NBA TV Talent
From Hoopedia
NBA TV is your all-access pass for everything basketball, featuring live NBA games every week --including playoffs, original programming, behind-the-scenes access, live high-definition (HDTV) NBA game broadcasts and enough highlights and news to quench even the most avid fan's hoops thirst.
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Andre Aldridge
Previous to joining NBA TV, Andre Aldridge hosted and anchored numerous programs for CNN’s Sports Division from 1999-2002, including “This Week in the NBA,” “Sports Tonight,” “Closer Look,” and “SI Cover to Cover.” During his tenure at CNN, he also reported live from NFL Super Bowls, covered major boxing title fights, and reported from several Major League Baseball games.
Prior to CNN, Aldridge spent more than 3 years at ESPN as an anchor/reporter, where he hosted various programs, including “NBA2NIGHT,” “NBA Matchup,” and “Friday Night Fights.” Aldridge also reported live from the NBA Finals and NBA All-Star Games, as well as providing live coverage from Championship title fights. He was also the studio host for “The NBA on ESPN Radio.”
From 1994-96, Aldridge was based in Los Angeles where he anchored a nightly national news program “Press Box” for Prime Sports. During his time at Prime Sports, he also covered a NFL Game of the Week, the NFL Playoffs and Super Bowl XXX. Aldridge was a part of Prime Sports when it ultimately became Fox Sports Net.
Aldridge’s vast media experience also includes stints at KMPC Radio in Los Angeles, KNBC in Los Angeles and KUTV in Salt Lake City.
Bruce Beck
Bruce Beck is in his fifth year with WNBC-TV. He is the weekend sports anchor for Newschannel 4 and also files numerous sports reports for the station's various weekday newscasts. The versatile sportscaster has covered a multitude of events for Newschannel 4, including The NBA Finals, The Stanley Cup Finals, The World Series, The U.S. Open Tennis Championship, The U.S. Open Golf Championship, The AFC and NFC Championship, The NCAA Final Four, and the 2002 Olympic Winter Games from Salt Lake City. Beck has hosted and contributed to a number of WNBC-TV specials including the live broadcast of the New York City marathon, The Belmont Stakes, and "Glory Days," which preceded the New York Yankees post-season games. Beck was the recipient of a 1999 New York Sports Emmy for outstanding On-Camera Achievement: Sports Reporting.
In addition, Beck has hosted the Sun America Sportsdesk for NBC Sports and has served as a sideline reporter for the network's coverage of the NBC on NBC. Beck is a studio anchor for NBA TV and the host of the weekly Rutgers University basketball and football shows which air on the Madison Square Garden Network. From 1994 to 1997, Beck hosted "Sportstalk" and "Sports Images" on CN8, the Comcast Network. He also was the play-by-play voice of Atlantic 10 Conference Basketball and Hofstra University Football, while calling college basketball games for CBS Sports. He was the host of CBS' coverage of the Hambletonian and The American Championship Harness Series on ESPN. He was a play-by-play voice and host of Showtime's Championship Boxing.
From 1982 to 1994, Beck was a staff broadcaster with the MSG Network. Among his many duties, he hosted the station's coverage of the Knicks, Rangers, and Yankees. He was the play-by-play announcer for college football and basketball, professional and Golden Gloves boxing and professional tennis. He hosted the Millrose Games, The Virginia Slims Championship, The National Horse Show, and the Lou Carnesecca Show. Beck has received six New York Sports Emmys, one Mid-Atlantic Sports Emmy, and three national Cable Ace Awards.
A graduate of Ithaca College in Ithaca, N.Y., Beck received a bachelor of science degree in 1978. He currently resides in New York with his wife and two sons.
Ron Burke
Ron Burke is an anchor/reporter at Comcast SportsNet in Philadelphia. He joined the all-sports regional cable network in September 1997 and after a one-year hiatus in 2000, he returned to CSN in January 2002.
