Author Archives: Kent Sterling

RTV-6 Pacers Postgame Coverage Provides Some Laughs

by Kent Sterling

Very few Indianapolis viewers watch RTV6 newscasts. Ratings are generally poor for their efforts. With a lead-in of the Pacers Game One win over the Knicks, they had some eyes on them that normally might have been elsewhere.

The payoff for those viewers was a weird, poorly cued, and inadequately lit mess of a live shot from Scotty’s Brewhouse.

I felt bad for reporter Tanya Spencer. Fan reaction pieces are all the same, and the result is almost always mediocre. Normal people generally suck on TV – especially in bars. It’s an easy call for the assignment editor, whose real job has become finding ways to keep viewers around in between weather updates, to send Tanya-esque folks to bars where daytime drinkers enjoy themselves on a Sunday.

Some of the normal people comments have been trimmed, but I left in the lady at the end because she is hilariously bored with her own thoughts.

By the way, this is not meant to demean the work being done by the staff at RTV-6, nor should you infer that they just mail it in over there. I’ve worked at great stations and terrible ones. People sometimes work harder at places where things go wrong, and they are almost never compensated at a level commensurate with that effort.

I’ve been a part of many things going wrong, so I find these episodes funny. Here’s to the people at RTV-6 continuing to fight the good fight. The laughter in the background toward the end is from my wife and son.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3JnIhUTxyI

Cascade Schools Discipline Coaches Who Punished Track Team

by Kent Sterling

These are two of the hands that will be whole again in a week or two. (courtesy theindychannel.com)

So it’s finally come to this – anything bad happens to your son or daughter at school, and someone needs to be fired. Ding-a-ling parents of thousands of kids demand that their rugrats be treated as the special little presents from heaven that mommy and daddy know them to be, and if a teacher/coach doesn’t sign on, mommy and daddy take their case to administrators who would rather can a teacher than face a spurious lawsuit.

Here’s what happened this time – some kids on the Cascade High School (Clayton, IN) track team blew off a practice, so they could prepare for the prom. Coaches meted out a seemingly innocuous punishment – walking around the track between one and four times on their hands and feet. They call it a bear crawl.

Some of the kids rubbed their hands raw during the activity, parents had a conniption, and now the coaches have been relieved of their track responsibilities (asked to resign, but the outcome is the same), and are being paid to sit at home rather than teach while an investigation is conducted.

Why can’t I be hired to conduct this type of investigation. My report would read:

Kids made a decision they were warned against.
Coaches punished them
The kids got a few blisters that will heal quickly.
Parents went crazy.
Spineless administrators overreacted.

Check, please. Thanks for your business! Kent

For the media, a few blisters is front page, above the fold news. There are pictures of the hands that look like a golfers after hitting 1,000 balls on the range.

There are a lot of ghastly things that happen to students at the hands of other students and teachers. A few years ago, some arrogant seniors on the Carmel basketball team allegedly abused a freshman teammate by gooching him (ramming a thumb up his backside. That was a mess that dominated news for months – and rightly so.

The parents of the abused player raged against the machine to earn some justice for their son, and the wake carried the coaching staff out of their jobs. The kids were arrested for a misdemeanor or two, and were allowed to graduate with their class despite being (sort-of) expelled.

That was different. Carmel involved a miserable violation of a 15-year-old’s innocence while adults stood by in indifference. What happened at Cascade High is some kids defied their coaches, and the coaches responded by having the kids perform a silly task as penance. According to the report in the Star, the kids support the coaches, even those with a boo-boo on their hands.

It’s impossible for parents to see the flaws in their children – that’s nature’s way of making sure that children are conveyed safely to adulthood – but they definitely need to take a step back to see the difference between a blister and an injury to spirit or body.

And the media needs to ask itself what’s really important.

NCAA Shows a More User Friendly Side in Expanding Basketball Practice Window

by Kent Sterling

Most of the time in business, logic isn’t enough to motivate bureaucrats to change a policy. Nowhere has that been historically truer than at the NCAA.

