10 Highlights of “Show-Me Sportscasters”

One of the publishers to whom I was submitting my book proposal required the 10 Most Interesting Highlights of "Show-Me Sportscasters."  I thought I'd go ahead and share those features.  

Hopefully they are sufficiently enticing for you to consider giving "Show-Me Sportscasters a read!

1. The pros included in the book bring a combined 400 years of broadcasting experience.
2. The list of sportscasters includes gentlemen who have called World Series; college football bowl games; MLB, NHL and NFL playoff games; NCAA national championship games; and state championships.  They are members of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and have won countless awards.
3. “Show-Me Sportscasters” shares the back stories detailing how the pros got their starts and provides background information on each of the broadcasters, including high school and college alma maters, first jobs, and favorite games ever called.
4. The final chapter provides tips and strategies about the classes and activities that are most useful, how to prepare for broadcasting a game, and what attributes to develop.
5. The majority of the photos included are from the professionals’ home collections, adding a nice personal touch.
6. Every professional sports team (Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Royals, Sporting KC, St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Blues) in the state is represented.
7. Broadcasters from all four corners of the state and down I-70 are included.
8. Pull quotes with added information and links to special video features are provided.
9. Several of the gentlemen interviewed shared about their faith, which helped motivate me to ...
10. ... donate 90 percent of my profits to Show-Me Christian Youth Homes.  Given the humility and grace the sportscasters displayed, it just seemed like the perfect fit.

"Show-Me Sportscasters" Now Available at Amazon.com

After about a year of traveling across the state, interviewing some brilliant and energetic gentlemen, transcribing notes, writing, editing and designing, I have completed my first book, "Show-Me Sportscasters".  For those of you who have not been following, “Show-Me Sportscasters” tells the story of 15 professional, college and high school play-by-play announcers across the state of Missouri. Each chapter is dedicated to one of these professionals and tells his story of how he got involved in play-by-play, his most memorable calls, his sportscasting heroes, and his biggest challenges and greatest triumphs. The final chapter, "Tips and Strategies from the Pros" provides advice for budding young sportscasters.

Here is an excerpt from the Introduction:  

Missouri is where some of the greatest sportscasters of all time have hung their hats: Jack Buck and his son Joe, Harry Caray (even if he did cross over to the Cubs), Kevin Harlan, Bob Costas. It is home to KMOX, the legendary CBS Radio affiliate in St. Louis. The goal of this project was to feature some of the men who are keeping the legacy of sports broadcasting alive in the Show-Me State. The tradition continues with men like Greg Schmidt, who is on the cusp of calling 5,000 games; Kevin Kelly, who calls some of the toughest action in the Capital City; and Adam Winkler, the voice of eight state football titles for Webb City High School. It continues with Dan McLaughlin, whose St. Louis Cardinals are one of the most storied professional franchises in American sports history, and with Ryan Lefebvre, who survived three straight 100-loss seasons with the Kansas City Royals before they won the 2015 World Series. The list includes Missouri Sports Hall of Famers Art Hains from Missouri State and Mike Kelly from Mizzou. It includes John Kelly, the son of St. Louis Blues icon Dan Kelly, who is quickly becoming a legend in his own right, and Erik Sean at Southeast Missouri State, who cut his teeth in small towns before becoming the Voice of the Redhawks. It also features Mitch Holthus, he of the great “Touchdown—Kan-SAS City!” call that sends chills down Chiefs’ fans’ spines. Also included are gentlemen who have been in the game for decades (Brad Boyer at Truman State University and John Coffey at Northwest Missouri State) and professionals who are early in their play-by-play careers (Nate Bukaty of Sporting KC and Greg Hassler at the University of Central Missouri).  And it includes an innovator in Mike McClure, who started his own internet broadcasting service.

The eBook is available for $6.50.  The print version (available through Amazon.com, hopefully by the end of the week, is $12.50.  I hope you'll give it a look.  I am donating 90% of my proceeds to the Show-Me Christian Youth Home, so every download and purchase is going to help a very worthy cause. Thanks for considering!

Cover Design by Amy Kenney

Erik Sean - Diehard Harry Caray Fan

So, it's been a while since I wrote anything about my book, "Show-Me Sportscasters".  I'm in the final stages, though, so I thought it would be time to get something out there.

One of the questions I loved asking was, Who is your favorite sportscaster?  These gentlemen being from Missouri, I was not surprised to hear Jack Buck's name mentioned more than once.  Vin Scully, Al Michaels, Bob Costas, Kevin Harlan, and Mitch Holthus all were named multiple times as well.  But Erik Sean, play-by-play man for Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, went across the Mississippi River for his hero.  An Illinois native, Erik said there was and is nobody like the late Harry Caray.  He spoke with something akin to reverence of Caray, sharing how he listened to the legend call St. Louis Cardinals games, then as a boy growing up in Macomb, Ill. (which happens to be where I was born) listening to Caray call games for the Chicago White Sox.  Finally, in 1982, Harry Caray became the voice of Sean's beloved Chicago Cubs.

