Sportsview

Progress. I love it.

2009-10-30T22:57:00.003-05:00

Over two plus months into the school year and much has been done to help the situation at KSHU at Sam Houston State University. I have been proud to be apart of the team responsible for the progress made since the beginning of the semester.

A change in the leadership role atop the station has been a big reason for the increased production and overall urge to be proactive as a group, management team and a station. Much of the credit is due to Mrs. Cooper and LeeAn who have done a great job overseeing a transition to soon a new automation system and the attempt to turn a new page for the radio station.

I have been able to help with the website and oversee the process of expanding the specialty shows, the idea of changing the format of the music played and the increase of sports covered and called by the play by play crew.

A new logo came two weeks ago and on the 21st of October, a website stat tracker was put on the station website to track visitors, helping towards the goal of getting the station streamed on the internet. The department chair, Dr. Balas has also been very cooperative in assisting the station in allowing us to give her a list of things we need for the station and for her to get those for the station sooner than they might normally be purchased.

There were so many issues during the summer from the lack of cooperation to the failures from Google and the lack of interest that something had to be done. I am proud of those who have stepped up and have and will make KSHU a station that will make everyone proud to be a part of. I don't have to name names, they know who they are.

Thank you to everyone who has helped bring KSHU along the last two or so months and tho those who will continue to support, assist and enjoy Huntsville's HD choice for variety, 90.5 The Kat.

610 in Review

2009-08-22T19:50:00.001-05:00

I have not had a chance to post on here in a long time, but do not get me wrong...I loved my internship at SR 610. It was amazing. Working alongside Robert was all that I could ask for. He gave me many tools to take with me and I think he learned a little along the way too. It was a great time and an experience I will not soon forget.

The people that walk the halls of CBS Radio and Sports Radio 610 are amazing. Each one of them is gracious and welcoming. They are helpful and attentive and are fun to be around.

I would recommend this internship to everyone who is looking for this experience. They will get out of it exactly what they put into it. Nothing less. It is a do all, get all internship. You want to do it, you can and probably will learn how to. If I could, I would go back for another internship!!

Day 20: A Pirate's Life

2009-07-08T19:23:00.002-05:00

Probably the most exciting time was going to cover the Pirates. Despite the fact they were a losing team and they were in the process of dismantling their team, it was great to cover 'the other side.' I had the chance to do 'stringer' work for a company Radio PA in Pennsylvania. I got paid $25 a day to do it. Sweetness! I loved covering baseball, now my first chance to cover professional baseball and make a buck.

My duties included getting audio from the manager and a few players, then writing and voicing a game wrap of :30sec tied towards Pittsburgh. THEN send the clips, with a cut sheet describing it all to them it PA to use!

Pretty awesome. I did it for Monday's and Wednesday's games. Pirates won the Wednesday game.

Day 19: Paid Entertainment

2009-07-07T12:22:00.002-05:00

So I did not mention this last week when I earned the opportunity. I wanted to save it for the day it actually happened. I was forwarded a contact from a company up in Pennsylvania called Radio PA that needed someone to work the game Monday and Wednesday for them. What they needed was sound bites from Pirates players, the managers and a game wrap. I would get $25 for each game.

So yea, $$$ to go to the game. Fun. I knew I would have work to do after the game, and work it was, but it was fun.

I got to the station at noon and was ready to go to the ballpark. We left to go to the ballpark, just like any other day. The day was pretty normal as the Pirates and Astros were getting ready for a 7:05 start. Mike Hampton who was 3-0 over the season against Pittsburgh was on the mound.

Of course I stayed for the game and went to the Pirates locker room afterwards. I collected audio from John Russell (manager), Virgil Vasquez (starting pitcher) and Andy LaRoche (3rd base).

I did not get home till 1am as it took me a while to get back to the studio and get my things recorded. I had issues getting into the building, which was quickly fixed after contacting security. All in all a fun day and experience.

Doing it all again on Wed.

Day 18: Time To Wait

2009-07-01T21:22:00.003-05:00

Beees!

Astros/Padres were cloudy with a chance of bees on Tuesday and they came. Delayed the game for 52 minutes.

On Wednesday, There was another delay at the event I was at, but this was not for bees, or someone not being there. The buzz was different here. I received at text message at 9:45 to be at the Toyota Center at 11:00am for Rockets shoot around. The team would be displaying their rookies and a few other players that would take part in the team's summer league in Las Vegas, NV in just over a week.

Players on hand included UCF product Jermaine Taylor, former Arizona Wildcat Chase Budinger and former Memphis standout Joey Dorsey.

So, this is pretty much how things were supposed to go and how they did go.

at 11:00am the media was going to be allowed to view a short practice session then interview the guys. Total time: 45 min.

uhh...nope.

Instead.

11:00 runs around and still no access until 11:25. 3 on 3 drills until around 11:50. Then they do shooting drills that take an additional 25-30 minutes. Finally at 12:30, we have access to the players. Most of them at least. All in fact but Joey Dorsey, the one year vet decided he wanted to continue to shoot in the far basket away from the press. Nothing we could do to stop him, but there was also Astros that day and time is money as they say. Dorsey was met by Chase Budinger and the two played what appeared to be a game where each took turns shooting free throws. The goal was to get to 0. Starting with 21. Make a shot, subtract a point. Miss a shot, add 2 points.

After about 30 minutes of play, the game ended and Joey had won. He came over and talked to the gangbang of media presence. Robert had to be at the ballpark shortly after we finished, so he went there. I went back to the studio.

I stopped, grabbed a bite then headed to the station to edit the audio and video I got. Then my plan was to head to the ballpark, but that was changed later in the day. I edited my audio and video and was then given a project to save some PDFs on to the computer. That pretty much took me until 5:00pm. I left to go home instead of to the game.

Day 17: Time to think

2009-06-30T12:10:00.002-05:00

A start of another week at Sports Radio 610 and I was looking for something to do. The Astros were out of town in San Diego and there was not much to do. The team was looking better as of late and it was good that they were starting to turn things on the upswing. Mondays though should be busy days. Days where you can start something, begin a project for the week, layout what you want to do; but in radio it is not really that way. Events come to you. You do not really wait for them though, you have to go out and find them. That's where the work really comes in. The problem with Monday is that the biggest news really had nothing to do with the Houston area. So the only audio we had to use that day was Tiger woods interviewing himself after winning his tournament, Roger Federer winning Wimbledon and the last Astros game.

I was pretty much left to surf the internet, and help where I could. Not too much to do. It gave me some time to think though. Think about how KSHU is like KILT or any other radio station there at CBS radio. I thought about the management system that each station has how at KSHU things have recently fallen apart. It came to my attention recently that certain priorities at KSHU are being put to the back burner AGAIN and other ideas are being thrown around. Ideas that are valid, but should not be considered at this time. It is amazing to think that KSHU survives during the summer with most students away on summer vacation away from the campus or on summer internships or with jobs that pay.

I have been involved with KSHU for nearly three years and from day one to today. I have seen improvements in some areas and I have seen declines in others. Quite frankly where those declines are, cannot happen. For a station to feasibly have a viable working staff of DJs who want to be there, they need a radio format, a plan, a program that people will buy. It's funny to me when I tell students I run into on campus that I am with KSHU, the campus station, and I have a weekly sports show. Because their first response is not "when can I listen?" it's, "The campus has a radio station?" sometimes followed by "what music do they play?" and even "where can I find them on the dial?"

That to me is embarrassing. For a campus radio station that has survived getting kicked out of a press box at sporting events to participating and DJ-ing live for consecutive Relay for Lifes, this school of over 16,000 students and community of over 35,000 people still seems to only know one local station and its not ours. That sucks to me. Its not that station's fault. It's not the student's fault either. It all falls back on the radio station. Lack of promoting: Who are we? If we are the only ones who know who we are, how will anyone else find out? There are not signs all over campus advertising KSHU...why not? The only time a banner goes up on campus is when we are trying to get people to join. That's less time than some frats try advertising. AND WE HAVE AN OUTLET!!! I don't want corporate sponsors, let the frats, soros, and other pee-wee groups advertise on the station like the bulletin board. BUT LETS ADVERTISE!!!

We can no longer be closed minded to what could be or what might be because that has only led us to nothing. I have seen dreams of some people who have come and gone be great at this radio station, and others who were not so great, but the thing is they were dreams that they put forth and tried. A great core group of individuals who can come together, work hard, be on the same page and really want to care about KSHU need to be apart of management. KSHU does not need people who are not dependable, lack time management, and are hard to reach.

Over the summer I have thought about some things for KSHU, not only sports related, but covering all bases. I hope some of these ideas are great for all.

-Adding sports reporting to the sports group giving students involved another outlet to increase skills.
-DJs blogging and adding playlists to blog allowing readers to see and comment on what is being played online.
-Videos. This can be done. I know how to put a video on the main page and can teach anyone if necessary. I would love to put a video section on the main page. Videos of us in the DJ booth, On air, maybe previews of games/shows.
-promoting the website and updating it more.
-more promotional stands. With items to give away.
-A few signs around campus.
-Cross promotion between TV/radio.

I would love to hear some of your ideas. Thanks for reading my rant.