Wonderfully, magically, magnificently – the NCAA announced yesterday a change in the preseason practice window that will allow teams to practice six weeks prior to the beginning of the regular season. The number of practices will remain at 30, but this change will allow the flexibility to give players an occasional day off, and will also make it possible for the first practice to be on a Friday, if schools care to indulge in a Midnight Madness celebration.

Another change allows for the first practice to be at Midnight – hence a return to the traditional celebration. The previous rule prohibited the first practice from beginning prior to 5 p.m.

Practices may begin as early as September 27th this season, and that certainly can’t hurt the quality of play once the non-conference season starts.

The NCAA hasn’t always acted in the best interests of the coaches or the players, but everyone wins here.

Is it too much to hope that this might mean the dawning of a new day where reason has a seat at the table for collegiate athletics governance?

Indiana Pacers – Blue & Gold Finally Break Weak Hearts of Atlanta Hawks; Face Knicks Next

by Kent Sterling

With 10:34 left in the second quarter, Hawks shooter Kyle Korver hit a jumper to bring the Hawks to within one at 23-22. With 9:38 left in the third quarter, Devin Harris drove for a layup to cut the Pacers lead to 11. In between, the Hawks missed 14 shots, the bough broke, the cradle fell, and their season ended.

Of the 14 misses, 12 were jumpers of 15 feet or beyond, and eight were from 20-feet or beyond. The Pacers did a nice job of keeping the Hawks out of the paint, but the Hawks settled for jump shots that have not been a part of their success.

In any competition, there is a moment when a player or team either decides it will earn a win, or that it will allow a loss. During than 13 minutes, the Hawks decided as a group again and again that losing was okay with them.

The Hawks lacked cohesion through the series, and when a teammate looks in the eyes of another and sees nothing but cold darkness, talent doesn’t matter anymore.

There is no doubt that Josh Smith has all-star talent, but the lack of consistent effort, and the weakness of his love for teammates were evident.

Basketball, for whatever reason, has a lot of guys who behave like some NFL wide receivers. They crave personal success, but either feel alienated from teammates, alienate themselves from teammates, or both.

Smith is one of those guys, and the Hawks have more. While Al Horford, Ivan Johnson, and Kyle Korver competed consistently and showed heart, others drifted in and out of effectiveness, and it cost the Hawks a chance to force a Game Seven.

Instead, the Pacers, who have come together as a unit, even the formerly aloof and combative Lance Stephenson, are in New York to begin another step in the NBA Playoffs against the Knicks in the house where a previous incarnation of the franchise found its collective soul and began a rivalry that made Reggie Miller a hall of famer.

So this Pacers team will roll into the spotlight tomorrow afternoon on basketball’s greatest stage. Madison Square Garden has been the house where careers are made in the NBA, and Paul George has that opportunity.

The best part of George’s game is that he doesn’t need to get 18 shots to be effective, but he possesses otherworldly length and athleticism. As was the case in the series against the Hawks, where his work on the defensive end was a huge part of the 4-2 series finish, George will be asked to cause more frustration against professional scorer Carmelo Anthony.

One wild card for the Pacers is the formerly mercurial Stephenson, for whom the trip to NYC is a homecoming. He grew up in Coney Island, and became the leading scorer in the history of NYC preps. Playing under control and remaining focused on the task at hand will play a big part in determining the level at which Stephenson contributes. He plays a little bit on the ragged edge under the best of circumstances. In a homecoming at the Garden, Stephenson needs to remember his job, not indulge his dreams.

The Knicks have two things in common with the Hawks – a scorer who can come and go, a three-point shooter who can fill it quickly. Where the Knicks are better is in the backcourt with the combination of Raymond Felton and Jason Kidd, and in a coach who knows what the hell he’s doing in Mike Woodson.

