-Bulls, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Steve Jones
Friday 2/26:
Hawks-Pacers, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Sunday 2/28:
Celtics-Pistons, 12:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham, Pat O’Brien
MARCH
Tuesday 3/1:
Celtics-Bucks, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Steve Jones
Friday 3/4:
Rockets-Mavericks, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Sunday 3/6:
Lakers-Mavericks, 2:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham, Pat O’Brien
Tuesday 3/8:
Blazers-Mavericks, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Wednesday 3/9:
Lakers-Knicks, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Steve Jones
Sunday 3/13:
Hawks-Celtics, 12:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham, Pat O’Brien
Tuesday 3/15:
Cavaliers-Bulls, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Wednesday 3/23:
Bulls-76ers, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Tuesday 3/29:
Mavericks-Hawks, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
APRIL
Friday 4/1:
Pistons-Celtics, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Steve Jones
Sunday 4/3:
Bulls-Pistons, 1:30, CBS. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham, Pat O’Brien
Tuesday 4/5:
Sonics-Lakers, 10:30, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Friday 4/8:
Suns-Warriors, 10:30, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Sunday 4/10:
Celtics-76ers, 12:30, CBS. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham, Pat O’Brien
Tuesday 4/12:
Blazers-Lakers, 10:30, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Friday 4/15:
Bucks-Pistons, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Steve Jones
Sunday 4/17:
Lakers-Rockets, 1:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham, Pat O’Brien
Tuesday 4/19:
Bulls-Knicks, 7:30, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Friday 4/22:
Celtics-Hawks, 7:30, TBS. Skip Caray, Steve Jones
Sunday 4/24:
Celtics-Bulls, 3:30, CBS. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham, Pat O’Brien
Thursday 4/28:
East quarters, g1: Cavaliers-Bulls, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
West quarters, g1: Jazz-Blazers, 10:30, TBS. Skip Caray, Steve Jones
Friday 4/29:
East quarters, g1: Knicks-Celtics, 8:00, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Don Nelson
West quarters, g1: Spurs-Lakers, 10:30, TBS. Skip Caray, Steve Jones
Saturday 4/30:
West quarters, g2: Rockets-Mavericks, 3:30, CBS. Verne Lundquist, Hubie Brown
East quarters, g2: Bullets-Pistons, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
MAY
Sunday 5/1:
East quarters, g2: Knicks-Celtics, 1:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham
East quarters, g2: Cavaliers-Bulls, 3:30, CBS regional. Brent Musburger, Tom Heinsohn, Pat O'Brien
West quarters, g2: Sonics-Nuggets, 3:30, CBS regional. Tim Brant, Billy Packer
Tuesday 5/3:
East quarters, g3: Bulls-Cavaliers, 8:00, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Rick Barry
West quarters, g3: Nuggets-Sonics, 10:30, TBS. Bob Neal, Steve Jones
Wednesday 5/4:
East quarters, g3: Celtics-Knicks, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Rick Barry
Thursday 5/5:
West quarters, g4: Mavericks-Rockets, 8:00, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Don Nelson
West quarters, g4: Nuggets-Sonics, 10:30, TBS. Bob Neal, Steve Jones
Friday 5/6:
East quarters, g4: Celtics-Knicks, 8:30, TBS. Skip Caray, Rick Barry
West quarters, g4: Blazers-Jazz, 11:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Don Nelson
Saturday 5/7:
West quarters, g5: Sonics-Nuggets, 3:30, CBS. Verne Lundquist, Hubie Brown
Sunday 5/8:
East quarters, g5: Cavaliers-Bulls, 1:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham
East quarters, g5: Bullets-Pistons, 3:30, CBS regional. Tim Brant, Billy Packer
West semis, g1: Jazz-Lakers, 3:30, CBS regional. Brent Musburger, Tom Heinsohn
East quarters, g5: Bucks-Hawks, 7:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Rick Barry
Tuesday 5/10:
East semis, g1: Bulls-Pistons, 8:30, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
West semis, g2: Jazz-Lakers, 11:00, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Steve Jones
Wednesday 5/11:
East semis, g1: Hawks-Celtics, 8:30, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Thursday 5/12:
West semis, g2: Mavericks-Nuggets, 10:00, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Steve Jones
Friday 5/13:
East semis, g2: Hawks-Celtics, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
West semis, g3: Lakers-Jazz, 10:30, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Steve Jones
Saturday 5/14:
East semis, g3: Pistons-Bulls, 1:00, CBS. Verne Lundquist, Hubie Brown
West semis, g3: Nuggets-Mavericks, 3:30, CBS. Tim Brant, Billy Packer
Sunday 5/15:
East semis, g3: Celtics-Hawks, 1:00, CBS. Brent Musburger, Tom Heinsohn
West semis, g4: Lakers-Jazz, 3:30, CBS regional. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham
East semis, g4: Pistons-Bulls, 3:30, CBS regional. Verne Lundquist, Hubie Brown
LAL-UTA seen nationally for part of second quarter due to transmission issues at DET-CHI.
