John Balginy: Radio Roots, Sports Loyalty, and Legends Denied

On this episode of the We Share podcast, Alex and Julie sit down with East Idaho broadcasting icon and longtime sports announcer John Balginy for a heartfelt, funny, and wide-ranging conversation. From calling high school games to spending 20 years on the QB morning show, John reflects on his deep roots in sports and radio, the value of preparation, and the joy of community connection.

He shares insights from decades behind the mic, including favorite sports moments, the evolution of broadcasting, and his take on changes in college athletics and NIL deals. The trio also dives into local music, grandparenting, and concerts at The Sphere in Vegas — all with John's trademark humor and humility (despite his protests against being called a "legend").

Whether you're a sports fan, radio lover, or just someone who appreciates a good story and even better people, this episode is a tribute to longevity, loyalty, and the love of the game.

Transcript

I remember, Jim Carr show who was, you know, a legend, a real legend. He he always told me before a game, he goes, if you have a good pre-game show, you're gonna have a good broadcast. And for years, I've seen guys walk in five minutes before the game and just go on the air and, you know, the the product, you know, matches what the preparation was.

So I think my key has been, you know, learn as much as I can before the game. And then as everything seems to go real smooth today on the We Share podcast, regional radio talent and long time sports announcing legend John Booth, Jeannie.

Welcome to the We Share podcast. I'm Julie, I'm Alex, we share ourselves and we provide a platform for others to share. We believe everyone has a purpose and a story to tell. And we're back on the We Share podcast. I'm Julie and I'm Alex, and we have a great guest in studio today. He keeps telling us there was no reason for him to come on.

I know he's a legend. I know he doesn't like that word, by the way. Oh, okay, then let's use Game Changer. Are you a game changer, John Valjean? No. An old man? No big game announcer. You guys were to finally run out of gas, and you know, you're scraping the bottom of the barrel to 99, but it's 99.

It's, I'm glad to be here. Thank you very much. For 99. That's who you are. Yeah. On our guests number 90, 99 bottles of beer on the wall, 90. Well, John Bell Genie, if anyone is in East Idaho and is interested in either country music, even the music scene over the years or in sports, you know who John Genie is?

Hey, how are you? I'm doing good. I'm doing good. So, have you been? I mean, aside from us working with him, have you been fortunate enough to have kids in a sport that John called? Oh, no, no, no, no, John knows my dad. Oh, wow. Well, you just run up to me. Yeah, yeah, he was he was in the sports scene when my dad was in the sports.

Was your dad born in 1936? Also, he was not. Sorry. Yeah, we got a so a little, prequel, like, before we started the show, John said that Julia's small for it. One of the best softball umpires we've ever had in Idaho Falls. Oh, he was good. He's good. And I have a brother who has fallen by what I understand.

Yeah, my brother does college baseball. And. Really? Yeah. Yeah, it is all over Utah and California and Arizona. So many a time I've heard people scream at blue. Yes. Yeah. I've given my my dirty looks in the years of watching bad, I bet it can make or break a game. They have a lot of power. They do. My dad was a he liked to be a pitcher's umpire.

He he had a nice little tight strike zone there and it worked out well. So. So John? Yes. How did you come to be in all these sports? Like what was your path? How did it start? My dad was a coach and a trainer, and I just been around sports all my life, you know, in locker rooms when I was 3 or 4 years old and then I played sports, wasn't good enough to play after high school, so I decided to.

I was going to be a sportswriter first, and then, that didn't work out. And a friend of mine said, why don't you try broadcasting? So I did, and, I don't know how I'm still around, but I am an, that's sort of the story in a nutshell. I can give you a reason why you're still around.

Because you sound amazing. And familiarity. It's what we talk about in radio. Like why people gravitate to listening to radio is it just feels like home. People want that sense of community. That's why we're still thriving. I think I was chatting with my husband about you the other day, and I was saying John chose, I'm sure to stay here.

You raised your family here and and John could have gone big like, you are that good at what you do. So when we call you a legend, that's why we say that, because, well, he Idaho is lucky to have you. I didn't know he didn't like the term legend. I were to come in here with, like, his platinum all star rock star.

I mean, there's a lot of words that I like. Old man myself, you know, I I'm, I am, yeah, whatever. It's it's the two beauties on the beast today. You look, you can be a beast. Your piece to your game. No. You're good. Okay. So you you went that route. What has been fulfilling about it? You've done it for so many years now.

