{"id":30475,"date":"2013-03-12T12:54:30","date_gmt":"2013-03-12T12:54:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rcntv.rcn.com\/?p=30475"},"modified":"2023-02-28T14:49:21","modified_gmt":"2023-02-28T14:49:21","slug":"behind-the-mic-march-12th","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-the-mic-march-12th\/","title":{"rendered":"March Madness &#8211; Behind the Mic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s March. If you are a college basketball fan, you know this is the week when many of the conference championships will be decided and the automatic NCAA bids are assigned. Then, every fan waits to see if their team will be part of the 64 that get in. Let the \u201cmadness\u201d begin.<\/p>\n<p>For me, however, March Madness has already begun. The high school \u201cmadness\u201d began this past weekend, not with 64 teams in the state of Pennsylvania, but 256 teams. Pennsylvania has 4 classifications in both the boys\u2019 and girls\u2019 brackets \u2013 AAAA, AAA, AA, and A. Your classification is determined by the gender population in your school \u2013 the larger the school, the more A\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday and Saturday of last week, we had 12 teams enter the state playoffs from our local viewing audience. We chose to do 8 games in the two days, based on the teams and the logistics of the games. Friday night, there were two venues, each with a doubleheader and Saturday, one venue with a quadruple header. This meant that ~60 workers would be needed to staff the games, along with 4 announcers. The crew set up at Freedom High School and Nazareth High School on Friday night and tore down after the games. They then met on Saturday to set up again at Allen High School and tear down again that night. This is a process that goes on 4 nights a week during the entire regular season. Trust me, these \u201cbehind-the-scenes-people\u201d work very hard. They are the heart and soul of every production.<\/p>\n<p>My work begins days before the actual games. This past weekend, I split the games with the other announcing crew and we each scheduled four. The process works like this for a Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday schedule:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Monday: I will contact all the schools and let them know our intention to televise their game. The local schools know the drill. For the schools out of the area, I will ask for the following: the coach\u2019s contact information; a roster; a starting lineup; season statistics; background information on the coach, the school, and the players. I also ask for any \u201chuman interest\u201d stories they may want to share. Usually, I can begin to prepare the local teams as the out-of-area information trickles in. I, inevitably, will have to put out reminders to the schools to send the information I had already requested.<\/li>\n<li>Tuesday: I will compile everything I have gotten and organize it so the information is quickly available to me for the broadcast. This means transferring the roster, stats, details, background, etc. on to my scoring sheets. I will share all that I have been able to gather with my color analyst. Depending on the site, I will leave in the afternoon in order to get to the gym 2 hours prior to tip-off. I will do the game or games.<\/li>\n<li>Wednesday: Contact all the Tuesday winners\u2019 schools who will now play on Friday and repeat what I did on Monday. I will, also, repeat everything done on Tuesday for Wednesday\u2019s games. Now, it\u2019s off to the venue. Do the game or games.<\/li>\n<li>Thursday, Friday, and Saturday: Repeat Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.<\/li>\n<li>And Sunday: Contact the schools again for next week.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>That\u2019s my \u201cMarch Madness\u201d. It\u2019s intense, it\u2019s stressful, at times, and it is the best time of the year!!<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)<\/span><\/h4>\n<ol>\n<li>Speaking of March Madness, Dick Vitale, the voice of college basketball for 34 years, will work his FIRST NCAA semifinal and championship game this year. By the way, he is 73 years old. ESPN just told him he has \u201ca job for life\u201d. He added, \u201cI am never going to retire.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>The Patriot League champion, crowned on March 13, gets an automatic bid to the \u201cdance\u201d. The League certainly earned credibility for that bid last year when Lehigh beat Duke in the first round. Can either Lafayette or Bucknell send a similar shock through college basketball\u2019s elitists?<\/li>\n<li>I don\u2019t know about you, but losing an hour\u2019s sleep seems to have a much greater effect on my life than gaining an hour. Perhaps, this year, it had something to do with watching Lafayette-Lehigh on TiVo until 3:15 (DST) in the morning.<\/li>\n<li>Tiger Woods won this week because he putted so well. Steve Stricker finished second because he gave Tiger a putting lesson this week that caused Tiger to putt so well! Woods won $1.5 million and Stricker won $880,000! Sportsmanship or stupidity??<\/li>\n<li>I shined the clubs and cleaned out the bag. Now, it\u2019s all about finding the time.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s March. If you are a college basketball fan, you know this is the week when many of the conference championships will be decided and the automatic NCAA bids are assigned. Then, every fan waits to see if their team will be part of the 64 that get in. Let the \u201cmadness\u201d begin. For me,&#8230;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"Yoast SEO Relevanssi index exclude","inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,4],"tags":[116,159,219,326,403,423,517],"class_list":["post-30475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-behind-the-mic","category-featured","category-sports","tag-college-baskeball","tag-dick-vitale","tag-high-school-basketball","tag-march-madness","tag-patriot-league","tag-piaa","tag-tiger-woods"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>March Madness - Behind the Mic - ATVN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"March Madness - Behind the Mic - ATVN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It\u2019s March. If you are a college basketball fan, you know this is the week when many of the conference championships will be decided and the automatic NCAA bids are assigned. Then, every fan waits to see if their team will be part of the 64 that get in. Let the \u201cmadness\u201d begin. For me,...