Voices & Opinion Archives - News Center /newscenter/category/voices-opinion/ 做厙勛圖 Thu, 05 Mar 2026 17:02:43 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 How AI is transforming business, education, and the future of work /newscenter/how-ai-transforming-business-education-work-653882/ Fri, 16 May 2025 16:03:32 +0000 /newscenter/?p=653882
]]> Bob Uecker, Mr. Baseball: A voice for all seasons /newscenter/bob-uecker-mr-baseball-a-voice-for-all-seasons-636272/ Thu, 16 Jan 2025 21:31:30 +0000 /newscenter/?p=636272 Baseball broadcasting expert Curt Smith on why the self-deprecating broadcaster and TV star was a beloved figure to millions.

The following essay was penned by Curt Smith, a senior lecturer in the at the . His 18 books include Voices of The Game and Pull Up a Chair: The Vin Scully Story. USA Today called him the voice of authority on baseball broadcasting. Smith was also a speech writer for President George H.W. Bush, with whom he worked for 14 years.

The mans bigger than the game, hes bigger than the team, hes bigger than the league, hes bigger than the sport. ABC sports broadcaster Howard Cosell on Bob Uecker

It was 1992, and Major League Baseball needed a new commissioner. If I had my pick, Cosell told Bob Uecker, it would be you. Overbooked, the man known as Uke jested, Howie, I wish I had time.

Instead, he became what Sports Illustrated called the funniest man in broadcastingstand-up comedian, movie/TV icon, an analyst on ABCs Monday Night Baseball for more than a decade, and a Milwaukee Brewers broadcaster for 54 seasons.

Uecker, the man The Tonight Shows Johnny Carson dubbed Mr. Baseball, died on January 16, 2025. He was 100 days shy of his 91st birthday.

His deadpan wit and self-deprecating humor left a listener to wonder what was fiction and what was real. To know him meant grasping the blue-collar culture of his parents: August Gus Uecker, originally from Switzerland, and Mary, from Michigan. Years later ABCs Al Michaels asked Uecker about his dad, a tool and diemaker. He came from the old country and played soccer, Uke replied. Did Gus play goalie? Oh, he didnt play anything. He just blew up the balls. Thats where I get a lot of my talent.

Uecker was 19 when in March 1953 the Braves moved from Boston to his native Milwaukee. The catcher began to dream of joining the team but said his first tryout ended when a scout told him to throw a fastball. Uecker replied, I was.

Ueckers ineptitude as a player formed the basis for his celebrity as an announcera household name even to those couldnt tell a sacrifice bunt from a sacrifice fly.

In 1956, he became Milwaukees first native to be signed by the franchise, saying, I signed in a swanky restaurant, Dad was so excited he rolled down the window and the hamburgers fell off its tray.

The Braves signed Uecker for $3,000. That bothered my dad, he confessed, because he didnt have that kind of dough. But he eventually scraped it up.

He finally made the major leagues in 1962, won a World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1964, was traded twice, and retired in 1967 with a paltry .200 batting average. Thereafter, Ueckers ineptitude as a player formed the basis for his celebrity as an announcera household name even to those couldnt tell a sacrifice bunt from a sacrifice fly.

Uecker was gracious in person, his self-effacement the Real McCoy. Bob stood alone in his impact far beyond baseballs broadcast booth. His many parts swayed many publics, Ukes personae plural, his style unique.

The larger nation knew his humor. Once, Cosell barbed that since Uecker was a mere ex-jock, he couldnt know what truculent meant. Sure, I do, Howie, Uke said. If you had a truck and I borrowed it, that would be a truck you lent.

Ueckers versatility helped him become the TV star of ABCs Mr. Belvedere in the 1980s.He hosted Battle of the Network Stars and played hard-drinking play-by-play man Harry Doyle in the Major League movie series, famously saying of a pitch into the stands, Juuuust a bit outside!

