One of my biggest interests in sports is the broadcasting aspect of them. Many of my favorite memories in sports not only include who won or lost specific games, but the sounds of the announcers who pushed those feelings through the airwaves. Broadcasters have become such an integral part of events, specifically those affiliated with a specific team. At times, these individuals have become just as much a part of a team's history as the players themselves (e.g. Vin Scully with the Dodgers, Harry Kalas with the Phillies and Eagles, and Myron Cope with the Steelers).
In fact, certain announcers have become part of a larger piece of history with the call of a certain play. Who can forget Al Michaels and the Miracle on Ice ("Do you believe in miracles? YESSS!!") or Jack Buck calling Kirk Gibson's home run during the '88 World Series ("hit's a long fly ball to right field....its a gonna be a home run.....unbelievable....and the Dodgers have won the game 5-4....I don't believe what I just saw"). I'm sure we all have our moments as sports fan when we can remember exactly where we were at a certain point when something great happened, and more often than not, you can remember what the broadcaster said that marked that moment for you.
Obviously, the proliferation of television has greatly diminished the quantity listening to radio broadcasts. For comparisons sake, as late as 1990, Ohio State only had 3 games on television that year. Fast-forward to 2009, and there is not a major college football team that does not have every single game broadcast on some station (same with all NBA, NHL, NFL, and MLB teams). While this makes it great from a sports-consumer standpoint, I do feel viewers miss out on what radio broadcasts have to offer. Radio announcers have a much different job than TV announcers do, as they have to paint the entire picture for the listener with just their words (I always enjoy hearing a football radio announcer telling me a team is "moving left to right across your radio dial").
I am just as guilty as anyone else in regards to consuming sports more on TV than on radio, but I still make exceptions in certain situations, particularly with baseball. Baseball, in my mind, is truly the one sport where the radio broadcast has so much more to offer than TV. Maybe it's the slower pace of the game, or maybe it's the fact that for someone in a Midwestern state like myself, baseball is the primary season where I want to be away from my TV because of the weather. Regardless, I truly enjoy listening to the Indians on radio much more than watching and listening on TV (maybe it's Tom Hamilton's home run calls?!?).
I'd like to hear your thoughts on this: does anyone still listen to sports on radio outside of when they are driving in their car? And is there any time you choose to listen to the radio over watching TV?
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Musings....
College basketball thoughts as the second-to-last weekend draws near.....
-Tough break for Purdue; they rally to beat Minnesota at the Barn only to come home and find out Robbie Hummel tore his ACL. Still will be a tough out in both the Big 10 and NCAA tournaments, but I doubt they have the pieces now to get to Indy for the Final Four. Gritty win though; I was not expecting them to pull that out once Hummel went down. Things get tougher Saturday as Sparty comes to town.
-This should really open the door for either Ohio State or Michigan State to win the Big Ten tourney and claim a #2 seed in the NCAA's (Purdue is the only Big Ten team with a legitimate shot at a #1 seed). Either team can beat Purdue at their best (these three teams are all pretty even), but I would fully expect they would be favored at this point over the Boilers without Hummel. Ohio State finishes with a much easier schedule (two home games left: Michigan and Illinois), while MSU makes the Saturday trip to West Lafayette. Should be a good game.
-Kansas still is the class of the Big 12 (6 years in a row now); is anyone ever going to challenge them? Texas (along with Carolina) will go down as being one of the most disappointing teams of the year (remember, they were #1 about 6 weeks ago, but for the first time in a month, won back-to-back games just this week). I'm still not sold on K-State; they've never done much damage the few times they've made the tourney, so I'm not expecting much out of them. Kansas clearly should be the #1 team in the country, but I'm not sure if they really are as good as they look or if the rest of the Big 12 just stinks.
-Speaking of the Big 12, from all of the tournament "experts" right now, Mizzou is a lock to be in the tourney. No disagreement here, although as I was thinking about this, I realized I know nothing about this Mizzou team. They rarely have a game or highlights on TV (I've only seen them once this year, playing KU), don't have any superstar players, and have not been ranked this season. Amazing how quiet of a good season they have been having. I even checked the AP and Coaches poll tonight, and they still are several slots away from being ranked. Weird.
