I thought I'd begin by paying homage to the many sportscasters I've had the great pleasure of traveling with and calling games. Most of the guys mentioned here have performed admirably at their own expense, in the spirit of volunteerism, and are fantastic fans of their high school, their community, of sports and of our own student athletes. I want to thank each and everyone of them for their contributions. Chronologically, it goes something like this:
Don Steve - The 2nd half was a little better, wasn't it ?
Russ Salsman - Russ and I only worked a few games together, as he left Evanston to pursue loftier goals in broadcasting. He had called the action for many a Red Devil game for about 3 years prior to me coming on board and eventually replacing him. One heck of a nice guy.
Klark Kindler - A consummate professional; as good as it gets. Klark was a gifted sportscaster and certainly could have made this his career-calling. I learned as much from him as anyone. Klark was a little younger than me, but I discovered from my brothers and other friends of Klark that, as a kid, he used to get rosters out of the newspaper, TV Guide or sporting magazines, turn on the tv, turn the volume down, and call the games himself! No wonder this guy was so good! Klark was also a great road trip partner and currently teaches and coaches in Meeker, Colorado. It was a pleasure to do color-commentary for such an outstanding play-by-play man and great guy!
Troy Dieters - Troy was a Red Devil athlete in the early 80's - a graduate of the Class of '84. He had been a good friend of my brother Matt, and was working for my Dad at Hillcrest Chevron. He thrived on the whole on air experience and was as fun to work and travel with as anyone. He fell victim to being my first full-time color man. We worked a pair of football & basketball seasons together and have some wonderful memories. Troy made great jerky for the long road trips. We also got stranded together on a couple of occasions, due to what Wyoming winter weather can offer up.
Troy and his wife Donna call Colorado Springs home.
The late Bruce Busboom - "Bu-fo" actually filled in when Troy couldn't make it, and all 3 of us teamed up together a time or two. I'll never forget regionals in Rock Springs... neither will Troy, who was kind of forced into doing play-by-play on one particular morning. The big guy with an even bigger heart who always knew how to have a great time, and really offered up some savvy commentary. Bruce is certainly missed by many.....
Mark Hainsworth - What happens when two guys both believe that they are the play-by-play guy? It wasn't pretty, but I will always appreciate Mark's love of sportscasting.
Mel Orchard - Mel has always been and will always be one of the funniest humans I know. A 6'5" multi-sport, standout athlete at EHS from the Class of '84, he may have very well played on Sundays, had it not been for deteriorating knees. After high school, Mel accepted a scholarship from Washington State University and went to play Pac-10 football for my uncle, head coach Jim Walden. Incidentally, Mel's quarterback from his junior year in high school, Tony Madia, was already @ WSU. Due to upper classman injuries, Mel actually started at tight end as a true sophmore, if I'm not mistaken.
Mel was working for my Dad as a car salesman before going to the University of Wyoming to earn his law degree. He has always been a great friend to me and my family and was a great color man. The only time Mel had issues was when he was on the air, yet wanted to coach and cheer on his sister Monica from the pressbox. He'd throw his head set off and yell things like, "Box out, Monica!" or "Hey ref, are you blind?!" We would always blame some "overzealous, unruly fan," supposedly in back of us, for Mel's outbursts. Fun times. Mel and I would later hook up in the local band, "Power Drive," along with Mike & Greg Dayton and Pete Proffit.
Mel is an attorney practicing in Jackson, Wyoming. He and wife Brandie are proud parents.
More to follow.....
Mike O'Brien - As Mel and I closed out the 80's and he left for the Gem City, I needed a new sportscast partner for the 90's. I thought of a couple of friends, both great Red Devils in their own day and big-time supporters to this day - Sam Thornhill and Mike O'Brien. Sam couldn't adhere to the schedule, as busy as he still is, but was willing to fill in from time to time, but Mike thought this sounded fun.
Mike was a hoops team standout from the EHS Class of '68 and I remember watching him compete in a city men's league in the old high school gym, where my friends and I played our junior high ball. This was kind of tough for Mike, as his son Trent, (who helped me as a color man for football around the same time) was the star starting point guard for the two basketball seasons Mike and I worked together. In my mind, he was very objective and his x's & o's knowledge of the game was impressive, indeed. Mike, like me, was also a big fan and relished in the Red Devil victories, but also really felt for the kids after a tough loss.
We actually traded places as another opportunity presented itself, that of calling a few of the Evanston Outlaws American Legion Baseball Games the following summer. Mike was much more knowledgeable with baseball than was I, and really did some nice work as a play-by-play guy. He actually called play-by-play for basketball a time or two when I couldn't make it. His color man? You guessed it, Sam Thornhill.....
Don Lund - As the KEVA Sports Director, I had always the luxury of selecting my sportscast partners. Jeff Shaffer, an EHS Alum and athlete from the Class of '80 had recently been named GM for our station combo, and he was really up on this Don Lund character, who I had never met or even heard of. "You guys would sound great together!" Yeah, whatever, Jeff....
