COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, November 10. ALTHOUGH USA Swimming announced late last month that Billy Bush, the host of NBC's Access Hollywood, would serve as emcee of the 2006 Golden Goggle Awards, the organization posted a new release Friday stating that Jim Lampley will take care of speaking duties at the event.
Considered to be the ESPYs for the sport of swimming, this year's gala event will be Sunday, Nov. 19 at the world-renowned Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Nearly 100 Olympians, including Michael Phelps, Amanda Beard and Mark Spitz, as well as Hollywood headliners Camryn Manheim (The Practice, Ghost Whisperer), David James Elliott (JAG), Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men) and Gil Bellows (Ally McBeal, The Shawshank Redemption), will attend the star-studded awards gala, which is the signature event for the USA Swimming Foundation.
After 32 years as a network television sportscaster, and with a vast array of credits in television, radio, movies and the internet, Lampley is one of America's most accomplished broadcasters. He has covered more Olympics than any other sportscaster, and in recent years he has expanded beyond the boundaries of sports to make a mark in politics and public affairs.
Lampley is best known for his work on HBO Boxing telecasts. In 18 years at HBO, he's called more than three hundred championship fights. For his work on that telecast, he has been nominated in each of the past two years for the Best Play By Play Emmy Award.
Since beginning at ABC in 1974, Lampley has covered 13 Olympic Games, most recently serving as the NBC daytime and late night host for the Winter Olympics in Torino.
