Alex Del Barrio and Jonah Goldberg are in their third season working together as the broadcast duo for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. All games can be heard on JACK 104.9/95.3 FM with pre-game coverage beginning about 15 minutes before tip-off.

Alex Del Barrio

Alex Del Barrio is in his third season as the "Voice of the Vipers." Alex has a wealth of experience in the broadcasting world and has established himself as the "Voice of the Valley" over the last few years. Alex spent the previous two winters as the voice of the University of Texas Pan-American Broncs basketball teams. In the summers from 2004 through 2007, Alex was the voice of the Edinburg Roadrunners and Coyotes. Alex serves as the television color commentator for the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees and has done some fill-in radio play-by-play for the team in the past. During the 2007 playoffs, Alex served as the radio sideline reporter for the now-defunct Rio Grande Valley Dorados, a team he once called play-by-play for as well.

Alex is originally from Mission and graduated from the University of Texas Pan-American after beginning his collegiate career at Boston University's College of Communication. While in Boston, Del Barrio worked at WTBU, becoming a member of the sports staff and covering BU athletics. Alex was responsible for one of the most memorable calls in WTBU history with this game-winning shootout goal call in the first round of the 2004 NCAA men's soccer tournament. Alex also called men's ice hockey, women's lacrosse and softball for WTBU and served as a member of the studio crew for games of all sports.

When he's not calling Vipers games, Alex serves as the sports anchor for the Fox 2 Rio newscast, weekdays at 9:00 p.m. Alex also serves as the Director of Basketball Operations for the Vipers.

Jonah Goldberg

Jonah Goldberg began contributing to Vipers broadcasts as the home color commentator in February 2008. At the time, Goldberg was also serving as the voice of the University of Texas Pan-American basketball and baseball teams and only worked Vipers games that did not conflict. Last year, Jonah has made the Vipers his primary commitment, allowing him to offer analysis for all home games. This season, he will not only reprise that role, but serve as the studio host for road games as well. He is also the Vipers' Director of Communications, handling the team's public and media relations as well as the website. Jonah was once also the host of the Vipers TV Show, Inside the Vipers Nest.

Jonah has also carved a niche covering Valley sports, spending the last three off-seasons as the voice of the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings, with whom he won the 2009 United League Baseball Broadcaster and Communications Executive of the Year Awards. Goldberg also offers color commentary during Killer Bees home broadcasts that do not conflict with Vipers games and he served as a sideline reporter for the Dorados for two seasons.

Jonah grew up in Merrick, New York and graduated from Boston University's College of Communication in May 2007 with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism. He was on the broadcast journalism track and also had a concentration in political science. Jonah spent four years working at WTBU, where he joined the sports staff and became Sports Director for his final year. Jonah served as the voice of WTBU's flagship coverage of BU women's basketball from 2005-07 and called games for eight different BU sports (men's & women's soccer, basketball and ice hockey in addition to women's lacrosse and softball). Jonah also worked in the studio and served as a men's basketball beat reporter for the 2004-05 season. Jonah worked a record 248 games at WTBU and was also the first freshman to ever call a game, serving as the color commentator for the women's lacrosse game against Brown University on April 14, 2004. He also served as co-host of the Monday Night Sports Block for three years and a co-host of the award-winning show, Terrier Talk, for two years. It wasn't all about sports at WTBU for Jonah, though, as he was the DJ for an award-winning show called Chicken in a Cup. That show featured a mix of music and talk, both serious and comical with topics ranging from the Massachusetts gubernatorial race (including a 30 minute interview with eventual winner Deval Patrick) to the origin of ping pong. Jonah opened every show by reminding his listeners that "random things happen at random times in random places in no chronological order. Get used to it."

History of the Partnership

Alex met Jonah on November 22, 2003 when the two worked as part of the studio crew for a BU women's basketball broadcast. Alex was the producer/engineer while Jonah was an analyst. The two worked together in the studio many times over the ensuing year, allowing them to forge a close friendship.

When Alex returned to Texas to work full-time with the Edinburg Roadrunners, he and Jonah remained in touch. As luck would have it, Jonah accepted a job with the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings for his first position out of college, putting him in the same league as Alex. They did two simulcasts that summer, marking the first time they have ever worked together on the call of a game.

When the then-Atlanta Krunk of the Continental Basketball Association contacted Alex to call their games against the Rio Grande Valley Silverados in December 2007, he asked Jonah to join him. The partnership was a success, prompting Alex to invite Jonah to serve as the color commentator for any Vipers home games that he could fit into his schedule. They teamed up for ten Vipers games, and it worked so well that Jonah became the regular home analyst for the 2008-09 season.