Newsline 9 Sports Blog

Thoughts From Dallas, Texas

I just got back to the hotel following tonight's Packers-Cowboys game in Dallas.  First off, I have to tell you we saw a lot of Packers jerseys all over the place Wednesday and Thursday.  It's kind of funny, every single one of the Packers jerseys was #4 Favre.  Not a single #80 Driver, #94 Gbaja-Biamila, nothing.  We were driving into the hotel parking lot this afternoon and I saw a guy in a Favre jersey throw a football to someone I couldn't see.  I said, hopefully there's an 80 on the other end.  Nope.  A Cowboys #31 Roy Williams.  All that changed when we arrived at Texas Stadium.  Let me say, for anyone who ever blasts the parking situation around Lambeau Field, thank your lucky stars (not the big Dallas star at midfield here though) that you don't have to spend $40, then cross an entrance ramp to an interstate, then maneuver down a steep incline where you feel like you'll slide all the way down, then cross under that same highway before reaching the lot surrounding the stadium.  Packer fans were everywhere and I finally saw green and gold jerseys in something other than a four.  The stadium looks great on tv and free my vantage point in the press box it looked good from there as well.  I was trying to estimate the number of Packer fans and started with a low estimate of 10%  But as I scanned row by row, it seemed more like 1 of every 4 or 5 fans were Packer backers.  The had the offense most people expected, but not from some of the people you'd expect.  Aaron Rodgers is obviously the big one because you never expect Favre to leave a game wtih an injury.  But how about #80 from the Cowboys?  A couple tds from him.  I really liked Green Bay's chances coming in but with Charles Woodson out with the toe injury I brought my expectations down a bit.  Al Harris played like he knows how and it looked to me like Dallas needed to change things in their offense to get the ball to Terrell Owens like put him in motion and once drift into the backfield.  Sometimes you wondered where Harris was looking as Owens snuck behind him.  Jarrett Bush on Patrick Crayton was a mismatch for the Cowboys and Jason Witten on almost anyone is an advantage to Dallas.  Still, Ryan Grant proved he belongs with that big td run.  The Cowboys needed this one and were favored by a touchdown and that's how it ended.  We look forward to a rematch in the postseason and we'll definitely keep a close eye on Favre's injuries.

Bryon Graff

Port Edwards Graduate Competes in All-Star Game

Port Edwards graduate Matt Bassuener recently played for the South Squad in the East Coast Bowl at Cameron Field in Petersburg, Virginia.  Bassuener is the quarterback at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. 

The following comes from the Hoyas' press release:

"It's a great opportunity," Bassuener said from the phone on his drive to Petersburg. "It's a chance to play another game and it's a chance to see how I can stack up against players from other leagues. I'm happy to have been asked and just hope that I can play well."

Bassuener completed 211-of-316 passes for 1,874 yards and eight touchdowns this year for the Hoyas. He also had 117 carries for 308 yards and four touchdowns. The 6-2, 200-pound signal caller ranked fourth in the Patriot League in passing yards per game (170.4) and in total offense (198.4 yards/game).

Area Athletes Honored for Academic Work

Here's an update on a few local basketball players from our area who were honored by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. 

Augsburg College - Justin Kozlowski (Wausau Newman) - Business
       

Northwestern College (MN) - James Lecheler (Abbotsford) - Education
                                 

Northwestern College (MN) - Dave Zuleger (Wausau West) - Business 

The NABC honors juior and senior athletes who accumulate a 3.2 gpa or higher.  Zulegar and Kozlowski are each captains of their respective teams.