Live Updates (Tigers vs Astros)

2009-06-26T18:59:00.014-05:00

Welcome to my blog. You can read all about my internship with Sports Radio 610! I will be blogging from Minute Maid Park.

(6:59) Great rendention of the National Anthem. Looking forward to a good game: Verlander v Rodriguez.
(7:10) Cabrera homers to DEEEEP left...Tigers 1 - Astros 0 (top 1)
(7:22) Astros with 2 straight hits. Got something cookin against Verlander
(7:29) Pence strikes out with the bases juiced...AHH!@@*#$@#
(7:30) Goya baseball shuffle...#1!!!!...#1!!!!!...it was #1! :)
(7:38) 0-1 to Polanco....HR #4...Tigers 4....Astros 0....eek (top 2)
(8:00) not much doin, 4-0 still in the bottom of the 3rd
(8:08) Hits lead to runs lead to 4-2 ballgame
(8:17) Gerald Laird bunts on base??? What is going on?
(8:43) Big double play...nice job Astros...Still 4-2 going to bottom of 5th
(8:44) Mac N Cheese eating contest....uhh...uhh....Genius.
(8:51) Marriage proposal before the top of the 6th...SHE SAID...???
(9:13) Two on with one out...Keppinger..DOUBLE PLAY!
(9:14) Both starters out of the game (Arias now in the game for the Stros) 4-3 Top 7
(9:26) Two on...two out...Arias pitches to Ordonez. (who recently had a haircut...the first in five years. His photo on the scoreboard does not really tell his new appearance. It's not Ramon Vazquez-esque (with the stashe), but anyway...he grounds out to end the inning. SSSTTTRETCH time! 4-3 Tigers
(9:27) I am seeing on the scoreboard that tomorrow's pitching matchup is Filepe Paulino against Alfredo Figaro for the Tigers. Both pitchers each have one win on the season. ...don't come. It's Saturday...stay out of the sun, but away from this game. Sunday's game looks more promising with Ortiz (3-3) vs Edwin Jackson (6-4). Too bad US Soccer has a game Sunday that trumps just about every MLB game to this point in the season...combined.
(9:34) Berkman just got on with 2 outs. Pitching change...Zumaya in for Detroit
(9:37) They came around to give the media the game's giveaway, a Astros Cape Collectable.
(9:38) Pence grounds into a fielders choice.

(9:40) I'm outta here. Time to beat the traffic. Thanks for reading!

Day 16: New Additions

2009-06-26T18:14:00.003-05:00

Ending another week at Sports Radio 610 and today could have not been more entertaining, and challenging. I was put to new tests and asked to do a few new things that I had not done before. They did not discourage me though, I was happy to be a part.

I started my day after enjoying some great donuts left by my cousin at the station where I helped cut some audio from Daryl Morey who was on Sports Radio 610 earlier in the day talking about the draft.

I cut up three things, made a sheet and then waited around to hear about what was next. I found out that a press conference was my next task. I would be heading to the Toyota Center for a 3:00pm scheduled conference with Daryl Morey along with second round selctions Chase Budinger from University of Arizona and Jermaine Taylor from University of Central Florida.

A good amount of the media was there, and my job was to get all the audio along with video from Taylor. I got what I needed and left. Heading to the Toyota Tundra garage, I was happy I brought my backpack and laptop with me so I could help edit things with my laptop.

When I got to Minute Maid Park, I helped Robert edit the video I got from the Toyota Center while he worked on the audio from the Rockets' press conference.

I learned that Geovanni Mier, the Houston Astros' first round draft pick would also be in attendance at the ballpark, he would be introduced as signing with the team as well as taking some batting practice. I would be going down to get the audio from the press conference similar to what I did at the Toyota Center with the Rockets' additions.

Robert and I went down to the press conference room and I hooked up to the audio box where you can collect the audio that goes out throught the mics on the stage. Mier, along with the scouting director, the scout who found him and GM Ed Wade were on the stage. Manager Cecil Cooper and Pres. Drayton McClaine walked in and sat in the crowd. Mier's mother and brother were also in attendance.

After taking in the presser, I headed to the dugout where the media awaited talking to Cecil Cooper. Mier would then take batting practice. Robert lost a little track of time and had to rush up to the press row for his 4:20 flash.

Cooper talked then I waited around for Mier. I got a couple of videos of him and then headed up to edit it. Robert took care of the audio from Cooper and I handled the video. It was a very busy day and I think me having my laptop made things a lot easier.

By the time I finished the video, the day was over (work-wise) it was already 5:30pm. I decided I was going to stay and take in the ballgame.

Day 15: Change of Plans

2009-06-24T23:29:00.002-05:00

"Can you do something for me." says Matt as soon as I get in.

Now, for Matt to ask me to do something was quite special. Usually it would come from Robert or Laura or even on extra special occasions, the producer Patrick, but apparently today there was something I could do.

Once I found out the subject matter, I was intrigued to work on it. Matt states that he wants me to radio-proof a sound clip from the show "Superstars" on ABC. It was not a clip that was on the air, but instead an outtake that did not make it over the airwaves. It shows Joanna Krupa and Terrell Owens going at it. To say the least, its not safe for work, or kids' ears. I had to go in a cut out all the 'Fu-ks' and "Sh-t" so they could play it on the air.

I was nearly done with this when I find out that we are taking an early trip (me and Robert) to the Toyota Center for a 1pm press conference with Daryl Morey about the team and their stance with Thursday's NBA draft. As of now, the team has no picks, but is looking to move in by purchasing or trading for one or more.

We head down at 12:40 and arrive right at 1:00. Mr. Morey is late and it causes Robert to have to rush to the ballpark. I go back to the station with the audio and the flip video that Robert got.

After cutting seven things from Daryl and writing out a cut sheet, Laura comes in and tells me she has an important job for me. I email the cut sheet to Robert and tell him I am not sure if I will be able to make it to the ballpark.

I head to the other room where Laura has me set up at one of the sales cubicles. My job is to print out afadavids from the last 18 months stating that each of the KILT FM and AM stations has promoed the companies they said they did. There are three different catagories for the AM station and 2 for the FM station, Metro and Traffic are the same for both stations. Sports (AM) has the sat/sun section.

My job included printing all of these pages out, organizing them by month, and put them together.

From the time I started to 5pm, I got through January 2008 -November 2008 for KILT-AM. It was a lot of papers. It was not exactly what I had in mind doing considering I was going to stay and watch the game, but I guess I will do that on Friday now. Thats all for today, now off to home to spend more time with the cousin.

Day 14: Ready to Go Live!

2009-06-22T23:28:00.002-05:00

Starting week 5, Astros have day off, so I am working on audio and the website again today. I finished up the All Star Golf classic webpage. Laura had worked on it a lot earlier in the day. I got it prepared for the site. I created three different main images for it. Two would go on the station's homepage and the other would be the title image for the all-star golf classic.

I got the site ready to go live. It took me about half the day to do that. Laura helped me put the site live and then I went back to help with some other things. We had received some additional auction items that needed to be taken photos of and put on the page. We received a few basketballs and footballs signed by Houston personalities.

If I was a Houston fan, I would have probably been more impressed with what I was photographing, but it was just like any other signed items to me. Even though I would say the signed Clyde Drexler ball was pretty neat.

I was able to get all the photos, plus get them online along with the information for all the items. Afterwards, I went to go help Robert pull some audio for the College World Series.

Off till Wednesday (not really), my second cousin is in town from Phoenix and it will be most fun tomorrow and of course tiring. We are going to wash my car tomorrow, play soccer and who knows what else.

Day 13: Get there on time

2009-06-20T00:17:00.001-05:00

Finishing up another week at Sports Radio 610, and today was a short day for me. I would only be there until 3:00pm so I could drive to San Antonio and meet family for dinner. Dinner was set for 7:00pm so I had to be prompt.

I got in at noon and found out I would be working on the website. Laura had a list of four things for me to work on, but knowing that I would be leaving early, she wanted me to try and do as much as I could.

We went over to the computer and she set me up on the day's tasks. I had already packed and my suitcase/laptop were in my car so I was going to jet out of there and to San Antonio as soon as I was done.

My first project for the day was to fix and continue working on a page for the Sports Radio 610 All Star Golf Classic at the BlackHorse Golf Club in Katy. My initial goals were to resize the auction items, put up photos of the all-star participants and insert information and minimum and buy now bid prices.

I created images and was inserting the information when I was running out of time. I realized that I was suddenly signed out of the online program used called Vortal. I clicked 'save', then went to go find Laura so she could sign me back in. When I got signed back in, all my saved work was gone. I basically started from the beginning again. She told me to fix a few more things, write down what I did not have prices for and then I could go for the day.

I pulled up TranStar on my computer to see how traffic looked. I wanted to try and get as much done as possible, but I knew if I waited any longer, traffic would get worse, so I left right as the clock hit 3:00pm.

I got to Outback Steakhouse at exactly 7:05pm. It was a great dinner with my family.

Day 12: Get what we need

2009-06-17T22:50:00.000-05:00

The Astros are still out of town, so it was a matter of finding a bunch of other audio to keep afloat for the day.

Luckily there was a bunch.

