Broadcasting their plans for the future
It would seem a great many young people aspire to be sportscasters.
That's the impression you'd get from stopping by the weeklong sports broadcasting camp that wraps up today at Boston University. The group of 10-to-18-year-olds has been meeting with members of the electronic media and taking broadcast-oriented trips to local sports venues.
Celtics play-by-play announcer Sean Grande was a guest speaker Tuesday morning and had a lengthy Q&A session with the campers, many of whom would like to have his job one day and at least half of whom raised their hands when he asked if their dream job was to broadcast Red Sox games.
The campers hit Grande with a steady stream of inquiries, asking about his job status and the lifestyle of an NBA broadcaster, touching on game preparation for different sports, chemistry, agendas among the media, and reporting on players' off-the-field problems.
After the session, camp director Jeremy Treatman complimented his aspiring broadcasters: ''That was the best line of questioning we've had at any of my camps."
Several times, Grande asked, ''How old are you?" after 13-year-olds asked particularly perceptive questions. ''Those were topics I didn't know existed when I was your age," he said.
''Between you and me," he told the youngsters, ''I think you'll be reading soon that Max [analyst Cedric Maxwell] and I will be back broadcasting the Celtics' games for the next couple of years."
He did surprise them by saying his dream job growing up had been to call New York Rangers games and that he'd been approached this summer about taking an NHL job.
''Which team?" was a camper's immediate question. ''Wouldn't you and Mr. Griffith like to know that?" he replied. ''It's one of those questions that's best unanswered," he said. ''Everyone always wants to think they were a team's first choice when they're hired."
Part of the Grand(e) scheme of broadcasting:
''Doing play-by-play for a team is the closest to being part of the team. If you think of a circle with the game at the center, play-by-play is the closest media job to the center."
''Then WEEI broadcaster Jimmy Myers gave me my best advice: 'Always be ready. You never, ever know what's around the corner.' " For Grande, that time came on a snowy day when he got a tap on the shoulder at 4 p.m. to get to the then-Garden to call a Celtics game because play-by-play man Howard David couldn't get into town.
His chemistry with Max: ''It defies logic. But I never considered leaving Minnesota [where he was the television voice of the Timberwolves and also did the WNBA Lynx on radio] until Max called and began recruiting me."
On broadcasters keeping their distance from players: ''I tried to do it at first because I didn't want to cloud my judgment on the air. But you realize that you're losing on the relationships."
TV vs. radio I: ''I miss wearing the makeup," he joked, adding, ''I serve at the pleasure of the Celtics. The perfect job, and the one few people have, is being able to do both TV and radio."
TV vs. radio II: ''On radio, you have to follow the ball, you can't pull back and take the wide-angle view. On TV, you can let the camera follow the ball and talk more about the players themselves."
Studio vs. analysis vs. play-by-play: ''I'm a play-by-play guy. That's what I do. That's who I am."
Treatman has been running broadcasting camps in Philadelphia for four years, adding others in Baltimore and Washington. This year, Long Island and Boston came on board; next year, he hopes to add Chicago and Miami. Details can be found at www.scholasticpbpnetwork.com.
The Boston stop attracted 80 campers in its first year. ''That's the best first-year turnout we've had," said Treatman. During their week, the campers visited WEEI's studios to catch part of the afternoon ''The Big Show," McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, R.I., where they used their tape recorders to practice baseball play-by-play, and Fenway Park for a special tour of the stadium and opportunity to do a 30-second stand-up report.
Stand-ups? It's a different type of camp. And it seemed filled with happy campers.
Quiet time
There's a time to talk and a time to let the pictures tell the story. In the frightening minutes after Sox pitcher Matt Clement took a line drive off the head in Tuesday night's game at Tampa Bay, the broadcasting teams displayed the right way to cover the situation via both TV and radio. On NESN's broadcast, play-by-play man Don Orsillo and analyst Jerry Remy stayed silent for 2 minutes 20 seconds after Orsillo's ''Clement's down. Oh my goodness." The silence brought the announcers closer to us, as broadcasters and viewers watched the same pictures and shared the same prayers that Clement would be OK. On radio, Jerry Trupiano was at the microphone when the play happened. He never hesitated, remaining in full descriptive mode, painting the picture to those of us listening and holding our breath in Red Sox Nation.
A Winn for The Zone
Mike Winn, general manager of WWZN (1510 The Zone), added the title of vice president of network sales for Sporting News Radio to his portfolio this week. He began his radio career as an account executive for WEEI and the Red Sox radio network and later became senior account executive with the New England Patriots radio network. ''The new title -- and some SNR restructuring -- allows me to sell across the Sporting News platforms, including the network, the magazine and the website, including the Fantasy Football site, which I think is the best in the business." As part of that restructuring, Winn is optimistic for the station. To his oft-repeated, ''We plan to be around for a long time," he now can add, ''Hopefully, reinforcements are coming soon." . . . Meanwhile, Eddie Andelman's noon-3 p.m. show Wednesday is simulcasting the first two races from Suffolk Downs with post times approximately 12:45 and 1:12 p.m. . . . NASCAR's Nextel Cup Series has the weekend off before next week's Brickyard 400 (Channel 7, 2:30 p.m.). The last two races -- at New Hampshire and Pocono -- were the highest-rated TNT NASCAR events in its 21 years of televising the sport -- a 4.5 at NHIS and a 5.7 at Pocono . . . Football season is nearly upon us and tonight's ''Sportsplus" (NESN, 5:30 and 11:30 p.m.) has Globe football writers Jerome Solomon and Nick Cafardo joining host Bob Neumeier to talk Patriots camp and the questions hanging over the team going into the season . . . Some weekend programming: ESPN's ''Friday Night Fights" originates from Brockton's Campanelli Stadium tonight at 9 with Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas calling the action on the scheduled feature bout between James Lubwama and Rodney Toney . . . Angels-Yankees is the Fox Game of the Week tomorrow (Channel 25, 1:15 p.m.) with Joe Buck and Tim McCarver . . . NESN will pick up TSN's NHL draft coverage tomorrow from noon-3 p.m. . . . No one looks forward to baseball's 4 p.m. Sunday trading deadline more than the folks at ESPN's ''Baseball Tonight," which will have deadline specials tonight and tomorrow at 10 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. . . . ESPN2 goes into full US Open Series tennis with back-to-back coverage of the Mercedes-Benz and Bank West Classics tomorrow (4-8 p.m.) and Sunday (3-7 p.m.).
Bill Griffith's e-mail address is griffith@globe.com. 
