Among all of those various assignments, I had an opportunity to help assemble a feature on Sound Tigers rookie forward Brock Nelson, which aired during pre-game and intermission of a NY Islanders game earlier this month. This is my second season assisting with these, but the first one that has been available online, so you’re invited to watch below. Hopefully I’ll be able to get back into the swing of posting here, as I will probably stick with broadcasting related posts in the short term–mainly because of time constraints–but if there are special requests to have me post about the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and the AHL, I will consider boosting that content here as well!

Click here for the rest of the game story from Soundtigers.com
Click here for Mike Fornabaio’s post-game blog from the Connecticut Post

Video Highlights:

The win also served to extend Bridgeport’s points streak to four (3-0-0-1), their longest stretch since closing out 2012 with four straight wins.

Despite the 10 day layoff, the Sound Tigers looked very sharp, despite an early goal from Ryan Johansen in the opening minute, as they dominated the first two periods before the Falcons recovered to dominate the 3rd period, as they out shot Bridgeport 13-2 over the last 20 minutes. Considering the Falcons makeup, this is not altogether surprising, as their lineup of big strong defensemen and tough forwards lends itself to wearing their opposition down later in games. The Sound Tigers showed a lot of tenacity to bounce back and dominate in overtime, leading to Persson’s game-winner on a deflection, perfectly placed in front by Matt Donovan, who finished with a goal and two assists.

The Sound Tigers also capitalized from a bump after two fights, one between Brett Gallant (vs. Will Weber) in the first, and Blair Riley’s knockout of Jake Hansen early in the 2nd. In both cases, the Sound Tigers not long after.

Additionally, this might have been the best game I’ve seen Nino Niederreiter play as a Sound Tiger. On top of scoring his 21st goal (shorthanded, from an amazing pass by Brock Nelson), Nino spent most of the night laying out punishing hits on the forecheck, while playing fearlessly in the defensive zone, including several diving plays to knock pucks out of the zone.

Meanwhile, in the strange but true department, Springfield’s parent club (Columbus), fired their General Manager Scott Howson during the game tonight, with a replacement set to be named shortly. Howson had been the GM since 2007.

The Sound Tigers also announced the makeup dates for the two games that were postponed due to last weekend’s blizzard. The Sound Tigers will host Worcester on Tuesday April 9th, while the Portland Pirates will arrive in town on April 16th, with both games at 7pm.

Bridgeport will look to earn their 4th straight win as they start a home and home series in Providence on Friday at 7pm from the Dunkin Donuts Center. You can catch the broadcast at AHL Live.

Click here to read the rest of the game story from Soundtigers.com
Click here for Mike Fornabaio’s post-game blog

Good to see the top-line players get on the board, with Nelson’s hat trick and Niederreiter’s goal (1st point in six games) to supplement the fine secondary scoring over the past couple of games. Here are the video highlights from Saturday’s game, followed by the highlights from Bridgeport’s win over the Whale on Friday:

Soundtigers vs. Admirals

Soundtigers vs. Whale

Poynter’s @abeaujon has an update on the ‘average’ journalism grad’s salary:poynter.org/latest-news/me…

— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) January 30, 2013

It started an immediate firestorm. Numerous re-tweets and responses to Deitsch’s tweet followed, with stories of ultra-low salaries, from minimum wage salaries, outrageously low day rates, and claims that they’re not even close to that amount after 10 years in the business. These 140 character stories are easily searchable if you’re on Twitter.
The initial post has since been updated by the author, Andrew Beaujon, who further elaborated on the methodology of the study, which certainly interested me as my main profession is in Market Research. When he explained a couple of interesting points, such as the salary was a Mean Salary vs. a Median Salary, and that the salary was tied to the journalism major, as opposed to those who actually work in journalism. So essentially, if you have a journalism degree, but you’re working in corporate PR, that salary would be counted as part of the study. The article does a great job at explaining the methodology, so I will not elaborate any further on this point.

What I personally found interesting were some of the follow-up tweets from those who are struggling to work in this industry, sports broadcasters in particular. After reading them, and their tales of ultra-low wages, it made me wonder, “Why do we do this?” It’s certainly not for the money-at least not for the vast majority of us. As many of you who follow this blog understand, I work as a freelancer. As far as side income goes, it’s pretty nice if I consider my several side jobs. However, if I attempted to pay my mortgage on my broadcast income, needless to say I would be living in a cardboard box before too long.