What have you loved? I just like. I like being around sports. You know, a lot of folks have told me, you know, I did the morning show on QB for, like, 20 years, and I get, you know, and then I'd go to the ballpark and get home at 12, 1:00 and then get up at four. And people ask me, what, why do you do that?

I said, well, the radio part's my job. But doing those sports, sort of my hobby, and it's been that way ever since. That's kind of what fills your cup, right? Yeah. I don't, I mean, I don't ski, I don't fish, I don't hunt, he doesn't golf guys either. Well. Well that's you told me that's rude. I just golf Sunday.

But then I wouldn't call it golfing, so I. He can't golf. Yeah. I try to hit the ball. He drinks a beer and hangs out at the court. No, golf is fun. I think they go hand in hand. It's. Yeah, that's a hard sport, though. I guess I'm terrible. Technically, you have mad respect for the Scottie Scheffler, the Tiger Woods.

Phil, since they make it look so easy. Yeah. You know, it just hit the ball straight. But they're even our pros in this area. They're phenomenal. Amazing. Do you have a favorite sport to broadcast to call or to watch that? Yeah. I like basketball. It's just quick paced. And, you know, I like baseball as well because there's there's downtime, but you can tell some stories and, you know, shoot the ball if you want to and rag on the umpires every once in a while.

And there's an interesting side part of broadcasting in baseball, which is you have to know how to keep the story going, but be able to pause in the story and say, what play just happened. So, so and so on, and then you start the story up again and you're so good at that. Yeah, there is, there's a lot of downtime.

People say, baseball's so boring to watch. Well, yeah, maybe, but if you know the game, there's so many other little aspects of it that I enjoy doing it. Oh, I think it's so fun. I love to watch. And the smell of the ballpark. Like being live at baseball is so, so good. I know Boston just pulled up by a young gun.

Anything to say about that? Yeah, the Yankees are in first place. That's what I have to say about that, that's all. Don't bring up Boston when I'm in the room. Come on, Alex, you know better than you been to seven years of diehard Yankee fans. The Yankees had. Have you been to Fenway? I haven't, it's on my bucket list.

I have, yeah, yeah, for the Yankees. Boston's here. I watch the Yankees in the Boston's, Red Sox play at Fenway once it was. You need to go, John. I am it's, definitely on my my list. Okay. Camera has bucket list. There you go. Have you been to a Yankees game? Yes. Yeah. Good. Been to a lot of you.

Went to the Yankees starter game last year, didn't you? I went to the World Series. The World Series, game two. That was pretty, pretty neat. Didn't like the outcome, but, you know, there you go. You were there was a whole different atmosphere. It was really nice. I'll do it again. Yeah. Twist your arm. Yeah, sure. I think I would do it too.

Anyone wanna buy me a $5,000 ticket? And all your regional sports broadcasting? Do you have a couple of moments that stand out? Once where you're like, this was an amazing event and I was so glad I was part of it. Oh, there's boy, there's a bunch of them. Skyline Football 2016. They were playing Bishop Kelly at the state at Albertsons state championship game, and, they were down 5049.

They scored and, they went for two and got the two point conversion that started skylines run of, I think, five state titles in, about seven years. Idaho Falls High School. They won a couple of state basketball tournaments. They've won two in the last maybe 60 years. And I called both of them in, 88. And then again in 2019.

And then the checkers, you know, they've won four titles since I've been around, and that's always fun to pop the champagne and and and celebrate with the guys. So yeah, there's a lot of a lot of them. You know, I've had a lot of great guests in the booth with me, during over the years. Gina Davis, my favorite.

She, she was in town for, A League of Their Own was his 20th anniversary. So she came to Idaho Falls, Melaleuca field. They showed the the movie after the game, but she came up and we you know it was a great talk after one inning that her assistant said okay we got to go. We have other things to do.

She goes nah, I think I'm going to stay one more inning with John. So that was a blast. That was a blast. I love real people, even after they become celebrities. And she was. Yeah. So, Yeah, I mean, I could go on forever, but number one, my memory's not that good. And I don't know how long the show is so your memories are just great.

Well, and right now we've got NBA playoffs going on. Anything to say about that? Finals and don't really care? No. I guess I want Oklahoma City to win, but I'm. They're not. Neither one of them. One of my favorite teams. Who is your favorite? Well, it used to be Utah until they traded everybody. And you know. Yeah, I really don't have one now.

Yeah I like Utah because it's close. But Boston's still my favorite. Yeah. Are you falling in love with hockey? You know I know nothing about hockey. But, over the last couple of years, first year, I went to maybe 4 or 5 Spud King games. And this last year I probably went to 12 or 15 of them.

