Byerly Hall Administrator to Call Play For NBC in Sunday World Cup Final

Do not be surprised if the person evaluating Diego Maradona's play in this Sunday's World Cup final is the same person who evaluated your college application.

The man deciphering the battle between Argentina and West Germany this weekend for the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is none other than Seamus P. Malin '62, assistant dean of admissions and financial aid.

Based in NBC's Rockefeller Center studio in New York, Malin and co-anchor Don Criqui will provide pre-game and half-time analysis of the action in Mexico City's Azteca Stadium.

Malin has been a very busy man throughout the month-long 24-team soccer tournament, which is considered the biggest single sporting event in the world. Television industry sources estimate more than 2 billion people worldwide have watched some of the action so far.

In addition to doing seven games for NBC, Malin has served as color commentator for the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) during their 15-game coverage. Malin acted in a similar capacity with ESPN during the 1982 World Cup.

During June, Malin has shuttled back and forth between covering games in New York for NBC, Toronto for ESPN, and his daughter's graduation at Harvard. He also spent a few days in Mexico City in the middle of the tournament.

A former all-Ivy forward and assistant varsity soccer coach at Harvard, Malin's big television break came in 1978 when he became color commentator for the New York Cosmos, the preeminent soccer team in the now defunct North American Soccer League (NASL). Before that he had done a few televised games for the New England Tea Men of the NASL.

The native of Ireland worked summers for the star-studded Cosmos until they and the league folded in 1984.

Malin began his television career in 1966 on Public Broadcasting Service's Boston affiliate (WGBH) where he co-anchored a sports variety show called "College Sport of The Week."

As for predictions, Malin expects Argentina's superstar Diego Maradona, who he considers the best player in the world, to lead his squad over the Germans. "Maradona is almost impossible to stop, but then again, only the Germans have the character and determination to shut him down," he said.