Still plugging away....

Well, January is almost gone, which means now only 4 months until we hit the water again. So, as I try to remain optimistic, even though the temps today barely cleared 0, we are not far away from it at all! Actually, I'd have to refer to an earlier post to get the countdown right, I'll do so at a later time. Anyhow, this weekend I get a trip to the Black Hills. Get to visit Spearfish (one of my favorite SD places) and Sturgis. Should be a fun two days of basketball as I live life on the road as a class AA radio announcer. Wouldn't want it any other way though.

Super Bowl is around the corner, and I think I'm one of the odd balls that wants the Pats to go 19-0. It's just one of those things that doesn't happen that often, and if anyone else saw the cockiness of Mercury Morris on ESPN a while back, maybe that 's more the reasoning. Maybe you didn't see it that way, but sorry Merc, they are in your house right now serving your eviction notice. So, this prediction bids well for the Giants, because I haven't picked a game correctly yet (other than the Pats games, but those are easier). So, let all the fun begin.

This is how to fill a day

Well, I've kind of always wanted to try reffing and broadcasting in the same night. Here is how it ended up working out. I was sent to Wessington Springs last night for an afternoon/evening of basketball. I started around 4pm when I did the first game, which ended up being a 7th8th grade game, then did the girls junior varsity. Following that, I went and changed back into my street clothes which included my new KOKK polo shirt, and went to work. I then did the play-by-play for the boys varsity game, followed by the girls varsity game. Got back to Huron around 11pm. It was an 8 hour job packed into the afternoon, and that's after a day at the station. And that is just the time it took me that day. But there were plenty of things that had to be taken care of ahead of time. Thankfully, the AD at Springs was willing to help, and Woonsocket was also. All the coaches made themselves available on Thursday for interviews, and they met my demands of putting up the full 20 minutes of warmup times to allow me to get changed and back in the booth ready to go. Just a minor adjustment here and there, and it could be a good deal. Pretty soon, you'll see all radio announcers going to games to referee, then do the games. Well, I guess that's probably not going to happen. I may do it one or two more times, but I'm not planning to make a habit out of it for sure. Anyway, today it back to the hardwood for a double header JV matchup, then I'm off to see my new cousin, Chelsea Jo. Going to be a fun weekend.

Bovine Belching??? Seriously....

Ok, this one falls under the "I can't believe that someone approved this" category. And to top it all off, you can read more about his at My Cattle Health News. In case you missed my show today, I talked about this in the 3:00 hour, there are a group of researchers in Sweden that have secured about $600,000 to research how cows belching is causing global warming. First of all, it's debatable that global warming even exists, but even if it does, to think that cows are the problem is just a crock. Second of all, they got how much money to research bovine burping? Even if they find it's a problem, then what? Anyhow, the whole premise of this is that cows are emitting so much methane gas, they are seriously causing harm to the environment. Apparently, someone convinced someone else that 95% of methane gas emitted by cattle come from the burp. Well, I guess it makes me feel tons better knowing that every time I eat a steak or a prime rib, I am doing my part in helping save the earth from global warming.

How does it do that, exactly?

Well, today has already been quite busy. I got up at 5am to do the Saturday Morning show, then helped get stuff cleaned out in a downstairs bathroom we are having problems with, later this afternoon I go to Woonsocket to referee, and then later find something else to do to complete my Saturday. So, it's going to be a long day.

Now, for the example of how does that work? We woke up this morning to temps well below 0, and Alan comes up stairs and looks at the atomic clock on the living room wall and asks, "Is it really 17 below? Well, it wasn't quite that cold, but it got Ray to thinking (I could tell he was thinking because of the smell something was burning). Then he asked, "Tyler, did you ever put the temp reader for that clock outside?" I replied that I knew nothing about it, and Ray went over to the drawer, and pulled out the temp sensor for the clock, it had the logo right on it. So, the clock knew that it was well below 0, yet the temp sensor was in the 70 degree house....What?!?!?!

One is better than five....

