Do you know what the end of August brings?

HighSchoolSports.Net Friday Night Fever!

It's true!

I don't want to admit it. I'm digging the 90 degree temperatures and baseball season.

However, our coverage of HighSchoolSports.Net Friday Night Fever kicked off Friday night with the best sports team in town consisting of Jim Donovan, Dave Chudowsky, and Lynn Olszowy, as well as Friday Night Fever sports producer Brian Crane....among so many others who lend their skills to wkyc's coverage of high school football.




A group of animated, knowledgeable gurus (including our very own Romona Robinson) give their spin on who will win each Friday. 'The Predictors' airs during the 6pm news.



Then wkyc cameramen en masse head out to shoot their games criss crossing Northeast, Northwest, and Southern regions of our viewing area to give the viewers the most comprehensive high school football coverage around!



Back at the ranch, we take down scores....I welcome any of my facebook and twitter contacts to send me their scores from Northeast Ohio every Friday evening.



We have bloggers who constantly update wkyc.com with the latest highlights, scores, and stories on how each game is progressing throughout the evening.




And last, but certainly not least, we must have the traditional Friday night fever feast which consists of Pat Woodside's con queso and home made cookies....more people are getting into the act as producer Amanda says she will be making her homemade meatballs one week, producer Jon's talking up his homemade chili, and skies the limits! We welcome any and all homemade vittles to augment our other snacks and pizza from various restaurants around town.



You won't want to miss this year's coverage of HighSchoolSports.Net Friday Night Fever right here on Channel 3 News every Friday night at 11pm! Tune in!

Contacts, contacts, contacts

I am not referring to those little circular semi-permeable objects many people wear in their eyes.

It sure is amazing how some people just click. And it's interesting how you become close to your work contacts because of the hours you pound the pavement with them. How you develop stories with them. How you trust them to give you correct information, hopefully first, and they trust that you will air (on-line, on air or mobile) the facts just as they were presented.

I had a blast last week being able to meet with some of my contacts due to my manipulated work schedule.

And what's even better, many of the contacts have become dear, dear friends.

Thank you Monina, Susan, and Kathy.

It has been my pleasure knowing all of you wonderful ladies for years and years --some of you over 25 years. And it is STILL my pleasure doing business with you and calling you 'friend.'

Enough already! Plane crash, house explosion, bear attack

The last few weeks have been packed with news.

The irony is the reason I worked different shifts revolved around vacations.

Not only is it the middle of summer, which could be slow by nature, but there have been a whole slew of folks off.

Yet, I think, we've still had two really great weeks of news.

And this day did not disappoint.

Nothing starts off the day like a house that explodes to augment your fresh mango fruit salad.

I'm not making lightly of this event, I am stating the facts.

Before much of the rest of the city even arose, a big house went boom in Ashtabula County.

I/We all pretty much knew what would dictate the rest of our day.

I knew immediately what I wanted to do but I did need to contact my boss to get them in the loop and make sure calling a few guys in early was ok.

And away we went.....I sent Jeff Maynor from home since he lives out that way....sent a few crews to meet him as well as calling in the satellite truck operator early to make the trek towards the Ohio /PA border.

You strive to be first at events but you also aim to get the information as quickly as possible on the website and shoot for live coverage for your next live show.

Check, check, and check again!


If that was not enough, we ended the week on a bear attack in Lorain County.

This story has been bubbling over for years and years. Sam Mazzola has acres of land with lots of wild, 'tame' animals. Animal activist groups have been protesting events he has sponsored and public appearances he's had with his animals through the years.

Not sure how this one will end up but one of his workers was killed by one of his bears. That can't be good.

In the news business, you are only as good as your last show. The last two weeks have been pretty darn good and I am extremely proud of the effort put forth on the news assignment desk.

Interns wrapping up their stints

We had a good group of interns this quarter.

We had Lauren, Courtney, Emily, and Sierra.

I worked the most with and more closely with Sierra.

Interns, when you get to know them, can be just like family --a younger sister or brother, even a child (for those of us who are 'older').

Being an intern myself way back when, I welcomed the help and advice my mentors gave me. Ironically, many of my mentors turned out to be fellow employees at different points during my career.

The first person I met at WEWS as an intern was a producer at the time, Corrie Harding. And low and behold, the first person who greeted me when I began working at WKYC was my pal, Corrie Harding, a Channel 3 producer.

As an intern you are given opportunities you may never get again.

As an intern at WEWS, I worked on their Live on Five show and then in their editing department. One of my most memorable experiences as a Live on Five intern was the day we had Richard Simmons AND Jim J. Bullock in studio as guests. Just picture the energy and craziness bouncing off those walls. It was tremendous! And as an editing intern, just an intern, I was allowed to feed the Live on Five show. If you know what you are doing, they let you do as much as you can/want!

