Tag: Craig Ackerman

Podcast: Craig Ackerman previews the 2022-23 Houston Rockets season

With the season almost here, #Rockets voice Craig Ackerman joins us to discuss key storylines, including the integration of Alperen Sengun as a starter and the growth of Jalen Green.

In Friday’s new episode of “The Lager Line” podcast, Craig Ackerman joins Ben DuBose and Paulo Alves to discuss key storylines for the 2022-23 season along with lessons learned from the preseason. Ackerman is the play-by-play voice for Houston Rockets television broadcasts.

Topics featured on the podcast include the ongoing process of integrating Alperen Sengun into Houston’s starting lineup and promising signs of development shown by young prospects Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr., Tari Eason and KJ Martin.

Other discussion points involve Ackerman’s career perspective and his new broadcast team at AT&T SportsNet Southwest with Ryan Hollins and Vanessa Richardson, along with insight on the epic start to Major League Baseball’s 2022 postseason by Yordan Alvarez and the Astros (now up 2-0 in the ALDS over the Seattle Mariners).

Friday’s full episode can be listened to below. Each episode of the show is also available via flagship radio station SportsTalk 790, as well as to all major podcast distributors under “The Lager Line.”

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Podcast: Rockets voice Craig Ackerman on 2022 draft lottery, Jalen Green’s award, and more

In our new podcast, Craig Ackerman — voice of the Rockets — shares his reaction to the NBA’s 2022 draft lottery results, Jalen Green’s award-winning rookie season, and much more.

Craig Ackerman, voice of the Houston Rockets as the team’s lead play-by-play broadcaster for games on its regional television network, joins Thursday’s episode of The Lager Line podcast.

Ackerman recently completed his first season as Houston’s full-time TV broadcaster for AT&T SportsNet Southwest alongside new analyst Ryan Hollins and courtside reporter Cayleigh Griffin.

With the 2022 offseason now in full swing, topics discussed on the show (sponsored by Clutch City Lager of Karbach Brewing) include:

  • Immediate reaction to the Rockets landing the No. 3 overall pick via the 2022 NBA draft lottery
  • Reflections on Jalen Green’s rookie season, which culminated with a spot on the All-Rookie First Team, along with offseason priorities
  • Observations on the future outlook in Houston for Kevin Porter Jr., Christian Wood, and Stephen Silas
  • Highlights from the first year of the Ackerman-Hollins TV pairing

The complete episode with Ackerman and podcast host Ben DuBose can be listened to below. Each episode of the show will also be available through Houston’s flagship radio station SportsTalk 790.

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Craig Ackerman, Matt Thomas are Rockets’ play-by-play broadcasters

With Bill Worrell out, Craig Ackerman and Matt Thomas will take over as Houston’s play-by-play broadcasters for TV and radio, respectively.

Craig Ackerman and Matt Thomas will each move from part-time to full-time as the play-by-play broadcaster for Rockets television and radio broadcasts, respectively. The news was first reported by the Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen and quickly confirmed by both on Twitter.

In recent seasons, long-time TV lead Bill Worrell transitioned to only home games, with Ackerman taking over the road broadcasts. For home games, Ackerman remained as the radio play-by-play voice, which is a role that he had already performed for more than a decade.

But with Worrell retiring after the 2020-21 season, the full-time TV role opened up, and promoting Ackerman — given his experience with the position and franchise — always made the most sense.

The same logic also applies to Thomas, who had taken over as the radio play-by-play voice for road games once Ackerman moved to television. For home games, Thomas was the public address (PA) announcer at Toyota Center, and his promotion to full-time radio duty means that the Rockets will be hiring a new PA announcer before the 2021-22 season.

The changes have not been officially announced, since television broadcasts will feature a new analyst in the aftermath of Matt Bullard’s exit. As with the home PA position, that hire has yet to be finalized.

It remains to be seen whether the Rockets’ radio and television broadcast crews will travel to road games this season. Since the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in March 2020, road games for the end of 2019-20 and all of 2020-21 were broadcast from a studio in Houston, as a means of minimizing the size of travel parties. For Major League Baseball’s Astros in 2021, the radio crew is traveling to road games, since they are employed by the team. However, the television crew — which is employed by AT&T SportsNet Southwest — is still doing road broadcasts from Houston.

AT&T SportsNet Southwest remains in place as the local and regional television partner of the Rockets, with Houston’s SportsTalk 790 as the flagship station of their regional radio network.

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Matt Bullard not returning as television analyst for Rockets

Bullard spent nine seasons with the Rockets as an NBA player and began his broadcasting career with the franchise in the 2005-06 season.

In a year of dramatic change for the Houston Rockets as an organization, headlined by the departures of former superstar James Harden, general manager Daryl Morey, head coach Mike D’Antoni, and CEO Tad Brown, they can now add television analyst to that long list.

Former player and longtime TV analyst Matt Bullard will not return to his usual role, as first reported by Jackson Gatlin of the Locked on Rockets podcast. Bullard played nine of his 11 NBA seasons in Houston, primarily during the 1990s, and he began calling games as a team broadcaster in the 2005-06 season. Bullard was a reserve forward for the 1993-94 squad that became the first in franchise history to win the NBA title.