Report time was 11am to talk to the guys at Texans final day of Mini camp. They will next report July 31 for training camp at Reliant Park. The problem I had is getting there. Traffic was an issue today and because of the unusual increase in traffic, I was late. Just by a few minutes. I got there just after 11 and noticed people walking out. Simply confused, I sit in my car and wait for Robert to get out.

He comes out to his car and says they stopped practice much earlier than expected so he was not able to get much, but he did get one player that was hanging around.

We got back and I edited the audio. Since we didn't have a trip to the ballpark in store, I was also looking for other audio to put in the system. Wednesday was also the day before the US Open, so we were looking for Phil Mickelson's cuts about playing and it just so happened to also be his birthday.

I also edited stuff on the College World Series, along with the group of interviews they had on the show.

I learned that Friday I would be working on a webpage, but I did not find out what about yet.

Thats all for today. Go Rangers!

Daily View: Level of Respect...Deserved?

2009-06-16T21:25:00.001-05:00

So the Lakers are NBA Champs, a few more LA residents are behind bars for a week or two and life moves on. Kobe Bryant wins one without Shaq. He wins his 4th.

This has to stop. All the Kobe nonsense. Of course this guy is good. We all know that. He is going to put up his points, pick up his assists, nobody will deny he is a clutch shooter, but THIS was not HIS finals. This was Derek Fisher's finals before Kobe Bryant's, ohh who by the way also has four championships. This was also Phil Jackson's championship before Kobe.

AND THAT my friends is what I do not understand about what I have heard from the media. It is all about Mr. Bryant and how he saved the day again. How he is better off now and that he will change the NBA more so next season. Mustn't we remember that this is the guy with all the pressure on HIS shoulders who FAILED!!!! last season.

This year's team isn't much different, but they DID have home court and they were playing a 'somewhat' less experienced team of younger players who by all means overachieved.

I mean how obvious can one league get about what will become if a shoe company has begun to put out Kobe/Lebron commercials even a week before the conference finals were over. OOPS...guess that didn't work out. That marketing plan would have SHOT off if the Cavs had made the finals, not the Magic.

Thats what you get Nike/NBA/ESPN.

Ohh, here is that despicable SI cover too, showing who???...guess.
http://img.fannation.com/upload/si_blog_post_images/36701/tx_cover_kobe2.jpg

Thats what grinds my gears. It was not Kobe's moment. Phil Jackson now has more championships than any coach EVER in the NBA. Product of good talent though? Of course. Michael, Shaq, Kobe. Duhhh...but still, you have to coach them good. It's a TEAM game.

Day 11: Our plan of attack

2009-06-15T23:22:00.002-05:00

Weeeeeeeeek 4 has begun! Holy crap. I've been in Sugar Land for a month. If you could see my room, which ya can't. I have not unpacked anything but the essentials. I could probably take nearly everything home home. I don't NEED it. I am figuring that out. When I moved out of town in Huntsville, I took a lot of my things to Helotes and left them there. I am realizing that I do not use most of my things. I am content with my laptop, camera, PS3...basically my electronics, books, clothes, and thats pretty much it. I am eyeing 4 boxes that can go home and stay there. I am also realizing that when I go back to Huntsville, I won't need as much either.

So as I start week 4, which will end with me going home again to see my family for Fathers Day, let us look at how Monday looked.

I had to check out Texans mini camp today where a lot was going on. SO...getting ready to go at 10:30, I head out the door and off to Reliant Park. I run into a little traffic before the loop and realize I am going to be a tad late of 11am. I get there at 8 after the hour and practice is done. I see a few players walking over the bridge and so I run over to find Robert getting sound from Rex Grossman. He hands me the Flip camera and wants me to go get some stuff from Barwin, who is making his first appearance with the Texans.

That video can be seen on sportsradio610.com and on the station's facebook page

I also helped Marc get a video with Rex Grossman which can also be seen on sportsradio610.com

The rest of the day was pretty straight edge, nothing too out of the ordinary, editing the audio for the day. Since the stros were out of town, I was looking up some things for Robert to put in his flash. Almost like the checker for the stats.

Near the end of the day, Robert helped me get a copy of the audio from when I was on the air live on Friday, I hope to have that on here soon.

That'll pretty much do it. Now, off till Wednesday!

Day 10: Meet The Interns!

2009-06-13T00:51:00.000-05:00

TGIF! This weekend is much needed. I got a text early morning on Wednesday asking what I was doing this weekend and that thus will have me going up to Huntsville with Charlie to see Jimmy, Kevin, Jake and the rest of the gang. I am super excited.

First though I would be going in at noon to complete the week at Sports Radio 610. I did not know what to expect today with the Astros going on the road starting today for all of next week.

I get in and Robert is talking with Shaun and Kyle about a show they did the past Friday when they filled in for Adam on the Night Shift. I sit in on their conversation and hear some really good points that Robert makes about how to improve the quality of their show. Including, but not limited to: how to better relay the topic of conversation, teasing things in the next segment, and starting a segment with a topic that will lead to a interview with someone. Also, he talked about how to spark phone calls and how to better give out the phone number.

Good stuff. After their meeting, he talked with me a few minutes then gave me the assignment. He wanted me to create a sports flash. Basically a 45 second sports flash with 2 to 3 stories in it and a sound bite that would normally play on CNN 650AM. This would be practice for me.

So I begin to write it up. I start with a story about the Lakers, then I go with something about the Astros, then finish with the Stanley Cup Game 7. Before I record it, I talk to Laura about finishing the internship page.

She asks me if I have everything and once I inform her that I do, she helped me get set up on the computer and I finished working on the pages. I completed all the images and putting the information on the needed sites.

I am ready to go live with the website so I go look for her. I go back in the production room where Robert asks me if I have recorded my flash yet. I read over my script real quick and I record it while he is doing one himself.

I edit it and he listens to it. He goes over it with me and tells me what I did well/need to improve. It sounded good, but I did mess up in some obvious spots and could have done a lot better. With more practice though. I hope to do more in the next week or so.

As Robert and I are going over my sports flash, two guys come into the studio where they are doing the show and they are carrying bags with Morton's Steakhouse on the side. They start laying out containers of steak, salad, cake, and other delicious looking items out on the desk. Food to the amount I am sure a family of 5 could dine and would cost $150-200. As the guys go to break for the bottom of the hour, they go grab themselves some good food and it looked great. As Robert went in there for the :40 flash, he invited me in there with him and I helped myself to a plate of Morton's. I got a few slices of beef and a crab cake. Amazing.

I had never had Morton's before, but the steak, though a little on the cool side, was top notch.

As I head out with Laura, I ask her if we can put the page live. She goes with me back to the desk I have been working at and we put everything up. She complements me on how I did and as I walk out, she asks if I would want to come on the air and promote the page I just created. I was not even thinking of anything like that. It took me by total surprise.

I knew not everyone gets a chance to sit in studio at a major market radio station to talk on the air, much less be the center of attention for a given amount of time, so I was not going to turn this opportunity down.

Laura and I went to see Robert and right before the 5:20 flash, we looked at the website to see the page and then went into the studio. I listened into Robert's flash and then he introduced me at the end of the flash. I talked for a few minutes with him and Laura. It was really fun.

I hope to have the audio clip from my time on the air up on here really soon.

Go to www.sportsradio610.com and look for the 'Meet the Interns' link.

Learning Sugar Land

2009-06-11T22:51:00.001-05:00

So having been in Sugar Land now for about 2 weeks, I have had the opportunity to get out beyond the requirements for my internship and explore what the city has to offer.

Being from a large city already, I was already used to the traffic, the amount of stores and the proximity to them all. Staying in New Territory with my folks, it was quite convenient to everything I needed.

I was needing to make some errands today and trips to some new places in town I had not been to yet, but for residents of the town, usual hangouts. I needed to find: Super Target, Academy and Kohl's. I was also going to Wal-mart and Macy's at First Colony Mall, but had been to both of them before in prior ventures.

In driving around, I tried to pay attention to where stores were located, especially the main ones. I hoped to catch what exit they were at so that I could find my way back if need be. Academy was easy to find as it was only a few blocks away, and Kohl's was not too hard to find as a simple trip either up 99 or down 59 to Richmond took me there. Super Target though, (sigh) it was not difficult to find. It was just annoying to get to. Located at Hwy 6 and 59, the building faces 6 but is away from the road so much so its along the 59 access rd down a ways.

I have learned some other things about Sugar Land that I have found interesting. I have learned that the ratio of gas stations to hospitals is about 1 to 1. Its crazy how many hospitals I have seen. (99 and 59) (6 and University) (59 and 6) and all throughout.

I have also learned that along certain roads and in fact along many roads, it is tough to really 'pick out' what the businesses are. The signs in the ground are short and small and the buildings are all built and designed the same with trees covering them to deny any possibility of seeing it from afar. You know its weird when you do a double take looking at a McDonald's that looks nice enough to be a nursing home.

Well, more fun I am sure in store for me here. Thats all for now.

Day 9: Mr. Baseball

2009-06-11T20:50:00.001-05:00

Wednesday: Texans AND Astros.

Last day for me covering Texans OTAs...sad day, but Mini camp begins next week.

Astros vs Cubs Wednesday night. I stayed for what was a great game. It was a full day.

