From Sports Fan to Sportscaster: The everyman sports junkie turned announcer shares his thoughts on the job
From Sports Fan to Sportscaster: The everyman sports junkie turned announcer shares his thoughts on the job
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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781456745509 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | AuthorHouse |
| Publication date: | 02/25/2011 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 934 KB |
Read an Excerpt
From Sports Fan to Sportscaster
The everyman sports junkie turned announcer shares his thoughts on the jobBy Vinny Micucci
AuthorHouse
Copyright © 2011 Vinny MicucciAll right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4567-4548-6
Chapter One
The state of the Sports Media Business
The more I follow and cover sports, the more I feel as if I were born in the wrong decade. I don't want you to get me wrong. Sure, I love the technology, the evolution of the games, the seemingly endless options of entertainment and matchups that exist nowadays but the reason I got so into sports is the same reason I want to keep it that way. Media coverage in sports has gone haywire. No longer are we reporting on the news, we are simply making the news. One of my biggest problems with sports coverage can begin with the Major League Baseball All-Star game. As big a sports junkie as I am, baseball is heads and shoulders above the rest my favorite one and I respect its athletes and their abilities immensely. I am not jealous of their salaries, fame or anything that comes with the job. However, the midsummer classic has become quite a spectacle and not always simply because of a few Hall of Famers that arrive for the party. In 2008, the All-Star game took place less than one hour from where I grew up, lived, went to school and had worked. It is at Yankee Stadium. I had been there hundreds of times and could not wait to enjoy all the weekend had to offer. I was not about to let some inaccurate, unnecessary coverage of the event get in the way. This was a futile effort, cause it was about to do just that. First, Major League Baseball can't have its cake and eat it too. As wonderful a job Commissioner Selig has done with the sport, in my opinion, he overreacted to the 2002 All-Star game in Milwaukee. I don't particularly care that the game ended in a tie that year. My favorite memory of the game was Torii Hunter robbing Barry Bonds of a homerun while 2nd year player Ichiro Suzuki looked on in awe in right centerfield. I don't believe that many fans cared either, but the writers chose to make it an issue and thus an issue we have. Major League Baseball had been hosting All-Star games since 1933, which by the way the American League won 4-2 since we need to know the outcome. From that moment to 2002 in Milwaukee, 72 All-Star games were played. From 1959 to 1962, two games were played each year and in 1961 at Fenway Park, one of the games ended in a tie. Why was it suddenly an issue? Is there too much media with a need to sell a headline? Was the simple coverage of the game itself not enough of a storyline to be different from the rest? Let's start the uproar for "now it counts". This slogan was given to the game since now the winning league received home field advantage in the World Series that year. That and FOX, CBS, NBC and whomever else would have a draw to the game would bump ratings. "Now it counts" became quite the punch line for those talking about the game itself. So why can't baseball have its cake and eat it too? Well, you either make a game that counts in which case fan voting is ridiculous or you don't and let the fans decide whatever they want. You should get the best team out there with no need for a player from each team and duel until the winner gets home field advantage. I do not care for this way. Instead, go back to an exhibition game, get a player from each team, create a legend spot on the roster and give the winning team something that universally motivates everyone and that is money. They do it in the form of shares to teams that finish in first and second in the division and based on how far they advance in the playoffs as well and they did it for exhibition games in Japan when I covered the 2006 Japan All-Star Series. There, MLB All-Stars traveled to play the stars of the Nippon Professional League. Trust me; the players had the look of wanting to win. Money and the pure competitiveness of these pro athletes will serve the game just fine. You cannot go half speed in baseball. It just simply does not work. The tie in Milwaukee was "apparently" devastating and due to the media coverage, we have a new All-Star game format ... and it counts!
