Canada’s only NBA club has selected another American as its new play-by-play voice for national television, sources told Metro yesterday.
Matt Devlin, who spent this decade serving three-year stints as the voice of the Memphis Grizzlies and Charlotte Bobcats, has been hired by the Toronto Raptors to succeed Chuck Swirsky, according to the sources.
The sources also said they expect the Raptors to announce the hiring of Devlin within seven to 10 days.
Swirsky was a U.S. citizen when he was hired by the Raps 10 years ago, although he obtained his Canadian citizenship last winter. Swirsky recently switched NBA allegiances and will be the Chicago Bulls’ voice next season.
At least four Canadians were competing against Devlin for the Raps’ job, the sources suggested.
Mike Inglis, a Torontonian who was the club’s first play-by-play voice, had expressed a desire to return after a decade as the Miami Heat’s voice. Adnan Virk, an anchor for The Score and occasional basketball reporter for the Canadian network, also was a candidate, as were Canadian brothers Paul and Mark Jones. Paul has been the Raps’ radio voice while Mark covers various sports, including basketball, for ESPN.
Devlin’s background includes play-by-play work with TNT and Fox.
• The CFL had a rough opening weekend, producing low-scoring and generally dull games.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats scored touchdowns only once in their respective losses, while the Edmonton Eskimos couldn’t score any TDs in theirs.
In B.C., a quarterbacking change already seems likely as Lions coach Wally Buono wasn’t pleased – actually, he used the word “pissed” when discussing his team’s loss. Jarious Jackson will probably start Friday night against the Saskatchewan Roughriders instead of Buck Pierce.
Buono criticized the Lions’ lack of discipline in a loss to the Stampeders in Calgary on Thursday night.
“I’ll correct this,” he vowed.
The Argonauts, who won Friday night in Winnipeg, are alternating QBs Kerry Joseph and Michael Bishop.
And Joseph, sources said, is livid about the two-QB system and threw a mini-tantrum when benched in the fourth quarter against the Bombers.
• MLB contenders are quietly trying to top each other with trade pitches for Oakland pitcher Rich Harden, who’s being dangled by the A’s and will almost certainly be dealt before the July 31 trade deadline.
A native of Victoria, B.C., Harden is 5-0 and has struck out 42 batters in 32 1/3 innings in June. His June earned-run average is a remarkable 1.65, which, in this farewell-to-arms era, largely explains his immense popularity.