My first paid gig after college was a one-week stint calling the 1995 Little League Regionals for three radio stations in Bristol, Connecticut. I made a whopping $250 for the week (I think I called about a dozen or so games). Fortunately, my hotel room was also paid for. The only other memorable moments for me in regards to that gig was that Mickey Mantle passed away during my one off-day, and that Toms River, NJ won the regional (which was aired on WOBM). The team also featured future MLB player Jeff Frazier (his stay in MLB, with Detroit in 2010, was brief). His younger brother Todd however is a pretty good outfielder with the Reds. I also ate a lot of KFC that week, mainly because I could walk there from the hotel. My broadcast partner was a local guy who learned his craft in the military, and I can’t for the life of me remember his name.

Oh yeah, I also remember that the mom of the pitcher from Connecticut was kicked out during one of the games that I called. She was berating the umpire from her seat on the first base side of the bleachers, to the point where I was embarrassed for the poor kid on the mound. The Connecticut State Champ that year happened to be from Shelton, which is minutes away from my home and the town where I work my 9-5 job. Of course, in 1995 I still lived in the Bronx, and was nine years away from moving to Connecticut.

But in a nutshell, the previous two paragraphs is why I work as a play-by-play announcer, certainly not for the money, but rather the enjoyment of calling games and the great memories that I’ve accrued over the years. I certainly have some great memories of the “regular” jobs that I’ve had over the years, but they’re not nearly as interesting or as much fun as working in sports.

The three seasons I worked for the River City Rascals provided a lot of fond memories on and off the field and in the press box, while I’m convinced that my two seasons with the Danbury Trashers would make quite a book (I’ve even been approached to tell my story of the Danbury Trashers, and I’ve resisted—quite frankly because what I’ve been asked to write about really wasn’t my experience with the team. It remains to this day, the best work experience I’ve ever had).

Currently, in my six plus seasons with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, I’ve been able to see numerous players move up to the National Hockey League with the New York Islanders, and it has also allowed me the opportunity to help get other great freelance gigs including the Big East, MSG, the New York Islanders themselves, and even the NHL. And by working in a freelance capacity, I’ve been able to find a full-time career that I enjoy as well and is much more lucrative than many full-time roles in minor league sports.

Like many other play-by-play announcers, I still hope to reach the majors (the NHL in my case) in a full-time role, but regardless of whether that happens, I have enough great work memories to fill several lifetimes—many more than I would have had only sat around in an office from 9-5. For now, that’s more than enough to keep me going.

Not unlike a military boot camp, a pro hockey player has a pretty standard routine on a game day, and some players are more particular than others. There are certain activities that are common to all players, from the pre-game skate (even with an optional, the players usually still have to show up at the arena, regardless of whether they take the ice) to the pre-game meal (pasta and some sort of chicken) and of course, the pre-game nap. Once the players reach the arena, the routine is still similar, but can vary a little bit based on personal preferences (not ALL players take part in two-touch for instance).

As broadcasters, we’re also creatures to routine as well, which isn’t always a bad thing. From how we prepare, to how we set up our gear, when we conduct pre-game interviews, etc. I’m sure that if we examined ourselves, while they might be different, we can probably concede that we follow some sort of routine.

I think routine is important, and it’s something I’ve written about before—consistency. But they also say that variety is also the spice of life, and maybe there’s something to that in terms of our broadcasts. Sometimes when we’re so mired in a routine, the creative flame within us loses a little bit of spark. If you’ve listened to some of your recent broadcasts and you think that something is missing, or you’re not “growing” in your ability in the way that you were hoping for, change it up!

Jay Murry over at STAA recently wrote an interesting piece on how he made some adjustments in his prep routine, and they’ve paid big dividends in his work. Sometimes thinking differently on how you approach your broadcast might trigger something new for you that will add a different flavor to your broadcast, or even make something that was difficult a little bit easier.

Also, it doesn’t have to be a radical change, it can certainly be smaller—just something to mix it up a little bit to give you some extra spark when preparing for your next broadcast, or trying something a little bit different on the show (one idea that I’ve toyed with but haven’t tried is conducting an interview with two non-US players in a foreign language, where one handles the translation for the other—with the hopes that it will provide some levity, as well as maybe a different insight from a player not as comfortable in English when compared to their own native tongue). Maybe that change can be something to add a little more social media to your broadcast, or for those who really do a lot of social media tie-ins on a radio call, maybe it’s the opposite and dialing it back—doing it “old school” for a night instead.

Next time you’re getting ready for a broadcast, try to do something a little bit different, and see if it works.  It might be that little change that propels you forward to something that might help you become a better broadcaster.

Click here for the game story from Soundtigers.com
Click here for Mike Fornabaio’s post-game blog
Video Highlights:

Nearly everything about this game was fluky from a Sound Tigers perspective. Two of Springfield’s goals deflected off of Bridgeport players before rolling into the net. Scott Campbell, who was the hero of Saturday’s win over Binghamton, had a Wade MacLeod puck deflect off of his stick while using it to close off a passing lane, and it instead rolled across the goal line. A goal that was confirmed not on first glimpse from the referee, but after the play subsided and following a review via the instant replay system.

