The Jock Strap

So, let me tell you about my Monday afternoon/evening (5/19). This short story will give you an inside look at the life of a sports broadcaster.

First off, I was coming off of a monster New York City weekend for my best friend's bachelor party, one in which sleep was at a minimum but fun was at a maximum. So, needless to say, heading directly into a 15-hour workday on Monday was less than a perfect situation, but I was still fired up about making a trip to Marshalltown for the Ottumwa High School baseball season opener against the MHS Bobcats (15-hour explanation......Get in to work at 9:00 AM and get home from Marshalltown after game at midnight......Just a typical summer workday for your friend, the Voice of the Bulldogs.)

So, after my daily work at the station, I jumped in "the KRKN van," one of our two company vans named as such due to the personalized license plate. Now, keep in mind, I've driven "the KRKN van" and "KISS van" all over the great state of Iowa in pursuit of outstanding Bulldog play-by-play coverage, including Sioux City, Fort Dodge, Des Moines, Burlington, Muscatine, etc., etc., all locations that are nowhere near Ottumwa. So, driving to Marshalltown was no big deal, nothing more than par for the course.

My route was up Highway 63 to the north, then west on Highway 30 (take a left at Tama, IA) about 18 miles into Marshalltown. Well, all was well until I got about 3 miles west of Tama on Highway 30, and boom, the old KRKN van begins to struggle.

The old soldier (with just less than 150,000 of hard work on its odometer) finally had had enough. The oil gauge went down to just above zero, the "check gauges" light came on, the despite giving the van plenty of gas, it was only able to struggle up a hill at 30 mph maximum before it finally quit. When the power steering went out and the van lost power, I became fully aware that we had a major problem. At that point, I struggled to get the van to the shoulder of Highway 30 West, and that's where it finally came to rest.

At this point, I'm about one hour out from starting my pre-game show for the single varsity game, and I'm currently in a broken down van approximately 12-15 miles east of Marshalltown with no ride in the foreseeable future.

So, here's where things get funny. Or sad, depending on how you look at it. Mr. Goodvin (a player's dad), after being flagged down at the ballpark by coaches Ryan Woods and Mike Egbert (whose cell phones I had called repeatedly in a panic), comes back out Highway 30 East in a team van to get me, I load my equipment in his van, and we take off for the ballpark.

But, just as it looks like everything will be fine, and I have my equipment set up and am ready to start pre-game just barely on time, the rains begin to come in earnest, and after a very short rain delay, the remainder of the junior varsity game and the entire varsity game are postponed until later in the week. So, all of those problems and work just to get there, and for a moment you're amazed you were able to pull it off, just to have the game rained out anyway! Hilarious. :)

Then, I hitch a ride in Ryan Woods' (head baseball coach at OHS) team van with about 9 or 10 players back to Ottumwa, Coach Woods and Coach Egbert have to drop the vans off at the place the school rents them from, and after Coach Woods gets back into his personal vehicle, he'll be able to drive me back to the station.

Well, good old Murphy's Law was not done with me yet on this day. As Coach Woods attempts to start up his vehicle, the ignition does nothing but click and it won't turn over due to a dead battery! Amazing. Just one more thing, please! So, finally, Mike Egbert gives Coach Woods' vehicle a jump start, Coach Woods takes me back to the radio station, I get in my car, and get home at the amazingly early hour of 11:00 PM. Welcome to the amazing life of your favorite local sportscaster. :)

So, there's the tale of my most recent encounter with Mr. Murphy of Murphy's Law. When it rains, it pours! Absolutely no question about it. And, as far as "the KRKN van" is concerned, R.I.P. You've served me well, my friend. (R.I.P. that is, unless Carriker Ford of Oskaloosa can bring the old girl back from the dead!)

Hope you enjoyed this amazing tale. I'll be back with more in the near future!

OUT.

"The Bruce"

Hello one, hello all. "The Bruce" is back, and it's time to give credit where credit is due. As of Thursday's (5/1) tie-breaker victory over Ames in the Ottumwa Invitational at Ottumwa Country Club, the OHS girls golf team has won 20 consecutive matches, dating back to an undefeated state championship run in 2007.

20 straight? That's right, 20 straight! My mission today is to make sure that anyone reading this post has a firm grasp on how amazing that winning streak really is.

Ottumwa competes at the highest level in the state of Iowa, Class 4A high school athletics. Therefore, it's not as though the Bulldogs are marching through the "Little Sisters of the Poor" or "Fox Valley" (as my friend Coach Stan Rupe would say). No, in actuality, OHS is consistently beating the best that the state has to offer. We're talking all sorts of teams from around the Hawkeye State, including the Des Moines metro area. Already, this season, the Bulldogs have taken down two state title hopefuls in Ankeny and Ames. To win 20 straight matches against this kind of competition is simply remarkable. And, keep in mind, Ottumwa went undefeated in 2007 to begin the winning streak that is still alive as of the time this post is written.

Another way to put this in perspective is to compare the streak to other sports at the high school. Imagine if Tom Kopatich's Bulldogs, who always had tons of success, had ever won 20 games in-a-row. That would be at least one undefeated state championship season and most of another. As fired up as folks in southeast Iowa are every fall about Bulldog football, this sort of streak would have been the talk of the town for months if not years, no question.

What if Stan Rupe's OHS girls basketball squad or Mike Holmes' OHS boys basketball team had ripped off 20 straight victories last season. Again, if that was the case, you're most-likely looking at a state championship run and one of the best 4A teams assembled around the state in the last 5 to 10 years. In 2003-2004, the OHS boys basketball team, led by Holmes, advanced to the Class 4A Final Four. The team had an incredible season and stirred excitement around Ottumwa unlike anything seen for a long, long while. But, consider this: The team's final record included 19 wins. Of course, that is a phenomenal win total. But, in the case of the OHS girls golf squad, we're talking about 20 wins, in-a-row. Wow.

The level of play of Betsy Anderson, Katie Maher, Hailey Sheldahl, Paige Wetrich, Sarah Paulson, and Kristin Paulson is something unmatched in OHS history. On top of this talented group of players, OHS girls golf is led by one of the up-and-coming young coaches in the state, Dusty Stewart. What has Stewart done recently? Oh, well, nothing more than be named the 2007 Class 4A Coach of the Year.

I'm going to go way out on a limb here. I know, I know. Right now you're saying, "Geez, Brian, how can you afford to be such a risk-taker?" Well, anyway, my prediction is that the 2008 OHS girls golf squad runs the table again this year, and in doing so earns its second consecutive Class 4A state championship.

So, do yourself a favor. Take a look at the OHS spring sports schedule, match up some free time with an OHS girls golf meet, and go enjoy yourself. You'll not only see some great golf being played, you'll see the high school's sports record book being rewritten.