Monday 5/16:
East semis, g4: Celtics-Hawks, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Don Nelson
Tuesday 5/17:
West semis, g5: Jazz-Lakers, 11:00, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Steve Jones
Wednesday 5/18:
East semis, g5: Bulls-Pistons, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Rick Barry
Thursday 5/19:
West semis, g6: Nuggets-Mavericks, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Don Nelson
West semis, g6: Lakers-Jazz, 10:30, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Steve Jones
Friday 5/20:
East semis, g6: Celtics-Hawks, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Rick Barry
Saturday 5/21:
West semis, g7: Jazz-Lakers, 3:30, CBS. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham, Jim Lampley
Sunday 5/22:
East semis, g7: Hawks-Celtics, 1:00, CBS. Brent Musburger, Tom Heinsohn, Pat O'Brien
Monday 5/23:
West finals, g1: Mavericks-Lakers, 10:30, TBS. Bob Neal, Steve Jones
Wednesday 5/25:
East finals, g1: Pistons-Celtics, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Rick Barry
West finals, g2: Mavericks-Lakers, 10:30, TBS. Bob Neal, Steve Jones
Thursday 5/26:
East finals, g2: Pistons-Celtics, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Rick Barry
Friday 5/27:
West finals, g3: Lakers-Mavericks, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Steve Jones
Saturday 5/28:
East finals, g3: Celtics-Pistons, 3:30, CBS. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham, Pat O'Brien
Sunday 5/29:
West finals, g4: Lakers-Mavericks, 3:30, CBS. Brent Musburger, Tom Heinsohn, James Brown
Monday 5/30:
East finals, g4: Celtics-Pistons, 3:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham, Pat O'Brien
Tuesday 5/31:
West finals, g5: Mavericks-Lakers, 11:30, CBS. Brent Musburger, Tom Heinsohn, James Brown
(Note: May 8 was a false tripleheader spread over two networks.)
JUNE
Wednesday 6/1:
East finals, g5: Pistons-Celtics, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Thursday 6/2:
West finals, g6: Lakers-Mavericks, 9:00, CBS. Brent Musburger, Tom Heinsohn, James Brown
Friday 6/3:
East finals, g6: Celtics-Pistons, 9:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham, Pat O'Brien
Saturday 6/4:
West finals, g7: Mavericks-Lakers, 3:30, CBS. Brent Musburger, Tom Heinsohn, James Brown
Tuesday 6/7:
NBA Finals, g1: Pistons-Lakers, 9:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham, Pat O'Brien, Brent Musburger
Thursday 6/9:
NBA Finals, g2: Pistons-Lakers, 9:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham, James Brown, Pat O'Brien
Sunday 6/12:
NBA Finals, g3: Lakers-Pistons, 3:30, CBS. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham, Pat O'Brien, Brent Musburger
Tuesday 6/14:
NBA Finals, g4: Lakers-Pistons, 9:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham, Pat O'Brien, Brent Musburger
Thursday 6/16:
NBA Finals, g5: Lakers-Pistons, 9:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham, Pat O'Brien, Brent Musburger
Sunday 6/19:
NBA Finals, g6: Pistons-Lakers, 3:30, CBS. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham, Pat O'Brien, Brent Musburger
Tuesday 6/21:
NBA Finals, g7: Pistons-Lakers, 9:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Billy Cunningham, Pat O'Brien, Brent Musburger
(Notes: June 21 was the highest-rated NBA on CBS telecast. June 16, 19, and 21 were each the latest NBA game ever on the calendar.)
