Broadcast History

The Newport Gulls began broadcasting select games (one or two per season) on Newport County Television (NCTV) PA-18 in the early 2000s. The volunteer NCTV crew taped important games for air play on local public access television. By 2003, the Gulls - along with the NECBL - began offering audio-only streaming of games via a telephone connect service, and, later, via the online audio services provided through TRZ Communications Teamline.

That all changed on April 19, 2004 when Nick Lima approached Newport Gulls General Manager Chuck Paiva to request permission for Lima's high school television production club, the Tigers TV Crew, to tape games. Lima, as a senior, began the Tigers TV Crew in late 2002 at Tiverton High School with a group of his friends. Originally named the "Baseball Broadcasting Club," the crew, a reboot of the school's long-defunct THS Video Club, used old A/V equipment that had been collecting dust in the school's Library Media Center since the late 1980s and 1990s.

After getting the crew off the ground with the help of advisor Kathleen Almy, library director Victoria Blaser, and NCTV coordinator Brian Medeiros, Lima and his friends filmed over a dozen THS baseball games. Using amateur, broken-down equipment proved difficult, although the crew was saved by the technical know-how of freshmen wiz Steve Rys. With Rys's knowledge, Lima and Rys, along with members Steve Iwanski, Steve Andrade, Chris Stenning, Dan Staskiewicz, Andrew Dion, Ryan Pratt, Scott Jamieson, and many others, were able to produce multi-camera shoots with graphics, instant replays, extended pregame and postgame shows, bumper music, crowd mics and other features - all with a few hundred dollars’ worth of aging equipment (and dozens of adapters and patch cables bought from Radio Shack).

After seeing their baseball work on local access TV, community organizations began asking the club to tape their events. Soon, the Baseball Broadcasting Club was taping pep rallies, band concerts, drama club productions, and school committee meetings, all for airing on Newport County TV, and as a result of their expanded role, changed their name to the Tigers TV Crew. The crew was honored in 2003 in an op-ed Medeiros wrote for The Sakonnet Times, highlighting the fine volunteer work they did in a live broadcast of Tiverton’s Financial Town Meeting.

When Lima graduated in 2003 and joined the Army, the crew continued under Dion, Rys, Iwanski and Staskiewicz, who continued to recruit new members. Lima returned in the spring of 2004 and signed on as Almy's co-advisor, and the crew once again taped several THS baseball games, all while continuing a growing tradition of covering other school and town events and meetings. Meanwhile, crew members received community service hours for their work filming and producing events, but other than occasional school committee meetings, Lima saw a lack of work for the crew during the summer.

So, after searching online for "baseball in Rhode Island," Lima found the Newport Gulls, and reached out to the Front Office in the spring of 2004. After meeting in April, it was agreed the crew could tape select games throughout the season, providing both content for NCTV and community service hours for the students. Twenty students and community volunteers taped 15 games in 2004, including an exhibition against the Orleans Cardinals of the Cape Cod Baseball League, the last-ever NECBL game played at McCarthy Stadium in West Warwick, R.I. vs. the Riverpoint Royals during the postseason, and the infamous fog-postponed playoff game vs. the Torrington Twisters.

The productions utilized both students and alumni, with Steve Rys acting as executive producer. Raymond Ballard, Sr., a friend and mentor of Lima's, provided logistical support, while alumni Steve Andrade volunteered to teach the crew how to operate the aging equipment and direct games. In addition to the Gulls staff, the crew also learned about the field's history and secrets from legendary Cardines caretaker Rudy Boiani. Pushing a 30-year-old switcher, audio mixer and assorted camcorders to their limit, the crew would arrive at 1 p.m. on game days, wiring Cardines Field for four and five-camera shoots, and staying until almost midnight to break down and pack up equipment in Lima and Ballard's cars for the drive back to Tiverton. The equipment wasn't supposed to work the way it was being used - but the technical fixes of Rys and Andrade kept things running behind the scenes, while Lima and Iwanski provided play-by-play and color commentary on the air.

