New Fox Sports team announced

After Fox dropped Steve Carfino, I thought there was a chance they would sign John Rillie, but it seems Fox have instead gone for another great shooter in "The Hammer" Shane Heal.

Media Release
22 September 2009

FOX SPORTS MAKES EVERY SECOND COUNT IN THE 2009/10 NBL SEASON

The NBL returns on FOX SPORTS with LIVE and EXCLUSIVE coverage throughout the 2009/10 season.

FOX SPORTS is gearing up for tip off in the 2009/10 NBL season, with eight teams set to battle it out in a new-look competition starting this Thursday 24 September.
Basketball fans will see up to 51 LIVE matches on FOX SPORTS, with each club to appear in a minimum of seven televised matches throughout the season.
While our biggest local stars like Melbourne’s Mark Worthington, Adelaide’s Adam Ballinger and Perth’s Shawn Redhage are set to light up the courts, FOX SPORTS has assembled a new-look team of expert commentators and analysts to take viewers inside the action with greater depth than ever before.
FOX SPORTS’ extensive coverage of the NBL will be headed by two of Australian Basketball’s greatest icons, in the league’s all-time leading points scorer Andrew Gaze and Shane ‘Hammer’ Heal.
The basketball experience of the star duo is simply unrivalled in Australia. Together they account for over 1050 NBL matches, nine Olympic Games campaigns and three NBL Championships.
Delivering the play-by-play action alongside the star pairing are two of the best in the business - FOX SPORTS’ Brian Taylor and Dwayne Russell.
The award-winning AFL commentators share a life-long involvement in basketball and a deep passion for the game.
David Malone, CEO of FOX SPORTS, said FOX SPORTS is committed to delivering basketball fans a comprehensive coverage of the season.
“The NBL has taken some hits in recent years but thanks to the dedication and passion of Larry Sengstock and his team at Basketball Australia, the competition has the opportunity to make a fresh start while continuing to deliver an entertaining and action-packed product featuring the best players our country has to offer,” said Malone.
“FOX SPORTS has covered the NBL since 1998 and based on the evidence of its sustained popularity with our subscribers, the game still runs rich in the veins of Australian sports fans,” he said.
“FOX SPORTS will broadcast 42 regular season matches, plus every game of the 2010 NBL Finals series LIVE. In total, FOX SPORTS will exclusively broadcast over 100 hours of LIVE and first-run NBL action.”
The NBL on FOX SPORTS will commence with LIVE coverage of the season-opening clash on September 24, when the New Zealand Breakers host the Cairns Taipans.

FOX SPORTS NBL BROADCAST SCHEDULE – SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER

Thu 24 Sept	New Zealand v Cairns	LIVE	FOX SPORTS 2	5.00PM
Wed 30 Sept	Melbourne v New Zealand	LIVE	FOX SPORTS 1	7.30PM

Fri 2 Oct	Townsville v Perth	LIVE	FOX SPORTS 2	7.30PM
Wed 7 Oct	Cairns v Gold Coast	LIVE	FOX SPORTS 1	7.30PM
Thu 8 Oct	New Zealand v Melbourne	LIVE	FOX SPORTS 1	5.30PM
Wed 14 Oct	Gold Coast v Melbourne	LIVE	FOX SPORTS 2	8.30PM
Wed 21 Oct	Adelaide v Melbourne	LIVE	FOX SPORTS 1	8.00PM
Thu 22 Oct	New Zealand v Townsville	LIVE	FOX SPORTS 1	5.00PM
Sun 25 Oct	Perth v Melbourne	LIVE	FOX SPORTS 1	7.30PM
Wed 28 Oct	Wollongong v Cairns	LIVE	FOX SPORTS 1	7.30PM
Thu 29 Oct	New Zealand v Adelaide	LIVE	FOX SPORTS 1	5.00PM

http://www.foxsports.com.au/basketball

MEET THE TEAM – NBL ON FOX SPORTS
ANDREW GAZE
The undisputed face of Australian basketball has won just about every accolade in the sport. A veteran of 22 seasons with the Melbourne Tigers and five Olympic Games campaigns with the Boomers, Gaze’s remarkable career is unlikely ever to be replicated. A seven-time league MVP, two-time NBL champion with the Tigers and the competition’s all-time leading points-scorer, he has also carved out a career as a media personality and has been a regular on the NBL on FOX SPORTS team for the past three seasons.

SHANE HEAL
‘Hammer’ is one of Australian Basketball’s most colourful characters and rose to icon status after a career that spanned 21 seasons in Australia, Greece and the US. A regular member of the FOX SPORTS NBL team in 2006, Heal returns to the microphone after ending his retirement to spend two seasons with the South Dragons, before playing the last of his 440 NBL matches with the Gold Coast Blaze in February this year. He played in four Olympic Games with the Boomers and led Sydney to their maiden NBL championship in 2002.

BRIAN TAYLOR
The 1986 Coleman Medallist and a 140-game VFL/AFL star with Richmond and Collingwood, Taylor was heavily involved in basketball as a youngster growing up in Mandurah, WA. His parents started the junior basketball competition in his home town and he later represented the WA under 16s before being snapped up by the Tigers. Even at the height of his career he continued to play competitive basketball and only this year realised a life-long ambition by playing alongside three of his four sons in their local competition. Taylor is a keen follower of the LA Lakers in the NBA.

DWAYNE RUSSELL
A keen basketballer during his teenage and school years, Russell was forced to give the game away when his footy career kicked off with the Port Adelaide Magpies in the SANFL. The 50-game Geelong Cats veteran has since forged an exceptional media career, starting out as a sports journalist with The Age newspaper in Melbourne before beginning his commentating career in 2000. Voted the 2009 best AFL commentator for his work on FOX SPORTS, Russell continues to coach basketball at junior level and like his co-commentator is a big fan of the Lakers.