While at Comcast SportsNet, he has reported from major events, including the 1999 Major League Baseball All-Star game in Denver, and Super Bowl XXXIII in Miami. During his first three years at CSN, Burke anchored SportsRise, a weekday morning highlight-driven sportscast. In 1998, he co-hosted the Parade All-America High School Basketball Show which aired on Fox SportsNet.
Burke first began at NBA TV in October 1999 as a weekend host. His primary duty since then has been to host the NBA TV studio show. He also has hosted The NBA Beat, an interactive call-in show that was based at the NBA Store in New York.
Burke also anchored and reported during NBA TV's around-the-clock coverage of the NBA All-Star Game in 2000, 2001 and 2002.
During the 2000-2001 NBA season, he served as courtside host for the first-ever live webcast of a major professional sporting event in the United States, when he guided viewers through an NBA regular season game between the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks in Dallas. Before joining Comcast SportsNet, Burke worked at WBIS-TV in New York in 1997.
Before that, from September 1988 to January 1997, he worked as a sports anchor and reporter at WCAU-TV in Philadelphia. He began at WCUA as a weekend sports anchor before becoming the 11 p.m. sports anchor from 1991-96.
While at WCAU, Burke reported from the Winter Olympics in 1992 and 1994 in Albertville, France, and Lillehammer, Norway, respectively.
He also hosted the Randall Cunningham Show with the Eagles quarterback from 1991-95, and he earned a Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award as Best Host in 1993.
Ron Burke was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. He earned a B.A. in Communication Arts in 1985 from James Madison University. Currently, he lives in suburban Philadelphia.
Fred Carter
Fred Carter played eight seasons (1969-70 to 1976-77) as a member of the Bullets, Philadelphia 76ers, and Milwaukee Bucks, scoring 9,271 career points. A 6' 3" guard from Mount St. Mary's University, Carter was selected by the Baltimore Bullets in the third round of the 1969 NBA Draft. He later coached the Sixers for almost two seasons, from late-1992 to mid-1994.
Gail Goodrich
Basketball Hall of Famer Gail Goodrich serves as one of NBA TV's lead studio analysts. His duties include NBA TV Insiders, a seven nights a week, 30-minute studio talk show where basketball fans can get the inside look at what's happening around the NBA. NBA TV Insiders features a complete rundown of the latest NBA news-making headlines around the coutnry and the world. Uniquely qualitfied basketball experts discuss all the NBA issues and topical events, along with timely interviews with NBA newsmakers of the day. The show has unique access to NBA teams executives, NBA players and broadcasters, and members of the media from NBA cities around the country.
In a career that spanned 1,031 games in 14 NBA seasons, he scored 18.6 points per contest and was a five-time All-Star. He was also the leading scorer on one of the greatest teams in NBA history: the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers. He was elected to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996. He won an NBA champion in 1972, was a All-NBA First Team in 1974 and was a five-time NBA All-Star (1969, 1972-75).
Rick Kamla
Rick Kamla has been with NBA TV since January of 2003. He got his start with the network as the host of Gatorade Virtual GM, recently renamed NBA Fantasy Hoops, a half hour show dedicated to fantasy basketball enthusiasts. NBA Fantasy Hoops airs every night during the regular season at 1 a.m. ET. Rick recaps the night in the NBA, takes calls and answers emails, and offers fantasy predictions. In addition to his hosting duties on NBA Fantasy Hoops, Rick is the play-by-play man for NBA TV’s NBDL broadcasts, field reporter for “Destination Finals”, and host of a brand-new hour-long show set to air 5 p.m. ET weekdays during the regular season.
Since 1994, Rick has been creating some of the edgiest prose in the fantasy sports world as the senior basketball and football editor for Fanball.com and Fantasy Football Weekly. His insights, predictions, and one-liners have entertained and informed millions of readers who have come to rely on his advice. We encourage you to check out his weekly column “Living the Fantasy” on NBA.com.