Nick Holden’s 2nd goal also ricocheted off of the endboards and off of Chad Costello’s glove before getting past Poulin. His first goal was a shorthanded one, only the 2nd allowed by Bridgeport this season. The Sound Tigers were tied with Chicago for fewest shorthanded goals allowed this season prior to the contest.

Jack Combs scored a late goal to avoid a shutout, which hasn’t happened to the Sound Tigers since the first two playoff losses to the Connecticut Whale last April, while their last regular season shutout occurred last March 21st at Binghamton, when they fell 3-0 on a 41-save effort from Robin Lehner.

Despite the exodus of several key Falcons to Columbus (Atkinson, Moore, Savard, Calvert, Johansen), the Falcons are still quite a formidable squad, featuring several dynamic offensive players with a smothering defense corps with a number of big physical bodies. On an afternoon where the Sound Tigers were already limited up front due to Matt Watkins and Johan Sundstrom’s absence and had to skate Jordan Hill as a forward. Along with Brett Gallant, whose role as an enforcer generally limits his ice time, Bridgeport only had 10 forwards available for much of the game.

Additionally, any momentum that the Sound Tigers seemed to gain at times was quickly squashed by the play of goaltender Paul Dainton, who stopped 28 shots in recording Springfield’s 5th straight win, their first five-game winning streak since March, 1998.

Bridgeport wraps up their first half next Friday and Saturday at Norfolk, as they make their final trip to Scope Arena to battle the Admirals. The Sound Tigers earned three of four points with an overtime win on December 14th and a shootout loss the following night.

Matt Donovan and Nino Niederreiter will represent the Sound Tigers at the 2013 AHL All-Star Classic, which begins on Sunday January 27th at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island.

Click here for the game story from Soundtigers.com
Click here for Mike Fornabaio’s post-game blog

Video Highlights:

Binghamton had to travel in from upstate New York following their game last night vs. Toronto, while the Sound Tigers had a night off. They certainly capitalized by jumping out hard in the first period, as they out shot the Senators 13-2 in the first 20 minutes of play. Given the number of quality chances, it easily could have been a larger lead than the slim one-goal advantage that the Sound Tigers had. Despite the losses of three key defensemen (Benoit, Borowiecki, Wiercioch) and the two goaltenders that started the season with the B-Sens (Lehner, Bishop), they are still quite strong defensively with quality players like Eric Gryba and veteran Tyler Eckford.

Campbell (with his first AHL goal, the game-winner) was the most impressive Sound Tiger on the ice, but he had help from Blair Riley and Brandon De Fazio, who also had strong games despite being off of the score sheet. They provide a solid hard nosed approach to balance the skill presented by guys like Nino Niederreiter (who was stoned by Senators goaltender Marc Cheverie on a breakaway) and Brock Nelson. Kevin Poulin was also very impressive in goal, recording his second straight win.

The Sound Tigers return home on Sunday afternoon as they host Springfield at 3pm. Tickets are available at the Webster Bank Arena box office, and will be broadcast at AHL Live if you’re not able to make it out in person.

Aucoin, 34, is currently 10th all-time in AHL scoring, having continued his climb up the charts this season as a member of the Toronto Marlies, his first season north of the US border after the past four seasons in the Washington Capitals organization, where he perhaps the most dominant offensive player in the league during that time. He will now have an opportunity to translate that success to the Islanders, where he will look to earn a permanent role in the National Hockey League, after being a player who mainly split time between the leagues over the past several seasons.

Last season was a breakout one of sorts for Aucoin, who earned a permanent role with the Capitals down the stretch and was an active playing member of the roster in the post-season as well. In the American Hockey League, Aucoin is simply dominant and is generally the smartest offensive player on the ice, possessing outstanding skill and can think ahead of nearly everyone else. His play with the Hershey Bears power play over the years made them into a feared unit, and his absence this season has had a profound effect.

What does this mean for the Islanders? Well, in my thoughts, if he can play to his full potential in the NHL, he’s not going to be a prolific player by any means (he’s not the biggest guy out there for instance), but he demonstrated that he can play a full-time role as a bottom six forward, and he can certainly be an asset on the Islanders 2nd power-play if he earns an opportunity. Jack Capuano has coached against Aucoin many times, so he’s fully familiar with what he can potentially do for the Islanders, and it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Depending on your level of experience, you might be searching for an entry-level gig or something a little higher up the broadcasting food chain. With some exceptions, the climb up the minor league sports ladder isn’t unlike what a player goes through when trying to reach the major leagues, start off in Class A (or lower) and hopefully one day reach the major leagues. Unfortunately, the odds that one of you reading this will actually be calling MLB games (or choose the highest level of your sport) are quite slim.

