Become a Sports Broa

in 4 Years or Less

_ By Alan Coombs, Brock Press

ST. CATHARINES, ONT. (CUP)
So you think you know sports, eh?
You probably even think that you
have what it takes to be a profes-
sional in the sports field. Well,
unless you are an athletic standout
(if you are reading an article on
how to become a professional in
four years, you probably don’t fit
into this category) you should
maybe focus on a different road
into professional sports.

I sat down with (well, had a
phone conversation with) The
Sports Network’s (TSN) James
Duthie to see what all is involved
in becoming a sports broadcaster.
Let us all sit in awe of the guru
from Sportscentre and host of
NHL on TSN. Despite a few sacri-
fices, being, a pro seems like a
dream job for any sports fan.
Follow these simple steps to your.
dream job and a crap load of
money ... well a dream job at least.

‘f you want to be involved
in sports you are going to
have to find a platform to
give yourself a voice. Be it
television or written
press, you need as much
training as possible to get
you in.”

—Choose your field

If you want to be involved in
sports you are going to have to
find a platform to give yourself a
voice. Be it television or written
press, you need as much training
as possible to get you in. If you
choose to use Duthie as an exam-
ple, changing your major over to
journalism might be in your best
interests.

“IT studied journalism at
Carleton [the other university in

Ottawa]. After I graduated I did

the news at CJOH, the CTV affili-
ate in Ottawa, then moved into
sports. I always knew that I want-
ed to cover sports.”

Any field you enter in should
give you a good voice to prove
your knowledge in sports. If writ-
ing is more your cup of tea, then
there are many local papers,
including The Brock Press that
could give you a voice as an ama-
teur as you prepare to take a big
leap into your professional career.
Just make sure that you get as
much training as possible so you
don’t actually write like the editors
of this sports section.

—Gather your knowledge

Despite what the pros on TV and
in the paper would have you
believe, they don’t know every-

thing off the top of their head.
They have to sit down and do
research into what games they are
covering. The information you are
gathering will depend greatly on
what kind of professional you
want to be. For example, Duthie
points out that when he was host-
ing Sportscentre he needed to
know less specifics but more gen-
eral information.

“ [At] Sportscentre you need to
know about every single sport.
You need to know how to pro-
nounce names properly and every-
thing. As a host, I don’t necessarily
need to know as much as Bob
McKenzie knows but I need to
know what is going on.”

The best part about a profession-
al gathering his information is that
he doesn’t even use different
sources from us. Duthie admits to
using no more sources than the
average sports fan. He uses web
sites, Sportscentre, and watches as
much hockey as possible. Duthie
has the Center Ice Package, which
is a series of TV channels devoted
entirely to hockey games, so he can
see as many games as possible.

_ Man, so far we are as qualified
as he is.

—Organize all your information

So you have your degree, which
got you a job. Now you also have
the notes and everything to
express your world of knowledge
to the public. What do you do
next?

Well if you are in TV land you
need to start organizing your data
so that you can make sense of it,
and also start organizing with the
rest of the people on your show.

“At about 11 a.m. have a confer-
ence call with Bob [McKenzie],
Dave [Hodge] and my producer to
go over how we are going to pre-
sent everything. TV is not cut and
dry. There are many different ways
of producing a good show ... then I
spend a few hours at the office
going over my notes or making
new notes.”

Duthie also points out.that he
doesn’t use a script. No script
means more improvisation, so
when you organize the show,
make sure to leave time to be zany
and off-beat. However, always
remember to leave your clothes on
... well maybe not always. °

—TIgnore the voices in your head

Part of the difficulty, especially
on TV, is covering up mayhem. If
you are writing, it is your job to
write a non-biased piece even if
you are mad with the world. If you
are on TV you need to look calm
even when your producer is franti-
cally yelling at you in your ear-
piece. It is your job to pretend
there is nothing wrong.

6

SEPTEMBER 10, 2003

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Photo contributed.

James Duthie is a professional sports broadcaster who works as host of TSN’s Sportscentre and NHL hockey
on TSN. He enjoys his job immensely and enjoys telling others on how they can get into the highly competitive and

professional world of sports journalism.

“Tt is one of the challenges of the
business,” Duthie admits. “It is
hard to talk while somebody else is
talking to you. Once you get used
to it, it is alright.”

If you are already a psycho, then
this might be a walk in the park for
you, but unfortunately for most of

us it could be a problem. Who said .

“If you can make friends
with all the right people,
you can steal their ideas
and run them out of the
city. Their absence is your
key to success. Sure, that
never really happens, but
it is nice to know that it
could.”

that!2!?
_—Fun will become work; Deal

with it

The only real downfall is that
eventually your recreation time
does become work. On the day I
was talking to Duthie, a freak
snowfall crashed down on
Colorado that cancelled the game
which TSN was supposed to be

covering. As a result, TSN had to
cover a different game. The fall
from grate led them to cover the
Buffalo Sabres. Duthie had to start
reading Buffalo newspapers to get
the story on the Sabres. Nobody
wants to read a Buffalo paper.
Especially anything about the
Sabres. Freak occurrences happen
like this that turn your dream job
into a daunting task.

—Make good. friends with peo-
ple that know stuff

Seeing as you don’t really have
any means of information different
from other people, it is important
that you make friends with players
and analysts that actually know
what is going on. Duthie says his
conversations with McKenzie and
Hodge are, “the only information
that he has outside of the average
sports fan.”

If you can make friends with all
the right people, you can steal their
ideas and run them out of the city.
Their absence is your key to suc-

cess. Sure, that never really hap-.

pens, but it is nice to know that it
could.

McKenzie and Hodge are two
really good sources that ‘can pro-
vide a plethora of information.
Incidentally, Duthie is convinced
that Hodge can drink Ron McLean

(Hodge’s CBC counterpart) under
the table. I’m working -on setting
this one up. Duthie says Hodge is a
real “gamer.”

—Congratulations, remember
me
Well apparently the term

“Professional in Sports” is synony-
mous with lucky son-of-a-gun. I
do most of this stuff on a regular
basis and I am the furthest thing
from a professional. Blast you
Jamés Duthie. Your charm and
good fortune makes us envy you
so.

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