For Game 3 of the NECBL Championship Series vs. the Sanford Mainers, Lima solicited the help of Brian Medeiros, Guy Weston and the rest of the volunteer NCTV crew - and their higher-grade equipment - to produce what was, at that time, the highest-quality production to date at Cardines Field. While the Gulls lost the championship in a 9th inning heartbreaker in front of a record 3,000 fans at Cardines, the TV Crew finished its finest production yet, and earned several hundred dollars in video tape sales from that and other 2004 productions, which it used to purchase new audio and video equipment for the crew.

The Gulls asked Lima and the TV Crew to come back in a bigger role in 2005, taping the off-season First Annual Hot Stove Dinner in January, and producing every Gulls home game for public access TV via the newly minted Newport Gulls Television Network. The Gulls became one of the only summer collegiate baseball teams in the country to have regular television coverage, and the Tigers TV Crew continued to use their expanding equipment to produce on-field interviews, stop-motion instant replay, improved score graphics and other amenities. Lima, meanwhile, who was always donned in a full suit and fedora, continued on with Iwanski as the TV broadcast crew.

Another Lima, Thomas, had just finished his freshmen year at THS going into the 2005 season. Tom Lima had volunteered as a camera man for select games in 2004, but in 2005 was in the control room directing almost every game, under the supervision of executive producer Steve Andrade, who, along with Rys, continued to provide technical advice. Meanwhile, the crew continued to expand, and through both their exposure and association with the Gulls and filming other local community events, the crew secured limited funding from THS for new equipment, purchasing a graphics generator and audio mixer.

The Newport Gulls, recognizing the increased role the Tigers TV Crew had with the organization, made the crew a game-night sponsor in 2005, having Nick Lima throw out the first pitch and crew staff and family members man the gates at Cardines Field. The proceeds from the night's 50/50 raffle augmented tape sales to help the crew acquire more equipment, and by the end of the season, the crew had taped every home game, an exhibition against Team USA, an away game in Holyoke, Mass., and all three away playoff games in Danbury, Conn., North Adams, Mass. and the Gulls NECBL Championship victory in Montpelier, Vt. The crew also again partnered with NCTV to tape the 2005 NECBL All-Star Game at Cardines Field, broadcasted by Ray Ballard, Jr. and Nick Lima, and Nick, for the first time, traveled with the team on select away games, substituting for regular Teamline broadcaster Ian Abreu.

At the end of the championship season, the crew received a $500 donation from the Gulls, and $1,000 from sponsor Clements’ Marketplace. With additional funding from THS, the crew was able to purchase its first professional grade production camera and a four-camera video switcher. But the Gulls, recognizing the success teams like the Boston Red Sox have in operating their own broadcast networks, decided to invest even more into the crew.

After taping the 2006 Hot Stove Dinner, Chuck Paiva asked Lima to officially join the Gulls volunteer staff as the team’s new Director of Broadcast Operations. Lima immediately made his brother, Tom, his assistant director, and began planning for the 2006 season. Tom was likewise named the broadcast’s third-ever executive producer, and brought on his own high school crew members Ryan Bettencourt, Ryan Phenix and Gardner Coggeshall to volunteer for the summer.

The Tigers TV Crew began the new co-production with the NGTN with the same core group of student volunteers, now augmented for the first time by Gulls volunteer staff. With new equipment, the Gulls now were at the forefront of summer collegiate baseball media coverage, but the defining moment for all was to come on Opening Night, on June 8, 2006, as the crew produced its first-ever live broadcast on the new NECBL “Newport Gulls” Broadcast Network.

Having won the championship, only the Gulls were in action on Opening Night in a home game. For the first time in league history, the NECBL was going to be providing live video coverage of all games in 2006 via single cameras provided by Teamline. The Gulls, meanwhile, dissolved their former Internet broadcast division and utilized the NGTN broadcast as the team’s sole in-house production, becoming not only the first team to provide live video streaming online, but also one of the first summer teams in the country to provide a multi-camera production with a full, 20-minute pregame show, postgame interview on the field, graphics, instant replays and other production values.

While the Tigers TV Crew helped the Gulls, NECBL and summer college baseball enter a new online era – all while sites like YouTube were still in their infancy – one more accolade was yet to come. The Gulls won the game with a walk-off home run, and Nick Lima submitted the footage, including a postgame interview with the game’s hero, to the Rhode Island PEG Awards committee. The Tigers TV Crew and NGTN were recognized the following year with the PEG Award for Best Sports Program in Rhode Island.