-Which leads me to my recommended weekly reading if you love following the upcoming tournament: ESPN.com and SI.com both provide great "Bubble Watch" articles (Mark Schlabach writes it for ESPN, while Andy Glockner takes care of it for SI). Throughout the season they have been weekly, but starting next week, they'll update daily. Great sources of information, and generally both are pretty accurate. Definitely serves as good fodder before the madness (check out espn.com and www.si.com).
Check back soon....big things coming, I promise. Two interviews set up that should be exciting.
-Tough break for Purdue; they rally to beat Minnesota at the Barn only to come home and find out Robbie Hummel tore his ACL. Still will be a tough out in both the Big 10 and NCAA tournaments, but I doubt they have the pieces now to get to Indy for the Final Four. Gritty win though; I was not expecting them to pull that out once Hummel went down. Things get tougher Saturday as Sparty comes to town.
-This should really open the door for either Ohio State or Michigan State to win the Big Ten tourney and claim a #2 seed in the NCAA's (Purdue is the only Big Ten team with a legitimate shot at a #1 seed). Either team can beat Purdue at their best (these three teams are all pretty even), but I would fully expect they would be favored at this point over the Boilers without Hummel. Ohio State finishes with a much easier schedule (two home games left: Michigan and Illinois), while MSU makes the Saturday trip to West Lafayette. Should be a good game.
-Kansas still is the class of the Big 12 (6 years in a row now); is anyone ever going to challenge them? Texas (along with Carolina) will go down as being one of the most disappointing teams of the year (remember, they were #1 about 6 weeks ago, but for the first time in a month, won back-to-back games just this week). I'm still not sold on K-State; they've never done much damage the few times they've made the tourney, so I'm not expecting much out of them. Kansas clearly should be the #1 team in the country, but I'm not sure if they really are as good as they look or if the rest of the Big 12 just stinks.
-Speaking of the Big 12, from all of the tournament "experts" right now, Mizzou is a lock to be in the tourney. No disagreement here, although as I was thinking about this, I realized I know nothing about this Mizzou team. They rarely have a game or highlights on TV (I've only seen them once this year, playing KU), don't have any superstar players, and have not been ranked this season. Amazing how quiet of a good season they have been having. I even checked the AP and Coaches poll tonight, and they still are several slots away from being ranked. Weird.
-Which leads me to my recommended weekly reading if you love following the upcoming tournament: ESPN.com and SI.com both provide great "Bubble Watch" articles (Mark Schlabach writes it for ESPN, while Andy Glockner takes care of it for SI). Throughout the season they have been weekly, but starting next week, they'll update daily. Great sources of information, and generally both are pretty accurate. Definitely serves as good fodder before the madness (check out espn.com and www.si.com).
Check back soon....big things coming, I promise. Two interviews set up that should be exciting.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Baseball is here (really??)
Spring is creeping (literally) nearer, which means baseball is just around the corner. Last week was the official start of spring training, with pitchers and catchers reporting towards the end of it. I can't believe how little fanfare there was for this; while it may not seem like a big deal, this truly marks the start of preparations for the 2010 season. Just another great example showing how far baseball has fallen from the national conscience.
Don't get me wrong; I'm not here to bash baseball. It's a wonderful game that intertwines through history more than any other major sport, and its historical characters are more mythical creatures than athletes. Which is why the current state of the game is a shameful afterthought to it's historical context. No major sport continues to shoot itself in the foot as much as this one, creating this epic fall the sport can't seem to get out of. Just a few of the low-lights from the past two decades:
-cancelling the '94 World Series amidst the longest strike the sport has seen
-casting Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa as the saviors of baseball (which became a fraud)
-creating pieces of the current CBA which called for increased revenue sharing, esentially dooming smaller market teams because they could now profit from the largest-market teams without having to increase their own payroll
-ending the 2002 All-Star game early (creating the first tie in the game's history)
-the 2005 Congressional hearings (creating what may be the lowest point in the sport's long history)
-did I mention steroids (and Barry Bonds, the biggest cloud to hang over baseball for the past 7 years)?