Trepidation and down-right reluctance washed over me as I envisioned traveling and calling games with a complete stranger. Our first scheduled call together was a road trip and this is where the tide turned. A discussion of music seemed like a good ice-breaker. Imagine my surprise when this guy started rattling off his favorite bands - ELO, Queen, the Beatles, Van Halen....hey, those are my favorites, too! This guy can't be all that bad...
I soon discovered what a sports fan and a fan of sportcasting Don was. He was involved for all the right reasons which also included his love of the game(s), of our high school athletes and his natural flair for broadcasting. With no offense intended to the other chaps I've shared a sportscast with, I feel the on-air chemistry Don and I developed made for some of the most entertaining, if not the best tandum for Red Devils sportscasts that I had the pleasure of being a part of, and that is a credit to Don Lund. We played very well off of one another and our frames of reference mirrored one another. We learned the art of compromise - Don would be the play-by-play announcer for football and I would take the reins for basketball.
Don would go on to start a radio sports talk show and he and I took former Red Devil Basketball Coach Ken Demester's suggestion to begin "Coffee with the Coach." Don would also display his prowess for writing as the sports editor for the Uinta County Herald. When I left to begin employment with KTWO and the Wyoming Radio Network, in '93, Don took over and worked with Bill Smith, Rory Hamblin and others. He was still gracious enough to allow me to sit in on the state basketball tournament sportscasts from Casper, since I was residing there. Another consummate professional and just a class act, Don became one of my dearest friends. We had one more opportunity to work together after I returned in '95 before Don and family moved away to his former hometown of Broomfield, Colorado, where they currently dwell, but he still considers Evanston "home." And, you've gotta love that.....
Russ Anderson - Don Lund knew that he'd be relocating and we had decided that it would be a good idea to get someone else accustomed to the way we liked to present the Red Devils with our sportcasts and talk shows. Enter Russ Anderson in 1995...Russ started off with halftime analysis that blossomed to being the third wheel in the broadcast booth. He accompanied Don & I to State Hoops in Casper in the '94-'95 season, where he earned the title, "Roll-Away-Russ."
There is probably not a bigger Wyoming Cowboy fan on the planet, and that goes for the Red Devils, too. Russ is one of those "eat, drink and breathe sports" kind of sportsfans. He has been primarily a color-commentator, but has performed as a play-by-play guy when needed. Most recently, he's shown his prowess as a sideline reporter for Red Devil Football.
The xxx's and ooo's knowledge of sports that Russ possesses far surpass those of my own, and more than likely, anyone else who I've had the pleasure of calling games with. He's probably not a good choice to debate sports against; not only does he know his stuff, he takes a certain delight in the whole spirit of controversey. I once witnessed Russ begin a discussion inside War Memorial Stadium with a fellow 'Poke fan on the merits of Marcus Harris being an overall superior receiver to Ryan Yarborough. Employing his superior statistical and historical Cowboy recall to passionate levels, Russ pummeled the guy into submission, to the point of crying and running away. Once he'd begun, however, he really had to get it out, and finished his soliloquy, first with a parking lot attendant, and finally with a post lighting the lot.....
Russ is the owner of Anderson Service Center. While his workload won't allow him many roadtrip opportunities, he'll still be a part of the home rotation for Red Devil sportscasts. Like the others, but particularly with Russ, many thanks are owed. I know the sacrifices he makes, both personally and professionally, to be able to take part in Red Devil sporting events. His volunteerism will always be greatly appreciated, and he's involved for all the right reasons; he loves sports, talking about sports, our community, our kids and the traditions of Evanston High School and the Red Devils, not to mention those of the Wyoming Cowboys. Russ is also a great ambassador for Evanston as evidenced by his popularity with other sportscasters and fans around the state. He enjoys his friendships with the other sports guys in Wyoming as much as he revels in watching and calling the shots on the air. He really takes great pride in getting to know our kids and coaching staffs, too.
I've kind of gotten away from the whole chronological order , but please allow me to continue.....
Trent O'Brien - Looking back, it was really kind of strange doing football with the son and then basketball with his father while the son starred, but that's what took place back in the early 90's. I believe Trent assisted with a sportscast or two during his junior year and then was the full-time color man for football season in his senior year. Trent was a standout basketball player, although baseball may have really been his true calling. He possessed those innate athletic abilities; one of those guys like Hazen Atkinson or my brother, Tony Madia, who seemed to excel in every sport they ever attempted to play. Trent's insight was keen, because he had played football earlier on, and these were his classmates. And although he would have made a great qb, running back or receiver, I was happy to have him along for the sportscasts. We really had some in-depth and intimate connections with the players that season, and I have Trent to thank for providing it.