Gradually over the last few weeks, our interns have wrapped up their terms, finished their final projects, gotten their tapes in order, and have said their good byes.

This week, Sierra waves her last hurrah. In a few weeks, young Emily does the same.

We say it all the time, but really mean it. We encourage our interns, our friends, to keep in touch and tell us how and what they are doing. Anyone in this newsroom would be more than willing to offer advice, help, or even give recommendations for those interns who excelled.

I know I've said it before but will continue saying it for as long as I live. One of my all time favorite interns, if not my fave, is Mark Zinni. We've kept in touch over the years and now he has come back home. He's a reporter at Fox 8. What a joy to see him develop over the years and come into his own. I am so proud of how well he has done and blush when he tells me that I played a role in his success.

I wish the best for all of our interns! Congratulations and only good luck my friends!

The news desk rocks

I'm in the midst of vacation relief so my schedule is a bit out of sorts.

Actually, I'm looking at this change up as a breath of fresh air! A different shift, working with some folks I normally don't see all too often and allowing me to do things on my off-time that I NEVER can do.

A mini vacation, yet I am still working!

Let's face it, running the assignment desk is the same every single shift, though no day ever mimics the last or the next.

I still and will always love working on the assignment desk. The most exciting part of the building.

I attack each shift whether it be day, night, overnight or weekend the same way.

Working this shift, I actually am able to attend the editorial meeting which is nice because I can impart my story ideas on the room.....

I don't have as many live shows, but still strive to get updates for the live shows we do have...

For those folks who think the desk is boring, they must not be doing something properly! Never a dull moment. Never a free moment! There are always stories to research, checks to make, updates for the web, stories to send camera men and reporters out to cover, logging, calls galore to make, ringing phones, blaring scanners....

This week I feel I contributed so much to our product around the clock from morning til night and beyond.

I suggested a friend of mine be our Focus guest regarding the flight attendant who went nuts....and how to quit a job the proper way without burning bridges! Katherine Miracle of Miracle Resources is the best at her craft and was perfect for our segment. Katherine and I were interns at WEWS over 25 years ago. Now that is how to keep contacts through time and utilize them when necessary!

I ventured out of the building with videographer Dan Bowman for a meeting at WJW regarding the Sowell Trial. A nice break but also a chance to see old friends/co-workers and meet new contacts who I'd only heard their name from time to time.

I'm called the 'breaking news queen' by many and that did not stop this week. Holy cow! We had the I-90 truck flip which killed a man and blocked traffic for hours...that was just for starters. Every single day it seemed there was a 'breaking news' scenario.


End of the week really revved up. We had a little plane crash at Put-in-Bay which threw the rest of the day in a tizzy!
We were on top of this story. The minute I got the call, I alerted everyone including our news director who actually had ties to the story. She worked her magic, I worked mine, web master Leigh and everyone else did their part...needless to say, this was the focal point for the rest of the night.

In the meantime, I had been in contact with a media guy who was on retreat with his group on the islands. They emailed us pictures of the plane sticking out of the water...they emailed us terrific cell phone video.....Our news director did a phoner with the Ferry Captain shortly after the crash so we had it in house and then we wound up sending Paul Thomas, Chris Kunz, and Dan Medsker out to cover the story as well.

A extensive team effort for a huge breaking news story.

Never a dull moment!


In the meantime, received a tip call that a house had been raided in Solon with tons of dirty animals. When we arrived, nothing. But, I left info on the call I received and passed along a note saying we should probably make follow up checks on this to see what came of it.


Finally, a lighter end to the week.

Dave Summers got the primo assignment Friday night --hitting the Feast of the Assumption. Must be nice! I put him onto a family I've known my entire life! I went to school with Michael, Michelle, and Tina Rapposelli. Their family has had a stand at the feast for at least 50 years!

I told Dave and his cameraman Brian, to search for the fried dough stand run by the Rapposelli's! He found them, put Flo on the air and she is still getting cell phone calls as we speak!

As an assignment editor, every contact, every person you meet can one day assist you on a story. Never take anyone or anything for granted.

This week proof positive, at least for me, that I have a lot of contacts and every single day, they helped us develop and push ahead successfully on stories we pursued.

A win-win week! Very proud of not only my performance but how we all pulled together, even with a bunch of folks on vacation, and kicked a little booty!

STO Roundtable taping

A memorable weekend on many levels.

For me personally, I spent the entire weekend at Progressive Field enjoying the Cleveland Indians' Hall of Fame Induction festivities featuring Kenny Lofton.

For those of you who may not be into baseball as much as me but were on board in the 90's when Jacob's Field was sold out night after night and every game ended with winning drama, an exciting weekend for everyone!

Saturday evening Kenny Lofton and former GM Cy Slapnicka were inducted into the Cleveland Indians' Hall of Fame.