The funny thing is, as crowds continue to dwindle, ticket prices continue to increase, driving fans away from the sport (case-in-point: the average cost of a spring training game has now bypassed what average regular season ticket prices were just 5 years ago, according to the USA Today). Sure, the Cubs, Yankees, and Red Sox will continually fill their parks, but other than those three strong markets, baseball has certainly become an afterthought. All one has to do is look at the popularity of the NFL, which has left baseball in it's dust as "America's sport" (although the NFL faces it's own upcoming labor unrest, and should really take notice from what has happened to baseball).
Sadly, while greed among all principals has driven the current ecnomomy of the sport, it has been performance-enhancing drugs (and the rendering of historical stats as meaningless) that may have put the final nail in the once-interested observer's coffin. Anyone playing baseball has become guilty until proven innocent, and the long list of once-bright stars fading with the sport has created that indifference felt throughout much of the country towards baseball.
Which leads me back to this week: spring training used to be the great period of hope when all 30 teams have dreams of winning the pennant (and more). It signaled a time for renewal; spring was coming, and the boys of summer were right behind it. Don't get me wrong; baseball is still a wonderful game to go to in the summer (if you can afford it, of course). It's just a shame that teams have reported, yet no one seemed to notice.
Don't get me wrong; I'm not here to bash baseball. It's a wonderful game that intertwines through history more than any other major sport, and its historical characters are more mythical creatures than athletes. Which is why the current state of the game is a shameful afterthought to it's historical context. No major sport continues to shoot itself in the foot as much as this one, creating this epic fall the sport can't seem to get out of. Just a few of the low-lights from the past two decades:
-cancelling the '94 World Series amidst the longest strike the sport has seen
-casting Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa as the saviors of baseball (which became a fraud)
-creating pieces of the current CBA which called for increased revenue sharing, esentially dooming smaller market teams because they could now profit from the largest-market teams without having to increase their own payroll
-ending the 2002 All-Star game early (creating the first tie in the game's history)
-the 2005 Congressional hearings (creating what may be the lowest point in the sport's long history)
-did I mention steroids (and Barry Bonds, the biggest cloud to hang over baseball for the past 7 years)?
The funny thing is, as crowds continue to dwindle, ticket prices continue to increase, driving fans away from the sport (case-in-point: the average cost of a spring training game has now bypassed what average regular season ticket prices were just 5 years ago, according to the USA Today). Sure, the Cubs, Yankees, and Red Sox will continually fill their parks, but other than those three strong markets, baseball has certainly become an afterthought. All one has to do is look at the popularity of the NFL, which has left baseball in it's dust as "America's sport" (although the NFL faces it's own upcoming labor unrest, and should really take notice from what has happened to baseball).
Sadly, while greed among all principals has driven the current ecnomomy of the sport, it has been performance-enhancing drugs (and the rendering of historical stats as meaningless) that may have put the final nail in the once-interested observer's coffin. Anyone playing baseball has become guilty until proven innocent, and the long list of once-bright stars fading with the sport has created that indifference felt throughout much of the country towards baseball.
Which leads me back to this week: spring training used to be the great period of hope when all 30 teams have dreams of winning the pennant (and more). It signaled a time for renewal; spring was coming, and the boys of summer were right behind it. Don't get me wrong; baseball is still a wonderful game to go to in the summer (if you can afford it, of course). It's just a shame that teams have reported, yet no one seemed to notice.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Big Game in Big 10
I'm trying not to write too much about Ohio sports, but this was a pretty important game tonight between OSU and Purdue from a national perspective. Let me start by saying Purdue deserved to win this. They shot unbelievably well in the first half compared to miserable shooting by the Buckeyes. In fact, for the game, Evan Turner and Jon Diebler were the only OSU players to score in double figures (tough night offensively for William Buford and David Lighty).
What may be even more difficult to fathom is Purdue won with Robbie Hummel only scoring 4 points. The Boilers took control from the beginning, and it was the first half performance that ultimately won the game. I think OSU made some key mistakes defensively, particularly not doubling JaJuan Johnson (who must live to destroy OSU since he does it so effectively). Purdue always has one player on the floor who contributes nothing offensively (either Chris Kramer or Lewis Jackson); however, Ohio State never seemed to compensate for this and Purdue clearly took advantage as the Buckeyes had no one who could handle Johnson one-on-one. Couple that with some untimely Ohio State turnovers and missed free throws, and Purdue came away with a very impressive victory for their first win ever at the Schottenstein Center.