Coach Ken Demester - Ken had been the head coach during Trent's career - how's that for a segue? Coach Demester had been a very successful coach in Devil's Lake, North Dakota prior to taking the job in Evanston. He was the head coach in Evanston for 8 seasons before hanging up the whistle when Jim Schafer took over. (Bubba O'Neil, the current Red Devil head mentor, had both Ken & Jim to learn from, along with his high school coach, Brad Jacobson. Somehow, he was able to convince Ken to come out of retirement this past season, (2003-2004) to assist he and Coach Scott Ehlers. All-Star coaching staffs = State Championships Teams, or at least it would appear that way....).
I'm glad Coach Demester is once again doing something he loves and it goes without saying that he has much to impart, but for selfish reasons, I was hoping he would stay retired, so that he could have again provided some excellent color commentary. It was almost intimidating from a play-by-play standpoint to call a game with such a great basketball mind, but Coach Ken never let on to anyone that he could talk circles around me in terms of hoops. Quite the contrary. He was a gentleman and and a great teacher, and very eloquently reached the listener, both casual fan and expert, with his insight, while injecting thought-provoking anecdotes with a wonderful sense of humor and lightning quick wit.
Ken just seemed to have a natural penchant for sportscasting and it was his idea that spawned Klark Kindler and I to host "Coffee With The Coach," a show we continue to air some 18 years after Ken had given us not only the idea for the show, but the name itself. A class act on and off the court, and I usually reserve that line for my favorite hoopster of all time, Julius "Dr. J" Erving. I still thoroughly enjoy my visits with Coach Demester.
Coach Wendy Schuler - Wendy Davis Schuler had a stellar athletic career that began in Mountain View, Wyoming, and extended through the University of Wyoming, where she was a three sport letterman. She is also a highly decorated coach who has positively impacted the lives of many student athletes in Lyman and Evanston. Despite all her success, she remains one of the most humble and easy-going individuals I know. She and her husband Rick, (also a college athlete as a football letterman @ Utah State) have instilled their great values into not only their own children, but to anyone willing to learn and accept the principles of success in team sports that transcend to being successful in life.
Wendy, like Ken, was talked out of retirement. While perhaps not willing to again take a head coaching position, and all that comes along with it, she was invaluable assistant to Doug Rigby and the Lady Devils Basketball Team. Coach Schuler, again like Coach Demester, has forgotten more about basketball then I'll ever know, but doesn't feel the need to flaunt it whatsoever. She had previously been gracious enough to call some volleyball action on the air, due to the fact that Don Lund and I didn't feel we had enough expertise to do so, and Evanston was hosting the regional tournament, as the Lady Devils will do again this season, (2004). She was a natural and her enthusiasm for athletic competition shined through.
I last invited Wendy to assist me with a Lady Devil - Lady Brave match-up last season, and I would love to call a game with her again. I may get my chance soon, as Wendy said if her schedule allows for it, she call some volleyball action with me during the regional tournament, slated for October 22nd & 23rd.
It came as no surprise to me that Wendy was tabbed to broadcast some Wyoming Cowgirl games once her playing days had come to an end while still in Laramie. Some people just have a natural flair and it's easy to realize that she is one of them.
Coach Jerry Carroll - Jerry was a young head boys basketball coach and I was a young and inexperienced radio sportscaster in 1987-1988. I don't really recall many, if any interviews we conducted while he was the boy's coach. Years later, when he was coaching the Lady Devils, we had some great chats, both on and off the air.
Jerry was quite a player in his day, a 1980 graduate of Lyman High School, and while I can't personally attest to it, word is that he's still a force to be reckoned with and a tough competitor in Men's League games. I know the guy can golf...
Jerry is still the EHS Golf Coach and I've always appreciated his press box visits at football games to keep fans up to date with his boys and girls Golf Teams @ EHS. He begrudgingly accepted my bride's invitations to join me in the broadcast booth on a couple of occasions during his son Jaycee's outstanding senior season. It was more than likely not a case of Jerry questioning his abilities to provide excellent color commentary, (which he absolutely provided) but rather, his ability to do so objectively, with his son as the best player - not only on the team, but in the state, and in my opinion, the best basketball player ever to emerge from a Wyoming high school.
Jerry handled the task with style and flair, as I knew he would, and I hope he'll consider calling a few games in this upcoming season, too, when he's not on the road watching Jaycee play for the Utah State Aggies. Jerry is an excellent coach as a parent. In addition to Jaycee, his daughter Cortnee would most definitely land a starting place on my All-Time All-Star Lady Red Devil Basketball Team.
Again, more to follow....including Steve Kodad, Matt Morrow, David Barbero, Roy Lloyd, Craig Pace, Andy Jackson, Joe Sisson, coach Phil Petersen, Dave Staley Roger Ashton, the late Reed Aaron, Steve Core, Bill Smith, Mike Richard and.... more?
