COLUMN: Broadcasting sports is a one-of-a-kind experience

During my time as a freelance sports writer for The News Herald from 2009-13, I had the opportunity to cover the Morganton Aggies, who played in the Southern Collegiate Baseball League for nine summers starting in 2005 before folding prior to the 2014 season.

But in 2013, in addition to my reporting duties, I also wore another hat: internet radio broadcaster.

Thankfully, longtime Aggies play-by-play man Harvey Daw agreed to let me join him as a color commentator, so we became a two-man booth — except for the late-night doubleheader that I broadcasted on my own — throughout what would end up being the team’s final season.

That summer was so much fun, and while I did host my own podcast for a couple of years during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic — which was also a memorable experience that was highlighted by an interview with Paul Byrd, a former Major League Baseball pitcher who later became a TV analyst for the Atlanta Braves — I had always wanted to broadcast sports again.

Earlier this month, I got my chance. Bob Clark of The Big Dawg 92.1 FM asked me to join him on the call for a pair of high school football games: West Caldwell at East Burke on Nov. 1 and Avery County at Draughn on Nov. 2.

Naturally, I quickly said yes. And in the midst of having the time of my life while helping Bob broadcast the contests, I got to witness strong performances from both the Cavaliers and Wildcats as they won by respective final scores of 28-7 and 37-0.

I hope I get to call more games in the years to come, as I think I’m pretty good at it. But whether that happens or not, it was an absolute pleasure getting to call two games in less than a 24-hour span after not doing so for more than a decade.

In the meantime, it might soon be time to start podcasting again. I’ve been tossing some ideas around in my head, so we will see if anything comes to fruition.

Freeman leads Dodgers to World Series title

I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t watch much of this year’s World Series, mainly due to the fact that it included two of my worst favorite professional sports franchises, the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Going in, I really didn’t care who won, but after former Braves star Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off grand slam to lift the Dodgers to a Game 1 victory, I decided right then and there that I wanted them to win, and I wanted Freeman to be named World Series MVP.

In the end, Los Angeles defeated New York in five games, winning its second World Series in five years and its eighth all-time. And Freeman was the obvious MVP winner after hitting homers in each of the first four games, becoming the first player in MLB history to do so.

Freeman also homered in the last two games of the 2021 World Series — his six consecutive World Series games with a homer is also a record — as he helped the Braves beat the Houston Astros in six games to win their first championship in 26 years. Furthermore, Freeman had 12 RBIs against New York as he tied the all-time World Series mark set by former Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson against the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1960, although Pittsburgh won that series in seven games.

Add in the fact that Freeman was dealing with both a sprained right ankle and a fractured rib, and his World Series exploits become even more incredible. Moreover, his 3-year-old son, Maximus, went through a serious health scare this past summer and was ultimately diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare condition in which the body’s immune system attacks the nerves.

Maximus lost the ability to walk for several weeks after his diagnosis but has since made a lot of progress and is expected to completely recover. And his medical issues make what his father was able to do in the Fall Classic all the more impressive.

A hellish few months for the Freemans ended with a World Series title, and while I’ll never be a Dodgers fan, I will forever be a Freddie Freeman fan. At the end of the day, I was happy to see good things happen to such a good person.