Lost in the hub-bub of Los Angeles Dodgers' announcer Vin Scully retiring after 67 years behind the mic is the loss of another announcing legend.
Oh my! Dick Enberg is also calling it a career.
After 28 Wimbledons, 15 NCAA men's basketball championships, 10 Super Bowls and just about everything in between, Dick Enberg is calling the final baseball series of his career this weekend.
On Thursday, the San Diego Padres had a surprise luncheon in his honor, leading into an on-field ceremony before their final home game of the season and an emotional farewell on his Fox Sports San Diego telecast. Scully prepared a video tribute, and many of Enberg's family attended from many points in the world.
He spent the past seven years as the voice of the Padres.
"Now I gotta think of something brilliant to say," Enberg said with that twinkle in his eye. "No one can be as elegant as Scully."
Dave Roberts was one of several Dodgers lined along the dugout steps to wish Enberg a happy retirement. He often pinched himself that he was in the company of a legend while going over notes with Enberg as a Padres coach before moving into the managerial office in Los Angeles this season.
"You grow up loving sports, and you hear him call so many great events from Wimbledon to the Olympics to Super Bowls and NCAA championships," Roberts said of Enberg, one of two sportscasters in the baseball, football and basketball halls of fame. "To fast-forward to now, to consider him a friend and to drink wine with him and break bread, it's been an honor. The thing with Dick is his love for people and his love to tell a story.
"To hear him tell stories just gets me giddy."
Pressed for a favorite moment, Enberg throws out the 1968 UCLA-Houston game as the jumping off point for college basketball pandemonium. It was the first nationally televised college basketball game, and the Cougars broke the Bruins 47-game winning streak 71-69 in what many people refer to as the game of the century.
"I'm sentimental; you all know that," Enberg said. "But I'm not sad. I'm looking forward to the excitement of the unknown that's ahead."
September training
As far as Cubs Manager Joe Maddon is concerned, players can grouse all they want about the "spring training" vibe and substitution patterns, but it's not going to change how he manages the final few days of the regular season.
"My answer to that is we're 7-2 in our last nine games," Maddon said Thursday, the day after pitcher Jake Arrieta and catcher Miguel Montero expressed irritation in postgame comments. "I don't see any kind of real negative pattern right there.
"I've utilized the words spring training on several occasions just to indicate the [context] regarding getting guys in and out of the game, not from the perspective of not trying to win."
The frustration in the clubhouse has not been limited to Arrieta and Montero since the Cubs clinched the division title with 16 games to play, putting them in a unique position that has resulted in scripted bullpen schedules, manipulated rotation schedules, and liberal use of days off for regulars and substitutions.
"Anything that changes your routine a little bit is a little frustrating, because this is such a routine-oriented game," said veteran Ben Zobrist, who called the feeling "odd" and "weird" this week. "Obviously, it's frustrating at times, but I get it. I understand the overall goal of these games is not the same as it's been the last six months of the year."
SPORTS QUIZ
What Major League Baseball franchise did Dick Enberg begin his career announcing games for more than five decades ago?
ANSWER
The Angels
Sports on 10/01/2016