So, yeah, I still don't understand the rules, but, it's exciting and exciting. Yeah, it yeah, it is fun. The Mountain America Center is just a great place to watch. And the fan base is outstanding. So, yeah, I, I like to learn the rules. A little bit better, but, it's fun to watch. And they won the Dineen Cup, so.

Yeah, that's pretty amazing too. It's been really good and professional hockey. So as we move even higher Utah's looking great. Yeah they they they didn't have the finish to the season they wanted this year. But they're for a brand new club I'm glad they changed the name. The Utah Hockey Club didn't do it for me. Well it wasn't it just a year marinating.

Yeah yeah they had to stick with it for the year. And then they they did the regular, which as they said, they opened it up for a fan vote. But you know, marketing is all involved in the. Oh yeah, I know that. I don't know if I even know what they decided on the mammoth. Yeah. The man mammoth.

Yeah. Yeah. They wanted the Yeti, but they couldn't clean up the trademark because Yeti. Yeah. Mugs and coolers and everything. They couldn't get that all squared away. So they went, you know, speaking of names, I'm surprised they didn't go with something more Brigham Young oriented. The centers, the beehives, the wives. Yeah. The polygamists. That's what they should have been when they renamed the checkers.

We had a, you know, citywide, survey, you know, and we had tons of tons of, ideas. But, I came up one day with the word chucker, and I remember Kevin Green, who's the GM in the president, said, what's his truck? Or I go, well, you call a baseball pitcher a trucker, and it's also a little bird that you can hunt, because my dad used to hunt him in Kansas.

I said, what about the truckers? And he said, okay. Yeah. And, and he said, you name? I came up with the checkers. So I am officially the mother trucker. Low clan. Well done. The mother checker, that's me is going to be on my tombstone. Well, and plus, if it's Kansas City, we feed into the Royals, don't we?

Yeah. What we did. No, no, we don't any different now. Yeah. I don't want to go into that. They're not hungry. It's our Rob Manfred. And what an idiot. Baseball commissioner. Yeah. Ruin this. I was actually going to ask you that. You've seen that wrote that evolution. You disappointed with the evolution? Oh no doubt. I mean, the commissioner, Rob Manfred, he took away 40 cities of affiliated baseball and, you know, that took a lot of, jobs away.

You know, when teams were affiliated, you know, you get to see the Salvador Perez and the guys that are now in the major leagues. You'd see them when they were 18, 19 years old, and there was a fan base there. And now, that's that's all gone. So, yeah, I wasn't real pleased with that. I'm glad we do have baseball here, but it's not the same without the, major league affiliation.

What's the reason that he took it away? Or did he give one? He's an idiot. Okay. Pretty much. You heard it. Here. Oh, they were trying to save money, but, again, you know, it just really damaged 40 communities across the country. So, when you say communities, but it's it is a unifying event. You go to the checkers games here and you're hanging out.

Yeah. Like minded friends. It's a fun time. That's. I truly believe that. That's why hockey has done so well here. They provided a beautiful they if you build it they will come. Yeah. Right. Yes. They finally got there after 12 years. But once they built it of course the community's going to show up. They want that unifying event.

Yeah. That come together. And it did kind of put a spear in the side of all of that. Yeah. No doubt. So, yeah. Are you disappointed in some of the move in in sports like the NBA has gone pretty woke and not to get political or anything but have do you do you yearn for the Jordan Byrd era?

Yes. But you know, the one thing about sports that I really gets my dandruff, a lot of dander up. I don't know what it is. The college sports, the nil, all this. You know, I'm not saying the athletes should get paid, but when players go to four different schools in four different years, they just transfer, get more money.

What do they do that now? I think that has totally ruined college sports. Yeah, especially football is a statistic. This last year was every SEC quarterback made more money than Brock Purdy who starts for the 40 Niners. Yeah like that's a phenomenal stat. Well just recently the Texas Tech softball team, they had a All-American pitcher and Texas Tech's just before the season said, okay, you come to our school, we'll give you $1 million.

And she did, and she got a million. And they're going to have her back for another million. And I just got to turn money down. And I understand that. But but yeah, you know, the transfer portal, you know, I say maybe you can transfer once in your four years. You know, you can't transfer once and twice. And I mean, there there's just no continuity in college sports team because your sense of team you're building a team and you get better.

So building a program makes it tough to do that. I have said forever if I ever got asked to give a Ted talk, which I won't, but if I got asked to give a Ted talk, he would. You give a Ted talk? I just ask my Ted talk is right now who's to be. I know it would be title play for what?

