This was a busy week for me, as I was assigned to call basketball games on Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The final game was on the road back in Aberdeen. It was the first time I’ve been back since moving away and it was good to see old friends and enjoy some of the finer food and drink establishments that Aberdeen has to offer.… Read More
I’m writing this as I sit here on New Year’s Day, nursing a mild hangover, and reflecting back on the year that was 2016. We lost many important pop culture icons, a reality TV star was elected President of the United States, and — most shockingly — the Cubs won the World Series. It’s truly been a roller coaster year…
On a much smaller scale, my personal journey in 2016 has taken me up, down, and at times sideways as I try to navigate my own life as a sportscaster.… Read More
Eric Mirlis, author of “I Was There,” catalogued the top five sports events that 65 prominent sportscasters and writers witnessed in person. After recording a podcast with him (which can be found here), I started to think about what my top five moments would be. They aren’t as nationally prominent as the stories from Eric’s fabulous book (buy it here), but I think some of my experiences make interesting stories nonetheless.… Read More
Warning: If you have an image of me in your head of anything but a huge nerd, stop reading now. If you’re ok with that, carry on.
Through a quirk of scheduling, I was fortunate enough to have another totally free weekend with no broadcast responsibilities. Unfortunately, sometimes Mother Nature and her 15-below-zero temperatures and blizzard conditions limit what one can do in South Dakota this time of year.… Read More
A major part of why I posted my Blueprint to Broadcasting Success was so it could be helpful to other broadcasters. I also posted it for selfish reasons to hold myself accountable for putting in the extra work to get better. As part of that accountability I’m going to post monthly on how closely I stuck with the plan, the challenges faced, and how/if I’m hearing improvement in my self-critiques.… Read More
Sometimes inspiration comes from strange places. Today, I was brainstorming blog topics with my fiancée while eating Chinese food. There were several good topics up for discussion, some of which I’ll delve into later, but when I opened up my fortune cookie, I found this:
Not being one to deny fate when it slaps me in the face, versatility in sportscasting is today’s topic.… Read More
This weekend, I was able to experience something that hasn’t happened in at least five years — I had a weekend in early December with nothing to do! Seriously; not a damn thing. In the past, this time of year has meant following a small college on non-conference road trips all over kingdom come. With my new schedule, I cover college football, but no college basketball.… Read More
After driving 10.5 hours to Fort Wayne, Indiana, watching my alma mater lose a heartbreaker in the NAIA quarterfinals, and completing the round trip, my football broadcasting season is finished. It’s been an interesting, challenging, and rewarding year. As I’ve written about numerous times, I covered two teams I had very little familiarity with before this season.… Read More
This week’s post is in reply to a reader who sent in the following question:
What do you consciously do while on the air (or getting ready to go on the air) to block out all the extraneous stuff outside the broadcast that might distract you from calling the game?
I ask this because I think I’m going to need a lot of help in this department.… Read More
A major part of why I posted my Blueprint to Broadcasting Success was so it could be helpful to other broadcasters. I also posted it for selfish reasons to hold myself accountable for putting in the extra work to get better. As part of that accountability I’m going to post monthly on how closely I stuck with the plan, the challenges faced, and how/if I’m hearing improvement in my self-critiques.… Read More