About this time, Miller Beer TV spots began starring Uecker and other former athletes. His caricature of the poor knucklehead who keeps getting locked out of bars and dumped on by fans gave him, wrote Sports Illustrated, a cult following. That image, in turnthe poor soul, the hapless naifmade him perhaps baseballs most well-known announcer.

Enabling his appeal was a deep respect for the viewer or listener, affinity with baseballs middle and working class, and an abiding love of the game. An uncommon man had an uncommon heart. At Brewers games, he read fans letters on the aireven ones that say, You stink. One letter began, Planted a new crop. Another: Son got married. Uecker was proud of being a local boy and was rarely tempted to depart.

In 2003, he received the Baseball Hall of Fame Ford C. Frick Award for broadcast excellence. I am honored, he said, but I still think I should have gone in as a player. As a broadcaster, Uecker never had a Brewers contract, shaking hands with ownership before each season. Nationally, he broadcast three All-Star Games and five World Series.

In a Miller Lite classic commercial, Uecker blustered, One of the best things about being in the big leagues is getting freebies to the game. Call the front officebingo! He heads for a box. Barred, Bob hallucinates, Oh, I must be in the front row! Not exactly. Good seats, eh, buddy? he soon says from the upper deck.

In 2001, the Brewers moved into Miller Park, where more than 100 obstructed upper-grandstand level seats, each sold for $1, were named Uecker Seats. Later a statue of him was unveiled in the last row. Another statue stands outside the park. In a Miller Lite ad, he said, Ah, those fans, I love em. For more than half a century, the feeling was reciprocal, baseball and Uecker each others best friend.

]]> The interpretation of information will determine Ukraine war /newscenter/interpretation-of-information-ukraine-war-russia-569252/ Mon, 02 Oct 2023 19:14:57 +0000 /newscenter/?p=569252 The Economist, political scientist Hein Goemans and his coauthor argue that the war in Ukraine wont end until Russian and Ukrainian expectations intersect.]]> ,a professor ofat theand the director of the, argues in a that the war in Ukraine wont end until Russian and Ukrainian expectations intersect.

The war in Ukraine, like any other, cannot end while the two sides have wildly different expectations about the likely outcome if both stay in the fight, write Goemans, an expert on war termination, and his coauthor, a professor of political science at the

The duo argues that warring is a process of learning and reassessing informationabout both the opponents and ones own military capabilities, organizational strength, political will to fight, and the reliability of ones allies. People pay too much attention to what politicians say and too little to the most important sources of credible new information: observed behaviour and the battlefield itself, they write.

Addressing Western allies directly, they contend that signaling commitment on one hand, while trying to manage expectations on the other, can be difficult. Yet that is what Western leaders should be doing, they write. Instead of fairy tales about Ukraine winning in mere months, they should explain to their people why aid should be sustained, or increased, even though the war will not end soon.

Goemans is the author of (Princeton University Press, 2000) and coauthor of(Cambridge University Press, 2011).

  • Read the full opinion piece in (subscription required).
  • Listen to Goemans on a recent episode of WXXIs Connections with Evan Dawson in which he discusses .
]]> Large language models could be the catalyst for a new era of chemistry /newscenter/large-language-models-gpt-4-chemistry-560262/ Tue, 23 May 2023 18:59:02 +0000 /newscenter/?p=560262 Chemical engineer Andrew D. White explains why large language models like GPT-4 will open new frontiers for researchers.

Large language models like the one behind the popular ChatGPT could transform the future of chemistry, according to a researcher at the 做厙勛圖. , an associate professor of , outlines why he believes large language models (LLMs) represent the future of the field in a by Nature Reviews Chemistry.

Whites research group uses experiments, molecular simulations, and machine-learning to design new materials. He has been using early versions of GPT-4 since September 2022 as a group of researchers hired to help mitigate the risks of artificial intelligence models by testing the platforms capacity for harmful, illegal, or even unintended output. With the right guardrails in place, he expects GPT-4 and similar large language models to change not only how researchers connect their data, computer programs, and scientific literature, but also how they plan experiments.