Switching to Winter Sports but Packers Big Attraction

Time's really flying by here in the sports world.  You start those high school football preseason specials back in August when state tournament week and Thanksgiving seem so far away.  Well, they've already come and gone.  Hockey and basketball teams have already started playing games and I'm checking out who looks good in the polls.  The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel likes the Wausau East boys hoopsters as the state's 4th best large school team.  Off the top of my head, Iola-Scandinavia also looks good in the voters' eyes as well as the Neillsville and Amherst girls.  The Pointer basketball teams have already hit the hardwood for real games and the conference season will be here before you know it.  But right now the biggest thing grabbing attention around here is the Packers' game at Dallas.  Those two powerhouses used to slug it out back in the '90s and here they are again fighting for the best record in the NFC.  Yes, everyone wants to say every team is playing for second place behind the Patriots.  But anything can happen in sports.  Last night AJ Feeley... yes AJ Feeley... and the Eagles almost pulled off an upset of New England.  I'm not big into looking at the betting lines but Philly was a 23 point underdog.  So back to the Packers and Cowboys.  I'm making arrangements to get down there and we'll have coverage from Dallas starting at 10pm Wednesday.  As far as records go, this is one of the biggest matchups the league has seen in quite some time.  The fans are into it, with some thinking Super Bowl, and who would've thought after that 4-12 season two years ago?  Right now, it's Dallas and Green Bay then the rest.  So barring any huge collapse they'll each get a first round bye.  But, ah, the winner Thursday likely gets that home game in the NFC Championship.  Mike McCarthy has some injury issues to think about.  Colin Cole just went on injured reserve, so he's out for the season.  Charles Woodson has a toe injury.  A few others were dinged up in Detroit.  But McCarthy says he'll do what's best to allow the player to heal and not push anyone because the Cowboys are next on the schedule.  Personally in this game I can't wait to see how Dallas covers Green Bay's 5 wideout set.  Dallas has a couple nice cornerbacks.  But how deep are they?  Or how does Atari Bigby cover Cowboys tight end Jason Witten.  Can't wait to see Al Harris and Woodson "d" up on Terrell Owens and Patrick Crayton.  Tony Romo can get the ball out of tight space.  What kind of pressure can the Pack supply?  There's so many questions and we'll have it answered Thursday.   Which leads me to the game itself.  We've received the phone calls and the emails.  NFL Network has the game.  Yes, they're in a (I don't know... pick the word) discussion, fight, stalemate over broadcasting this channel on major cable operators Time Warner and Charter Communications.  In instances where pay tv (ESPN, NFL Network) carry a game, the NFL requires the "home tv market" to put the game on free tv.  In this case, WFRV in Green Bay and WISN in Milwaukee has that right.  However, Wausau is not considered a "home tv market."  I was reading some things in the Dallas newspapers and people in cities like Austin and San Antonio will not be able to see the game on free tv either.  It's a battle between the league and cable distributors and most of the country will be left out as two of the NFL's classic franchises duke it out Thursday.

By the way, if you have any ideas or topics to discuss here add it to the comments section.  Or you can let Russ and Jana know you'd like to hear from them instead of me all the time.

Bryon Graff

Plenty Local Football Players to Compete in Division III Tournament

With UW-Stevens Point just 30 minutes down the road from TV9, we give the football team lots of coverage throughout the year.  They have plenty of local talent throughout their roster.  Iola-Scandinavia grad Kasey Morgan was just named a member of the Division III All-Star Team and will play in the Aztec Bowl.  Well, now that UWSP's season is over, we want to let you know how many local guys are involved in the Division III National Tournament as UW-Eau Claire meets St Norbert Saturday in the first round.

A scan of the UWEC roster shows Drew Adamczak/Stevens Point, Chris Below/Antigo, Paul Bielmeier/Edgar, Nils Dillon/Iola-Scandinavia, Andrew Evanoff/Plover, Brady Hauser/Rhinelander, Casey Kamps/Antigo, Craig Kolb/Marshfield, Trevor Koslowski/Phillips, Matt Mattek/Antigo, Joe Nikolay/Abbotsford (Colby HS), Matt Olson/Stratford, Zach Paul/Edgar, Kalan Stittleburg/Neillsville and Don Yahn/Phillips.

St Norbert has Chris Manlick/Auburndale (Marshfield Columbus HS), Cody Craig/Neillsville, Eric Harstad/Stevens Point, Steve Kraft/Wittenberg (Witt-Birn HS), Matt Szmanda/Wausau (Newman), Jeff Schneider/Phillips and John Riemer/Elcho.

College Update With... Emily deLong

Emily deLong recently graduated from DC Everest High School and currently plays softball at Monmouth University in New Jersey.  As a junior at DCE, she was a unanimous first team all-Wisconsin Valley catcher and first team all-state.  She was named honorable mention as a freshman and 2nd team as a sophomore and senior.  Prior to her senior year, Emily competed in the TOURNEYSPORT USA tournament in Hawaii.  In the Aloha State she hit the game-winning home run in the championship game.  Back in April, Emily signed a national letter of intent with Monmouth, becoming the first ever DCE player to earn a division one softball scholarship.  The following email is from Emily where she just wrapped up the fall season.