Local TV/Radio Info
Originally written by garretta
We begin with '87-'88 in the Atlantic Division:
Boston Celtics: WLVI-TV (Channel 56) and a network covering four states will telecast thirty-seven of the Celts' forty-one away games; the other four will be picked up by CBS. Gil Santos and Bob Cousy will call the games. This is he third year of their five-year contract.
WEEI-AM is the flagship of a fifty-three station radio network. They'll carry every game: preseason, regular season and playoffs. Johnny Most will call the play-by-play, with Glenn Ordway as the analyst. This is the first year of a seven-year contract.
On cable, SportsChannel New England is in the first year of a new ten-year contract and its seventh year of covering Celts games. It will carry thirty-nine of the club's forty-one home games; the other two will be nationally televised by CBS. Mike Gorman and Tommy Heinsohn will call the action for 700,000 subscribers in six states.
Washington Bullets: WDCA-TV (Channel 20) will broadcast twenty-five away games, with Mel Proctor doing play-by-play; his analyst was unknown at press time.
On cable, Home Team Sports will telecast thirty-three home games. Proctor and former Bullets guard Phiil Chevrier will call the action. (It's also possible that HTS will telecast any away games that WDCA doesn't air due to scheduling conflicts; they did this twice in 1986-87.)
WWDC-AM is the Bullets' flagship radio station; it heads a five-station network. Charlie Slowes will do play-by-play. WWDC will produce every game for the network, but may not air some of them due to conflicts with Georgetown University basketball games. No word on which station gets Bullets games in that case.
Philadelphia 76ers: PRISM is the team's cable outlet, serving 400,000 homes. This is the network's eleventh season covering 76ers games. It will broadcast forty regular season home games and any playoff games not picked up by CBS. Jim Barniak and Hubie Brown will call the action.
WPHL-TV (Channel 17) is in the third year of a six-year contract to televise the 76ers. It will broadcast forty regular season road games plus four road exhibition games. Neil Funk will handle play-by-play chores, with Hubie Brown once again serving as color commentator.
WFIL-AM is the team's flagship radio station, heading a twenty-one station network. It's the final year of their three-year contract. The network will broadcast all preseason and regular season games. Jon Guerveitch will do solo play-by-play on road games and work as Funk's color commentator on home games.
New Jersey Nets: The team has bought time on WNEW-AM New York to air its games. The team hopes o build a radio network due to WNEW's signal not fully covering the Nets' market (presumably, the state of New Jersey). Howard David will do play-by-play, with Jim Spanarkel and Tim Bassett on color commentary. Whether they're going to each work a certain slate of games or both be in the booth at once isn't made clear.
SportsChannel New York will broadcast sixty games this season (thirty-two home, twenty-eight road). They'll also pick up any playoff games not televised by CBS or TBS. SportsChannel serves nearly a million homes. Steve Albert and Bill Raftery will be the announcers.
No over-the-air television was mentioned in the article.
New York Knicks: WWOR-TV (Channel 9) will air a package of twenty-three road games produced by Madison Square Garden Network, which holds the team's TV rights. They'll also televise any road playoff games not picked up by CBS. Marv Albert and John Andariese will be the announcers. This is the fourth year of a five-year contract for WWOR.
Marv and Andariese will also call the cable package on MSG Network, which consists of fifty-seven games: two preseason home games, forty-two regular-season home games, and twelve regular-season road games. MSG Network will also televise any home playoff games not picked up by CBS.
WNBC-AM and WFAN-AM will share the radio load. WNBC will carry one home preseason game plus sixty-six regular-season games. WFAN-AM will carry the other sixteen regular-season contests, which conflict with Rangers hockey games on WNBC, Jim Karavellas and Ernie Grunfeld will call the action. (By the time the '88-'89 season started, WNBC would no longer exist; its spot on the dial at 660 AM was taken over by WFAN, which was at 1050 AM during the '87-'88 season.