Like any emerging idea in chemistry, it will take time to see where LLMs will fit, writes White. He adds:

They are already used in most modern reaction synthesis planner tools and have started seeing applications in explaining molecular propertiesbut where might LLMs go next? I believe LLMs are about to be stapled to every tool in chemistry. Akin to the creation of the internet, it is a foundational technology that will accelerate how fast a chemist can learn and use computational tools.

White notes the need to overcome key challenges with LLMs, such as the hallucination problem (i.e., when AI platforms fabricate facts, quotes, citations, or other outputs), in order to realize their potential. But he argues this is an exciting time to reimagine tools and experiments in the field of chemistry, and that harnessing large language models will open new frontiers for researchers.

Clear communication in natural language is about to be the most valuable technical skill as we enter this new phase of chemistry, he writes.

  • Read the .

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Two blue- and yellow-colored robots work at a laptop to illustrate the concept of ai chatbots like chatgpt affecting higher education.How will AI chatbots like ChatGPT affect higher education?

University administrators and faculty weigh in on the pros and cons of the newest online learning tool.

robot hands playing notes on piano keyboard.Play a Bach duet with an AI counterpoint

BachDuet, developed by做厙勛圖 researchers, allows users to improvise duets with an artificial intelligence partner.

 

]]> Why baseball analyst Tim McCarver was the best of the modern era /newscenter/baseball-analyst-tim-mccarver-remembered-551822/ Mon, 27 Feb 2023 16:24:56 +0000 /newscenter/?p=551822 Curt Smith reflects on how the late Hall of Famer brought a cerebral edge to the game he loved.

is a senior lecturer in the Department of English at the 做厙勛圖. His 18 books include Voices of the Game, named one of the 100 best baseball books ever written by Esquire magazine. His latest is an official National Baseball Hall of Fame book, Memories from the Microphone: A Century of Baseball Broadcasting. Smith was also a speechwriter for President George H.W. Bush during and after his presidency.

I think there is a natural bridge from being a catcher to talking about the view of the game, Tim McCarver once said. The former All-Star baseball player and even more celebrated broadcaster died February 16, at 81, having expressed that view better than any sports analyst of his time.

Born 52 days before Pearl Harbor, McCarver was a fine major-league catcher from 1959 to 1980among only seven modern-day four-decade players. He was a broadcaster for even longer, becoming a Hall of Fame television analyst from 1980 to 2013, working for the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets and Yankees, San Francisco Giants, and St. Louis Cardinals, and almost as many networks: ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox.

The Tennessee native aired a record 23 World Series, 20 All-Star Games, 27 American or National League Championship Series (LCS), and four decades of Game of the Week. His vitae lists three Outstanding Sports Personality-Sports Event Analyst Emmies, seven Telly Awards, tenure on each major TV network, and six books on the sport, fusing strategy, comedyand honesty, above all.

McCarvers appeal flowed from knowing that baseball is not an island; rather, it is part of culture as a whole. In one breath, the Broadway junkie could compare the batting stance of Ted Williams and Stan Musialthen reference Stephen Sondheims The Little Things You Do Together, saying, Tonight, it was the little things the Mets did together.

Legendary Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully said, My best friend on a road trip is a book. McCarvers could be, too. In an inning, he might talk of art, note how Harry Truman had thrown pitches left- and right-handed, and add that Yogi Berra would call him amphibious. He was said to talk a lot, which was true. He also had a lot to say. McCarvers mind was restless, his curiosity endless, his exuberance contagious. You almost never left him without learning something new.

McCarver joined the Cardinals in 1959 at 17 out of high school in Memphis, becoming the regular catcher in 1963. By 1980, his playing career had weaved through Montreal, Boston, again St. Louis, and Philadelphia. After retiring, he cohosted HBOs series Race for the Pennant, joined NBCs backup Game of the Week and Phillies radio/TV, and in 1983 left for the Mets WWOR TV. Soon, the New York Posts Phil Mushnick wrote: [He] has rekindled hope that sophisticated baseball has a place in New York.

