Bill Schonely – WOMO-TV, CBS
Salary: $200,000 per year
Bill Schonely, the 90-year old sportscaster who presided as the voice of the Portland Trail Blazers for nearly 30 years, is also known by many as “The Schnoz” and “Rip City”. He’s a standing nominee for the Basketball Hall of Fame’s Curt Gowdy Award and is involved in many charities including the American Heart Association, Life Flight and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. He was named Broadcaster of the Year in 1994 and then Oregon’s Sportscaster of the Year in 2003.
He is considered by many to be a symbol of the love affairs fans have for the Trail Blazers and is widely loved as part of the Blazers’ family. He is often compared to Chick Hearn and Johny Most, two legendary announcers who helped form the broadcasting industry. His signature phrases include “Bingo Bango Bongo” and “Climb the golden ladder”, and of course, his unforgettable opening line for each broadcast, “Good evening basketball fans, wherever you may be…” Outside of the NBA, Schonely likes to go to church and play golf. He has four children and has been married to Dottie Schonely since 1992.
Kevin Calabro - ESPN
Salary: $200,000 per year
Kevin Calabro, best known as the 21-year veteran announcer of the Seattle SuperSonics, is loved by fans for his glowing enthusiasm and eccentricity. The announcer often discusses topics that are completely unrelated to sports during games such as his favorite show, The Wire, and various trivia topics. The award-winning veteran broadcaster joined Portland Trail Blazers as a play-by-play broadcaster in 2016 after spending 21 years as a TV and radio announcer for the former Seattle SuperSonics.
His many honors and awards include the 2016 Keith Jackson Western Sports Star of the Year award. He has also done extensive and highly acclaimed reporting for many sports networks including ESPN, TBS, TNT, and NBA TV. Calabro also appears in many sports video-games such as NBA Inside Drive, NBA Full Court Press, and NFL Fever. His brother, David Calabro, is also a sportscaster and works with the NBC affiliate station WTHR.
Jim Wych - Sky Sports
Salary: $200,000 - per year
Canadian snooker fans love Jim Wych. The 65-year-old former Canadian professional snooker and pocket billiards player won 2 snooker championships during his snooker career, one in 1979 and one in 1999. Wych retired from snooker in 1997 and currently does television commentary on pool and snooker games for Sky Sports. The sportscaster is often interviewed for his predictions before major snooker games.
He is appreciated for his moderate and self-controlled commentary. He was born in Calgary, Alberta in 1954 and officially began his snooker career at age 25 - winning his first championship that very same year.
Tom Heinsohn - CBS
Salary: $500,000 per year
From player to coach to the broadcaster. The NBA's Tom Heinsohn was an aggressive player with excellent accuracy and movement. The NBA Rookie of 1957 helped the Celtics dominate with a total of 8 NBA titles in his almost decade of time with the team. Heinsohn is also a 6 time NBA all-star and was awarded the title of NBA Coach of the Year in 1973. His legendary performance made him one of the most beloved Celtics player of all time, both as a player and as a coach.
As a new NBA player, Heinsohn had an average of 16.2 points per game and retired with an even better 18.6 PPG. At the height of his career, he averaged 21.3 points per game for 3 consecutive seasons. After retiring, Heinsohn's career as a coach began to pick up after about 2 years as the Celtics' coach. As a broadcaster, the former player and coach is known to be very critical of referees and is accused of being biased towards the Celtics. What's unique about Heinsohn is that he is revered by many generations of Celtics fans. Imagine growing up with Heinsohn as your favorite player, only to have your son cheer him as the team's' coach, then to have your grandson love him as a broadcaster. Truly amazing.
Tom Hammond - NBC
Salary: $2.9 million per year
You may not recognize Tom Hammond unless you enjoy watching horse racing, track, and field or speed skating on NBC Sports. Hammond was born in 1944 in Lexington Kentucky and earned his B.S. in animal science in 1967. He served as play-by-play announcer for a variety of sports networks before being hired by NBC in 1984 to co-host the inaugural Breeder's Cup with fellow announcer, Dick Enberg. Apparently, the executives were so pleased with Hammond's performance that he ended up getting a long-term contract that resulted in over 30 years of work with the network.
Hammond and his wife have three children, with one of them following his legacy and becoming a play-by-play radio commentator on the AFL on NBC. Hammond's career is full of awards and honors, from 2 Eclipse Award (the highest honor for horse racing broadcasting), to 4 different Emmy Awards. He was eventually inducted into the Hall of Fame in the University of Ken