Here is my mostly direct encounter with how the news is made and not covered. At the 2008 All Star Game in New York, there was as there is every year various media availability sessions. I was put in charge of covering the event and therefore entered into the large hotel room where the All-Stars of each team would gather. Each league gets an allotted time of about an hour, usually less for hundreds of media from around the country and the world for that matter to speak. The questions are repetitive and horrible and it is no wonder that some players arrive late, take the fines and not arrive at all or appear to have a puss on their face the entire time. Now, certainly I would say to just suck it up and talk for a bit and go back to your All-Star experience but the treatment that Jonathan Papelbon received was just uncalled for. I give you a side note to consider while reading. I promise that during my entire time as a broadcaster, not once did I let fan allegiance deter how I covered events. I do want you to know where I am coming from at all times, so you should you know I grew up a Yankee fan. That should only add to my comments as I watched the right handed closer handle questions. With the game taking place at the old Yankee Stadium, the New York media peppered the fiery pitcher with questions about who should close the game. I was at Papelbons table for a good 5-7 minutes. I heard the same question asked of him several times. EACH TIME, the man answered it well. He credited the work of Mariano Rivera and said calmly that "If I was managing the team, I would close but I am not, so it don't matter." I stood there and not once thought he was pulling rank on Rivera ... not once did I think he was asking his own manager Terry Francona who was skipper of the AL team to put him in that spot. The guy simply said in translated terms that he is a competitor and he always wants the ball in the big spots and of course he is confident in himself to say that. Needless to say, the back page of the New York Daily News on July 15th, 2008 stated, "PAPELBUM" – why?? All I can say is that I was there and saw it with my own eyes and heard it with my own two ears. He never made a point to call out New York's legendary closer. He simply stated what any player would. The caption on the back page also stated "Red Sox reliever says he, not Mariano, should close tonight's All-Star Game." Try and search for any other quotes by the righty other than the one I already stated above. You won't find any. In fact, much of the writing uses terms like "Papelbon suggests it is he and not Rivera who should close" – in other words, it is all how you perceive it and believe you me, I never perceived it that way. Similar response is used when players make predictions. In 2007, Jimmy Rollins said in spring training that the Phillies would win the NL East. It became back page fodder as it should have for the Mets but we take his word in the media and with fans and we crucify him for thinking that his team can win. Rollins did it again in 2009 when he said that the Phillies will win the World Series in 5 games on late night TV. I hosted a World Series show on MLB.com several hours prior to each game which took callers. I couldn't believe the hatred being thrown at Rollins for saying those words. What in the world is he supposed to say? If Rollins replies, "they have a good team over there and it will be hard but we are hoping to come out on top", then he is considered boring and predictable. If Rollins says, "we are a great team and I can't wait to start the series. I think we are going to win it in 5 games", then he is pompous and fans will loudly spew hate his way and the back pages will read, "Confident shortstop predicts team will roll over New York" and the byline should say - oh and don't forget to say imaginably rude things to him when you see him. What do we want him to say when you ask him what does he think will happen in the series? That is a stupid question and a player should really respond with, "You know, I think we are very overrated and a very poor team and to be honest, I think the other team will win it in 5 games. I am not sure how we even got to this point at all." Let's see what the back pages say then.
