NFL Media Headquarters, Radio Row, Day #2

We arrived in Dallas to get checked into our hotel, get our credentials and get setup at NFL Media Headquarters and Radio Row.

Paul, Zach, Terry and Graham were here in full force. Our promotions director, Casey Hartmann came up from Waco this morning to spend the day.

We're about an hour away from our first show which will include Roger Staubach, Former Baylor All-American OL Randy Grimes who has battled an addiction to pain killers from his days in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Bucs. We'll also have Baylor commit Spencer Drango, ESPN's Trey Wingo (Baylor Alum), Author Jim Dent, who wrote books---Twelve Mighty Orphans, King of the Cowboys, Junction Boys and his newest book, "Super Bowl, Texas Style." And, our regular Monday analyst, Jennifer Floyd-Engel.

Smoaky

Super Bowl XLV

Paul, Zach, and I will leave for our coverage of Super Bowl XLV on Sunday morning. We'll check into our hotel, check in for our credentials and begin setting up our spot inside NFL Media Headquarters and Radio Row.

My first visit to Radio Row came in January, 1993, Cowboys vs. Bills in L.A.. Media Headquarters and Radio Row was inside the Century Plaza Hotel in Beverly Hills. I've been to every Super Bowl but once since that first visit and I have to say, it's been nearly impossible to match that first trip.

Super Bowl, L.A., Century Plaza Hotel, it was like my first trip to The Masters in Augusta, Georgia, "just take me now."

Radio Row is amazing, personalities, celebrities, current, former and future NFL stars, and a hundred plus radio stations broadcasting from Hawaii to Boston, from Seattle to Miami.

And, we'll be there for the entire show...

I'm more excited about watching Paul and Zach's reaction to the week than anything else.

I've pretty much seen it all, I think.

Another exciting part about this year is watching how my son, Craig, and his radio station out of Tyler react to their coverage. Craig's been to a pretty good chunk of Super Bowl's but no one else at his station has been involved, so their reaction will be interesting to watch too.

We'll have video, pictures, interviews, and blogs on 1660espn.com.

David Smoak

What a huge week this could/will be...?

This week is going to fly by and when it does we'll have added new sponsors, created more energy and added more promotions for our station.

We're serious about infiltrating Central Texas to the south, Killeen, Fort Hood, Copperas Cove, Temple and Belton.

Why wouldn't we be serious?

We've added the frequencies to cover that area...and now we're spending more and more time in the southern part of our region.

Paul Catalina and I were live from Automax Hyundai in Temple again on Friday and then stayed around to broadcast the Belton @ Harker Heights boys basketball game. It turned out to be a pretty good one, Harker Heights remained unbeaten in 12-5A with a 71-67 victory.

Paul and I will be right back in Killeen on Tuesday, live at Fuddrucker's in Killeen, and then it's Copperas Cove @ Ellison right afterward.

We'll also broadcast Midway @ Killeen on Friday night.

We have two crucial meetings this week, one with a sponsor, another with an administration that could set us up for some huge revenue increase and exposure.

We're awaiting decisions from two additional administrations on some programming contracts that we've already discussed, either offered or countered and awaiting final counter. It's a fun part of the business as I continue my goal of understanding the administration end of running a radio station.

I received our sales figures for January and we're up 40% from this time a year ago. I'm so proud of our sales staff, Terry, Rich, Becky, Bill, Linda, Andee and Casey. Some of them have been in radio sales quite some time, some are learning the ropes.

We've also all but sold out our Academic All-Stars program honoring the elite student-athletes in Central Texas later this spring.

We'll send out the nomination packets to 65-70 Central Texas high schools this week, give them until March to return the nominations, sift through the nominees throughout April, announce the final team on Monday, May 2nd...which just so happens to be my birthday (50-something)!

We'll host our banquet in late-May, guest speaker, honor the winners and hopefully get some good media coverage as well.