Pacers vs. Knicks series notes

Of the teams that Anthony played against three or more times, the Pacers have held him to the lowest per game average at 22.
In the Knicks last 22 games in which Felton has played, the Knicks have won all 19 games that saw Felton score 18 points or less. In the three he has scored 19 or more, they are 0-3. Not sure there is anything to make of that.
Minus Iman Shumpert, 22, the youngest players who will see action are Anthony and Felton who are just shy of the 29th birthdays. Minus David West, 32, every Pacer who will play in this series is younger than Anthony and Felton.
Roy Hibbert averaged less points against the Knicks than any other team in the 2012-2013 season at 5.5 ppg in four games. George Hill averaged his second fewest ppg against the Knicks with 7.3.
The only time the Pacers made the NBA Finals (2000), they beat the Knicks. The only times the Knicks have made the Finals in the last 40 years (’94, ’99), they beat the Pacers.
The Pacers and Knicks finished the season 2-2 against each other – all games won by the home team.

None of that means a damn thing now. The Knicks can run hot and cold, and the Pacers may have found their inner grit during the series against the Hawks.

Chicago Cubs – Len Kasper Is the Best Local Young Play-by-Play Voice in Baseball

by Kent Sterling

Add one more thing to the list of things Len Kasper does a whole lot right as the Cubs TV play-by-play voice. He calls the action in an authentically enthusiastic way, and he never elevates his performance beyond the needs of the audience.

He is enough of a fan to call out the Cubs for poor play, and impartial enough to keep his job. Walking to line between being a pro and a homer is tough, but the best make it sound easy, and Kasper is the best of the next generation of broadcasters with whom fans spend time watching live sporting events.

I liked him even more yesterday when he put an announcer whammy on Cubs lefty Travis Wood, who through four innings had yet to allow a baserunner. I tweeted about it, because how the hell else am I going to complain about the Cubs alone on the back deck on a Thursday? Of course, Wood gave up a hit in the fifth.

@LenKasper puts whammy on Travis Wood by saying he has not allowed a baserunner thru four. Has he learned nothing from Jim Nantz. #Cubs

— Kent Sterling (@KentSterling) May 2, 2013

Not long after the hit, analyst Jim Deshaies alluded to a Keith Moreland jinx, and Kasper grumbled a little bit. Deshaies asked what was wrong, and Kasper said that he was being killed on Twitter for the jinx. It was a little like having Jack Brickhouse congratulate me on my birthday, or Cubs GM Dallas Green quoted in the Tribune about a message I left him at his hotel during the 1983 Baseball Winter Meetings for trading Carmelo Martinez, Craig Lefferts, and Fritz Connally for Scott Sanderson.

And then I got his tweet, which I enjoyed.

https://twitter.com/LenKasper/status/330042026387206146

I replied to him, and he retweeted.

@LenKasper If you would have jinxed Carlos in Spanish, it would have ended in the fifth like Wood's. #Cubs

— Kent Sterling (@KentSterling) May 2, 2013

So, like some kind of schoolboy, I like Kasper even better because he spoke to me through Twitter. That’s a lesson about the power of social media, and a barometer for how easily a little attention wins me over.

While the tweets were a nice surprise, they did nothing to affect my respect for Kasper’s skill as a broadcaster. He came into the booth at Wrigley as a pro who made afternoons watching the Cubs very pleasant, and he hasn’t changed a bit. He’s an excellent link to Jack Quinlan, Brickhouse, Vince Lloyd, and Harry Caray who’ve been a huge part of the Cubs popularity during years like this one when the baseball isn’t good enough to compel us to watch.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Quiet as Pace Car Debuts; Meaningful Noises Needed Soon

by Kent Sterling

The Corvette Stingray is the perfect Indy 500 pace car.

There are still roars at 16th and Georgetown as IndyCars hit 230 mph circling the world’s greatest race course, just not for as long as they used to.

The Month of May used to mean the whole month, but in 2013 it means from Saturday, May 11th to race day on Sunday, May 26th. In between, there will be practices, quals, and Carb Day.

This is a civic celebration like few others, but the race itself recedes each year just a little bit further in the minds of American sports fans.