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-the-mic-march-12th\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ATVN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-03-12T12:54:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-02-28T14:49:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gary Laubach\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gary Laubach\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/behind-the-mic-march-12th\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/behind-the-mic-march-12th\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Gary Laubach\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee\"},\"headline\":\"March Madness &#8211; Behind the Mic\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-03-12T12:54:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-28T14:49:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/behind-the-mic-march-12th\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":766,\"commentCount\":1,\"keywords\":[\"college baskeball\",\"Dick Vitale\",\"high school basketball\",\"March Madness\",\"Patriot League\",\"PIAA\",\"Tiger Woods\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Behind the Mic\",\"Featured\",\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/behind-the-mic-march-12th\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/behind-the-mic-march-12th\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/behind-the-mic-march-12th\\\/\",\"name\":\"March Madness - Behind the Mic - ATVN\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-03-12T12:54:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-28T14:49:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/behind-the-mic-march-12th\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/\",\"name\":\"ATVN\",\"description\":\"Local Programming &amp; Astound Digital Cable, Internet &amp; Phone Services\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee\",\"name\":\"Gary Laubach\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"\\\/atvn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg\",\"url\":\"\\\/atvn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"\\\/atvn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Gary Laubach\"},\"description\":\"Gary began his broadcasting career with Twin County in 1972. Twin County eventually became C-TEC and then Astound Broadband. Gary is currently a Sports Broadcaster for Lafayette College.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/author\\\/rcntvgary\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"March Madness - Behind the Mic - ATVN","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"March Madness - Behind the Mic - ATVN","og_description":"It\u2019s March. If you are a college basketball fan, you know this is the week when many of the conference championships will be decided and the automatic NCAA bids are assigned. Then, every fan waits to see if their team will be part of the 64 that get in. Let the \u201cmadness\u201d begin. For me,...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-the-mic-march-12th\/","og_site_name":"ATVN","article_published_time":"2013-03-12T12:54:30+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-02-28T14:49:21+00:00","author":"Gary Laubach","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gary Laubach","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-the-mic-march-12th\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-the-mic-march-12th\/"},"author":{"name":"Gary Laubach","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#\/schema\/person\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee"},"headline":"March Madness &#8211; Behind the Mic","datePublished":"2013-03-12T12:54:30+00:00","dateModified":"2023-02-28T14:49:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-the-mic-march-12th\/"},"wordCount":766,"commentCount":1,"keywords":["college baskeball","Dick Vitale","high school basketball","March Madness","Patriot League","PIAA","Tiger Woods"],"articleSection":["Behind the Mic","Featured","Sports"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-the-mic-march-12th\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-the-mic-march-12th\/","url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-the-mic-march-12th\/","name":"March Madness - Behind the Mic - ATVN","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-03-12T12:54:30+00:00","dateModified":"2023-02-28T14:49:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#\/schema\/person\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-the-mic-march-12th\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/","name":"ATVN","description":"Local Programming &amp; Astound Digital Cable, Internet &amp; Phone Services","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#\/schema\/person\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee","name":"Gary Laubach","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"\/atvn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg","url":"\/atvn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg","contentUrl":"\/atvn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg","caption":"Gary Laubach"},"description":"Gary began his broadcasting career with Twin County in 1972. Twin County eventually became C-TEC and then Astound Broadband. Gary is currently a Sports Broadcaster for Lafayette College.","url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/author\/rcntvgary\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30475"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87260,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30475\/revisions\/87260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}