Rick has hosted and/or co-hosted nationally syndicated and local radio programs since 1999 on Westwood One, Sports Byline USA, and KFAN-AM (Minneapolis). As a collegian at the University of Minnesota, Rick was the play-by-play man for Golden Gopher basketball, football, baseball, and hockey broadcasts on student-run radio WMMR. From 2001-02, Rick was lead analyst for the Fantasy Sports Report, a weekly television show dedicated to fantasy football.
With his discretionary time, Rick is the percussionist for The Other Band, a Minneapolis-based rock band. Rick, wife Cristina, and son Tyrus enjoy boating, camping, hiking, and playing with Jameson (Rottweiler) and Buddha (Italian Mastiff).
Bill Raftery
“With a kiss!” No, Bill Raftery is not doing his best Cyrano DeBergerac impression. That’s his patented line for a basketball bank shot.
For the past seventeen years, Bill Raftery has served as television analyst for New Jersey Nets telecasts. Raftery brings his playing and coaching experience to every telecast, offering keen analysis and opinion during the games. He began his broadcasting career with SportsChannel New York (now known as FOX Sports Net) in 1982 and for the last four seasons has been paired with Ian Eagle. The year 1982 also marked Raftery’s first season with ESPN, where he serves as an analyst for college basketball. Since 1982, he can also be heard as an analyst on CBS’s college basketball and NBA coverage.
Over his 19-year broadcast career, the excitable announcer who calls bank shots has called many thrilling Nets and college basketball games, including the Nets 1984 first- round upset win over the World Champion 76ers in the playoffs and the mid-1980’s Big East successes in the NCAA Tournament. He has also worked the NCAA Finals for the last eight years on CBS Radio.
From 1970-1981, Raftery served as head basketball coach at Seton Hall University, where he revitalized the program and led the Pirates to seven straight winning seasons and a record of 154-141. Raftery led the team to four ECAC post-season tournaments and two National Invitation Tournament (NIT) appearances. His 154 wins as a coach place him fourth on the all-time list at Seton Hall behind Honey Russell, P. J. Carlesimo and Frank Hill. From 1979-1981, he also served as President of the Big East Coaches Association. Prior to coaching at SHU, Raftery spent five years coaching at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, New Jersey. He led the Jersey Devils to a 63-48 record from 1963-68. In his final year at FDU, he led the team to an 18-6 record and earned Coach of the Year honors from the New Jersey Basketball Writers Association. His .572 winning percentage is the highest in school history and his 63 wins rank him second on the all-time list.
A standout on the court as well, Raftery played three seasons at La Salle University under legendary coach Donald "Dudley" Moore. During the 1959-1960 season, he set a freshman scoring mark with 370 points. The next year, he led the varsity team with 17.8 points per game and in his senior year, he co-captained the Explorers to the National Invitation Tournament. Following his senior year at La Salle, he was drafted by the New York Knicks, making it to the final cut.
Prior to attending LaSalle, Raftery was an All-State selection in basketball, soccer and baseball at St. Cecilia High School in Kearny, New Jersey. On the hardwood, he posted a New Jersey state record scoring 827 points in his senior year, leading the team to the state championship. During his high school career he scored 2,192 points, which at the time was also a New Jersey state record.
Raftery lives with his wife Joan in Florham Park, NJ. They have four children. In his spare time he enjoys playing golf.
Jim Spanarkel
Jim Spanarkel, analyst for NBA TV, ventured into broadcasting after ending his NBA career in 1984. During his broadcasting career, Spanarkel has provided basketball coverage for CBS Sports, ESPN, Fox Sports, and most recently the New Jersey Nets.
Drafted 16th overall in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers and traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 1980, Spanarkel led the Mavericks in scoring, averaging 14.0 ppg. Prior to his NBA career, Spanarkel was a First Team Acclaim All American as well as the First Team All ACC First 2000 point scorer in school history at Alma Mater, Duke University. Spanarkel joined NBA TV during the 2002-03 NBA season as a studio host and will continue to serve as an analyst.
Spanarkel lives in New Jersey with his wife Janet and his four children; James, Bridget, Stephanie, and Andrew.
