George Blaha has been the radio and television play-by-play voice of the Detroit Pistons

Detroit Pistons

The Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...

 since the 1976–77 NBA season. He currently is the lead play-by-play man on Fox Sports Detroit

Fox Sports Detroit

Fox Sports Detroit , is a regional sports network that covers local sports teams in the state of Michigan, mostly those in the Metro Detroit area. It is an owned and operated affiliate of Fox Sports Net...

, but does radio play-by-play instead during nationally televised games in place of the Pistons' regular radio play-by-play man Mark Champion

Mark Champion

Mark Champion is an American radio sportscaster who is the current primary radio play-by-play voice of the Detroit Pistons, a position he has served in since 2001...

.

Raised in Marshalltown, Iowa

Marshalltown, Iowa

Marshalltown is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Iowa, United States. The population was 27,552 in the 2010 census, an increase from the 26,009 population in the 2000 census. -History:...

 and Grayling, Michigan

Grayling, Michigan

Grayling is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Crawford County. The population was 1,952 at the 2000 census. Grayling takes its name from the Grayling fish that was once prevalent in its lakes and streams....

, Blaha attended Notre Dame

University of Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...

 and received an MBA

Master of Business Administration

The Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...

 from the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

. Before the 1976–1977 season, he succeeded Paul Carey on WJR

WJR

WJR is a radio station in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It broadcasts a news/talk format. It is a class A clear channel station whose broadcasts can be heard throughout most of the Midwest, eastern United States and Canada at night, making it one of the most powerful radio stations in the...

's radio broadcast of the Pistons, and announced his first NBA

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

 game from Cobo Arena on October 23, 1976, teaming with Tom Hemingway. Blaha has missed only three games since 1976 due to illness. He has had a variety of color analysts including former Detroit Pistons

Detroit Pistons

The Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...

 players John Mengelt

John Mengelt

John P. Mengelt is a former professional basketball player. A 6’2” guard, Mengelt played for Auburn University, with whom he scored 60 points in a 1970 game against Alabama. Mengelt later spent ten seasons in the NBA, playing for the Cincinnati Royals, Kansas City Kings, Detroit Pistons, Chicago...

, Dave Bing

Dave Bing

David "Dave" Bing is the mayor of Detroit, Michigan, a businessman, and a retired American professional basketball player who played 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association , primarily for the Detroit Pistons...

, Vinnie Johnson

Vinnie Johnson

Vincent "Vinnie" Johnson is a retired American professional basketball player and a key player as sixth man for the Detroit Pistons during the team's NBA championships of 1989 and 1990.-College basketball career:...

, Kelly Tripucka

Kelly Tripucka

Peter Kelly Tripucka is a former American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association from 1981 to 1991. During his ten seasons in the league, he played for the Detroit Pistons, Utah Jazz, and Charlotte Hornets...

, Bill Laimbeer

Bill Laimbeer

William "Bill" Laimbeer, Jr. is a retired National Basketball Association player for the Detroit Pistons. Playing at center, the 6'11" Laimbeer was a four-time All-Star and integral part of the Pistons teams that won two championships...

, Rick Mahorn

Rick Mahorn

Derrick Allen Mahorn is a retired American NBA basketball player who, at 6'10", played power forward and center...

, and current partner Greg Kelser

Greg Kelser

Gregory Kelser is a retired American basketball player and current television color commentator. Kelser played in the NBA from 1979–1986 and is best known for his standout career at Michigan State....

. He has almost always used the Pistons' first names when describing the action on the court. He also uses players' nicknames often, such as members of the 1988-1989 and 1989-1990 'Bad Boys' teams: "The Worm" for Dennis Rodman

Dennis Rodman

Dennis Keith Rodman is a retired American Hall of Fame professional basketball player of the National Basketball Association's Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks. Born in Trenton, New Jersey, he was nicknamed "Dennis the Menace" and "The...

 and "The Microwave" for Vinnie Johnson

Vinnie Johnson

Vincent "Vinnie" Johnson is a retired American professional basketball player and a key player as sixth man for the Detroit Pistons during the team's NBA championships of 1989 and 1990.-College basketball career:...

, or for current Pistons players: "Rip" for Richard Hamilton

Richard Hamilton (basketball)

Richard "Rip" Hamilton is an American basketball player who currently plays for the Detroit Pistons. Hamilton is 6'7" tall, weighs 193 lbs , and plays shooting guard. He currently is the Pistons' team captain....