In 1984, McCarver graced the syndicated Greats of the Game and the All-Star Game and League Championship Series. A year later, ABCs Howard Cosell released a book scalding his own network. McCarver replaced him on the World Series, clicking with play-by-play man Al Michaels. It was like [doing] a jigsaw puzzle, said Michaels, and finding all the pieces.

In 1989, Michaels, McCarver, and Jim Palmer were calling the World Series for ABC when an earthquake rocked the San Francisco area, the trio toppling to the floor. The next year, McCarver began a four-year sentence on CBSs every-other-week Game of the Week, lack of continuity crippling ratings. In 1996, McCarver keyed Foxs first year of coverage, the Yankees taking their first World Series since 1978 on the night after manager Joe Torres brother received a heart transplant. Frank Torre is on the second day of his second heart, McCarver said. Joe Torre is in the fifty-sixth year of his first one. Both are overflowing.

In 2001, the Yankees led the Diamondbacks, 2-1, in the World Series seventh and deciding game. Arizona loaded the bases in the ninth, Yankees closer Mariano Rivera needing two outs for another title. McCarver noted on Fox that Rivera throws inside to left-handers, and left-handers get a lot of broken-bat hits to left, into the shallow parts of the outfield. Pitched inside, Luis Gonzalez swung and hit the ball into short left field: D-backs win, 3-2. To legendary baseball writer Roger Angell, McCarvers became The Call of Calls.

By then, the Mets had axed McCarvers $500,000 salary, with less-pricey Tom Seaver replacing him: a decision so small, wrote the New York Daily News, it could fit inside a batting glove. McCarver joined the 19992001 Yanks, broadcast the 2002 Giants, then left exclusively for Fox. He received the Hall of Fames 2012 Ford C. Frick Award for broadcast excellence, did a nonpareil 14 straight World Series with Joe Buck from 2000 to 2013, and aired the 20142019 Cardinals on Fox Sports Midwest, coming home.

Occasionally, McCarver was asked what baseball meant to him. He said it had hurt him physically and helped cerebrally. Catching pitches behind the plate for two decades left his left thumb twisted and torn. Fastballs and sliders are the jackhammers of the catchers life. Baseball became so much a part of his life that yearly he vacationed at seasons end. Otherwise, he said, I spend too much time thinking about the game.

In 2020, he opted not to work at 78, his doctor citing COVID-19 travel safety. Baseball then bid Tim McCarver an affectionate farewell, never more than in the last few daysall of us having learned from, laughed with, and marveled at a person whose voice was the voice of a friend.

]]> Lasers usher in a new era of astronomy /newscenter/lasers-usher-in-a-new-era-of-astronomy-547032/ Thu, 05 Jan 2023 19:49:46 +0000 /newscenter/?p=547032 Large-scale, laser-based experiments have recently revolutionized astrophysics, allowing scientists to recreate the cosmos in science labs.

In an article published in The Atlantic, , the Helen F. and Fred H. Gowen Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the , discusses what he calls this new era of astronomy. As he explains, a field called High Energy Density Laboratory Astrophysics (HEDLA) has emerged around lasers, which provide scientists an entirely new realm to better understand planetary conditions and other phenomena in the universe.

Large lasers, such as the at Rochesters , have allowed researchers to explode mini supernovas in their labs, reproduce environments around newborn stars, and even probe the hearts of massive and potentially habitable exoplanets, Frank writes.

He attributes the emergence of large-scale, lab-based astrophysics to the decades-long quest for nuclear fusion. Last month, for instance, the Department of Energy announced that scientists had reached a fusion milestone when they achieved ignitionthat is, more energy was released from the fusion reaction than was expended in generating it. To accomplish this feat, researchers used lasers to recreate conditions that exist at the core of the sun, where fusion reactions already occur.