At the 281 tournament tonight, Alan and I are watching as James Valley starts against Wessington Springs. The cheerleaders are a regular part of alot of basketball evenings. But one thing stuck out to both Alan and I. Wessington Springs only had one cheerleader. The poor girl was out there all alone leading the cheer. She was quite good though, and louder the all 5 of the James Valley cheerleaders. Alan and I applauded her after one cheer. We figured it took alot of self esteem to go out there and be the only one to lead all the cheers like that, alot more courage than someone who had a whole team. Although, after halftime, she had doubled, and there were two. But we still liked the the one who was willing to stand up there and cheer alone.

Well, on to a new subject. I came across some other great people who had a sense of humor when they created some signs, and I thought I'd share a few with you.


This sign should be displayed in alot more places.

And, now, my personal favorite....

Sports....Sports....Sports.....and more Sports

Well, nothing like more of the daily grind. Once we are done with the 281, and I get hockey done this week, I'll have done around 11 games in 8 days on the radio, and refereeing. I'll have reffed one game, done 8 basketball games, and 2 hockey games on the radio. Did I mention I did that? Well, I do hockey too....or I should say attempt to. Basketball is by far the easiest sport to broadcast because I know the game. I played, I referee, I did some for fun coaching, and I can get the game. My other sports: football, baseball, volleyball, hockey just don't come quite as easily for me, cuz I never really played them. It makes things far easier to have that understanding. But, there come some times when you just can't get enough of the sports, and this past week has been one of them. But, I don't know that I'd really have it another way....it's a pretty decent way to go.

I also lost a scoring record today. I held the record for fewest points called in a play by play quarter. That record was set by me last year at the region game in which Sully Buttes played James Valley. In the 3rd quarter, the two teams combined to score 3 points total. That was the record until this afternoon, when one game the two teams managed to only score 2 points in an entire quarter. Yikes. Coaches may love a good defensive team, but I as a referee, announcer, and fan want to see some scoring! Like putting up 91 points in a game in the 281, that's much better. Everyone with me now, "OFFENSE! OFFENSE!"

Got something pretty funny today also. You've seen the Mastercard commercial with Peyton Manning where he is giving people the pointless pep talks. Well, I got one sent to me, and it's really funny. It had my name in it and everything. They are very well put together, and worth a good laugh. I was just impressed that after a tough loss for Peyton, he took the time to send me a pep talk, even when feeling down about the crushing defeat they suffered over the weekend. Thanks Peyton!

A Night Behind the Microphone - 281 Style

Well, here is the answer. It's always nice to turn on the radio and hear the big game, whether your listening to volleyball, football, hockey, or basketball, all ingredients are the same. Here is what it takes:
-2 People, one at the game, and one at the radio station to operate the controls.
-Equipment to include a remote phone unit, a headset, an extra microphone, and a recording device for interviews, and a phone line (or cell phone with the proper equipment.)
-And, absolutely impossible to do without - SPONSORS

So, you turn the radio on and the pre-game show is just about to start. Perfect timing. The announcer has been at the gym for 60-90 minutes already. When arriving at the gym, it's time to find the booth and get the equipment set up and make sure everything is in perfect working order. This includes a test call to the station. So, once the equipment is all set up and tested and the phone line works (I'll explain why that step is so critical later), it's time to venture out and find the coaches for the interviews. We'll find the coach, and spend up to 20 minutes talking about the team, the game, starting 5 players, and anything else the comes up. Two coaches, and back to the booth, generally half an hour is now gone. Just like the book keepers at the scorers table, we fill out the stat sheet. Yes, we keep all of our own statistics while the game is going on. As pre-game time airs, it's time to reconnect with the station and get ready to go. The operator at the station will get the controls set to get the phone line on the air, and get the commercials set to play, and get the internet feed ready to go so people all over the country (or world) can listen, and so we have a copy of the game recorded back at the station. So, the Game Opening starts, and it's off for a fun night of sports! It's all that simple, anybody wanna try it? Didn't think I'd get too many takers.