What position does Ted play? Because loss of logic and loyalty in America and these things that we're talking about like with the Nil or the removal of the farm teams and that's loss of loyalty and logic and it destroys it. Molests really great things when you get to that place. Did you say molest dad? Well can you show we can cut that out.

It's triple X here. We can say whatever we want. Yeah. It is really discouraging because part of loving a team is your loyalty to that team. Yeah. And these NLI contracts make it possible. Yeah. They just go from one school to another. And you know, I feel we even know, like one of our local awesome athletes, Jaxon Sorenson.

He's already done it. He's moved. Yeah. He's on his third school right now doing phenomenal. But it wasn't nil money I don't think it was just, you know a better opportunity to play or opportunity better school. So now he's playing for Liberty. Yeah he's having a good year. He had a good year okay. So you have another gig that we have to talk about.

Doesn't have anything to do with sports. Doesn't have anything to do with music. You entered the grandpa gig a few years back. Let's chat. Yeah. Best thing ever. He. You just light up any time we chat about your two granddaughters. Well, you know what we were told. My wife and I, we were told we couldn't have kids, so we, you know, we finally got lucky, and, I think it was the postman.

A new postman came in the neighborhood. It's always the postman. Yeah, the mailman. But, and so we finally I was a late father. And that. Which means I'm going to be a late grandpa, but, Yeah, it's the best. My, oldest, Violet, is two and a half, and little Nora is about six weeks old now.

So beautiful. You know, when I walk in and Violet runs up to me. PA pa pa pa, I mean. Oh, man, it doesn't get any better than that. It just doesn't. Yeah, I'm getting goosebumps right now. Yeah, it's good when I say he lights up. It is just. It is a complete countenance change. Which is why we have to talk about your new gig.

Yeah. Oh, I love it. It's that good. Yeah. Well, I mean, you got you have a third on the way. Yeah. I'm just waiting. It'll happen. Yeah. It'll happen. I don't know, I've been told Julie and I've talked about this before. Supposedly there's some out there maybe. All righty. Yeah, but I don't I don't want to even go there.

It legitimately comes. If I become famous, we might get a few calls. I could have a few. A few great grandkids in Texas, for all I know. That's good. That's possible. It's possible. Okay, you mentioned you did 20 years of mornings on CuPy, but you've you've done other radio gigs. Do you have a favorite music genre? Yeah, I think, I like I like, 60s, 70s rock.

Yeah. Arrow like. Yeah. Like arrow with although too much, you know, Michael Jackson for me. But anyway, yeah, I like, I, you know, and I love country music, the old country. But I'm starting to get involved with the new country. And I like that as well. Disco. No rap? No, Domingo en la caliente. Boy, I love that music.

Makes me want to eat chips and salsa. I yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah. But, yeah, I'm a I'm an old hippie still in, you know, love the rock n roll from the 60s and 70s. Got a favorite artists from the 60s and 70s. No. Not really. Just, I couldn't really name one. Any great concerts you went to?

Still that you can remember? Yeah. Well, in my younger days, yeah, I mean, that was a blur back when I lived in El Paso, but, just went to the Eagles atmosphere in Vegas. Unbelievable. Oh, that would be such a good concert. It was the best ever. And I know I've been to a lot of concerts. Billy Joel, Elton John, they're dueling, dueling piano concert in Vegas for hours of music.

Oh, wow. Amazing. There's a bunch of them. And I tell you what. Hats off to the Mountain American Center. They they brought in. They've brought very good talent groups. You know, groups that were big when I was growing up. If they're still alive, you know? But, Anyway, yeah, I've been to so many concerts, I couldn't count.

So the severe worth it. The ticket price. Oh, yes. And I mean, it was, was I think tickets we got were like 400 bucks, but just the, just to get into that place and the music and all the everything around you, it's just it's amazing. You. I would say everybody should do it. Yeah. You're an artist in an experience.

Yeah, in that. Yeah, I need to do that. I know Kenny Chesney is there right now. See. And I don't know. That would be good. I've heard it's okay. I really wanted to see the Eagles or the dead. Yeah that and co and they are coming back to the sphere. So there's still chance. Yeah. So you could go.

Yes I love the Eagles music. So I am sure that that was just amazing okay so here's the deal. When we invite guests on to the We Share podcast. Where's the food? Yeah I know we don't don't even have a green room. It's an icon. I'm not fasting. I thought this was an A1, show here. We do have a pop cooler.

