Bob Miller, Voice Of The L.A. Kings, Will Retire After Two More Games

Bob Miller, the L.A. Kings' play-by-play announcer, will retire after calling two more games this season, reports the L.A. Times.

“I don’t want this to be a sad situation. I’ve had a great time working with people and visiting with fans down through the years,” Miller said Thursday at a press conference. The conference, as noted by the Times, was held in the Staples Center’s Chick Hearn Press Room, named after the Lakers' late, great announcer; Hearn had helped Miller land his job with the Kings.

This is Miller's 44th season as the Kings' play-by-play announcer. He was the man in the booth for almost all of the team's major milestones, from Wayne Gretzky's record-breaking 802nd goal, to their first trip to the Stanley Cup finals in 1993. The Kings won their first Stanley Cup in 2012; while the championship-winning game was not called by Miller (it was a national broadcast on NBC), the team made a recording of Miller and analyst Jim Fox working the final game against the New Jersey Devils:

Miller has been beset with health concerns as of late. He had quadruple-bypass surgery in early 2016. He returned to the booth with a reduced schedule, calling only select games. According to ESPN, he suffered a mild stroke this January and underwent an undisclosed procedure afterward. Miller said that his decision to retire came at the advice of his doctors.

Here's Fox, Miller's partner in the booth, trying to keep it together as he talks about the retirement announcement:

Miller's final games will be on April 8 and April 9. According to ESPN, his spot will be filled by announcer Ralph Strangis, who has been filling in for Miller in recent games.

This news comes as a tough blow to Angeleno sports fans. It was only last year that Vin Scully called it a career. The era of the Big Three (Hearn, Scully, Miller) will officially come to an end. Check out this video of them at a roundtable in 2000; in the meanwhile, we'll head off to the bathroom to cry.