We're working towards what we need with our Super Bowl XLV coverage in Dallas. I've told Paul, Jason, Zach and others who will be involved that I'll be pushing them all week to make sure we're ready, set, locked-and-loaded.

None of them have ever been to a Super Bowl or covered the "Week of Events" so they're in for a tweet, well---it's high-energy, intense and a media meat market.

David Smoak

2010 ESPN Radio-Central Texas "All-Central Texas"

2010 Central Texas All-Smoaky.com Nominations:

(All-Smoaky.com East Texas Polls will be up later this week)

Coach of the Year:

Rusty Nail, Mart (Class 1-A, Division I State Champions)

Offensive Player of the Year:

Jack Rhoades, QB, Cameron Yoe, Sr. (239-357 passing for 3,553-yards. 48-TD, 215-yards rushing, 6-TD)

Defensive Player of the Year:

D'Shun Kinsey, LB, Mart, Sr. (188-Tackles, 24-TFL, 4-Caused Fumbles, 8-QB Pressures, 3-PBU,
1-Interception)

Lineman of the Year:

Beau Blackshear, DT, Midway, Sr. (77-Tackles, 3-Caused Fumbles, 2-Fumble Recoveries, 7-Sacks, 20-TFL, 14-QB Pressures, 6-PBU)

Game of the Year:

Class 2-A, Division I State Championship, Daingerfield 33, Cameron Yoe 27 (Cameron Yoe rallies to tie the game in the final minute, but Daingerfield QB Tyler Boyd hit WR Keyarris Garrett for a 69-yard TD pass with 26-seconds remaining in the game to win it).

1st-Team Offense:

Center: Michael Mooneyham, Sr., Fairfield
Guard: Gabe Waples, Sr., Mart
Guard: Cody Elenz, Sr., Copperas Cove
Tackle: Christian Barry, Sr., Midway
Tackle: Michael Starts, Jr., La Vega
Tight End: Dillon Dumas, Sr., China Spring
Wide Receiver: Heath Harris, Sr., West
Wide Receiver: Stephen Ruen, Sr., Groesbeck
Wide Receiver: Kevin Thomas, Sr., Midway
Quarterback: Jack Rhoades, Sr., Cameron Yoe
Fullback: Michael Martin, Sr., China Spring
Running Back: Damyon Kelley, Sr., Cameron Yoe
Running Back: B.J. Kelly, Soph., Midway
Utility: Devin McGowan, Sr., La Vega

1st-Team Defense:

Defensive Tackle: Beau Blackshear, Sr., Midway
Defensive Tackle: Trevor Valdez, Sr., Copperas Cove
Defensive End: Jairo Campa, Sr., Cameron Yoe
Defensive End: Jordan Taylor, Sr., La Vega
Linebacker: D’Shun Kinsey, Sr., Mart
Linebacker: Trey McGowan, Sr., Kerens
Linebacker: O’Neil Spells, Sr., Cameron Yoe
Linebacker: Lee Bristow, Sr., Midway
Cornerback: Trevion Sims, Sr., Cameron Yoe
Cornerback: Gene Gilbert, Sr., Copperas Cove
Safety: Chandler Snodgrass, Sr., Lorena
Safety: Jake Talbert, Sr., Crawford

1st-Team Special Teams:

XP/FG/Kicker: Collin Cranfill, Jr., China Spring
Punter: David Ash, Sr., Belton
KR/PR: Decrick Westbrook, Jr., Cameron Yoe
KR/PR: T.Q. Echols, Soph., Whitney

2nd-Team Offense:

Center: Justin Ingram, Sr. China Spring,
Guard: Dylan Brown, Soph., McGregor
Guard: Camrhon Hughes, Jr., Harker Heights
Tackle: Devin Threat, Sr., Mexia
Tackle: Sergio Vasquez, Jr., Goldthwaite
Tight End: Nick Renfro, Sr., Dawson
Wide Receiver: Tyree Jackson, Sr., La Vega
Wide Receiver: Adonis Haven, Jr., University
Wide Receiver: Adrian Henderson, Sr., Belton
Quarterback: David Ash, Sr., Belton
Fullback: Aurelio Rodriguez, Sr., Buffalo
Running Back: Brandon Bordovsky, Sr., Axtell
Running Back: Alex Shaw, Sr., Dawson
Utility: Bradly Krall, Jr., Lorena

2nd-Team Defense:

Defensive Tackle: Anthony Martin, Sr., Mart
Defensive Tackle: Dylan Brown, Soph., McGregor
Defensive End: D.J. Woods, Jr., Kerens
Defensive End: Cagan Smith, Sr., Goldthwaite
Linebacker: Colby Gordon, Sr., Lorena
Linebacker: Tristan Eche, Sr., Waco High
Linebacker: Christian Santulan, Sr., Gatesville
Linebacker: Johnathan White, Sr., Bremond
Defensive Back: Daniel Donoho, Jr., Corsicana Mildred
Defensive Back: Daniel Post, Sr., Crawford
Defensive Back: Kieran Wilson, Sr., McGregor
Defensive Back: Shakiel Randolph, Jr., Midway

2nd-Team Special Teams:

XP/FG/Kicker: Kevin Potts, Midway
Punter: Joseph Pickett, Sr., Temple
KR/PR: Will Randolph, Sr., Copperas Cove
KR/PR: Logan Simpson, Sr., Midway

More on the newest Baylor Football Commit, Kyle Boyd

Kyle Boyd #33 LB Mesquite John Horn, TX. H.S. Class of 2011 *Baylor verbal commit HT: 6-2 WT: 225 40: 4.68 20-yd. shuttle: 4.31 B.P. 310 SQ. 445 Clean: 265 VERT. 28" CORE GPA: 4.00 (14 courses) SAT: 1010 (Math & Verbal) Coll.Major: Crim. Justice Hobbies: Hunting, fishing Highlights: 1. District 11-5A Co-Defensive MVP Dec. 2010 (Had 116 tackles, 4 sacks, 4 caused fumbles, 4 fumble recov. (1 for TD) in 2010). 2. THSCA Class 5A Academic All-State Team Dec. 2010. 3. Unanimous 1st Team All-District 11-5A Inside Linebacker Dec. 2009. 4. Had 82 tackles and team-leading 10 TFL in 2009. Added 4 QB hurries and 1 blocked pass. 5. Student Sports Nike camp invitee (Ft. Worth) April, 2010

The first "Phil Bennett" recruiting switch...

There was no doubt Baylor's new defensive coordinator, Phil Bennett, would make a dent or two before national signing day, and chalk one up with Mesquite Horn LB Kyle Boyd, switching from Iowa State to Baylor on Saturday.

Also, word I'm getting is this Herschel Sims (Abilene High RB) visit is more than serious. A pretty good source tells me OSU has contacted the coach of a running back in East Texas who has just committed to a Big East school, and they did it because they're expecting one of their RB recruits to change his mind.

Sims is currently committed to Oklahoma State.

David Smoak

NFL Playoffs, HS Basketball and "Spanning the Globe"

Despite all the wide-open, high-flying offensive teams and styles in all levels of football, I've always remained an old-school guy.

I love a good running game, solid defense, and fundamentally sound special teams.

Who wouldn't, right?

Well, based on the spread offenses, I'm not so sure.

I like a good 20-17 game rather than 50-45. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against a good shootout every once in a while, but not week-in and week-out.

Look the NFL's "Final 4."

Bears, Packers, Steelers and NY Jets have one thing in common, DEFENSE.

Yes, some of them can score more than others, but they win with defense.

Maybe Jerry Jones can learn from this lesson, especially with the Super Bowl in his stadium.

