BREAKING NEWS: It’s been a great ride, but I’m moving on

12270-Press Conference-thumb-400x318.jpg

Above: Football analyst Josh Bazinet, Scott Galetti, athletic director Paul Krebs, basketball analyst Scott Didrickson at a recent Press Conference.

Being a broadcaster by trade, I’ve always kept my eyes open for a great opportunity to get back behind the microphone. I think I’ve found the chance of a lifetime. I am quite pleased to announce that I have been named the new broadcast voice of the University of New Mexico Lobos for football and men’s basketball.

I’ve greatly enjoyed my time with the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group and will always cherish the contacts and relationships I have been fortunate to make during my tenure.

Thank you all so much for being a positive part of my life, even those who have been critical at times. I’ll miss the entire experience. I’ll be around at the paper until July 18.

Click to read articles by Steve Ramirez and the Albuquerque Journal.

Galetti takes broadcasting job
By Steve Ramirez, Staff Writer
It was an offer Scott Galetti couldn’t pass up, so he didn’t.
Galetti, high school sports editor of the Pasadena Star-News, has accepted an offer from Learfield Sports to become the radio play-by-play announcer for the University of New Mexico football and men’s basketball teams.
He replaces Mike Roberts, whose contract was not renewed, and beat out more than 200 other candidates.
“In the area of broadcasting, the good jobs are few and far between, and I would be a fool not to jump at the opportunity to work for a quality university with an extremely loyal fan base,” Galetti said. “As much as I enjoy writing, my first love is broadcasting and I’m just going back to my roots.”
Galetti, who grew up in the San Gabriel Valley, got his start in broadcast journalism. He was the lead announcer for Long Beach State and Cal State Northridge. He also has done play-by-play for minor league hockey and women’s professional basketball and some NFL games.
“Scott will be an outstanding addition to the Lobos broadcast team,” said Tim Cline, senior vice president for Learfield Sports, UNM’s exclusive athletics marketing partner through 2015. “His experience alone speaks volumes, and we feel confident he is the right choice moving forward.”
“We trust Learfield Sports and know they have conducted a comprehensive search to ensure we have the right person in place to call Lobo games,” said Paul Krebs, UNM vice president for athletics.
“We welcome Scott to the UNM family and believe Lobo fans will enjoy him immensely.”
Galetti, 47, joined San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group in 2006. He covered prep sports for the Star-News before becoming prep editor prior to this past school year. He previously worked six years for the Santa Clarita Signal.
“During my tenure at the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group, I have developed a true respect for the dedicated coaches and athletes in the San Gabriel Valley,” Galetti said. “The San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group has given me opportunities to develop as a writer and experiences that I will be able to utilize as the voice of the Lobos.”

From the Albuquerque Journal
Galetti Excited To Be Lobos’ Guy

By Mark Smith, Journal Staff Writer
The wait is over.
University of New Mexico fans finally have a new voice for Lobo sports.
On Monday, Scott Galetti was named play-by-play man for Lobo football and men’s basketball on KKOB Radio.
Scott Galetti is the new play-by-play man for Lobo football and men’s basketball on KKOB Radio.
“It’s a university with great tradition in basketball, and football is on the rise,” Galetti, a sports writer/broadcaster from Oxnard, Calif., told the Journal on Monday. “One of the things I saw when I went out there for my interview, was a bunch of people, working for the university, who cared.
“I like to be in a town where the university is the major game in town. It’s a good-sized university and a great market. And I love the city of Albuquerque.”
Galetti says he will move to town by Aug. 1.
Galetti and Russ Langer were the two finalists, each being interviewed nearly two weeks ago in Albuquerque.
“The waiting for any job is the hardest part, especially when you’re that close,” Galetti said. “Finally, when I got the word, it was a sense of relief. ‘A,’ because it was over. And ‘B,’ because I was excited I was the guy.”
Galetti called NFL, NCAA football and NCAA baseball games on RSC Sports Radio Network. He has also done play-by-play for Cal State Northridge football. He has basketball experience, being the play-by-play man for the Wichita Falls Texans (CBA), the Seattle Reign (ABL) and Long Beach State.
He also has called hockey for the Phoenix Mustangs (WCHL), Bakersfield Fog (WCHL), and Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) on a fill-in basis.
“Scott will be an outstanding addition to the Lobos’ broadcast team,” says Tim Cline, senior vice president for Learfield Sports, UNM’s exclusive marketing partner. “His experience alone speaks volumes and we feel he is the right choice moving forward.”
UNM athletics director Paul Krebs, who said he was part of the decision-making process, said “we trust Learfield Sports and know they have conducted a comprehensive search to ensure we have the right person in place to call Lobo games.”
On June 23, Krebs said the new hire would be announced by “the end of the week, if not sooner. We’re looking at the two candidates we interviewed and some other things.”
When a decision wasn’t announced last week, there was much speculation about the “other things.” One source told the Journal that both Galetti and Langer were being considered, the former for football and the latter for basketball.
On Monday, Krebs said that was never the case.
“Your source was inaccurate,” Krebs said on Monday. “It was never even considered.”
Asked if there were any contract talks with Langer about the job, Krebs said, “Scott Galetti was our guy. We were thrilled to have them. We gave serious consideration to both candidates, we’re thrilled to have (Galetti).
“He has a lot of levels of experience at a variety of sports. He’s a great hire for us.”
Langer, who is a UNM graduate and a former announcer for the Albuquerque Dukes, is the radio voice of the Las Vegas 51s PCL baseball team.
“I wish to thank Learfield and the university for the extraordinary degree of professional courtesy they extended me throughout the process,” Langer said on Monday.
When asked if he had been offered the job, Langer said “no comment.”
Galetti inherits a position held by Mike Roberts for more than four decades. Roberts was bounced after this past season, causing quite a stir.
Galetti says he knows he’s stepping into some big shoes.
“I respect the 40-plus years that Mike Roberts spent in the Lobo community,” Galetti said. “I hope to someday be as big a part as he was.
“He’s a legend in New Mexico, and I’m just going to work as hard as I can to provide a quality broadcast and do the best I can to earn the fans’ respect.”