All that being said, these teams are about as even as any two teams can be (remember, OSU won in West Lafayette this year). From my perspective, OSU has the edge of having a better starting unit, but Purdue has a huge edge in depth off the bench. In front of a great environment, this was a great win for Purdue and a very difficult loss for OSU.
Three thoughts to close for the night....
1) Is anyone in the Big Ten more underrated than JaJuan Johnson? Great body control underneath; stronger than he would appear; and a great shot from 15+ feet. He owns Ohio State more than any player I can remember in recent years.
2) Should there be any doubt that Evan Turner is the national player-of-the-year? John Wall may be flashier, but from a pure numbers perspective, Turner averages more points per game, more rebounds per game, and equals Walls on assists per game (all of that in a better conference). Why is this even a debate?
3) Here's to hoping these two teams square off again in the Big Ten tourney; would be a terrfic rubber-match.
What may be even more difficult to fathom is Purdue won with Robbie Hummel only scoring 4 points. The Boilers took control from the beginning, and it was the first half performance that ultimately won the game. I think OSU made some key mistakes defensively, particularly not doubling JaJuan Johnson (who must live to destroy OSU since he does it so effectively). Purdue always has one player on the floor who contributes nothing offensively (either Chris Kramer or Lewis Jackson); however, Ohio State never seemed to compensate for this and Purdue clearly took advantage as the Buckeyes had no one who could handle Johnson one-on-one. Couple that with some untimely Ohio State turnovers and missed free throws, and Purdue came away with a very impressive victory for their first win ever at the Schottenstein Center.
All that being said, these teams are about as even as any two teams can be (remember, OSU won in West Lafayette this year). From my perspective, OSU has the edge of having a better starting unit, but Purdue has a huge edge in depth off the bench. In front of a great environment, this was a great win for Purdue and a very difficult loss for OSU.
Three thoughts to close for the night....
1) Is anyone in the Big Ten more underrated than JaJuan Johnson? Great body control underneath; stronger than he would appear; and a great shot from 15+ feet. He owns Ohio State more than any player I can remember in recent years.
2) Should there be any doubt that Evan Turner is the national player-of-the-year? John Wall may be flashier, but from a pure numbers perspective, Turner averages more points per game, more rebounds per game, and equals Walls on assists per game (all of that in a better conference). Why is this even a debate?
3) Here's to hoping these two teams square off again in the Big Ten tourney; would be a terrfic rubber-match.
Check Back Tonight.....
Heading to the big OSU-Purdue game today.....check back later for my perspective from this top-10 matchup.
Also stay tuned; working on scoring my first interview for this blog. Hoping to have one by some point next week.
Also stay tuned; working on scoring my first interview for this blog. Hoping to have one by some point next week.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Welcome to my World.....
So I've finally decided to pick up on this blogging deal; I'm a writer by nature thanks to OU, so we'll see how this goes. Kudos to Kathryn and Mary Ann for putting the idea back in my head (seriously, can anyone have better in-laws by the way?!?! maybe Joe K, but other than that, I'm golden!). I plan to write about whatever sports (and possibly other) topics come to my mind; feel free to respond, read, or ignore; I'm content with whatever you choose. I'll do my best to update as often as I can and provide good links where applicable. FYI, I'm a bullet-point reader and typer, so many of my posts will come in that form.
Due to my family-friendly weekend spent in KC, I'll dedicate this first post to those topics discussed and viewed out there, keeping in mind they are all Kansas Jayhawk loyalists. So off and running we go.....
-Went to my fifth game ever at Phog Allen Fieldhouse this weekend to see KU play Iowa State (which is one terrible team, by the way). The building seeps with history and sure is one fantastic place to watch a game; one of those "must-see" spots on your sports bucket-list.