, "Dunking Darvin" for Piston's great Darvin Ham and "Big Ben" for Ben Wallace

Ben Wallace

Ben Camey Wallace is an American basketball center for the Detroit Pistons of the NBA. A native of Alabama, Wallace attended Cuyahoga Community College and Virginia Union University and signed with the Washington Bullets as an undrafted free agent in 1996...

. He also often introduces his TV partner Greg Kelser

Greg Kelser

Gregory Kelser is a retired American basketball player and current television color commentator. Kelser played in the NBA from 1979–1986 and is best known for his standout career at Michigan State....

 as "Special K", his nickname when he was a player. In 2002, Blaha was the recipient of the prestigious Ty Tyson Award for Excellence in Sports Broadcasting, awarded by the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association. In 2008, Blaha was elected to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame

Michigan Sports Hall of Fame

The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame to honor Michigan sports people. It was organized in 1954 by Michigan Lieutenant Governor Philip Hart, Michigan State University athletic director Biggie Munn, president of the Greater Michigan Foundation Donald Weeks, general manager of the...

 and was inducted on Sept. 13, 2010, in Novi.

In addition to Pistons games, Blaha is currently the radio voice of the Michigan State Spartans football

Michigan State Spartans football

The Michigan State Spartans football program represents Michigan State University in college football as members of the Big Ten Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level...

 team. He was the voice of Michigan State Spartans men's basketball

Michigan State Spartans men's basketball

The Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represents Michigan State University and competes in the Big Ten Conference of NCAA Division I. The team currently plays at the Breslin Student Events Center...

 during the 2000-2001 season. He also does Detroit area TV and radio commercials for several companies. Blaha is an active member of the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association, founded in 1948 by pioneer Detroit Tigers

Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...

 announcer Ty Tyson

Ty Tyson

Edwin L. "Ty" Tyson was an American sports broadcaster and radio play-by-play announcer.-Early life:Tyson was born in Phillipsburg, Pennsylvania and he attended Penn State University. As a young man, he played ball and acted in nearby Tyrone, Pennsylvania. While acting in a play, he met another...

.

"Blaha-isms"

One of Blaha's trademarks is the use of alliteration

Alliteration

In language, alliteration refers to the repetition of a particular sound in the first syllables of Three or more words or phrases. Alliteration has historically developed largely through poetry, in which it more narrowly refers to the repetition of a consonant in any syllables that, according to...

:

• "Scores it off the square!"
• "Lays it up, lays it in!"
• "Fires, fills it!"
• "Guns, got it!"
• "Scoops it, scores it!"
• "Gives it up, gets it back"
• "Measures, and makes!"
• "He hoists, and hits!"
• "Rip-down rebound!"
• "That was a stick-back slam supreme!"

Other sayings commonly heard during Pistons play-by-play include:

• "Count that baby and a foul!"
• "Count it and a foul!"
• "No Free Chili"
• "With the feed!"
• "With the bunny!"
• "Off the heel!"
• "Off the iron!"
• "With the long deuce!"
• "With the show and go!"
• "He throws up a rainbow gun!"
• "He throws up a long gun!"
• "The glasser goes!"
• "Sticks it!"
• "He triples from way downtown!"
• "Off the high glass!"
• "Don't look now, but..." (indicating a comeback or a significant run, i.e. "Don't look now, but the Pistons are within two!")
• "With the slam-tap supreme!"
• "Three point gunning... it goes!"
• "In and out... and back in again!"
• "Nothing but sweet, sweet string music!" (referring to the "swish" of the net)
• "Two and forty-three to go." (indicating 2:43 on the clock)
• "Five and a half left in the half." (indicating 5:30 left in the second quarter)
• "He hits it!" (or an exaggerated "Heeee hits it!")
• "Tough luck miss!" (indicating a shot that has gone halfway down and popped out)
• "Splits the pair..." (indicating the shooter has made one out of two free throws)
• "Charity stripe..." (referring to the free throw line)
• "Welcome to another exciting night of NBA Basketball! I'm George Blaha alongside my partner Special K himself Gregory Kelser..."
• "Welcome to another exciting night of NBA Basketball! I'm George Blaha alongside my partner, Pistons legend Bill Laimbeer..." (when Laimbeer did color commentary)
• "And he air-mails it..." (referring to the ball missing the net completely)
• "Got it! Got it! Got it!" (when a potentially game changing shot goes in, usually a three pointer)
• "(Name) line drive shot" (referring to when a player shoots a three point shot)
• "Sweet string music for (name)" (referring to a player twiddling the twine)
• "Great things happen at the Palace"

External links

• Pistons.com bio
• George Blaha Detroit Free Press article