Hey Bryon,

We just got done with our fall ball season and we did pretty well (10-1) and I played both outfield and I caught. The pitchers are a lot different here in both speed and their pitch selection. We hardly call a fast ball and rely on all the other pitches: drop, screw, curve, rise, offspeed, and a mixture of a couple. The intensity and focus to become a better team is present and our coach is very intense. There is a big difference from last year to this year...every one on the team is good and can actually play and they know what they are doing most of the time...the pitchers are so focused and intense and usually get upset if something isn't working for them but you just have to try and talk to them and get them re-focused. They do know how to have fun and separated softball from their own life which is good otherwise we would have more drama. Hitting is a lot harder just because of all the pitches that they could throw to you...right now it's kind of like a guessing game because we haven't really seen that much live pitching but by the season we should be able to recognize some pitches. Right now we are in our "off" season and are doing a lot of conditioning, lifting, and individual skill sessions. For conditioning we have sprints on mondays, bleachers or agilities on wednesday, and a pool workout on friday. And we lift Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. My school schedule is pretty good this semester, so the only packed day between class and softball is Monday cause I have four classes and then sprints and lift so that gets a little intense...but other than that it isn't too hard to juggle softball and homework or school. The coach gets your schedule and plans the workout and things around it most of the time so it's pretty well worked out. Next semester is going to be worse because we have games on Wednesday and we aren't suppose to have a class later than noon and I have two so I'm going to miss them a lot but my teacher is my advisor so it should be fine.

Monmouth is a well kept school and the teachers are very helpful and usually understand if you need to change a due date or something. The city is ok, and they have a lot of places to eat or go shopping and they aren't that far away so that's good. The state itself is beautiful. There is a beach about 20 minutes away by foot and they have a board walk and all these stores which are pretty nice. The weather so far has been like Wisconsin except it hasn't gotten that cold out yet. The state looks some what like Wisconsin with all the trees and the rivers, but they have more highways and trees around the highways and they have a different road system which is really weird but I don't drive here so it's ok.

- Emily deLong

That's Emily, alongside her mom Peg and her teammates, at her letter of intent signing in April.

Stratford, Iola-Scandinavia Head of the Division 6 Class

I can't wait to see Stratford and Iola-Scandinavia meet Thursday afternoon at 1:00pm for the division six state football championship.  By the way, it's on Fox Sports Net.  TV9 carries the state basketball and hockey tournaments.  We're planning some team coverage that's really been in the works for a few weeks.  Our own Russ Owens will cover the Iola-Scandinavia side of the game, while Jana Jurkovich brings you the Stratford side.  Kind of like how ESPN covered the Patriots-Colts a few weeks back, just without the plane rides and constant up-to-date reports from the team's facilities.  Actually, Russ featured Michael Griffin of I-S as our TV9 Athlete of the Week last week.  Really, that honor could've gone to just about anyone on that squad.  As coach Erickson told Russ, this is a team effort.  The same goes for Stratford.  Both teams have so many weapons and it's always fun to see who steps up in the big games.  One of our viewers, Doug Hines, recently emailed us about a unique connection to this game.  His son, Tyler Hines, is a linebacker for the Thunderbirds.  Tyler was a waterboy on the '99 I-S squad that advanced to state against Edger.  Doug says a video camera caught Tyler on the sideline "dejected" after the game.  Jana has covered plenty of Stratford games and practices the past few years.  She had a terrific camera shot of the Tigers' only touchdown in that level 3 game against Shiocton.  Before this season, I asked Cal Tackes how many games/practices he estimates his players compete in during the post-season only.  He added up the four consecutive state championship runs and estimates about 100 games/practices.   That's so much more time on the field for those younger players to practice and get a taste of playoff football.  Both head coaches are great to work with from a tv reporting point of view.  They're usually the first teams we visit during our annual Countdown to Kickoff series in August.  We wish both teams the best of luck come Thursday and congratulate both on fine seasons.

Get to Know... Tomahawk Coach John Zuelsdorf

For this edition of Get to Know... we chat with Tomahawk Track and Cross Country Coach John Zuelsdorf, or as he's known to everyone, as coach Z.

Bryon: How long have you coached at Tomahawk?

Coach Z: Since fall of 1984 (in my 23rd year, I think!)

Coach Z: Varsity Basketball Head Coach 1984-1989, Varsity Track Head Coach 1985-present, Cross-Country Asst 1984, 1989-1991, Head 1992-present

Bryon: Where did you coach before?

Coach Z: Shiocton fall of 1982-spring 1984.  Varsity Track Head Coach 1983-84, Middle School Basketball Head 1982-1984, Middle School Football 1982-83

Bryon: What’s the most basic talent every good runner needs? 

Coach Z: Internal motivation and drive to train at a level that will produce positive results

Bryon: How do you find that?

