Spero Dedes

Last updated
Spero Dedes
Born
Spero Dedes

(1979-02-27) February 27, 1979 (age 45)
Paramus, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation(s)Sportscaster, play-by-play announcer
Years active2001–present

Spero Dedes (born February 27, 1979) is an American sportscaster. He is currently employed by CBS Sports, calling the NFL, NBA and college basketball as well as Turner Sports' coverage of the NBA. He has also worked as the preseason TV voice of the Los Angeles Chargers. Prior to joining CBS and Turner, he was the radio play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers (2005-2011) and a radio and television play-by-play announcer for the New York Knicks from 2011 to 2014.

Contents

Early career: WFAN, AFL, YES Network, NBA TV

Dedes was born in Paramus, New Jersey. He attended Paramus High School and then graduated from Fordham University in 2001 and he began his career at WFAN in New York.

In 2001 and 2002, Dedes was the radio announcer for the New Jersey Gladiators of the AFL. [1] In 2002, he was tapped as a fill-in announcer for New Jersey Nets games on the YES Network. [2]

In 2003, Dedes was hired as a studio host and play-by-play man for NBA TV. He hosted Hardwood Classics and The Insiders. [3]

In 2004, Dedes was hired as a voice over for NBA Action and replaced longtime voice over Jim Fagan until he was replaced by YES Network play–by–play announcer Ian Eagle.

National exposure: Olympics, Networks, Lakers, Super Bowl

At 24, Dedes worked the 2004 Summer Olympics for NBC Sports. [4]

In 2004, Dedes also served as a fill-in commentator of College Basketball on CBS . [5] Also in 2004, Dedes served as a fill-in commentator for the NFL on FOX . [4]

In 2005, Dedes filled in on the NFL on CBS . [6] In the same year, Dedes got the biggest break of his career when he was hired as the radio announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers. [4]

From 2006 until 2011, Dedes worked for NFL Network, with his duties including studio hosting and play-by-play. In 2015, Dedes went back to his old stomping grounds, returning to NFL Network as a studio host. [7]

In 2007, Dedes served as the play-by-play man for the international feed of Super Bowl XLI by CBS Sports. [8] In 2023 Dedes worked as a Play by play man for select NFL games on Westwood One.

Full-time at CBS and New York Knicks

In December 2009, Dedes joined CBS Sports full-time, calling regular season college basketball and the 2010 NCAA Tournament. [9] [10]

For the 2010 NFL season, he was named a full-time announcer of the NFL on CBS .

In 2011, Dedes left the Lakers and became the radio voice of the New York Knicks. [11] Dedes cited the flexibility to continue his work at CBS Sports as the reason for leaving the Lakers. [12]

In addition, that fall, he became the #2 voice of the SEC on CBS behind Verne Lundquist. [13]

In 2012, Dedes was disciplined by his employer for making a racially insensitive remark during the Knicks loss to the Charlotte Hornets. [14]

Dedes has also filled in for Ian Eagle on play-by-play for New York Jets preseason games on WCBS-TV.

From 2017 to 2021 and since 2023, he called NFL games with Adam Archuleta and for the 2021 and 2022 seasons has was paired with Jay Feely. Dedes and Archuleta serve as the No. 5 announcing team for the NFL on CBS. Dedes and Archuleta were on the call for the Snow Bowl where the Buffalo Bills beat the Indianapolis Colts on December 10, 2017. He's also the No. 4 play-by-play announcer for the NBA on TNT and continues to work play-by-play on CBS and Turner’s coverage of NCAA March Madness pairing with an array of analysts including Steve Smith, Jim Jackson, Len Elmore and Debbie Antonelli.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marv Albert</span> American sportscaster

Marv Albert is an American former sportscaster. Honored for his work by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he was commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball". From 1967 to 2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks". Albert worked for Turner Sports as the lead announcer for NBA games on TNT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenny Albert</span> American sportscaster

Kenneth Gary Albert is an American sportscaster, the son of NBA sportscaster Marv Albert and nephew of sportscasters Al Albert and Steve Albert. He is the only sportscaster who currently does play-by-play for all four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada.