In Indianapolis, we are so completely enveloped in the pomp, circumstance, and history of the Indianapolis 500 that we fail to notice that there are an extraordinary number of American men under the age of 30 who are blissfully unaware that it exists.

I spent the last two years in St. Louis – just 241 miles or an hour and ten minutes away by IndyCar – singing the gospel of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. There are hundreds of St. Louisans who now know because of my constant chatter that the start of the Indy 500 is the most exciting moment in sports, and it isn’t close.

A seat in Turn One for the start is both thrilling and terrifying as 33 Dallara chassis dive into the corner three wide at over 200 mph. It’s completely insane, wonderful, death-defying, and life-affirming.

For years, I have listened to Indianapolis Motor Speedway historian Donald Davidson tell stories of the Novi, Parnelli’s turbine, Mario slowing down, and Mauri Rose practicing during his lunch break from Allison. I was at the track in 1996 when Scott Brayton spun and died in a terrible crash in turn two.

It’s with pride that I tell people about the magic at 16th and Georgetown, but at some point the Speedway is going to have to act to engage fans. People outside a 100 mile radius don’t look forward to the Indy 500 anymore. There are no meaningful rivalries, no villains, and the cars are all identical.

Other than the rich history of the event, there is no reason for a person in St. Louis to come to Indianapolis despite its proximity (and love of beer) or watch on TV.

Nice guys driving in circles is not going to win the race for eyeballs. I love the month and the race, but grew exhausted trying to convince people in St. Louis that it’s still relevant.

The Hulman George Family and Hulman & Company CEO Mark Miles owe a more interesting message to the people carrying the face-to-face marketing to the streets throughout the midwest on their behalf.

If you have never been to the Indianapolis 500, it should be on your sports bucket list. Believe me when I tell you it’s worth the trip to see the enormity of the place, the pre-race fooferah, and the first lap. You have never seen anything like it.

Miles and the Hulman-George Family will have to make you want to come back.

Purdue Basketball – Errick Peck a Great Target for Vacant Scholarship

by Kent Sterling

Purdue has three scholarships open for next season – assuming Sandi Marcius doesn’t return – and one of those rides could belong to Indianapolis Cathedral product Errick Peck.

Peck, who has earned his degree at Cornell, is one of the new breed of one-and-one players who are allowed to use their last season of eligibility after they graduate from their initial school.

At 6’6″, Peck fits as a wing who can shoot and rebound. He’s a typical Cathedral kid who was passed over in recruiting because he played within the system, and was a generous player, not a stat padder.

As a player, he is a very good rebounder who is capable of scoring, but doesn’t have any driving need to be a star. As a kid and leader, Purdue couldn’t do better.

My son was a teammate of Peck’s for two years at Cathedral, and loved playing with him. At first it was because he could catch the ball on the block and score. Then, he grew to admire Peck for his quiet strength and team-first attitude.

Purdue lacked some leadership on last year’s team – or maybe it was the willingness of the followers that was lacking. In Errick Peck, they can bring in a smart and diligent kid for a single season who is going to work and lead a team in the classroom, on the practice floor, and is capable of producing in games just as he did as a little known Indiana All-Star, who emerged as one who many thought was the best player on a roster that included Indiana recruits Jordan Hulls and Derek Elston, and Purdue’s D.J. Byrd.

Brandon Wood was exceptionally valuable to Michigan State in a similar situation in 2011-2012, averaging nine points while playing almost 1,000 minutes after graduating from Valpo.

In an offseason with very few game changers in the graduate-eligible pool, Peck is a no-brainer for Purdue or any other program with a scholarship available. This is a no risk move to grab a high character kid, and that’s what college hoops should be all about.

NBA Embraces Its Inner NCAA Tourney – Schedules Four Game Sixes Tonight

by Kent Sterling

The Pacers @ Hawks, and Knicks @ Celtics start the action at 7p (ET, and the Thunder @ Rockets and Clippers @ Grizzlies wrap up a night filled with game sixes. All that’s missing are staggered start times, so fans could see the finishes to every game.

