Quote from: diehardfan on February 12, 2007, 11:14:27 PM

Quote from: b_holmgren on February 12, 2007, 10:44:22 PM
Q - I'm surprised you haven't thrown this stat out yet:
Raymond is now 31/31 from the free throw line in his Shirk Center career. Must be something about that green backdrop.

Wichita State sure could use him.

Ahh!!! It's Brian! Brian, You are very much missed! Seriously, you need to give the current Wheaton broadcasters some pointers.... PLEASE!!!! All Wheaton alum everywhere beg you to give the ole WETN a call and or a tutorial...

On a lighter note.... How is your broadcasting career going?

It's still going - though not in the direction I would have guessed back in the WETN radio days. I'm in TV anchoring and reporting sports down in Wichita, KS. So far so good, though I still have a lot to learn.

I'll be around for CCIW tournament weekend, though from the looks of things it will be over in Augustana. Looks like I'll at least be able to catch some of the women's tourney I figure I have to come back and visit from time to time while I still actually know people.

Q - I'm surprised you haven't thrown this stat out yet:
Raymond is now 31/31 from the free throw line in his Shirk Center career. Must be something about that green backdrop.

Wichita State sure could use him.

Diehard (April) - February 22 against Carthage. I'm tentatively scheduled to come out retirement to call the game on WETN. That gives me a good month to come up with odd-ball stats (like free throw ptc in odd numbered minutes).

I had orginally seen it as a throw-away, end of the season game, but could Wheaton possibly be battling for a top 4 finish when we get to the wire?

Q - Once again good to see you last week. I see a chain reaction forming, since your earlier post just inspired me to go run four miles.

Interesting story for everyone else. I was in Wheaton this week, and on my way home I was able to stop in Normal for a Sunday afternoon tilt. In one of the more ironic twists you'll ever see, my press row seat for the Wichita State at Illinois State game put me right next to Art Kimball. We managed to put our Wheaton/IWU, WSU/ISU biases aside and had an enjoyable time (maybe more so for me since the Shockers won). Bob was also in the house, though he evidently doesn't have quite as much pull when it comes to seats

I will make it a point to listen to Wheaton at IWU this week... have to see if the Thunder can extend on its Shirk winning streak.

Quote The reporting consists primarily of reading the front page of the Tribune and Sun Times sports sections and rehashing it on television....  

I realize that sports journalism is an oxymoron - particularly on television.  The anchors are usually ex-jocks who have a hard time pronouncing many words let alone doing any actual reporting.  I rarely watch television news because it is so vapid.  When I do watch it, something ends up setting me off.

Martin, I don't think you quite know what you're talking about. Depending on the length of the sports segment and the nature of the content (highlights, sound bytes, voiceovers) an anchor will spend anywhere from 2-3-4 hours on a single show. Most do a good amount of research (from a wide variety of sources) in coming up with facts, stats, etc to throw in.  In the case of a game like UIC, which probably ended fairly late, there is a certain amount of time crunch involved. By the time he acquired the highlights, cut them, scripted them out, and determined his lead-in, there probably wasn't a lot of opportunity to research the complete history of a no-name opponent. Especially considering the fact that there were probably several other late-ending games to edit and script, as well.

As far as TV sports not being journalism, I find that to be an ignorant comment. Just because it's not the same format as print doesn't relegate it to pure entertainment. There are plenty of anchors out there who aren't caught up in the Sportscenter movement, and - gasp - actually make an effort to dig up facts and report. TV sports and print journalism actually share a lot of the same challenges and skill-sets. I would argue that it takes a heck of a lot more skill to write a good sportscast than it does to write a newspaper article.

I'm sure there are a handful of former jocks butchering words out there, but I don't know of many. Most are very talented in what is an extremely competitive industry. Granted you say you don't watch much TV. When you do, you're evidently watching the wrong people.

Martin - bash on sports anchors all you want, but their job isn't to know every single detail about every single school. There's no time for that. Yes it was probably not as big an upset as it looked to the casual observer (UIC isn't too far removed from being an NCAA tourney team), but I seriously doubt he had time to research common opponents or that state of the SXU program.