Jerry and Cowboys have committed a lot of their draft picks to defense, but most of their bigger contracts and especially free agent acquisitions are on offense. And, even worse, most of their bad contracts have been spent on offensive players (Barber, UT-Roy), you get the picture.

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We're committed to broadcasting a handful of high school basketball games over the next month or two, starting with Belton @ Harker Heights this Friday. Belton is trying to get into the playoffs, Harker Heights is unbeaten in 12-5A.

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I made it very clear that what "was" 1660ESPN Radio-Waco will become ESPN Radio-Central Texas...and we will realize there's a southern area in our listening area, Temple, Killeen, Fort Hood, Belton, and wherever else.

The added FM frequencies in Temple, Killeen and Waco only enhance our commitment and passion for the entire market, not only Waco.

We've built our foundation in Waco, but our future is Waco, Temple, Killeen and greater-Central Texas.

With that being said, I've reached out to some of the other Central Texas sports editors and asked them to be involved in our show, once or twice a week, short, sweet, energetic, but informative.

We're going to do it, we've started to change the mentality, and we will.

Thank you for listening when and if you do.

David Smoak

Another great week, with the weekend to come...

I'm very excited about what we've accomplished this week.

We've tried to stay ahead of the curve on the various coaching staff changes within the Baylor football program.

We had the nugget during Thursday's show the day before it was announced Phil Bennett would be the defensive coordinator. We had the note on Twitter very early on Friday morning before that release as well.

And, we were able to get a lengthy one-on-one with Phil Bennett on Monday afternoon and the response was nuclear in a good way on the various message boards and on our talk show. Bennett has given Baylor Nation a little "kick in the pants" with his various quotes.

Paul Catalina and I were live from the American Football Coaches Association Convention on Tuesday at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas and grabbed Art Briles to talk about the Bennett hiring and the pending changes on the defensive staff.

And, on Wednesday, we continued to stay ahead of the curve with the nugget about Jim Gush as linebackers coach and Carlton Buckels as cornerbacks coach. Sicemsports.com had a note about Gush on Tuesday evening and I had three sources give me confirmation on his eventual hiring on Tuesday night.

We were able to line-up Coach Buckels on Wednesday's show, and Coach Gush today (Thursday).

We've also had a nice run this week involving segments with former Astros All-Star OF Jimmy Wynn and Cowboys Hall of Fame DB Mel Renfro.

I'm headed to the Killeen/Fort Hood/Copperas Cove market on Friday morning to meet with a school or two about the football season and to dig around on some potential sponsors.

We're hosting You Make The Call at Automax Hyundai in Temple.

It's been another really good week, and our sales for this month have surpassed a number that was once the threshold during a good month. And, for it to come during January, normally a very slow month in radio sales, makes it even more special.

David Smoak

Cotton Bowl, Phil Bennett, NFL playoffs, busy week ahead...

Paul Catalina and I enjoyed our trip to broadcast "You Make The Call" from Cowboys Stadium and the Cotton Bowl.

It is still very strange for me to say we're at the Cotton Bowl, knowing it's at Jerry's World. Like, when I opened one segment with, "We're live from the Cotton Bowl."

Well, were we?

Yes and no. There's still this 75,000+ stadium in south Dallas that calls itself the Cotton Bowl, but it's becoming more and more irrelevant each year.

I wonder how long before the Texas-OU game is moved to Arlington.

I spent a lot of time with family again this weekend, this time a ton of relatives celebrating a "late" Christmas in Plano with Cindy's parents and family. They put on a show, but as we all get older, it's so much fun to watch the grand kids enjoying "Santa Claus."

I've been nursing a little nagging cough and it's made me a little nervous coming off the double-pneumonia from back in early-October. I can't take anything for granted so I might go and get a checkup on Monday or Tuesday.

I'll just suck down a dose of NyQuil tonight to get some decent sleep and avoid the ticklish cough that drove me crazy last night.

