Mike Barrett (sportscaster)
Mike Barrett (born 1968), also known as "MB", is a former television
Biography
Early years
Mike Barrett was born in 1968 in Idaho, the son of a high school basketball coach, Duane Barrett.[2] He grew up as a fan of the only professional major league team in his home state of Oregon, the Portland Trail Blazers, regularly attending games with his father.[2]
Following his graduation from West Albany High School, Barrett attended Oregon State University (OSU), located about 10 miles away in neighboring Corvallis, Oregon. He graduated from OSU in 1991 with a degree in journalism.[3]
Broadcasting career
After graduating from
In 1999, he was hired by the Portland Trail Blazers as radio studio host and editor of the Blazers' official magazine, Rip City Magazine.
Barrett was named the play-by-play announcer for the Trail Blazers for the 2003–04 season, working for the first two years next to
"Rice is good, he's a character, and you strip away some of that cartoon character, and I'm so lucky to work with him. I think his calls are probably as memorable as anything I say. I like to give him that room. Some of the traditional broadcasters really want their own space, who get upset when their analyst gets in and steps on their call. I'm not into that. I want to be there to fill in the blanks and to provide some information and entertainment."[2]
In addition to calling the play-by-play, Barrett and Rice frequently appeared on a weekly radio and television show, Trail Blazers Courtside.
Barrett also wrote voluminously for his
"The funny thing is that when the blog started at Summer League like 3 or 4 years ago, they said write some stuff for training camp, and that was kind of strange, but then they saw I could write in a real conversational way, that involved people. It was one of those odd things that you stumble into and all of a sudden you've created a lot of work for yourself. It's not a bad thing it's a good thing.
"It takes a lot of time, as you know. To do something like that and to maintain it — I moderate 95% of the comments, I see them all, I put the picture up, I do the headline, it's like my own little newspaper. And that's pretty cool for somebody who was into journalism anyway. Writing has always been pretty easy. To sit down to write after a game or after an event, positive or negative news, it's almost my way of going home and unwinding and reliving it. I think a lot of writers would say that. That's my way of going home and coming down from the high of the night.
"I get wordy, I get long, I start writing. They tell me, 'just write a paragraph,' and I said, 'I get going, I can't.' The next thing I know I'm at 2,000 words. I've enjoyed sitting down after my kids and wife go to bed, sit down, and process through some things. It helps me remember the game better, it helps me realize it, the next time we play somebody, I remember not only the game but the blog. I can go back and review it if I want to."[4]
Family
Mike Barrett lives with his wife, Shelly, in Wilsonville, Oregon. The couple have two children, a son named Jack and a daughter named Gabby.[3]
Footnotes
- ^ "Trail Blazers Announce Changes to Television and Radio Broadcast Talent | Portland Trail Blazers". www.nba.com. Portland Trail Blazers. June 15, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
Barrett ends his run with the Trail Blazers after 17 seasons, 13 of which as the lead play-by-play TV broadcaster.
- ^ a b c Ben Golliver, "Mike Barrett Interview — Part I", BlazersEdge.com, August 24, 2008. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Portland Trail Blazers 2009-10 Media Guide" (PDF). p. 260.
- ^ Golliver, Ben (August 27, 2008). "Mike Barrett Interview — Part II". BlazersEdge.com. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
Further reading
- Mike Tokito, "Mike Barrett is a Link Between Trail Blazers and Fans in Portland and Beyond: Media Mike Check," The Oregonian, Oct. 28, 2014; updated Nov. 3, 2014.
External links
- Mike Barrett Official Blog. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
- Ben Golliver, "Interview with Mike Barrett," BlazersEdge.com, August 24, 27, 31, 2008. Part One. Part Two. Part Three.