duncan228
03-26-2011, 09:56 PM
Spurs announcer paid his dues covering West Texas sports (http://www.reporternews.com/news/2011/mar/26/spurs-announcer-paid-his-dues-covering-west/)
Imagine sitting in a restaurant — say, an Applebee's — and in walks someone you hadn't seen in 30 or so years.
It could happen, though it wouldn't happen in Abilene — because although there are more than 2,000 Applebee's restaurants in 49 states, we don't have one. San Angelo does, but not Abilene.
I was lamenting that sad fact at an Applebee's in northeast San Antonio a week ago when in walked Bill Schoening. It wasn't a surprise, though. It was Bill who had suggested meeting there, and not because they have a Philly sandwich on the menu.
Wow. Had it been close to 30 years since Bill loaded up the truck — or whatever he was driving in the early 1980s — and moved downstate from Lamesa to Huntsville? And yet, in four words, the years melted away.
Gilbert Arredondo, he said.
Moe Rubio, I answered.
Makes no sense at all, unless you were following West Texas high school baseball back then. Arredondo was the star for Lamesa, while Rubio was the ace pitcher for Big Spring's district championship team.
Bill was doing sports for the radio station in Lamesa, his second job, far removed from where he grew up in Philadelphia. I was the sports editor at the Big Spring Herald.
In a twist of irony, another good friend of mine back then was Chris Showalter, who hailed from Taylorville, Ill. Taylorville is 15 miles from Pana, Ill., where Philly Bill got his first job. I'm from Oakland, Calif., so among us, there was not a Texas twang to be heard.
Yet there we were, three young men just starting our media careers. Chris today lives in Wichita Falls, which also has an Applebee's.
A few years ago, Bill sent me an email after coming across a story I'd written about him when he was leaving Lamesa. He wanted to thank me for believing in him, that he would go on to great success.
Today, Bill is in his 10th season as the play-by-play guy for the San Antonio Spurs. I'd say he has made good on his talent.
Keep reading... (http://www.reporternews.com/news/2011/mar/26/spurs-announcer-paid-his-dues-covering-west/)
http://www.reporternews.com/news/2011/mar/26/spurs-announcer-paid-his-dues-covering-west/
Imagine sitting in a restaurant — say, an Applebee's — and in walks someone you hadn't seen in 30 or so years.
It could happen, though it wouldn't happen in Abilene — because although there are more than 2,000 Applebee's restaurants in 49 states, we don't have one. San Angelo does, but not Abilene.
I was lamenting that sad fact at an Applebee's in northeast San Antonio a week ago when in walked Bill Schoening. It wasn't a surprise, though. It was Bill who had suggested meeting there, and not because they have a Philly sandwich on the menu.
Wow. Had it been close to 30 years since Bill loaded up the truck — or whatever he was driving in the early 1980s — and moved downstate from Lamesa to Huntsville? And yet, in four words, the years melted away.
Gilbert Arredondo, he said.
Moe Rubio, I answered.
Makes no sense at all, unless you were following West Texas high school baseball back then. Arredondo was the star for Lamesa, while Rubio was the ace pitcher for Big Spring's district championship team.
Bill was doing sports for the radio station in Lamesa, his second job, far removed from where he grew up in Philadelphia. I was the sports editor at the Big Spring Herald.
In a twist of irony, another good friend of mine back then was Chris Showalter, who hailed from Taylorville, Ill. Taylorville is 15 miles from Pana, Ill., where Philly Bill got his first job. I'm from Oakland, Calif., so among us, there was not a Texas twang to be heard.
Yet there we were, three young men just starting our media careers. Chris today lives in Wichita Falls, which also has an Applebee's.
A few years ago, Bill sent me an email after coming across a story I'd written about him when he was leaving Lamesa. He wanted to thank me for believing in him, that he would go on to great success.
Today, Bill is in his 10th season as the play-by-play guy for the San Antonio Spurs. I'd say he has made good on his talent.
Keep reading... (http://www.reporternews.com/news/2011/mar/26/spurs-announcer-paid-his-dues-covering-west/)
http://www.reporternews.com/news/2011/mar/26/spurs-announcer-paid-his-dues-covering-west/