It was spring of 2007 and I was touring Florida's Grapefruit League filing reports on each team's camp. There are these words that fly around a clubhouse from reporters to players that have no meaning anymore. I imagine when there were only a few reporters on the beat for each club that it was never said since the group simply spoke with the player as if the two were having a conversation while waiting to board a train. However, with the amount of media today, there is a need to say the magic words "just two quick questions" or "do you have a quick five minutes". It is as if, the relationship is so miniscule that media members are doing their best to sell the player on their interview. Unfortunately, when I come along and say these words, they are meaningless to a player even though I have the utmost intentions in mind. I was in Vero Beach with the Dodgers when I saw someone ask Luis Gonzalez if he had just five minutes for a sit down interview. Luis was kind enough to say hold on one moment and proceeded into the clubhouse. At that point, there is a 50/50 shot as to whether or not the player will ever return. Luis however was sincere in his statement and came back outside to sit with the reporter. Start the clock ... in that time two or three minutes had passed and catcher Russell Martin passed by us. I along with J.C. our camera man and Tom our producer asked him for five minutes of his time. With a smile, Russell sat down and we quickly put a microphone on him. I asked him the usual Spring Training questions. We discussed the Dodgers upcoming season, the pitching staff and his expectations for the year. After nearly five minutes had passed, I said thank you to the Dodger backstop. Immediately, he said ... "Really? So you actually meant five minutes?" Clearly he had mentally booked way more time in mind for this sit down and that showed when he didn't immediately leave. We all sat around and spoke for just another few minutes without the camera on. I don't even remember if we spoke about baseball. The point was that he didn't mind sitting down with anyone to speak, but the thought of doing it for a long period of time with a large amount of media members might prevent him from sitting with others in the future. I don't cover any team on a daily basis and the fact that Russell played on the West Coast while I am on the East Coast only made it harder to see him often. I have encountered him a few times since then and he has always been cordial. I imagine that if I had covered the Dodgers on a daily basis that he would be easy to have a good working relationship with and I hope that he never changes especially that he is now playing in a media hole in New York as a member of the Yankees. By the way, during our entire chat, Luis Gonzalez was still being interviewed. All in all, my crew and I figured he had been there about 15-20 minutes. He is a nice guy, so he sat there, but not everyone has that mentality and it only strains future relationships.
I remember a spring training where I was at Braves camp and Mike Gonzalez was just signed to be a part of the Atlanta bullpen. We spoke with him prior to his workout and we asked for a few moments with him when he was coming off of the field. Mike agreed and he went out to pitch. Afterwards, we couldn't locate him and it was clear he was off the field so we tried one more time to scour through the clubhouse. He could have disappeared and that would have been fine. It was not unusual for the player to promise some time but blow you off or forget. Either way, I wasn't mad at him but we gave it a shot. We did find him at his locker on the verge of heading out the door. I approached him quickly and told him about our conversation but mentioned that I understood if he was headed out. He remembered our chat and said he was sorry. Certainly, it was not necessary for him to apologize since he was being nice enough to offer his time but he told me to set up my camera in front of the dugout and he will be right out. "Are you sure, I asked?" He assured me he would be out in 3 minutes and I said thank you. A short time later, he came out of the dugout in his full uniform, hat and all and was ready for the talk. I was amazed and insisted he didn't have to do it. He mentioned that it was only right to come back out and give us the shot we were hoping for earlier when he would talk with Braves written across his chest. I couldn't thank him enough for the gesture and was he was pleased to do the interview. A broadcasters critique must always be fair but it doesn't hurt anyone if I root for Mike Gonzalez to succeed, does it?