Yeah, I was outside. Doctor Pepper. When we invite guests on, we asked them to share a bit of either life advice or a lesson you've learned throughout your years, or, you know, whatever you would want to share, because it is called the we Share Podcast. So I'm putting you on. Wow, I'm spot here. What would you like to share with our guests?

Why didn't you ask me this before about Jeannie ism? So I could come up with a decent answer about Jeannie is, Yeah, I don't know. I think, one thing I've learned over the years, if you're going to do the job of course you do it right. But I think preparation in any job is is key. I remember, Jim Carr show who was, you know, a legend, a real legend.

He he always told me before a game, he goes, if you have a good pregame show, you're going to have a good broadcast. And for years I've seen guys walk in five minutes before the game and just go on the air and, you know, the the product, you know, matches what the preparation was. So I think my key has been, you know, and learn as much as I can before the game.

And then as everything seems to go real smooth, and I think you can use that in any type of, job, you know, preparation and then, things should go good for you if you get the reps. And I don't even think it's just a job. I think also like anything you experience in life, if if you're going to head out on a vacation and you really want to enjoy, I'm going to Nashville next week, I got to know where I'm headed, right?

You know, or else you're going to hit more speed bumps. It can still be fun, but you're gonna have she rubbing that in. She's going to Nashville. Yeah. You got to maximize your time. Right. So you would rather have some strategies and plans before you get there. But I do also encourage spontaneity because in Nashville I've been there.

There is a lot so much to do. There's a lot that you could just happen upon. So give yourself an opportunity to have those. Yes, yes, yes, yes, that's a great way. Or parenthood or but that's another way that you prepare. But I'm sure you and Neil, you, you know, you just kind of walk in and start yapping.

Well they actually do know I'm still waiting for it I guess I'm still waiting for a guest spot on the Neil Larsen show. You know, I have it for you. He's going on another vacation. So you I don't think your listeners would like what I have to say. I think you can bring in a little different edge.

Yeah. Oh, yeah, I don't know. Down. When I fill in for for Neil when he's on vacation, I don't make people get political unless they want to. Yeah. I actually reached out to Brad Barlow and asked him, oh, he would be good on a whim because Neil was gone an extra day and I said, can you fill in?

And he said, no. And I was like, is he lying to me? Because I don't know if he wants to come on the Laughlin Show. It's another legend in the show. I would just be silent. Yeah, he really is. Yeah. We are surrounded. I know it sounds like we're bragging when we talk about Sand Hill Media, but the talent in this building is overflowing, I think.

So it is. It is phenomenal. And I tell you that people stay right, because that longevity in a career like we've been talking about hopping around in sports, but if you have something you're good at and you like it and then you're in a environment and coworkers, yeah, this is my 42nd year in this building. It's amazing. I started when I was seven.

I was a child phenom, a prodigy, seven. You're not like, you're not going for that. Well, that sounds like something you say he's like, it's the radio version of 2003. Yeah. John Ball, genius deejay and 40 years for, truckers this year. So, it's been a good run. I don't know how long it's going to last, but, I'm sure one day they're going to kick me out the door.

I don't think so. Yeah, I'll tell you what. My favorite thing about working at Sand Hill Media has been is that I entered the game very late in comparison to everybody in this room or or in this building. Yeah. I've been in radio eight years. That's to enter. I'm 52 now, so that's a late entry into the game.

I have learned so much just by watching people and my previous digs before I came to Sand Hill Media. They gatekeeper like they wouldn't let you learn from them. It was this isolation that was going on. Yeah, I have not experienced this here. There is, mentors at every turn and they're willing to teach. We have a life that's been amazing, hundreds of years of experience in this building, which I think, you know, proves that you know, that's why we're at the top of the heap.

Yep, yep. It's a good. Absolutely. It's good to see you survived. John. This is the end of the podcast. That is so good. Oh, I wanted to go another 45 minutes. What else have you got to do? You. Hey, I'm done. All right. Hey. Thanks, I appreciate it. Yes, I know I've been putting Julie off for a while, but, I know we've researched the best for last.

Well, I would like to have been number 100, but, apparently that's somebody a little more important than me. That would be the 100th guest. We knew that we couldn't tip into the next century. You just had bottles of beer on the wall. It's 9099. Okay, all 91 is. I don't believe either one of you, Prince has a song.

Night. Yeah. Party like it's 1999 99 red balloons. Is that the other 99 blue balloons? Yeah, it's an important number. Thank you. John, thank you. Thanks for joining us today on the We Share podcast. If you've loved what you've heard, please give us a five star rating. Tell your friends and share this show. You can also follow us for recipes, lifestyle and fashion tips, book reviews and more on our podcast.com.

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