The Burrall Blog – Pocket Schedules

8/25/10 – 5:15 PM

Football, football, football………….yes, it’s that time again!  We have Wyoming Cowboys and Denver Broncos pocket schedules.  Come by the studios of AM 1240, KASL on the west end of Newcastle and grab some.  There are a limited number of Cowboys pocket schedules remaining.  And don’t forget to listen to Cowboy and Bronco Football on Real Country, AM 1240, KASL.

The Burrall Blog – A Big Problem For Baseball

6/4/10 – 1:37 PM

I’ve followed Major League Baseball basically my entire life, and I cannot remember a time where the umpiring was so generally poor.  Yes, these guys still do get most calls right, but more and more often these days, close plays are just plain called wrong.

The most egregious example came on June 2nd, when the Detroit Tigers’ Armando Galarraga was an out away from throwing, unbelievably, the second perfect game in four days in the majors and the third this season.  Jason Donald of the Cleveland Indians hit a sharp ground ball that Tigers’ first baseman Miguel Cabrera fielded after moving to his right.  Galarraga raced to cover first and took the throw, which beat Donald to the bag by a full step.

But that isn’t how first base umpire Jim Joyce saw the play.  He hesitated, then called Donald safe.  Television replays immediately showed – with no doubt – that Donald should have been out.

Joyce, to his credit, admitted his mistake.  And, to be fair, Joyce is regarded as a very good umpire and is well-respected – correctly, I’ll say.  He’s worked two World Series.  But this time,  Joyce blew the call and he eventually knew it.

This is an instance of a good umpire making a bad error.  But the problem remains that bad umpires keep making themselves look foolish.

Example: White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle was called recently for two balks in one game by umpire Joe West.  He didn’t balk in either instance, and Buehrle and his manager, Ozzie Guillen, were both ejected.  They both were fined for remarks made about West to the essence that West seems to be more concerned about his music career than being a competent umpire.  West even has a publicist, a singular trait among big league umpires.  But, neither were suspended by Major League Baseball.  And, West was fined.  In other words, MLB admitted without saying so what Buehrle and Guillen basically said – that Joe West has become an embarrassment to his profession.

Example: In a recent game, Houston Astros pitcher Roy Oswalt, one of the few bright spots on an otherwise awful team, didn’t feel like correct ball-strike calls were being made by umpire Bill Hohn.  Then, after one pitch which Oswalt missed outside, and knew he’d missed, he shouted something to himself.  Hohn heard it, and ejected Oswalt, even as the pitcher was saying, “I wasn’t talking to you!”  MLB said it would have a “stern” discussion with Hohn, whose repuation as an umpire may be even worse than that of West.

Example: On the same night as the blunder in Detroit, Seattle’s Josh Wilson was ruled safe at second base by umpire Dale Scott, negating a force play and allowing the Mariners to score the winning run against Minnesota.  Just as in the Galarraga play, the replay clearly showed that the umpire missed the call.

So, is the answer an expanded use of replay, like in the NFL and NHL?  Well, maybe.  Here’s a novel idea for Bud Selig and his minions: How about training umpires better so better umpires, ones that aren’t so arrogant and prone to thoughts of infallibility, can be hired?  Just a thought.

The Burrall Blog – It Is High, It Is Far, It Is……Pathetic

4/27/10 – 9:21 PM

It has become tradition for championship teams to be invited to the White House, as was the case for the defending World Series champion New York Yankees recently.

There was the usual scene of the President making kind remarks (and he’s a White Sox fan; must have been tough) and manager Joe Girardi presenting Mr. Obama with a signed jersey.  That was all good, and the Yankees deserve it (speaking of tough to say).

However, there was one sight that caught my eye and really bothered me.  In the middle of all the players and team officials, there stood John Sterling, the team’s radio play-by-play announcer, with a grin that covered half the East Room.

“What,” you may be saying, “you’re not sticking up for a fellow broadcaster?”

In this case, no, I’m not.

This has nothing to do, either, with my opinion of Sterling’s work, which is an opinion shared by many:  that he is nothing more than a shill and an unabashed rooter while on the air.  The headline of this posting is a mock of his call of most Yankee home runs, which does nothing to tell the listener where the ball actually landed.

No, this has to do with sheer arrogance.  I don’t know whether he asked to be part of the group, or whether someone within the organization suggested he be on stage with the rest of the team behind the President.  And, yes, he is employed by the Yankees.  But, he had nothing to do with results on the field or building the team which won the championship.

