Musings

In my younger days I dreamt of playing college basketball. I was the leading scorer on my high school team as a senior and left with the record for the highest three-point shooting percentage in a season. I could really shoot it! I practiced for endless hours on our cracked, concrete driveway. By the time I made it to college, I could knock down 70-80% of my three-point jumpers while practicing in an empty gym.… Read More

When I started my podcast I didn’t own any equipment. I simply took advantage of the fact that I worked in a radio station and would schedule my recording sessions after hours and use the studios at work. When I moved to take my new job, my wife and I chose to live in a small town between our two jobs.… Read More

Saturday was a bye week for Morningside College football, which means that this weekend I got a rare Saturday off! For our bye week entertainment, my wife was able to procure tickets to the sold out Garth Brooks Concert in Sioux Falls. I’m not a fan of country music in general, but I love live music, and Garth has a reputation of putting on a great show, so I was excited to take it all in.… Read More

What makes a great broadcaster? Is it a booming voice? Is it a deep knowledge of the game? Those two things can help but what really sets a broadcaster apart from the crowd is their level of preparation. Most people do the basics, like making sure you know name pronunciations, interviewing coaches, and memorizing starters. It’s the next-level stuff that really gives a broadcast depth and texture.… Read More

On Friday night, after calling a 27-7 high school football game, I was able to meet up with one of my best friends and former co-worker from Aberdeen, Adam St. Paul. He was in the area calling another high school game, and I invited him to join my wife and I for a few postgame beverages.… Read More

I love listening to sports on the radio. It may seem obvious, as someone who aspires to be a high level play-by-play broadcaster. I talk frequently about how to get better as a sportscaster and a big part of that is, of course, listening to and learning from other great broadcasters. But sometimes I get so focused on being critical and trying to learn that I forget to enjoy the simple pleasure of the big-voiced guy telling the story of the game.… Read More

This last weekend I experienced something new in my sportscasting career. I covered my high school season opener on Friday night, and for the first time, I didn’t finish it. A storm system came through, coaches saw lightning hit the ground in the distance, and with 4 seconds left before halftime the rest of the game was postponed until 11am Saturday morning.… Read More

Are you ready for some football? I know I sure am! The start of football season for many of us (baseball guys not included) is like the first day of school as a kid. Summer break is great, but as Labor Day approaches, we get antsy. I’ve had a summer full of wedding planning, following the broadcast blueprint as much as possible, and trying to get better by trading critiques and attending conferences.… Read More

Football season is just a few weeks away. Many have already started their preseason preparation. That involves digging through preseason publications, attending practices, and developing storylines for the season. Perhaps the most crucial part of preseason preparation is getting to know the roster of the team you cover like the back of your hand. (Full disclosure: I don’t actually know the back of my hand all that well.)… Read More

Living in South Dakota, networking and building relationships with other industry members can be challenging. There just aren’t that many of us in the state, we live a long way from major markets, and it’s not common for people to leave and decide to visit South Dakota for the weekend. For this reason, the last three years I’ve made the effort to attend the NSMA National Awards Banquet and the associated One Day Ticket (ODT) seminar in Salisbury, North Carolina.… Read More