Another interesting day hosting the KEX Early Morning Update.  Guests today included both candidates for the Oregon District 1 Congressional seat vacated by David Wu, Rob Cornilles and Suzanne Bonamici.  Also, I talked with OSU men's basketball coach Craig Robinson about the Civil War win over the Ducks, the Beavers' 14-7 record, and about the singing ability of his brother-in-law (Barack Obama).  Listen to the Robinson interview on my sports podcast page! 

Heading home now for a quick nap. I'm down a few hours this week.

I've been fortunate to be in the business for more than 35 years.  After graduating from Southern Illinois University in 1976, I started my broadcasting career in TV in Decatur, Illinois.  I moved to Florida in 1978 to work in Tampa-St. Petersburg, then headed to Portland in 1980.  After spending more than 13 years exclusively in television (9 years at KGW-TV in Portland), I switched to radio and joined 1190 KEX in May of 1989.  I hosted KEX SportsLine (a 2-hour nightly sports talk program) and the 5th Quarter with Scott Lynn after every Trail Blazers' game from 1989 to 1995.  In September of 1995, I switched duties to anchor the morning, noon, and afternoon sports reports, and I did that for more than 14 years!  I now anchor the morning sports reports and cover sports news in the local area throughout the day and evening.

I hope you'll listen to 1190 KEX Monday through Friday mornings and hear my sports reports at approximately 5, 20, 35, and 50 minutes past the hour between 5-9 a.m.  Also, I now assist Paul Linnman on the Early Morning Update and serve as the sole host of the program when Paul is on vacation or enjoying the holidays. 

During my time at KEX Radio I have also free-lanced as a TV play-by-play man for Fox Sports Northwest, Comcast SportsNet Northwest, the Oregon State Television Network and have also worked games on local channels 32 and 49 as well as some national games on Versus.  I have called the action in a wide variety of sports including football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, soccer, beach volleyball, and professional indoor lacrosse (including the 2007 NLL All-Star game on Versus at the Rose Garden).  Through the years I've called games for Oregon State, Oregon, Gonzaga, Washington, Portland, and Portland State as well as the OSAA state championship games in football and boy's and girl's basketball. 

I also have become an author.  My first book, Thornridge: The Perfect Season in Black and White received national attention as did the fact that I wrote it while battling colon cancer in 2009.  If you are a basketball fan, or if you lived in the '60s and '70s, I think you'll enjoy it!  To learn more, go to www.thornridgebook.com.

While serving as the Sports Director of KEX Radio over the last 21 years, I'm proud to say KEX has won the Oregon Associated Press award for "Best Sports Coverage" 16 times!  I've been fortunate to have been honored as Oregon Sportscaster of the Year seven times by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.  I'm quite proud to have also won three Edward R. Murrow regional awards and several Oregon AP awards for "Best Use of Audio" for stories I produced for 1190 KEX.   You can listen to The Shot Click Here ...  A Day at the Park Click Here ... Win at State
Click Here ... and my personal favorite, Opening Day Click Here

Another story I produced that has special meaning for me is one I put together a few years ago about good friend and long-time Trail Blazers official scorer John Simmons. Click Here

I have often talked about my daughter Kelsey who is studying to become an opera singer.  I included video/audio of a song from her 2009 recital at Northwestern University in one of my blogs.  You can watch the video and hear her sing by clicking "Previous 3 entries" until you get back to my June 1, 2009 entry.  You can also watch a video here Click Here of her singing the national anthem at a Portland Beavers game in 2007.   (She'll kill me for showing you this video from four years ago!  Her voice has matured so much, she'd be embarassed to know you saw this old video!)

Kelsey also had the privilege of singing the national anthem in front of 50,000 people just moments before Portland's Champ Car race in 2006.   

Be sure to click on my Sports Podcasts page to listen to (or download) interviews we've conducted with some of the biggest names in sports.  Read my daily blog and check out my Sports Book Reviews to learn about selected titles.  I'm sure you'll find something of interest regardless of which sport is your favorite! 

The next week is sure going to be a lot of fun!

Tonight, the Blazers host the Suns and here's hoping the home team can bounce back after another road loss.  Portland is 8-1 at home this season -- 2nd best in the West behind San Antonio (9-1).

Sunday afternoon (3:30 p.m.), the Beavers travel to Eugene to play the Ducks in a Civil War men's basketball game.  Oregon is tied with Cal for the Pac-12 lead, but the Beavers have won their last two and I think they have a chance to knock the Ducks from their high perch.  The game will be televised on FSN. (Listen for OSU coach Craig Robinson at 8:39 a.m. Tuesday for our weekly live visit on KEX!)

College basketball fans, I'm sure you'll enjoy hearing an interview I conducted with veteran sportswriter and ESPN.com Senior Columnist Gene Wojciechowski, author of THE LAST GREAT GAME -- DUKE vs. KENTUCKY AND THE 2.1 SECONDS THAT CHANGED COLLEGE BASKETBALL.  The book is a wonderful look back at the Duke-Kentucky NCAA regional final that featured Christian Laettner's game-winning jumper at the buzzer following a length-of-court pass from Grant Hill (who'll be playing for the Suns tonight against the Blazers!). Check out the interview on my sports podcast page here at 1190kex.com.

Finally, Paul Linnman is going to be taking some time off, so I'll be hosting the Early Morning Update on 1190 KEX all next week.  I hope you'll join me each day (5-9 a.m.) as I talk sports, politics, and the news of the day!  (And spread the word to your friends on Twitter and Facebook! -- I can use all the support I can get!)   :-)

Have a great weekend!