Yet, Sterling defends the Yankees to no end.  As an example, when there were first allegations that Alex Rodriguez was using performance-enhancing drugs, Sterling smugly said, “There’s no way he did anything like that.”  Of course, the complete opposite was later proven to be true.

The point: Sterling shouldn’t have been where he was.  Look, when the Dogie basketball teams were saluted in that assembly two years ago, how would it have looked had I stood there in the middle of the teams?  Yes, very badly.  And had I been asked to do so, I would have said, “Thank you, but no. I’m only a broadcaster.  You’re the ones that deserve the credit.”

Well, that’s what John Sterling should have done at the White House.  Instead, he made himself and the Yankees look quite foolish.  I’ll bet Mel Allen never would have done such a thing.

The Burrall Blog – Buffalo Again? No, Sir

3/13/10 – 7:30 PM

Have you seen who won the 3A boys state championship in hoops?  No, it wasn’t Buffalo, led by former Dogies assistant coach Paul Prosinski.

It was Torrington.  The Blazers rallied from 7 down in the 3rd quarter to dethrone the defending champs, 42-39.  Given how Torrington looked at regional, I’m not totally shocked, even though the Bison were a very good team.  With all due respect to Casey Esponda, David Greininger and Jeremy Beehler, E.J. Zimmerman was the best player in 3A East boys hoops this season.  Jason McManamen had another great year, and the return of Kyle Nighswonger made a huge difference for the Blazers.

Mick Bohn and I are sorry we left the regional title game when Buffalo led Torrington by 11 points.  The Bison ended up winning by 2.  Torrington rode that into knocking off Worland and Pinedale before rallying for the title over Buffalo.

Unbelievably, new head coach Jon Raciecki had his detractors within Torrington this season.  They can’t possibly complain now that Torrington has its first boys championship since 1987.

By the way, I really missed being at state basketball.  Maybe we’ll be back next year.

OK, back to watching college hoops….What a great time of the year for us basketball fans!

The Burrall Blog – Frustration, Then Class

2/20/10 – 8:16 PM

These are not easy times for the Newcastle Dogie boys basketball team.  With two games to go before the 3A East Regional Tournament, they’ve won only once in conference.  The latest loss came today at home to Rawlins, 58-43, after Newcastle had a 13-point lead in the first half.

Rawlins blitzed the Dogies in the second half.  Newcastle was frustrated, feeling the calls weren’t going their way.  Then, it boiled over.  First, there was one technical foul, then another, then another.

Head Coach Allen Von Eye had one of those three.  After the game, was he stewing?  Was he angry?  No.  He came on our air and apologized.  He apologized on behalf of himself and his team, saying these actions weren’t representative of him or them.

Self-accountability seems to be a problem with a lot of people these days.  But it isn’t an issue with the Newcastle Dogies.  They’re not having a good year, but they’re really good people to be around.  That starts with a classy head coach.

We’re lucky to have Allen Von Eye in our community, no matter what the win-loss record may be.

The Burrall Blog – It’s Too Late, Mark

1/11/10 – 10:05 PM

So, are we now supposed to have pity for Mark McGwire after he admitted that he took steroids in the 1990′s?  Is it supposed to make a difference that he actually wanted to admit to steroid usage five years ago before Congress, but was advised not to do so?

Well, it doesn’t make any difference to me and I don’t have a damn bit of pity for McGwire.  He was a cheater.  He cheated during the 1998 season, when he broke Roger Maris’ single-season home run record.  In fact, I was in attendance in St. Louis on the night when McGwire hit his 62nd home run.  Now, I feel cheated and betrayed.  What I saw and what baseball fans experienced that season was a sham.

Tonight, McGwire was on television with his tearful admission.  Oh, wonderful!  Look at the big man reduced to his croccodile tears!  It was absolutely pathetic.  Why was he crying?  He wasn’t upset about using steroids.  He was upset that he got caught, just like all the others who were during this sad time in Major League Baseball, which is now known by many as the “Steroid Era.”

I’m still a baseball fan.  I’ll still attend games and watch plenty this season.  But, I don’t like cheaters.  And that’s what Mark McGwire was.  That’s what Alex Rodriguez is.  That’s what Andy Pettitte is.  It’s probably what Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were.  And I don’t have use for any of them.  Neither should any other baseball fan.

The Burrall Blog – Weekend In Laramie

11/16/09 – 9:23 AM

What an honor it was for me to describe three state championship football games (2A, 3A, 4A) for rtcom.tv.  All five of the webcasts should be archived there by the middle of this week.

