Dave Goren joins The Local Vibe to preview the National Sports Media Association’s Awards Weekend & National Convention (2024)

IT IS 929 AND YOU ARE BACK JUST IN TIME FOR OUR NEXT GUEST. THE NATIONAL SPORTS MEDIA ASSOCIATION, BASED OUT OF WINSTON-SALEM, IS PREPARING FOR ITS NATIONAL CONVENTION IN GREENSBORO. NOW. THE EVENT WILL HONOR WRITERS, REPORTERS AND SPORTS CASTERS, AMONG OTHERS. THE TWO DAY EVENT STARTS ON SUNDAY, JUNE 30TH, BUT YOU CAN BUY TICKETS RIGHT NOW. WONDERFUL. WE HAVE THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DAVE GOREN, JOINING US LIVE NOW TO TELL US MORE. YOU MAY KNOW, DAVE, AS A 20 YEAR VETERAN OF WXII SPORTS, WAKE FOREST FOOTBALL LEARFIELD SPORTS, IT’S A LIST GOES ON AND ON AND ON. I KNOW HIM AS A VERY GOOD FRIEND. IT’S GOOD TO SEE YOU, DAVE. BRIAN, GREAT TO BE WITH YOU. AND SAME FOR YOU, AUDREY. YES, NICE TO MEET YOU VIRTUALLY, DAVE. WE ARE THANKFUL YOU ARE JOINING US HERE ON THE LOCAL VIBE. IF YOU COULD START SHARE THE HISTORY OF THIS EVENT. IT STARTED BACK IN 1953. YEAH. THERE WAS A GENTLEMAN FROM NEW JERSEY HAD MOVED TO SALISBURY, AND HE OWNED AN ITALIAN RESTAURANT. HE WAS ALSO A BOXING PROMOTER. AND IN ORDER TO GET THE SPORTS MEDIA TO COME COVER HIS BOXING CARDS, HE LET THEM COME EAT AT HIS RESTAURANT. SURPRISE. UH, AT SOME POINT HE SAID, YOU KNOW, WE SHOULD REALLY DO SOMETHING TO HONOR YOU GUYS. AND STARTED THE NORTH CAROLINA SPORTS BROADCASTERS AND WRITERS DINNER AT HIS RESTAURANT IN 1953. IT WENT SO WELL. THEY SAID, YOU KNOW WHAT? WE NEED TO TAKE THIS THING NATIONAL. HE DIED IN 1958, BUT A GROUP OF ABOUT 8 OR 9 SALISBURY JOHN’S PICKED UP THE BALL, RAN WITH IT. THEY OPENED THE THE NATIONAL DOORS, IF YOU WILL, IN 1959, SENT OUT 6000 PAPER BALLOTS, ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND HELD THEIR FIRST NATIONAL AWARDS ON APRIL 12TH, 1960 AT CATAWBA COLLEGE IN SALISBURY. SO WE’VE BEEN GOING FOR NOW, 65 YEARS. OBVIOUSLY, COVID CANCELED US AS IT DID A LOT OF PEOPLE, BUT WE ARE ARE BACK ROLLING STRONG AND LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS YEAR’S AWARDS WEEKEND. IN TWO WEEKS. YEAH, DAVE, I HAD NO IDEA THAT THIS HAD BEEN GOING ON FOR SUCH A LONG TIME. UM, BUT FOCUSING ON THIS ONE YOU HAVE COMING UP IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS, TALK ABOUT WHAT LEGACY NIGHT IS AND HOW YOU GUYS CELEBRATE THAT. SO LEGACY NIGHT WILL BE OUR FIRST NIGHT THIS YEAR. THE CENTERPIECE OF THAT IS THE ROONE ARLEDGE AWARD FOR INNOVATION, WHICH THIS YEAR IS GOING TO HOOP DREAMS. FOR THOSE OF YOU OF A CERTAIN AGE, YOU MAY REMEMBER IT WAS ONE OF THE GROUNDBREAKING SPORTS DOCUMENTARIES THAT LOOKED AT TWO HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PLAYERS IN INNER CITY CHICAGO WHO WANTED TO PLAY IN THE NBA. NEITHER OF THEM DID, BUT IT WAS THE FIRST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY TO USE VIDEO CELEBRATING ITS 30TH ANNIVERSARY, AND THE CINEMA TOGRAPHER, WHO WAS ONE OF THE PRODUCERS, PETER PETER GILBERT LIVES IN CHICAGO DURING THE SUMMER SUMMER, BUT DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR HE TEACHES IN WAKE FOREST UH, MASTERS OF DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING PROGRAM. SO HE’S COMING. HE’S TRYING TO GET ONE OF THE TWO SUBJECTS OF THE FILM TO COME WITH US, AND WE’LL DISCUSS THE FILM WITH HIM. AFTER THE AWARD PRESENTATION. AND THEN WE ALSO DO BEST SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR