High School Sports Teams Get Radio Play On ESPN 1500
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usIn his nearly 20 years of providing play-by-play for prep sporting events in Hawaii, Lad Panis’s enthusiasm for calling a game has never wavered. He partly attributes that to the allure of the prep scene itself.
“There’s a lot of interest in high school sports - a lot of pride,” said Panis, owner and executive producer of Starcomm Sports Radio. “High school sports have really grown on us over the years.”
Even for Panis, who is accustomed to long days, October has become a busy month. When ESPN 1500 launched in Honolulu on the first of this month, it was with the agreement that Starcomm Sports Radio would provide extensive prep programming. Indeed, Starcomm will broadcast no less than 150 games annually from football season through the spring sports season.
“They wanted to have some local programming, and putting on high school sports was an option. We were happy to come to an agreement (to put the games on).”
While higher profile programs such as Saint Louis, Punahou and Kamehameha have appeared on the radio in past years in football, the new arrangement between ESPN 1500 and Starcomm Sports Radio will be a huge boost to all programs on the Island.
A classic example came last Wednesday when Starcomm Sports Radio broadcast a pair of Oahu Interscholastic Association volleyball playoff matches between Pearl City-Kahuku and Moanalua-Kaiser. Those are games that plainly would not have been accessible to followers of those teams in the past if not for the new arrangement.
“We want to cover games that normally wouldn’t be covered,” said Panis, who also is the play-by-play announcer for Brigham Young University-Hawaii men’s basketball. “Only one game can be on TV. This gives a lot of families a chance to listen (to high school games).”
Football and volleyball broadcasts are the focus right now for Starcomm Sports because the post-season has begun in most leagues, but sports such as soccer, softball and boys’ and girls’ basketball, among others, also will see a huge number of their games broadcast live when their respective seasons begin. (Panis and Starcomm own the rights to broadcast all state tournaments.)
While OC-16 will provide tape-delayed coverage of the upcoming Division I and DII First Hawaiian Bank State Football Championships, ESPN 1500 and Starcomm Sports Radio will team up to bring the games live to its listeners. Games from the Neighbor Islands also may be broadcast, depending on how the schedule plays out, but prep football fans can expect every OIA and state football playoff game played on Oahu to be broadcast live.
Panis is joined on his football broadcasts by lead color analyst David Hallums, a former Pearl City/BYUH and University of Hawaii basketball player.
The two share the same zest for the local prep sports scene.
“It’s about the kids - they’re the future,” Panis said. “That’s why we’re excited.”
Starcomm Sports Radio also produces a weekly show called the Starcomm Prep Beat from 9-10 Thursday morning. Aiea football coach Wendell Say and Kapolei head coach Darren Hernandez were among the guests on last week’s show.
On Thursday, Starcomm Sports Radio will air the OIA DI volleyball championships game at 6:30 p.m. On Friday, Starcomm Sports will broadcast a pair of Interscholastic League of Honolulu games from Aloha Stadium - Pac-5 vs. Damien (5 p.m.) and Kamehameha vs. Punahou.
Contact Jack Danilewicz at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
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