No big deal

 

From the 1946 Looney Tunes cartoon "The Great Piggy Bank Robbery"

My goal is to keep this short tonight. After exactly what I promised myself in terms of a crazy day, it's now approaching 10 p.m. and I'm basically on fumes.

Earlier today, with no fanfare, I did my 800th edition of Doubleheader. At least, what I'm calling the 800th.

You see, I had the shows numbered in a notebook and, well, it got lost. So I did the math a few years back on the number of shows I've saved and added in a few shows that didn't get saved (computer or program crashes and so on). I was comfortable with the number I had, so yeah, 800 was today.

It's not a big deal, except it's probably the show that I've done the longest. We've been at this for nearly five years (and have been doing talk shows for over 20).

Me -- who didn't intend to do sports talk.

No, really, I didn't. I only really wanted to do play-by-play but, as I always tell students, be open-minded.

So, when I joined WGCH, I actually first ran the board and served as a sort of co-host for a -- wait for it -- home improvement show!

Eventually, that led me to join the crew of "Tee Time," which was golf-based, hosted by Michael Breed, who has since made quite a name for himself. I climbed from being a board-op to a full co-host eventually.

Then I started getting my own shows, with too many different names...

- "Coach's Corner"

- "Spotlight on Sports with Rob Adams"

- "The Press Box"

- "The Press Box with Rob Adams"

- "Inside Sports"

- "Sports Weekly" 

- "Nutmeg Sports"

- "The Clubhouse" (we'll come back to that)

and, finally, "Doubleheader."

Paul Silverfarb was my co-host as he was when we first started "Nutmeg Sports" at HAN.

We needed a name so I asked Sean for a suggestion. He's the one who picked "Doubleheader" because he said there were two of us and it's sports.

I loved it. It made sense, even if I do occasionally get questioned what the title means.

Paul couldn't really stay with the show due to his newspaper editorial commitment and, once the radio station and newspaper severed their relationship, that ended that.

However, WGCH wasn't done with me or the show, and we've stayed on ever since.

To be honest, I think it's the longest I've done one continuous show with the exception of "The Clubhouse."

I've become the co-host of "The Clubhouse," but that show really was the baby of Brian Crowell and Mark Jeffers. I came along as an engineer and "third wheel" when they came over to WGCH. Eventually, Brian stepped away and I stayed on. Amazingly, I've been associated with that show for 15 years and consistently for almost a decade. However, keep in mind we're a seasonal show that does maybe 20 episodes a year as opposed to the (somewhat) daily commitment of "Doubleheader."

I question my sanity on doing "Doubleheader" sometimes. I constantly question my approach because it doesn't have enough guests due to my often frustrating schedule.

I'm beginning to give strong thought to connecting with guests via Zoom and taping the interviews.

I realize that doesn't always make for the best show on Facebook Live -- watching me play a recording -- but there's only so much I can do.

I keep doing the show because there are people who like it and even count on it.

That's why I kept going after the pandemic began.

I expect to be right back at it tomorrow for show number 801.

Honestly, this number isn't a big deal. Most show hosts would chuckle at it.

But I just thought I'd share.