 |
| Panther Den: United Township |
Galesburg @ United Township (Boy's Basketball)
(2/11/11)
My first trip to the Panther Den at United Township High School in East Moline since the 2002-03 season. That season, I was broadcasting Geneseo Maple Leafs basketball games on the now defunct AM 1500 WGEN. A funny story about that trip...
Gary Harlacher was my color commentator for Geneseo basketball during the 2002-03 season. Gary had previously been the girl's basketball coach at Geneseo, and was an industrial arts teacher at the high school. When Gary and I arrived in East Moline for the UTHS/Geneseo broadcast, he directed me to park in a parking lot near the front door. As we got out, a parking lot attendant walked up and told us we had to move, because this was for booster club members only. Gary gruffly replied, "we're from the radio station." That didn't impress the attendant, as he shot back, "I don't care, this lot is for booster club members only, you have to move." I opened my car door, in an attempt to move when Gary shouted to me, "Don't listen to him, you can park here." As we walked toward the doors, the attendant growled, "Typical Geneseo." It was pretty humorous.
Speaking of "Harlo," another story from our trips covering the Maple Leafs. The first time I broadcasted at Rock Island High School (even 8 years ago, we walked all through the halls trying to get to the girl's gym), was during a Class AA Regional. After the game, at the Black Hawk Road stop light coming down the hill, I stopped....then proceeded to turn left...on red. In a calm voice like he was going to ask me where we should stop off to eat, Harlo asks, "Does everyone in Annawan turn left on red?"
Before trekking up to the Cities (I call it the Cities, while others call it the Quads), I stopped off to fuel up, and also grabbed a Powerade. Standing in line, I noticed the "Behemoth" lighter. The Behemoth was the size of about 20 regular size lighters. It certainly couldn't fit in your pocket.
I pulled into UTHS at 5:15, arriving at the same time as die-hard fans Pete Thierry and Ray Pickrel. Many times I beat the team bus, but if there is anyone that gets the gym before me, it's Pete and Pick!
It's a long climb up the steps at the Panther Den to access the press box. There are two booths, which works out perfect (two radio stations). They are pretty tight, but I like to sprawl out all of my notes and have room for my computer and broadcast equipment. I guess I'm a table hog! There were four chairs inside the small area, so I moved one chair out onto the bleachers.
Jimmie Carr walked in not too long after I did. He thought he was going to beat me to the gym, and he almost did. When I was setting up the equipment, I noticed the cameraman in front of the box was wearing a headset. He was a student, and I asked him what the headsets were for. He said he can communicate with the other camera operators. There is a camera on each end of the gym, and it's for the team. Pretty elaborate operation there in East Moline.
Galesburg took a 5-0 lead to start the game, behind a couple of Brandon Thompson baskets. The Panthers would tie it up on a Nic Hoepfner field goal, and three-point play. UTHS led 8-7 after the 1st quarter. Thompson added 7 more points in the 2nd quarter, and Aslan Butler stepped out and knocked down a three at the top of the key for the Streaks. Hoepfner added 8 points, and Damon Overton scored 5 points in the 2nd quarter, as the Panthers outscored the Streaks 20-12 to take a 28-19 halftime lead. It was an Overton three-pointer at the buzzer that lifted the hosts.
 |
| Jimmie Carr with Mickey Rodriguez |
Mickey Rodriguez was our special halftime guest on the WAIK halftime show. Jimmie is talking with each of the seniors. One thing I feel embarrased about learning tonight is the CORRECT pronunciation of Mickey's first name, which is Micaela. I've always called her Mickey, as everyone else has, but when she was a junior she was listed on the roster as Micaela. I always thought her name was pronounced, Meh-KAY-luh. Before she went on the air, she gave us the correct pronunciation. It is; Mick-I-Ay-luh.
The Silver Streaks made a big run in the 3rd quarter, outscoring the Panthers 18-9 behind some great play by Aslan Butler. He missed 13 games this season due to a foot injury, and it took a few games to gel at the onset of the season, but he has had two really good games against United Township this year. Butler finished with 13 points. Garrett Williams knocked down a three-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game at 37-37 starting the 4th quarter.
Turnovers proved costly for the Streaks down the stretch. Galesburg committed 16 turnovers in the game, 9 of them in the second half. With the game tied at 52-52, United Township had the basketball in the final seconds. Nic Hoepfner was fouled underneath the basket and went to the free throw line in the double-bonus. He made the first free throw and missed the second shot.
The missed free throw was pulled in by the Streaks and a timeout was called. Hoepfner was all over Ryan McElmurry, who posessed the ball, but the timeout was called before a foul could be whistled (if it would have been at all). The most interesting thing about the whole scenario was that not even a tenth of a second ticked off the clock, when at least a half second should have expired. A big plus for Galesburg, however they still needed to go three quarters of the court with nine-tenths of a second on the clock. A desperation heave by McElmurry fell short and the hosts prevailed, 53-52.
 |
| United Township fans rush the court |
Tonight marked a rush of Senior Nights. In fact, the Galesburg boy's basketball team will play in four straight senior nights beginning with tonight's at United Township. Next Friday is the Galesburg Senior Night, followed by Peoria Notre Dame's the following Tuesday, and Moline's the final Friday of the season.
Taco Bell needs to teach their employees some customer service. When I pulled up to the Moline location drive-thru, I was greeted with a, "Hey how's it going?" I replied, "Good." I waited, and heard, "How ya doin' tonight?" Since I still had an hour drive, I gave up on playing their game. The thing is, the Macomb Taco Bell would use these same lines, and it annoyed me to the point that I do not visit that location because of their lack of professionalism. Sure, professionalism and fast food sounds a bit odd, but these ways to communicate at the drive-thrus are not clever, not unique, just annoying.
Game 128 Miles: 182
No comments:
Post a Comment