The Sports Broadcasting Camp

It was 1991.

I was already working in broadcasting, doing Saturday/Sunday overnight on Majic 105 when I saw an opportunity to attend a sports broadcasting camp in Syracuse, NY.

I can still see it: $800 got me into the camp along with accommodations in a dorm.

This was a big deal for me. I was 22 but didn't go away to college.

Plus every dollar of it was my own. My mother couldn't and, honestly, wouldn't give me money to go away to a sports broadcasting camp.

I jumped at it. Some thought I was nuts but I knew it was the right thing to do.

My blue Chevrolet Cavalier was packed and ready on the Friday before the Fourth of July as I headed to work in White Plains. I took a half day and departed, planning to spend the first night in Albany, NY.

That night, I attended a Albany-Colonie Yankees game at old Heritage Park and sat in their broadcast booth for a doubleheader. John Thomas, the "voice" of the A/C Yankees, let me hang out with him. He gave me a tour of the ballpark. I always remember him telling me his wife was from Mahopac.

Foolishly, thinking appearance mattered, I wore pants on a day that was well into the high 90s.

It was also my first time at a minor league game. So began attending many minor league games and, eventually, becoming a minor league broadcaster (if you haven't heard).

You can sort of see the press box suspended above the seats behind home plate.

The next morning I headed out across the New York State Thruway and checked into my room at the Dellplain Hall in Syracuse. Among my campers, I was a "big man" in that I had a car, so that meant we could go wherever we wanted.

I then drove to the famed Newhouse School at Syracuse to begin attending the camp.

It was indeed an eye-opener of a week for me. I can still remember going down to Marshall Street one night to drink and, having no idea what to order, I just said I'd have "the same" as a guy I was hanging out with. I also had a drunk girl hit on me -- and kiss me -- that night. It was her birthday.

No, I did not, to be quite clear. I went back to my hot dorm room instead. She tried to hit on two other guys I was hanging in.

I'd be back here a decade later to call three New York football championships

The camp was run by Dave Cohen, eventually the lead TV broadcaster on Yankees games on MSG in the mid-90s. He didn't appear to be a big fan of mine and famously told me I'd make a good game show host.

Thanks for that.

Fred Manfra, who would enjoy a long run with the Baltimore Orioles, was also in attendance. Cohen, known for being the announcer on Bob Costas' radio show (Costas did not join us that week), gave us a good week of practicing baseball and basketball (in the Carrier Dome on a pickup game where I met Jim Boeheim).

I had ups and down during the week, being hard on myself (that's so unlike me) with any mistake I made. But I also became a go-to partner for TV stand-ups (that's what you see with the announcers on camer at the beginning of a broadcast) because I knew how to get through those.

Later on, we did baseball at the home of the Syracuse Chiefs (now Syracuse Mets). A local TV station filmed my partner (a woman, by the way, because I made her feel comfortable as she really didn't know baseball) and I for a story they did on the camp.

I still have all of the tapes, including that TV story.

We went to Cooperstown on the Fourth of July, which certainly made me happy.

I got a lot out of it. I learned about preparation and, interestingly, about having multiple colored pens for various notes. I immediately went and bought a great set of pens after the camp...

...and soon discovered that space and my own personal style didn't really work for colored pens. It works great for many but I've never really mastered it.

Perhaps most of all, it was a time of growth (personally and professionally) for me.

But I can't stress enough that this was no gift. I paid every dime of my own money to attend the camp, for a hotel room in Albany, for my meals and gas as well as a Syracuse Chiefs and anything else.

It was money well-spent, even if it didn't lead to a job. To be honest, I've never spoken to those people at the camp since we went our separate ways in 1991.

I'm all for camps, such as Bruce Beck's. Beck is a great person and an outstanding mentor. He's been on "The Clubhouse" (returning this Wednesday night on WGCH).  For me, it's hoping these students recognize the gift they're being given.

For me, Dave Cohen's camp was a wake-up call. I became a better broadcaster as a result of that and a lot more.

I also got to travel -- on my own. I had to drive to Albany and Syracuse before making the four-hour trek back home the following Friday.

I look back with a smile at that week in 1991.

It was my own coming of age in a way.

And I'm still not a game show host. Guess I missed my calling.