-Speaking of KU, Sherron Collins (a.k.a. the Hamburglar) may be the captain and highest-profile player on that team, but they aren't doing any damage come tournament time unless Xavier Henry leads them. When he decides to play hard, he is clearly the best player on that team. Saturday night, KU was muddling around until Henry hit three quick buckets (two threes and a lay-up) in the second half to put the game away. Teams will find a way to limit Collins due to his size and Cole Aldrich due to his lack of athleticism, but Henry can be unstoppable when the effort is there.
-Which leads me to this: one of the hardest things to do as a sports fan is to all-of-a-sudden root for a team you have disliked most of your life. I grew up not liking KU (for no other reason than they won too much), and it's been a real challenge trying to pull for them. But I promise I'm trying, KC family; I even wore a KU polo for the first time this weekend. If they ever play the Buckeyes, though, we'll have to watch separately in our house.
-I'm amazed when I hear that NBC will lose $250 million on these winter olympics....until I watch them. Cross country skiing in prime-time??? I'd almost consider choosing the Bachelor over that. Too bad Michael Phelps can't swim under ice.
-I was at a Presbyterian church this weekend (I promise this will not be a religious blog) and the minister gave a sermon titled, "Frienemies" (apparently someone who you care a lot for but that causes angst for you as well). Which got me to thinking who my "Frienemies" are. I say this out of the most respect, but my biggest "Frienemy" would have to be my cousin-in-law David Jermann, who needles me constantly about his skewed version of sports (in his defense, he is a Royals, Chiefs, and Jayhawks fan, so who can blame him?!?). Maybe some day he'll send me the $1 he skimmed off my college bowl pool winnings. He also thinks Case Keenum from Houston is a better college quaterback than Dan LeFevour from Central Michigan, which is just pure craziness. However, I do enjoy his banter and always look forward to my next Kansas visit(s) so we can antagonize in person.
That's probably enough for post #1.....plenty more to come, so please visit again!
Due to my family-friendly weekend spent in KC, I'll dedicate this first post to those topics discussed and viewed out there, keeping in mind they are all Kansas Jayhawk loyalists. So off and running we go.....
-Went to my fifth game ever at Phog Allen Fieldhouse this weekend to see KU play Iowa State (which is one terrible team, by the way). The building seeps with history and sure is one fantastic place to watch a game; one of those "must-see" spots on your sports bucket-list.
-Speaking of KU, Sherron Collins (a.k.a. the Hamburglar) may be the captain and highest-profile player on that team, but they aren't doing any damage come tournament time unless Xavier Henry leads them. When he decides to play hard, he is clearly the best player on that team. Saturday night, KU was muddling around until Henry hit three quick buckets (two threes and a lay-up) in the second half to put the game away. Teams will find a way to limit Collins due to his size and Cole Aldrich due to his lack of athleticism, but Henry can be unstoppable when the effort is there.
-Which leads me to this: one of the hardest things to do as a sports fan is to all-of-a-sudden root for a team you have disliked most of your life. I grew up not liking KU (for no other reason than they won too much), and it's been a real challenge trying to pull for them. But I promise I'm trying, KC family; I even wore a KU polo for the first time this weekend. If they ever play the Buckeyes, though, we'll have to watch separately in our house.
-I'm amazed when I hear that NBC will lose $250 million on these winter olympics....until I watch them. Cross country skiing in prime-time??? I'd almost consider choosing the Bachelor over that. Too bad Michael Phelps can't swim under ice.
-I was at a Presbyterian church this weekend (I promise this will not be a religious blog) and the minister gave a sermon titled, "Frienemies" (apparently someone who you care a lot for but that causes angst for you as well). Which got me to thinking who my "Frienemies" are. I say this out of the most respect, but my biggest "Frienemy" would have to be my cousin-in-law David Jermann, who needles me constantly about his skewed version of sports (in his defense, he is a Royals, Chiefs, and Jayhawks fan, so who can blame him?!?). Maybe some day he'll send me the $1 he skimmed off my college bowl pool winnings. He also thinks Case Keenum from Houston is a better college quaterback than Dan LeFevour from Central Michigan, which is just pure craziness. However, I do enjoy his banter and always look forward to my next Kansas visit(s) so we can antagonize in person.
That's probably enough for post #1.....plenty more to come, so please visit again!
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