The first time I went to Salisbury, N.C., for “One Day Ticket To Sportscasting Success” was June 2014. It was my first industry conference. I was curious, but had always found reasons not to go. It was too far away, too expensive, or just too inconvenient.

The way I was eventually convinced goes to show that inspiration truly comes from unusual places.… Read More

A conversation with Mike Grimm, the football and men’s basketball play-by-play announcer for the University of Minnesota.… Read More

I try to read as many stories about sportscasters and their paths to success as possible. Though I loathe the work of Stephen A. Smith, I was interested in this article about how he got to where he is. He gave two very interesting thoughts :

“You only think you have friends,” Smith said. “But you don’t.”… Read More

Part of becoming a great broadcaster is having a great vocabulary and finding ways to vary your verbiage. That is why a regular feature on this site will be “Announcer Alterations” where we take short clips of pre-existing play-by-play synced to video and come up with five different ways to call the same sequence of events.… Read More

Great athletes use the regular season and playoffs to showcase their talent. However, great athletes don’t get great during the season; that’s what the off-season is for. Whether it’s Michael Jordan learning to play in the post, Peyton Manning gleaning the tendencies of every single defensive player and coach in the league, or Bryce Harper perfecting his home run swing; they require thousands of off-season reps to perfect.… Read More

Once upon a time there was a college student at a small Midwest college who was certain he was the next big thing in play-by-play. All his friends, professors, and family members told him how great he was. At graduation time, this prodigy was having a tough time finding a job in any market, much less the major Midwest markets he was sure he would end up in.… Read More

Conversation with Mike Henriksen who does play-by-play for South Dakota Public Broadcasting, owner of Sportsmax, and co-host of Calling All Sports from Sioux Falls, SD.… 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

Part of becoming a great broadcaster is having a great vocabulary and finding ways to vary your verbiage. That is why a regular feature on this site will be “Announcer Alterations” where we take short clips of pre-existing play-by-play synced to video and come up with five different ways to call the same sequence of events.… Read More

While driving home on Easter Sunday, I was treated to a beautiful South Dakota sunset. The mostly flat terrain gives a clear view of the orange, purple, and gold hues bleeding together to silhouette the grain silos, barns, and leafless trees. It’s a perfect scene, but it’s perfection that’s unattainable. No matter how fast or far you drive into the west, you can never catch it.… Read More