In 2004, I was given the chance to cover the American League in the postseason run. Now, it was my first foray into the playoff world outside of the office and I was ready for it. I was to cover the ALDS and ALCS up until the World Series. At that point, I would go back to our NYC offices and finish my duties there. My first series was the Anaheim Angels and the Boston Red Sox. Now up until 2009, the Red Sox had the number of the Angels. Despite being a Yankee fan, I was still excited to cover my first playoff series. New York was playing Minnesota in the other ALDS and I more than expected it to be a New York-Boston ALCS. Keep in mind that my goal here is not just tell you how great covering the playoffs are but also the headaches that come with it. You might be laughing at me and yelling that it is ridiculous for someone to complain about working in baseball. Players, writers, broadcasters and more talk about the rigors of travel, odd hours and crazy schedules that drive them away. I agree with that statement but how can I tell you what so many in the business feel and not expect you to punch me in the face? Well, I can't guarantee that, but my point is working in this field is GREAT ... for a short amount of time. It is like saying Greece is beautiful to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. The Red Sox were the Wild Card, so they traveled to Southern California to visit the Angels first. My job was fairly simple. I was to get pregame and postgame interviews. I was to edit them in game and send them back to our office. We were still strictly radio back then and the audio for the time being would do. Remember, all my talk about how relationships go a long way. Well, now take that same guy who wasted all of Luis Gonzalez's time and multiply that by 100. The amount of media at events like the All-Star game and playoffs was ridiculous. I understand it helped give me and many others a job, but it created this feeding frenzy that doesn't really allow anyone a particular access into the game. Players become standoffish and rush to avoid the mob scenes developing and more often than not there are simply large press conferences so the mass of media can ask a few questions. By the way, these questions are horrible and it is no wonder that the players get sick of it. There is basically an understanding that the media will ask unprepared, ill-thought out questions. Of those questions, about half of them are really yes or no questions but in all cases, the players are trained to reply with their round about answers. Derek Jeter was great at this. He, as captain of a team that has so many eyes on them and is being surrounded by media just looking for a horribly written back page story would give you all the time in the world and in that time, he gave you nothing at all. His answers were boring and generic and offered very little insight. He wasn't the player you wanted for a quote but he was the face that the producers and bosses wanted. Jeter knew exactly how to handle the New York media. Now, where the writers became hypocritical was entirely when someone actually spoke. Take a player like Curt Schilling for example. He has a blog and he frequently calls into Boston Sports radio shows and he is always willing to say what is truly on his mind. Trust me though, when that lockerroom door opened, the mass of writers would caravan their way over to the the big right-handers locker waiting to hear what he has to say. Try this experiment ... go online and Google phrases like "Curt Schilling Shut Up" and "Curt Schilling Stop Talking". You will get tons of hits and blogs and more. What would these people write about if not for guys who spoke? This is why Shaquille O'Neal and Bobby Knight (more on him later) and Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson are all great for writers. They speak and give them what they want to hear and when they get it, they tell these guys to "shut up" or "they should learn that no one wants their opinions anymore". That is a blatant lie. These writers would be plenty bored without them. What will tomorrow's headline be without them? "Derek Jeter says team plans to give 110% next time out?" As I said earlier, I do all kinds of things because I truly want to try them and say I did it. The same thing was the case with stand-up comedy. (Trust me; we will get back to the ALDS I covered in a minute) Anyway, I sat in college at this comedy club on Long Island and watched along with my friend Brandon Chase as this guy bombed. Brandon by the way went on to do great work with Good Morning America and other NBC news outlets. He worked some nutty hours but his talent level is there. So we sat there and every other comedian was falling apart. Now, I love comedy ... I will always say yes to a comedy movie or show or anything else! I turned to Brandon and each of us agreed that "WE" in fact can be that terrible on stage. When that day was over, we got writing and eventually had enough material to do some amateur night shows at the New York Comedy Club in downtown New York City. We did well enough that we got some calls back. I worked several shows at the club and eventually had friends come down who all said the show went well. I retired from it when I finished 4th out of 14 at a club on Long Island where my parents attended. I involved them in the final joke though they had no idea it was coming and it got a great laugh. So what is my point? One, that