CHAPTER ONE: "Hello Friends": An Introduction & Tribute"

“Strange isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around, he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?”

Clarence Odbody, Angel 2^nd Class, Bedford Falls, NY 1946

    Please allow me to welcome you to this winding journey I call my life, by borrowing a longtime signature greeting spoken by CBS Sports broadcasting legend Jim Nantz at the open of every broadcast he is anchoring, “Hello, friends”. The origin of that greeting for Jim began at the opening of the third round of 2002 PGA Championship. Jim had told his Dad (also named Jim, who was suffering from Alzheimer's) prior to the tournament, that when he came on the air that weekend he was going to say “Hello friends, I'm Jim Nantz” as both a greeting to his Father and a tribute to the name he would carry forever. A very touching tribute to be sure, made even more so for me by the fact that Jim Nantz was probably my first friend in broadcasting when he & I both broke into the business some 45 years ago.

    I share this fact as part of the introduction to my blog, not as a way to impress you right-off-the-bat with celebrity name-dropping. Trust me, and with all due respect to Jim, there will be plenty of stories to recount with much bigger icons than him, as that has come part and parcel with the career path I've traveled most of my adult life. I mention my friendship with Jim and some stories surrounding it as a way to hopefully set the tone for this autobiographical effort, contrasting the lives of Jim and I, who basically started from the same spot in our respective career journey's.  And to also illustrate a life lesson I have learned that I will relate to you.

    The year is 1980. The location is the nation's 4^th largest city, Houston, Texas. This is where two young men, both filled with ambition, began embarking on pursuing their dreams. I was a native Houstonian, though my family moved quite a bit when I was in school. Jim was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, but his family also moved around when he was growing up. Our birthdays are exactly one month apart as Jim was born on May 17, 1959 & I came along on June 17, 1959. I had dropped out of college as a journalism major and instead completed training & education at the Columbia School of Broadcasting in Houston. Meanwhile Jim was attending classes (& later would earn his degree) at the University of Houston) while a member of the U of H golf team, along with his longtime friend and Masters Champion Fred Couples.

    In September of 1980 I scored an unpaid internship, which quickly became a paying gig, at Houston's KULF Radio. I began working alongside a pioneering female sports reporter named Anita Martini. Anita was the very first woman sports journalist to ever be allowed in a MLB clubhouse post-game press conference, in large part thanks to the efforts of Los Angeles Dodger Manager Tommy Lasorda. The thousands of female sports reporters that have followed her owe Anita a giant debt, yet I bet most don't even know who she was, which is a damn shame. Maybe Anita's bio is an upcoming literary project for me to work on. Meanwhile Jim landed at News Talk KTRH in their sports department working alongside veteran play-by-play man Jerry Trupiano and former Houston Oiler General Manager turned broadcaster John Breen, among others.

    That Jim and I would gravitate towards each other was hardly surprising as we were among the youngest members of the Houston working sports press corp at that time, sitting shoulder to shoulder with guys who had been in the business for years. Regularly Jim & I would eat pre-game meals together provided to the media at various sports venues, with the Houston Astros' Launching Pad being by far the best of the bunch. On one occasion I remember being at Autry Court, home of Rice Owls Basketball, to cover a game. There wasn't the typical press box at Autry Court, but instead what amounted to a metal catwalk hanging from the rafters and suspended about 30 feet above floor. It was barely big enough to accommodate a row of tables & chairs for the press, and little room to scoot your way behind them. You were in big trouble if you suffered from vertigo. On this particular night Jim showed up with a small tape recorder, told me he wanted to practice his play-by-play & asked would I be his color guy. Of course I said yes and we moved to the far end of that nauseating catwalk to play broadcast team. At the time I didn't think much of it other than helping a friend, but over the years watching Jim call the Super Bowl, Final Four, the Olympics, and a multitude of other events, once in awhile I remember and smile.

    Another memorable night with Jim was at the 1981 Lombardi Award dinner held annually in Houston, with a trophy handed out to the nation's top collegiate football lineman. University of Texas defensive lineman Kenneth Sims (who sadly recently passed), the future #1 pick in the following year's NFL Draft, and who would later help me with a celebrity golf tournament I organized, was that year's recipient. Jim and I sat at the same table with another good friend KILT's Pat Hernandez. We talked about double dating and laughed at the fact that he was dating a girl named Lori and that my girlfriend at the time was named Laurie. His Lori would eventually become his first wife. My Laurie and I broke up, but ironically she ended up having a long happy marriage with another radio guy, longtime prominent Houston area disc jockey Roger W. Garrett.

