Accuracy and Legibility

In a lot of what we do in sports, we deal with rosters, and lineups. This is seen in all sports, but especially in a sport like baseball. I'm going to refer to rosters throughout this post, but that includes baseball lineup cards. 

It's so vital that rosters are both accurate and legible. 

Accuracy means having everyone listed and having all necessary information listed. This means all uniform numbers and positions are included and correct. If a player switched numbers from originally listed, that's okay, just made the change. 

Whether it's the PA announcer, broadcaster, writer, or anyone else, we want to be accurate with what is being reported. The only way we can is if we get accurate information given to us. Sure, we can search around, but we shouldn't need to, and we are taking chances at trying to piece through information. 

If people are missing on the rosters completely, then we have to go searching for that, and we don't want to show up teams and coaches either. 

In terms of legibility, not everyone has the best handwriting. I get that. I'm a prime example. That's totally okay. Then type and print out a roster. There are many templates, or you can make your own. There's also a way, if teams use Game Changer to keep score, to print out rosters that way. 

This way, everyone isn't guessing what the spelling is and therefore possibly saying a name wrong. Yes, those in PA or broadcasting still might need pronunciations on certain names, but it makes it much easier if the roster can be read.  

Even for writers and people doing social media posts, it's important to have the correct spellings so the names are correct in print. Whether that be online, or truly in a real newspaper. 

I'm sure some of you are reading this and saying, why should coaches be expected to provide rosters. Well, when it comes to a sport like baseball, or softball, we can print rosters, if they are available, but we still need the accurate lineup cards for each game. We can't just guess that. 

Also, even if only numbers are needed, in a basketball scorebook, for example, include names. It just looks better. More professional. Honestly, include as much information on a roster as you can. Obviously name (first and last) and number (where applicable for sport) is important, but position, and then sometimes height and weight any anything else that are sport specific are always helpful. 

I could ramble more on this, and I probably have other things I want to say that I am forgetting, but I won't bore you anymore. 

John, Billy and Jackie

John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman

I keep wanting to blog more but the topics I have thought about blogging about would either be overall themes and thoughts that might seem as too vague and inflict questions or just topics that nobody cares about. 

Then again, you likely don't care about the topics I am about to write about. Or you can find thoughts on all this elsewhere. 

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John Sterling, the voice of the Yankees on the radio, announced that he is retiring, effective immediately. 

It was first reported by Andrew Marchand of The Athletic and confirmed by both the Yankees and Sterling himself. 

Sterling will have a press conference on Friday and be honored on Saturday. 

The timing is interesting, and I wonder if we will hear more but he's doing what he feels is right for himself and you cannot fault that. 

For me, there were years of summers listening to John and Suzyn Waldman call Yankee games on WCBS 880 before the Yankees moved to 660 WFAN. 

I personally also think about listening to the end of game six of the 2009 ALCS as the Yankees won the pennant over the Angels and listening to John's call as I was in the car at the time. 

There are so many other great calls of Sterling's From the World Series, to other milestones, to no-hitters and perfect games, and so much more. 

So many iconic home run calls, and other calls with nicknames, from "Bern Baby Bern" to an "A-Bomb from A-Rod" to many others. 

We will all think of John as the Yankees radio voice, but he was more than that. 

Before John started with the Yankees, he broadcast the Islanders, Nets, Hawks and Braves. 

Just a tremendous career for John Sterling and a well-deserved retirement. 

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Let's get to the Billy Joel concert at MSG on CBS that took place on Sunday night. 

Yes, I actually watched and listened. Partly because it was on in my house, but I actually was interested and paid attention. 

There is certain music I like (mostly "oldies"), I just don't pay enough attention to it or know enough to really talk about it or anything. If only I paid attention to it the way I do sports. 

Lots of great songs played, and some that were not. 

Now, to get to the broadcast. 

First off, yes, a lot of people were not happy with it starting late due to The Masters running long. 

During football season, this happens all the time with 60 Minutes and other shows and broadcasts being delayed due to football games running longer than planned. 

