Mike Frankel, Tom Williams are finalists for state sportscasting award

WINSTON-SALEM, NC- Two sportscasters from this area are among the three finalists for the state sportscasting award according to the National Sports Media Association (formerly known as the National Sportscasters & Sportswriters Association) here.

Mike Frankel and Tom Williams are finalists for New Jersey Sportscaster of the Year.

Frankel – sports director and anchor at SNJ Today, who also does some work with Prime Events – is a finalist for the third time.

Williams – play-by-play voice, producer and online coordinator for Prime Events and contributor to Coast Sports Today – has won the state award 10 times, including the last two years. This is his 31^st time as a state finalist.

The third finalist is Matt Loughlin, who works with WFAN and The One Jersey Network and is the play-by-play voice of the New Jersey Devils. This is his third nomination – he won once in 2014.

The two finalists for New Jersey Sportswriter of the Year are Gregg Lerner of Shore Sports Network and Steve Politi of NJ.com and The Star Ledger. Lerner has been a finalist four times and has won twice, including last year. Politi is nominated a third time and won in 2015.

Another sportscaster with a local history – John Clark of NBC-10 in Philadelphia – is a finalist for Pennsylvania Sportscaster of the Year. Clark formerly worked at NBC-40 in Linwood. He is joined by two other PA finalists, Kristen Rodgers of Fox-29 and Marc Zumoff of The 76ers Network.

The finalists for 2018 National Sportscaster of the Year are Joe Buck, Fox; Doris Burke, ESPN; Ian Eagle, CBS; Mike Emrick, NBC; Kevin Harlan, CBS; Al Michaels, NBC; Jim Nantz, CBS; Dan Patrick, Sirius-XM; Dan Shulman, ESPN; and Mike Tirico, NBC.

Final nominees for National Sportswriter include Christine Brennan, USA Today; Pat Forde, Yahoo Sports; Peter King, Sports Illustrated; Buster Olney, ESPN.com; Ken Rosenthal, The Athletic; Jayson Stark, The Athletic; Wright Thompson, ESPN The Magazine; Tom Verducci, Sports Illustrated; Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports; and Adrian Wojnarowski, ESPN.com.

Sportscaster finalists for induction into the NSMA Hall of Fame include James Brown, CBS; Chris Economaki, ABC; Mike Emrick, NBC; Greg Gumbel, NBC; Bob Ley, ESPN; Tim McCarver, Fox; and Dan Patrick, ESPN.

Sportswriter finalists for the Hall of Fame include Peter King, Sports Illustrated; Tony Kornheiser, Washington Post; Claire Smith, Philadelphia Inquirer; Art Spander, The Sporting News; and Rick Telander, Sports Illustrated.

Voting for the state and national winners by NSMA members will begin Saturday and continue throughout December. All winners will be honored at the group’s 60^th annual awards program in Winston-Salem from June 24-26.