Friday Night ... Rosters!

 

That's one roster. There are two teams.

I'm the fill-in broadcaster tonight.

I'm the outsider.

As I mentioned previously, I'll be on the call of Monticello and Middletown tonight in New York on WALL Radio. We have a half-hour pregame show which, if you don't know, is different for me. In my experience at WGCH and elsewhere, I used the "pregame show" as a way to make sure the equipment was functioning and we were connected to the station. But, honestly, our pregames are 10 minutes at most.

On special occasions, we might do some more but we traditionally lean heavier on the in-game than either pre- or postgame.

So I'll hit the road soon just to start getting towards Middletown. I'll find something to do or somewhere to sit. 

I have a script for the pregame (!) and notes on sponsor reads and the commercial breaks and I'm bound to screw it all up.

I have a roster for Middletown.

And ... yeah.

A public service announcement for all of you.

So, yeah, rosters. I have spoken to people in schools. I have talked with coaches. I have talked with friends. I have moaned to fellow broadcasters.

What's. So. Difficult. About. Rosters?

Get list of names. Get uniform numbers. Type it all up. Sort -- NUMERICALLY.

The CIAC -- the home of Connecticut high school sports -- actually has a website for rosters. Sure, that's great and all but do you know how many schools just have a blank page for their team?

This isn't difficult, people! Be like Taylor Swift! Take that blank space, baby, and write some names!

And numbers. Height and weight and grade also come in handy.

Vince Lombardi forbid we actually get bios.

Or stats (a rarity).

So, you have to hunt for the rosters. You can go to MaxPreps but you do so with some trepidation. There are sometimes other sites to visit.

The school or the coach, of course, is the easiest. Call, text, email. Most of the time that works and, yet...

Not always. You'd be surprised at the number of times I've gotten a roster minutes before a game.

Yes. Minutes.

Sometimes, if you have friends in the right places, you can get the inside scoop. I have a few years in this business so I have a few friends.

Me? Friends? Yes! Not everyone hates me. Most just tolerate me.

I'm hoping they'll like me and WALL Radio in Middletown later. 

Big thanks to D.J. McPherson for loading me up with knowledge and for his efforts to track down those pesky rosters.

Norris Gipson and I will have the call. We have a team of people who will make this all happen.

Listen at 6:30 on wallradio.com or on another site that I hope to have it active so that I can record the broadcast. You probably know where to find that one.

Tomorrow is Greenwich (1 p.m.). Then Brunswick (5 p.m.).

Sunday, I'll be a chair potato. 

I don't have a couch.