Coach Z: Can't teach that one (internal motivation)...but, we have been fortunate to attract good kids that come from good family backgrounds--- most coaches think that there's something in the water at Tomahawk! I've never had it tested, but maybe there is!!!! :>

Bryon: Maybe we'll check.  What separates a good runner from an excellent runner?

Coach Z: One that buys into your program, philosophy, and methods--hook, line, and sinker!!!!!

Bryon: What is the best part of coaching?

Coach Z: Being around the athletes, running with them (mostly now behind them!!)--keeps me young! Also, talking coaching strategy with our CC/Track staff and sharing ideas.

Bryon: How many of your athletes would you say have medaled/competed at state? 

Coach Z: 22 Cross-Country teams (13 girls teams, and 9 boys teams)...  1 state championship team, 3 runner-up teams on the girls side... 3 All-State 1st team runners CC that have medalled....In track, approx. 16 individuals and 5 relays have medaled over the years.

Bryon: How many have gone on to compete in college?

Coach Z: Last year we sent 4 athletes on to the next level in CC/Track... for a total now of fifteen (to the best of my recollection)... We currently have two female athletes competing in D-1 CC and Track (Lemke at Texas A&M and Sudbury at St John's)

Get to Know... SPASH Girls Basketball Coach Dave Hauser

Dave Hauser begins his first season as the Stevens Point girls varsity basketball coach.  He worked with the WIAA TV Network last March as an analyst for the girls state tournament broadcast.  Here's a question and answer with Dave.

Bryon: Where are you from?
Dave: OSHKOSH, PLAYED AT OSHKOSH WEST FROM 1984-87
WENT TO THE U OF MN-DULUTH AND PLAYED BASKETBALL FROM 1987-1991

Bryon: Where did you coach before and for how long?
Dave: WESTFIELD HIGH SCHOOL 1
HORTONVILLE 1
WEST DE PERE 5
WINNECONNE 4
NEW LONDON 3

Bryon: What's your outlook for this year's SPASH girls basketball team?

Dave: I HAVE GOTTEN TO KNOW OUR PLAYERS OVER THE SUMMER AND IN THE FALL NOW.  WE WILL NOT BE VERY TALL, BUT I FEEL WE HAVE SOME QUICKNESS AND POSSIBLY GOOD DEPTH.  THIS WILL BE A PROCESS FROM THE START WITH A NEW COACH AND NEW SYSTEM, THAT WILL TAKE TIME FOR BOTH THE PLAYERS AND COACH TO FIGURE EACH OTHER OUT.  THE FASTER THE BETTER.  I LIKE OUR PLAYERS THEY ARE NICE KIDS AND SEEM TO BE WILLING TO LEARN.  WE WILL NEED TO WORK ON OUR TEAM UNITY AND IDENTITY. I FEEL LIKE WE HAVE PUT TOGETHER A GREAT COACHING STAFF WITH TOM DROHNER(SOFTBALL COACH) AND TRAVIS KORNOWSKI(FORMER UWSP PLAYER) AND WE ARE COMMITTED TO WORKING HARD FOR THE PLAYERS.  THIS IS GOING TO BE A FUN YEAR AND A LEARNING YEAR FOR ALL, I HAVE COACHED BOYS BASKETBALL FOR 14 YEARS, MY ONLY GIRLS COACHING EXPERIENCE IS WITH MY DAUGHTERS YOUTH TRAVEL TEAM.  THERE WILL BE SOME DIFFERENCES THAT WE FIND OUT AS WE GO.  BUT WE ARE STILL COACHING ATHLETES AND WE WILL GET THEM TO COMPETE.

Bryon: What kind of system do you run?
Dave: WE WILL PLAY MAN TO MAN DEFENSE WITH SOME ZONES AND PRESS A LITTLE.  OFFENSIVELY WE WILL TRY TO FIT OUR PLAYERS STRENGTHS.  I PREFER TO PLAY MOTION OFFENSE AND PUT IN RULES THAT WORK OUR TALENT LEVEL AND  I WANT TO GET OUT ON RUN THE FLOOR.

