If you were switching channels between the NHL and NBA conference finals Wednesday, you’d have been going from one Albert to the other.
That’s because, with the exception of Game 1 of the Rangers-Canadiens series, Kenny Albert will be a part of every NHL broadcast — as the play-by-play man for NBC Sports Network on the Kings-Blackhawks clash or doing the same on the radio for the Blueshirts. His rise in the broadcast profession is similar to that of this father, Marv, who’s the voice of the NBA on TNT and doing the Spurs-Thunder series.
But for Kenny to rise in the business, and get out of the shadow his father cast, he first had to get away from New York, going straight from NYU to the AHL’s Baltimore Skipjacks in 1990.
“When I think back to those first five years with the Skipjacks and then with the Capitals, I was able to establish my own identity and gain confidence and gain more reps,” Kenny said.
“I wouldn’t trade that for anything. When I came back to New York in 1995 to do Rangers radio, it was a dream, something I always wanted to do, and felt like moving away for those five years was a major step gaining reps and establishing my own identity.”
Kenny’s introduction to the press box started when he was 5 or 6 and Marv would take his four children to games, and Kenny would work as a statistician through the years. He also wrote content for the Rangers’ game program.
Marv said it was like a “broadcasting school” with him and his two brothers, Steve and Al, all calling NBA games. Kenny said it wasn’t like a teacher-student relationship, but “more by osmosis, watching his work ethic and what went into a broadcast.”
“He was a pretty good writer, too, and he would never admit that he wanted to go into broadcasting,” Marv said. “He was shy and just held his cards very close. … I went down to Baltimore for one of his games once, and sat with him. I was astounded how good he was.”
After five years on the Beltway, Kenny’s career has taken off locally and nationally. He calls MLB and NFL games for FOX after starting there as a hockey play-by-play man. He has been the radio voice of the Rangers for nearly 20 years, just 17 to go before he matches the time Marv spent calling Knicks games.
Now Kenny is the No. 2 hockey voice at NBC, behind only another legend, Mike “Doc” Emrick. That means over the next two weeks, Kenny will be bouncing between two countries and two coasts on flights to New York, Montreal, Chicago and Los Angeles.
“You kind of go on adrenaline this time of year with so many games in such a short period of time,” Kenny said. “It’s similar to the Olympics in terms of the volume of games, but the difference [at the Olympics] is there is no travel, you are in the same hotel room.”
Kenny, 46, still has many years to go in the business. And Marv shows few signs of slowing down. At 72, he’s calling NBA games for TNT and the NFL for CBS.
“As long as I have the passion to stay at this level and I still have years on my contract. I enjoy it so much,” Marv said. “I may cut down a little bit in certain areas, but I still have awhile to go.”