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FOX Sports North: the Exclusive Local Television Home for the 2012-13 Minnesota Wild Season.
The National Hockey League’s (NHL) Minnesota Wild today named Anthony LaPanta television play-by-play announcer.
LaPanta, a graduate of Totino-Grace High School and St. John’s University (Collegeville, Minn.), has covered the Twin Cities sports scene since 1991. The New Brighton, Minn., native has hosted the pregame and postgame shows on FOX Sports North for the Twins, Wild and Timberwolves nightly since 2004 and served as the television play-by-play announcer for the University of Minnesota men’s hockey team the past two seasons. LaPanta has also served as a play-by-play announcer for the Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Timberwolves on a fill in basis.
“I have dreamed of doing NHL play-by-play since I was very young,” said LaPanta. “To have this opportunity in my hometown is truly special. I am a lifelong resident of the State of Hockey, and hockey is in my blood. From my work covering the Minnesota Wild for the last eight years, to calling games at the high school and college level, to spending as much of my free time as possible as a youth hockey dad, the game has been a huge part of my life. This is the opportunity of a lifetime for me.”
Before joining FOX Sports North, LaPanta was the television voice of the St. Paul Saints for ten seasons and was the radio play-by-play announcer for the Twins in 1999. He has won four regional Emmy Awards (two for play-by-play and two for anchor/host) and was involved with the development of the Hockey Day Minnesota concept. LaPanta and his wife, Margo, have four children, and reside in Shoreview, Minn., where he is active in the hockey community.
LaPanta will team with television analyst Mike Greenlay on FOX Sports North, the exclusive local television home for Wild hockey. Greenlay enters his 11th year as the Wild’s television analyst since being assigned to the post on Aug. 13, 2002. The former goaltender previously served as the radio analyst for the Anaheim Ducks (1999-2001) and the Nashville Predators (1998-99) and also worked as a television analyst on several networks.
“This is a great opportunity for Anthony, we’re enthusiastic about his new role in our Wild telecasts,” said Mike Dimond, Senior Vice President and General Manager for FOX Sports North. “Anthony has worked long and hard as the face of our network. We’ll miss him in that capacity, but thankful he’ll still be part of our network moving forward
