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Revision as of 02:41, 21 August 2007 by Heartinthebayou (talk | contribs) (Restored authorizedisney biography valdalized by Wiki Zealot)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Michael Kay (born February 2, 1961) is the main play-by-play voice of the New York Yankees, host of Centerstage on the YES Network and the host of The Michael Kay Show on WEPN.
Career
Kay began reporting as a youth at the Bronx High School of Science and then at Fordham University for WFUV. Kay is part of a successful line of Fordham alumni sportscasters including Vin Scully, Bob Papa, Mike Breen, Chris Carrino and Tony Reali.
Kay started his professional career as a New York sports reporter writing for both the New York Daily News and the New York Post. His main assignments were the Yankees, college basketball and the NBA. Kay left the Daily News to join the New York Post and later returned to the Daily News briefly before taking the microphone job for radio broadcasts New York Yankee games beside John Sterling. Kay served as the Madison Square Garden Network locker room reporter after New York Knicks games from 1992 to 1999. He had previously worked for the network as a contributor on the news-format sports show SportsNight.
Sports Announcer New York Yankees
Kay spent a decade partnered with John Sterling as the radio announcers of the team on WABC-AM. Kay and Sterling also paired together in 1998 for Sports Talk with John Sterling and Michael Kay a nightly radio show which aired on WABC. During the baseball season, the duo hosted Yankee Talk, a weekend pre-game radio show. From 1992 to 1993 Kay hosted his own show on WABC. Kay continued during that time as a spot reported on ABC radio doing off-season shows with Sterling and as a fill in sports reporter for Channel 7 Eyewitness News New York. When ESPN launched an AM station Kay moved downtown to 2 Penn Palza to host a radio show On ESPN's WEPN from 10AM to 1PM (See The Michael Kay Show below).
When WCBS-AM acquired the radio rights to the Yankees broadcasts in 2002, Kay moved to the debuting YES Network on television and Sterling remained on the radio. Kay has been the Yankees' lead television play-by-play announcer since this time.
On radio and TV, Kay has been best known for yelling "See-ya!" during his home run calls and as his signature phrase at the end of broadcasts.
Late in the 2006 baseball season, Kay was sporadically absent from both the YES Network and his ESPN Radio Show while tending to his ailing mother who was battling with Alzheimer's Disease. On September 11, 2006, it was announced by Ken Singleton during the New York Yankee broadcast that Kay's mother, Rose, had died. Kay returned to announce for the Yankees on September 18th, after a hiatus of 27 days. When WCBS-AM acquired the radio rights to the Yankees broadcasts in 2002, Kay moved to the debuting YES Network on television and Sterling remained on the radio. Kay has been the Yankees' lead television play-by-play announcer since this time.
On radio and TV, Kay has been best known for yelling "See-ya!" during his home run calls and as his signature phrase at the end of broadcasts.
Late in the 2006 baseball season, Kay was sporadically absent from both the YES Network and his ESPN Radio Show while tending to his ailing mother who was battling with Alzheimer's Disease. On September 11, 2006, it was announced by Ken Singleton during the New York Yankee broadcast that Kay's mother, Rose, had died. Kay returned to announce for the Yankees on September 18th, after a hiatus of 27 days. Since the late 1990s, Kay and Sterling have co-emceed the Yankees' annual Old-timers day ceremony (following in the tradition of the late Mel Allen and Frank Messer), players' number retirements, and the City Hall celebrations after Yankees' World Series victories. Kay also provided color commentary for Nintendo 64's All-Star Baseball from 1999 to 2001 with radio personality John Sterling.
Kay's contract with YES requires he broadcast a minimum of 100 Yankee games during the regular season.
Awards
In 2007, Kay was nominated for six Emmys for his work with the YES Network, both for Yankees broadcasts and for his highly rated talk show Centerstage. Kay won one Emmy for his work on the YES Network as part of the team of the NYY broadcast: New York Yankees Baseball “Manny vs. NY – Yankees/Red Sox- 5/24/06.” (YES Network). In 1998, he was on the MSG team that won an Emmy for Outstanding Live Sports Coverage—Series. In 1996 and 1997 he was a member of the MSG team that won Emmys for Outstanding Live Sports Coverage—Single Program for Dwight Gooden's no-hitter and The Battle for New York: Yankees vs. Mets.
Kay was also awarded the Dick Young Award for Excellence in Sports Media by the New York Pro Baseball Scouts in 1995 and the award for Best Sports Reporter at the 2000 New York Metro Achievement in Radio Awards. On his radio show, Kay delves into a variety of topics related to current sports, especially those notable in the New York area. Kay also touches on non-sports topics in popular culture and public controversy on occasion. In this forum, Kay is more aggressive and opinionated than on his television endeavors. An example of this came in August 2006 after a caller blamed Kay for ruining Chien-Ming Wang's bid for perfect game, by speculating about the achievement in 6th inning, tradionally an act against baseball etiquette. Kay vehemently voiced his anger at the notion, making several comparisons to slavery and the holocaust. <ref>I didn't know that baseball's unwritten rules mentioned the Holocaust with audio clip from The Michael Kay Show.
Callers have criticized the show's direction, suggesting that pop culture, celebrity gossip and personal anecdotes should be replaced by sports discussion. the show has seen a rating steady state since its institution. The show is up against the very popular :Mike and the Mad Dog" on WFAN and lately ahs seen a small decline in its rating share. The ratings dip is believed again to be part of fan dissatisfaction with the content of the show. During the week of June 4th, Kay told listeners that "if don't like the format can change the dial."
Neil Best of Newsday, in his daily column on April 13, 2007, speculated that Kay may have gone from the top to the bottom of the list of the New York sportscasters slated to replace Mike and the Mad Dog on WFAN after his ranting at Les Moonves of CBS and MSNBC over the Don Imus firing. Industry rumors have suggested that Kay would leave ESPN at the end of his contract and go to WFAN. ESPN 1050 pulls in approximately 500,000 daily listeners, while WFAN pulls in over 2,500,000 daily listeners. During the week of April 9 to April 13, Kay spent a third of each show supporting Imus and was subject to a wide variety of listener criticism. www.newsday.com/sports
Kay received a three day suspension by ESPN July 24, 25, and 26 of 2007 for violating on air policy guidelines in regards to his reports on the Michael Vick case; legal opinions regarding legal matters were not to be spouted by on air talent, unless authorized by the legal department of ESPN. During that time Don LaGreca co hosted the show with Jets broadcaster Greg Buttle. Kay had been previously warned following his broadcasting of the Don Imus – Rutgers slander remarks that ESPN does not interpret the judicial rules of procedure. Legal opinions regarding legal matters were not to be spouted by on air talent, unless authorized by the legal department of ESPN. Variety July 28, 2007
Trivia
Nephew of actor Danny Aiello