Bryon: What do you know of the Wisconsin Valley Conference?
Dave: AFTER WATCHING THE VOLLEYBALL, LOOKS LIKE WE WILL BE SMALL COMPARED TO THE REST OF THE LEAGUE.  THERE ARE TWO TEAMS THE WENT TO THE STATE TOURNAMENT LAST YEAR AND RETURN SOME PLAYERS TO THOSE TEAMS.  DC EVEREST AND MERRILL WILL HAVE BIG TEAMS.  RHINELANDER WILL BE YOUNG THIS YEAR BUT THERE YOUNG PLAYERS ARE TALENTED.  WAUSAU WEST IS AN ATHLETIC TEAM WITH SOME SIZE AND THEY HAVE SOME PLAYERS THAT SHOOT THE BALL WELL.  WAUSAU EAST DON'T HAVE ALOT ON THEM AT THIS TIME.  ANTIGO WILL RETURN SOME SENIORS THAT WERE ON THE STATE TOURNEY TEAM, BUT THEY ALSO HAVE SOME TALENTED JUNIORS AND SIZE.  MERRILL HAS ALOT OF SIZE AND THEY ARE ATHLETIC, THEY ALSO HAVE A NEW COACH, I BELIEVE SHE IS FROM MERRILL AND HER DAD IS/WAS A FORMER COACH THERE. (Melissa Yuska and her father, Bob) MARSHFIELD WILL BE A SOLID BALL CLUB WITH GOOD ATHLETES.  WI-RAPIDS WILL BE YOUNG FROM WHAT I KNOW OR HAVE NOT MUCH EXPERIENCE.

Bryon: You did some tv work on the WIAA State Network in March.  How was it working
in front of the camera?
Dave: WORKING WITH THE TV CREW LAST YEAR WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE. HAVING A CHANCE TO SIT DOWN AND WATCH AND LISTEN TO THE COACHES(AT THE SHOOTAROUNDS) OF THE PARTICIPATING TEAMS WAS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE.  AS A COACH I LOVE TO WATCH AND LISTEN TO OTHER COACHES AND LISTEN TO THEIR METHODS TO THEIR MADNESS.  HAVING A CHANCE TO WORK WITH THE ANNOUNCERS WAS VERY EDUCATING TO LISTEN TO THEM TALK HOW THEY SEE THE GAME AND HOW THEY LOOK AT COACHING PHILOSOPHIES AND STRATEGIES.  AS FAR AS BEING IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA, WELL THE FIRST GAME WAS NERVE RACKING I KEPT TELLING MYSELF TO JUST REACT TO WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE COURT AND TO TALK SLOW AND CLEAR.  AS I GOT TO THE NEXT TWO GAMES THINGS REALLY JUST START TO ROLL AND YOU GET A FEEL WHAT YOUR DOING AND THE PROCESS OF HOW THE GAME IS PROCESSED.  THE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THE BROADCAST MADE IT VERY EASY FOR ME TO GET COMFORTABLE.  I DID NOT REALIZE ALL THE THINGS THAT GO ON BEHIND THE SCENES FOR A BROADCAST.  THE GREAT THING FOR ME WAS THE UP TO DATE STATS THAT THEY KEEP, LIKE THE NUMBER OF MADE BASKETS IN A ROW, OR THE FIELD GOAL % UP TO THE MINUTE, THOSE THINGS WERE GREAT.  TO BE PART OF THE BROADCAST WAS VERY REWARDING FOR ME, I FELT THAT I LEARNED MORE ABOUT THE GAME OF BASKETBALL, WHICH IS A CONSTANT FOR COACHES THEY ALWAYS ARE WANTING TO LEARN MORE.  AND  OF COURSE THE MOST FUN WAS WORKING WITH MY COUSIN SCOTT EMERICH (EVEN THOUGH THE BEST ANNOUNCER IS BRYON GRAFF!!!!), I HAVE LISTENED TO SCOTT CALL GAMES FOR A LONG TIME NOW AND IT WAS FUN TO BE THEIR WITH HIM.  THE ONLY DOWNSIDE WAS THAT I WAS TOLD I HAVE A GREAT RADIO FACE!

Bryon: Who's your favorite cousin?  (Scott Emerich is the sports director at WXOW.  I worked with him for a year and a half before coming to WAOW)
Dave: ACTUALLY BRYON, SCOTT AND I WERE VERY CLOSE BEFORE WE STARTED COLLEGE,FAMILIES, ETC.. AND YOU MOVE APART.  WHENEVER WE GOT TOGETHER WE HAD SOME SORT OF GAME WE PLAYED, AND SCOTT USUALLY MADE UP THE GAME, LIKE OUR HOME RUN GAME HIT'EM OUT, OR OUR 1 ON 1 FOOTBALL GAMES.  WHATEVER THE GAMES, SCOTT ALWAYS MADE SURE WE HAD WARM UPS, INTRODUCTIONS, SCORECLOCK/TIMER, ETC....  HE USED TO KICK MY BUTT IN EVERYTHING. HE WAS A VERY GOOD ATHLETE.

