Editor trades pen for microphone

Thanks to the crumbling economy, I didn't have enough space in this week's paper to run a column by Bob Liepa describing North Shore Sun editor Grant Parpan's experience as a Riverhead radio play-by-play man. So it finds its home here:


By Bob Liepa
When Grant Parpan was a kid, he, like many boys, sometimes pretended he was a sportscaster. He would spend all day playing one-on-one baseball with a friend on a makeshift field in his backyard, calling the action at the same time.

Parpan’s love of sports is what got him involved in journalism, and his fascination with sports broadcasting is what landed him behind a radio microphone last week, calling play-by-play for a couple of Riverhead High School boys’ basketball games.

Parpan unhesitatingly accepted the opportunity to live out a childhood dream that arose when Riverhead radio station WRIV (1390 AM) needed someone to temporarily fill in for Pat Kelly, its longtime play-by-play announcer for Riverhead football and boys’ basketball games. Kelly estimates that he has covered 188 football games and 281 boys’ basketball games for WRIV over the course of 21 years. During that time, Kelly has missed only one football game and six basketball games. That includes the two basketball games he missed last week while he was in Pennsylvania, going over business as a member of the property owners board of directors for a time-share resort.

Acting in Kelly’s stead was Parpan, 29, editor of The North Shore Sun, a publication of Times/Review Newspapers.

“It was always something that I kind of wanted to do,” said Parpan.

Parpan was originally supposed to cover one game, but when snow caused Riverhead’s game at Half Hollow Hills West High School to be postponed a day to Friday, he was asked to pick up that one as well. So, with no prior play-by-play experience, Parpan made his announcing debut on Friday. The Blue Waves beat the Colts, 68-54, and Parpan felt as if he’d done worse than the Colts.

“Horrible” was the word he used to assess his performance. “I couldn’t compare that to anything I’ve done in journalism because I’ve never been that bad as a reporter,” he said.

A combination of nerves, combined with a quiet gym and a small crowd of no more than 50 people didn’t help matters. Parpan said his confidence was shot, and he dreaded the thought of then having to do Saturday’s game between the Deer Park Falcons and Blue Waves in Riverhead. “I thought, what short of me dying could prevent me from doing this on Saturday?” he said.

In retrospect, Parpan could be glad he got a second chance. He said he did much better working Riverhead’s 71-58 victory over Deer Park, and found it so enjoyable that he didn’t want the game to end.

“I was really getting into it, and the crowd was really getting into it,” said Parpan, who gave a thumbs-up sign during the game. “There was so much energy in the second game. I think as an announcer, I know it’s kind of weird, but I think you feed off the crowd.”

Over the course of two days, Parpan had two considerably different experiences. He said Saturday’s game was a more competent broadcast than “amateur hour” the day before, although there was one technical glitch during which he was off the air for about a minute during the first quarter of Saturday’s contest.

Like Kelly, Parpan worked without the benefit of a color analyst to shoulder some of the burden, although Parpan did have North Shore Sun sports editor Joe Werkmeister feeding him statistics on Post-it notes during Saturday’s game.

Parpan said he doesn’t have a signature call like Marv Albert’s “Yes!” Not that he didn’t receive suggestions beforehand. His brother, Peter, recommended he say “negative” whenever a shot missed its mark. Parpan said he felt confident enough on Saturday to say, “Oh baby!” a couple of times. Then, with Riverhead’s win all but assured in the dying moments, Parpan paid homage to Chick Hearn, the late play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers, by saying, “This one’s in the refrigerator.”

Compared to the first game, for which he graded himself an “F”, Parpan said he’d give himself a “B” for the second game.

John Mackey, the WRIV afternoon host who worked the control board during both games, said Parpan “did well. I would welcome him back at the microphone at any time that Pat is absent.”
Like any good reporter, Parpan knows preparation is important. He took his assignment seriously and did his homework. Parpan stood next to Kelly for two games while Kelly showed him the game sheets and equipment he uses, and explained how to work commercials into the broadcast.

Before leaving for Pennsylvania, Kelly gave Parpan advice. “Have fun, enjoy it,” he said. “But I also gave him one warning. That warning is regardless of what happens, there are going to be two words that don’t apply to me: Wally Pipp.”

Kelly’s joking reference was to the former New York Yankees first baseman who is best remembered for losing his starting role to Lou Gehrig at the beginning of Gehrig’s streak of 2,130 consecutive games.

On Monday, Parpan said he has no designs on being Lou Gehrig, and Kelly can have his job back. Parpan said he has a newfound respect for the work done by play-by-play announcers.
“It was really hard,” Parpan said. “To keep up with the action is almost impossible.”

Prior to taking on these assignments, Parpan figured: “If nothing else, I’ll be getting it out of my system. Now it’s something else. Now I feel like it’s something I’d like to do again.”