As expected Kenny Lofton received ovation after ovation as he unveiled his plaque, entered the playing field, waved to the crowd, greeted his former fellow teammates, received his HOF jacket, spoke very highly of the Indians and the City of Cleveland, and then took his lap around the field to bond with his fans yet one more time.

Sunday night there was a tremendous reception for Season Ticket holders with at least a dozen, if not two dozen former Indians.

During this event, STO taped a special Cleveland Indians' Alumni Round table with a live audience. I was fortunate to be in the audience and see how it all unfolds.

Working in television, have been privy to thousands of tapings, live shows, and even STO tapings, but it still was quite exciting to be a part of this adventure.

I knew the technical people and loved watching them in action.

If being part of a live audience was not exciting enough, the panelists sealed the deal: Sandy Alomar Jr., Kenny Lofton, Mike Hargrove, and Sudden Sam McDowell along with moderator Bobby DiBiasio.

What is unfortunate is that 1/2 of the juicy banter back and forth between the players and even the players and the audience may never make it to the light of day due to time constraints of airing a show.

But it was so refreshing to see how Kenny and Sandy, 2 best friends, carried on with each other. Mike Hargrove still prides himself as being the 'father figure,' and Sam was Sam --a hoot ever second of the show!

The night was a hit for everyone in attendance....what a great event thrown by the Cleveland Indians as well as the part STO played! Makes me very proud to be associated with such a class act!

A week of 'celebrating'

I guess you could call it celebrating!

There was food, drink, cake, decorations, fun, frivolity, and lots of love being sloshed around.

During the course of this week, Sports Producer 'Yak' celebrated a birthday. News Director Rita Andolsen gathered the newsroom around Yak to commemorate this momentous occasion topping it off with singing and ice cream cake!

Normally Yak's the life of the party. But we've found his achilles heel --being the center of attention by an enormous amount of people. Too bad Yak!

Next, she thought she was going to sneak under the radar but no way jose!

Assignment Editor Lisa Lowry thought she could slink away on her vacation without anyone remembering HER birthday.

Think again! Since Lisa WILL be off during her birthday, Rita and Ann started decorating and I finished up after my shift. We decked out the news assignment desk with some crazy decorations, confetti, balloons, crepe paper, and anything else we could think of...when Lisa arrived at work bright and early, she definitely got the sense that we all love her very much! Whether she wants us to or not! She really has no choice!

Never a dull moment in the news room, on the assignment desk...and usually --fun, amazing times!

Eyes always open looking for 'spot news'

What a weekend!

Working in the news business on an assignment desk trains one to be 'on call' 24/7, always on the lookout for a very good story.

Last night while coming home from a function, I saw numerous screeching Cleveland Police vehicles traveling at a hefty pace south on East 55th passing Woodland Avenue.

Sure enough, called it in to Emily on the desk giving her the pertinent information that hopefully assisted her in getting details from the police. The more YOU supply, the more apt they are to play ball.

Better still though was today as I headed to the Terminal Tower to take a look off of the amazing observation deck. Supposedly today is/was the final day.

I was one of the last ticket-buyers to actually get a ticket. I felt as if I needed to keep my hot little hands on that ticket or someone may snatch it out and push me out of line.

The Terminal Tower must have turned away at least 500 people.

I was shocked, yet after thinking of the amazing view, not so surprised.

As soon as I realized that the event was sold out and that I would more than likely be standing in line for over two hours, I dialed up the news desk and gave them the 4-1-1.

5 minutes after hanging up the phone with Producer Caitlin, I see one of my videographers, Shane Snider, arrive at the Terminal Tower lobby to commemorate the masses waiting to go up, up, and away!

A truly mind blowing afternoon.

Thankfully, I always have something to read with me....but it was tremendous fun 'people watching' and seeing how each little pocket of people had their own special way to pass the time.

A grandmother had her grandchildren and they all took turns standing in line while the others rested their legs or even shopped.

The love birds in front of me could not keep their hands off of each other. Check that. He could not keep his hands off of her while she, more interested in her photography session with history.

While chained in line, hundreds passed by asking 'why are you in line?' And everyone in line seemed to see a few friends passing through Tower City during their wait.

Finally, the countdown.

The end seemed near.

The elevators up to a heavenly view were within reach --the next group!

When we got to the first elevator stop, I was greeted by a former co-worker Jeremy Borger, who was working for the group handling this entire endeavor. Jeremy--perfect person to sell Cleveland and greet each and every person with humor and enthusiasm.

Finally, 2 hours and 15 minutes later--up at the Terminal Tower Observation Deck looking down on one of the most beautiful cities that I have ever seen. You can see for miles and miles.

A small deck, yet so telling about the great history of Cleveland, Ohio.

Besides the beautiful view of the water and the Flats bridges, my favorite site: "Jacob's Field!"