It started out at 11am at Texans practice. I already had the Marantz with me after taking it with me on Monday to save some time getting there. I got there and retrieved some audio from Travis Johnson and coach Kubiak. good stuff. I had a pretty full plate that day and apparently so did a lot of people. I got back to the station where I also would be meeting up with Donnie to take the photo for the Intern webpage.

I get in and Shaun is in the studio saying he is filling in for Robert today and is headed down to the ballpark in a few minutes. I remembered that Robert filled in the morning, thus would probably want to take the afternoon. I went over to Laura's office where I found Robert. He told me he emailed the people down at Minute Maid telling them I would be there so I would have a pass. I asked Laura about the idea for the photo and told her my decision.

I decided to go with Donnie holding a bunch of equipment in front of the production door. Donnie was busy with a live concert that was being put on by Mix 96.5. Mat -somebody- was there performing live. A bunch of hyped up 16-year-old girls were there to watch. Of course they had to also block off my hallway to and from Laura's office and the prod studio so I am walking the long way past their set up and this tool promo guy is up in my face like "hey guy, where are you headed"..."past you" is my response. I end up running into him 2 more times. It does not help that they are taking photos right there at the intersection where I need to get buy and it doubly does not help that I also hold my own camera.

Finally Donnie finishes up after I complete editing my audio for the Texans and we get to taking the photo for the site. I take about 6 photos to the agreement of his colleagues.

Off to the ballpark...stopped and grabbed lunch at Whataburger. Tried that new Honey BBQ Chicken strip sandwich. That thing is delicious.

I get to the ballpark and walk in and talk to Ron. Ron is awesome, he always has a new story. Today he talked about a Cub he had asked to show their ID and that player thought it was ridiculous that he was being told to show his ID because he was a professional baseball player. Protocol. simply.

I sit with Shaun until just after 3, then head out to where media picks up their credentials for the game. The intern is in there... ;) She comes to the window and asks for my ID. She checks her list for the game and notices that my name is not there. I ask her if she is sure about that. She checks with her boss who might have just received the email late and not put it on the list. I call Robert to see if there was something we could do.

I gave his name to her and she I guess was able to clear it up even before I could leave a message with Robert. She remembered my name and more importantly how to spell it without asking for my ID again. She was really nice about it, but after the craziness, I was about to get my pass to the locker room which was my next stop.

In the locker room, Shaun and I along with the rest of the media and the few players that were in there all took in the 1992 classic baseball movie, "Mr Baseball" with Tom Selleck and that guy who also played Pedro Cerano in the Major League movies. Funny stuff. Go Dragons!

We talked to Lance and Tejada about their milestones and Tejada about possibly being on the trade block?!?

Cooper then talked at 4pm

I watched it all.

Long story.

I stuck around for the game. Good game it was. 2-1 Astros thanks to a bases loaded RBI single from Geoff Blum in the bottom of the 9th. He drove in both runs.

I got the giveaway that night, a 'Celebrating 10 Years at MMP' T-shirt from Methodist.

cool stuff.

Day 8: You've got work...

2009-06-08T21:49:00.001-05:00

No Texans or Astros...

hmm....

WORK!!!!!

...on the computer.

whooptie fricken doo.

So after getting there, I am assigned to create a webpage for the interns at Sports Radio 610. Which happens to be myself and 3 others. So after getting set up on the computer with very nice Photoshop and working with their webpage editing site Vortal, I was off and running, I guess. I had a bunch of information already for the page. Photos from two of the guys and information from myself and two other guys. It was about half way done at the end of the day.

I just needed the main part. The main image idea. Ideas began to float around in my head, but I could not grab one of them. I thought about having someone bring in coffee to Robert or someone in the studio, OR have someone carrying a bunch of items that we use to do interviews or just common radio equipment. I also thought of simple chore stuff like cleaning stuff. Laura came up with some great ideas as well. She thought about changing the oil in the station van, having the person taking lunch orders from a line of hungry people, or have them cleaning the studio in some form.

We needed someone to help with the photo, thats where Donnie came in. From Mix 96.5, Donnie would help me out on Wednesday.

Day 7: Day of Days Part 2

2009-06-04T17:39:00.000-05:00

So I ended up making really good time getting home to Helotes. Left around 7pm and got in just after 10pm. I knew my parents were going to be painting over the weekend, so I did not know what to expect when I walked in the door. I parked my car, grabbed a few things and walked towards the door.

Opening the door, I was met by my brother. He had a stern look on his face. "Hey" he mumbled to me. "Welcome home." I open the door further to see a friend of his Stephanie talking to my parents in the hallway looking into the living room where I see my parents have already started taping the walls.

I started to look around for Snoopy but he was nowhere to be found. I noticed the back porch light was on so I figured he was outside. I stood inside for a few minutes as they discussed painting and such as well as a job opportunity for Stephanie. She was on her way out. I waited for my brother to get back inside before I asked him to help me get the rest of my things.

After bringing my things inside, I sat down in the living room, my mom came in and sat down next to me and told me she was glad that I was home. My brother jumped on the other sofa and then my dad came in and leaned in on that sofa. All attention was fixed on me. I asked what was up, was something wrong? I began to freak out. I asked, "Where's Snoopy?" Then my dad began.

"At around 3:30 this afternoon..." That was all I needed to hear. I knew what had happened. I looked at my brother who began to bury his head in the sofa. Shock set in as I began to look around the room, questioning the belief that was I was thinking was true.

I knew Snoopy was not feeling well. My mom had taken him to the vet less than 48 hours prior because he had been throwing up and he was limping a little bit. They were concerned it was something internally. They did blood work to check for the liver functions.

He continued....

"your brother was home by himself" More and more shock setting in, now pain... I looked at my mom who knew what I was feeling. She started to cry, I asked, "Is Snoopy dead?"

"Yes" she stated back as she continued to sob more.

I lost it. I began to cry my brains out. I had never lost something so near and dear to my heart. My dad continued to explain the situation, what occured earlier in the afternoon and how my dog of 9 years passed away.

He was lying in our hallway when my brother said he stopped breathing. He took the dog to the Vet just outside our neighborhood. They tried to revive him, but it was too late.

Today, we got the autopsy results and it was a little comforting, but scary at the same time. Snoopy had cancer in the spleen. It created tumors in the spleen that spread throughout his body. one of them blocked a key valve to the heart stopping the flow of blood. On the day he passed, the valve exploded causing him to (in a sense) bleed internally. They told us that once a dog gets cancer in the spleen, there is nothing you can do. They usually have 6 to 9 months afterwards.

There were symptoms that they described to us that were signs of early detection and when my mom went back and looked, she realized that he might have had this for longer than 6-9 months or at least held on longer than that.

I thank God for the loving memories and for moment I got to spend with Snoopy, he was a grand dog, a true companion and my best friend. He will never be forgotten by me and always have a special place in my heart.

Day 7: Day of Days

2009-06-04T16:33:00.000-05:00

A day that started just like any other day ended as one of the best days and one of the worst days ever.

I had planned to make the trip home over the weekend and see the family, thus missing out on this upcoming Friday. So Wednesday would have to be a big day for me. It was. It all started Tuesday night at Jessica's birthday party. It was a great party, lots of great food, fun, people. The atmosphere was perfect. I did not want to leave, but I knew I had to eventually with the impending task of going to Houston Texans practice alone later that morning.

So, at approximately 1:30, shortly after a Huntsville police officer made his presence at the door reminding the party hosts that there are other residents around them and to keep things at a reasonable volume, I left and headed back for Sugar Land.

Arriving at 3:00 a.m., I knew I would have little sleep before the next day. The alarms went off. (I did say alarm's') I dragged myself out of bed and into the shower for what I knew what would be a long day. I got out of the shower and looked at my phone to see the time. I saw the picture of my dog on my phone, reminding me of what would await me at the end of my day. I was running a little late so I hurried and got to my car and left.

After getting to the station right at 11:00am and then to Texans practice 15 minutes later, I was ready. I look down at my phone again, acknowledge my dog's photo as well as the time. I had made it and I could not wait to get home later that day.

I got back to the station and edited a handful of clips for Robert to use for his flashes. I was feeling really good and got them all done in almost half the time. I waited around to leave to the ballpark and we took off just before 2pm.

Sitting around can be a challenge. After getting to the park at 2pm, the clubhouse does not allow media in until 3:30, so me with nothing to do, I just sit there and look around at the ballpark. I look over occasionally to see what Robert is typing up for his flashes and I also walked around a little.

At around 3:30, we headed down to the clubhouse to get the daily scoop. Getting an inside view of the players' lives is fun. Its interesting to see what players are usually on time, adamant to the day's agenda or the ones that sneak in at the last second and are not too outgoing.

We get the full scoop from Coop and then back to the row to edit the good stuff.

It's crazy how repetative it has become after now 7 days. I feel like I know what Im doing, but it still in some ways feels new. I see the same people out there every Mon/Wed/Fri for Texans practice and for Astros clubhouse stuff. I did happen to notice another one of the stations in town recently brought in a summer internship. I am yet to introduce myself to him.

This internship is exactly what I thought it would be. As I left the building to head to the ballpark, I found out that Monday, I would be working on the website as there would be no Texans/Astros. hmmm...

