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Times Dispatch - May 16th, 2005
RADIO/TELEVISION: Calling tennis on the radio? Passion for the sport helps
JERRY LINDQUIST POINT OF VIEW
May 16, 2005
Contact Jerry Lindquist at (804) 649-6323 or jlindquist@timesdispatch.com
It says here:
Greg Bicouvaris has guts. Maybe he could sell an ice box to an Eskimo.
Come June 4 he will do play-by-play of a tennis match - on radio, for crying
out loud. Not only that, but he has persuaded three sponsors to help defray
the cost of air time on Williamsburg's WMBG-740.
OK, so anything's possible, but tennis was made for watching, you know, on
TV. Somehow the thought of sitting through "Backhand . . . forehand . . . he
comes to the net . . . ooohh, forehand volley just over baseline . . . love-40" doesn't
sound all that appealing.
Bicouvaris knows you're wrong. How? Next month's singles match between Eric
Christiansen and Hugh Spain from the Hampton Tennis Center - 11:50 a.m., air
time - will be his fifth on radio.
"If you're passionate about the sport, I think that's half the battle," said
Bicouvaris, whose GJB Productions and Marketing produces the broadcasts. "Growing
up, playing tennis, has made it a lot easier. And you have to have a background
in broadcasting. Put that mix together, it makes the transition easier."
This will be the third appearance for Spain, a former Christopher Newport
star. In 1999, Bicouvaris called the Jimmy Connors-Mansour Bahrami match in
the Trigon senior tour at Hermitage Country Club. A Cadillac dealership, credit
union and steak house have signed on to have Bicouvaris read their commercials
between breaks.
Bicouvaris doesn't know of anyone else anywhere who calls tennis on the radio.
The match is named in honor of his late mother who was national teacher of
the year in 1989, he said.
"I've done 12 different sports, including table tennis on TV, but nothing
like this on radio," Bicouvaris said. "I like tennis, so why not?"