Sports Announcing: my new love!

One of the best things about being in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Colorado is the chance to take Sports Announcing. Yes... it is really a class! It's taught by Larry Zimmer, the voice of CU Football and former play-by-play for the Broncos (just to name a few).

Our class meets once a week in a classroom where we learn new things and listen and anaylze our previous broadcasts. The rest of the time we attend basketball/hockey/baseball/lacrosse or other games.

Sports Announcing isn't all about getting into games for free and sitting in great seats in the media section (although that is a plus). It's about entertaining your listener while keeping them informed and interested.

The first thing they teach us is PREPARATION. It's pretty obvious anyone would do a horrible job if they didn't know the players and their numbers. But it's about more than that. You have to fill the time. You have to talk about Richard Roby's fourth career double double, or Jackie McFarland playing against her older sister at K-State. Do you ever sit there listening to a game on TV or radio and hear something you didn't know? That's the color's job. That's what you have to find out. It's all about PREPARATION.

I did my first LIVE TV game for CU Women's Club Hockey this past weekend. TV was different because there is replay, commercial breaks, a monitor to worry about and a side-line reporter. I still had fun. I found I am more comfortable on TV as a sports announcer than an anchor. I did my second LIVE TV appearance yesterday as sports anchor for CU's campus newscast. I was more nervous reading info than looking at a game and telling you what's happening.

Women's basketball was a blast to do. I did play-by-play and I was quite impressed with myself. I had taken the time to memorize the players names/numbers on both teams and had done COLOR reserach as well. As they say... it was all about preparation!

If you can't catch a broadcast live on TV on SCOLA, channel 63 in Boulder/Denver, then you can click on the radio games below to listen to my broadcasts. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I love talking!

Women's Basketball 2/8/06 vs. Kansas State

Men's Basketball 2/4/06 vs. Kansas State