I tried to leave as early as I could from MMP, got back to Sugar Land, ate, and was on the road....

Day 6: Simply fun

2009-06-02T00:17:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Houston...

The fun part of the internship was meeting the players, getting to go to the different events and of course getting a great understanding of what sports radio is like in the professional world. What I had not yet experienced in my 2 weeks there was traffic. O boy... Nothing beats sitting in Houston traffic. At least I have XM Satellite Radio to listen to the entire way there. Hah, I know, I do not even listen to the station or company (CBS) I am interning at.

Monday starts off with Houston Texans practice. I had to go to the station to pick up the marantz to then go get some quality quotes from the players. After the excursion, it was off to editing. It was a normal day at practice, but the unnormal was quickly set off when rookie d-back Glower Quin intercepted a ball near the end of practice. His 4th pick in OTAs.

Back at the station, simple editing and then off to the ballpark. The Rockies were in town. Houston had just won 2 of 3 in a series from Pittsburgh whom they were welcoming in later on in the week, but first it was Colorado, a team starting an 11-game road trip. It was the first of four against the Astros. I wanted to stay for the game, but I wasn't feeling it later on and decided to go.

Interviews as usual. And of course Coop talking about inconsistancies in the clubhouse between himself and the team. It was the first game back after a long roadtrip so of course those questions were going to come.

The Astros went on to win.

Day 5: Behind the desk

2009-05-30T16:48:00.003-05:00

Robert was out again, the last day of his vacation. I was left to hold down the fort with Rob and the afternoon crew once more. There was no Texans on Friday so I made my way to the station just before noon to see what I could do.

I was bored.

I filled out my time sheet for the week which took me no more than 10 minutes. Then proceeded to surf the internet for about the next hour. Shortly after 1 o'clock, Rob came in and I was no longer alone. Things started to pick up. Laura came in the room and asked what I was up to. I was given an assignment.

UFC 99 is June 13th in Germany and Sports Radio 610 hosts the 'Bud Light Fight Zone.' Basically a room there at the building they turn into a party room to watch the big event. Laura came in and asked me to do three things for the event. Write up a 30-second promo, write up a liner, both of which would be read over the air. Third, they wanted me to create a webpage for the event including images that would be placed on the sportsradio610.com website homepage.

Fun stuff. I was excited to be able to do something new and it was a challenge to write up the website article and create the images.

After completing that task, I was given a new challenge. The Outdoors Show, Thurs-Sun mornings on SR 610's host Captain Mickey is a part of a giveaway the station is doing. The winner will receive a half-day fishing trip with Captain Mickey upon conclusion the Captain will clean and filet all that is bagged. I wrote up a full page article describing the contest, what the winner gets, the Houston Boat Show and the Outdoors Show. Including images of the Captain, a coupon for a discounted ticket to the Boat Show and the Boat Show logo.

A lot of 'behind the computer' work for me on Friday. Time for Baseball. Off to Reckling to see the Kats take on the Owls!

Day 4: Spot start

2009-05-27T22:11:00.001-05:00

Nothing Monday for Memorial Day. I stayed home. Back at it on Wednesday, Robert had the rest of the week off so it was me and....and....good question.

Wednesday was going to be me and Adam going out to Texans OTAs go retrieve audio and a video to put on the 610 website. Rob (different) was filling in for Robert on the updates. I get to the station at 11am and get ready to go. I grab my newly created badge with my name, photo and 'Sports Reporter' on it. :) Sweet. I get called in the other room by Laura because she claims I did not fill in my time sheet from last Friday. I try and refresh her memory by what we had done. I show her the photo. She still has me fill out one anyway. No biggie.

I go back in the other room to see Adam where he is joined now by Marc. I had talked to him before on my radio show at SHSU. Very cool guy. Adam explains that he has some things to talk with Marc about and wondered if it would be ok if I could handle going on my own. I just needed to get audio from Coach Kubiak and maybe a player according to him. He made no mention to the video. So I went in the production studio, grabbed my equipment and quickly left.

There was rain and lightning in the area so they would be practicing in the bubble today. I made my way down there just before 11:30 and walked inside. Of course I was the last one there, media of course gets there way early to get a feel of how practice is going to report on that, they do not show up at the last second like what I did and just get audio of what they say. O f'n well.

I walk in and see the camera guys sitting there quiet, bored off their asses. I stand there next to them and look in. Not realizing I could go in and watch the action. I eventually realize it when someone comes out and then one of the camera guys gets up and says, "You know you can go in, only cameras are not allowed." I thank him and go inside.

I watch probably the last 15 plays of practice and then the media goes after Antonio Smith, the new defensive lineman that is looking to help out across from Mario Williams. He was a great interview for the media. Great answers and a class guy. Coach Kubiak hung back and then took questions from the cool cats. He talked about Smith's impact, players stepping up and who is out.

I got my stuff and headed back to the station.

Cutting up audio took me a while today. I figured it would be a lax day without Robert there so on the way back, I stopped for a bite to eat. I got back to the station and began to cut up some audio. Coach Kubiak, then Antonio Smith. Finished with 8 cuts for Rob. Rob came in with his Boston accent talking about baseball and how rediculous this and that is.

Wednesday was FIFA's Champions League Final. European soccer's version of the Super Bowl. Manchester United was taking on Barcalona. It was on the televisions in the studio and the guys on the air were talking about it and commenting on the game, but at the same time not really knowing much about the game, and were not wanting to give out the score for those few that really cared.

Rob looked up at the TV in our studio and saw the game on. He looked at the players running up and down the field and stared to go off on the sport that really has not gotten the same love here in America that it does everywhere else in the world.

He picks up the remote and looks for something else. "I wonder if there is a game on." He flips over to WGN and sure enough Cubs and Pirates from Wrigley. Cubs went on to win 5-2. Mr. T sang the seventh inning stretch.

Fun day 4.

Day 3: WOOO!!!!, man I love to see you guys.

2009-05-23T00:57:00.000-05:00

Day 2 Review: Texans OTAs followed by team Charity Home Run Derby for Boys and Girls of Houston. Astros game followed...
- Found out fellow Bearkat Travis is interning with FS Houston and will be a frequent of the press area at MMP.
- Filled out a scorecard while watching the game.
- First time going 'behind the scenes' at Minute Maid Park. And first time on the field.

So, it came to the end of the first week at Sports Radio 610. I was pretty excited to be there on this Friday. I was more excited to be at Minute Maid Park because I would get to see my two favorite baseball teams, the Astros and the Texas Rangers, first place in the AL West. I got to the station at 12-noon and got ready to go down to the park. We did not have anything from the Texans to cut up so it was pretty laid back until we needed to get down there. I took the opportunity to take care of some paperwork with Laura and get my photo taken for a badge that makes me look more 'official.'

After filling all that out and a time sheet for the week, I go back in with Robert and we get set to go down to the ballpark. I made a copy of a clip sheet for him and we were off. Traffic was slightly more hectic than normal getting down to the field and it turned following Robert into a bit of a challenge. Weaving in and out of lanes became a needed skill.

Finally there, Robert and I walk from the parking lot to the entrance and in as we say 'hi' to Ron. Cool guy. We sit there as he is working on his next sports flash. Robert explains that the clubhouse opens at 3:30 and Cooper usually will speak sometime around 4pm to everyone. So he sends me down with the equipment just before 3:30 to go to the Astros clubhouse. He meets me down there and we go in. Very nice. They have the lineup posted for the Astros already, no issues.

We make our way past the bulletin board to a double door that splits two directions and into the locker room. An oval shaped room with lockers all along one side, and split lockers on the other side, split by a television in the middle of the room and another exit door to the managers and other coach's offices. Comfortable chairs line the middle of the room and kind of split the room. It was interesting to see who has their lockers next, near or close to each other. Hunter Pence is near most of the other 'white' guys on the team...Michaels, Kepp, Blum, Berkman, and a few pitchers. Wandy and Pudge are very close together. I think only one player separates them. Roy O has a animal skull above his name.

Pudge walks in and over to his locker. There were only about 4-5 other players in the locker room at this time. Most were sitting there going over game notes. Robert tells me who the guys are we want to get for this series. Pudge, Pence, Carlos, then makes his way over to the first on the list. Robert got some words from Ivan Rodriguez then left to go edit it and get ready for his 3:40 update.

I'm waiting around a little bit, I notice the movie on the television ends, and on comes Spaceballs...classic. Edwin Maysonett was just called up from the AAA club and had a chance to get some playing time. So I got some sound from him first, then it was on to Hunter Pence. After a bunch of sound from him, in comes Carlos Lee with some sound of his own,

"WOOOO!!!! Man, I love to see you guys. You guys make my day." he says as he makes his way to his locker on the opposite side of the clubhouse. Me and the other media cameras, etc hoard their way over to his locker and the questions ensue starting with a back-and-forth spat between FS Houston's Patti Smith and Lee about the Silver Boot. He either didn't know anything about it or played dumb for the cameras. He referenced his brown boots in his locker and even asked LaTroy Hawkins about it. He proceeded to yell across the locker room to his teammates to 'let's get the Silver Boot, guys.'

Good stuff. After getting the audio, Robert and I made our way back to the press row and watched more of batting practice.