The nature of the job is knowing a fair amount about everything that's going on and being able to pass that along to the viewers. Is not being in tune with every detail of NAIA or DIII basketball considered unacceptable in that business? Not a chance. The duty of the sports anchor is to cater to what the majority of the people want to see. With as many pro and major college sports teams as are in the Chicago area, you could fill weeks and weeks of sportscasts without ever having to worry about the small colleges. For that reason, they won't normally give those programs more than a passing glance until playoff time.

I didn't see the sportcast in question, but you probably need to lighten up a little and realize the nature of the business. Just because it's common knowlege to you doesn't make him (or anchors in general) ignorant.

And I'm down off my soap box.... 

Greg - Thanks for the in depth Wheaton-Aurora recap. Lucky for us you passed on NCC.

I'm encouraged by this weekend. Deep down inside I had a feeling that this team would find ways to step up, but it's nice to have some physical evidence. That being said, I'd just as soon get a win.

April - I definitely miss calling the games. I'll be in Wheaton a couple of times in December/early January. Perhaps a cameo opportunity will present itself.

Seeing as no one has chimed in from the Wheaton contingent, I guess I'll throw out some observations (granted, I didn't see the game)

Looking at the stats from tonight - Tony Bollier absolutely went off. 26 points, 7 of 9 from the field, 10 of 10 from the line. I would love to see him assert himself like this every time out. That being said, it will be interesting to see how he handles being a "marked" man against a good defensive team.

I was excited to see how Dave McAlpine would fare in his debut, but I don't see his name in the boxscore.

Numbers that jump out at you -

19 turnovers for Wheaton. Not at all out of the question for a young team in its first game of the season.

71.8% (28/49) - Wheaton's Field Goal PTC. Yikes!

50 - Second half points scored by Concordia... The Thunder led 36-22 at halftime.

Q -

I would a little surprised if Wheaton didn't get at least one player in the top three teams. SOMEBODY will have to score points, regardless of their final record. My guess is Johnnie Standard ends up doing a lot of that.

As for WETN broadcasting non-Wheaton games in the Lee Pfund. I wouldn't count on it, although it probably would be a nice ratings boost over "the Classiest Moments" or "chapel rebroadcast." 

Not trying to stir anyone up...Just a random observation - it's interesting how quick Augie posters are to defend the Wing T this year.  At this time last year, I seem to remember a lot of people wondering if maybe it was time to evolve to a more "modern" offense... funny what an impending conference title will do for your outlook.

Paul -
I caught one of your sportscasts on the radio last month. Kix106 I think? Good to hear another Wheaty in Kansas.

shepherd -
Unless they changed dramatically from last year, Wheaton runs out of a slot-I on 90% of its plays. No tightends (occasionally a wing-back when they go to their jumbo package). Almost always TWO backs in the backfield (fullback, running back).

cardinal20 -
While I haven't had the pleasure of listening to any WONC broadcasts this year, it's good to see that you take pride in your work. I think a little more tact could probably have been used by some of the posters in their comments, but try to shrug it off. You're not going to be perfect. If they want to compare you to the professionals then that's their problem. Your job is to keep finding ways to get better every time out. Surprisingly, the people on this board can be one of your more valuable resources when it comes to feedback (I picked up quite a bit during my short WETN career).

Anyone -
What's the story with Chupp/Andrews? Based on the stats it looks like they're now splitting time at QB.

Question for the Wheaton faithful.. or anyone else who would care to take a shot... How good has Joe Chupp been so far? He's putting up the numbers, obviously, but is that a product of Jeremy having no one else to throw to? How is this new crop of receivers doing with the task of replacing Musso/Sinclair/Fenley?

As I recall, fake punts were a huge weapon for Carthage last year against Wheaton. The few times the Thunder had them stopped, the Redmen would gash them for 20 on a trick play. I seem to remember at least two of them working.

Wheaton students have a hard enough time making the 2 minute walk to games... asking them to go even more out of their way is tough

Pat - I'm looking forward to hearing your call next weekend. Just don't forget to give me the time and score.

Sadly, I have to go with USee and give the edge to the Cardinals. I do think it would be interesting to see the differences were they to stage this game in the last week of the season vs. week four. I'm guessing Wheaton will be that much sharper in November. Regardless, I think they'll be ready to play Saturday. This game won't come close to deciding the AQ, but it'll be a big boost to whoever wins. Hopefully Wheaton fans and students will recognize this and make the trip over there.