Spero Dedes (born 1979) is a Greek-American sportscaster.
Biography[]
He was born in Paramus, New Jersey in 1979. He is a graduate of Paramus High School and a 2001 graduate of Fordham University in New York.
Dedes was the radio voice of the Los Angeles Lakers for six seasons,[1] hired by the franchise in 2005. He was expected to replace Joel Meyers as the team's TV play-by-play announcer at the beginning of the 2011–2012 season, but instead signed a contract to do radio/TV play-by-play for the New York Knicks.[2]
In addition, Dedes is a play-by-play announcer for CBS Sports, officially joining the network in 2010 on its coverage of both the NFL and NCAA Men's Basketball. In March 2010, Dedes called first and second round coverage of the Men's Basketball Championship. From 2006-2011, Dedes served as a host/play-by-play announcer for NFL Network, where he hosted NFL Total Access Monday, providing both pregame and postgame news and analysis surrounding the Monday Night Football matchup. In addition to NFL Total Access, Dedes held extensive play-by-play duties at the network, handling both preseason NFL games as well as college bowl games.
Previously, the New Jersey-native was the host of NBA TV's Hardwood Classics and The Insiders.[3] He has also appeared on CSI: NY.[4]
Also included on his extensive resume: the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, where Dedes was the youngest member of NBC Universal's on-air team at 24, calling play-by-play in field hockey and other events. At 33, he has already worked play-by-play assignments for 3 of the 4 major U.S. television networks.[citation needed]
He was the play-by-play announcer alongside Sterling Sharpe on the international feed of Super Bowl XLI. Dedes joined SEC on CBS in 2011 replacing Craig Bolerjack as the lead for the #2 game when CBS has a doubleheader, typically when a high-profile service academy home game (Notre Dame at Navy most notably) is the other game, or weekends CBS is entitled to two SEC games. For football partners, Dedes usually works with Steve Beuerlein, but he also works with Rich Gannon occasionally when Marv Albert is calling an NBA game for TNT. He also worked with Randy Cross. He called his first NFL game for CBS with the Bills-Packers matchup on week 2 of the 2010 NFL season, but he previously called NFL games on Fox before CBS hired Dedes. He works with Beuerlein for college football and regional NFL telecasts.
Dedes has also filled in for Ian Eagle on play-by-play for the New York Jets preseason network on CBS 2 New York.
On February 17, 2012, Dedes used the phrase "Chink in the armor" on 1050 ESPN New York when referring to Knicks player Jeremy Lin, an Asian-American. The network fired one employee and suspended another for using the same reference. However, Dedes was an employee of Madison Square Garden (MSG) and not ESPN.[5][6][7] He apologized and was disciplined by MSG.[8]
Notes[]
- ↑ Tom Hoffarth, Dedes a 'hidden gem' in radio booth, LA Daily News, February 2, 2006
- ↑ "Meyers won't be renewed as Lakers' TV voice", insidesocal.com
- ↑ NBA TV Talent: Spero Dedes, NBA.com
- ↑ Spero Dedes, TV.com
- ↑ Boren, Cindy (February 19, 2012). "ESPN fires employee for offensive Jeremy Lin headline; “SNL” weighs in". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 19, 2012. http://www.webcitation.org/65ZzprUeT.
- ↑ Collins, Scott (February 19, 2012). "Jeremy Lin and ESPN: Network rushes to quell furor over 'chink' comments". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 19, 2012. http://www.webcitation.org/65a0mg0GB.
- ↑ Spar, Jerry (February 20, 2012). "Mashup: Lin accepts ESPN apology for slur". WEEI.com (Entercom Boston). Archived from the original on February 21, 2012. http://www.webcitation.org/65crG09Xj.
- ↑ "Knicks announcer Spero Dedes disciplined for using questionable phrase while covering Jeremy Lin". SportingNews.com. February 22, 2012. Archived from the original on February 22, 2012. http://www.webcitation.org/65ei67OxD.
External links[]
- Spero Dedes at the Internet Movie Database
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