Bob Neal: Legendary Sportscaster Returns Home and Receives Lindsey Nelson Award

The Tennessee Vols will wrap up their spring practice with their Orange and White game this afternoon at Neyland Stadium.  It will be the first chance for their fans to see them since the end of last year's disappointing season.

All indications point to them improving and playing closer to expectations.

However, nothing is guaranteed.

The Orange and White game will have at least one guarantee.

Legendary broadcaster Bob Neal will return to his roots to receive the prestigious Lindsey Nelson Broadcasting Award.

Neal spent his early formative years minutes away from Knoxville in nearby Morristown and Jefferson City.  At age 8, he moved north and called Chicago sweet home.  He made his first foray into broadcasting when he worked a high school basketball game in Sycamore, Ill.

Bob attended Northern Illinois University and has gone on to do TV and radio play-by-play for the NFL, NBA, NCAA, PGA, and World Cup Soccer for various networks.  He was the signature voice of the NBA on TNT and TBS for over two decades and is currently the host of SportsNite, Talkin' Football, and Talkin' Hoops on CSS.

The mantle at Bob Neal's house is a crowded one.  He is no stranger to awards.  He's won five Georgia Emmys, three Associated Press Awards, and a share of five national Emmys.

The Lindsey Nelson Broadcasting Award has special meaning for Neal.  He cites Nelson, a Campbellsville, Tenn., native and first play-by-play voice of the Vol Network, as one of his foremost sportscasting influences.  Winning the award that bears his mentor's name is a gratifying, humbling experience for him.

Former winners of the award include John Ward, Keith Jackson Verne Lundquist, and the late greats Cawood Ledford, Chris Schenkel and Larry Munson.

I would be remiss if I didn't share my first memories of Bob Neal as a 10-year-old kid in 1988.  As a hardcore Dominique Wilkins fan, I felt he was robbed.  But the contest was in Chicago, so what are you going to do?

Bob said it best, they gave Jordan a fifty.

Thanks for all the memories, Bob.  Congratulations on your past and continued excellence.