I went 3-1 during the opening weekend of the NFL playoffs, missed the 7-9 Seahawks thumping the defending champion Saints. I never felt like the 2010 Saints got their Mojo going and so another year goes by and another defending champion bites the dust without the opportunity to defend their title.

Round 2 is loaded with intriguing games including a GREAT Final Four in the AFC, how can it get much better than NY Jets-Patriots, Ravens-Steelers...NFC not bad, interesting, last time Chicago went to the Super Bowl, they had to beat Seattle on their way---they'll host the Seahawks this weekend. I look forward to the Green Bay @ Atlanta game.

Will be interesting to monitor the positive feedback from the Phil Bennett hiring and his arrival to Waco this week. I'm looking forward to talking with him on our show this week. The response from all angles has been very positive.

And, busy week for us at 1660ESPN Radio, we'll be at the Phil Bennett announcement on campus whenever that happens---although that might happen up in Dallas where we'll be at the American Football Coaches Convention. Tuesday night it's OU vs. Baylor Bears, who opened Big 12 play with a nice win in Lubbock.

I've been invited to speak at the Kiwani's Club meeting on Tuesday, first invite to speak at one of those local groups since my arrival in late-June and I hope there's more to come. I enjoyed my trip to speak to students at University of Mary Hardin-Baylor back during the fall.

We have the Lady Bears at home on Saturday night, and an appearance at Automax Hyundai on Friday, Click's on Thursday and working on launching our Academic All-Stars program.


David Smoak

Luck is when preparation meets opportunity...

I will never forget the words of KLTV-TV sports director in the fall of 1984.

I had just moved to work with KLTV a couple of months earlier from KTRE-TV in Lufkin/Nacogdoches...and here I was a couple of months later breaking a story on a coaching change in the East Texas area.

After the 10pm news one night and after we broke the story, Jerry came up to me and said, "Smoaky, great job---we got them tonight."

Back then, there wasn't much competition in the TV market in Tyler/Longview, there was KLTV and the new CBS affiliate, KLMG in Longview.

Our main competitor was the Tyler Morning Telegraph, they had a great staff of writers...

They beat us a few times and visa-versa.

So, after Jerry's comment, I said, "I got a little lucky."

He immediately responded, "Luck is when preparation meets opportunity."

I've never forgotten that phrase, and today's Tweet on Twitter early this morning, "It's a done deal, he's coming to Baylor," was all about preparation meeting an opportunity.

"It's a done deal, he's coming to Baylor" was about Phil Bennett taking the defensive coordinator position under Art Briles. I've known the Bennett family since the mid-1980's from their connection to Marshall, Texas where they were born and raised and other stops in the high school coaching tree, including Jerry Bennett at Jefferson and now at Linden-Kildare HS in deep northeast Texas.

I called Jerry earlier this week working a completely different story on Baylor recruiting, and before you know it our conversation turned to his brother Phil and one thing led to another, and...."It's a done deal, he's coming to Baylor."

Had I not made the phone call to Jerry Bennett earlier this week, I don't think we have the conversation about his brother Phil. But, we did, and I was able to Tweet this morning and give our radio station a little exposure.

The story isn't over, more changes could be on the way and we hope to be on top of all of them.

David Smoak

1660ESPN continues to grow by the frequency...

When I arrived at 1660ESPN Radio in Waco, we were on AM1660 and that was it.

In November, we started to simulcast our station on 106.9FM in Killeen, Fort Hood, Kempner, and Copperas Cove.

And, tonight, we've added two new FM frequencies to our "ESPN-CENTRAL TEXAS" family.

Welcome to 101.3FM in Waco, and 100.9FM in Temple.

These additions won't change what we do because we've been covering greater-Central Texas for many years.

These new frequencies will just add a little "umph" to what we do with our signal, especially at night but also in some cases during the day.

Of course, along the way, we added "Live Streaming" on 1660espn.com.

Thank you for listening when you do...

David Smoak