CBS Sports is the sports broadcasting division of American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studios 43 and 44 of the CBS Broadcast Center on W 57th Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brent Musburger</span> American sportscaster

Brent Woody Musburger is an American sportscaster, currently the lead broadcaster and managing editor at Vegas Stats and Information Network (VSiN).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Breen</span> American sportscaster

Michael Breen is an American play-by-play sports commentator. He has been the lead announcer for NBA games on ABC and ESPN since 2006, including the NBA Finals. He is also the lead announcer for New York Knicks games on the MSG Network. Breen previously called NFL regular season games for both NFL on Fox and NFL on NBC, as well as New York Giants preseason games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Nantz</span> American sportscaster

James William Nantz III is an American sportscaster who has worked on telecasts of the National Football League (NFL), NCAA Division I men's basketball, the NBA, and the PGA Tour for CBS Sports since the 1980s. He has anchored CBS's coverage of the Masters Tournament since 1989 and been the lead play-by-play announcer on CBS's NFL coverage since 2004. He was also the lead broadcaster for the NCAA men's basketball tournament from 1990 to 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Gumbel</span> American sportscaster

Greg Gumbel is an American television sportscaster. He is best known for his various assignments for CBS Sports. The older brother of news and sportscaster Bryant Gumbel, he became the first African-American announcer to call play-by-play of a major sports championship in the United States when he announced Super Bowl XXXV for the CBS network in 2001. Gumbel is currently the studio host for CBS' men's college basketball coverage and was a play-by-play broadcaster for the NFL on CBS until 2023.

Richard Edward Stokvis, known professionally as Dick Stockton, is an American retired sportscaster. Stockton began his career in Philadelphia, then moved to Pittsburgh, where he worked as the sports director for KDKA-TV. In Boston, he called Celtics games for WBZ-TV and Red Sox games for WSBK-TV before transitioning to national broadcasting, which included calling the 1975 World Series for NBC and later, the NBA Finals for CBS. In a career that spanned over five decades, Stockton worked for several different networks, most prominently CBS Sports, Fox Sports, and Turner Sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gus Johnson (sportscaster)</span> American sportscaster

Augustus Cornelius Johnson Jr. is an American sportscaster. He is the lead play-by-play announcer for Fox Sports calling college football and college basketball. Prior to working with Fox, he was with CBS Sports. He also calls select NBA Playoff games for NBA on TNT.

Don Criqui is an American sportscaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Wolff</span> American sportscaster (1920–2017)

Robert Alfred Wolff was an American radio and television sportscaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Eagle</span> American sports announcer (born 1969)

Ian Eagle is an American sports announcer. He calls NBA, NFL, and college basketball games on CBS, TNT, and TBS, as well as Brooklyn Nets games on the YES Network and French Open tennis for Tennis Channel. Other announcing experiences include Army–Navy football games, boxing, and NCAA track and field for CBS.

<i>NBA on CBS</i> American TV series or program

The NBA on CBS is the branding that is used for weekly broadcasts of National Basketball Association (NBA) games produced by CBS Sports, the sports division of the CBS television network in the United States. CBS aired NBA games from the 1973–74 NBA season until the 1989–90 NBA season.

Joel Meyers is an American sportscaster who is the play-by-play announcer of the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also is the lead host of "Above the Rim", which airs weekdays from 10am to 1pm ET on SiriusXM NBA Radio. He is also the preseason play-by-play announcer for the New Orleans Saints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beth Mowins</span> American sports journalist and announcer

Elizabeth Mowins is an American play-by-play announcer and sports journalist for ESPN, CBS, and Marquee Sports Network. She typically calls women's college sports, and became the second woman to call nationally televised college football games for ESPN in 2005. She began doing play-by-play for NFL games in 2017 and became the first woman to call a nationally televised NFL game. In 2021, she became the first woman to call play-by-play for an NBA game on network TV.