What Timing for Pack Attack!

What a run of good fortune for the Packers to see Ryan Grant come through in a big way against the Vikings.  Two 100 yard rushing days in a matter of three games.  Today's game included his first touchdown for Green Bay.  It's great timing for Pack Attack because Ryan's our guest tomorrow night at Dale's Weston Lanes.  It kind of reminds me of last year when Ahman Green came over the day following his big performance at Miami.  He actually changed his plans a bit that day to make an appearance on the Mike McCarthy Show, then rolled down highway 29 to Weston.  The crowds have been fantastic out there all year and I know people are watching at home.  You don't need a ticket to get in but I would recommend getting there by 6pm because some of those tables fill up pretty fast.

Bryon Graff   

College Update with... Carmen Stankowski

I've started working on features of former athletes from our area who are competing in college athletics.  Mosinee graduate Carmen Stankowski has made a smooth transition to NCAA Division II volleyball at Winona State.  Her coach, Connie Mettille, raves about Carmen's ability both on and off the court.  Carmen led WSU kills this year, averaging 3.66 a game and has earned plenty of accolades.  The following is their own words.

Winona State Head Coach Connie Mettille:

What can I say?  Carmen is simply amazing!  She was just named to the NSIC All-Conference Team(s) – one of only 4 sophomores to be named with the 22 player honor!  In this conference that says a lot! 

She was named MVP and All-Tournament Team of The Grizzly Classic- in Alamosa, CO. earlier this season. 

Along with that she was NSIC Player of the Week in October – pretty impressive for just a sophomore!

She leads our team in numerous categories and is working her way, quite quickly, up the WSU all- time best lists J 

She is a special athlete!

Carmen Stankowski:

Well, the biggest adjustment when I came to Winona was that everything was new to me.  All the people were new, the team was new, the gym was new, my room was new, just everything was new and different.  It was really hard at first to get comfortable here coming from such a small town where you know everyone that you see.  It was so different.  As far as playing volleyball here compared to in Mosinee, I would have to say that everyone is so tall, the game is so much faster and everything is a bit more intense.  Here, you lay everything out, no matter what your injury because you only have one sport to concentrate on and the season is actually not that long.  When it comes to schoolwork, it is very tough.  I always have something going on since I am a nursing major, my classes are so time consuming with lab classes and lectures and then missing them and getting the notes from others, you really need to be organized in order to do it.  That is one thing that Winona has taught me, excellent organizational skills.  Finally, the best part about playing college volleyball would have to be the friendships you make when you play a sport in college.  It is stressful and we see each other every day, but now our season has just ended and it is so weird not to see all of my teammates every day.  Another cool thing about playing college volleyball is seeing what is out there.  You really get to see some amazing athletes from other schools and make some strong friendships with them.  I really love playing volleyball here at Winona State.  We are one big Warrior family!

A big thanks to Connie and Carmen for their time.  Best of luck to you at WSU. 

Check back for more updates on college athletes from our area.

Bryon Graff

Bryon, Russ and Jana Head Back to School

One of the best parts of our job as television reporters is talking with students.  Russ, Jana and I recently spoke with Jennifer Schilling's Amherst 8th grade guidance - careers class.  They're studying the six pillars of success (respect, caring, trustworthiness, fairness, responsibility, and citizenship) and wanted to know how that relates to our job.  It fits with every category in our sports department.  Students are usually interested in knowing what kind of hours we work (sometimes it's a lot), which famous people we've met (Packers, Brewers and NASCAR drivers come to mind) and why we love our jobs.  I'll tell you what, it's something different every day.  We're always planning ahead to cover as many sports of local interest as possible.  It takes plenty of teamwork, respect and fairness to get this done.  I've said this many times, most jobs you show up, look at the clock and hope the time flies by.  For us, it's the exact opposite.  You can always use more time.  The amount of work you can get done between 10pm and 10:25pm is crucial.  Sometimes editing is still being done while the anchor is on the set.  Other times someone hands you a script just as you're about to show the highlights.  Sometimes that's what makes it fun.  Another question is, do you ever screw up?  Yes, it happens but you also want to move on.  It's live television and anything can, and sometimes does, happen.  I inserted a few pictures from our Amherst visit.  Special thanks to Ms. Schilling, Soren, Zach, Austin, Brad, Chad and Grant for being such good hosts.

Bryon Graff