REWIND: Before going to the locker room, they closed the roof with the Rangers taking batting practice. There were dark clouds moving in on downtown and when the roof closed it made light limited until they could get the stadium lights on, but the cloud moved over before they could get the lights on and it made it seem eerie inside the stadium.

FF: After watching rounds of BP, my job was to look for Nolan Ryan. He never showed up. I was done for the day. Off to the food room. Hot dog down, Peanuts and Ice cream to go. Now to meet up with some amazing friends to enjoy a Rangers victory!

Day 2: Just a bit outside

2009-05-21T00:02:00.001-05:00

So I found out as I was leaving on Monday that on Wednesday I was needed at 11am, not my usual call time of 12-noon AND I would be meeting Robert at the Texans OTAs which would be concluding around 11:35am. We would be there to collect audio from coaches and players. First time out of the station on the road. Sounded like fun!!!

So I got up extra early of course because I thought I would be an idiot and sleep over my alarm. I sat around with anticipation until I finally left to go to Reliant Park and Texans OTAs. I got there 15 minutes early I was so excited and did not even eat lunch. Once Robert got there, we made our way into the facility. There was a good amount of media there. I looked around to see who I immediately recognized from other stations and noticed guys from ABC-13, FSN-Houston, CBS-11 and John McClain from the Chronicle.

Once practice concluded, my goal was singular. Go to Kubiak. ...sweet. So as the coach made his way off the field I noticed the swarm of media make their way towards him. I kinda took my time knowing I would get there, and I did, but not quite realizing how quickly holes disappear when you are looking for one. I seemed to be on the outside trying to get in. I did. YEA! I found myself looking across at Texans TV reporter Brooke Bentley, she is very good looking, to say the least. She seemed very nice when I was trying to get some audio from Coach Bush a few minutes later. I kinda reached over her a little bit trying to get in there, she looked back and said, "is that good?" and we exchanged smiles of gratitude.

I also got to listen to Bruce Matthews give some insight into what he feels like being on the coaching side now and not suiting up and playing. I also watched Robert interview Steve Slaton and Antone Caldwell. Once we got it all, we headed back to the station to cut it all up.

That was my job. Using Cool Edit, I produced about 7 cuts from what I gathered and 6 more from what Robert collected, with his assistance. We were on a tight schedule because at 2pm, we were off to Minute Maid Park. Today, the Texans were participating in a Home Run Derby of sorts to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Houston.

After getting to the Ballpark, making our way in and to the press area, I received my first ever press pass to Minute Maid Park. It was a one-day pass that had my name on it, the date and 'KTRH' which Robert put down for me by accident.

With the derby scheduled for 3:30, things for the Astros game were pushed around. I stayed around for the entire derby, getting some video of Eric Winston and Matt Schaub hitting the ball out of the park.

Winston hit more home runs in the competition for charity but Matt Schaub was crowned the winner as he hit a target in the Crawford boxes that was worth $2,500. Winston hit two home runs after the main competition that were each worth $10,000. By far one of the worst with a bat in his hand was wide receiver Andre Johnson. He had issues getting the ball past the infield grass. In the second round, he was pitched to underhanded and it seemed to work as he sent three balls into the outfield including one that clipped a $1,000 target.

After all was said and done, Eric Winston was needed for an interview that he agreed to do before the competition with the afternoon guys Rich, Matt and Robert. I waited on the field after Eric did all his post competition stuff with other members of the media and then proceeded to grab him and let him know why I was there. He went to look for his family and we as a group made our way up to the press area along with Owen Daniels and David Anderson.

The interview was great, Eric was really nice and he has a beautiful family. I really hope be able to talk to him again. Once the interview ended, I hung around a little bit, but also got the grand tour of what the media has available to them during the games.

Making our way up the stair well that is direct from the locker room hall on the bottom floor up to the media row continued up to where the broadcast booths are AND the media dining room. Meals cost $10 a piece and I'm sure are pretty good, but like sitting in a $42 seat with a $7 ticket (story for another post), there are cheaper ways to get what you want. On the other side from where the fancy food is, they have a spread of fried chicken, hot dogs, (chili/cheese can be added), popcorn, peanuts, chips, cookies, cake, ice cream cones, frozen lemonade, fountain drinks and IT'S ALL FREE.

I was pretty much done with the internship for the day around 5pm, but decided I was going to stick around for the first game I could. After getting some food, I headed back and enjoyed the game from press row. I kept score with a scorecard and met Shaun, one of the other part time guys at 610. We had fun watching the game and it was interesting keeping him caught up on what he had missed two plays prior.

After an interesting start to the game that saw the Astros bat out of order due to a lineup card issue, the hometown team held on to win the game, thanks to a great pitching performance from Wandy Rodriguez halting the 7-game win streak of Milwaukee.
After the game, I went to get sound from Milwaukee manager Ken Macha. I also walked by Bob Uecker, Brewers broadcster in the hallway as he was headed to the lockerroom as well. Great day!

Day 1: Nice to meet you...

2009-05-18T23:35:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend, my parents told me how proud they were that I was about to start what they thought would be an 'experience of a lifetime.' I sure hope they are wrong. Internships are great and I encourage them, but I hope to not to take an 'experience of a lifetime' away from being with Sports Radio 610 all summer, more getting a feel of what being a part of a radio station, working with someone who really knows what they are doing, and trying to learn as much as I can.

Sure, internships should not be taken lightly and I am very thankful for the opportunity, it's just one day at a time.

Speaking of one day, my first day: May 18, 2009, making the drive north on 59 into town was tough because I still had not gotten down the times. So, I left 35 minutes early just to be on the safe side. Turns out I was right on. I got to the station and made my way up to the 19th floor where I then WAITED. After seeing the secretary, it turned out the two people I was needing to see, whom you will read a lot about, Laura was in a conference call and then my boss Robert had not yet arrived for the day.

So I sat there and waited as a few people made their way about the lobby of the 19th floor completely consumed by CBS Radio. I found myself looking a large television showing the station logos for a majority of 25 minutes before Robert arrived.

"Hi, Robert, nice to meet you...."
"Ohh sorry im late, today is my daughter's birthday. It's pretty crazy." As he is pulling out his Blackberry.

I was ready to go. We headed back to Studio K which serves many perposes, but for what we were worried about it was in there where most of the audio gathered from the sporting events was edited, archived and prepared to go on the air.

I was anxious, nervous and a little ignorant all at the same time. What I was looking at all seemed new to me. Of course there was a board, I knew the basics, audio editing, I can do some stuff, sports...I love that stuff. I was getting a little ahead of myself.

After getting a quick review of their archiving system, the Metro system (pull audio from online) and Cool Edit Audio to help cut up files, I thought I was ready to give it a shot. I was wrong. I did not know really what to do. How to cut up the audio was simple, but what to cut it into was not to easy.

One of the part time guys, Kyle was just back from Houston Texans OTAs and was happy to show more more about Cool Edit and how to exactly cut up sound into good stuff they can use on the air later and how to come up with good tags that help describe the audio....will need more work.

After Kyle finished, we heard that the afternoon guys, Matt and Rich had Bruce Matthews on the show, so Robert jumped on the opportunity to grab some sound from that. After recording the show, he had me cut 3 clips from the interview.

Once that was done, I was free to go. I had done well. First day in the books. Time to drive home in traffic!

610 Internship

2009-05-17T22:04:00.000-05:00

I am going to be posting a bi- or tri-weekly bit about my experience at Sports Radio 610. Feel free to comment and thanks for reading!

Rock Chalk Chip off the 'ol Block

2008-04-08T00:49:00.004-05:00

Kansas coach Bill Self said it best, "We got the ball in our most clutch player's hands, and he delivered."

That clutch player he refers to is none other than junior guard Mario Chalmers, whose three pointer with under five seconds to play in regulation sent the game into an extra frame. The momentum built from the late half comeback propelled the Jayhawks to the 75-68 victory over the Memphis Tigers. Chalmers finished the game with 18 points.

The Tigers blew a late nine point lead to allow the Jayhawks to send the game into overtime. Up 60-51, Memphis just needed to slow down the pace of the game and get the ball to their premiere players, Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts. An unintentional foul though by Joey Dorsey with that lead gave Kansas free points at the line, sat out Dorsey for the remainder of the contest, and on the ensuing inbounds play, a turnover led to a Jayhawks three-pointer to cut the Tigers' lead to four points.

The title is Kansas' third in school history and first since Danny Manning and the Miracles 20 years ago in 1988.

There are plenty of fingers you can point on the Memphis side. Free throws down the stretch, Dorsey fouling out, the turnover leading to the three pointer, lack of motivation in overtime. They all played their part in eventually spelling the end of the Tigers run.

On the other side, you have to give due where it is due. Coach Self had his team prepared for a game that many people thought that they would not even reach. They made their way through a decently easy region (they never played Georgetown due to Hoyas getting bumped early) with playing three teams in their region with the lowest seed being #8 UNLV (#10 Davidson, #12 Villanova, #16 Portland St.) before they made it to the Final Four. They showed America why they are the #1 of #1's.

Remember, this team went through two number one's after they lost one of their better interior forwards Rodrick Stewart during a practice before the Final Four. Congratulations Lawrence, enjoy it!

