The Sportscasters Club Radio Show

Should Sportscasters Cheat Too?

February 29, 2020 Rick Schultz Episode 8
The Sportscasters Club Radio Show
Should Sportscasters Cheat Too?
Show Notes Transcript

With all the recent talk about cheating in Major League Baseball, the question is this.... Should sports broadcasters get into the action and cheat as well?
Our answer may surprise you! Listen to this episode to find out.

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with all the talk going on in Major League Baseball about cheating. Should sports broadcasters cheat, too? My answer. Yes,

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welcome to the Sportscasters Club radio show, where it's all about becoming a better sportscaster on a better sports fan. And now your host, a man who has trained sportscasters at Marist College, the Connecticut School of Broadcasting, on Fordham University's W F U V Radio Brick Schultz. Welcome to this week's program. I know it's a provocative title in a provocative topic and all this discussion about cheating and Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. My personal feeling is that it

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probably is more rampant than we know even now, even though it's been a couple months since this story really blew up with Major League Baseball and the cheating scandal, but relating to sportscasters and sports broadcasters. Yes, you should cheat, and I used to do so. That's right. I used to cheat iced the Cheetahs, a sports broadcaster, and there are four specific ways that I want to teach you how to cheetahs. Well, whether you're an established broadcaster or whether you're an up and coming aspiring sportscaster, wherever you are along the spectrum, I think the established sportscasters that listen to our program here. They'll agree with me when they hear the four reasons there's no way they would disagree with the four reasons I'm going to give you a Y. A sportscaster should cheat, and you should, too. So coming up, we're going to get right to those the four reasons and four ways that you as a sportscaster can cheat and should do so.

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All right, let's get right to the meat of the program. And, by the way, I really appreciate you sharing this program. You know, one person in your life, just one who's an aspiring sportscaster but doesn't

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know where to turn for information for education. Maybe they're considering, ah, pricey in person sports broadcasting institution or a teacher or something of that nature they might. That might be a great program, and they might learn a lot. But if you know just one person that you can refer us to and can share this podcast with, I would appreciate that, and so will they, because they can get a lot of free information. Not only here but sportscasters. Club dot com So if they're tuning in now, they're going to hear about cheating as a sports broadcaster. Number one. What I think about when I think about cheating as a sports broadcaster, I think about adding value to your listener or viewer in a way where you can predict what's gonna happen if you can anticipate what's going to happen in the season, in the week in the month, in the ball game, in this quarter, on the next play on the next pitch after the next time out. If you can predict what's gonna happen with any kind of an educated guess, you're adding to your listener or your viewer's enjoyment of the game. For example, if over the course of the season I realize that in a specific spot, the New York Yankees Air certainly calling on ah, specific reliever in a particular spot and they're always calling on that reliever in that spot, maybe to get out a couple batters. Or maybe it's due to a match up and perhaps Aaron Boone is calling on a specific reliever in that spot over and over throughout the season. If I can, with any degree of certainty, tell my listener or my viewer that a certain situation might occur and in those situations, here's why we can assume that Aaron Boone will do such and such and bring in a certain reliever. And then it happens. Not only did I increase my credibility, but I kind of brought my listener or my viewer behind the scenes, and I kind of gave them up behind the scenes. Look, I brought him backstage. I told him what to expect, what might occur, and so they became a better sports fan. You know, our tagline It Sportscasters Club has become a better sportscaster and a better sports fan because those are the two things we've heard over the past decade that people I feel like the value we provide is we've made them a better sportscaster as well as a better sports fan, and at the same time, we've allowed them to better serve their fans and their listeners and viewers. So when you can predict what's gonna happen, you're gonna be a notch above just a run of the mill sportscasts. Or so that's what I mean by cheating. Number two. You can do this by doing your homework. When you prepare, you're better educated and better suited and more well versed to know what to expect. So the only way you can predict it for your listener, for your viewer is by doing your homework. So you know, in advance. So in that example that I gave you, maybe you've called the broadcast. And so you know what Aaron Boone is going to D'oh! Maybe you've talked with him and he's explained that in these situations, here's my thought process and here's how I'm gonna approach in a in a ballgame. Maybe you've just been around the team enough. Maybe you've been around the picture, and that picture's told you that he expects to be in the game in these situations. And here are the reasons why. Maybe he matches up well against the lefty, and he's told you that. And so you expected you're able to share that with your listener and with your viewer. So by doing your homework, that's the only way that you're able to. I'm not the only way because I'm going to get to number three in a minute, which is a really cool way to cheat. But by doing your homework, you're able to predict and assume and anticipate what's going to happen. And that's part of being a professional sportscaster in the game. Let's say first pitch is at seven o'clock. That's why you get there a 3 p.m. Because you're able to go down to the batting cage to the fat with the players, you know, get some tidbits because tidbits are what make a broadcast. The little tidbits of information are what spice up your broadcast with information, entertainment, fax, things they're going toe, enhance what you d'oh. So by doing your homework, you're able to predict what's gonna happen. And that's a form of cheating in quotes, cheating, air quotes. Can you see them? My air quotes, you're cheating by anticipating, and the only way you're able to do that is by doing your homework. Number three. This is a really cool way to cheat, and this is the one I used to do as well. I know the signs. There were certain players when I was broadcasting professional baseball. There were certain players that would share the signals with me. So, for example, let's say a first and third situation and the catcher comes out in front of home plate and flashes a bunch of signals. I don't know if the Houston Astros were picking up these kind of signals as well, but in that kind of a situation, some players would tell me what those signals meant and so I could without giving it away on the air, because I would never want to breach that trust. But what I could do is give my listener a heads up that in this situation what they might do is they might have a throat a second cut off, trying to keep that man at third or in this situation, what they might do is a pickoff attempt. So that's a way that, knowing the signs just flat out, I knew the signals. And so I was able to predict an educated guess and anticipate what might happen. So number one it gave my listeners some of the options, some of the things that they could consider and number two. It made me look great because I could say, Hey, if I'm managing this team what I might try in this situation is a fake to third look to first and then boom when it happened. Look, at May I was I was an expert. I was I was clued in. And so my listeners, I think, built even better bond with me on here because they knew I was connected and I wasn't just blowing smoke. I really had an idea what could happen. And so that's how I used to cheat.

