Legendary Cleveland Cavaliers broadcaster – and Hall-of-Famer – Joe Tait’s recovery from a recent bout of pneumonia has unfortunately hit a major snag.
The Cavaliers, along with flagship station WTAM/1100, announced last night that Joe will also undergo heart surgery over the next few days and will be sidelined throughout the rest of 2010. There is no timetable for his return as of right now.
It will be the first time since the disastrous 1981-83 Ted Stepien era that Joe will neither be heard on the radio or seen on TV calling Cavaliers games for an extended period. Tait announced back in May that this upcoming NBA campaign would be his final one for the team that has employed him for 39 combined years, dating back to the twelfth game of their inaugural 1970-71 season.
The team’s press release, in its’ entirety:
Cavaliers Hall of Fame radio announcer Joe Tait has been resting and receiving treatment for pneumonia since returning home from Houston, where he was hospitalized last week. As Joe continues to recover from pneumonia, he recently underwent a series of tests on his heart at The Cleveland Clinic locally. It has been determined that Joe is experiencing aortic stenosis and will soon undergo procedures on his heart to replace a valve and address other heart related concerns. These procedures will be conducted upon Joe’s further recovery from pneumonia.
At this time, no exact timetable has been established for Joe’s return to game broadcasts, but he is expected to be out at least through the rest of 2010. Updates on Joe will be provided as appropriate. Joe is in very good spirits and wanted to again thank the fans for their outpouring of support and concern for him during this time and he looks forward to getting back behind the mic as soon as he is able.
While Joe is out, and starting with the Cavaliers home opener on October 27th vs. the Celtics at Quicken Loans Arena, the Cavaliers radio broadcast team will have WTAM Sports Director and current Cavaliers radio network pre and post game host Mike Snyder doing play by play. Mike will be joined on all broadcasts by Cavaliers Legend and current Cavaliers post game show analyst Jim Chones for game commentary.
Best wishes go out to Joe from the entire Cavaliers family for a full recovery and return to game broadcasts when he is ready. Special thanks to Mike Snyder and Jim Chones for subbing in.
For many years, Snyder has been seen by many as the presumed ‘heir apparent’ to Tait at the microphone. Chones has co-hosted the postgame show with Snyder for the past two years, and their pairing on-air could suggest that the days of just one person calling Cavs games on the radio may end up retiring along with Joe…
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