More former CBS 6 sports anchors share their most vivid Richmond memories

RICHMOND, Va. -- Whether it's the community of fans built up around nearby major league teams, the large number of successful college athletic programs in the Commonwealth, or Richmond-area high schools winning state titles, sports play a huge role in Central Virginia.

WTVR CBS 6 is celebrating its 75th anniversary in the community this April. As part of that celebration, sports director Lane Casadonte tracked down as many former WTVR sportscasters as he could. It's a relatively small group of just 23 people who are still with us that were hired strictly to cover sports.

This week is Part Two of our conversations, presented in alphabetical order:

Mark Ovenden covered sports at CBS 6 from 1976-1977. He started as an intern and was tabbed to be the weekend sportscaster when WTVR started weekend newscasts in 1977. Since then, Mark has moved on to spend most of the last 4 decades working in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He has spent the last 24 years as sports director at KDLT and hosts a daily radio show titled “Calling All Sports.”

WATCH: Part One of former CBS 6 sports anchors' memories

Kennetra Pulliams covered sports at CBS 6 from 2001-2005. After Richmond, she worked for years at MetroSports Kansas City covering the Royals, Chiefs and the Big 12. She currently hosts pre and post game shows for football and men's basketball on the University of Kansas network.

Greg Roberts covered sports at CBS 6 from 1985-1987. Roberts started as an intern working nights at the station and doing construction during the day following his graduation from Virginia Tech. After two years working under Ivan Schwartz, Greg became the Sports Director at WSLS in Roanoke where he spent 13 years. He also helped launch BeamerBall.com with former Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer. Today, Greg owns DGR Media, a PR firm specializing in branding, media relations and strategic communications.

John Roberts covered sports at CBS 6 from 1991-1992. Prior to Richmond, John worked at WDBJ in Roanoke, and after Richmond had stops in Savannah, Georgia, Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina, and Charlotte. He is perhaps best known for his 13 years as a reporter and host for SpeedVision/SpeedTV covering NASCAR. Today, John hosts a show with Chocolate Myers on Sirius/XM Nascar Channel 90.

Sean Robertson started covering sports at CBS 6 back in 2007 as a freelancer. He became the weekend sports anchor in 2008 and has also spent time calling basketball games for VCU and the CIAA. Sean continues award winning work at WTVR where the sports department has been named Best of the Virginias by the Associated Press in back-to-back years 2021 and 2022.

Ivan Schwartz covered sports at CBS 6 from 1981-1995. Just weeks removed from his graduation from Syracuse University, Ivan began as the weekend sports anchor and quickly rose to the position of Sports Director. He covered three Super Bowls with the then Washington Redskins. Today, Ivan works as the Executive Director for the Paralyzed Veterans of America, headquartered in Richmond, but steals away to his property just north of Cooperstown, NY as often as possible.

Patrick Sloan covered sports at CBS 6 from 1988-1995. Following stops in Arkansas and Louisiana, Patrick arrived as the weekend sports anchor in Richmond and produced hundreds of Outstanding Athlete segments highlighting high school and amateur sports throughout Central Virginia. Today, Patrick works in his hometown of Rochester, NY as an advocate for patients and families in long term medical care.

Matt Stark covered sports at CBS 6 from 1999-2001 and joined the staff just in time to have a front row seat to Michael Vick’s explosion onto the college football landscape. After Richmond, Matt spent several years covering sports for Fox13 in Memphis, TN and today produces in-house materials and communications for FedEx.

Rick Stoss covered sports at CBS 6 from 1978-1979. As a native Richmonder, Rick grew up watching Channel 6 and is one of the few in the business to hold the distinction of working for all three main Richmond TV stations in his career. He also made stops in Bristol, TN and Raleigh, NC. Today, Rick produces on line features and content for the University of Richmond, is part of their game day production crew for baseball, basketball and football, and still covers high school football at CBS 6 each fall.

Ukee Washington covered sports at CBS 6 from 1978-1981. Another former CBS 6 intern that made his way on air, Ukee also played basketball at the University of Richmond, and became the weekend sports anchor after hosting the Lou Goetz Basketball Show on WTVR. Today, Ukee is the main news anchor for CBS 3 in Philadelphia where he has worked for the past 37 years.

Others who have covered sports at CBS 6 include Scott Schricker, who was a part-time weekend sports anchor in 1995 and 1996. Scott spent almost 30 years working with the Richmond Sportsbackers before his death in the fall of 2022. Sylvia McDonald covered sports at CBS 6 in 1995 and early 1996. Jack Pagano was a weekend sports anchor in the early 80s and returned briefly in the late 90s as a news producer. Roger Cawthorn and John Hambrecht also covered sports at CBS 6 in the 1980s.

CBS 6 provides Central Virginia with the only local TV sports coverage in town. Depend on Lane Casadonte and Sean Robertson for the most complete local sports coverage.