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I knew the signs. Not

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always, and sometimes just by being with the team and following them, sometimes you pick up certain things certain. I mean, it goes as deep as there were picture. There was a one particular picture that was tipping off his pitches in his glove. You know how ah picture will have the sometimes the index finger sticking out of their their glove gloves there, sometimes designed that way and just based on comfort. Some pictures do it, but this particular picture would kind of flex his index finger before he was going to throw a curveball. He didn't realize it, but other teams did, and they were picking up. You know, that's part of baseball, where the fabric of baseball has included that kind of cheating forever, signs stealing in that way without the technology and the buzzers and cameras and those kind of things. But that's the way that you can pick up things in a game. And if you know that you're able to share that with a listener, and I mean that specific one is not something I was able to see from the booth, not something I picked up on my own. But players shared it with me, and then the picture certainly knew about it. And that's not something I There's a delicate way you can talk about it on the air. They never brought it up on the air, nor did I. But I knew it was going on behind the scenes. So knowing the signs is a great way to help your listener anticipate what's gonna happen. And the thing that ties all these together is number four, earning the trust of the athletes you cover. The only reason that the second baseman shared with me what the signals were with runners on base was by earning his trust, he knew I wasn't gonna go out and blab, and he knew I wasn't going Thio to do anything to harm the team with the ball club or certainly him for sharing it with me, so I certainly never gave that away. I never talked on the air about the fact that I knew some signals, but it made me a better broadcaster in it, and it helped my listeners to enjoy the game and feel more connected. But I earned that trust by being there early by staying late by being on the bus and getting to know the guys and as people and then getting to know me as a person. And so throughout my career, I've always took a lot of taking a lot of pride in the fact that you can gain a lot of information, a lot of knowledge, and you've got to be able to discern what is for public consumption and what isn't. For example, I had a picture come to me one day and he got married during an off day, but he came to me, pulled me aside. He said. Rick, please do me a favor. Don't mention that on the air because my parents listening back home, I don't want them to know about it because we didn't tell him. So I never went on the air and talked about him being married. It didn't affect the game, didn't affect the broadcast. The season, the team. And I wasn't gonna gonna blow him up until his parents and all my millions and millions of listeners about their their nuptials because he didn't want it to be public knowledge. I knew about it. It was humorous. It was funny. Got married on an off day. But he didn't want

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me to share it. So I wasn't gonna spill the