Bullard told Gatlin that he was not given a reason for the decision, and he did not ask. Among his comments, via Houston CBS affiliate KHOU:

They called me just a couple days ago and said that they were not going to be renewing my contract. It was a big surprise to me. I felt like the work that we did this year on AT&T SportsNet in the middle of a pandemic — calling games off of monitors, and not being able to travel and be with the team — I felt like the product that we put out this year was some of our best work.

I was looking forward to getting right back at it next season, but they called and said that they will not be renewing my contract. So I won’t be back on AT&T SportsNet next season.

As a broadcaster, Bullard was nominated for two individual Lone Star  EMMY Awards (2010 and 2015) and was part of the broadcast team that won the Lone Star EMMY Award for Live Production in 2013. Most recently, Bullard worked for AT&T SportsNet Southwest, which is the local television affiliate that now broadcasts most of the team’s games.

Veteran play-by-play broadcaster Bill Worrell, who worked with Bullard over the last 15 years, is also not returning to the booth. As part of a gradual retirement plan, Worrell had transitioned to home-only broadcasts over the last few seasons, with Craig Ackerman — the team’s longtime voice on radio broadcasts — taking over the road TV duties.

Since Worrell and Ackerman were only working half of the games, Bullard’s departure could feel the most significant to TV viewers. After all, he and courtside reporter Cayleigh Griffin (who joined prior to the 2019-20 season) were the only consistent voices on local broadcasts.

The Rockets and AT&T SportsNet Southwest have yet to announce their broadcasters for the 2021-22 season, which is likely to begin in October. The timetable for announcements beyond Bullard is not yet clear.

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Legendary Houston broadcaster Bill Worrell to step down after season

Worrell’s final game as a play-by-play broadcaster for the Rockets will be Friday’s 2020-21 home finale versus the Los Angeles Clippers.

After working nearly 40 years as a play-by-play broadcaster for Houston Rockets games on TV, Bill Worrell will retire from the role after Friday’s regular-season home finale versus the Los Angeles Clippers.

According to the team’s announcement, Worrell will remain a “special contributor” for television partner AT&T SportsNet Southwest next season, allowing him to reach an even 40 years before fully retiring.

Worrell, who turns 77 years old next month, had begun transitioning out of the role in recent seasons. In 2016, Worrell began working only home broadcasts, with radio broadcaster Craig Ackerman taking over television play-by-play duties in road games alongside analyst Matt Bullard. When Ackerman is unavailable for road radio broadcasts, home public address (PA) announcer Matt Thomas takes his place.

Ackerman and Thomas each tweeted their reaction to Tuesday’s news:

AT&T SportsNet Southwest has yet to announce its plans moving forward. If Ackerman is promoted to full-time television broadcasting, as many expect, the team will presumably need to make a new hire or promotion to take over some or all of the radio broadcasts, or perhaps to take over PA duties at Toyota Center (if Thomas gets the full-time radio gig).

Here’s the official text of Tuesday’s press release from the Rockets, which includes comments from both Worrell and owner Tilman Fertitta.

AT&T SportsNet’s Bill Worrell to Broadcast His Final Rockets Game on May 14

Today, AT&T SportsNet’s Bill Worrell announced he will retire as the Rockets television play-by-play broadcaster following Houston’s final home game of the season vs. the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday, May 14. Worrell will remain as a special contributor for AT&T SportsNet next season, which will be his 40th with the Rockets, before retiring.

AT&T SportsNet will celebrate Worrell’s illustrious career by having special guests join throughout his final broadcast on Friday, including Rockets owner Tilman J. Fertitta. In a statement, Worrell said:

I have decided that after four decades of broadcasting Rockets games, it’s time to step away from the day-to-day grind of the booth. To have worked for my hometown team and to have been a part of bringing so many memorable moments into your homes over the years, including the back-to-back championships, has been the greatest joy of my life.

The wonderful experiences and the amazing people I’ve met along the way has made this journey more than I could have ever imagined. Although I’ll miss connecting with Rockets fans on game nights, my goal now is to play as many top 100 golf courses as I can before my next permanent retirement. I have played 38 so far, so I have plenty of golf to play. I’d like to thank the Houston Rockets organization, AT&T SportsNet, and most importantly, the fans that have allowed me to be a small part of their lives. It has been an incredible ride!

Fertitta added:

Throughout sports, several broadcasters have become synonymous with their team because of how they welcomed and engaged generations of fans, and Bill Worrell has done that for the Houston Rockets. We thank Bill for nearly four decades of helping to create unforgettable moments for Rockets fans and are honored to call him a ‘Rocket for Life.’

A Houston native, Worrell began his television career in 1970 shortly after graduating from the University of Houston. From 1974-80, he served as the sports director for KPRC. Worrell was one of the original employees for Home Sports Entertainment, Houston’s first cable channel which launched in January of 1983.

Worrell also served as an analyst for Houston Astros telecasts from 1985-2005 and did play-by-play for Houston Oilers games and a variety of college sports. He covered and reported numerous national sporting events, including the Super Bowl, Kentucky Derby, Indianapolis 500, Major League Baseball playoffs, and the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

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