A growing list of crew members again volunteered to help during 2006, including volunteer color broadcaster and cameraman Tim Wein, culminating in more road productions in Manchester and Torrington, Conn., including a heartbreaking, season-ending loss in postseason play.

By 2007, Tom Lima was trained to succeed Steve Rys as president of the Tigers TV Crew, and the Gulls broadcast team continued to provide a venue for Tiverton High School students to earn community service hours during the summer. In addition to acquiring more equipment from direct investments made by the Gulls, the NGTN – now rebranded again as the Newport Gulls Broadcast Network – began to bring on volunteers from Nick's academic institution, Rhode Island College.

2007 and 2008 each saw tough losses for the Gulls in the NECBL Championship Series after exciting, record-breaking seasons, as the NGBN continued its streak of broadcasting every Newport Gulls home game since July of 2004. Listenership and viewership continued to increase each season, as the Gulls led the league in viewership of games and set the standard for other teams to follow in the NECBL – and all of summer collegiate baseball – in their video coverage, while continuing to air games locally on NCTV. Pregame shows were expanded to 30 minutes, running as long as 45 minutes in the playoffs, as Nick Lima and his crew worked hard to provide a presentation that closely emulated the major league broadcasts found on NESN and the WEEI Red Sox Radio Network.

In June 2008, Tom Lima graduated from THS. Producers John Raiola and Justin DeSantis had to be trained to take over Tom's director/producer job for graduation night, while color man Chris Buonanno took over Nick's role so Tom's older brother could be there for him. Both Nick and Tom, however, were at Cardines before and after the game to ensure things ran smoothly for the first - and to date only - broadcast without either brother in the ballpark. Raiola and DeSantis each filled in as a third broadcaster and coloar man in the booth throughout the season, with John going on to become a Gulls assistant coach in later seasons.

Throughout it all, Gulls Vice President Chris Patsos was instrumental in providing key upgrades to Cardines Field. The 100-year-old ballpark isn't well-suited to broadcast operations, but after he acquired a dedicated control room for the broadcast in 2005, Patsos continued to see to it that cable conduits, broadcast media tables, camera positions, lights, outlets and fixtures were installed to make the crew's job easier and more efficient.

In 2009, Nick was named the league’s All-Star broadcaster for the Southern Division, and the Gulls won their league-record fourth Fay Vincent Sr. Cup. By 2010, the Gulls had purchased nearly all of their own equipment needed for game broadcasts, and Tom Lima, after graduation, became less active as an advisor for the Tigers TV Crew. Now, most of the Gulls volunteer production crew consisted of THS alumni like Bettencourt and RIC students and alumni like Everton Carter, Larry Cunningham, Jo Loflin and Jason Jasionowski, who had each been involved with the Gulls for years, and Rhode Island College communications students from RIC organizations like WXIN radio, The Anchor newspaper and Anchor TV.

The Lima brothers decided to come back in 2010 for another season – the Gulls’ 10th anniversary season in Newport – as the team celebrated their 2009 championship, kicked off its inaugural Hall of Fame induction dinner, and hosted the All-Star Game for the second time. The older Lima was again named the league's All-Star broadcaster, this time for the Eastern Division, but outside work commitments had begun to take their toll before the season even began.

Wanting to maintain a high level of broadcast quality after he left the team, Nick Lima brought on RIC student George Bissell in 2010 as a third-man in the booth color announcer. Training him throughout the season, Lima told Bissell in August of that year that he had been training his replacement, and Bissell took over as lead broadcaster in 2011. Tom Lima returned as Bissell’s executive producer, and was promoted as the team’s new director of broadcast operations.

But in early 2012, Paiva promoted Bissell to the position of director of game day operations, and asked Lima to return as the team’s broadcaster. Coming back in time to cover the 2012 Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Nick and Tom Lima were reunited as the core production crew while Bissell took over day-to-day management of game day events and staff at Cardines Field. Additionally, Nick Lima was promoted to be the team’s Director of Media Relations, designing and managing the team’s new website, and for just the second season college interns made up the majority of the team’s broadcast crew. Tom Lima, meanwhile, took on an expanded role overseeing interns, crew management, and video and online content editing. RIC student Milka Tolich joined the team, and intern Catherine Haas made an impact as a producer and field reporter for her second season.