    I have to take a side trip down memory lane, which I am prone to do, from the main point of this introduction, to tell a great story associated with that night at the Lombardi Award ceremony. Legendary Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes was the keynote speaker. Hayes had been fired by OSU the year before after the infamous Gator Bowl incident, where Hayes came off the bench and slugged Clemson player Charlie Bauman in the throat after the Tiger linebacker had intercepted a Buckeye pass. Hayes had a history of such crazy behavior, having physically attacked TV camera men, chain crews and others, not to mention frequent verbal outbursts. I had read a book about Hayes a few years earlier and was aware of his love for military stories and particularly his fondness for General George S. Patton. He later even went on to host the screening of war movies on a Columbus, Ohio TV station. Well, his Lombardi Award speech was a disjointed, rambling mix of war stories and football lore, which left those at my table (Jim, Pat & myself ) wondering if the old coach still was in control of his mental faculties. It was terrible and looooong!

    Well the highlight, or maybe low light, of the evening, actually happened before the award ceremony began. Organizers had arranged for Hayes to talk with the media in a smaller banquet room at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. I briefly interviewed Coach Hayes and he was cordial enough with me. However, shortly thereafter all hell broke loose. By this time I had left KULF & moved on to KENR Radio's sports department and was at the Lombardi event to do some interviews & broadcast a couple of live shots from the scene. No sooner than I had completed my interview with Hayes, Magic 102's sports director Alvin “Boom Boom” Jackson stepped in for his interview opportunity. Alvin was a former Penn State football player and stood about 6'6” & probably 300 pounds. I was set up about six feet away from Alvin & Hayes for my broadcast & could overhear the interview while it was in progress. All was well & good until Alvin said “One last thing Coach. About that Clemson incident...”. Next thing I hear is Hayes yelling “You son of a bitch” and he tried to physically go after Alvin and before he was restrained!  After witnessing this I opened my live report by saying “Those of you who may have been wondering if Woody Hayes has mellowed since leaving the coaching ranks, the answer is an emphatic & resounding no!”.

    Yeah, I have literally dozens & dozens of these type stories that, up until now, I have told few or virtually no one. That is one of the reasons I am writing this autobiography. But, not the primary one, which I will now return to before I risk sounding as rambling and incoherent as Coach Hayes!

    While still in Houston, Jim began his TV career as a sports anchor at local CBS affiliate KHOU 11. Meanwhile I continued doing radio sports and even some sports talk radio on the Houston Astros flagship station KENR, before switching gears & getting into radio programming.  Jim then very quickly headed to Salt Lake City where he was a weekend sports anchor at KSL-TV, and called BYU football games and Utah Jazz games with Hot Rod Hundley. Low & behold, a short time later, I tune into a CBS Sports broadcast of something and see my friend's smiling face. I was excited and proud for Jim! And, not the least bit surprised. He was handsome, super talented, & a great guy. From the beginning I knew he had all the tools to make it big. Make no mistake about it, I have always found great joy and take great pride in seeing my family and friends be successful. Envy has just never ever been part of my DNA, and whenever I've had success, I love sharing the credit, because I truly appreciate any help I received along the way. Now, have I ever thought when someone I know has a great success, “Wow! I'm really happy for them. Wonder when it's my turn”? Yes, but I certainly don't think that's envy. Plus I'm loyal to the bone. If you're my friend you're ALWAYS my friend.

    I haven't seen or talked to Jim in decades, but I have no doubt that he would still be the same warm and friendly guy I used to know. For nearly 40 years he has been welcomed into the homes of millions of sports fans around the world and made millions in the process. I should point out Jim has also been involved in many charitable causes, most notably establishing the Nantz National Alzheimer Center at Methodist Hospital in Houston in honor of his father. Over that time span my family has sometimes struggled to make ends meet, as I continually tried to find out what I was really meant to do. You see, as long as I can remember, going back to when I was a little kid, I felt like I was destined to do something special. Not that I ever thought that I was better than anyone else. Far from it. Maybe it was from reading every biography I could get my hands on when I was seven years old, but reading at a fifth grade level. You name it from George Washington and Teddy Roosevelt, to explorers like Lewis & Clark and Sir Edmund Hillary, to even Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver, I voraciously read about these men's accomplishments and exploits, and that inspired me to seek greatness. I used to think everyone felt the way I did, that they wanted or even needed to accomplish something BIG. But then in a conversation with my wife she said she didn't think that was generally the case. That quest and feeling like I didn't measure up to my own goals and standards, at its worst, led to bouts of depression, and finally later in life alcohol abuse.

