***URGENT*** 2009 NSSA Awards: Gammons, Madden Earn NSSA Hall of Fame Inductions

SALISBURY, NC (January 18, 2009) - Already Hall of Famers in their respective sports, baseball's Peter Gammons and football's John Madden have been inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame. NSSA Executive Director Dave Goren made the announcement on Monday. Gammons and Madden will be inducted May 3^rd at the NSSA's Annual Awards Banquet in Salisbury.

Joining Gammons and Madden will be National Sportscaster of the Year Jim Nantz of CBS Sports and National Sportswriter of the Year Bob Ryan of The Boston Globe. Nantz and Ryan are repeat winners. They will also be honored at the NSSA Awards Banquet, along with 106 winners of State Sportscaster and Sportswriter of the Year Awards.

Like Ryan, Gammons cut his teeth at The Boston Globe. In fact, the two started work as interns at The Globe on the same day in 1968. Gammons went on to revolutionize the way baseball was covered. His Sunday Notes column often filled an entire page. After leaving The Globe, Gammons went on to a successful career at Sports Illustrated. He won three NSSA National Sportswriter of the Year Awards between 1989 and 1993. Since then, Gammons has become well-known as a baseball expert on television. He just ended a long stint at ESPN and can now be seen on the MLB Network (he also writes for mlb.com) and New England Sports Network (NESN).

Madden won a Super Bowl as the Oakland Raiders' head coach, then embarked on a long television career that saw him become the preeminent pro football analyst of the last 30 years. Known for his colorful personality as a commentator, Madden worked for CBS, Fox, ABC and ESPN. He was the NSSA National Sportscaster of the Year in 1984. Madden parlayed his fame as an announcer into commercials and a best-selling video game. He retired in April 2009.

This is Nantz's fifth National Sportscaster of the Year Award (other wins in 1998, 2005, 2007 and 2008). Only Bob Costas (eight) and Chris Berman (six) have won more National Sportscaster of the Year Awards. CBS's lead play-by-play man for golf, college basketball and NFL football, Nantz started at CBS in 1985 after a short career in local TV sports.

Ryan has won three straight NSSA National Sportswriter of the Year Awards and four overall. He has spent his entire career at The Boston Globe, where he covered the Boston Celtics' beat for 15 years. He has been a general columnist for more than 20 years and has branched out into radio and television during that time, making frequent appearances on ESPN's The Sports Reporters.

A complete list of winners appears on the next three pages.

2009 NSSA STATE AWARD WINNERS

About NSSA - The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association was founded in 1959 in Salisbury, NC by a local group interested in honoring sportscasters and sportswriters for their crafts. More than 700 NSSA members from several sports media fields vote annually for State and National Sportscasters and Sportswriters of the Year. An annual banquet is held in Salisbury each spring to present the winners with their awards. In 1962, a Hall of Fame was added. Starting with Grantland Rice, more than 80 sports media legends have been inducted into the NSSA Hall of Fame.

NSSA Mission Statement -- The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association & Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization, dedicated to honoring, preserving and celebrating the legacy of sportscasters and sportswriters in the United States - for their creativity in storytelling, their pursuit of truth and their conveyance of information - all of which helps American sports fans form lifelong connections to both participatory and spectator sports.   NSSA also seeks to develop educational opportunities for those who are interested in pursuing a career in sports media, through networking, mentoring and scholarship programs.

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For more information, go to www.nssafame.com, or call (704)633-4275

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Posted by Dave Goren at Jan 18, 2010 1:53:25 PM

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