Kevin Calabro
Encyclopedia
Kevin Calabro is an American play-by-play announcer and talk show host for 710 ESPN Seattle. The Kevin Calabro Show airs from 3-6p PT and features cohost and Seattle P-I columnist Jim Moore, as well as ESPN Senior NFL Writer and Analyst John Clayton. Calabro also broadcast the 2011 NCAA Tournament for Westwood One and is a regular NBA Broadcaster on ESPN Radio.

The voice of Seattle Sounders FC
Seattle Sounders FC
Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional soccer club based in Seattle, Washington. The club competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. Sounders FC was established in November 2007 as a MLS expansion team, making it the 15th team in...

, a Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...

 franchise during its expansion year, Calabro was also the announcer for the Seattle SuperSonics
Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington that played in the Pacific and Northwest Divisions of the National Basketball Association from 1967 until 2008. Following the 2007–08 season, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, and now plays as...

 of the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

 until the team moved to Oklahoma City
Seattle SuperSonics relocation to Oklahoma City
The Seattle SuperSonics relocation to Oklahoma City was a successful effort by the ownership group of the Seattle SuperSonics to move the team to Oklahoma City...

. Calabro was replaced as play-by-play broadcaster for the Sounders by Arlo White
Arlo White
Arlo White is an English sports presenter and commentator, originally from Leicester.-Early career:He began broadcasting at the age of 27, after gaining experience covering non-league Football for Radio Derby and also while travelling in Australia....

 before the start of the Sounders' second year in MLS. As of November 7, 2008, Calabro is the play-by-play announcer for NBA games on ESPN as well as college basketball on FSN Northwest.

The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association named him "Sportscaster of the Year" for the state of Washington in 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2006.

Calabro is a graduate of Ben Davis High School
Ben Davis High School
Ben Davis High School is a three year American high school in Marion County, Indianapolis, Indiana. As of 2010 , it has a student enrollment of nearly 3,500 and a staff of 178.-History:...

 (1974) calling games during high school on WBDG
WBDG
WBDG is a high school radio station broadcasting a Variety format from Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. The station is currently owned by Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township.-History:...

, 90.9 FM. He graduated from Butler University
Butler University
Butler University is a private university located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university offers 60 degree programs to 4,400 students through six colleges: business, communication, education, liberal Arts and sciences, pharmacy and health...

 (1978). He began his professional career as the play-by-play announcer for the Kansas City Kings in the 1983–84 season
1983-84 NBA season
-Statistics leaders:-Yearly awards:*Most Valuable Player: Larry Bird, Boston Celtics*Rookie of the Year: Ralph Sampson, Houston Rockets*Defensive Player of the Year: Sidney Moncrief, Milwaukee Bucks...

. In the 1987–88 season
1987-88 NBA season
-Statistics leaders:-NBA awards:*Most Valuable Player: Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls*Rookie of the Year: Mark Jackson, New York Knicks*Defensive Player of the Year: Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls...

, he came on board with the SuperSonics alongside original Sonics play-by-play announcer Bob Blackburn. He has been calling games for the team since then, reaching a milestone 1,500 games in 2006. Calabro had an option with the SuperSonics for the 2008–09 season. However on April 11, 2008 Calabro stated he would not continue with the team should they relocate to Oklahoma City.

Calabro simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...

 in both television and radio for 19 years with the SuperSonics. In 2006, KJR-AM
KJR-AM
KJR is an all-sports radio station based in Seattle, Washington, owned by Clear Channel Communications. KJR currently is the flagship station of the University of Washington, including Husky football and men's basketball broadcasts...

 lost its radio contract with the organization. The television and radio broadcasts were separate, with Calabro doing television broadcasts on Fox Sports Net
Fox Sports Net
The Fox Sports Regional Networks, or simply Fox Sports Net , are a collection of cable TV regional sports networks in the United States owned and operated by News Corporation.- Beginnings :...

 and Matt Pinto
Matt Pinto
Matt Pinto is the former radio play-by-play voice for the Seattle SuperSonics for KTTH-AM 770, the flagship station for the Sonics Radio Network...

 doing radio broadcasts on 770 KTTH
KTTH
KTTH is a conservative talk radio station, owned by Bonneville International, broadcasting at 770 kHz in Seattle, Washington.-Programming:...

. Calabro called radio games when no television broadcast was available.

Calabro has done work on the national level with TNT
The NBA on TNT
The NBA on TNT is Turner Network Television's coverage of the National Basketball Association, produced by Turner Sports. TNT's basketball broadcasts, which include a weekly doubleheader known as TNT NBA Thursday, the Inside the NBA studio show, as well as playoff coverage, are perhaps that...

, TBS, ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...

, and NBA TV
NBA TV
NBA TV is a television specialty channel that is dedicated to showcasing the sport of basketball in the United States. The network is financially backed by the National Basketball Association , which also uses NBA TV as a way of advertising their out of market package NBA League Pass, and partner...

. He has also lent his voice to several Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...

 games, including NBA Inside Drive, NBA Full Court Press, and NFL Fever and more recently has been the play-by-play voice of the Sony PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...

 NBA game franchise.

Calabro is known for using the phrase from the George Clinton
George Clinton (funk musician)
George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...

 song whenever a Sonic player makes an exciting play, "get on up for the down stroke!"

Calabro's brother, David Calabro, is a popular sportscaster and the sports director with the NBC-affiliate station WTHR
WTHR
WTHR, channel 13, is a full-service television station serving the Indianapolis, Indiana metropolitan area. An affiliate of the NBC television network, its studios at 1000 N. Meridian Street anchor the south end of Indy's Television Row...

 in Indianapolis.

Calabro and partner Greg Vanney were replaced, for two matches as announcers for Seattle Sounders FC, due to Calabro doing NBA playoff games for TNT. It appears that Vanney may have been permanently replaced as the color man, with first Cliff McCrath, and now Ty Keough, joining Kevin in the booth.

Sample

Catch phrases

  • "Good golly, Miss Molly!"
  • "Flying chickens in a barnyard!"
  • "Let's get on a magic carpet ride!"
  • "...takes it down The Boulevard!"
  • "Million dollar move, five cent finish."
  • “Nobody can do the voodoo like you doo!”
  • "Get on up for the down stroke!"
  • "How high can you fly!"
  • "Between the Wickets!"
  • "The Area"
  • "Two in the cake, and one in the puddin'!"
  • "Needed to put a little more mustard on that one."
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