They focused the lasers on tiny pellets of hydrogen, mimicking the suns extraordinarily high temperatures and densities to squeeze the hydrogen nuclei into helium and kick off fusion reactions, Frank writes. The lasers used are factory-sized affairs that require enormous power to do their work. It was in the process of building these multistory light machines that scientists realized they were also incidentally building an unprecedented tool for studying the heavens.

As for the future of HEDLA research, Frank says a sweet spot may be using laser-based experiments to assist in the search for distant worlds that could potentially harbor life.

The universe is more in our hands than ever before, he writes.

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The Very Large Array radio telescope system in New Mexico, against the sky at sunset.NASA brings standards of evidence to the search for UFOs

Americas space agency is convening a commission to investigate unidentified flying objects. In a Newsweek op-ed, Adam Frank explains why NASAs involvement could be a game changer.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm speaks at a podium.Scientists hit key milestone in fusion energy quest

The major breakthrough of achieving ignition is cause for celebration at Rochesters Laboratory for Laser Energetics as well. Now, we can see a future with a laboratory capability to both support the US nuclear deterrent and to start addressing the future for clean energy, says LLE Director Chris Deeney.

Artist illustration of a solar system.Are aliens real? Do aliens exist? Technosignatures may hold new clues

Adam Frank, professor of physics and astronomy, is searching for technosignatures, or the physical and chemical traces of advanced civilizations, among the 4,000 or so exoplanets scientists have found so far.

]]> How parents can be involved in the college admissions processwithout overstepping /newscenter/parents-guardians-influence-college-admissions-process-541502/ Wed, 16 Nov 2022 22:27:16 +0000 /newscenter/?p=541502 GIF of an illustrated checklist of do's and don'ts for parents during the college admissions process being checked off.
(做厙勛圖 illustration / Julia Joshpe)

Parents and guardians of college-bound students are more involved than ever in choosing the right schooland thats what their children want.

By Robert Alexander, the dean of undergraduate admissions, financial aid, and enrollment management for Arts, Sciences & Engineering, 做厙勛圖.

A of 2,300 parents by consulting firm EAB found that three out of four parents want direct communications from colleges. Also, 48 percent of students named parents or guardians among their five most trusted sources of information on choosing a collegeup 11 percent from 2020. These trends have been steadily increasing over the past two decades, so this clearly isnt a fad.

Of course, parents and guardians want to be involved. The college admissions process centers on parents two most important assets: their children and their money.

College admission isnt a prize to be won, but a match to made.

But how can parents engage in a helpful way while still allowing their child to know they control the biggest decision in their young lives?

At the 做厙勛圖, weve recognized this trend of increasing parent engagement and have attempted to communicate directly with the parents and families of prospective students. While the student should take the lead in researching college options, preparing their application materials, and certainly writing their own college application essay, parents can support and encourage their kids throughout the college admissions process.

If you feel like youre constantly bothering your child about college stuff, set a weekly time to talk about college so they wont feel nagged about it during the rest of your time together.

Ask your child about their interestsacademically as well as outside of classesand plan college visits close to home. Even if those schools arent top choices, touring nearby colleges of varying sizes and types will offer a better sense of what questions to ask and what to look for when touring schools at the top of their list. Parents can bring needed perspective by raising issues their kids might not be thinking about, such as:

  • Campus safety. Ask how the college or university keeps the campus safe, both in terms of security and health protocols. Dont just talk to staff, ask students. Every college in the country is required by law to publish .
  • Affording college. Perhaps the most anxiety-inducing and confusing element is determining how much a particular college might cost, since there can be a gap between the sticker price and the net cost after financial aid. Colleges are required to have net price calculators on their websites. The more accurate information you type in (about family income, assets, number of children in college, and your students academic performance), the more accurate estimate youll receive. Once your student is a high school senior, help them file the FAFSA to apply for federal and institutional financial aid, and follow other institution-specific instructions to apply for all possible aid. FAFSA forms should be submitted by the time students submit their college application.
  • Outcomes. Beyond a world-class faculty, an array of academic programs, and modern facilities, ask how a college hones its students skills to prepare them for lives and careers after graduation. Inquire about career center resources. You can even request data on outcomes like graduate and professional school admission rates and income ten years post-graduation. Find social networks of alumni and parents of current students online, such as Rochesters Meliora Collective, which can be a great resource for questions and answers.