The Knicks, Pacers, and Thunder will try to close things out on the road, while the Grizzlies get a bite at that apple in Memphis. There is intrigue in all four of the series.

New York Knicks at Boston Celtics – ESPN 7:00 p.m.

Knicks lead 3-2

The elderly Celtics trying to arise from the down 3-0 ashes to stage a never before comeback against the arrogant Knicks has turned me into a big Boston fan. That didn’t keep me from enjoying the Knicks wearing mourning suits to Madison Square Garden for Game Five. There isn’t enough fun in sports, and the suits were fun. I’m going to hope the Celts can get the job done for three reasons:

The Celtics are professionals. They win and have won because they go about their business like pros. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett deserve one more flash of success.
The Pacers, if they can close the door on the Hawks, will maintain home court advantage if the Celtics win. The Pacers have shown no ability to win on the road, so home cooking would be beneficial.
Carmelo Anthony is the kind of selfish and arrogant guy that makes the NBA much less fun to watch. He’s a professional scorer and nothing more. Teams featuring Anthony have made the postseason every year, but lost in the first round eight-of-nine times. Here’s to Melo going one and done again. He puts the ball in the bucket and cashes checks. Anthony doesn’t need another fan, which is good because I’m not one.

I’m a big admirer of Indiana University graduate Mike Woodson as a head coach. In six seasons leading the Atlanta Hawks, he won more games in each successive season – 13, 26, 30, 37, 47, and finally 53. Then he was fired. Makes sense. In New York, he inherited a Knicks team with an 18-24 record. Woodson went 18-6 the rest of the way. This season, the Knicks were 54-28. If he wins 60 next year, he’ll be on thin ice again.

Based upon ESPN mathematical models, the Knicks have a 51% chance of closing out the series tonight.

Indiana Pacers at Atlanta Hawks – ESPN2 7:00 p.m.

Pacers lead 3-2

Indiana Pacers – old school effort – old school logo

This is a series that has been frustratingly non-dramatic. Every game has been won by the home team and all by double digits. During the three games in Indianapolis. the Hawks looked like a team ready to be scattered in the wind by free agents who can’t wait to bolt Atlanta. In Atlanta, different team entirely – Josh Smith and Kyle Korver go from ineffective wretches to all-stars. The Hawks are a team with zero affinity for one another, and that’s one of the cool things about basketball – reading the psyche of players is very easy.

The Pacers appeared to figure some things out in Game Five. Frank Vogel’s matchups and rotation were effectively adjusted, and if they get the same play out of David West and Paul George, this series will be over.

It’s time for the Pacers to grow up and behave like winners on the road as they do at home. Playing with great energy on the road takes discipline, and this is a young team that may be lacking in that area. On the court and off, the focus needs to be on winning, and that takes each player making a decision that winning is the most important this in their lives.

Based upon ESPN mathematical models, the Pacers have a 47% chance of closing out the series tonight.

Oklahoma City Thunder at Houston Rockets – ESPN (immediately following Knicks @ Celtics)

Thunder lead 3-2

The Thunder are not nearly the same without Russell Westbrook, who is out with a surgically repaired meniscus. But they do have the second best player in the NBA in Kevin Durant. The Thunder looked lost in the fourth quarter of their Game Four loss as Durant was shutout after scoring 36 through the first three.

I hated the fouling Omer Asik strategy employed by Thunder coach Scott Brooks. Asik is a career 54% free throw shooter, but converted 8-of-12 during the fourth quarter of Game Five, as the Thunder fouled him away from the ball on six consecutive offensive possessions during a 1:40 period beginning with 5:33 left in the game.

Brooks tried to get clever instead of giving his players the opportunity to sack up and defend. Strategy that puts players in the best position to succeed is a coach’s job, not dreaming up some piece of ill-conceived trickery. Even if Asik had shot to his percentage, the Rockets win.

Based upon ESPN mathematical models, the Thunder have a 53% chance of closing out the series tonight.

