Boone still in
the back of the bus
CROWN POINT
(2-16-2005)
- It was disappointing to see
the lack of coverage for Boone Grove last week when the girls team attempted
to finish an undefeated regular season with a game that they lost 71-61 in
overtime at ninth-ranked North Judson. Railcats off-season transactions got
more space the next day than a showdown game in Indiana's premier sport. While
over 700 fans showed up to watch in North Judson, local broadcast media was
barely represented. Only Com Cast cable's Jamie Perko was there, taping
highlights for cable Channel 4's Thursday night Region Sports Extra.
Knox radio station
WKVI-FM carried the game but NW Indiana stations WJOB, WWCA, WEFM and WHLP
were not in the house. Clearly, this game should have been on TV and radio. It
was a top-10 matchup between big-winning teams with a perfect regular season
on the line. To be fair, the Times may have covered the game in it's Porter
County edition but there was just two paragraphs in the Lake County version.
The Times new partial box scores also didn't tell much of the story. The
pots-Tribune's Steve Georges was there and filed a complete story. But this
has happened before to Boone. What's the problem? I'm sure I'll hear excuses.
WJOB aired a Steelheads game. The RSN, headed by Chris Ramirez, can't just
break into WWCA (1270) AM's programming any time they want. I'm sure that WEFM,
which booms into the Boone area, had an excuse.
But that's missing
the point. Why is Boone the invisible school? Two years ago, when the girls
went to the semistate, no game was on local TV or radio. Not one. Boone's
boys, who have won seven sectional tiles, have never had a sectional or
regional title game on TV or radio. I challenge anyone in local media to break
that streak. Reasons sound like George Bush's war justifications. First of
all, there is this misconception that Valparaiso is in the 'region' but Boone
Grove is not. Boone is a suburb of Valparaiso. The school buildings sit less
than five miles apart. Boone families have Valpo zip codes. Boone Grove
basically is Valpo. Kinda like Dick Cheney and Halliburton.
Secondly, there is
the old 'Ridge Road' bias. Highland and Munster are on radio constantly. For
all you hear about Andrew Helmer (Highland), Luke Harangody (Andrean) and
Michael Bizoukas (Munster) on WJOB, you wouldn't know that Boone Grove's Danny
Borys, Morgan Township's Nate McGinley and Kouts' Johnny Selman are just as
skilled. You wouldn't know it if you had never seen Borys, McGinley and Selman.
Kouts graduate Ricky Hise (2003) Porter County's all-time leading scorer,
never had a game on local radio and just one on WYIN Channel 56. To this day,
there has never been an over-the-air radio broadcast out of a Hanover Central
home game, even though HC is well within the WJOB listening area.
This may be
changing. Recently, you may have noticed lots of Crown Point basketball games
on the air. The RSN and 'JOB have apparently successfully mined the CP area
for sponsors. The RSN did well in Lowell during the football season and will
probably do so again in 2005, which should be a very big year for Lowell and
CP fotball. Good for them. All radio broadcasts are sponsor-driven But this is
a peak year for Boone basketball teams and no one has even put gas in the
bandwagon, much less jump on it. WEFM (95.9) did carry the Porter County
Conference (PCC) championship games and Boone was in both of them. But then
why ignore the biggest game of the regular season? There can never be a
perfect balance of games.
Broadcasters are
always going to choose games where they grew up, games involving schools they
attended of their children attend. Games in more affluent areas where
sponsorship possibilities are greater and more lucrative. I also realize that
guys do not like to cover girls sports. They say they do but they lie. And
ones who do cover girls sports do not judge them the same way they do boys
sports. It's not okay to cover girls sports because you like how they look in
shorts. But that's beside the point. When a big high school basketball game
looms in Indiana, you can't just blow it off and still brag about your
coverage. No radio. No TV. One newspaper. For a game between 20-0 and 16-3.
You explain it to me.
Say what you see
I
would like to see state tournament games replayed on late Friday nights or
Saturday and Sunday afternoons. It's partially selfish. I'm in my car all day
Sunday. But I don't think the people who would enjoy the games most can hear
them Friday night. I'd rather hear the second half of a key game than do
the 'split coverage' WJOB is trying where they jump from game to game.
Folks who are fans of teams
don't want to hear you cut away to another game for any reason. WJOB would do
beter to limit coverage to a main game and a backup game, relegated a 3rd game
to tape delay. I honestly think they may lose listeners to other stations by
jumping between 3 and 4 contests.
