WINSTON-SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA- Seven journalists from South Jersey have been nominated for the state’s Sportscaster and Sportswriter of the Year awards by the National Sports Media Association (NSMA) in North Carolina.

The area finalists for top sportswriter include Mike McGarry of the Press of Atlantic City, Marc Narducci of NJ.com and Dave Weinberg of ExtraPoints.com.

The finalists for the state’s top sportscaster include Tony Blum of Prime Events, Mike Gill of 97.3-ESPN, Sam Jenkins of SJ SportsTalk and Tom Williams of Prime Events.

McGarry is the longtime sportswriter and columnist for The Press of Atlantic City. He not only covers high school sports but also the Phillies, 76ers, other Philly teams and the Shop-Rite LPGA Tournament. McGarry is a finalist for the seventh time and has won the top state award twice, the last time in 2016.

Narducci, who covers South Jersey sports for NJ.com after a long, successful career with the Philadelphia Inquirer, is nominated for the third time. He also works as a free lance sports broadcaster.

Weinberg, a columnist for 97.3-ESPN in addition to ExtraPoints.com, has won the state award three times, the last in 2012. A winner of many awards for his coverage of boxing and the NFL, Weinberg is a state finalist for the 21st time.

Blum, who has been a longtime play-by-play voice in South Jersey, including for the Atlantic City Surf baseball team, was the voice of Cherokee High School football this year, among other video streams. He is nominated for the state award for the third time.

Gill, the popular afternoon radio host on 97.3-ESPN and occasional play-by-play voice for Prime Events and BFA Productions, shared the state award with Tom Williams in 2009. He has been a state finalist four times.

Jenkins, a former high school all-state running back who played at Temple, worked with Blum on the Cherokee games and also on Rancocas Valley games and others in South Jersey. This is his first nomination.

Williams – play-by-play voice, producer and online coordinator for Prime Events, who did play-by-play of Ocean City football and basketball in 2023 – has won the state award a record 11 times, the last in 2021. This is his 35th time as a state finalist.

There are two other state finalists for the sports writing award, Jerry Carino of the Asbury Park Press and Steve Politi of NJ.com. Politi has won the state award three times, the last in 2020.

The other state finalists for the sportscaster award is are Jerry Recco of Rutgers Sports Properties and Matt Loughlin of the NJ Devils Radio Network. Recco shared the state award with Williams in 2021 while Loughlin has won it twice, the last in 2018.

In addition to McGarry, Weinberg, Gill and Williams, who have won a combined 17 state awards, three others from the area have also been honored as best in the state in previous years. They include Mike Frankel of Jersey Sports Zone, Brian Cunniff of Cape-Atlantic Live and the late Harry Hoffman of the Press of Atlantic City.

The finalists for Pennsylvania Sportscaster of the Year are Amy Fadool of NBC-10, Jim Jackson of the Flyers, John Clark of NBC-10, Kate Scott of the 76ers, Merrill Reese of the Eagles, Pat Gallen of CBS-3 and Tom McCarthy of the Phillies.

The finalists for 2023 National Sportscaster of the Year are Brian Anderson, CBS; Charles Barkley, Turner; Mike Breen, ESPN; Joe Buck, Fox; Doris Burke, ESPN; Joe Davis, Fox; Kevin Harlan, CBS; Sean McDonough, ESPN; Jim Nantz, CBS and Mike Tirico, NBC.

Sportscasters nominated for induction into the NSMA Hall of Fame include James Brown, Joe Buck, Mary Carillo, Don Criqui, Phyllis George, Jaime Jarrin, Andrea Kremer, Tim McCarver, Charlie Neal and Mike Tirico.

Sportswriters nominated for the Hall of Fame include Ray Didinger, Roger Kahn, Claire Smith and Jayson Stark.

Voting for the state and national winners by NSMA members is underway and will continue throughout December. The NSMA plans to honor all winners at the group’s 64th awards program in Winston-Salem in late June or July.