Los Angeles Clippers at Memphis Grizzlies – ESPN2 (immediately following Pacers @ Hawks)

Grizzlies lead 3-2

Zach Randolph of Marion, Indiana, is an interesting character. He’s averaged 17 points and 9 boards for 12 years, and cashed paychecks totaling $120 million dollars – easily more than the career earnings of the other Memphis hero. At the time he died, Elvis Presley was worth what Zach has in his pocket.

Randolph called out Clippers forward Blake Griffin for being a game time decision tonight by saying, “This is the playoffs, man. It’s a big boy game.” I like a guy who calls out an opponent. It makes the game more interesting.

The Grizzlies are a fun team to watch with two outstanding defenders. Marc Gasol was the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year this season, and guard Mike Conley has been one of the best defenders at every level he’s played since the sixth grade. He’s quick and incredibly smart.

I hate the lack of logic that the Grizzlies represent. There is not a grizzly bear in the wild within 1,300 miles of Memphis. Inheriting the mascot of the Vancouver Grizzlies was just lazy. Although when the landmark a city is best known for is a restaurant with great barbecue, maybe there wasn’t a better option.

Based upon ESPN mathematical models, the Grizzlies have a 55% chance of closing out the series tonight.

There aren’t many nights on the sports calendar that belong to the NBA, but tonight is one of them.

Dave McKay – Best Hire So Far for Ricketts Era Chicago Cubs

by Kent Sterling

A gray beard is the only thing that makes Dave MacKay look like he shouldn’t be playing shortstop instead of coaching first.

A first base coach can be a drinking buddy for the manager – a bobo who hits pregame fungoes and tells the baserunners on first how many outs there are. They say things like, “Make the line drive go through!”

Or he can be a key component in the rebuilding of a consistent organization.

Since 1986, Dave McKay was Tony LaRussa’s guy in Oakland and St. Louis. Most fans only know him as the coach about whom they ask, “How the hell old is Dave McKay? He’s been a coach forever, but looks 40.” He’s acknowledged as one of the best defensive outfield coaches in the game, but more than that he knows what it takes for a franchise to build a winner. And by the way, he’s 63.

He almost retired along with LaRussa after the 2011 World Championship in St. Louis, but when the Cubs called, he asked Tony for permission to join the Cards’ chief rival. Given the green light, McKay packed all he knew for Chicago, and the Cubs have benefitted every day since.

The Cardinals have a notebook that everyone in the organization learns from called, “The Cardinal Way,” an ever evolving guide for how the Cardinals do everything on the baseball field. George Kissell began putting it together in 1968 as a roving instructor, and never stopped. There are contributions by dozens of men who contributed to the Cardinals through the decades.

It shows where cutoff men should be positioned, how leadoffs are taken, who covers what base and when, and serves as a unifying document that allows everyone associated with the organization to learn baseball the same way..

McKay is serving as the Cubs version of Kissell, as the team tries to build its own book to teach the youngest of farm hands how to play, so when they get to Wrigley Field, they can be plugged right in and know how the major leaguers play.

It’s difficult to fathom this has fairly elementary instructional paradigm never occurred to anyone in the 138-year history of the franchise, but it didn’t.

McKay is not only teaching left fielder Alfonso Soriano not to leap into the air to catch a routine fly ball, he’s working on something that will lay the foundation for organizational instruction forever, and allow the Cubs to make up the significant ground that lies between the Cardinals and the Cubs, despite the 45-year head start Kissell gave the Redbirds.

Successful companies emulate the activities of other successful companies, and the best way to do that is to hire their people. When the Cubs hired McKay, they didn’t get a bobo, they got a winner who will one day be revered as the guy who taught Cubs baseball the same way Kissell did for the Cardinals.

That’s a hell of a legacy, and a damn good reason to put off retirement. When he’s in his 80s, people will point, and say, “That’s the guy who put together ‘The Cub Way’. How old’s he look to you, 55?”

I’m not a fan of buying jerseys. They need to mean something to me. In St. Louis, I bought two game worn jerseys. One belonged to my friend former slugger Chris Duncan. The other was McKay’s.

