Game 50: Alleman @ Galesburg (Girl's Basketball)

Game 50
Alleman @ Galesburg (Girl's Basketball)
(12/16/10)

Just 1/3 of the way into the Quest 2: 150, it came to my attention that the interior of my car is..."disgusting." While I understood the amount of trash in the back seat needed to be cleaned out, the extend I wasn't quite sure.



As I warmed up the station car to head over to Galesburg High School, one of my female co-workers asked if I had a snow scraper. I said, "Yes, it's in the backseat, but it's pretty messy back there." A few minutes later I heard a, "OH...MY...GOD...that is DISGUSTING." Hmmm....time for a cleaning, I guess. I could have handled messy...but disgusting...just makes me feel like a dirt ball. On top of that, the aroma was reminiscent to that of a "McDonald's dumpster." OUCH!

You see, I knew the magnitude of my backseat messiness last week. It was when my broadcast partner Jimmie Carr jumped in for our trip to Metamora last Saturday. He remarked, "Geez....it looks like you live in here!"

After taking a gander at the mess that traveling over 2,500 miles in a month, I noticed there to be quite a bit of fast food bags littered back there. Last week, I felt like a slug. At first, I thought it was my broadcast schedule catching up to me. Then, I saw the amount of fast food that I had eaten in the week, along with the Pepsi, and junk food around the office.

Last Sunday would be a new day. No fast food, no Christmas cookies, no candy, no pop until Christmas. Even then, I will attempt (hospitality rooms are tough, even with my strong will power) to keep an even keel when it comes to the junk.

After five days of abstaining from all of this crap, I feel a million times better. More energy, more hop in the step, etc. Now, I must use this excess energy to clean out the "disgusting McDonald's dumpster" in the back seat of my vehicle. Unfortunately, there is a picture out there, and I'm sure it will be posted to our radio station's Facebook page.

I always get to the gym very early, and many people laugh at my early arrival times. There is nothing worse than having to rush a broadcast. It may sound hard to believe, but it really can affect the entire broadcast, by arriving late or being rushed.

When I get to the gym, I can take my time in setting up the equipment, fill out my scorebook, do some last minute homework on the opposition, and talk with the coaches...all without being rushed.

When I arrived at the gym tonight, and didn't see the Alleman bus at GHS yet, I was quite surprised. I may have mentioned in a previous blog, that Alleman is certainly the most timely team around. In fact, at the Galesburg Thanksgiving Tournament, the Pioneers team bus and I arrived at the same time....and I was there early for the 8:00 a.m. game and they did not play until 9:30 a.m. Impressive.

After getting all of my stuff set up and filled out the scorebook, I headed down to talk with coach Jay Hatch. I've been fortunate to see the Alleman Pioneers more than any other team (outside of Galesburg) this season. They have played five games at Thiel Gymnasium and three games on their home floor. Jay told me that in past years they have gone the entire season playing more at Galesburg High School than Alleman High School! This year, some of their other tournament games have been played at Lombard Middle School in Galesburg, as well as Knoxville High School.

After talking with Coach Hatch, I saw GHS athletic director Ralph Henning and wanted to keep abreast of the Galesburg football coaching vacancy. The goal is to name a new head football coach at the January school board meeting. Ralph says they should be able to make the decision by then. They are currently going through interviews, and should have them complete by the New Year. There are six finalists, right now.

At the end of the first quarter of the sophomore game, I went in search of coach Massey, who was being interviewed by WGIL's Jim Wyman. Jim is filling in on the broadcasts this week for Eric Gibson. I have mentioned WGIL in my blog quite a bit, regarding my interactions with their broadcasters. Many in the media will go through heaven and hell to avoid mentioning their competition. Everyone in Galesburg knows there are two radio stations that broadcast games, it's no secret. I have no problem talking about them, in fact they do a very good job. In the end, I can only control my own broadcast, so it's my duty to attract the listeners to WAIK. I love the competition! Plus, it's great to work across the gym from a group of great guys at the other radio station: Brad Bennewitz, Jim Lee, Jim Wyman, Tom Meredith, and Eric Gibson. However...when it comes time to strap on my head set, there's only one broadcast in town, and that's on 1590 WAIK.

While waiting for Massey and Wyman to wrap up, I talked with Dave Hasley, who would be officiating the varsity game. I asked who his crew would be and he replied: "I have no idea, I just show up." Last year, it seemed as though Dave worked about every game I broadcasted, but I've only seen him a few times this season. This year, I have run into Gary Geiger and Tom Holmes quite a bit. Joe Thompson and Aaron Furrow have probably officiated the most games that I have broadcasted.

It was another hot start to the game for the Silver Streaks, jumping out to a 16-6 lead. Galesburg led 36-14 at halftime, and went 8-22 from outside the three-point line. Jessica Howard finished with five more three-pointers and moved into a tie for 8th place on the IHSA All-Time Three-Pointers Made list. Howard scored a game-high 17 points. The Streaks went 13-43 from outside the arc, guaranteeing a free triple cheeseburger for those in attendance wearing their McDonald's T-shirts, collecting their coupons while Jimmy Buffet's "Cheeseburgers in Paradise" blared over the sound system.

Sadee Hamilton had a very nice game for the Silver Streaks. According to my sometimes inaccurate stats, I had her with 7 points and 4 blocks, and several rebounds.

Jessica Lieber continues to heat up outside, after a slow start. She hit three three-pointers. Jessica was the latest interview by coach Massey in his blog. Check it out here: http://masseybasketball.blogspot.com/2010/12/jessica-lieber-athlete-fan.html

Alleman committed 26 turnovers in the game, and were led by Jenna Zmuda's 12 points. Freshman point guard Cierra Davis scored 10 points. Keep that name in mind, she will be a big name player in the Western Big 6 for the next 3.5 years.

In fact, Alleman will return 13 of their 14 players next year. Tonight, the Pioneers started two juniors, two sophomores, and a freshman. Charlene Yeager is the only senior on the Alleman roster.

Sign of the Apocalypse (apologies to Sports Illustrated)
Since I spend so much time on the road, and I work in radio, I enjoy flipping through the radio dial to see what other stations are doing, music their playing, etc. A rare Christmas song played on Rock 106 (I don't think they go by that anymore, but they did for so long). It was Afroman, and a Christmas version of his "Because I Got High." Doing some research, I found this song, "Because I Got High (Christmas Remix)." I can only imagine the couches filled with squinty red eyes and empty Cheetos bags and pizza boxes enjoying this attempt at comedy.

Game 50 Miles: 100
Total Miles: 2,642

The Quest 2: 150 Stats
50 games in the books, officially 1/3 of the way to the ultimate goal. The 1/3 point of the season is not until the end of NEXT week.

The Rest of 2010
Friday (12/17): United Township @ Galesburg (Boy's)
Saturday (12/18): Five games at Iowa/Illinois Shootout at Augustana College
Monday (12/20): TBA, possibly a day off with a hectic week.
Tuesday (12/21): Sterling @ Galesburg (Boy's)
Wednesday (12/22): Six games at Sterling Shootout (Girl's)
Thursday (12/23): Five or six games at Chuck Dayton Tournament in DeKalb (Boy's)

Monday (12/27): Charleston Christmas Tournament (TBA)
Tuesday (12/28): Charleston Christmas Tournament (TBA)
Wednesday (12/29): Charleston Christmas Tournament (TBA)
Thursday (12/30): TBA (Either State Farm Classic or Macomb-Western Tournament)

The Goal for the New Year: I hope to have at least 80 broadcasts by 2011.