Also, it's interesting to see the Rangers get the priority in case of conflicts. I thought New York was just about the best basketball market in the country at this time. Why would MSG, who also held the radio rights for both teams, favor the Rangers?)
Chicago Bulls: WFLD-TV is in the third year of a five-year contract to carry games over the air. It will carry thirty regular-season road games.
SportsVision, the team's cable outlet, will televise an unknown number of games beginning with the home opener against the 76ers on November 7. It serves more than a million homes in the Chicago area and will televise forty games (twenty-eight home, twelve away. This the fourth year of their ten-year contract. Jim Durham and Johnny "Red" Kerr will call the action for both broadcast and cable television, and their call will also be simulcast on radio.
WMAQ-AM is the team's radio home, carrying all preseason and regular season games. They're beginning a new three-year contract.
No announcers were mentioned in the article. According to our own thread for historical NBA commentators, Jim Durham and Johnny "Red" Kerr called the action on both radio and TV, but I find it very difficult to believe that a market as big as Chicago would have done a simulcast. Any corrections or additions are appreciated.
Cleveland Cavaliers: WWWE-AM is the team's radio home, broadcasting all regular-season and postseason games. Joe Tait will call the play-by-play. No analyst is mentioned either in the article or our announcers' list.
WUAB-TV is in its eighth year as the Cavs' television outlet, but this is the first year that the Cavs retain the rights. It will carry twenty road games. Jack Corrigan and Jim Chomes are your announcers.
Milwaukee Bucks: WTMJ-AM is in its nineteenth consecutive year as the Bucks' radio flagship station. It heads a thirty-two station network. Jim Irwin calls the play-by-play, with Jon McGlocklin doing color on non-televised games.
WVTV is in the final year of a three-year contract to televise Bucks games and its thirteenth season overall. It's the flagship of a three-station network which will televise thirty regular-season games and six or seven playoff games. Jim Paschke will handle play-by-play, with McGlocklin handling analysis as mentioned earlier.
Indiana Pacers: WIBC-AM is the radio flagship. They've been carrying Pacers games for fifteen years, and this is the second year of a three-year contract. The network will carry all regular-season and postseason games, plus two exhibition games. Mike Inglish and Clark Kellogg will call the action.
WTTV (Channel 4, I believe) will televise nineteen road games and six home games, the same amount they did last year. Eddie Doucette and Bobby "Slick" Leonard are the announcers, with Dick Vitale contributing occasional features.
(I find it hard to believe that the best-known basketball commentator of all time wasn't used in the booth at least occasionally. If anyone out there remembers Dickie V working with the Pacers, or even remembers reading about him doing so, please share,)
Detroit Pistons: WKBD-TV is in the first year of a new two-year contract to air Pistons games, which they've done since 1973-74. They'll head a three-station network which will televise twenty-five games (two home, twenty-three away), George Nlaha will do the play-by-play, with Hubie Brown and Dick Motta alternating on commentary.
WWJ-AM will be the team's radio flagship for the third straight year, heading a sixteen-station network. They will carry all games that don't conflict with University of Michigan basketball games. Blaha will also do play-by-play here, with Stu Klitenic providing color for home games.
Pro-Am Sports System, which serves 126,000 homes. has purchased the team's cable right and will televise two preseason games and thirty-eight regular-season games (twenty-five home, thirteen road). This is the final year of their four-year contract, but there's an option for a three-year extension. Fred McLeod and Tom Wilson will call the games.
(Questions:
1. Did the Pistons do a radio-TV simulcast? If so, who did color on the road games that Motta or Brown didn't do? If not, who did play-by-play on the games Blaha did on TV?
2. How often did Brown work for the Pistons? If I remember the 76ers' piece right, he was free on some nights when they were at home and weren't being televised.)
Atlanta Hawks: WGNX-TV is in the second year of a two-year contract to televise Hawks games. They'll do thirty road contests this year, beginning with the team's November 11 tilt with the Knicks, John Sterling and Butch Beard will call the action.
