HOARD EAGLES WEEKEND: Sunday’s game for the AFC crown is so good that there’s even a great matchup in the radio booths. Don’t get mad that it involves another pair of broadcasters from the Syracuse factory of fame.
Both Dan Hoard, class of 1985, and Ian Eagle, class of 1990 and friends for 30 years, could double as one of coordinators Lou Anarumo’s versatile defenders.
On Saturday, Hoard, the velvet voice of the Bengals and multiple Ohio Sports Broadcaster of the Year, takes his turn as the voice of the Bearcats working the University of Cincinnati basketball game at No. 3 Houston.
The ubiquitous Eagle, who is working the game for CBS and then the postgame for both consists of flying to Arrowhead with Hoard making his signature call the next day on the Bengals Radio Network (legendary analyst Dave Lapham is another Orangeman who has either played in or called all four Bengals AFC title games) while Eagle sets up in the Westwood One Radio booth to make the national call.
“A heavily-themed Cincinnati weekend,” said Eagle this week. “The nice thing about it is I’m on the journey with Dan Hoard. Dan is one of those guys everybody looked up to with his professionalism and humor. It’s no surprise he’s killing it.”
Eagle is also slaying it. In between working the CBS college basketball schedule and the Brooklyn Nets for the YES Network, he also called last year’s AFC title game on radio in a season he celebrated his 25th year doing the NFL on CBS. By the time Eagle completed his ‘Cuse curriculum, Hoard had already been mentored by Sean McDonough and been a mentor for Mike Tirico and Eagle was taking notes on all three.
“You’re trying to find a path. What it might look like. There’s no specific journey to follow and you have to figure it out as you go,” Eagle said. “To see guys like Mike, Dan Hoard, Sean McDonough, that gave you the semblance of an idea that it could happen. It was very encouraging when guys that recently graduated were doing it the right way.”
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