When its time to start filling out applications as part of the college admissions process, ask your child to consider what makes them an interesting person. Remember, colleges arent looking for a single perfect archetype student, but rather a diverse array of students who are interesting in different ways. Helping your student see themselves from your perspective might provide a clearer sense of the story they want to tell in their essay or short answer responses, in how they determine which teachers they ask to write recommendation letters, and in topics they raise during an admissions interview.

Its also important to keep how you communicate in perspective. What might feel like a reasonable suggestion from you could be interpreted as an attempt to take over the process. Here are a few dos and donts to keep in mind.

  • Do keep an open mind and collect solid information from credible sources. Trusted sources will never charge you for advice. They typically include websites that end in .edu or .gov, high school counselors, and nonprofit entities with websites ending in .org such as the College Board and the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC).
  • Do focus on your students growth and development, not on opportunities to fill up pages on a resume with activities you think colleges want to see.
  • Dont worry about a magic number of schools to look at or apply to. Everyones different.
  • Dont add pressure or anxiety about getting in to the right schools. This is an exciting time for discovery and self-actualization in your childs life.
  • Do remember that the best fit school for any particular student will offer the right combination of academic programs, student life, and experiential opportunities, such as community engagement, research, and studying abroad.

The 做厙勛圖s created an online guide for parents and students called , designed to be a roadmap to success. It provides a clear guide for pursuing an education at a selective college or university.

Remember, college admission isnt a prize to be won, but a match to made. Ultimately, where students go will be less important than what they do to get the most out of their college experience.

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get into your dream college two hands pulling pennant out of an envelope. The pennant reads YES!Your dream college: 20 insider tips for getting in

Weve culled the advice of seasoned admissions professionals from the University of Rochester for a roadmap of what to doand what to avoid.

Graduation cap and crumpled paper to illustrate college application essay writing.How to write your best college application essay

Rochesters dean of undergraduate admissions Robert Alexander offers college applicants some dos and donts when writing the application essay.

Illustration of a college student looking at an open door of possibilities, depicted by icons representing music, medicine, education, and more, as a result of internships.Funded internships open doors to graduate schools, career paths, and personal growth

With University and donor funding providing a financial bridge, equitable access to internships helps Rochester students preview their futures.

 

]]> Brains cognitive bias dominates in fantasy sports /newscenter/cognitive-bias-definition-examples-fantasy-sports-532612/ Tue, 13 Sep 2022 19:25:04 +0000 /newscenter/?p=532612 What is cognitive bias?

A cognitive bias is a mental process that can lead to illogical and irrational decisions. Biased thinking occurs not only in life, but also in fantasy sports, explains professor .

Although she has participated in fantasy football since 2006, Miller realized in fall 2012 that she could combine her expertise in neuroscience with her love of fantasy sports.

Since then, she has published a short eBook called and written numerous articles on the topic. As the NFL gears up for another season, Miller recently contributed the first in a weekly series she is writing for Yahoo Sports on the ways cognitive bias affects a persons weekly fantasy football matchups. In the piece, she discusses how cognitive biases are prominently at play during week one of the fantasy season.

Examples of cognitive biases in fantasy football

In fantasy sports, Miller writes, your brain can twist and interpret fantasy results in ways that are suboptimal, lazy, and illogical. This biased mental processing can take many forms, she explains. In fantasy sports and beyond, common cognitive bias examples include the following:

  • Endowment effect: overvaluing things we have invested in
  • Primacy effect: more readily remembering the first event or item in a series versus subsequent events or items
  • Recency bias: overvaluing things that have happened most recently
  • Confirmation bias: believing information that confirms previously held beliefs while ignoring conflicting data

In week one of the fantasy season, especially, overreactions from fantasy sports participants tend to dominate, particularly on social media. The primacy effect means the results of this first week might carry more weight in a persons memory than results in subsequent weeks.