The Gulls not only won the NECBL Championship in 2012, crushing numerous league records in the process, but were also named the No. 1 team in summer collegiate baseball by Perfect Game USA. In the off season, Bissell was promoted to director of baseball operations, and both Lima brothers took on expanded roles in working closely with the Front Office in their media and broadcast capacities.

Throughout all of their growth and development, Nick and Tom Lima, and the entire crew that has developed with them - from THS students to RIC students to the interns that make up the staff today - have been eternally grateful to the Gulls ownership group, Chuck Paiva, Chris Patsos, Ron Westmoreland, Greg Fater and Mark Horan, as well as the countless staff, volunteers and media professionals that have helped them make their broadcasts everything they have matured into.

The 2013 season promised to be another outstanding season for the Newport Gulls, and the broadcast team once again expanded production values, adding features and segments, and raised the bar even higher for summer collegiate baseball coverage. Jared Ware joined the crew as a color analyst, pregame and postgame show host, and broadcast statistician, filling in for Nick on select road games. Meanwhile, Hillary Costa took over the field reporter role, conducting interviews and pre- and post-game analysis, while simultaneously handling social media and game stories from the broadcast booth and providing live score updates from around the league on air. Tom Lima, Shannon Carlson, Milka Tolich, Everton Carter, Rob Sanchas and others provided a regular core production staff that expanded the quantity and quality of in-game graphics, camera shots, and pregame show coverage. For the first time, every home game broadcast featured a six-segment, 20-minute postgame show, another first for summer college baseball, and the crew went on the road to broadcast games on the Cape, in New Hampshire, and Connecticut.

In 2014, the crew raised the bar yet again, rotating four dedicated interns into the broadcast booth and field reporter positions to expand game coverage and keep fans up to date of action around the league. Additionally, the crew welcome Captain Murray Norcross, M.D., as the team's new official scorer and Postgame Report analyst. With the help of Tim Scott, who managed the media department's social media and game stories while also serving as fill-in play-by-play broadcaster and color commentator, the 2014 crew achieved unprecented success and notariety. As the Gulls made their way through the postseason, the crew was there to cover every moment of action - including taking the production on the road for the first time to Old Mountain Field in Wakefield, R.I., and twice to Forges Field in Plymouth, Mass. for the Division Championship Series. The crew was there in Game Two of the League Championship Series at Goodall Park in Sanford, Maine, covering the Gulls sixth NECBL title with four camera angles.

After having worked closely with Pilgrims broadcaster Rob Masse in 2014, and with Nick Lima's role in the Front Office as media relations director taking up more time, Lima decided to invite Masse to apply for the Gulls lead play-by-play position following the 2014 season. On Feb. 7, 2015, the Gulls officially welcomed Masse, who worked with Lima as a fill-in color commentator for the Gulls as far back as 2008, as the team's new broadcaster and deputy director of media relations. While Lima will continued to participate in an on-air role, filling in for games and hosting the postgame report, Rob "The Bowtie" Masse's unique voice, presentation, and delivery echoed prominently throughout the 2015 season, with George Bissell also returning for select games in a fill-in role. In 2016, Lima was promoted to be the team's new Director of Baseball Operations, but continued on in the booth, returning as the Gulls play-by-play broadcaster alongside new arrival Tolin Vaccaro. The two split time on the air throughout the summer, with Bissell returning again in a fill-in role for select games.

In 2017, Darren Zaslau joined the Gulls as play-by-play broadcaster after previously serving as broadcaster with the Danbury Westerners. Zaslau was also voted in 2017 to to be the 2017 NECBL All-Star Game Broadcaster representing the Southern Division. Dave Peck, Gulls field reporter in 2017, was the broadcaster in 2018. Stephen Hough served as broadcaster in 2019 and was selected as the Southern Division Broadcaster for the 2019 NECBL All-Star Game.