Master Of The Mic

Rarely a week passes on the CBS Sports calendar when a broadcast doesn’t start with the familiar mellifluous refrain, “Hello, friends.” For the last three-plus decades – from greenside towers in Pacific Palisades, California, stadium booths in Kansas City, Missouri, or courtside from Ogden, Utah – Jim Nantz has manned the mic every year through roughly 20 weekends of golf, 20-some weeks of the NFL and a month of March Madness college basketball. He’s been the consistent, soft-spoken soundtrack of America’s biggest sporting events, from the Super Bowl to the Final Four to the Masters.

At age 63, Nantz has no plans to retire anytime soon. He’s got a very specific long-range plan for that – maybe. But after the recent passing of his mother, and having his two youngest kids ages 8 and 6 at home, the indefatigable Nantz does feel the need to slow down what he calls “the golden hamster wheel” just a bit. He’ll cede the primary play-by-play role at the NCAA men’s basketball tournament to Ian Eagle after this season.

“I've been on it fo...