Chick Hearn

“I've got to be right on top of the action, or else all those people watching the game will say, 'This guy's not very good.'”

“You can't please everybody all the time, but you can please a majority.”

“I do something that I don't think anyone else does. I warm up before a game. Baseball and basketball players warm up, so why shouldn't the announcer warm up?”

“Radio is the art form of sports casting. If you're any good, you can do a great job on radio.”

“Most people can't talk as fast as I do. I'm not proud of that. That's God-given.”

“Anybody who doesn't think I want the Lakers to win is a fool. But I'm no homer.”

“My work is a love for me; I'd do it for free, but don't tell my bosses.”

“I always like to pretend two things: one, I'm sitting in the seat beside you watching the game together. I'll say, 'Wasn't that a great shot? Boy, it sure was.' The other thing I do is pretend I'm talking to people who are non-sighted. I try to create a word picture. I get more mail from blind people thanking me.”