Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 5, 1994 TAG: 9403050050
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Jack Bogaczyk
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Perhaps you've seen him in the parking lot of the Hardee's on Virginia 419 in Salem, eating in his car and listening to a far-off hockey game, likely involving his hometown St. Louis Blues on KMOX.
"That's the best place I've found to pick up those [50,000-watt] stations," he said. "The car has about 100,000 miles, but the radio works great. That's what determines what shape the car's in."
And if you haven't seen Woodburn, you should hear him. He's the fast-talking, lozenge-sucking, water-swigging voice of the Roanoke Express. Woodburn is the Express' assistant director of marketing and its broadcaster. That isn't to say he's a homer. A couple of weeks ago, he called the play of one Express line "absolutely pathetic."
He didn't flinch when he said it. Admirably, neither did his bosses. The only time this season he has been told to soft-peddle criticism came when he made a remark about the condition of the ice at the Roanoke Civic Center. The club got complaints from the building's ON THE AIR JACK BOGACZYK maintenance department. Woodburn was on the carpet only briefly.
Woodburn, 24, has promise in his profession. His goal is "to become a hockey broadcaster at the highest echelon possible." His immediate future will be in Roanoke.
"What I need most now is some stability," said the burly broadcaster. "I need to make things work here. You don't need five jobs in five years on your resume."
He displays wit and wisdom on the air. He's a class clown-turned-mimic, too. He's a solid interviewer. He not only knows what questions to ask, but how to ask them. He fills play stoppages and between-period sessions with good notes and significant statistics. He's quick to praise the Express, but he isn't slow to criticize, either.
"I may be over-complimentary at times," he said, "but I'm not going to be Harry Caray. I'm not going to go that far to that side of homerism. I think the people who listen are fans, but they also want to know what's really going on."
What's really going on is that Woodburn is having a good time. He has wanted to be a sports broadcaster since he was 7. He used to go to bed listening to perhaps the greatest voice in hockey history, the late Dan Kelly, and baseball broadcasting legend Jack Buck.
While at the University of Missouri, Woodburn worked as a weekend sports TV anchor at KOMU. Then, deciding he was "too obnoxious" to call baseball, he decided hockey was a better fit. He phoned the Blues and, shockingly, he was hired for a new position as a broadcast statistician. Suddenly, he was feeding names and numbers to men he'd listened to and emulated.
Woodburn was hired by the Birmingham Bulls and called their ECHL games last season. He was fired by owner Art Clarkson, but Woodburn wasn't surprised. "We just never got along," he said.
Woodburn had a shot at two ECHL jobs this season, with Louisville and with the expansion Express. His first exposure to Roanoke Valley hockey was memorable "and bizarre," he said. He called the last complete game at the LancerLot before the roof caved in a year ago.
"There were less than 500 people in the stands," Woodburn said. "People were holding up signs reading `[Rampage owner Larry] Revo must go.' Then, the Zamboni rolls out between periods and the same sign is on the Zamboni. It was strange, very strange."
Four months later, he was here for an interview with the Express. He was hired July 27, his birthday. He went to work selling the radio network, on which the club will break even thanks to expected playoff dates. He also has handled the club's media relations work, compiling information and notes before each game for use by writers and other broadcasters.
On the air, he's battled his way through a virus that, combined with his workload, resulted in a swollen larynx. He missed one game in January, but that wasn't as blood pressure-raising for him as the Express' road opener in North Charleston, S.C. When the first road game in club history began, Woodburn was sitting on a toilet in the North Charleston Coliseum.
"I had the flu," he said. "The Stingrays had given us a [chronological] rundown on what time the game would start after all of these ceremonies. I figured there was time to go. Jeff Dickerson was there with me, from WROV, so I told Jeff to run through last night's ECHL games and stats and then I'd take over for the faceoff."
Woodburn was seated when he heard a "boom" and then "the crowd going crazy. I thought, these really must be some opening ceremonies. When I came out of the bathroom, I saw a Stingray player and an Express player and I said, `This ain't no warmup,' and I earned about 10 minutes in elbowing penalties fighting my way through the crowd back to the broadcast position."
He said he doesn't intend to take another incident lying down. On New Year's Eve in Norfolk, Woodburn went back to his hotel room and, still clothed, dozed off, arms crossed over his chest.
"We had been living it up a little bit," he said. "When I woke up, about an hour-and-a-half later, I was outlined in shaving cream and toothpaste, like police would do with a dead person's body. They filled my hair with mousse, too.
"There are three players I know of who were involved and are still with us," Woodburn said, laughing. "The season isn't over. There's still time for payback.
"They should know the season isn't over until the fat broadcaster sings."
by CNB