Editing Al McCoy (sportscaster) (section)

===Final seasons and retirement (2022–2023)===
McCoy was vocal in his opposition of NBA teams and [[List of National Basketball Association arenas|NBA arenas]] increasingly moving the broadcast locations for radio crews away from the [[basketball court|floor]] and placing them in locations high above courtside where portions of the [[basketball court|court]] are partially obscured.<ref name="McCoy's-Book" /> McCoy states in many of these arenas as a result it's difficult to keep track of the [[three-point field goal]]. He often highlights a story of broadcaster [[Joe Tait]] telling his listening audience during a live play-by-play call that the three-point shot was good "by a player to be named later," due to the angle in [[TD Garden]] blocking vantage beyond the three point arc.<ref name=Podcast-Pasch>{{cite podcast |host=Dave Pasch |title=The Dave Pasch Podcast |website=AZCardinals.com |publisher=The Arizona Cardinals |date=26 October 2022 |url=https://www.azcardinals.com/audio/the-dave-pasch-podcast-al-mccoy |access-date=26 October 2022}}</ref>

McCoy wrote in his [[autobiography]] that he prefers broadcasting courtside not only for the complete view of the court, but also because it enables him to keep on top of personnel changes, player and [[basketball coach|coach]] interactions, clarification of [[referee]] calls, and the general flow of the game for the listening audience.<ref name="McCoy's-Book" />

When fellow broadcasting veteran [[Hot Rod Hundley]]'s courtside position for the [[Utah Jazz]] was moved higher up in the [[Vivint Arena]] following the conclusion of the [[Utah]] [[simulcast]] in 2005, he retired a mere four-years later by 2009 due to the increased strain on his hips and knees. In an essay included in McCoy's autobiography, Hundley described offering fans seated around him his [[binoculars]], writing "It's terrible from upstairs. We make mistakes. On the [[basketball court|floor]] you would never miss a beat."<ref name="McCoy's-Book" />

<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Suns Radio Network, Footprint Center, New Home Broadcast Location, Oct. 2022.jpeg|thumb|right|New [[Phoenix Suns|Suns]] Radio home games broadcast location, October 2022, high above the [[Footprint Center]].  Formerly located [[basketball court|courtside]] for all previous seasons in franchise existence.{{Deletable file-caption|Saturday, 11 March 2023|F7}}]] -->
At the start of the [[2010–11 NBA season]] McCoy began reducing his road games schedule for "select East Coast road trips."  By the [[2018-19 NBA season]] he had decided to retire from broadcasting road games altogether.  When asked in an interview with ESPN announcer [[Dave Pasch]] why he has elected to stop traveling, McCoy stressed the increasingly poor broadcast locations for radio broadcasters and emphasized,

{{blockquote|Over the last couple of years I had decided that I didn't want my career to end when the listeners or the viewers would say "What's wrong with McCoy, doesn't he know who's shooting three-pointers or what's going on?"<ref name="Podcast-Pasch" />}}

On October 2, 2022, ahead of the [[2022–23 Phoenix Suns season|2022-2023 NBA Season]], Al McCoy's Suns home game broadcast location since 1972 and as recent as the [[2022 NBA Playoffs]] in May 2022<ref name="Booker-Al-Courtside" /> was moved from its longtime courtside position on the floor to higher up in the arena,<ref name="McCoyLocationChange" /> many rows up at the back of the 100s sections, closer to the [[skybox (sports)|skybox-area]] of the [[Footprint Center]].

Video confirming McCoy's new distant broadcast location was posted to the [[KMVP-FM|Arizona Sports]] official YouTube channel on February 24, 2023, recorded during a post-game interview with [[Ish Wainright]].<ref name="New-location">{{cite web |title="If I'm talking to you (Al McCoy) then that's a good thing." Ish Wainright after the Suns victory |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrNuqHyBN6Y |website=Arizona Sports Official YouTube Channel |publisher=Arizona Sports |access-date=14 March 2023}}</ref>