Also, for WJOB especially, there's no need to tell us how great this is every
five seconds. Be cool. We like the game or we wouldn't be listening.
Enthusiasm is great but there's no need to go on and on about how awesome the
Indiana state tournament is. You're preaching to the choir. It sounds very
'game show' and forced. Just be reporters and call the game.
I never thought I'd say this but the RSN, former homers and charter members of
the lovable 'Highland Mafia' back when the Highland girls were beating Clark 5
times a year, are now more candid and 'real' about whether a game was good or
not.
You do not have to be positive and you shouldn't always be negative. But you
must always, always tell the whole truth. Just because it's sports doesn't
mean you don't tell the truth. Say what you see.
MEDIA NOTES: State boys tournament coverage begins on March 1 with WJOB
and WWCA doing double-header action from two sites. The IHSAA tourney draw
airs Sunday (2-20-2005) on WJOB (1230) AM.
Note to radio station reporters. When you are asked to report on a game, get
point leaders. Score by quarters. Won-loss records. And get the key
factor of the game. Better rebounding. Better press. 3-point
shooting. Crowd size and lead changes.
Deliver a few thoughts on the significance of this game you just covered.
Don't ever say you don't know how many points were scored or your not sure of
the teams records. You're being paid to know that. Your job is
important. Get it together.
Act like you're not
surprised you are being asked to report on this game on the air. People in
their cars are hanging on your reports because they weren't there. Give
us details and get organized. The on-site reporters are by far the
weakest part of the Friday night sports shows on both WWCA and WJOB.
The
'Chicago' Times
The
Times newspaper needs to give us more prep coverage. A Sunday paper (2-12-2005)
was loaded down with Valpo University, the Pro Bowl and Cubs and White Sox
pre-training camp crap when wrestling, swimming and basketball were all in
state tournament mode. Poor decision making by management there.
Local
newspaper must remember. YOU ARE NOT CHICAGO. YOU ARE NW INDIANA.
I don't care what some 'attitude' writer in February thinks about how many
homers the Cubs will hit without Sammy. How do they know? Why do we
care??
Chicago
papers have beaten that horse until its dead. Jesus Christ, let it
go. Cover the region and stop auditioning for a big city job. I'll
even accept more boring coverage of the Steelheads before I want to read about
that weed-head Jose Canseco 'outing' every single member of the
steroid-infested baseball players union.
Illinois
wiping up the floor with Wisconsin is NOT a story that ranks ahead of
sectional championships of the Indiana state basketball tournament and I don't
care if it was Flip Wilson getting fired as coach of the NBA's Timberwolves
(it was Flip Sanders or Colonel Sanders, I'm not sure). NBA coverage in
February is like stamping 'DUH, DUH, DUH' a thousand times on a page.
That's a story placement made by somebody who isn't from here. The Indiana
state tournament was on page 10 of the Sunday Time on Feb. 13? I don't
totally understand what the Times is doing sports-wise. First, box
scores that tell you less than a Jason Giambi news conference. Then, the
state tourney gets bumped behind a Pro-Bowl preview. Pitiful. Who ever made
that decision should have been taken out back and whipped like he was an Iraqi
in Donald Rumsfeld's back yard.
Meanwhile
the RSN's Sports Monthly and, to a lesser extent, the Calumet press have put
out some good local coverage, although the Cal Press is a little disorganized
and needs to lay off the college sports. The RSN's monthy magazine is
well-produced and as informative as a monthly can be. It is a good
effort.
I missed him before he was gone.
When I was little, I was very, very quiet. I was
told not to speak unless I was spoken to and I didn't. I enjoyed the loudmouth
kids and the friendly kids. They were fun. They were the party. I liked to
hang around with them. I just wasn't one of them.
I am probably far more shy than anyone you will ever meet. Always have been. Years
ago in school, kids told me they were shocked when I spoke in class because
they didn't know what my voice sounded like. Some of my vivid childhood
memories are turning away from a group of people I know to walk home and
hearing them continue to talk and joke. The sounds of their voices was funny
and soothing. The sound of my voice was not. But I smiled. It was comforting
to know that the 'party' was still going on.
My favorite things back then were radio and television because the party was
always going on there. Folks who made you laugh or cry because that's what
their job was. A party you could take home with you.