When people chart the traction of the Cubs as the onfield product improves from rookie league to Wrigley, an immensely important link in that chain will be Dave McKay.

1070 the Fan’s Michael Grady Keeps Building a Great Radio Career

by Kent Sterling

Not only an excellent broadcast, 1070 the Fan’s Michael Grady knows how to rock a sweet muffler.

Every high school and college student who wants a career in sportstalk radio should call 1070 the Fan’s Michael Grady and ask for his blueprint. He has built a brand from scratch, and continues to earn the trust of listeners with every opportunity that comes his way.

Michael called my office roughly a decade ago at a time when I was looking for a reliable producer for a complicated show that airs at a tough time. Because he was a college student at Vincennes, I asked him to call me back a week later at a specific time. The thought being that if Michael could remember to call at the right time, there was a chance he would be able to show up for work at the right time.

Indiana Sportstalk with Bob Lovell airs every Friday and Saturday night from August through May from 9:30p to Midnight on Network Indiana. Most college kids are otherwise predisposed on weekend evenings, and the pay for its producer would barely cover the gas from Vincennes to Indy and back. It seemed an odd fit, but Michael called at exactly the right time, and that was enough for me.

He was young and eager with a pleasant voice, and told me he would never miss work. Managers in media should look for more than punctuality and reliability in an employee, but until you have tried to find a part-time board-operator available to fill in on a weekend evening with 30 minutes notice, don’t judge.

Without a person to run the board for a show, there is no show, so getting a person who will show up every single time is like gold. Michael was good to his word, and never missed.

In 2007, I was promoted to launch 1070 the Fan, and knew enough about what the job would be to understand how key a good executive producer would be. There was only one guy in my mind for the job, and that was Michael. We were going to have to be austere in the beginning in areas other than talent, and that would keep us from contracting out an imaging voice (the person whose voice you hear during station promos), so I tapped Michael for that too.

I needed a producer for the only local show the station would have initially, so Michael became the producer for Kravitz & Eddie. When we did a deal to broadcast the Wooden Tradition basketball event from Conseco Fieldhouse, I wondered what Michael would sound like. Almost as a dare I assigned that to him, and he was typically excellent.

The Pacers called one day and asked if I knew anyone who might want the job of entertaining the crowd during timeouts and at halftime. I told them I had their guy. Michael was really good at that too, and parlayed the gig into being the PA voice for the WNBA’s Indiana Fever, and now the Pacers.

After my time at 1070 the Fan came to an end, Michael got the job of co-hosting 10a-12p with Joe Staysniak, and guess what, not only has he become really good as a host, he works his ass off to get better every day.

If you or your kid wants to build a successful career in the media, it’s done the way Michael has done it. He has said yes to every challenge, prepares as best he can, and then executes with focus, energy, and a sense of fun.

The process hasn’t been quick or easy, but with every yes, and every positive result, he built trust. With trust, a brand emerges. Brands are valuable.

Michael Grady’s brand is that of a congenial, fearless, and professional broadcaster. It took years for that brand to emerge and drive better and better assignments.

Those responsibilities will continue to come for Michael because in a business filled with self-impressed people who want theirs, he can be trusted to do a great job regardless of the role he fills.

There is one common trait in everyone I know who has built a sustained career – diligence. Michael showed up on time every time in an entry level gig, so he earned more and more and more responsibility to the point where his faith has delivered his dream – a successful career.

The secret to getting ahead in media is that there is no secret. Hard work, willingness to learn and adapt, talent, and a sense of humor draw attention and drive trust.

I dared Michael to prove me wrong about him again and again, and every time he came up roses. He’s now one of the best young talents in all of radio, and those lonely miles from Vincennes to Indy will pay off a thousand times over.

If you haven’t caught Grady and Big Joe on 1070 the Fan in Indianapolis and 1070thefan.com from 10a-12p (ET), you should. Click here to listen to a great guy living a dream he paid for with a decade of busting his ass. As with all good media content providers, he’s a good follow on Twitter too @mg_indy.