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Len Berman

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For the Canadian broadcaster, seeLen Birman.
Len Berman
Born
Leonard Berman

(1947-06-14)June 14, 1947(age 77)
New York City, U.S.
EducationStuyvesant High School,New York
Syracuse University(BA, MS)
Occupationtelevision journalist/radio talk host
AgentIMG
Notable credit(s)WNBC-TVSports-Anchor
News 4 NY
(1982–2009); WOR Radio host, NYC, (2015–present)
Spouse
Jill Berman
​
(m.1970)​
Children3
WebsiteLen and Michael

Leonard Berman(born June 14, 1947) is an American television sportscaster and journalist who is based inNew York City.He is currently hosting the morning show onWOR-AMalong withMichael Riedel.[1]

Berman is widely known for his television career withNBC,specifically his work for the network's flagship stationWNBC-TV.Berman spent 27 years as the lead sports anchor for WNBC and also worked forNBC SportscoveringMajor League Baseballand theNational Football League.He was employed by WNBC until 2009, and prior to that he worked forWCBS-TVin New York City from April 1979 through August 1982 andWBZ-TVinBoston,where heannouncedBoston Celticsgames on TV with Celtics legendBob Cousy.He also worked at HBO Sports coveringboxing,college basketball and a weekly baseball showRace for the Pennantfrom 1978-1981.

Early life

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Berman graduated from theSyracuse University'sS. I. Newhouse School of Public Communicationsin 1968. He also earned a masters degree there in 1970. While at Syracuse, he was the sports director atWAER-FMcallingSyracuse Orangegames.[2]He was inducted into WAER Hall of Fame in 2018 along withSteve Kroft.[3]

Despite having a very neutral viewpoint when reporting sports in New York City, he grew up an avidNew York Yankeesfan. He is partial toBig Eastbasketball. Berman's Big East connections included, other than being a Syracuse alum, are several years of calling the conference's basketball games forESPNand in syndication for the Big East Network.

Career

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On March 1, 2012, Berman hosted a segment on the 10 o'clock news evening sports report on WNYW—Fox 5—in New York City. He presented his top-5 most interesting sports stories of the week prior.

In March 2015, Berman co-hosted a morning radio program from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00am onWOR-AM.The flagship news-talk station for iHeart Radio, originally named "Len and Todd in the Morning".

On October 20, 2017, Berman announced during a broadcast thatTodd Schnittwas no longer working at the station because he could not come to terms on a contract. The show is now called "Len Berman and Michael Riedel in the Morning."

Berman announced his last WNBC's sportscast on Wednesday April 22, 2009. Following the announcement, the station showed taped goodbye and good luck messages fromMatt Lauer,Al Roker,andBrian Williams.[citation needed]

Spanning the World

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One popular monthly feature Berman responsible for is Spanning the World which aired on WNBC-TV's newscasts andThe Today Show.[4]Spanning is a reel of odd and interesting sports highlights from the past month, with a recorded introduction and closing byDon Pardo.When the segment begins, the world is torn in two with the sound of a rooster crowing playing. When the segment ends, the world goes back to its "pre-torn" state. With the same rooster sound, announcer Don Pardo says "Tune in next time for Spanning the World, if there is a next time. I'm Don Pardo." In his last WNBC broadcast, Berman mentioned that the segment would continue on The Today Show. Berman would occasionally do a version of the segment forWNBCtitled "Spanning the Week". Thus, would review odd and interesting stories from the past week. A common catchphrase from the segment said by Berman "And nobody got hurt!" after a clip featuring some sort of accident that might have caused injury.

Sports on NBC

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From1982to part of1984,Berman also hostedThe NFL on NBC Pregame Show,then known asNFL (insert year),until he was supplanted byBob Costas.During the early weeks of the1988 NFL season,Berman served as the host of what was, by that time, calledNFL Live!while regular host Costas was hosting NBC's coverage of the1988 Summer OlympicsinSeoul, South Korea.Berman hosted Super Bowl XVII in Pasadena. He also hosted the Baseball Game of the Week for NBC and co-hosted the 1984 World Series.

Live at Five

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In 2005, he was one of a handful of rotating co-anchors withSue SimmonsonLive at FiveafterJim Rosenfieldleft forWCBS-TV.

Awards

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He is the winner of eight Emmy Awards and a 6-time New York State Sportscaster of the Year. He has been inducted into the New York State Broadcasters Hall of Fame, the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, and the WAER Radio Hall of Fame (Syracuse University).[3] As an infantryman in the Boy Scout’s Explorers Len won Marksman, Sharpshooter and Grenade Man Squad 2.

Berman's blog

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From 2008 until 2015, Len wrote a blog and daily newsletter, "Len Berman Sports", at LenBermanSports.com. Using the form to continue his type of humor and whimsical sports stories.[5]

Berman published books

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Berman has written six books and five children's books:

  • Spanning the World.
  • And Nobody Got Hurt!(Volumes I and II).
  • The Greatest Moments in Sports(New York Times Bestseller).
  • The 25 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time.
  • Greatest Moments in Sports.
  • Upsets and Underdogs.

Personal life

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Berman resides inPort Washington, New York.

See also

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References

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  1. ^http://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/91674/todd-schnitt-len-berman-take-mornings-at-wor/Todd Schnitt Len Berman Take Mornings at WOR
  2. ^Taaffe, William (March 12, 1984)."The voices from Syracuse".Sports Illustrated.p. 65.Retrieved21 December2021.
  3. ^ab"WAER Inducts Len Berman '68, G'70 and Steve Kroft '71 into Hall of Fame".Syracuse University News.27 September 2018.Retrieved22 December2021.
  4. ^WNBC: 'Spanning the World,' Now A Book From Len Berman
  5. ^Blogging Himself To Live
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