There are certain players we expect to be very involved and score tons of fantasy points, and if they dont do that in week one, it can really skew our opinion of them going forward, Miller says. On the other hand, some players that no one expected to be great will score multiple touchdowns, and fantasy players can end up (unrealistically) expecting or hoping for similar performances in weeks two, three, and beyond.

But, according to Miller, there are ways to defend against cognitive bias. For example, anticipating you are going to be wrong some of the time, being open to learning, thinking more logically, and remaining aware that biases can twist results in ways that affect decision-making

Heading into the season with a skeptical brow raised at your brains initial emotional reactions should give you a leg up on perfecting a logical process as the season goes on, she writes.

  • Read the full Yahoo Sports .
]]> A baseball call for the ages: Hank Aarons record-breaking home run /newscenter/milo-hamilton-hank-aaron-call-715th-home-run-531722/ Mon, 29 Aug 2022 15:01:42 +0000 /newscenter/?p=531722 Baseball broadcasters have endeared themselves to fans with some memorable home run calls on radio and television. From Russ Hodges The Giants win the pennant! in 1951 to Vin Scullys The impossible has happened! during the 1988 World Series, those legendary calls have stood the test of time.

Now, Curt Smitha senior lecturer in the at the 做厙勛圖 and an authority on baseball broadcastinghas written an essay about another notable call for the .

On April 8, 1974, Atlanta Braves star Hank Aaron hit his 715th career home run off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Al Downing to break the revered record held by Babe Ruth. The game was shown nationally on NBC, but Braves broadcaster Milo Hamilton had a :

Heres the pitch by Downing swinging theres a drive into left-center field! That ball is gonna be outta here! Its gone! Its 715! Theres a new home run champion of all time, and its Henry Aaron!

The annuallynames 25 recordings deemed so vital to the history of Americaaesthetically, culturally or historicallythat they demand permanent archiving in the nations library. Each includes an in-depth essay by an expert on the subject. Hamiltons call was among this year, and Smith was asked to pen an essay.

Other broadcasters, including Scully and Curt Gowdy, also called Aarons record-breaking home run that day. Yet to many the most contemporary call was made by the voice identified with Aaron, writes Smith. He adds, On April 8, Milo, like Curt and Vin, showed how baseball didnt need the censor of the brain to reach the heart.

  • Read the in the registry.
]]> Rochesters Curt Smith remembers Vin Scully /newscenter/rochesters-curt-smith-remembers-vin-scully-530862/ Fri, 19 Aug 2022 17:31:43 +0000 /newscenter/?p=530862 The author of multiple books on baseball, its storied stadiums and legendary broadcasters,recalls a baseball broadcasting legend.

Curt Smith is a senior lecturer in the at the . His 18 books include Voices of The Game and Pull Up a Chair: The Vin Scully Story. USA Today called him the voice of authority on baseball broadcasting. Smith was also a speech writer for President George H.W. Bush, with whom he worked for 14 years.

In 1945, journalist Edward R. Murrow said of World War II that Winston Churchill had mobilized the English language and sent it into battle. From 1950 to 2016, Vin Scully mobilized that language to reach a new peak of radio and television brilliance, daily asking us to Pull up a chair.

Vin died on August 2 at 94, having announced the Brooklyn, then Los Angeles, Dodgers for 67 yearsthe longest such broadcasting streak. For a time, fans knew Vin from a network World Series here, an All-Star Game there. Later, we listened to Scully on 1970s CBS Radio, the 198389 NBC TV Game of the Week, then XM satellite radio. To paraphrase films The Natural, Scully was the best there ever was.