John Sadak is an American TV/radio sports announcer with the Cincinnati Reds, CBS Sports, Westwood One radio, CBS Sports Network, the ESPN family of networks and Fox Sports 1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Ruocco</span> American sportscaster (born 1986)

Ryan Ruocco is an American television and radio sportscaster. He serves as a play-by-play announcer for the NBA, WNBA, and women's college basketball on ESPN, and the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Nets on YES Network. He hosts the podcast R2C2 with former Yankees all-star pitcher CC Sabathia. He previously hosted the Stephen A. Smith & Ryan Ruocco Show on ESPN Radio 98.7 FM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Jacksonville Jaguars season</span> 20th season in franchise history

The 2014 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the franchise's 20th season in the National Football League (NFL) and the second under head coach Gus Bradley. They failed to improve upon their 4–12 record from 2013 and finished 3–13, and finished third in the AFC South for the second straight year. The Jaguars were eliminated from postseason contention after their week 12 loss to the Colts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Indianapolis Colts season</span> 66th season in franchise history; final one with Andrew Luck

The 2018 season was the Indianapolis Colts' 66th in the National Football League and their 35th in Indianapolis. It was also their first season under head coach Frank Reich and second under the leadership of general manager Chris Ballard. Despite a 1–5 start, the Colts managed to improve on their 4–12 campaign from the year prior with a 38–10 victory over the Tennessee Titans, and a 5-game winning streak. On Week 16, the Colts achieved their first winning season since 2014 with a 28–27 win against the New York Giants. The next week, they beat the Tennessee Titans in a win or go home match-up to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2014 and became the third team in NFL history to qualify for the playoffs after a 1–5 start and first since the 2015 Chiefs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Tennessee Titans season</span> 64th season in franchise history

The 2023 season was the Tennessee Titans' 54th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 64th overall, their 27th in the state of Tennessee and their sixth and final under head coach Mike Vrabel. The Titans attempted to improve upon their underachieving 7–10 record from last year. They also attempted to make it back to the playoffs after missing them for the first time since 2018. However, after a Week 15 loss to the Houston Texans in overtime, they were eliminated from playoff contention for the second year in a row. The following week they were locked to last in the AFC South after losing to the Seattle Seahawks 20–17 in Week 16, and they failed to improve on their 7–10 record from 2022. On January 9, the Titans fired Vrabel.

References

  1. ↑ "NBA TV Talent: Spero Dedes". NBA.com . Archived from the original on 2014-03-20. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
  2. ↑ Marchand, Andrew (November 1, 2002). "THE FORDHAM FLASH: YES' DEDES GETS NETS' FILL-IN JOB – AT AGE 23". New York Post .
  3. ↑ "NBA.com - NBA TV Talent: Spero Dedes". Nba.com. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 "Lakers Announce Hiring of Spero Dedes as Radio Play-By-Play Announcer". Los Angeles Lakers. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  5. ↑ "CBS Sports TV Team". Archived from the original on 2014-01-03. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
  6. ↑ "NFL on CBS: Week 2: Baltimore Ravens vs. Tennessee Titans (2005)". Tv.com. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  7. ↑ "Spero Dedes". NFL.com . Archived from the original on 2014-01-03. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
  8. ↑ Allen, Bruce (3 February 2007). "Weekend Watch – Super Bowl XLI Edition". Bostonsportsmedia.com. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  9. ↑ "CBS SPORTS' COLLEGE BASKETBALL DOUBLEHEADER FEATURES TOP 20 CLASH AS NO. 15 GONZAGA TAKES ON NO. 7 DUKE AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN ON SATURDAY, DEC. 19". Viacom CBS Express. 17 December 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  10. ↑ "Spero Dedes". ViacomCBS Press Express. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  11. ↑ "Dedes named Knicks radio play-by-play man". Espn.com. 5 August 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  12. ↑ "Dedes' toughest call: leaving Lakers for Knicks". Ocregister.com. 26 August 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  13. ↑ "NO. 3-RANKED ALABAMA TAKES ON NO. 12-RANKED FLORIDA IN PRIME TIME ON CBS SPORTS' COLLEGE FOOTBALL TRIPLEHEADER ON SATURDAY, OCT. 1". ViacomCBS Press Express. 29 September 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  14. ↑ Berman, Marc (22 February 2012). "MSG's Dedes punished for Lin slur". NY Post. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.