Broadcast sports: Clippers move fast to hire Wolves radio announcer

Until two weeks ago, Brian Sieman fully expected to return to the Timberwolves this fall for a second season as their radio play-by-play announcer.

Then the phone rang.

The Los Angeles Clippers were looking for a radio announcer, having lost Matt Pinto to the SuperSonics.

"They called me that same day and basically said, 'You are our guy if you want the job,'" Sieman said. "I wasn't really sure. I was happy in Minnesota. But they flew me out there, and I felt like I could be happy there. They were great to me."

Sieman informed the Wolves on Tuesday that he was heading west. The decision came nearly a year after Sieman was hired by the Wolves to call games on BOB 106 FM, and two years after he nearly landed the same position with the Clippers.

The Wolves, who employ their broadcasters, will have to move quickly for a replacement. The team will begin its broadcast schedule next month by airing two or three preseason games.

Ted Johnson, Wolves senior vice president of marketing and communications, said Thursday that having been through this a year ago should be an advantage.

"We'll have a real accelerated process, but it's different from a year ago in that we're not starting from Square 1," he said. "I'd say we're starting two-thirds or three-fourths of the way through the process."

Sieman, who also called Lynx games on radio for six years, got the job last year over two other WNBA announcers, Craig Ackerman (Houston Comets) and Andrew Monaco (San Antonio Silver Stars). It's likely the Wolves will talk to Ackerman and Monaco in the coming days.

Sieman was free to leave the Wolves because the one-year contract he signed with the franchise expired. He had been in discussions with the organization about a new contract before the Clippers called. The Los Angeles job will not require Sieman to work WNBA games in the summer and also provides a significant jump in pay. Johnson declined to say if the Wolves offered Sieman a salary increase.

"It was a tough decision," Sieman said. "There are so many great people who work there that I will miss, and that's what made the decision a difficult one. I was happy in Minnesota and could have been there a long time. But this situation is one that probably won't come up again."

Victory for Big Ten Network

Dish Network reached an agreement to carry the Big Ten Network on Thursday.

Dish customers who subscribe to America's Top 100 and higher will find the Big Ten Network on Channel 439. Customers throughout the nation can preview the network until early 2008. At that point, the channel will be carried on America's Top 100 Plus service within the eight states with Big Ten institutions. The Big Ten Network, which has a deal with DirecTV, has yet to reach agreements with several major cable operators, including Comcast, Charter and Mediacom.

The right move

There are times when Twins television announcers Dick Bremer and Bert Blyleven can prove frustrating, with Bremer chattering too much or Blyleven relying on statistics instead of analysis. But the pair deserves kudos for their work in calling pitcher Scott Baker's near-perfect game last Friday night against Kansas City on FSN North.

The broadcasters ignored the superstition of not mentioning a perfect game or no-hitter in progress and instead tackled the subject during the course of the telecast. It's fine if the players on the bench want to ignore the obvious but it's silly when team broadcasters follow suit. Bremer and Blyleven, who has a no-hitter on his big-league résumé, did viewers a service by taking the approach they did.

Fine-tuning

• Ron Pitts and newcomer Tony Boselli, two former players, will call the Vikings-Falcons game Sunday on Fox. Unless the Vikings prove to be a better team than most expect, this is the type of announcing teams they will get much of the season. By the way, the NFL granted the Vikings an extension until 2 p.m. today to sell out the game or it will be blacked out.

• "Pro Football Final" with Dark Star and others will return to WCCO (830 AM) after the Vikings game Sunday. ... Vikings receiver Bobby Wade will join sports-talk host Matt Thomas from 6-6:30 p.m. Mondays on KSTP (1500 AM). ... "Packer Preview" with Dave Sinykin will return for a 12th season on KFAN (1130 AM) beginning at 8 a.m. Sunday.

Judd Zulgad • jzulgad@startribune.com