Born in 1927 in Manhattan, Vin at age eight discovered a magic place beneath an Emerson radio that sat so high off the ground that I was able to crawl under it, he told me in a 1986 conversation. Each Saturday, Vin put a pillow on its crosspiece and listened to college football broadcasts. “I shouldn’t have cared about a game like Florida-Tennessee, said Scully, but I did, getting goose bumps from the roar of the crowd. He was hooked.

After high school, Scully joined the Navy, then entered Fordham University, where a classmate recalled him as everywhere, recording himself. At 21, he met famed Brooklyn baseball and CBS radio voice Red Barber, who hired him to call football and soon the Dodgers. In 1953, Barber left the team, and Scully replaced himat age 23!on World Series TV. Trying to play it cool, Scully ate breakfast with his parents the day of the Series opener. Then I went upstairs and threw up.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Brooklyn Dodgers are the champions of the world.

In 1955, Scully called Brooklyns first World Series title after the team had lost six times to the Yankees: Ladies and gentlemen, the Brooklyn Dodgers are the champions of the world. All winter, people asked how he stayed so calm. If I had to say another word, I think I would have cried, Scully said.

In Brooklyn, the Dodgers televised each game. In late 1957, moving them to Los Angeles, owner Walter OMalley banned TV broadcasts. Interest turned to radio, of which Scully was a wiz, the Fordham English major routinely coining phrases like it was so hot today the moon got sunburned and he catches the ball gingerly, like a baby chick falling from the tree.

With radio, you come into the booth, bring your brushes and pallets, and you mix the paint and put things together.
Vin Scully

While Dodger Stadium was being built, the club occupied huge Memorial Coliseum, with a capacity of more than 90,000. Thousands brought radios to a game, hearing Scully report what they couldnt see. One day in 1960, Scully noted that it was umpire Frank Secorys birthday. Ill count to three, and everybody yell Happy birthday, Frank! Scully told his listeners. He counted, and the crowd yelled, Happy birthday, Frank! Secory almost fainted.

In the 1959 World Series, Scully and NBC reached a composite record 120 million of Americas then-150 million people. In 1965, Vin described Sandy Koufaxs perfect gameall 27 batters retired without reaching baseso flawlessly that a writer wrote, It read like a short story composed not with a pen but on the air.

Scully often likened play-by-play to starting each game with an empty canvas. With radio, you come into the booth, bring your brushes and pallets, and you mix the paint and put things together, he said. And at the end of three hours, you say, Well, thats the best I can do today. On TV, the pictures already there. So, what youre doing is shading.

In the 70s Vin broadcast tennis, golf, and pro football for CBS. Increasingly, he also used silence as a dramatic tool. In 1974, calling Henry Aarons record-breaking 715th home run in Atlanta, Scully hushed for nearly half-a-minute, then said, A black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idolmajesty to match the moment. It became a trademark of his, especially in his time at NBC.

Scully broadcast a nonpareil 25 Series; made every major radio/TV Hall of Fame; received an Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award, Commissioners Achievement Award, and Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; and was named most memorable [Los Angeles Dodgers] franchise personality and in 2000, Sportscaster of the Century by the American Sportscasters Association, which voted him Top Sportscaster of All Time in 2009.

Scully brought eloquence, modesty, and literacy to each broadcast

Scully eventually cut his Dodgers slate, still daily saying, Hi, again, everyone, and a very pleasant good afternoon to you wherever you may be. Its time for Dodger baseball! In 2016, he ended his last game by telling the audience, Ill miss our time together more than I can say, the public feeling the same. Scullys death a year after his wife Sandras in 2021 left 32 children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildrenmore than the combined starting lineup of three big-league clubs.

In the end, what made Scully, Scully? Other sports carry the announcer. The announcer carries baseball. A three-hour game may see the ball in play 10 minutes. The Voice must navigate a sea of dead air, persona his paddle. Scully tied eloquence, modesty, literacy, a voice less rock n roll than easy listening, and extempore ability to haul a story from the shelf, likening statistics to a drunk using a lamppost for support, not illumination. Hearing Vin was even better than being at the game.

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