So, why is it so critical to test the phone line. We get to James Valley to start the 281 Girls tournament. Simple, we've done it many many times before, just plug the stuff in, and dial the station and away we go. Well, I get the phone call at 3:10 to get the cell phone unit and get it out to the tournament because the phone system had been changed and the lines didn't work. We got on the air in time for tip-off using a special cell phone unit, and Matt did the games while I scrambled to help troubleshoot and get a phone line working. You see, any phone line won't do the trick for us. All this change to digital phone systems is not good for us, we can't use digital lines because there are small amounts of voltage on them, and that has the potential to wreck phone equipment (just trust me on that one). So, not everything goes off without problems, but only best can overcome these obstacles.

Tonight, not too bad, if you didn't get it, I've already heard about people enjoying the comments of playing pick your Kleinsasser or choose your Schouten. Fun games I play while doing the games. Should be a fun Thursday evening when i get back behind the mic again....

A Night Behind the Whistle

It was a fun night of making some more enemies, and doing one of the most thankless jobs out there. It's just not too often any official is appreciated. I try extremely hard never to yell at one (which works 99% of the time), and I think most fans should attempt to do the same. it's not easy to do, and alot of people would admit that they can't do it or can't take the criticism which do come with it wether they are right or wrong. Just a few things to remember when you sit down at the next game.
1. The referees are not out there trying to make your team lose
2. The referee missed the most obvious calls, and they looked really bad. - They probably did, but I will be the first to admit that we don't always have the best view of the play, the people in the stands have a better look at most things that seem obvious to you aren't when your standing on the floor with 10 other players.
3. The referee is going to cost us the game. We'll start talking about that when you have a game with the losing team shot 100% from the field, free throw line, and committed 0 turnovers. Come see me then.
4. REMEMBER - It's just a game. It's not life or death, and you should be there to try to enjoy it. We've taken alot of the fun out of the game. Everytime you yell, your not helping. Yell something positive for your team, and remember to be a good example to the younger ones around you.

As some things end....others just get worse

We are getting closer to the end of the week and the big 281 Conference Tournament will take over the sports broadcasting at the station, and I'll put in 3 straight days of games. I'll do games Friday night for the girls tournament, Saturday night for the boys tournament, and on Sunday for my personal favorite (a little sarcasm in there) Hockey. Still formulating plans for that stretch of games, then I could be off until as late as Thursday with the major marathon day. 8 games in one day just isn't a good deal, but there is probably no alternative to playing that.

As you've probably figured I'm a major fan of music, and today i completed my installation of my new stereo system into the Trailblazer. It was a Christmas gift from my parents, and it works great. If you'll recall, now both of my Christmas presents have been installed, one for my personal enjoyment of music in traveling, and the other for the ease of travel with the now perfect turning in the vehicle. Lots of wires and colors that left me wondering a couple of times, but it all works perfectly, and now with my new Keith Whitley CD, it sounds great. Yes, I said Keith Whitley and I know it's not a new CD, but it's new to me. For those that don't know, he is a country singer who died way too young, at 34. I've heard a couple of his songs from work playing in the classics section, and his sound is similar to Randy Travis, but I love the sound. And, somehow I'm amazed at how many things I end up learning in music, but Keith was also married to Lorrie Morgan. Anyhow, a man that country music could have really used for years to come, but was taken sadly by alcohol addiction. You would know his song, "When You Say Nothing at All" He was the original recording artist for it, but Alison Krauss and her band have made the song rise to even more recognition. She is another amazing artist, but that's for another time. If you'd like to read more, check out Alan's latest post on his blog here or search for the post on January 8.

My Mother the Guitar Hero

Well, these pictures say it all. We were at the family Christmas get together, and we were playing all kinds of games, Mennonite Poker - Moon to most people - and the other hit was Guitar Hero 3. Well, we were playing some moon, when my mother said she wanted to go play guitar hero. Wasn't quite ready for that, but there isn't much funnier than watching my mother play the toy guitar singing along, "Schooooools out for summer!!" Those are things that just stick with a guy for a while. So I had to capture that kodak moment and get it in here.