Unlike ballplayers, your odds of getting a job at a higher level aren’t as easily quantifiable as those who take the field for a living. There simply isn’t a statistic that a GM can look at to determine that you’re the best fit for their broadcast opening. The GM can look at a variety of things, but ultimately it’s a judgment call.

Without getting into the discussion of “it’s who you know”, or whether the job includes other responsibilities (like sales or media relations), the number one thing that you have as a broadcaster is your demo. Previously, a demo simply meant your best clips on a reel (or cassette, or CD). Today I consider a “demo” really to be the full package of what is sent to an employer. Depending on the request, it still could be a hard copy of your audio (or video) on a CD/DVD as well as a printed resume, but more often than not it’s an online presentation.

My definition of demo includes audio tracks (or video if it’s TV), resume file, and any other clips that might be worthwhile to show an employer (written clips, game notes examples, recommendations, etc.) housed in one location (a website, either your own personal website, or a hosted solution like the ones offered by sites like STAA).

The Internet provides great flexibility in how you can present your demo. But for purposes of this blog piece, I’m going to limit the topic to the audio tracks that represent one section of your overall “demo”. This is a topic that has been discussed before but in regards to when we were limited to hard demos. In the “olden days”, when you had to present your work on a cassette or CD, it was very important to offer careful consideration over the order of your tracks. However, what I’ve noticed today with many demos is that because we’re freed from these shackles via the Internet, some broadcasters are now making a major mistake with how they present themselves. Basically, just because you can present an abundance of content on your demo, it doesn’t mean that you should.

I’ve always believed that a demo is meant to tease the hiring manager into wanting to hear more. The goal is to get a response from the person responsible for hiring the opening, and if you give them too much (and they stick around long enough to listen), your chances of receiving a call for a phone or in-person interview is reduced, unless you really blow their doors off.

As a result, while I’ve offered a little bit more then I might have in the cassette/CD era, I stick with some of the same philosophies that I’ve had for a long time with my demo:

1. Lead with a highlight track, preferably short—no longer than about 90 seconds.
2. Keep the highlights to the sport you’re applying for. Have separate highlight tracks based on the sports that you call.
3. Avoid a music bed under your highlights, it’s distracting. Let the GM hear you and what you bring to the table, not a false dramatic moment from the music.
4. Have a mid-range track available. For hockey, I use a few minutes of continuous play-by-play starting from the beginning of a power play (a faceoff) and concluding at the end of the period, and the clip runs about 4:30. For baseball you might want to have a full ½ inning of work.
5. It’s easy for me to send a whole period or game if requested, but it’s not something I offer up front unless specifically asked to do so. If a MLB team requests a full game up front for example, then certainly provide it. If a GM provides certain rules or requirements, provide what they’re looking for.
6. I also include an interview as well, since it’s generally a requirement for any job that I end up with, that at a minimum you would have to do some sort of pre-game coach or player interview.

So to summarize, in my contention, “less is more”.

What’s on your demo? Do you agree or disagree? The one thing about demos is that it does seem that everyone has their own opinion, and the lack of continuity over how GM’s review applications certainly makes this an inexact science.

Click here for the game recap from Soundtigers.com
Click here for Mike Fornabaio’s post-game blog.

Video Highlights:

Some big offensive nights, including the most impressive offensive opportunities for enforcer Brett Gallant in a Bridgeport uniform, who didn’t end up on the scoresheet, but had several outstanding opportunities to score, mostly due to the handiwork of his linemates Chad Costello and Jack Combs.

Speaking of Costello (three assists) and Combs (one assist), they were both outstanding offensively during the game, demonstrating quite the chemistry together, which isn’t surprising given their history as teammates in the ECHL on several occasions. Costello looked very much like Keith Aucoin offensively with the puck, demonstrating great hands and vision while on the ice, and the game seemed to slow down around him. Aucoin is headed one day to the AHL Hall-of-Fame, but Costello has shown in his brief time in Bridgeport that he does possess the potential to be a plus offensive player in this league.

Regarding the six that were called up to the New York Islanders for training camp following Saturday’s loss to Portland, Scott Pellerin had some interesting points. Click below to listen to the interview:

http://chirb.it/cwn00e

Additionally, regarding the abbreviated Islanders training camp, the team has announced a couple of open practices, as well as a Wednesday night scrimmage against the Sound Tigers at the Nassau Coliseum. Click here for more information, as these events are free for those who wish to attend.