Elliot: Hello, friend. Hello, friend? That’s lame. Maybe I should give you a name, but that’s a slippery slope. You’re only in my head. We have to remember that. Shit.

There are few phrases – if any — that are seared into the minds of American sports fans more than “Hello, friends.” But very few familiar with Jim Nantz’s famous catchphrase know its backstory. Nantz ...