like this book, I want to say I did it. Two, when I went to see comedy shows before going on stage, I used to look over at the lady who laughed loudly and usually got under the skin of those at her table with that wacky snort she would do at the end of each laugh. Once I got on stage and went joke by joke, I realized I loved that lady ... I needed that lady and she was critical in making sure I didn't sound like I was bombing on stage! That lady IS Curt Schilling and Chad Ochocinco and Shaquille O'Neal. You need that lady way more than she needs you and writers never play that card when writing an article. So, back to the ALDS and the Red Sox and Angels. The first two games were in the spacious Angel Stadium. The press box had plenty of room and the elevator from the press box to the clubhouse was clean and quick. The working environment, the weather and all that a working member of the press could ask for was great. Those first two games however, the Red Sox were winning and I was in charge of the losing lockerroom. There are two types of clubhouses aft er a game ... the winning one and the losing one and they were very different to cover. Let's start with the losing one where you can hear a pin drop aft er a game. Usually there are just 2-5 players walking around and those are the 24th and 25th guys on the roster who had nothing to do with the outcome of the game. Writers and reporters stand in one big circle in the middle of the clubhouse and usually Robb Quinlan dresses uncomfortably by his locker knowing that not only did his team just lose but no one wants to talk to him about it. There might be a wanderer over to Jeff Davanon because there is always the first reporter that breaks and thinks he may not get a sound byte from a player about the game but others think even with that sound byte, it makes no sense and is not needed. Eventually, someone with an impact on the result of the game comes through and the swarm of reporters crowds his locker. Questions are asked as if we were at a funeral. Quietly, the first reporter says, "I know this is a tough one to take but what are you feeling right now aft er the loss?" Not only is it usually a terrible question but it is asked at a level that only mice can hear. It also trains the player to respond the same way and you barely get any audio on your tape. Additionally, you along with dozens of other reporters are squeezing to get your arm into the pile. Aft er a few moments, you need to switch hands or your arm will fall off. As the first player is speaking, many reporters dart their eyes over to other parts of the clubhouse just waiting to see if any other players walk on in. This goes on for a while until some give up, players do come in or you end up speaking to players who happen to stick around with little to say. Aft er one game in Anaheim, I waited out the chance to talk to Troy Glaus along with another two reporters. The Angels had just lost game 1 of the series and I asked a simple question. It wasn't my best but I was still a rookie at this so you can be the judge. I turned to Glaus aft er a loss against Curt Schilling and said, "What lessons can be learned from losing to Schilling but then getting to face Pedro Martinez in game 2 since they are similar style pitchers?" Glaus angry with the outcome of the game and probably with the slew of reporter's questions lashed back at me. "First of all, they are two completely diff erent pitchers. Schilling attacks you with a certain type of pitch and Martinez comes at you with more of this certain type of pitch." Come on Troy! You know what I meant. I was referring to them both being intimidating, hard throwing right-handers. He just wanted to argue with me. It is not like I compared Schilling with Jamie Moyer! I understand his point and how those pitchers have differences but let's be reasonable here. I really don't know for sure if Troy Glaus is a nice guy or not. I haven't had many interviews with him since but as I worked longer in the field, I started rooting more for the nice guys. Now, I don't mean just the guys who gave me an interview or said what I wanted to hear. I meant the guys who were fun to be around and were clearly having fun playing the game. Torii Hunter is a great example of this. He is such a joy to speak with and off camera he is still smiling and joking with teammates and you absolutely know that he wears his heart on his sleeve. He wants to win but at the same time, winning is not easy and many never get the chance to play for a World Series but you know he will leave the game with no regrets and having enjoyed it immensely. Torii Hunter is how I pictured I would be like if I were a player. I would definitely have fun with it! Troy Glaus might be that guy but in the times I met him, he didn't show it and others felt the same way that covered him daily. Glaus and the Angels were not long for the playoff s anyway as the Red Sox would win it in game 3 at Fenway Park. Growing up, I hated the Red Sox. I hated the Green Monster. I hated the fans and how they chanted "Let's Go Red Saaawwwxxx" but believe me when I say it is a great playoff atmosphere. It can't be quite as loud as Yankee Stadium or many others with limited capacity but the passion more than made up for it. Maneuvering around the ballpark inside or out was very tough. In 2007, I had to do a radio interview with my friend Kevin Winter for ESPN Radio in Boston. We were to break down the World Series