Sterling will also call fifteen pay-per-view games for Prime Cable, a cable system serving 105,000 homes in Atlanta. Last year, the channel carried only five games. (Even though they gave up the broadcast TV rights for the Hawks when they got the NBA's national cable contract in 1984, TBS apparently still held the team's pay cable rights; according to the article, they're the ones who signed the deal with Prime Cable.)
WGNX-AM is the flagship of a radio network numbering between twenty-five and thirty stations, This is the second year of their three-year contract, and they'll carry all preseason, regular-season, and postseason games. Sterling will call the games that aren't televised; Steve Holman will call the televised games. No color commentator is mentioned.
Golden State Warriors: The team buys time for their broadcasts on KNBR-AM San Francisco. KNBR will broadcast all regular-season and postseason games. Greg Papa will call play-by-play for all games.
KICU-TV San Jose will broadcast thirty games, ten more than last year. This is the second year of a two-year contract. Papa's call is simulcast on TV and radio; Jim Barnett will do color for televised games.
Phoenix Suns: No announcers have been named at press time. Dimension Cable plans to carry twenty regular-season games fifteen home, five away). KNXV-TV is the team's over-the-air station; it will carry twenty-five away games plus whatever postseason games CBS and TBS don't pick up. This is the final year of their three-year contract.
The Suns retain their radio rights and produce their own broadcasts. KTAR-AM is the flagship of an eight-station, all-Arizona network.
(Any information on who ended up doing Suns games is appreciated. If you find it in a thread on this site, please copy it here; the announcer lists are very badly formatted. which makes them hard to read.)
Portland Trail Blazers: The team retains all broadcasting rights. On radio, KGW-AM is the flagship of a twenty-eight station network. The team has created an audio satellite hookup to distribute the games to the affiliates. Bill Schonley and Geoff Petrie will call the action.
On broadcast television, KOIN-TV will carry twenty away games. On cable, fifteen games will be produced for distribution to eight cable systems in Oregon and southwestern Washington. In addition, some cable systems that don't carry KOIN will air the away games on the team's cable channel. Pat Lafferty and Steve "Snapper" Jones will call the action.
Seattle SuperSonics: KJR-AM, which is owned by Sonics owner Barry Ackerly, replaces KIRO-AM as the team's radio flagship. ot will air all preseason, regular-season and postseason games as head of an eight-station network. Bob Blackburn and Kevin Calabro will call the action,
On television, KIRO-TV and KTZZ-TV, both Seattle, have the rights to twenty-eight road games. KIRO-TV will produce for both stations and air thirteen games, while KTZZ airs fifteen. This is the second year of the stations' three-year contract. Jimmy Jones and Jim Marsh are your announcers.
Los Angeles Lakers: Prime Ticket, which is owned by Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss, owns all the team's media rights. Its regional cable network will carry one preseason home game and twenty-five regular season home games to its 1.8 million customers. Legendary play-by-play man Chick Hearn will be joined by first-year color commentator Stu Lantz. The duo will also do the games for the team's over-the-air network, which will televise two preseason road games and thirty-eight regular-season road games. KHJ-TV is in the third year of a six-year contract to serve as flagship for the seven-station network.
On radio, KLAC-AM has been the Lakers' flagship station since 1977-78. This is the third year of their current five-year contract. The radio network numbers fifteen stations, and will carry eight preseason games and all regular- and postseason games. Hearn and Lantz will call all games for radio as well; the audio from the televised games will be simulcast. This is Chick's twenty-seventh year on Lakers play-by-play.
Los Angeles Clippers: KTLA-TV is in the final year of a three-year contract. It will televise the same package that it did last year: twenty games. seventeen home and three road. Ralph Lawler will call the play-by-play, with no color commentator named as of press time. Lawler will also call the team's games on the radio, where KRTH-AM has replaced KMPC-AM as the team's flagship station.
The Clippers have no cable coverage for this year.
Let's finish 1987-88 with the Midwest Division:
Sacramento Kings: KFBK-AM is the team's radio outlet; it will broadcast every game. Gary Gerould will do play-by-play; Dave Grosby will host the pre- and postgame shows. (No color commentator was named; could Grosby have done that too?)