    Which leads me to today, getting close to 70 and battling cancer. Honestly since I first got my diagnosis I have never felt any fear. Concern yes, but never fear. I think part of the reason for that is I've already gone through the worst thing anyone can ever experience in this life. The loss of a child & watching them suffer, and there's nothing you can do as a parent when it is your job to protect them. There is absolutely nothing worse than that. It goes against the natural order of things. Children are supposed to bury their parents, not the other way around. I would have taken that bullet for Marlin III in a heartbeat, but I was helpless to do anything but pray. But that and this cancer battle has finally, after almost 66 years, brought things into focus and I'm finally starting to feel that “peace of God that passes all understanding” (Phillipians 4:7), which I've so often desperately sought.

    You see, I HAVE always been destined to do something significant and so are YOU! Through all my my sometimes poor decisions and confusion as to what I should I do and where I should go, God has had his hand on me all along. Though I all too often turned my back on HIM, HE never turned his back on me, turning some of what I thought were the worst of times of my life into a blessing. Through all the trials, tribulations, tragedies, and wrong turns, I finally recognize HE had me exactly where I was supposed to be at that moment including now where I am sharing my story with you. While Jim Nantz has accomplished many significant things with his charitable work and bringing joy to millions of sports fans, I've grown to understand that I have accomplished things no less significant than my old friend. I just didn't see it for a long time. What helped bring me to that realization is things friends and family have said to me over the years, especially my former players that I coached. And the outpouring of love, affection, and support after I announced my cancer diagnosis has been overwhelming, and brought confirmation to particularly two things in my mind: That I am extremely blessed to have so many people that care about me, and that I must have done something right over the years to earn so much respect & love from so many. Hey, I'm just a regular guy who has led an improbable life.

    And beyond telling some incredible tales about my journey, the bigger purpose of this autobiography is to hopefully get you to reflect upon your own life. Of where you have been & where you are now. That you have a God-given purpose, too, and what may seem insignificant to you, may be of huge significance to those you come in contact with on a daily basis. And never underestimate your influence. The older I get the more I realize what a small world it truly is and that there are no chance meetings. There is a divine plan for each of us if we will only frequently stop and honestly reflect about our relationships and the life path we are on, and trust and allow God to guide us.

     I opened my Facebook account in early 2010, primarily to keep family and friends updated on Marlin III's cancer journey. For all the many negatives associated with social media one of the good things about it is being able to stay connected or even get reconnected with family and friends in far flung places. Recently I was scrolling through my FB friends list and what I found was astonishing, sobering, definitely sad, but yet also uplifting in a way. I discovered that forty-eight of those FB friends had passed away over the past fifteen years. I realize at my age that its reached the point where some of my contemporaries will begin to pass. But many of those individuals were in the prime of life and some very young. At least eleven of them I know died from cancer. Most heartbreaking is that five of these individuals died at their own hand, including three of my former football players. Some of these people were beloved family or dear friends. But some individuals I may have crossed paths with only a time or two. There is in fact one man, who I never actually met in-person but had numerous phone calls with, who helped me find talent for my first ever music festival in 2010 during SXSW in Austin. One of the artists he steered me towards turned out to be a a former football player I had coached more than 16 years earlier. Yes, it really is a small world.

     As I looked at each one of these individuals faces on their FB account, it brought back memories of how each and everyone of them had touched my life in some way. I am one who tries hard to never forget a good turn done on my behalf. Each one of these souls had done so, even if it just meant their good turn was simply being my friend. One greater gift could there be?  Again I say, never underestimate your influence and impact you can have on people. It costs you nothing to smile and be kind to folks, and the rewards are great. I'm living proof of that.

There have been times in my life where I felt like a rank underachiever and at worst an abject failure. But then I think back to that bumbling, but sweet Angel 2^nd Class Clarence Odbody and the inscription he wrote in the copy of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” which he gave to George Bailey at the end of the beloved classic “It's A Wonderful Life”. It read “No man is a failure who has friends”. If that's the case I've one-upped George, for not only am I the richest man in town, but one of the richest men on the planet.

So with that in mind, though I will have further acknowledgments at the end of this blog, I dedicate this effort to those friends and family who have passed since 2010, whose names and photos you will find by scrolling down, including a few more that didn't have FB accounts, but passed and impacted my life.  To them and to all my family & friends everywhere who have played a role in the improbable life of this regular guy, God  bless each and everyone of you. Now buckle up and get ready for a wild and crazy ride!

“Greater love has no one than this; that someone lay down his life for his friends.” - John 15:13

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