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TV/MEDIA INSIDER
Commentator for WSU game example of persistence
Springboro man sees himself as 'a voice of the mid-majors'
Friday, February 20, 2009
Mark Adams is a persistent fellow, and an improving one, too.
The first time I heard him, on one of those WHIO-AM Flyer Feedback shows, I thought, "Holy cow, he's going to blow out the speakers in my radio."
He acknowledges that was kind of a wild show, not like what he does now.
And here's a lesson you can learn, boys and girls. Be persistent, keep working at it and some day you'll be successful.
Judge for yourself Saturday. Feb. 21, when Adams, who lives in Springboro, does commentary on the Wright State-Northeastern game on ESPN2 beginning at 11 a.m.
Adams was persistent when he entered coaching, finding an employer in Idaho after he graduated from Cincinnati. He lasted 17 years in the profession, and when shoved out of his last job, made a commitment to try something else.
He had one tape from a halftime show he did, visited ESPN and was told, "You have no shot."
Back in Dayton and working in sales out of Monroe, he spoke with then WSU coach Ed Schilling, who didn't have a job available, then took a phone call from Larry Hansgen at WHIO, at the request of then UD coach Oliver Purnell.
"We talked for a couple hours," Adams said, "and Larry said, 'We have this postgame radio show.'"
It paid $50 a show, and Adams loved it. Later, on a sales visit to Huntington, W.Va., while on his regular job, he dropped in on ESPN again at a regional office and was told the boss didn't have time for him.
Adams waited in the lobby until the boss finally came out and granted him a few minutes.
"He said, 'First of all, you're not a very good looking guy,'" Adams remembers. "'And I don't know who you are.'"
But Adams talked his way into a couple of games, then a couple more, and now he's a weekend fixture on some ESPN platforms, specializing in mid-major games.
"I see myself as a small college guy," said Adams, who also has a flourishing business in public speaking. "I see myself as a voice of the mid-majors."
He recently called five games in five days. Check it out on adamshoops.com. Check out Saturday's game as well. Adams has become so persistent, I've come over to his side.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2157 or mkatz@DaytonDailyNews.com.
