Inside: - The Bowling News

Page 2 | Thursday, November 1, 2012 | THE BOWLING NEWS
Just Paying
Attention By Mark London
Mark@TheBowlingNews.net
Here’s more on why Lon
McEachern should do pretty
well transitioning into the
play-by-play spot on ESPN’s
PBA telecasts. The production
company handling the mostly
pre-recorded World Series of
Poker shows is now entering
it’s second season as the PBA’s
production service. From
watching his shows with WSOP
color analyst Norman Chad,
McEachern shows his skills
as a broadcast professional.
He knows when to let Chad
comment about who’s wearing
sunglasses and why they may
not be working today at the
final table (not a good idea to
hide from an opponent one particular
day) as well as showing
a graphic about how many
wore shades to win at the final
table in the Main Event.
Here’s the sign this guy will
show up well prepared. Not
only does McEachern have a
research staff for the WSOP
shows, but he does his own
separate research on the different
aspects of the tournament
as well. Old school? Absolutely.
To last in this business since
well before the start of the
digital era is testament in itself.
Really, it’s how we were taught
to prepare for a broadcast,
whether it be TV or radio. If
BUY - SELL
AMF - BRUNSWICK EQUIPMENT - COMPLETE PACKAGES
WORLD’S LARGEST NEW - USED SPARE PARTS INVENTORY
ALL AMF BUMPER PARTS: XS QBUMP, DURABOWL AND GEN II IN STOCK
Tucker Bowling Equipment Co.
609 N.E. 3rd St.
Tulia, Texas 79088
Call (806) 995-4018
Fax (806) 995-4767
you use 35 to 40 percent of
your material, you’ve done
well. Who else have you heard
prepares in that manner? No
need to look outside southern
California. It’s none other
than one of faces in sports
broadcasting’s Mt. Rushmore,
Vin Scully. Tony won’t give me
the space to list what he has
done. Just Google him and look
at what he hasn’t done. It’s a
much shorter list.
Let’s get back to McEachern.
He knows the story is on the
screen. Knows when to add
commentary as well as to let
the pictures talk. This was
done more in the earlier days
of television, but today’s directors
insist on either announcer
saying something when it may
not be necessary. A typical
moment of this usually occurs
in a critical spot as a clutch
moment is about to or should
be happening.
I’m going to call this the
21st Century White Noise
Syndrome, a phenomenon
similar to what house disc
jockeys do at dance clubs. It’s
filler music is played between
main songs, making it sound
like it’s a six hour-long song,
rather than having creating a
audio pause between songs.
It’s not bad enough the an-
Bowling Parts, Inc.
P.O. Box 801
Tulia, Texas 79088
Call (806) 995-3635
email: daryl@tuckerbowling.com
www.tuckerbowling.com
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1642, Colleyville, TX 76034-1642
Delivery Address: 4133 Heartstone Dr, Grapevine, TX 76051
Offi ce: 817-267-8686 • Fax: 817-267-1813 • Cell: 817-368-7960
Website: www.thebowlingnews.net • Email: bowlingnews@sbcglobal.net
JOE GENNARO (972-978-8687) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EDITOR EMERITUS
TONY FRANKLIN (tony@TheBowlingNews.net) . . . . . . . . . . . . .OWNER/PUBLISHER
GENIE FRANKLIN (genie@TheBowlingNews.net) . . . . . . . . . . . .OWNER/PUBLISHER
BILL HAZLETT (bill@TheBowlingNews.net) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MANAGING EDITOR
JIM WOODRUFF (jim@discountplasticbags.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . FEATURE EDITOR
TYSON BRANAGAN (t.branagan@yahoo.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . STAFF WRITER
KAYLA ENDICOTT (kayla@TheBowlingNews.net) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . STAFF WRITER
CLINT DACY (clint@TheBowlingNews.net) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . COLUMNIST
MARK LONDON (mark@TheBowlingNews.net) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . COLUMNIST
SUSIE MINSHEW (strikeability@gmail.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . COLUMNIST
LEISHA MURR (leisha@TheBowlingNews.net) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . COLUMNIST
DON WRIGHT (wrightdk@hot.rr.com ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . COLUMNIST
BUBBA FLINT (fl intsworld@aol.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CARTOONIST
CONTRIBUTING FEATURE WRITERS: John Jowdy • Chuck Pezzano
Note: Opinions expressed by our independent columnists and feature writers are
their own and do not necessarily refl ect the views of The Bowling News.
