The Lost Art of Prep Sports PBP

[CentralFloridaEagle]

I listened to much of the second half of last night's Lakeland - (Ft. Lauderdale) St. Thomas Aquinas 5A state championship football game on WLKF-AM, and as someone who had been in the radio business for the better part of two decades, I was embarrassed for the two chaps who were calling the game on-air.

It was one of the worst play-by-play broadcasts I have ever heard, and I've heard more than my share of small-town Gene Deckerhoff/Mick Hubert wannabees. It seems as though local prep sports PBP is fast becoming a lost art, yet another victim of corporate greed and less focus on serving the local community.

BTW: My vote for the best prep PBP announcer among those still doing it has to go to Tom Thornburg, who owns WWBF-AM in Bartow and calls the BHS Yellow Jackets games.

For those who may not be familiar with WWBF, it runs a satellite delievered oldies format (ABC/Westwood One?) but still does plenty in the community. It still has the old fashioned "swap shop" call in weekday mornings! It's truly a family operation: Tom is the preverbial "jack of all trades" as SM who also covers city and county government news, his son is CE and does the "swap shop" programme, and Tom's wife is the bookkeeper/office manager...overall, one of the best run radio stations anywhere in the area.

 

[zoneguy]

There just are not a whole lot of opportunities out there anymore for young guys trying to develop in PBP announcers to call games. There are just a few tiny stations out there doing High School Sports and often those games are covered by some local old timer who has been doing it since the 60's.

Another corporate radio death blow is that AM stations running on satellites at night and over the weekend won't bother with the logistics and expense of doing a local event like a high school game. Not enough dollars to justify it in markets where there are more than a handful of school programs.

 

[smedge2006]

If there are young talents who would be interested in PBP, they're trying to get on cable or an all-sports radio station, not some satellited AM in a combo in a market with no sports station. Not to mention the primitive one-man-band setup of many high school broadcasts mitigates against professionalism. The standard seems to be calling the game over a bad cellphone that makes crowd noise all but go away.

 

[Maverick Johnson]

As someone who started their radio career, as a part of a high school football broadcast team (as the sideline reporter, pre game, half time and post game host) on 1320 WAMR duing Venice High Indians games in the early 90's.

But this was in the early days of JACOR ownership of that station. It all starts with a LOCAL...General Manager, (Dave McClure) who believes in the product, enough to make sure, sales makes at least enough money to cover costs and then to hopefully make a little. While at the same time making sure both talent, engineering and production people, put on the air a quality product, even though it is high school athletics.

Over the last 15 years, one of the things I am most proud of is.... the years I spent broadcasting and coordinating high school sports coverage. On 1320 WAMR, The Whammer did high school football of Venice, with the same team.... Jeff Rhodes and Johhny Smith (with me along). Over time, I with Dave McClure's guidance.....then segued into doing the PBP for Venice High Boys and Girls Basketball and also Venice High Baseball. Dave McClure was truly a GREAT.....General Manager. A class act and rare person in todays radio.... a programmer who could sell without sacrificing the product. Dave is one of my mentors.

When I began to program 1450 WSPB (then WSRQ), one of my first moves, was.... to add coverage of Sarasoa Sailors High Football and Baseball, play-by-play.... That continued for a few years...

However after continued pressure from upper management to cut costs on all ends, and more importantly a lack of support from local sales... Which then killed both stations (including our coverage of all our local high school sports)...

High School Sports deserves to be on the radio....

However bad it might be, at least there are some stations, that are giving it the air time.... it truly deserves..

Maverick

 

[sbe1]

That's the difference between the locally owned station and one owned by mega corporation. Small stations love HSFB, in fact many small AM's including daytimers violate FCC rules by running at nite or using day power/pattern during HSFB. The station I was affiliated had most of the local banks, hospitals, contractors etc sponsoring football. It was always a sellout and for time that was basically throwaway. Listen during season here and you will hear almost all the local small AM doing HSFB. Great local service.... I know Dave Bristow, former CH 40 reporter and current PIO for Charlie Wells is known for doing PBP.

 

[Studio20]

Say goodbye to that type of programming, unless its :

a) on a small town, single tower AM station or

b) A medium market, such as Tampa-St Pete, with some good local football. A station will let their producers/interns/go-fers, what have you, get behind the mic, so as to appease them, and toss in some extra spots to stroke your sponsors...

Friday nights in the fall are pretty empty for programming, so why not plug it in instead of the same old syndicated sports talk pablum that the bird brings you...

Truthfully..and painfully so...you no longer have to go on the radio. More schools are having their games live on the internet. Plus its saved for later "on-demand" listening.

 

[MusicMan11]

I did play-by-play and color for maverick at whatever station he was running in the early part of the decade... i know folks miss it, but......such is life in radio.

 

[Gold32]

Hay Mav, Man how hard was it on Friday nights running both Sarasota on 1450 and Venice on 1320. At least 1320 got to do the State Championship game. Mav this is Huggy, e-mail me at [email protected]. I would love to hear from you.

 

[Horns]

I spent 8 years at a very successful small market radio station, I did it all from midday DJ to engineer. I can say that doing high school football play-by-play was the most enjoyable thing I've ever done in broadcasting. I did it for four years and still miss the experience. The station made good money off the games, because so many buisnesses wanted to be associated with a "community service." The station actually paid us damn good money to be the talent. It was hard work, but great experience.

 

[Obtuse1]

For those who may not be familiar with WWBF, it runs a satellite delievered oldies format (ABC/Westwood One?) but still does plenty in the community. It still has the old fashioned "swap shop" call in weekday mornings! It's truly a family operation: Tom is the preverbial "jack of all trades" as SM who also covers city and county government news, his son is CE and does the "swap shop" programme, and Tom's wife is the bookkeeper/office manager...overall, one of the best run radio stations anywhere in the area.
[/quote]

And in fine sounding AM Stereo, no less! A nice perk for radio geeks and folks who drive mid-eighties to mid nineties Chrysler products with factory radios.