Second, yes, the broadcast cut off when Joel was still playing "Piano Man." Someone at CBS likely had it set to cut away to commercial and the local news at a certain time and didn't make adjustments when the show ran late/long. 

Good to hear that CBS will re-run the show in full later this week. 

I also found it interesting that it was presented as Billy Joel being live when others were reporting that this was a show that happened a few weeks ago. 

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Lastly, it's Jackie Robinson Day around Major League Baseball. 

The league has done a good job of recognizing Jackie and what he did both on and off the field by retiring number 42 around the league and having everyone wear 42 on April 15 every year. That day is used because that is the day Jackie broke the color barrier in 1947. 

People have talked about different, and possibly better, ways to honor Jackie. We will see if baseball changes that one day. 

That's one thing sports does well, is honoring it's history. 

Fairfield Little League Baseball

Watching though the wind screen because we always make it work and respect space where we are guests.  

Little League baseball was back on Robcasting Radio on Tuesday. 

I was honored to join my friend Rob Adams for Fairfield National and Fairfield American in the final game of district two pool play at Unity Park in Trumbull. 

Fairfield National asked Rob to broadcast it, and well, it's Fairfield related, so I'll often be there. 

We all know how much I love sports involving Fairfield, so a all-Fairfield matchup is very enjoyable. #OneTown 

We have done little league broadcasting for Fairfield American three times, 2018, 2019 and 2020. We also did some National in 2020 after they won district two over American. 

It's been a blast every time. So great getting to know the players, coaches and families. 

Tonight, American came out of top 12-2. Both teams will be playing in the double elimination portion of the district two tournament beginning Friday at Unity. Rob will be back on Friday when National plays Trumbull at 7:30pm. Listen on Robcasting Radio. 

We had to watch the game tonight through the wind screen. We made it work. Like always. We can see enough and Rob was able to look though where two pieces of the wind screen were zip tied to the fence. 

It rained off and on at points in the game, but Rob is prepared and brought a pod to keep the equipment dry. He also had a tarp to keep the power strip hopefully dry. Safety is no accident, you know. #Preparation 

Sure, we got a little wet, but that was fine. Knowing the equipment was dry and safe, the only other real issue was keeping our scorecards as dry and possible so we could: 1) Read what they said and 2) continue to write what was happening; I gave up on my scorecard with an inning to go, to be honest. It was a losing cause. 

Rob trying to keep his scorecard dry. 

I'll be bouncing between a number of things this summer, including little league when I can. My main priority will be the communications work for Fairfield American Legion baseball I am doing. I've also got some basketball coaching. 

After Legion, it's somewhat wide open, little league baseball, Babe Ruth baseball, AAU baseball, anything else I can think of. Basically, if Rob is there, there's a decent chance I will be there at some point if I can. And even things Rob isn't at, I'll go watch and/or cover in some way. 

I also want to watch as many of the Ludlowe baseball guys as I can who are playing on various teams this summer. I'm always going to support those guys especially, as well as all the others playing. 

Here is the full broadcast from tonight. 

Broadcasting Thoughts

A mixer in the press box at Ludlowe's Taft Field (SS Photo)

Public Service Announcement: The views below are mine and do not necessarily represent anyone I am affiliated with.  

There are a lot of broadcasting related topics I'm going to hit here. They could be separate posts, but I am going to make them one.  

Everyone thinks they can be a broadcaster. A lot of people are excellent. Others, not so much. 

I've dabbled in broadcasting, in large part due to Rob Adams. Dabble is putting in nicely. I put a headset on and say a few words every now and then. I know I am not good. However, I think I understand broadcasting and can talk about it. 

I think I have also learned some of the off-air behind the sciences part of broadcasting, both from talking to/watching Rob, as well as some of the video side from the days of helping out the HAN Network (also Rob, but others like AJ Szymanowski). 

I know people might say I'm not qualified to talk broadcasting. However, I feel differently. 

I listen and watch a lot of broadcasts, or clips of broadcasts. Either they are games I want to watch, I want to hear the broadcasters, or clips are sent to me. Sometimes I listen to the games for the broadcasting, other times for the sports content, but end up analyzing the broadcast aspect anyways. 