FROM 2023, BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY, BEST SIDELINE REPORTER, BEST UNDER 30 REPORTER. AND JOE POSNANSKI, AUTHOR OF THE SPORTS BOOK, WILL BE HERE. AND THE YOUNG REPORTER, UH, WINSTON WILCOX, WHO JUST LEFT THE, UH, MEMPHIS COMMERCIAL APPEAL, WILL JOIN US AS WELL. UNFORTUNATELY, HOLLY ROWE, WHO’S THE BEST SIDELINE REPORTER? SHE JUST LEFT FOR CROATIA ON A GIRLS TRIP, AND SHE’S GONE FOR THREE WEEKS, SO WE’LL HAVE TO HAND DELIVER BAD TIMING. DAVE. WELL, TELL US ABOUT THIS YEAR’S HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES. YEAH. I MEAN, IT’S ANOTHER WHO’S WHO IN IN SPORTS MEDIA. ANDREW KRAMER FROM NFL NETWORK, WHO FINISHED A LONG RUN ON HBO’S REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL. UH, JOE BUCK, WHO EVERYONE KNOWS FORMERLY OF FOX AND NOW ESPN AND AND AND JASON STARR, GREAT WRITER, FUNNY GUY. UM, IF YOU LIKE READING QUIRKY STORIES. AND HIS THING IS BASEBALL, UH, YOU KNOW WHO HE IS? SO THE THREE OF THEM WILL JOIN US. OUR POSTHUMOUS CHOICES THIS YEAR, TIM MCCARVER AND ROGER KAHN. SO, UM, ANOTHER WHO’S WHO, AND THEN OUR NATIONAL SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR, KEVIN HARLAN, AND NATIONAL SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR JEFF PASSAN. THEY ARE HOUSEHOLD NAMES. IF YOU’RE A SPORTS FAN. AND, UH, THE BEAUTY IS YOU CAN COME SEE THEM AND MEET THEM. THAT’S REALLY COOL. YEAH. BIG NAMES COME HERE TO THE TRIAD, TOO. YEAH. UH, DAY WE TALKED ABOUT THIS AS A TWO DAY EVENT. THERE’S A SPORTS MEDIA CONVERGE SUMMIT AS PART OF THOSE TWO DAYS, WHAT’S PLANNED FOR ATTENDEES THIS YEAR? WELL, THAT WILL BE A SERIES OF SIX PANELS. AND THE COOL PART OF THAT IS OUR WINNERS. NONE OF THEM SAYS NO. THEY ALL SAY, YEAH, I’LL DO IT. AND SO WE HAVE SIX DIFFERENT SUBJECTS PERTAINING TO SPORTS, MEDIA, ANYTHING FROM, YOU KNOW, PLAY BY PLAY PREP. HOW DO YOU PREPARE? AND THAT’S KEVIN HARLAN AND UH, UM, THE OTHER PERSON WHO’S DOING THAT SLIPPED MY MIND RIGHT NOW. UH, BUT IT’S GREAT TO LEARN FROM THESE GUYS WHO ARE, YOU KNOW, TOP OF THE LINE PROFESSIONALS. UH, ANDREA KRAMER, ONE OF OUR HALL OF FAMERS, WILL DO THE, YOU KNOW, THE ART OF INTERVIEWING. YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES YOU JUST NEED TO SHUT UP AND LET THE INTERVIEWER TALK. AND SOMETIMES THEY’LL TELL YOU THINGS THAT, UH, THEY HADN’T PLANNED ON IT, BUT THERE’S THAT UNCOMFORTABLE MOMENT OF SILENCE. BUT, YOU KNOW, GOOD QUESTIONS TO ASK, UM, WHEN TO ASK THEM. AND SO WE’LL HAVE SIX OF THOSE. THEY RUN ON ABOUT 50 MINUTES. SO WE HAVE TEN MINUTES TO CHANGE OUT THE ROOM. AND I EXPECT THAT ROOM TO BE PACKED ON MONDAY. THAT RUNS FROM 9 A.M. TO 4 P.M., AND THEN WE GET READY FOR THE AWARDS BANQUET RIGHT AFTER THAT. WHAT A GREAT EXPERIENCE FOR FANS AND EVEN SOME BUDDING SPORTSCASTERS JUST TO LEARN FROM THE BEST. BUT DAVE, THANK YOU. IT’S GOOD TO SEE YOU AND I WISH YOU THE VERY BEST FOR YOUR EVENT IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS. THE 2024 NSMA AWARDS CONVENTION STARTS ON JUNE 30TH. YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT THAT AT NATIONAL SPORTS MEDIA.ORG AND BUY TICKETS THERE. WOW, SOME BIG NAMES. COOL. VERY COOL. HE RATTLED THEM OFF LIKE A PRO THOUGH. HE’S A PRO, I KNOW. I CAN TELL HE HAS EXPERIENCE BEING ON TELEVISION. HE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST PEOPLE I MET WHEN I STARTED WXII. I WE HAD DINNER ONE OF MY FIRST NIGHTS HERE AND YEAH