Mr. 3000...and counting

2007-06-30T23:53:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Craig Biggio for becoming the 27th player in Major League Baseball history to eclipse the 3000 hit mark on Friday night in Houston. The big hit came in the 7th inning with a runner on second base, 2 outs, and the Astros down 1-0. Biggio tried to stretch the single into a double, but was thrown out at second base as the ball, that was hit to center field was easily taken by Rockies fielder and former Astros player Willy Tavaras and returned to the infield in time to retire Biggio.

The game ended in extra innings after the Rockies went ahead with a solo home run in the top of the 10th, the Astros tried to make the night perfect for all in attendance at Minute Maid Park.

The Astros loaded the bases and with 2 outs, up stepped Carlos Lee. Brian Fuentes was looking to get the save for Colorado, but Lee belted a pitch down the left field line that just stayed to the right of the foul pole and landed in the Crawford boxes for a game winning walk-off grand slam. What a way to cap off a night where a man who has given 20 years to one organization finally reaches a milestone that only 26 other men in all of the sport have done before him and only 8 others have while playing with the same ball club.

Now Biggio is making his way up the charts. As of today he sits in 26th position all time in hits. Of course Pete Rose is first all time with over 4,200 hits and there is no way Biggio will reach that number, but it will be interesting to see how many greats of the game Craig can pass before the end of this season.

As of the end of June, Biggio has 3,004 hits. Next on the list is 'Mr. Tiger' Al Kaline with 3,007. Wade Boggs is the next target with 3,010 followed by Rafael Palmeiro with 3,020. It is very possible he can break the top 20 before the end of the season. (Rickey Henderson is 20th with 3,055)

The Weekend in Sports

2007-06-25T01:03:00.000-05:00

For the past week or so, I have thought about starting a podcast. Just a little something in addition to this here. Nothing big or fancy with special music or interviews or a chance for the readers to sound off. More or less an audio version of 'this.' So, in the meantime, while I get my things together for my first podcast, which might indeed be tomorrow, lets take a look at the quite lackluster weekend in sports.

So, I guess I'll start with Friday, cause I guess that is the beginning of the weekend. Of course the big story of Friday was the surrendering of Tennessee Titans' cornerback Adam 'Pacman' Jones, who was then quickly released after posting bail there at the jail in Las Vegas and was on his was back to Nashville. According to Jones' lawyers, the suspended NFL player will plead not guilty to two felony charges of coercion stemming from allegations that he threatened to kill Minxx club employees and that he bit a bar bouncer. If convicted, Jones faces a maximum of 12 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Jones has had more face time on the Internet/sports outlets next to the courthouse or a police officer than on a football field or next to a teammate. It amazes me how a man of what you think would be somewhat decent class and values continues to do what he does and not have the ability to learn from it. How was he able to survive college??? My only guess is because he was not swimming in money then. This is a troubled player who must learn to choose more carefully who he hangs with because the people he is associating with are bringing him down and if he wants to continue to cash that pretty NFL paycheck anymore, then he must choose 'sink or swim' and so far he is sinking fast.

Saturday was Ejection Day in baseball as 3 managers and 1 player were given the early shower. The San Francisco Giants' manager Bruce Bochy, Atlanta Braves' manager Bobby Cox, Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona, along with New York Mets catcher Paul LoDuca were all ejected on Saturday.

It had been out of the ordinary how many ejections there this year in baseball. It seems to me they are adding up at a much higher rate than in prior years, at least in most recent. Bochy has been ejected four times this year. Bobby Cox's ejection gave him the record for most ejections in a career. It is kind of making a statement saying there are too many ejections going on in baseball. Umpires need to tone it down and so do players. Umps need to relax more and not have such a quick release when it comes to tossing a player from a game. Fans do not come to a game to see talent get tossed. On the other hand, the players need to put the responsibility square on their own shoulders and not 'ask for it.' I have seen it many a time this year where players will jar with an ump until they are given the boot and told that their day is done. Veteran players need to take more responsibility knowing that they are there for the thousands in attendance that paid the ticket price and brought their kids to see you hit the ball and run the bases, not yell like a child at another man trying to do his job.

Sunday was a little more relaxed in sports, but still no events. Oregon State captured its second consecutive College World Series Championship with a win over North Carolina. Also on Sunday, Juan Pablo Montoya became the first non-U.S. born driver to win a NASCAR race in over 30 years. The only baseball game of note was played in Canada where Dustin McGowan was three outs away from the second no-hitter in Toronto Blue Jays history. He still got the complete game shutout in the 5-0 victory over Colorado. Also in that game, Frank Thomas blasted his 499th career home run.

I don't really have an opinion on Oregon State winning the College World Series other than the fact that my University participated in the tournament and made it to the 'final 32.' It does seem to be a really big deal that they repeated since they lose players each year and its not really the same core of players that come back each year. Obviously the same few teams are going to be 'good' year after year based on program recruiting and reputation, but this year was quite unique since it was a repeat of both teams making it back to the finals. NASCAR...i don't really have an opinion. Frank Thomas is the man and congrats to him on getting one step closer to 500. One of the biggest guys in the league and he is legit. Nobody touches Frank Thomas and the ball flies far far away.

That was the weekend in sports and as you saw, there was not much to it.

Setting New Marks

2007-06-18T23:24:00.000-05:00

Some things never change once they are created: they can't be beat. Bob Barker ended his run as the host of The Price Is Right and he went out with a bang. It will be hard to fill his shoes. Just as in television, sports has their shining stars who leave their mark on their respective game through setting a bundle of records and prevailing with tremendous accomplishments.

Just like when long TV series come to an end or TV personalities call it a career, records in sports cannot last forever. This year's MLB season just might be a season that sets quite a few new records and has a few more players reaching some of the highest milestones you can achieve in a career in a statistical category.

Out of the box, we start with one stat that was set by a player who already holds the MLB record for the most. The Padres' Trevor Hoffman reached the 500 save milestone on June 6th with a 5-2 win against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He already has the record and is just adding to it.

Now to the most followed of the milestones. Barry Bonds' chase of Hank Aaron's all-time record of 755 home runs. After going deep for the first time in his career at Fenway Park on Sunday to bring his career total to 748, Bonds is almost a lock to reach Aaron, only being seven away. Bonds started a three-game series in Milwaukee Monday; a three-game set in New York against the Yankees follows.

Other Major Milestones reached this season:

--Kenny Lofton (Texas Rangers) reached 600 stolen bases for career.
--Omar Vizquel (San Francisco Giants) reached 2500 hits and 400 doubles for career.
--Jamie Moyer (Philadelphia Phillies) recorded his 2000th strikeout of his career.
--Derek Lowe and Randy Wolf (Los Angeles Dodgers) recorded their 1000th strikeout of their careers.

--Sammy Sosa hit his 600th home run on June 20th against the Chicago Cubs. He now has 601.
--Ken Griffey Jr. passed Mark McGwire on the All-time HR list with 584 on Sunday, June 24th (he hit 2 in the game) against the Seattle Mariners, his former team.
--Barry Bonds walked one time on Sunday June 24th against the New York Yankees, giving him 2500 for his career.

Other milestones that are within reach before the month is out include:
(edited on June 25, at 12:30 a.m.)

--Craig Biggio (Houston Astros) is only 4 hits away from 3,000 for his career, something not even Babe Ruth accomplished.
--Frank Thomas (Toronto Blue Jays) is 1 home run away from 500 for his career.
--Pedro Martinez (New York Mets) is 2 strikeouts away from 3000 for his career, he is currently on the injured list. The Mets hope he will be able to play this season.

It takes only 4 to get No. 4

2007-06-15T16:21:00.000-05:00

The San Antonio Spurs took care of business on Thursday at the Quicken Loans Arena in front of a crowd of 20,000 screaming fans. The Spurs won their fourth NBA Championship in nine years and third in five years. Though the 83-82 score in the records makes this game appear to be closer, the Spurs were really in control the last few minutes of the game. Tony Parker finished with 24 points in game 4 and was rightfully named the Finals MVP.

For those 20,000 screaming fans waving their rally towels in support of their hometown team, they, along with any other hardcore fan across the state of Ohio may have been the only people in the nation who wanted to see this series go another game. The ABC television ratings have been the worse in the history of the Finals. Many in the media expressed after game 3 that they 'wanted the series to end' hoping it would not last another day so they would not have to tune in to another day of horrible basketball.

Of course for fans in San Antonio, the 39th largest media market in the United States don't really care. They are just happy that their team won. That baffles me the most though, about the lack of ratings, and I do understand they did go up against some stiff competition this week, but I do not see how Game 1 of the 3-time champion Spurs vs the LeBron James led Cavaliers can lose out in viewers on a broadcast TV station (ABC) with a 6.3 rating (9.2 million viewers) to the final episode of The Sopranos which is shown on a Cable TV network and on some cable subscribers requires a digital upgrade. They racked in a 6.5 rating (nearly 11.9 million viewers) including myself.