When I was little, I would watch TV late into the night until my mother came
in the room and turned it off. Often, I would get out of bed (these were the
days before remotes, friends) and turn the set back on after she left. All to
watch a never-ending party in a place I'd never been involving people I never
knew.
Johnny
Carson had a gift. Much has been made recently of his ability to charm and
poke fun but much of that was learned. His ability to take me with him was
something I have never felt in anyone else.
I thought it was me interviewing Ann Margaret and Raquel Welch. I hoped he
could make them laugh. I wanted to see him flirt with them.
I hoped he could swap insults with Don Rickles and hold his own with Jonathan
Winters. Apparently millions of my generation felt the same way.
Much of what I know about baseball history I first heard from the late Channel
9 announcer Jack Brickhouse during Cubs and Sox baseball games. In the same
way, I learned about show business, television history and comedy from Johnny
Carson.
He talked to Jimmy Stewart like he was an uncle. It was years before I knew
how great an actor Stewart was. He talked to Rosemary Clooney before anybody
even knew she had a son named George.
He told me that Joe Williams and Mel Torme were great singers and that Buddy
Rich was a great drummer. Johnny told me that Zsa Zsa Gabor was a star and I
still don't know what the hell she was famous for.
Carson seemed to know that men are defined by how they treat women. When he
had a young blond woman named Joan Embry on his show regularly with animals
from the San Diego zoo, many liked the way he treated the animals. But I
loved the way he treated her. The way she looked at him was just
marvelous. It was years before I found out they never ever saw each
other outside of that show.
Johnny Carson was a history lesson of show business before I was born. I had
neither heard the names nor seen the people. Jack Benny, George Burns. Sid
Caeser. George Goebel, Rodney Dangerfield. Jackie Mason. Henny Youngman. But I
came to know and appreciate them. I didn't understand all the history and the
humor, but I could see the respect on his face. I remember seeing
Milton Berle on the Tonight Show and thinking, 'He's so funny. Why doesn't he
have his own TV show?'
I saw the 'Rat Pack' Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Joey Bishop
and Peter Lawford, long before I knew they were called that. They were loose
and funny. I would look forward to those shows all day. Dean Martin used to
simply walk onto the set of the Tonight Show and crack jokes even when he
wasn't scheduled as a guest. No matter how many tears I might shed during long
bright days, I remember almost being in tears late at night laughing by myself
in the darkness.
I can't explain his appeal to young people. Other than possibly Regis Philbin,
there is no one at all like him now. Carson was a multi-cultural, TV age Jimmy
Stewart. Everyman. He could host the Academy Awards and be more famous than
anyone in the audience. He could go on vacation 13 weeks a year and people
simply wouldn't watch when he was gone.
He left in the greatest single moment of TV I
have ever seen before or since and, because he did not allow reruns of his
shows, many young folks didn't really know who he was when he died a few weeks
ago. They didn't understand what the big deal was.
As I grew older, I read about Johnny Carson and listened closely to his
conversations on the air. He said he was painfully shy off camera. Something
that seemed very normal to me. I heard him say that he didn't like the sound
of his own voice.
He said that he would sit in the corner of a room at parties, talking to no
one. He hinted that he was not really who he was on the air. Years after
I started watching the Tonight Show, I finally understood another truth about
his appeal to me.
Since his death in January, some have referred to Johnny Carson as the Joe
DiMaggio of television. As gifted as they come, with grace and class. Someone
who retired once, never to return and never to talk about it. He was also
James Bond. The suave agent who saved the boys and won the girls, conquering
network TV and putting everybody to bed. The plain-faced, simply-named friend
of the great, the good and the ordinary. All without letting anyone know who
he really was.
Carson was in no way suited for public life. He was just someone who knew what
he wanted to do and knew he wanted everybody to like it. Just not necessarily
him. I knew he wasn't coming back. Not ever. And I guarantee you that the best
times of his life were not spent with his trophy wives or his millions of
fans.
The best times Johnny Carson ever had were
the days he spent by himself looking at the ocean and the sunset. Driving
himself to work alone down sunlit side roads. Don't ask me how I know.
Like the guy on the news said last month, I
missed him long before he was gone.
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2005 USA-365.com and Meyer
Multimedia Services, a division of Meyer Broadcasting Corp. All rights
reserved.
Revised: February 20, 2005
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