game against the Rockies and only had to walk three blocks away. It took me 45 minutes to squeeze into the ballpark. Fans fill the streets surrounding the park and the bars and souvenir shops are loaded with more people. Music plays, food is cooking, guys on stilts, flags waving. It is exactly what Wrigley Field is like on the outside except we don't know what that World Series atmosphere is like at the moment in Chicago! Once the game begins, it is no different. Remember how I said that Anaheim was great to work in? Well, Fenway has NO room. Local media crowds press row. The TV and radio take up the remaining booths and that leaves you scrounging for a spot to watch the game. I found places throughout. I would stand in the lobby entering the press box because once you got off the elevator; you would enter through doors and the TV above the security guards head had the game on. I would try to stand along the wall in the back of press row but you had few angles with so many people there. I would watch most of the game in the auxiliary box under the stadium which basically means you are watching it on TV only that you hear the crowd and know that something happened and moments later see the result. My favorite place to watch the game but hardest to maintain was in the crowd. Now, rarely was a seat to be had, but depending on the series and how many media applied, auxiliary seating was available out in right field beyond Pesky's Pole. Those were good seats if available. The only problem with these seats is that by the end of the game, you needed to make a decision. You must be well on your way back to the clubhouse prior to last pitch because moving through the crowds once the game was over was nearly impossible. Fenway Park as lovely as it is put the entrance to each clubhouse right next to where you can go to the bathroom on one side and get popcorn on the other. I had to get to the line as quick as I could for when they opened the door aft er a game and let the media in. I couldn't miss any scrums, which are basically free-for-alls in front of a player's locker. This wasn't an issue except for extra innings where you had to time out your walk. Well, you might remember that game three of the ALDS finished on a homerun. I crammed myself up the walkway behind the lower bowl of seating at the park and sat in the entrance area. The game was so intense that security didn't catch me right away and fans weren't upset with my spot. I was only 20 rows from the field. I was just to the first base side of home plate. I was in the mix of it all as if I were a ticket holder watching that at-bat unfold. I stood there as Jarrod Washburn delivered the pitch that David Ortiz took opposite field for the series winning homerun thus eliminating Anaheim. I stood for a moment to watch but as Ortiz was rounding third, I had to be rounding the corridor back to the clubhouse door. I played like Barry Sanders as I skirted between fans that were yelling loudly, jumping in the air and coming at me from all directions. Eventually, I got to the clubhouse and threw on my first poncho! Here I was a Yankee fan about to take in my first champagne bath in the winning clubhouse at Fenway Park. I was totally ok with it. The thrill of the moment and seeing what I had never witnessed before made it simple. Once in the clubhouse, I kept my audio equipment dry and my clothes as dry as possible but the media usually stood in a circle surrounding the players as they enjoyed the moment and you simply took it in. Fenway Park's clubhouses though are about slightly larger than a jail cell at Rikers Island and naturally, you got wet! Curt Schilling and David Ortiz would answer questions and get champagne dumped on them that usually caught you too. Pedro Martinez was celebrating with his friend at the time, you might remember Nelson de la Rosa the 2'4" Dominican actor that Pedro befriended and brought around during the 2004 playoff s as his good luck charm. The two of them collected water in a bucket and then just threw it in whatever direction they felt like. Oh, did I forget to mention that the stereotypes of the business kick in when celebrations happen. The pretty blond sideline reporter always got hit the hardest with champagne and water and she always reacted the same way. I am being professional and then "oh my, I was just hit with water and now I am in the celebration".... sure you are! Now, I am all wet and eventually, I try to make my way to the loser's clubhouse. It is tough to do both at the same time but I had what I needed since the winners always talk more freely right away. Once I grabbed my collection of quotes consisting of "that is a very tough team over there but we just played Red Sox baseball" I walked out of the lockerroom and then I was good to go. Before I left and not sure of protocol and the professional nature of it, I snapped one grainy picture with my camera phone. I noticed others were doing it. I didn't want to come across poorly doing it but I found that the media takes tons of pictures of the events. It is a way to add to our collection since autographs are frowned upon. That picture was about 8 cell phones and is long gone so I guess that didn't work.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from From Sports Fan to Sportscaster by Vinny Micucci Copyright © 2011 by Vinny Micucci. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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