Column
New Lobo Voice Won’t Keep Us in the Dark
By Rick Wright, Of the Journal
Listening to Scott Galetti, I could almost smell the popcorn.
I just hope the cherry-and-silver Kool-Aid isn’t too sweet.
Galetti, UNM’s new football and men’s basketball radio play-by-play announcer, was formally introduced on Tuesday at a news conference. He made a favorable impression.
But, to this potential listener, he’d already done that.
The Journal’s Web site features a 4-minute, 25-second demo clip of Galetti calling a Phoenix Suns-Vancouver Grizzlies game. The game took place at least eight years ago, given that former Lobo Luc Longley is playing for the Suns.
Yet, if the clip isn’t fresh, Galetti’s delivery is. It’s equal parts description and information, smoothly rendered.
What’s the most pertinent information in any broadcast The score. During those 4 minutes, 25 seconds, Galetti provided it every time it changed.
That’s a habit he got into, he said on Tuesday, listening to and learning from some of the best in the play-by-play field.
“I grew up listening to the late, great Chick Hearn,” Galetti said. “I know Vin Scully, having covered professional sports (in southern California) for 15 to 18 years. Bob Miller, the Hall of Fame voice of the Los Angeles Kings, he’s a friend of mine.
“All of those people, everybody who critiqued me, (emphasized) that of the do’s and don’ts, one of the do’s was mention the score and time constantly. You never know when someone’s turning on the dial. So, yeah, that’s a habit I’ve worked on for probably 20 years.”
Keeping listeners apprised of the score in football is easier to forget, since it doesn’t change as often.
“I try to do it every other play at the very least, or when it’s pertinent,” Galetti said. “I’m always looking at the clock, and I’ll always weave it in some way.
“There again, it was something that was taught to me by my mentors. If they’re in the Hall of Fame, it’s good enough for me.”
Galetti’s broadcast voice isn’t as distinctive as that of Mike Roberts, his predecessor at UNM; few people this side of the late John Facenda, the longtime NFL Films narrator, have better pipes than Roberts. Lobo fans will have to adjust.
Yet, unlike the Roberts of recent years, the volume of Galetti’s voice rises and falls with the action. When the crowd gets excited, so does he.
Some broadcasters simply tell you what’s happening. Galetti, most recently a sports writer for the Pasadena Star-News, also tells you how and why.
On the demo clip, Shareef Abdur-Rahim doesn’t just drive the middle. He drives the middle like “a runaway bus.”
“One of the things I was taught a long time ago,” Galetti said, “and to use Chick Hearn’s analogy, is to try to paint a word picture.”
Tuesday, Galetti painted a portrait of himself as a guy who like Roberts will be dedicated to his listeners.
And like Mike to UNM.
“You’ll know who I’m calling the game for,” he said. “There won’t be a doubt that I’m for the Lobos.”
That’s just dandy, Scott, provided your allegiance to the boys in cherry and silver doesn’t blind you and by extension, your listeners to what’s really happening.
Here’s hoping Galetti never paints the Lobos as playing five against eight on the basketball court or 11 vs. 18 on the football field. Been there, heard that, though it’s true many of Roberts’ faithful listeners liked being told the officials were jobbing UNM at every turn.
Still, in keeping with Galetti’s penchant for providing the score, here’s an update.
So far, without having called one at UNM, Galetti’s ahead of the game.

Facebook Twitter Plusone Reddit Tumblr Email