I attended a Northeast Conference doubleheader this past Saturday, with both games taking place in Brooklyn. The second game of the doubleheader, Sacred Heart vs. St. Francis, was the game I was most anxious about, for two reasons. Reason number one was obviously because Sacred Heart needed a win to possibly clinch that ever-elusive (well at least for the last 2 years) NEC tournament berth. The second reason, however, was a unique and unexpected opportunity - I was invited to be the guest on the halftime show for the St. Francis broadcast. Jaden Daly, one of the excellent play-by-play announcers for St. Francis, graciously extended the invitation to me a few weeks ago, and I excitedly accepted. I was somewhat nervous beforehand, but Jaden did a fantastic job making the interview very comfortable. By the way, Jaden also runs an terrific college basketball blog, Daly Dose of Hoops, which I recommend.
You can find the broadcast of the game and my interview right here. Here are the instructions to access it once you get to the page:
1) On the right side of the page, click on the red tab "On Demand"
2) Once you do that, a number of games will pop up. The top game of the list should be labeled "St. Francis Men's Basketball vs. Sacred Heart, Sat, Feb 18th". Click on the "Watch" button in that box.
3) Now the game should load on the left side of the page. Skip ahead to the 1 hour, 2 minute, 20 second mark. The interview will begin shortly after that.
NOTE: On my computer, the broadcast was interrupted by "buffering" at the 1:05:54 mark, so if it freezes at that point, you may have to skip slightly ahead (like at 1:06:22) to hear the remainder of the interview.
I'm curious to hear everyone's opinion on my performance. Overall, I'd give myself a "C+". I stumbled out of the gate, said "um" and "so" a little too much, and was a little vague on certain points. But I was much smoother on my last 2 answers of the interview (my nervousness was gone by that point) and I had an absolute blast doing it! I certainly wouldn't hesitate to do another interview next season.
Oh, and if you're a Sacred Heart fan who's a glutton for torture, skip ahead to the 1 hour, 56 minute mark. There you'll capture the final 48 seconds of the game and get to see Sacred Heart lose another heartbreaker in the process. I will now bang my head continuously against the coffee table...
Ryan,
ReplyDeleteLike me, you're being much too hard on yourself...you were great, and I'm not just saying that to make you feel better either. Aside from postgame, that was the first time I had done a live in-game interview in almost three years. Needless to say, you made it easier on me as well. Thank you for all the kind words, as they mean more to me than anything else associated with this broadcast. If I'm back next year and get to call another Sacred Heart game, I would be honored to do this again.
Thank you for coming on and spending a few minutes with me; and if the Pioneers are one of the final eight in the NEC, all the best for a miracle. Who knows, maybe I'll see you in Brooklyn again.
Jaden