Inaugural Post - About the Author

If you're reading this, thanks!

I've decided to start a blog offering my perspective on sports in the Erie area and nationally.

Like most of you (I'm guessing), I grew up in my living room with my family watching sports. Whether we were dressed in navy and white to support the Penn State Nittany Lions and hometown Oil City Oilers or in black and gold to support the Pittsburgh Steelers, Penguins or Pirates, watching sports was more than an act. It was established as habit, practice and tradition. To this day on opening day for the Pittsburgh Steelers, I receive a text message from multiple sources that reads, "Merry Christmas." Some people choose to wrap themselves in a world strewn with politics or religion; I live and breathe sports.

I mentioned the Oil City Oilers. Oil City is approximately an hour and a half south of Erie, and not hard to overlook on a map. I spent my days there focused on a future playing baseball, until a hand injury which stripped me of my sophomore-playing year and apparently of my ability to hit a baseball determined otherwise. My love of sports transferred as my love of playing further fostered my love of watching the game.

My senior year of high school at Oil City Senior High was filled with the production of an online news magazine entitled, "Oiler News." While I wasn't among the group that founded the idea for the show, I was pleased to be asked to anchor the show once a week. A group of four of us, for the most part, navigated the intricacies of creating this show, which is now the focus of a class at OCHS. The school built a studio and purchased equipment for the production of the show for class credit, which wasn't exactly the case for use at its inception. I wouldn't trade the days I spent in the "green room," with some of the most ambitious and progressive minds that I've ever been associated with. I would prognosticate that you'll hear the names of these guys down the road at some point and the parallel drawn will likely be one of success. My love for broadcast journalism started in the hallways of that small-town high school; and at the time I didn't even realize it. I color-commentated the 'Franklin-Oil City basketball game,' which was a big rivalry game in the area while still a senior at OCHS.

Upon coming to Gannon University as a freshman, I was told in my fundamentals of speech class that I was to host an air-shift on 90.5 WERG on a weekly basis. After my first training session, I never wanted to go back. Talking on the radio was a terrifying endeavor and as my voice cracked on that sunny August day in 2010, I was sure to never return. In not so many words I went on to become the assistant sports director that same semester. Gannon-graduate Zack McDermott was the sports director at the time and he afforded an internship opportunity with the Erie Otters after the fall semester of that year. At the time a junior, Zack asked me to fill the vacancy as sports director. So, as a freshman on a staff of mostly upperclassmen, I set out to head the sports staff shortly before the start of.....LADY KNIGHT'S SEASON!

McDermott had taught me well, however, and the staff at the time operated as a well-oiled machine. I was quickly exposed to the chaos that is basketball season at the Hammermill Center and it didn't take long before I shared the same love for Gannon athletics as I have for the teams my family and I followed from the confides of my home. Before I knew it I was aside Steve Bohen and Ray Reisdorph at the broadcast table. Learning the ropes wasn't exactly the easiest thing to do, as a live broadcast is...well...live. I am grateful to both Steve and Ray for allowing me to learn by their example. I still have a long way to go as a broadcaster, but with their guidance, I've become comfortable with the nuances that come with commentating a great team with a devout following. I look forward to the Elite Eight in the Erie Insurance arena come playoff time, but first to the long season that starts this week!

As voted on by my peers, I won the 'rookie of the year' award at WERG my freshman year.

Sophomore year was when I focused largely on establishing my staff of sports experts. I was lucky to have one of my best friends, Zack Borland (sports director at 90.5 WERG from 2011-present) join the staff despite being a biology-turned-chemistry major. Zack is from Cranberry, Pennsylvania and if you've ever heard us on-air together you've likely heard the story of how he ruined my senior night by jacking a grand slam off of me in my third career start as a pitcher. The 'Prime Time Sports Guys' won the best on-air non-music feature at WERG my sophomore year.

Junior year was a doozy at 90.5 WERG as I was the General Manager. This was the most valuable experience I've had to this point as I was presented with real-world issues in the world of media. The station operated under hectic circumstances and we stayed afloat in conditions where I'm sure many college radio stations would flounder. We out-shined our peers in terms of "numbers" during this time despite extenuating circumstances. The experience was validated during a trip to New York City in late February with various members of the station. Our destination was the 2013 Inter-collegiate Broadcasting Systems conference. It was neat to go to seminars to learn and end up leading conversations and offering guidance to moderators who were unsure of their very topic of focus. This confidence can be directly attributed to the Gannon University communications department which continues to churn out industry-ready professionals. The Operations Director at 90.5 WERG, Chet Laprice and Deb Carlson of 90.5 WERG and Connoisseur Media deserve much credit for their continued service to the Gannon and Erie communities. I was humbled to receive the 'station-MVP award,' from WERG after my junior year.

This past summer I worked in a factory in Titusville, Pennsylvania overnight and drove to Erie on Wednesdays and Fridays. I drove to Erie to fulfill my internship requirements with Connoisseur Media, where I am now employed. I think my supervisor, Greg Szuba got tired of listening to me talk about sports as we drove around Erie because he walked me into the studio of JET 1400 to speak to Jim LeCorchick one Wednesday morning. I had heard of this JR and seen him at sporting events around town, but this was my first experience meeting him face-to-face. Little did I know that he would ask me to co-host a show on Fridays from 4-6 on Sports Radio 1330. I started at Fox Sports Radio The Fan on-air with Jack Quinn. More recently, I've started to join JR himself in studio on Fridays and the group of JR, Sean Amicucci, Jack Quinn and the "Fantasy Professor," Frank Corapi Sundays from 11-1 on "Never Enough Football."

You can follow me on Twitter: @womermisnomer or e-mail: womer003@knights.gannon.edu.

Thanks for reading and look for further blogs starting today. I'm new to the bloggosphere so I'm open to advice! If you want my take on any issues in particular, feel free to start a thread or propose it to me to be included in a blog. Go Gannon!!