Two USC students receive Chick Hearn Memorial Scholarships
Jonathan Kendrick, Eleni Press
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Two USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism seniors majoring in broadcast journalism were awarded the Chick Hearn Memorial Scholarship at last nights Los Angeles Lakers game at Staples Center.
Jonathan Kendrick and Eleni Press, the second female recipient in the scholarship’s 10-year existence, were presented with the scholarships at at halftime of the Lakers’ 90-82 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
In addition to the $5,000 scholarships, named for the Lakers’ longtime announcer, Kendrick and Press will also have the opportunity to intern at Fox Sports.
Kendrick, from Upland, is sports multimedia director of USC’s Annenberg TV News, a nightly sports anchor at the station and writes for the campus newspaper, the Daily Trojan.
Kendrick has interned with Fox Soccer Channel, Fox Sports Radio and KCBS-TV Channel 2 and KCAL-TV Channel 9.
“I couldn’t be more excited about pursuing a career in sports broadcasting,” said Kendrick, who aspires to be a play-by-play announcer for a major network or professional team. “I am grateful for the opportunity to work hard at a job that I have a strong passion for.”
Press, a Chicago native, is sports director of Annenberg TV News. She has interned with the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women’s National Basketball Association and WBBM, the CBS owned-and-operated television station in Chicago.
“ATVN has given me a huge taste of what it’s like to be a sports reporter an I’ve loved every second of it,” Press said.
Press credited her father with instilling in her a love of sports. She grew up cheering for the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field and the Chicago Bulls at United Center.
“Sports will always be one of my biggest passions and I look forward to making it an even bigger part of my future,” Press said.
The scholarship was established in 2002 with support from the Hearn family, the Lakers and his many fans in tribute to Hearn, best known for being the Lakers’ play-by-play announcer from 1961 to 2002.
Hearn was also the play-by-play announcer for USC football and basketball games from 1956-61.
Donations for the scholarship can be sent to USC Annenberg Chick Hearn Fund, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, 3502 Watt Way, Los Angeles, Calif. 90089-0281.
The NBA lockout was finally resolved two weeks ago, ending our “basketball jones” depression.
Even though college basketball has been “poppin’,” we still need our daily dose of funks, dunks, shakes and bakes that comes with professional basketball. So now the NBA is back and commissioner David Stern hasn’t cut us any slack, as the talent of the league has sought to test their value in the market before the 66-game season starts.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif.—Individual regular-season game tickets for the Los Angeles Lakers will go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Tickets will be available online at ticketmaster.com, by calling (800) 4NBATIX, and at all TicketMaster locations. Tickets will not be sold at the Staples Center box office.
Tickets are limited to four per person per game. Approximately 1,000 tickets will be available for each game, according to John Black, the Lakers vice president of public relations.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) league owners and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) are involved in a lockout for the second time in a 12-year period during the league’s 65-year history.
Fans hope the lockout is a short one, such as in 1995, when the action lasted three months or in 1996, when it lasted only a couple of ours. In contrast, the 1998-99 lockout lasted six months and six days, cutting a lengthy 82-game season to only 50 games.
Los Angeles Lakers small forward Ron Artest, left, and several admirers and advocates for the Los Angeles Watts Summer Games joined Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, center, and the board of supervisors in honoring Artest with a special presentation at Tuesday’s board meeting in the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration. Artest was recognized for his promotion of mental health awareness and encouraging youth to seek mental health services by spreading his message of wellness and recovery.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif.—Bill Macdonald was named today as the Los Angeles Lakers television play-by-play announcer and John Ireland as their radio play-by-play announcer.
Macdonald replaces Joel Meyers, who had been with the Lakers for eight seasons, including the past six as the television play-by-play announcer.
Ireland replaces Spero Dedes, the Lakers radio play-by-play announcer for the past six seasons.