I listen to a lot of Rob and Mike Hirn, who both do a terrific job on their respective outlets. I listen to both local broadcasts around here, local broadcasts elsewhere, pro sports broadcasts, and more. 

Everyone had different styles, but there are a few things every broadcaster should do. Some do this better than others. They should report what is happening. They should also be entertaining to listen to, that's where there is a big line. They should be exciting and not boring, but at the same time, they shouldn't be over the top. We hear too much screaming from broadcasters now, when it's just not needed. Not everything is "unbelievable" or "gargantuan." There are certain points in a game when a broadcaster should get more excited. The listener/viewer still needs to understand what is being said. 

The color commentator also needs to know not to jump on the play-by-play broadcaster. To the same token, the PBP broadcaster needs to know when to be quiet and let their color person add in commentary. 

Then you go to the preparation aspect. Everyone prepares differently. There should be no one set way that everyone prepares for a broadcast. People have their own style that work for them. There are too many people that think they need to have all this "fancy" prep. It may work for them, but not for everyone. 

There are many different ways to have a setup. It also depends of the sport. Some people have rosters, others have depth charts. Some have notes on their computer, some have them handwritten or typed and printed out. There is no "one size fits all" like some people think there need to be. 

Some people like many colored pens/markers for different types of notes and information. Others can work with one or two different colors. 

It's also imperative to get facts correct and it's really not that hard. If you don't know something for sure, as questions, and do research. If you're on the air and not sure if something is true or not, don't say it. It just makes you/the broadcast lose credibility. In addition, pronunciations can be difficult, but a broadcaster should make every effort to learn them. Ask a coach, statistician, team manager, etc.

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Live video streams are great. However, they are even better with broadcasters on them. Broadcasters help bring the game to life and help the viewer understand what is happening. At the worst, if there is no broadcaster, there needs to be a score bug/clock that work. I see too many broadcasts that schools put out a live stream with no working score bug and no broadcasters. Some don't even have natural sound. It makes it nearly impossible as a viewer to tell what's happening. 

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Around Fairfield County, there are many different streaming outlets that schools use. There's NFHS and Local Live as the two primary ones, and then a number of other schools have their games on YouTube, either with just a live video, or as part of their broadcasting network. There are pros and cons of every one. 

Personally, I'm a big fan of Local Live as I feel the quality of the video is superior and it's free, as opposed to NFHS, which is a pay subscription service. There are some good broadcasters that Local Live uses, however, there are others that are questionable. I think a lot of the schools that have their own setups are good, but there are always things that can be improved on. I've seen what a lot of schools have and I think it's interesting how they have different outlets. It would be nice for consistency if each league did the same thing. But I know that won't happen. 

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So now you have some of my thoughts on broadcasting. I haven't said everything, but I likely said too much.  

Hogan Leads Fairfield 19U Past Greenwich

Fairfield and Greenwich in action on Saturday morning at GHS. 

Phil Hogan's complete game two-hitter led Fairfield 19U past the Greenwich Cannon's 2-0 on Saturday morning at Greenwich High School. 

Fairfield got on the board in the top of the first against Greenwich starter Zach Karson. Jack Pierce walked and stole second base. Two batters later, Joey D'Elia doubled to to the wall in right field to plate Pierce and give Fairfield a 1-0 lead. 

Fairfield added another in the third inning against Cannon's reliever Alex Roath. Christian Homa led off with a single. Pierce then sacrificed Homa to second base. Two batters later, with runners on second and third, Blake Benway singled though the left side of the infield to plate Homa. 

Greenwich had their best chance to break through against Hogan in the fourth as they got a runner to second with one our and had runners at first and second and two outs but could not plate a run. 

Hogan walked three and struck out five in addition to allowed just the two hits. One base-runner reached on an error.  

The Cannon's pitching was very good also. Four Greenwich pitchers, Karson, Roath, Jake Mondschein and Zack Alza allowed just the two runs of six hits. 

Fairfield will now gear up for the playoffs next week, while Greenwich will have a final regular season game on Sunday at Trumbull at 10am. 