Subscription rates: $65 a year in advance. Check or money orders should
be addressed to THE BOWLING NEWS.
© 2012
Th e Bowling News
FOUNDED AND PUBLISHED BY JOE GENNARO FROM 1956-2009
nouncer is talking, but for the
last 20 years, there are enough
graphics in various corners of
the screen to get the viewer up
to date. I’m not even counting
the ESPN network-fed crawl
at the bottom of the screen.
(Point of information here. The
theory behind all the info on
the screen is the fact seeing our
eyes pick up and disseminate
information faster than our
ears.) If anything, it can be
information overload.
I am anxious to hear how
Lon and Randy are going to
sound together. Hopefully,
what will happen is the two
announcers will go into a
studio and watching a recorded
telecast without sound. They’ll
call the game or event as if
they are actually calling it. A
major advantage is it gives both
announcers a dry run without
sounding really clumsy live
on-the-air. A producer running
the recording can stop it
while the announcers can talk
about what each wants to do
in a given situation. Like the
sports teams they are covering,
announce teams are not that
much different. I guarantee
you Pat Summerall and Tom
Brookshier did this in the 60s
at CBS-TV, then with his later
regular analyst John Madden.
ABC-TV did the same when
replacing Dandy Don Meredith
before the ‘74 Monday Night
Football season. Many people
were brought in to try to fit
between the steady Frank
Gifford and Mr. Speaking of
Sports, Howard Cosell.
And now, the burning question
from last week’s column.
Where did I come up with this
TV stuff? Besides watching
much TV, I’m also a fan. That
led me to majoring and receiving
a four-year degree in broadcasting.
Having been told I had
a face for radio, I stayed with
it for several more years work
odd hours in such wild places
like Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and
St. Cloud, Minnesota before
realizing drilling balls was just
a bit more fun. In the early 90s,
I was asked to be color analyst
for ten PBA Midwest Regional
finals, when the old stepladder
format prevailed. More recently,
I’ve also one of a handful to
be a guest analyst with Mike
J. Laneside on PBA Xtra Frame
and with Matt and Emil on the
USBC’s YouTube Channel for
a USBC Open Championships
team event webcast. The mechanics
of broadcasting haven’t
changed in as much as how
it’s broadcast. Still have sound
levels to adjust, cameras to
white balance, and, of course,
headphone feeds to match the
other announcers (Check that
yet, Matt?). Most of all, my dad
was a newspaper publisher
going back to the mid 60s. Yes,
that would be the Don Draper
days. Speaking of growing up
around it, I remember the Chris
and Bo show when it was the
Chris and Billy show. Guess I
still am a fan.
BOWLING INDUSTRY
Continued from Page 1
communities."
The Men's and Women's
U.S. Open competition will
take place simultaneously,
beginning July 21 at the three
host centers and will culminate
with the top five men and
five women bowlers earning a
spot in the finals on July 27 at
Wayne Webb's Columbus Bowl.
"Our ability to bring this
event to fruition speaks to the
continued resurgence of bowling,
the nation's number one
participatory sport," said Steve
Johnson, executive director of
the BPAA. "The numbers don't
lie - 70 million people bowl
every year. Bowling makes a
ten billion dollar impact on
the economy with women
and youth bowling now more
than ever. Additionally, youth
bowling is continuing to gain
ground and our sport is back
on the rise, the timing was
perfect for Bowling's U.S. Open
to become a reality."
"The 2013 Bowling's U.S.
Open will immediately become
the preeminent event in professional
bowling and provide a
tremendous opportunity for
marketers to reach millions
of bowling enthusiasts across
the nation," said Frank De-
Socio, president of Strike Ten
Entertainment.
The defending U.S. Open
champions are Pete Weber
of St. Ann, Mo., who won a
record fifth U.S. Open title
in North Brunswick, N.J., in
February and Kelly Kulick on
Union, N.J., who won her third
U.S. Women's Open title in July
in Reno, Nevada.