CBS Sports' Jim Nantz has been named the 2008 National Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.  This marks the fourth time in his career that Nantz has been named the National Sportscaster of the Year as he also won the prestigious award last year, as well as in 2005 and 1998.

Voting takes place by the nearly 1,000 members of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, as well as various sports editors and sports directors of newspapers and television stations, respectively, throughout the country.  This year marks the 50^th year the NSSA has given out the award.

"Whether it's calling football, basketball or golf, this award once again signifies that Jim is one of the broadcast industry's finest and most accomplished sportscasters in its history," said Sean McManus, President, CBS News and Sports.

In 2008 Nantz once again showed his great broadcasting versatility highlighted by him moving eloquently from calling play-by-play for the 2008 AFC Championship Game between the undefeated New England Patriots and San Diego Chargers in January, to Kansas's epic overtime win over Memphis in the championship game of the 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship and Final Four in April, to calling Trevor Immelman's victory at golf's greatest tournament, the Masters®, a few days later.

Nantz, who has covered virtually every sport for the CBS Television Network since joining it in 1985, has been the lead play-by-play voice for THE NFL ON CBS since the 2004 season joining lead analyst Phil Simms on the Network's number one NFL announce team.  For six years, he anchored the Network's NFL pre-game studio show, THE NFL TODAY.

His extensive credits include serving as host of THE SUPER BOWL TODAY, CBS Sports' Super Bowl XXXV and Super Bowl XXXVIII pre-game shows; play-by-play announcer of Super Bowl XLI; anchor of CBS's golf coverage, including the Masters^â and the PGA Championship; lead play-by-play announcer for college basketball, including the Final Four and Championship game; and primetime host of CBS Sports' coverage of the 1998 Olympic Winter Games.  During an historic 63-day span in 2007, Nantz became the first commentator in history to broadcast the Super Bowl, NCAA Final Four and Masters® all in the same year.

When Nantz was named the 1998 National Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, he joined Pat Summerall, Chris Schenkel, Ray Scott and John Madden as the only commentators to ever win the award while working at CBS Sports.  In addition, when he won the award in 2005, he joined Schenkel and Scott as the only CBS broadcasters to win the award more than once.  Nantz also was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as the youngest recipient of the Curt Gowdy Media Award in 2002. 

In addition, Nantz co-authored with Eli Spielman the New York Times bestseller, Always By My Side in 2008.  The book climbed to No. 3 on the New York Times list making it the highest ranking achieved in 2008 by a sports book.  Always By My Side spent seven weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.  Nantz told his personal stories from football, basketball and golf and how he met people along the way who reminded him of the virtues his father instilled in him. The foreword to the book was written by one of his father figures and dear friend, former President George H.W. Bush.

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CBS Sports Contact:    Jerry Caraccioli            212/975-7466              gwcaraccioli@cbs.com