Wednesday, Jul. 23, 2008

Can't wait to hear Calabro's goal call

By Eric Degerman, sportstricities.com

Mark it down as the first "L" for the Oklahoma City Carpetbaggers, and a huge "W" for Seattle Sounders FC.

It got a brief mention today in the Herald, but "The Voice of the Sonics" — Kevin Calabro — won't be leaving to work for the oil and natural gas barons in Oklahoma, see Chesapeake Energy and SandRidge Energy. Rising gas prices afforded the OKC folks to open their wallets wide for Calabro.

Instead, Calabro will keep kicking it in Seattle as the on-air talent for the city's new Major League Soccer club. He and his wife wanted to continue raising their four children in the Puget Sound.

While most in the Northwest won't know many, if any, of the new Sounders, we know Calabro. He's one of the most entertaining and recognizable NBA broadcasters in the country, which explains why ESPN radio fancies him for their games. In fact, Calabro's contract with KING/KONG reportedly will allow him to continue picking up games for ESPN and NBA-TV.

Whenever I think of those great SuperSonics teams with Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, Sam Perkins, Dale Ellis, etc., I can hear Calabro shouting above a filled Key Arena, "Nobody can do the voodoo like you do!" Makes me want to stroll over to Gourmet Soul in downtown Kennewick, grab some BBQ and see if chef Derek Perot has his classic Sonics video rolling on the dining room TV.

There will be a learning curve for Calabro, but he'll have plenty of time to get ready for the Sounders inaugural 30-game regular season, which will begin in March 2009 and end in late October.

I'm not sure if Calabro will try to work "Good golly, Miss Molly!" into his gooooallll call, but he alone will make the Sounders worth following at the start.