When we were kids, it had to be the golden age of sportscasting–Bob Murphy, Ralph Kiner, and Lindsey Nelson shared the Mets TV and radio chores; Marry Glickman was calling Giants, then Jets, games; Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshire were the best football tandem around; Curt Gowdy seemed to be at every major event imaginable; Dandy Don Meredith was cracking wise (and funny) in the Monday Night Football booth … but the best of the best (then and now) was Mary Albert, at the time the radio voice for the New York Knicks and New York Rangers.

It was kind of weird, actually, since I loathed the Knicks and loved the Rangers, so Albert’s signature “Yesssss!” when the Knicks netted a basket proved grating while his “Kick sa-a-a-a-ve and a beauty by Giacomin!,” in praise of the Blueshirts’ All-Star netminder, was music to my ears. Moreover, Albert had a great schtick and repartee with his color commentators: Bill “The Big Whistle” Chadwick (the Hall of Fame referee credited with inventing the hand signals for calling penalties) and Sal “Red Light” Messina (a fair-at-best goaltender who toiled in the Rangers minor league system for years).

The point? The next Albert–or Bob Costas, or Greg Gumbel–could be ready to emerge if only he or she had a chance. That chance has arrived thanks to RealLiveSports and the All-Sports Network, who’ve teamed up to bring aspiring young broadcasters a pair of invaluable tools of the trade, ESPN Play by Play and ESPN Sportscast.

Play by Play ($99.95), a portable sports audio system, helps youngsters go from spectators to broadcasters as they are transported to the sidelines to conduct interviews, provide their own play-by-play or color commentary, and enhance their reporting with sporty sound bites. A handheld microphone, built-in ESPN theme music, and a sound card with six recognizable sports sound bites help produce an authentic broadcast just like on TV, radio, or podcasts. Working equally well indoors or out, Play by Play can be used alone or with any iPod, MP3 player, or computer, as well as with a number of digital devices, including ESPN Sportscast ($49.95), a handheld AM/FM radio with digital display that lets kids listen to their favorite sports broadcasts while mixing in sound bites. With the option to broadcast through the speaker, earbuds, or Play by Play, listeners can incorporate popular ESPN phrases and theme music with the touch of a buttoner simply slide in the SportsBytes SoundCard for even more exciting sounds of the game.