Two-way man Magnuson doubles as radio announcer

As you flip through the sports channels, they pop up all over the place. No matter what you do or where you go, they follow you everywhere like a bad rash.

FOX, ESPN, CBS and NBC all have ex-athletes as sports commentators. Whether they work in a studio, a booth or on the sidelines, these jocks-turned- journalists are virtually unavoidable.

While there are plenty of journalistic athletes out in the world today, most of them are retired from their sport. Kevin Magnuson, an active member of the Michigan hockey team, got to be a color commentator Jan. 2 for the Wolverines' game at Ohio State.

Magnuson, who traveled to Columbus for the contest against the Buckeyes but did not dress, was asked by WTKA play-by-play radio announcer Al Randall if he could fill in for color commentator Jim Hunt. Hunt was unable to make the trip due to the flu

DAVID ROCHKIND/Daily While Michigan defenseman Bubba Berenzweig was on the ice against Ohio State on Jan. 2, his teammate Kevin Magnuson was in the radio booth, acting as color commentator for the game.

and the now-infamous Blizzard of 1999.

Randall "asked if I could fill in for Hunt, but I declined at first," Magnuson said. "But after seeing (Randall) struggle trying to fill both positions, I figured 'Why not give it a shot?' So I filled in at the beginning of the second period."

Magnuson served Hunt's function and quickly settled into the role of color commentator. Magnuson, a current player, worked his knowledge of the game and Michigan coach Red Berenson's system into his commentary.

"I tried to teach the audience what coach wants us to do when we are on the ice," Magnuson said.

Magnuson's knowledge of Berenson's system was well-received by Michigan hockey fans. At least one member of the Deker's Club has written letter complimenting Magnuson's performance.

Magnuson cites his knowledge of hockey, both as a player and as the son of Keith Magnuson - a standout defenseman for the Chicago Blackhawks for 11 seasons - as the groundwork for his commentating skills.

Magnuson also tried to use the style of Pat Foley, the Blackhawks' color man, as a guide to his performance.

Foley "is unbelievable," Magnuson said. "When you listen to him you feel as if you are at the United Center. Maybe he could be my mentor."

One piece of advice that Foley could give Magnuson could be to work on his impartiality. As a member of the Michigan hockey team, Magnuson is often emotional during games. Even as a color man, Magnuson fell victim to his emotions a few times.

"I said to Al 'I have a tendency to swear a lot and get real fired up if we miss a goal' and he said 'Well, press this mute button,'" Magnuson said.

"So one time I went crazy for a minute and the mute button got stuck so I talked for another minute and it was dead silence on the air."

Besides the occasional four-letter word, Magnuson got good reviews for his WTKA performance. While Magnuson didn't think the transition from player to radio man was that stressful, he did admit that he wasn't ESPN-ready yet.

"I don't think this is something that I could do for a living," Magnuson said. "I noticed that I repeated the word 'great' a lot. My vocabulary became quite repetitive after a while."

With that being said, the question of whether Magnuson will quit the hockey team and start writing for The Michigan Daily is bound to come up. While Magnuson enjoyed his stint as a radio color man, he doesn't think he will shoot for a career in journalism.

"I have an internship at Merrill Lynch this summer, so I'm obviously not going to turn that down," Magnuson said.

Although Magnuson's first experience in color commentary looks to be his last journalistic hurrah, he did take some fun out of his impromptu experience as a color man.

"I got to do plugs for Steve & Barry's and places like that, which I thought was pretty cool," Magnuson said.

01-12-99