After a long football season, basketball is underway in South Dakota and this year there was no easing in slowly. I finish off a stretch of nine games in eleven days tomorrow before getting a ten day break over the holidays. With a new season comes another chance to work towards my eventual goal of being a NCAA Division I broadcaster.… Read More
Early on during my time in this business I believed myself to be a talented broadcaster, when I was in fact, objectively terrible. I built my personal perception of my own work based on feedback from family, personal friends, and co-workers. Everyone told me how much they liked listening to me and how if they closed their eyes they could picture the game in their head.… Read More
There are certain things in sportscasting that are almost universally accepted. You can’t say the damn score enough. Preparation is king. Vin Scully is the greatest broadcaster of all time. You know, the drill. But like people’s paths through the maze that is this business, nothing is universal and we all have our blind spots and weaknesses.… Read More
What a holiday weekend! My wife and I traveled home to visit my family for Thanksgiving where we had many laughs and enough turkey and stuffing to feed a small country. I also took a rare opportunity to be a spectator, as I watched my beloved Cornhuskers play in one of the greatest college football environments in the country, Lincoln, Nebraska (I’ve wiped the result of the game from my mind permanently).… Read More
SayTheDamnScore.com is two years old! Yes, if this site was a person it would be walking just well enough to careen into furniture and fall down, putting everything within arm’s reach in its mouth, and it would be just about time to start potty training!
In all seriousness, it’s crazy to look back and think that, what was initially supposed to be a vehicle to hold myself accountable for improving as a broadcaster, has become such a passion.… Read More
On Saturday I covered my final regular season football game of the year. Morningside defeated their opponent 35-0 and will head into the playoffs undefeated. While the individual games have lacked drama, it’s been fun to cover a serious national title contender, and it’s an added bonus that it’s my alma mater. This Saturday’s game was on the road three hours away, usually not a big deal, but on this night one of my favorite bands, the Foo Fighters were in Sioux Falls and my wife had two tickets!… Read More
Sunday was a weird day. The team I used to cover, Presentation College, was playing a men’s and women’s double-header in Sioux Falls, about 30 minutes from where I live. For those of you new to the blog, Presentation College was the team I used to cover for five years until they moved their radio rights to our competition, and I was out of a job.… Read More
Interviewing coaches is a critical part of most broadcasts. Aside from filling time in your pregame show and giving you a sellable sponsorship opportunity, they help to inform you and your listeners of potential storylines in that night’s game. However, far too frequently broadcasters waste this opportunity with canned or uninformed questions. This not only does no service to you or your listeners, but many times will annoy coaches and make them less likely to cooperate with you in the future.… Read More
My streak of calling blowouts continued this weekend with a 62-0 high school score that ended when the other team, who only had 17 players suited up, called it quits with 2:50 left until halftime. My college game was a little better, but my alma mater Morningside College remains undefeated as they rolled 56-16. Five of my last six games have had final margins of at least 40 points, two of them by 60 or more.… Read More
The last two weeks of games have been pretty un-noteworthy. I’ve had scores of 70-10, 76-21, 54-0, and 21-12. Not a whole lot of drama. With that in mind, I figured now would be a good time to go through several sportscasting hacks that make calling a game easier. Whether it’s in helping identify players faster, making your broadcast setup easier, or being more comfortable while broadcasting, these are a few things I’ve learned over the years that makes life as a sportscaster a bit easier.… Read More