Sunday, July 06, 2008
Today marks the end of my first week as sports reporter for The Messenger, and despite a “dead period” for high school sports, I’ve encountered some intriguing leads for stories, nonetheless.
In my first week I got to speak with Travis Ford, now head men’s basketball coach at Oklahoma State, meet twin brothers who will attempt to play two sports in college, and take in the area’s most notable baseball game of the summer at Riverside Park. Overall, I would say it was a pretty entertaining and enjoyable first week of work.
And while the stories have been fun to chase and uncover, the people I’ve met this week have been even greater and not just those in the newsroom showing me the ropes.
On my first day I received a phone call from John Nicely, Hopkins County’s beloved superfan, welcoming me to the area and wishing me best of luck. At that point I didn’t even know my own office phone number, but John did and called me several times this week to let me know he has been reading my work.
When my fellow sports reporter Forrest Rutherford and I showed up at Madisonville Golf and Country Club for a story I met another friendly individual. Forrest and I showed up to cover a swim meet, but when we arrived we were informed the clubs had some miscommunication and the meet would not take place. We had to scramble to find a story and he introduced me to Keith Cartwright, who submits bi-weekly columns to the paper.
Keith told us about Joseph and Stephen Porter, who were going to join their brother Daniel at Transylvania to swim, and daily readers now know that story ran earlier this week thanks to Keith informing us.
On Thursday night I found myself in Dawson Springs taking in our national pastime on the eve of the nation’s birthday for the annual Fourth of July game, complete with fireworks.
While there I met Rick Hendrickson, who acts at the team’s public address announcer and broadcaster. While maintaining his usual duties he also helped me with the lineups and other useful information about the players I needed for my story. Before the game Rick also helped me assess my dinner choices at the Hardball Cafe.
Also before the game I got to visit with John Nicely, who the day before promised me he would be at the game to say hello.
There were plenty of other people who approached me and welcomed me to the area while I was at the park. In fact so many people introduced themselves that I’ve forgotten some names, but I’m sure I will see them again as I continue to immerse myself in the Hopkins County sports community.
If the following weeks are as fun as the “dead period” then I cannot wait for all the stories I will pursue and people I will meet in the coming weeks and months.
Nick Brockman is a sports reporter for The Messenger and thanks everyone for making him feel welcome. If you would like to contact him his e-mail is nbrockman@the-messenger.com
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