Mike Pritchard Former Rancho, NFL player headed for hall Bob Blum Longtime broadcaster for UNLV sports

As Triple-A baseball prepares to celebrate its silver anniversary season in Las Vegas, three contributors to its success will be honored as inductees into the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame's Class of 2007.

Tina Kunzer-Murphy, Bob Blum and the 1983 Las Vegas Stars team, along with former Rancho High football star Mike Pritchard and the Boyd family will be inducted June 8 at the Orleans Arena.

The official announcement will be made today at the hall's headquarters at the Findlay Automotive store in the Galleria at Sunset mall.

Kunzer-Murphy, executive director of the Las Vegas Bowl, worked for the Stars for four years after serving as associate athletic director at UNLV and Pacific. She has been involved with the bowl game since 1996.

"For me, it's very special," said Kunzer-Murphy, 54, who was born in Las Vegas, attended Valley High School and UNLV, and was the Rebels' women's tennis team's coach in 1977. "I've had great opportunities and I've been blessed to be around so many great people. I'm very surprised and very happy."

Kunzer-Murphy will become the third woman to be inducted, joining former UNLV track star Sheila Tarr-Smith (1998) and former UNLV and Olympic softball pitcher Lori Harrigan (2002).

Blum, who has been a fixture in the Las Vegas sports community since 1973 when he was UNLV's basketball and football play-by-play broadcaster, remains on the job at age 86. He just completed his 20th season as the voice of UNLV women's basketball and is part of the Las Vegas 51s' management team. He has been Las Vegas' Triple-A franchise since 1984.

"It means an awful lot," he said. "It's like I'm accepting it on behalf of the media guys who help build interest in sports here.

"To me, there are three components to sports. There's the athletes. Then there are the coaches and the administrators. Everyone knows that. But the third part are the people who cover the games and tell the stories to the fans. So I'm very excited to be receiving this honor."

Blum will be the second media member to enter the hall. Former Review-Journal sportswriter Royce Feour was inducted in 2006.

The 1983 Stars brought Triple-A baseball to Las Vegas and the team posted an 83-60 record in the Pacific Coast League. The Stars, who were affiliated with the San Diego Padres for 18 seasons before becoming a Los Angeles Dodgers farm team and being renamed the 51s, averaged 4,878 fans per game their first year at Cashman Field and produced future major leaguers such as pitcher Andy Hawkins and outfielder Kevin McReynolds, the Minor League Player of the Year that season.

Pritchard, a 1987 Rancho High graduate, earned a football scholarship at the University of Colorado, where he was the team's Most Valuable Player during the Buffaloes' 1990 national championship season. Pritchard was selected in the first round of the 1991 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons with the 13th overall pick.

In his nine-year NFL career with Atlanta, Denver and Seattle, Pritchard had 422 receptions for 5,187 yards and 27 touchdowns.

"My immediate reaction was I was shaking," said Pritchard, who serves as the analyst for UNLV football and Las Vegas Gladiators Arena Football League radio broadcasts. "It just validates things for you. You achieve a certain amount and you reflect on your career, and to be recognized for your efforts, particularly in your hometown, makes it very special."