On The Air
by Laura Nachman
Bucks County Courier Times
December 22, 2006

A few enterprising young sportscasters aren't waiting for college to get experience in their field.

David Leno, 17, the “Voice of Council Rock-South High School,” announces his school's basketball and football games and hopes to attend either Syracuse or Ithaca, schools known for their communications programs.

Leno recently “shadowed” Comcast SportsNet anchor Neil Hartman for a day.

“I have a love of sports and love to communicate with people,” Leno said, adding that he likes to learn about professional sportscasters by reading their bios on the team Web sites.

Corey Solomin, 16, a sophomore at Bensalem, attended a sportscasting camp last summer and wants to join the school television station when he is eligible next year. A fan of ESPN and Comcast SportsNet, Solomin wants to be a play-by-play man for a Major League Baseball team someday.

“I love to be around sports,” the baseball and basketball player said.

Dan Koob, 17, captain of the football team at Central Bucks South, broadcasts the school's basketball games for CBTV and plans to major in broadcasting at Temple. Koob already has gotten some game experience by working as a public address announcer for some basketball tournaments and doing play-by-play on the Internet for the Camden Riversharks.

“My dream is to call a Super Bowl someday,” said Koob, a senior.

Jeremy Treatman, who runs the “Scholastic Play by Play” broadcasting camp at Villanova, isn't surprised about the popularity of sports as a profession. He said that over 700 aspiring broadcasters attended his camps in seven cities last summer.

“There is a lot of opportunity today with cable television and the Internet,” Treatman said.

A Cowboy Christmas

The Dallas Cowboys, who always play on Thanksgiving, will work another holiday when they host the Eagles at 5 p.m. Christmas Day on NBC.

Preceding the game, NBC10 will air “Football Night in Philly” at 4 p.m. NBC's “Football Night in America” airs at 4:30 with Bob “Tiny Tim” Costas and the others.

Depending on the results of this game and the Giants-Falcons game, next week's Sunday night flex game could be the Falcons against the Eagles.

Around the dial

Former CN8 sports reporter Bruce Casella, who joined “It's Your Call with Lynn Doyle” in September after CN8 news was discontinued, is leaving the news show. He wants to go back to sports. ... A new installment of “The Real World: Denver,” starring Allen Iverson, begins tonight, when the Nuggets host Sacramento at 9 p.m. The game will not be televised nationally. The 0-for-December Sixers will face Boston on Comcast SportsNet tonight at 8.