One of the games I called was Thermopolis’ 22-20 win over Glenrock for the 2A title.  Glenrock is a great team and worked very hard to have a chance at back-to-back championships, but sometimes teams most people don’t expect to win are completely sure themselves that they will.  That was the case with the Thermopolis Bobcats.  Their defense stopped the Herders immediately on 4th down.  Their offense didn’t let falling snow or accumulated snow bother them.  And the Bobcat offense showed something it hadn’t shown much of this season: quarterback Mitch Syverson running the ball.  He did for 155 yards and two touchdowns.  It was a great plan by Mitch’s dad, head coach Chuck Syverson.  But, get this:  Mitch, as it turns out, had not run the ball much until this past Saturday because he played all season with a stress fracture in his leg.  He suffered it during last basketball season when he was still in Spearfish.  Anyway, it was a well-deserved win for Thermopolis, who has many of their important players, including Syverson, back in 2010.

By the way, I had never broadcast any football games during snow before, so that was fun, too.

While in Laramie, I attended the Wyoming Cowboy basketball season opener against South Dakota State, who overwhelmed the Cowboys, 77-61.  And believe me, the game wasn’t that close.  The Cowboys’ defense was terrible, allowing several uncontested baskets to the Jackrabbits quickly after their own made baskets.  And SDSU made 11 three-pointers, only a few of which were even moderately contested.  There’s a lot of work ahead for this team.  They are inexperienced and are in need of the kind of leadership Brandon Ewing had given them over the last couple of years.

And as I came home Saturday night, I listened to Cowboy Football’s incredible comeback win at San Diego State, 30-27.  24 unanswered points in the 4th quarter led the Cowboys back.  After how the offense had been performing over the previous three weeks, and the struggle the defense was having, this came out of nowhere.  Now, this team feels it can do anything.  This probably doesn’t give them any more of a chance to beat TCU, a national championship contender, this Saturday, but a victory over Colorado State on the day after Thanksgiving would likely put the Cowboys in a bowl game for the first time in five years.  That would be quite an achievement for a team with a first-year head coach and whose program was, frankly, going nowhere at this time last year.

The Burrall Blog – Offenses Off

11/2/09 – 10:34 AM

You may have been shocked that the Broncos were knocked from the unbeaten ranks by the Baltimore Ravens, but consider that the Ravens could just as easily be 5-2 or 6-1 as they are 4-3.  Besides, only 200 yards of offense won’t win you very many games in the NFL (unless you have Tony Ginn run back two kicks for touchdowns in the same quarter).

It’s very difficult to go unbeaten in the NFL, and even as good as the Saints are, I don’t expect them to remain unbeaten.  Hey, even the almighty Patriots didn’t do it a couple of years ago.

And Wyoming Cowboy football has hit a little bit of a rough patch, with losses to Air Force and Utah.  The big reason is an offense that has lost its punch over those games.  Look, the only TD against the Utes was on a pass to Austyn Carta-Samuels.  Yes, it was fun, but it also isn’t a good sign when a play like that is the only scoring play.  The Cowboys’ defense fought really hard on Saturday, but was on the field a lot.  UW still must play BYU and TCU, so the offense will need to regain its consistency if it wants to be in a bowl game.

The Burrall Blog – Champions!

10/24/09 – 8:15 PM

Newcastle has a state champion.

For the second time in four years, the Newcastle Dogie Boys are 3A Cross Country champions after a narrow 2-point win over Jackson in Sheridan.  Justin Wermers led Newcastle runners by finishing second.  Ian Cole finished 7th, with Devin Dickey 14th, Matt Hawley 15th, Joseph Rhoades 35th, Michael Bissey 39th and Brody Benson 43rd.

The Burrall Blog – Asa Hutchinson Update

10/3/09 – 1:18 PM

In Newcastle Football’s 37-12 loss in Glenrock, wide receiver/cornerback Asa Hutchinson suffered a concussion during the second quarter.

Asa had to be taken off the Sheldon Henderson Stadium field via ambulance and was transported to Memorial Hospital of Converse County in Douglas.  Generally, Asa is OK, but unhappy that he cannot play football again, as this is his second major concussion in as many season.  Karen Hutchinson, Asa’s mother, says that Asa will have a CT scan soon.

Karen also wanted me to pass along word that she and all of the Hutchinson family are grateful for everyone’s support.

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