Here is an excerpt from my interview with Erik Sean:
https://youtu.be/iVeCeyiKYQ8

I would be remiss if I did not share Erik's moving tribute to Harry Caray.  With Erik's permission, you may listen to the whole package here.

Ryan Lefebvre and the Value of Internships

I have to admit, I got very geeked out about the idea of interviewing Ryan Lefebvre of the Kansas City Royals.  I am not a guy who gets star struck.  I've met my fair share of celebrities (it's not like I am a Hollywood reporter or on the desk at ESPN, but I've met a few).  I just view them as another normal guy who, like me, has to pay taxes, wash the car and use the bathroom.

But, as a diehard Royals fan, Ryan Lefebvre is my connection to my team.  And when I first met him, I was amazed at how kind and humble he was.  I had been told he was a great guy, but let me tell you, he is a GREAT guy.  And then, when our interview had to be cut short because he was volunteering at his kids' school (again, just a normal guy thing to do), he offered to come to campus to visit with our students and finish our interview.  THAT was impressive.

As program coordinator for our digital media production program at the University of Central Missouri, one of my duties is to oversee our internship program.  I pitch these about as hard as a Kelvin Herrera fastball.  So, when Ryan laid out the value of getting in the door, doing as many internships as possible, and making that great impression, I had to smile with a great deal of satisfaction.  Here is what he had to say:

Royals broadcaster Ryan Lefebvre on the value of 

internships (photo from Google Images)

An Interview with Greg Hassler

For the first snippet from my book, I thought it only fitting to share a bit from my interview with my good buddy Greg Hassler, co-owner of 1450 KOKO/98.5 KWKJ in Warrensburg.  Hass and I have known each other for 20 years, since my days as sports information director at Missouri Southern and later here at the University of Central Missouri.  We've shared a lot of laughs on road trips together and I have always found Greg to be an honest man who loves his job and loves his teams.
I asked him about a couple of his favorites from his time in the booth.  Here are his responses:

MY NEW ADVENTURE: SHOW-ME SPORTSCASTERS

Well, friends, I'm embarking on a new adventure.  I am writing a book I have tentatively titled "Show-Me Sportscasters".

For 15 years I worked in sports information, 12 years as a director.  I developed media guides, wrote news releases and feature stories, produced game notes, provided statistics at sporting events, and served as host to countless media.  

One group I worked with always amazed me during sporting events:  the play-by-play announcers.  I was always amazed at how they could remember the names that matched the numbers and how they could recall this information in real time (actually in really fast time).  Of course, I knew they did their homework before the event--checking stats, finding nuggets of information, examining trends and so forth--but the fact that they could so poignantly articulate what was happening and draw on their preparation just fascinated me.

I have also always been a fan of the back story.  “Batman Begins” and “Captain America:  The First Avenger” are two of my all-time favorite movies.  While I am not a fan of the Star Wars prequels, I watch “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” at least once a month.  When I decided to begin this project, telling the back stories of some of my favorite sportscasters from across my home state just seemed to make sense.  As a sports fan, it is the type of book I would like to read because it is through the eyes of these gentlemen that I often get to “see” the game (if I’m listening to the radio) and that I get to really know the players and coaches who make it happen (if I’m watching on television).  As an educator who teaches sports broadcasting, this is the kind of book I would want to assign for my students who are interested in being on-air talent.

Over the next few months, I'll be posting audio clips from my interviews as a means of sharing the experience. I hope you enjoy.

Camping at Knob Noster State Park: This is the Good Life!!

Tonight I'm doing something I have not done in years, and remembering how much I love it:  I'm sitting by a campfire.  My oldest son, Gavin, turned 13 yesterday and for his birthday he wanted to bring some of his buddies camping at Knob Noster State Park.  Now, mind you, Knob Noster State Park is a whopping 10 minutes from my house.  My wife and daughter recognized this and chose to go home and sleep in their own beds, so I'm sharing a tent, S'mores, and hot dogs with six 11- to 13-year-old middle school boys.  And I'm loving every minute of it!
For a couple of the guys, this is a first.  They've never been camping, never roasted hot dogs or popped popcorn over a campfire, never slept in a tent.  Our fishing excursion--complete with witnessing a snake eating a frog--was also a first.  One of the fellas even said he'd never shelled and eaten a peanut!! Do not get me wrong:  These are boys with great families who have given them wonderful life experiences. Just not the camping one, and I am honored they've trusted me to give them this one.  Listening to them say things like "This is the best birthday sleepover ever" and "I haven't had this much fun in months", THOSE are the things I love to hear.  It reminds me, in all of the hustle and bustle of life, it's really all about serving the Lord, and my favorite way to do that is to teach and mentor young people, whether that is in my profession as a professor, as a coach, as a VBS worship leader, or especially as a father.  I just have to give thanks, for my cup runneth over.
Thank you, Lord, for your many blessings, for your wonderful masterpiece we call Earth, for the life you've given me, and for the opportunity to share you with the world, especially the young men I'm gonna have to try to force to sleep!  In Jesus name, Amen.