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beans. And that's part of earning that trust. And because of those things, you learn other things that help you spice up a broadcast, things that are worthy of sharing with your audience. Still, they'll tell you things and share things if they know that you're not out there to make them look bad, and you're not out there to share things that are not relevant to the game to keep it on the field on the game, you can never go wrong and leaving those other personal things aside. If they don't affect it, that's usually a good rule of thumb, so a sportscaster. Should she? Yes, you should cheat to make the game more enjoyable for your listener. You should cheat to make your viewer fearless, feel like they're included and part of the action. You should cheat to make yourself stand above the rest, and you should cheat to become the best broadcaster that you can and earn the trust of not only the athletes but your viewers and your listeners when we come back, the most popular part of our program. Question and answer. We've got a couple great ones, Leandro and Dave there on deck with their questions, and we'll get to him right after this. Have you ever wondered how you could start a career in sports broadcasting? We want to answer some of the questions you may have. You can download our free resource. Our free E book report called Seven Tips to get Started in Sports Broadcasting. Thes will answer some questions you may have and give you a road map to start your sports broadcasting career. Plus as a bonus, there are three myths that will shock most sports fans, and you get them as well in this report. That's our free report. Seven tips to get started in sports broadcasting. Simply go to sportscasters club dot com and click on free stuff. That's boards Castor's club dot com and click on free stuff to get the free report. Seven tips to get started in sports Broadcasting

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Now it's time for the best part of our show. Your questions are answers. To ask a question for the program, send an email to questions at sportscasters club dot com.

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All right, questions and answers Thank you to Leandra.

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Thank you, too, Dave. These two questions came in. If you have questions relating to sports broadcasting, you can send them to questions at sportscasters club dot com. All right, Leandro says she's from Saratoga Springs, New York Beautiful place, especially in August with the track. Really nice. Like going to see shows up there, too, although it's not as nice as Bethel Woods in New York. But regardless, can a girl become a sports broadcaster? That's the question from Leandra. Can a girl become a sportscaster? Yes, Leandra, of course. Maybe it's not so obvious. But just in the past 10 20 years, the strides made by females in sportscasting have been remarkable, and if you look back 20 years ago, there were not nearly as many female faces on the television screens and not nearly as many on the airwaves. And you think about somebody like Susan Waldman in New York, who broke barriers doing Yankee Games now for so long with John Sterling on the radio. Definitely a pioneer. But you can't turn on a TV now without seeing a female sideline reporter studio host. And so, yes, you absolutely can. You've still got to know your stuff just like your male counterpart would. And sometimes sometimes the honest truth about it is sometimes you've got to be a level ahead, just depending on who you're working with and with their philosophy is hiring right or wrong. Most people most executive now are to the point where they're gonna hire the best person. And so if Pam Oliver is the best sideline reporter, she's gonna be the person that rightly gets that job. But there's people, male or female, that get jobs for the wrong reasons because they look a certain way or because of other re. Maybe they're related to certain people or connected to certain people. But that's gonna be the case whether you're a male or a female. So, yes, there are a lot of opportunities, and again it's very much like male sportscasters. The way you do it is you go out and you create it. You go out and create your opportunity, determine which part of the industry you wantto pursue and then go out and do it because there are professionals that are willing to help you, and most people want to help you improve. Most people in this industry wantto teach to whatever degree possible. I mean, we teach a lot here, but, you know, we talked on our last episode about Mike Breen and how he was willing to share his insight with me 25 30 years ago when I was a college student. And so most broadcasters are that way. So, yes, you can certainly do it, and I encourage you. Yes, stay connected here and pursue your career. If you have questions, you can certainly stay in touch with us. Listen to our previous episodes, and we've got a lot of free tips and articles going back many years at sportscasters club dot com. But yes, you can become a sportscaster. That was one of the great things when, when I was the sports director at Fordham University sitting down with a prospective student and they would ask that same question. What kind of opportunities are there for me here? And we had a lot of opportunities. Whether you're male or female didn't really make a difference. If you were good, if you were willing to work. If you were an aspiring up incoming broadcaster that wanted to get better, we could help you. And that is the attitude of most people now in the industry. So, yes, that's a great thing. Great progress that's been made in this industry. There are people that don't deserve to be there, whether they be females or males. That cuts both ways. So, yes, there's opportunities go pursue it. That's my advice. Question Number two comes from end over Maryland, Dave, Dave says, Can you help me come up with a home run call? And what I'm assuming here is for those of you that don't know and when you're broadcasting baseball, oftentimes you'll hear a broadcaster with a signature home run call. For example, in New York City, you've got John Sterling on the radio whose home run call is It is high and as far it is gone and some any mixes in a nickname and as an extra tag line with it on TV. Michael Kay's home run call is CIA on on the Mets broadcast, Gary Cohen would be out of here. Um, it's out of here, you know, in basketball. Mike Breen. Oftentimes, we'll have a big, crucial shot. He'll say, Bang! So there's there's different catchphrases in different home run calls and you see this a lot in the minor leagues. And when I was in the minor leagues back in the mid nineties, that seemed to be even a bigger thing where broadcasters wanted to come up with a home run call to make them stand out, too. Help them be unique to help them get on sports center to have ah, really catchy, edgy home run call. So I developed one. I was part of that crew. I wanted to be a a well recognized sportscaster, so spent a lot of time thinking about it, and one day I came to my partner, Bill Rogan. I said, Bill, I've gotta I've got a great home run call and that night. Sure enough, a guy had a home run and fly ball deep right field. Back goes Anderson to the track to the wall, and that ball is often to the moonlight. Oh, I thought that was so great often to the moonlight home run call. I had my signature home run call, and it was great, Dave, until, you know Bill was like listening. I don't know if you it might sound a little contrived, a little forced you might want to reconsider. I said, No, Bill, it's great. In fact, I had it developed so perfectly where if we had a day game and a guy had a home run, I could say off into the sunshine. If we had a rainy night at the park, I could say often to the raindrops. I thought this was the best home run call. I could tailor it to the situation, and I was on my way. ESPN Here we come. I was going to be the most sought after home run call that would be played every night on SportsCenter. So then we had a game one day day game. Tight ballgame. Big spot Guy hits a long fly ball and I fly ball

