‘Voice of the Pistons’ optimistic on team

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George Blaha, known as the “Voice of the Pistons” to sports radio listeners, spoke Thursday at a luncheon meeting of the Lapeer Optimist Club.

SEPTEMBER 25, 2011 - BY JEFF HOGAN 810-452-2640  

JHOGAN@MIHOMEPAPER.COM

LAPEER — Sports radio and TV personality George Blaha, known as the “Voice of the Pistons,” shared stories from his decades of broadcasting during a Thursday luncheon with the Lapeer Optimist Club held at Gerlach’s Bowling Center.

The Optimist Club hosted a visit with Blaha who has been a play-by-play announcer for the Detroit Pistons for 35 years, starting in the 1976-77 season.

Club treasurer Brian Hurst thought it would be fun to bring in a well-known celebrity to speak before the group as a reward for all their hard work for such activities as their annual chicken dinner and beer tent at Lapeer Days.

“I contacted MSU a couple of weeks ago, and George Blaha graciously agreed to it,” said Hurst. “It was great to hear some of his stories and I thought it went great.”

A Michigan broadcast icon, Blaha, 66, completed his 34th season as radio and television play-by-play voice of the Pistons in 2009-10. The longest tenured play-by-play broadcaster in the state, he has been the recipient of many prestigious awards, including Michigan Sports Broadcaster of the Year (1998 and 2007) from the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. In 2002, he also was presented the Ty Tyson Award for “Excellence in Sports Broadcasting” by the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association.

Blaha was elected into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and was inducted on Sept. 13, 2010. He was the voice of Michigan State Spartans men’s basketball during the 2000-2001 season. He also does Detroit area TV and radio commercials for several southeast Michigan companies.

He is known to Pistons fans for his high-energy style of announcing and trademark sayings like “count that baby and a foul” and “two and twenty-two to play.”

Blaha can be heard on both television and radio during the regularseason games and during pre- and post-season games on FS Detroit and WXYT (97.1 FM and 1270 AM). He has also been the play-by-play announcer for Michigan State University football games since 1971.

Blaha earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Notre Dame University in 1966 and an MBA from the University of Michigan. He is also an honorary alumnus of Michigan State.

“It’s been a great ride because I’m calling for my two favorite sports — pro basketball and college football. Before I started this, my favorite job was being a caddy,” he joked to the Optimist Club group.

Born in Detroit in 1945, Blaha was raised in Marshalltown, Iowa, and Grayling in northern Michigan. He and his father attended Michigan State’s first-ever Big Ten football game, played at Iowa in 1953.

Before the 1976–1977 season, he succeeded Paul Carey on WJR’s radio broadcast of the Pistons, and announced his first NBA game from Cobo Arena on October 23, 1976, teaming with Tom Hemingway. Blaha has missed only three games since 1976 due to illness.

He has had a variety of color analysts including former Detroit Pistons players John Mengelt, Dave Bing, Vinnie Johnson, Kelly Tripucka, Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn, and current partner Greg Kelser. He has almost always used the Pistons’ first names when describing the action on the court. He also uses players’ nicknames often, such as members of the 1988-1989 and 1989-1990 ‘Bad Boys’ teams: “The Worm” for Dennis Rodman and “The Microwave” for Vinnie Johnson, or for current Pistons players: “Rip” for Richard Hamilton and “Big Ben” for Ben Wallace. He also often introduces his TV partner Greg Kelser as “Special K”, his nickname when he was a player.

Asked to comment on who his favorite Pistons coach has been, without hesitation Blaha responded, “Chuck Daly. He may have been the best ever. He was great in spotting talent and the players respected him.” Daly led the Detroit Pistons to consecutive National Basketball Association (NBA) Championships in 1989 and 1990, and the Dream Team to the men’s basketball gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics.

“I still can’t believe he’s not here anymore,” he reflected of his old friend. Daly was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March 2009, which he died of in May of the year at the age of 78.

As for this year’s Piston and NBA season, Blaha commented, “I’m optimistic. It doesn’t take long (to turn things around) as long as you make a couple of key moves.”

While providing no details of his latest meeting with locked out players, NBA Commissioner David Stern acknowledged Thursday that “the calendar is not our friend” when it comes to keeping the NBA season intact.

Stern said he had “no announcement to make today”’ regarding any postponements or cancelations, but they seem increasingly likely after another negotiating session ended without a breakthrough on a new collective bargaining agreement.

The league is at about the same point as when it postponed training camps in 1998, the only time it lost games to a work stoppage. The decision then came on Sept. 24 for camps that were set to begin Oct. 5. This year, players would be expected to report on Oct. 3.

The regular season is scheduled to open Nov. 1.