David Lane Barnett (born April 27, 1958) is an American play-by-play broadcaster who calls Big 12 baseball games on Fox Sports 1 and football and men's basketball for the University of North Texas (UNT).
Broadcast career
Before working for ESPN, Barnett served as the announcer for the
Dallas Mavericks from 1981 to 1988, the San Antonio Spurs from 1988 to 1996, the Texas Rangers in 1990, and Southwest Conference football and basketball on
Raycom Sports. In 2009, Barnett's contract with ESPN ended, allowing him to return to the Rangers,
where he served as a radio broadcaster. On May 26, 2011, the Rangers announced that Barnett would be replacing John Rhadigan as the Rangers television play-by-play announcer.
June 18, 2012 on-air incident
During a Rangers/Padres broadcast on Monday, June 18, 2012, from
Petco Park in
San Diego, Barnett suddenly began making nonsensical statements during the bottom of the eighth inning. Rangers pitching coach
Mike Maddux was concluding a visit to the mound with pitcher Mike Adams when Barnett, without warning, said, "Go-ahead run is at fifth pause on what Adams is insisting on calling it a botched robbery. What actually happened was, his henchmen pause took a piece literally out of...."
[. Retrieved on September 15, 2012.] At that point, Barnett's voice trailed off. It sounded as though he was struggling to say the words "my" and then "his," but could not do so.
[ Id.] There was initial speculation that the broadcast production crew had turned off his microphone, but they actually had not done so.
[Barry Horn, Baseball: Diagnosis for Dave Barnett is "complicated migraine" , Dallas Morning News (June 27, 2012). Retrieved on September 15, 2012.] For about twenty seconds, Barnett was silent, with viewers hearing only ambient noise from the ballpark.
[Joey Matschulat, , Baseball Time in Arlington (June 19, 2012; audio of the telecast is included). Retrieved on September 16, 2012.] Then, just as suddenly as the oddity appeared, it was over. Barnett began speaking again as if nothing had happened,
[ Id.] and he finished the game without further incident.
[Barry Horn, "Baseball: Diagnosis for Dave Barnett is 'complicated migraine'", supra.]
The Rangers sent Barnett home to Denton, Texas for tests.[ Id.] For the rest of the series, Barnett's duties were assumed by Rangers radio announcer Steve Busby.[ Id.] and that, after the game, he walked back to his hotel with his broadcasting partner, Tom Grieve, and went to bed.[ Id.] He further stated that he had no knowledge of what had happened until his wife called him the next morning and told him about the national attention that he was receiving.[ Id.] Barnett called the incident "surreal."[ Id.]
Departure from the Rangers
Barnett never returned to the Rangers' broadcast booth after the June 18, 2012 incident. On July 2, 2012, Barnett said in a statement that he was taking an indefinite medical leave of absence that he expected would last for the remainder of the 2012 season.
[Timothy Burke, Rangers Broadcaster Dave Barnett Will Miss Rest of Season Due to Unspecified Medical Concerns, Deadspin (July 2, 2012). Retrieved on September 15, 2012.][Scott Bell, Texas Rangers broadcaster Dave Barnett to take leave of absence expected to last for remainder of season , Dallas Morning News (July 2, 2012). Retrieved on September 15, 2012.] He said in a telephone interview at the time that medical specialists were in disagreement as to what had caused his problem.
[ Id.] Steve Busby continued as Barnett's replacement as the television play-by-play announcer.
[ Id.] On November 1, 2012, the Rangers issued a statement to the effect that they would not be renewing Barnett's contract, which had expired at the end of the 2012 season.
[SportsDaysDFW, Broadcaster Dave Barnett wishes things ended differently with Rangers, Dallas Morning News (November 2, 2012). Retrieved on November 9, 2012.]
Subsequent work
On September 4, 2012, Barnett announced that he would do the television play-by-play for two football games of the University of North Texas, the school from which Barnett graduated in 1979 (when it was called North Texas State University).
[Barry Horn, Broadcaster Dave Barnett returns to call North Texas-Texas Southern game, Dallas Morning News (September 4, 2012. Retrieved on September 15, 2012.][Associated Press, Dave Barnett to return to booth, from ESPN.com (September 5, 2012). Retrieved on September 15, 2012.] He broadcast the first game on September 8, 2012, with no problems.
[Barry Horn, Dave Barnett's return to the television booth for UNT football goes off without a glitch , from SportsDay DFW (September 14, 2012). Retrieved on September 15, 2012.] He said at the time that, despite a battery of tests, doctors had not been able to determine what had caused his sudden incoherence in June.
[ Id.] On November 10, 2012, Barnett broadcast his second UNT football game that season, again without incident. In May 2013, he did the play-by-play for Fox Sports Southwest's television broadcast of a college baseball game between Oklahoma State and West Virginia.
[Barry Horn, Ex-Rangers broadcaster Dave Barnett: Play-by-play return would be "ideal", Dallas Morning News (May 24, 2013). Retrieved on June 8, 2013.] In 2014, he was hired to be the play-by-play voice of Big 12 Conference baseball on Fox Sports 1. Beginning in 2015, he replaced fellow UNT alumnus
George Dunham as the radio voice of Mean Green football and men's basketball.
Awards and nominations
Barnett has twice won
UPI Radio Commentator of the Year awards.
Personal life
Barnett lives in Denton, Texas.