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deep left center field That goes Jones. And that

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ball is off into the moonlight. And I just looked at Bill and that was the last time I used the contrive forced can home run call. Because during a day game I had said off into the moonlight. And so I said, You know what? I just want to be natural. I don't need I didn't immediately come to this conclusion, but I was embarrassed. I felt silly. And eventually over time, I developed the the philosophy that no, you don't need ah specific home run call if you have one that's natural. By all means use it. Uh, the great Marty Glickman used to have different lines that it would use good like Need IX Need X was a product that advertised on the basketball broadcast, so he would say that free throw is good like need IX. You know, that was certainly a promotional advertising tie in, but so that's how my philosophy developed Dave, about about calls and about contrived thought up home run calls. And on Twitter you'll see broadcasters that are proud of theirs and share theirs and say Here's my catchy home run call. I don't think you need one. If you have one that's natural. If it fits you, if it fits the situation and the sport go for it. Be unique. Have fun with it. But I don't think you need one. So, Dave, can I help you come up with a home run call? That was your question. No, I can't. If you can develop one naturally, that fits. Use it. But I can't help you come up with one. Because then it wouldn't be natural, it wouldn't fit. And it would not be appropriate to use that in your broadcast. So I hope that helps I want to provide you. The honest answer is here at the Sportscasters Club online radio show. And that is my feeling on contrived homerun calls. When we come back, we're gonna wrap this puppy up.

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If you're enjoying the show, check out our seven hour online sports broadcasting course. We cover play by play, talk show, hosting television and much more. Visit sportscasters club dot com and click on online sportscasting glass.

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All right, We're just about done with another episode of the Sportscasters Club online radio show today we talked about cheating. And, yes, a sportscaster should cheat. We talked about predicting what will happen, anticipating what will happen, talked about doing your homework, which allows you to do that. Knowing the signs. It's okay if you can do it. We talked about the the intricacies and the discernment you need. If you do know the signals that you're able to share and help your listener and viewer anticipate what might happen. And most importantly, we talked about earning the trust and respect of the athletes that you're covering, which will allow you to become a better broadcaster and better serve your audience. So that's this episode of The Sportscasters Club online radio show. I'm Rick Schultz. We appreciate you sharing,

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liking, recommending this podcast and our website to any sports fan in your life. Thanks for listening, and we'll catch you next time. Thanks for listening to The Sportscasters Club radio show at sportscasters club dot com. Don't forget to subscribe, so you will never miss an episode. And thanks for liking sharing, posting reviews and spreading the word