It's no surprise that Dei Lynam, daughter of former Sixers coach Jimmy Lynam has followed her father's footsteps into the world of basketball. The Comcast SportsNet sideline reporter for the Sixers and contributor to "Sixers Post Game Live" has been immersed in the game her entire life.

When Jimmy was head coach at Saint Joseph's, "my entire family would go to every game," Dei recalled. Many recall the teenaged Dei running into her father's arms on national television after Saint Joe's upset DePaul in the 1981 NCAA tournament.

Lynam played basketball throughout her youth, including her high school days in Portland, Ore., when Jimmy was an assistant head coach of the Trailblazers. "I could have played at a Division II or III school, but I decided to get on with my life," Dei said. She enrolled at UCLA when her father was head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers.

Although she earned a degree in psychology, Lynam worked in the athletic department at UCLA. She broke into the professional ranks by working as a statistician on the Clippers' radio broadcasts for five years.

Lynam got her first on-air job in Madison, Wisc., in 1992. She was doing weekend sports for the ABC affiliate in Cincinnati when she became one of the original hires of Comcast SportsNet in 1997. Lynam also has worked as a sideline reporter for TNT since 1996. She traveled to China last year for the Yao Ming story.

Soon, Lynam will be doing play-by-play for the Washington Mystics of the WNBA.

"My last name absolutely opened doors for me in the beginning," said Lynam, who has been married for 12 years to Tim Riviere, whom she met at UCLA. "However, I wouldn't have been able to keep my jobs or get new jobs if I couldn't do the job. I easily could have changed my name when I got married."

It's obvious that her peers on Comcast SportsNet agree. Lynam is a respected member of the "Post Game Live" crew, which includes family friend John Nash.

"I used to babysit his kids," she said.

Perfect timing

Luckily for Sixers radio broadcaster Tom McGinnis, baby Kenna Margaret McGinnis was born last Saturday, when the Sixers were at home.

McGinnis and his wife, Robin Rieger of KYW-3, were anxiously awaiting the birth of their first child and were hoping that Tom wouldn't be on the road for the birth.

Although McGinnis missed Saturday night's game, it was a "no-brainer," he said. "It was a magical, amazing experience."

Baby Kenna conveniently was born at 6 p.m., so Tom was able to catch some snippets of the game on the clock radio in the hospital. McGinnis returned to the microphone for last Sunday's game, but was "walking on a cloud."

He flew to Detroit a day later than the team so he could spend some extra time with Kenna, which according to Tom is an Irish/Celtic name. She was just a few ounces over being a true "76er," weighing in at 7 pounds, 14 ounces.

Inside scoop

According to a source close to the situation, one reason that HBO's "Hard Knocks" isn't happening this summer is because the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers declined to participate in the reality series. Let's just hope HBO doesn't put "Arliss" reruns in its place.

Laura Nachman covers television and radio sports for the Courier Times. She can be reached at bradyresident@aol.com.