The playoff brackets for both the 19U and 17U tournaments can be found at greenwichcannons.com 

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Rob Adams and I broadcasted the game on Rob's channel, Robcasting Radio. Thanks to Rob for having me along for the broadcast. Fun to get out there and help Rob out and provide some (very little) color commentary, especially with Fairfield being involved. 

We had a few technical issues, but as always, Rob is able to find a way to get the broadcast done, one way or another. He knows how to fix issues and will try multiple ways to fix them, if need be. To be clear, neither issue was Rob, or anyone's, fault. We (mostly Rob) worked though them to produce the best broadcast possible. 

Here's the broadcast with Rob and I on the call. Due to the technical difficulties, Rob recapped the lost portion of the game. 

 

Stay turned for Rob's broadcast schedule on his Twitter or the Robcasting Radio Twitter.

MLK Classic

I had a great time today doing color for the Martin Luther King Jr. Basketball Classic at Webster Bank Arena along side Rob Adams on Robcasting Radio. Normally, I am the third, fourth or fifth person as part of the crew. When that's the case, I can Tweet, do some stats, and talk very little. Today, I actually felt like I had to talk at least a little so I didn't make Rob talk for eight hours. (Not that Rob "Scullying" is a bad thing, I really enjoy listening to that).

I didn't say a lot, but I said much more than I normally do when I'm on air.

It's weird, I normally talk a lot when I'm just talking...especially about sports. However, when you put a microphone in front of me, I don't say much. There is something very wrong with that.

We saw four good games spanning almost eight hours.

First up, Ludlowe took on Bridgeport Central. Obviously, being a Ludlowe grad, being a former student manager for the basketball team, and still being around the team some (Ok, ALL of the time), this one was extra special to be a part of. It helps to know things about the team like I do with Ludlowe in order to provide analysis.

In the second game of the day, Career Magnet from New Haven faced Warren Harding from Bridgeport.



In the penultimate game, Notre Dame of Fairfield matched up with Xaverian from Brooklyn, New York. It was fun for me to see a team that wasn't from Connecticut play because CT high school basketball is what I am used to.


The day was capped of with Wilbur Cross from New Haven taking on Bassick from Bridgeport.

Thanks to Rob for having me. Also thanks to everyone who was part of the event, from the people at Webster Bank Arena, to the people in the Bridgeport Athletic Department who organized and ran the event. Also thanks to all the players and coaches on the eight teams.

Remembering Bobby Murcer

Missing Bobby Ray Murcer today on the ninth anniversary of his passing.

Bobby played in the majors from 1965-1983, spending parts of 13 seasons with the Yankees and also playing with the Giants and Cubs. He missed the '67 and '68 seasons as he was serving in the military.

I remember being at a family party and the Yankees game was on. On the post-game show, Bob Lorenz announced that Murcer had passed away. I remember standing there watching it and then going outside to tell others who were at the party who were Yankee and/or Murcer fans.

I obviously never saw Bobby play but he just became my favorite player after watching highlights and Yankees Classics. He is one of the major reasons I have an interest in broadcasting as he was a Yankees broadcaster on both PIX11 and the YES Network following his playing days. I never saw him on PIX but remember hearing him on numerous games on YES.

As a player, Bobby was good, not great. He was looked at as the next Mickey Mantle. He wasn't that, but he did have a few big moments in his playing career including a pinch-hit Grand Slam in 1981 vs the Rangers and driving in all five runs in a 5-4 win vs the Orioles on August 6, 1979 after the death of teammate and friend Thurman Munson.

Bobby wrote his auto-biography called "Yankee for Life: My 40 Year Journey in Pinstripes" which details his playing career, his broadcasting career, and then his battle with brain cancer, which was what took his life.

The Yankees need to do something to honor Bobby. I know Rob Adams (who is an even bigger Murcer fan than I am) agrees. There needs to be a plaque in monument park or some recognition of Bobby's time as both a player and broadcaster for the Yankees. It is long overdue. He is very underrated.  It is always great to see Kay Murcer at Old-Timers Day and that the Murcer family is still involved.

I have other thoughts but I would just be babbling. I'm always happy to hear Bobby mentioned and love having conversations about him.