The Late Skip Caray and Pete Van Wieren Named Co-recipients of Furman Bisher Award
Legendary “Voices of the Braves” To Be Honored At 2009 Atlanta Sports Awards

ATLANTA (Dec. 16, 2008) – The late Skip Caray and longtime broadcast partner Pete Van Wieren have been named co-winners of the 2009 Furman Bisher Award for Sports Media Excellence, the Atlanta Sports Council announced today.  This is the first time that co-winners have claimed the award, and the two will be recognized at the 2009 Atlanta Sports Awards presented by Applebee’s on Feb. 2, 2009 at the Historic Fox Theatre’s Egyptian Ballroom. 

The Atlanta Sports Council created the Furman Bisher Award for Sports Media Excellence to recognize members of the Atlanta sports media for outstanding coverage of local sports.  The first award went to the venerable Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s sports columnist in 2000, and the award has carried his name out of respect for Bisher’s incredible career.  Subsequent winners include Fred Kalil (2001), Tony Barnhart (2002), Chuck Dowdle (2003), Chris Dimino (2004), Tim Tucker (2005), Wes Durham (2006) and Ernie Johnson Jr. (2007).  Last year, Larry Munson, the infamous “voice of the Georgia Bulldogs,” was honored. 

Harry Christopher "Skip" Caray Jr. was the longtime voice of the Atlanta Braves until his passing on August 2, 2008, at the age of 68.   For four decades he was synonymous with baseball in the south, first doing Atlanta Crackers minor-league baseball games in 1964, then after a short stint broadcasting Atlanta Hawks games, he made his mark broadcasting Braves games on radio and television from 1976 until his death.  In 1977, Caray and fellow TBS announcers Ernie Johnson Sr. and Van Wieren helped make the Braves "America's Team," drawing large coast-to-coast audiences.  After Johnson Sr. retired, Caray and Van Wieren forged ahead and were mainstays on the air for 20+ years.  Caray described more than 4,000 Braves games from the last-place finishes of the 1970s and '80s through the 14 consecutive division titles of the 1990s and beyond.  A six-time Georgia sportscaster of the year, Caray was inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame in 2004 with Van Wieren.   The son of Harry Caray, longtime voice of the Chicago Cubs and a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Skip watched his sons Chip and Josh enter into the broadcasting business. 

Better known as “The Professor” throughout baseball, Van Wieren ended his 33 years as a play-by-play broadcaster for the Atlanta Braves by retiring at the conclusion of the 2008 season.  While he worked exclusively on the radio side last year, much of his 33 years was spent on television alongside Caray.  Since joining the Braves network in 1975, he has also covered the Atlanta Flames of the National Hockey League, the Atlanta Hawks and the Atlanta Falcons NFL pre-season football. He also served as a sports reporter for CNN and served as a play-by-play announcer on TBS’s Big Ten Conference College football games.

“Skip and Pete are synonymous with the Atlanta Braves in so many ways, that it will be difficult to imagine them not being behind the microphone in 2009,” said Gary Stokan, Atlanta Sports Council president.  “They were great ambassadors to the team, the sport of baseball and the city of Atlanta.”

"I have great admiration and respect for Furman Bisher and to win this award, bearing his name, is a very special honor,” said Van Wieren.  “I am proud to share it with Skip."
“Skip would have been honored to receive the Furman Bisher award as he thought a lot of him,” said Skip’s wife Paula.  “And sharing it with Pete is equally as special as those two have shared quite a bit over the last 33 years.”

The Atlanta Sports Awards was created in 2006 when the Atlanta Sports Council came up with the idea of a gala-style event to honor the achievements of the metro Atlanta best athletes, coaches and teams from all levels of competition.  It celebrates and recognizes these tremendous athletic feats on a yearly basis.

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ABOUT THE ATLANTA SPORTS AWARDS
The Atlanta Sports Awards honors 11 award recipients who distinguish themselves from the five million people living in the 29 metro Atlanta counties and surrounding areas. That includes all eight Atlanta professional sports teams, 14 universities, 12 junior colleges and more than 250 public and private high schools.  For information please contact the Atlanta Sports Council at 404-586-8510 or visit www.atlantasportsawards.com.

ABOUT APPLEBEE'S SERVICES, INC.
Applebee's Services Inc., and its affiliates, franchise and operate restaurants under Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar and is a DineEquity, Inc. (NYSE: DIN) brand. As of September 30, 2008, there were 1,997 Applebee's restaurants operating system-wide in 49 states, 17 international countries and one U.S. territory, of which 480 were company-owned. Additional information on Applebee's can be found at the company's website (www.applebees.com).

ABOUT THE ATLANTA SPORTS COUNCIL
The Atlanta Sports Council promotes the value of sports growth in Atlanta and Georgia by acting as an authority on the economic impact, visibility and quality of life issues associated with sports. Its mission is to lead, organize and support sports development with the goal of building Atlanta’s reputation as the Sports Business Capital of the World. The Atlanta Sports Council won the Sports Commission of the Year Award in 2000, 2004 and 2006.  For more information, please visit www.AtlantaSportsCouncil.com.