For game four of the finals, I was at the AT&T Center. Not as a fan, but an employee. I was there as one of the fine few whose job it was to get the merchandise ready if, but in the minds of many of the others, when the Spurs won for the fans that had filled the arena to buy. Before the game, the group of us made our way to 'employee only' territory on the event level. (BTW...I've worked at the AT&T Center before, just, this was the first time in two years [05 Finals]) We made our way to the room where they kept the championship merchandise. Official locker room hats and shirts in addition to an alternate shirt that had the team roster on the back. Our job was to make sure we had the correct amount of merchandise for our stand and then to fold a few of the large shirts and put a few on displays. Once we were done, they were put back into boxes to be carted up to the plaza level where they were kept behind a curtain underneath the escalator near the Fan Store and then slowly wheeled out once the game neared the end.

As the buzzer sounded, it was total madness, the seven of us had 30 minutes to SELL SELL SELL!! We had 5 registers and I was on one of them. We also had over 200 excited, and a few drunk, Spurs fans anticipating purchasing championship merchandise. After the chaos died down, we had sold over 200 shirts, 50 hats, and made over $8500 in 30 minutes.

I am just glad I did not get stuck in traffic on the way home. BTW...brooms are for cleaning.

Fade To Black

2007-06-11T23:50:00.000-05:00

Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. CST was Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Cavaliers and Spurs in San Antonio on ABC. Sunday night at that same time was also the much anticipated final episode of the veteran HBO series, The Sopranos.

When it came to choosing which to watch, it was not hard for me. Even though I had not watched many episodes of The Sopranos, I was quite interested and wanted to be involved in this final episode and find out what would become of Tony. I did occasionally flip back to the game since it was only one channel away, but I spent nearly 99% of the time on HBO. I was intrigued by the show and was a little dissapointed I had not watched any prior episodes leading up to the final one. I quickly found myself taking to the side of Tony, hoping that nothing would happen to him throughout the show.

As the top of the hour crept closer, I wondered what they would do and how they would do it, figuring it was inevidable. Once his wife said they were going out to dinner, I figured that would be it. The final scene just seemed quite mellow. Even though they showed the other patrons in the diner, and what looked like someone looking at Tony, it didn't seem to matter. As his daughter finishes parking her Lexus (should have gotten one that parallel parked automatically), and walks in the door, the screen goes black and the music that had been playing in the background throughout the entire diner scene stops.

This took me by surprise at first, I had thought that the channel had died, but when the credits came up in silence, I started to chuckle, knowing that was it and there would be no more.

I turned over to the NBA game on ABC and the Spurs were winning by 20 points in the 2nd quarter. It seemed as if the Cavaliers too were watching the Sopranos during the first half.

Coaches losing their cool

2007-06-08T13:15:00.000-05:00

Controversial calls. They are the most talked about plays in sports sometimes. In some cases, a single call can determine the fate of either team. Umpires and referees try their best to make sure they get the call right and when that call looks to be incorrect, they are in for a verbal exchange with the manager.

It may be something as insignificant as strike two in the bottom of the fourth inning with nobody on base in a scoreless ball game. It may be as big as a play at the plate with the batting team down one run in the bottom of the ninth inning. Rest assured, the manager will have his say to the umpire.

Major League Baseball has set its fair share of ground rules that all managers at every level of the game know about when it comes to complaining or confronting the 'men in blue.' As long as it does not involve how they are calling balls and strikes, then anything they talk about is fair game. They can argue a balk, or a close play at a base, or a grounds rule on a hit, but they can't argue the strike zone.

So, on Friday night, in a Double-A baseball game in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the manager of the Mississippi Braves, Phillip Wellman went to work on the home plate umpire. Wellman lost his cool after the ump ejected Braves pitcher Kelvin Villa for apparently using a foreign substance.

The tirade began as Wellman threw his hat in front of home plate umpire Brent Rice, then began to describe using hand gestures how wide home plate is. Rice chose to be calm about it, so Wellman took his tantrum to the plate itself, where he proceeded to cover it with dirt, pat it down, and draw a larger version of home plate.

Wellman's franticness also included him stealing both third and second base out from where they are placed and walking out with them as he exited the field at AT&T Field.

By far though, his most noted part of his exhibition on Friday has to be when he makes his way to the infield grass and crawls towards the pitchers mound, grabs the resin bag, acts like it is a grenade and lunges it at the home plate umpire, landing right by his feet.

The Braves organization, a minor league affiliate with the major league Atlanta Braves, handed Wellman a three game suspension for his on-the-field outburst.

Wellman Gone Wild

Not 24 hours after Wellman walks the field does the world of baseball have another manager lose his cool over a close call. Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella was ejected in the eighth inning of the Cubs' 5-3 loss at Wrigley field to the Braves. This time, it was a close play at third base in a close game that turned 'Sweet' Lou, sour.

Angel Pagan tried to get greedy and take third base, but the Braves' catcher made a quick throw and the tag was applied quickly. Third-base umpire Mark Wegner gladly joined Piniella in a verbal spat that got the crowd into the game despite their hometown team on the verge of losing their sixth straight game.

It must have been odd for Piniella standing in the face of Wegner, since he was wearing mirror-clad sunglasses. All he could see was a reflection of himself yelling, and I am sure using his share of expletives.

Chants of "Lou! Lou! Lou!" filled Wrigley as the event continued. The Piniella party included hat kicks and a little arm shoving match with one of the umpires. That, along with the rest of his tantrum earned him his four game suspension. It probably would have helped Lou if there was a chance to see a replay of the tag, because Wegner did make the correct call, and Lou was just upset at a lost chance to have a man on third with no out down one run.

Coming the day after Carlos Zambrano and Michael Barrett had a shoving match over Barrett dropping a few balls and the Cubs on a losing streak, it almost seemed the perfect situation for Piniella to earn his first ejection as the head man of the Cubs.

Lou Losing It

If you think those two were 'over-the-top,' then you have not met Joe Mikulik. The manager of the Asheville Tourists took managers going wild to a new height in June of last year when he came out to argue a call where a base runner of the opposing team was called safe.

His antics included diving into the base, throwing the resin bag, covering home plate before pouring water on it, tossing bats onto the field, and throwing second base.

Mikulik earned a seven game suspension and a fine of $1,000 for his rampage of the field.

You got to love the Lexington (home team) stadium sound crew. They made the event better for the fans with sound bites to go along with the different things Joe did. Starting out with the Three Stooges' "Who is on First" to "There's no crying in baseball" to the sound of a baby crying. Ending the fiasco with playing "Hit The Road Jack" (something usually played in the NBA when a player fouls out)

Mikulik's Meltdown

Wondering if these three outrageous outbursts are a sign that managers are just losing their cool easier or maybe they really have another, more personal reason for stomping onto the field and parading around like a child.

LeBron halted, Spurs take game 1

2007-06-08T00:46:00.000-05:00

Cleveland 76 - San Antonio 85 (FINAL)

Game 1 is in the books from San Antonio and I must say that there has not been much to cheer about from the side that is making their inaugural trip to the finals. LeBron James was held to only free throws as points in the first half, and despite going on a run where he made two 3-point baskets in a row, only managed to finish the game with 14 points.

Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs take step 1 towards adding a fourth title in nine years to their marvelous run. They proved why they are the better team. Living here in San Antonio, but not being a Spurs fan, it is difficult to always see this team succeed, but then again, with this being a one-team city, if they did not succeed, few in this city would care about them. Where the team goes, the city goes. The city has been high on this team since the end of the Phoenix series; since they were tagged as 'the bad guys.' Fans are saying 'Spurs in five,' 'Spurs in six,' or even 'Cavs don't even play on the same court as the Spurs, brooms baby!!! SWEEP!!!'

It is going to be a tough task for the Cavaliers to win a game in San Antonio, much less win this series. LeBron James is going to have to step up his game along with the rest of his teammates. I do think that this game 1 was a good step for their team to see what it takes to play against a championship-winning-calibur team like San Antonio to then make the adjustments necessary to come back on Sunday night and have a better showing.

Daily View: Anaheim wins Stanley Cup

2007-06-07T00:39:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to the Anaheim Ducks of Los Angeles of California of the United States of the NHL for winning the Stanley Cup on Wednesday night at the Pond. (I refuse to call it the Honda Cent-...damn nearly did it...stupid corporate sponsorships ruining tradition, but that's for another daily view). The Niedermayer brothers have struck gold with this team, Scott (the captain) for the fourth time in his career.

The Ducks defeated the Senators 6-2, and took the series in 5 games. Travis Moen had two goals for the Ducks. Daniel Alfredsson scored both goals for Ottawa. Scott Niedermayer was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Finals MVP; he added an assist in game 5.

Anaheim was the more dominant team in this series and the playoffs, they showed the nation that by taking out the Ottawa Senators in five games to win their first Stanley Cup. It will be interesting to see if both of these teams can keep their core groups together and make another run at it again next season. I think at least one of these teams will have a very good chance.

Welcome!

2007-06-06T00:32:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my blog. I have started this blog in hope of writing many articles on the world of sports. I am a student majoring in Mass Communications and an aspiring sports journalist. I hope you find my writing informative, but mostly entertaining and maybe even controversial. I want to talk about what is important in sports, and I would love to hear your opinions. Feel free to comment on anything. I hope to continue this site over the summer of 2007 and throughout the remainder of the year. Thanks and Go TEAM!