FalconVoice

Unfortunately Abingdon's broadcast on WABN is no more.

Hello all. It's been awhile since I've been on here and active, but after the radio station I was hoping to work for this fall decided that they would not be covering football, I thought I would offer my services to any school, radio or TV station for this fall's football season, at a minimum, if they were looking for a broadcaster. Distance is not really an issue, as I'm willing and able to relocate and travel within the Commonwealth. Please feel free to share this with anyone you know that is looking for broadcasting help, as well as the link to my website/audio samples. Best of luck to all SWVA teams this fall.

If true, will be the third-straight season of an Abingdon/Northside matchup in the playoffs. Abingdon won the 2015 tilt at Northside, Northside surprised with an upset at Abingdon a year ago.

Thanks man. I appreciate it. Trying to make the best of the situation. Don't want to give up on it, but for now at least, this is a chance for a new start.

I'm not posting this here for any kind of emotional goodbye or anything-- I can honestly say I discovered this site far too late in my time as the PBP voice of Falcons sports (unfortunately) to get to know many of you very well. I appreciated the discussion and the camaraderie (and even the disagreement) on here. As for my time broadcasting on WABN, I want to thank all of you who may have tuned in, even for just a moment. As Vin Scully recently said in his retiring remarks, I always felt like I needed you more than you needed me, and I think that was certainly the way it was in my case. I still plan on being a member on the site and checking in from time-to-time, but at least part of the reason that I decided to step down was because I have taken a new job that will force me to relocate elsewhere in The Commonwealth. That in addition to going through a grueling breakup with the woman that I intend(ed) to marry has sapped me of most of my energy and enthusiasm for broadcasting at the moment, and I don't want to cheat the listeners by not being 100% on air, because it's not fair to them. Also, thank you to WABN, Rusty Cury, Cody Jennings, Pam Holmes, Mike Cox and to my broadcasting partner and color commentator in Ginger Largen. Without her expertise and familiarity with this current generation of Falcons sports, I would have been totally lost (as an Abingdon-to-Norfolk-to-Alexandria-back-to-Abingdon-to-Blacksburg-back-to-Abingdon again transplant after college and during graduate school). Also thank you to all of our sponsors, because without you, we wouldn't have been on the air. For myself, I have to say that being able to return to the high school where I graduated to become the voice for the teams I once played on, on a very personal level, was special for me. And I certainly hope that sentiment came across on our broadcasts. And of course, with the recent successes of Falcon sports coinciding with my time in the booth, I have to say I enjoyed this stop in my broadcasting career (if you could call it that) more than any other. It was an exciting adventure and I will cherish it always. But now I have to embark on a new adventure, and I don't know if broadcasting will be part of that adventure, at least initially. But I encourage anyone who wants to keep in touch (through Twitter or other social media, or if you would like my number or e-mail, please feel free to message me on here), and I will try to do the same and update you on my path--especially if it includes broadcasting. Thank you all again and keep up your passion in enjoying the fruits of what Southwest Virginia sports continue to produce.

And beat the piss out of me in the process.

And again, for those of you wondering why I said Blacksburg was the best team that Abingdon played... Congrats to the Bruins!

To me it's not. Blacksburg has a really good team this year.

And before I'm asked was I really putting Northside ahead of Graham or Richlands, I was not. Blacksburg was the best team the Falcons played this year. Not taking anything away from Graham. The Bruins have a sophomore quarterback with poise beyond his years. They're going to be good the next few seasons at least.

Very surprised by the Graham/Richlands score. Of the teams Abingdon played this year, I would have put them 2 and 3 respectively with a big differential between the two (granted I'm going off of two games and just reports I heard from trusted sources). For one, Graham seriously outcoached Abingdon in their matchup, and Meade was dominant. It sounds like tonight he had that really big play early on and then not much after that. For Richlands, I saw the potential, but as we have discussed here before, they're not as good as 2015 Richlands because they couldn't run the ball. Sounds like they've done some serious work on that and it's paying off. Congrats to both teams on their wonderful seasons and to Richlands for keeping their season going to the state semis. Sounds like they wanted it more tonight.

Agreed with that. I usually try to do just that, but there's just so much out there to read that doesn't get the plaudits its writers deserve. So I went Adrian Wojnarowski, Jon Bois and Spencer Hall (of SB Nation and SB Nation's EDSBS). Internet only guys should get the rightful pub too, and Bois in particular is the best writer you've never heard of (and if you have, kudos to you). I find myself laughing so hard that I cry in his pieces.

And he's a downright nice guy to boot. In every interaction with him that I've had, he's been class.

I don't know. My eyes tell me yes, but I want to be sure I'm not looking through rose-colored glasses. A lot of what makes the difference at that level to distinguish it from DII or DIII is intelligence, confidence and know how, and thankfully for Jake, he's got those things going for him. Am I saying he's going to go there and start day-1 (or at all)? Absolutely not. But the kid is not going to be stumped by anything you throw at him, and I think he truly believes in himself/his teammates believe in him that he'll/they'll succeed on the play. It's pretty hard to project the competition he's seen in this area to that level and get any kind of accurate read. I do think he's the best football player that Abingdon has ever produced and that he CAN play on that level, it's just a question of the right offer comes and it's the right fit. For what it's worth, I have a friend who was a scout for the Jacksonville Jaguars, and he reviewed his tape and numbers and thought they were excellent. He told me that nothing in his footwork or mechanics suggest that he can't play DI football. His only concern? It looked too easy for him, so he wondered about the competition. Also, as Abingdon fans know, the season that Jake put on tape in 2015 was far superior to his 2016 campaign. Not that it was a bad season by any means, just not transcendent like 2015.

Ended up going with Teel, Bitter and Cody Elliott of the News Virginian (and omitted Mark Robertson who's doing a BANG UP job for the News Advance. The first thing I do to scout all of my Lynchburg/Roanoke area teams is to put in a call to Mark and see if he's seen them, so my apologies on this Mark). As for sportscaster, I went with Pete Michaud of the Norfolk Tides/Admirals, Josh Floyd of the E&H Radio Network and Kevin Burke of the Salem Red Sox. Thanks for the suggestions!

Verducci has won it the last 3 years running, so I wouldn't be opposed to some new blood, but yeah, he's good. FWIW, here's where I'm likely leaning so far for National Sportscaster: Vin Scully, SportsNet LA, KLAC, Gary Cohen, SNY, WPIX, WABC I've also seriously considered Kevin Burkhardt, FOX, Kevin Harlan, CBS, TNT, Jessica Mendoza, ESPN and John Smoltz, ESPN for the third spot, but will still take any suggestions on that. Also, the latter two are color commentators, which are frowned upon in this vote, but I have found that the work that these two have done is so exemplary it merits consideration.