Today at work I got to un-Christmas everything. Just add it to my ever growing list of tasks. I did get it all neatly stored in the basement though. If you added some fake snow and a couple bunnies, and a fawn, it would Narnia. Well, in other news, the big basketball tourney starts up this weekend, so start the ticking clock with all those games, one can only imagine how much fun is about to be had but our sports team. Speaking of which, I'm hoping to get the all the details on what it takes to get one of those games on the air. Hopefully that will be coming this weekend.

Ohh, Christmas...we will see you in another year....

Well, we are finally done with family Christmas. Our last one was today, and almost all of the family was there (and one that wasn't family was there...but that's ok too.) And, the Christmas season always has to come with laughter at someone's expense, and it was me...which is why I'm in the world to begin with. Eventually you just come to grasps with the fact that you might be here for other people's entertainment only. This year it was me....

It's as big as my head, the buttons are as big as my nose. It's a gigantic remote.

Although, a close second was Grandpa Pete getting the same gift from 3 of his 4 kids. He'll be eating at Red Lobster a very, very, very long time. It might even carry him to next Christmas. No one talked about it, and no one knew that they'd all gotten the same thing, but wow did we laugh. Good times.

A nice weekend off...

On the brink of mayhem as the 281 Conference Tournament rolls around, it was nice to have an extended break from the world of basketball. Right now, we just finished family Christmas, and it's a great time to just relax before having some serious basketball to cover. We will have 24 Games in 7 days, and that's just the 281. We will have other games on at the same time. Anyhow, this weekend the family made the trip to Onida to play over there. It didn't turn out well, but hopefully I can get my hands on the tape of my cousin's 3/4 Court shot that went in at the end of the first quarter. They tell me the banks in Onida are open fairly late on a Saturday. Anyhow, maybe I can get that on here later. I didn't get to go, we were enjoying a girls/boys double header at South Dakota State. It was a great time!




There are more images that will be posted in my images page. Just click the link under Sites to Check Out then My Pics

And, we want to be sure to again, thank our sponsor for the great evening.

And back in the ball game....

Basketball is back tonight, and will be with us for the next 2.5 months. I was back at it tonight, but was in stripes instead of in the booth. Still fun to get out and be part of the game. Fun will be had Saturday also, as a trip to Brookings for some college ball in the evening. That's always a good time supporting the blue and gold. I do want to thank our sponsor for the trip, Northwestern Energy and the good folks there....they are always friends, and we appreciate their support....

Well, also happy to report that we have our second international visitor - welcome aboard. I'm amazed to watch the counter, and that needs to be thanks to a couple of linkers out there. Well, I'm going to be working to continue with the upcoming day at the station. It's going to take you through a day in the world of radio broadcasting. It is going to be a process to get all the info, and it's also going to take the blog up a notch to add some photographs in with the explanations.

On Sunday, we get to have our final Christmas. My grandpa from Kentucky just got in to town last night, so we celebrate that Christmas a bit later. He just doesn't travel and avoids the holidays, and they aren't too kind in airports, but are far better at New Years. So, Sunday we have the final Christmas and then put that away until next holiday season begins at thanksgiving. We are another day closer to the beginning of spring, actually, Memorial Day weekend - which is what I call the start of the watersports season, which this year will be on May 23. The Countdown from today is 140 days to the start of the season.

And now, 2008....

Well, we move into month two of the enduring blog, and a brand new year.  It's time of year we make those resolutions that get broken in 3 weeks, or maybe a few months for those that are very dedicated.  I made none, just for the sake of setting the bar low enough for myself that it's achievable later.  Plus, I made a discovery, we are about 5 months and 21 days from hitting the water again.  That's a long time, though.  Last night, we had the standard stay up to midnight, then did a bowling event to 2am.  That was actually not too bad, even for me who loves nothing more than my cozy bed.  But, I figured once a year, maybe I can handle that. 

After one month, we look at the numbers, just under 60 visitors for one month, and I've also got one international visitor, and it wasn't in Africa.  Well, it's hard to tell what 2008 will bring us, but, thats part of the adventure.  Now today, it's just a great day of laziness on the couch watching football, sounds like a pretty good deal, since we hope today to make it to 5 degrees.  But, we are one day closer to summer....