KOVR-TV Stockton is the Kings' TV outlet. It's in the third year of a three-year contract, and it will broadcast twenty games. Tom Curran and John Lambert will call the action.
Houston Rockets: The team retains its radio rights and buys time on KTRH-AM to broadcast the games. Gene Peterson is the play-by-play man, while Rockets director of communications Jim Foley is the color analyst,
Home Sports Entertainment will carry forty home games on cable television, and KTXH-TV will carry forty road games on over-the-air television. The other two games on the Rockets' schedule will be picked up by CBS. Bill Worrell and McCoy McLemore will call the games for both KTXH and HSE.
Denver Nuggets: For the twelfth straight season, the team has bought time on KOA-AM to broadcast its games. The station will air all regular-season and post-season games plus eight exhibition games. Jeff Kingery will do play-by-play; color will be done by either Bob Martin or Kent Groshong.
KWGN-TV is in the third year of a three-year contract and its fourteenth straight year of broadcasting Nuggets games. This year, it will televise thirty games: twenty-five road games and five "wild card" games to be chosen during the season. Al Albert is the main play-by-play man; Jim Conrad will fill in when Al is absent. Irv Brown will handle color for all games.
(What else was Al doing at this time that would have required him to miss Nuggets games? I know he worked for USA off and on, but what did they have him doing that would take priority over the Nuggets?)
Utah Jazz: KLUB-AM is the flagship of an eleven-station radio network. it simulcasts the forty-six televised games; for the others, "Hot Rod" Hundley does solo play-by-play.
KSTU-TV and KSL-TV will each televise a package of Jazz games over the air, KSL, which is in the last year of their contract with the team and is unlikely to renew, will broadcast ten games, while KSTU-TV, which by all reports is eager to renew their contract, will show eleven. Hundley will be joined by Dave Blackwell on KSTU and Craig Bolerjack on KSL.
The team co-owns the Jazz Cable Network with Tele-Communications Inc., and the channel will televise twenty-five games, up from twenty-one last year. Carl Arky will be Hundley's color man for these broadcasts.
The Jazz retain all of their own broadcast rights and sell all advertising time themselves.
San Antonio Spurs: KTSA-AM takes over for WOAI-AM as the team's radio outlet. It will carry all preseason, regular-season, and postseason games on a year-to-year contract. Since Sam Smith is listed as play-by-play for both radio and TV, I'm going to assume that the TV call will be simulcast when there is one, and Smith will work alone when there isn't. No color commentator is listed.
Rogers Cable will produce all telecasts for the team. SportsChannel, the area's premium channel, will televise thirty-five road games and eight home games, while Rogers' pay-per-view channel, First Choice, will televise thirty-five home games.
Twenty of the games will be aired on HSE in the Austin and Corpus Christi areas, and six road games will be televised over-the-air by KSAT-TV. Like KTSA, KSAT is on a year-to-year contract. HSE is in the second year of a two-year contract, and Rogers is in the fifth year of a ten-year contract. Greg Simmons will be the color commentator for the KSAT games, which will begin on November 6 against the Rockets. No other color commentators are listed.
Dallas Mavericks: WBAP-AM is the team's solo radio outlet. Dave Barnett will call the play-by-play; no color commentator is listed.
KTVT-TV, a regional superstation broadcasting out of Dallas, will televise nineteen road games. The team hopes to create a six or seven-station regional network in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana with KTVT as the flagship station. Allen Stone will call the play-by-play, with Barnett serving as his color man. (Were the KTVT games simulcast on radio? If not, who replaced Barnett?)
HSE is in the first year of a five-year contract with the team. It will broadcast forty home games this year: one preseason, thirty-nine regular-season. (Last year, it carried three preseason home games, thirty-two regular-season home games, and five regular-season road games.) CBS will carry the other two home games nationally.
National Radio
Originally written by garretta
ABC Radio: ABC Radio will carry the All-Star Game for the second year in a row and the Finals for the fourth year in a row. Fred Manfra and Dick Vitale will call the Finals. Manfra will take a sideline reporter's role in the All-Star Game, which will be called by Chick Hearn and Johnny Most.