Tiger Blogs :: Jeff Brightwell, Baseball and Women's Basketball Radio Announcer
May 8, 2008
Brightwell's Blog #23
Well, just 7 remaining games in the regular season and today we bus down to my favorite place to go in the Conference for baseball, Southern Mississippi. Although our conference is filled with top notch ballparks and great fans, I think the best environment is Pete Taylor Park.
I will miss the old press box though. The old radio booth was located on the top of the grand-stands in the box-seat section. Fans would often turn around to talk with me between innings and I've always found that the Eagle fans had a very high baseball IQ. The right-field roost is also one of the best tail-gating areas you will find. It's a berm that runs from the right-field corner to almost center-field. This is where numerous fans pull into the park with their RV's, trucks, and other various set-ups.
The Tigers have had success over the last two seasons, winning 6 of the last 8 including a sweep in Memphis last year.
If you're ever wanting to go watch the Tigers on the road during a Conference weekend, this is the place you should start.
Hope to hear from you all this weekend during the broadcast at MEMPHISRADIO@HOTMAIL.COM
April 30, 2008
Brightwell's Blog #22
Just got back from Autozone Park where I do public address in the summer. Our new women's basketball coach, Melissa McFerrin, was there to throw out the first pitch..it was a strike. Great to see her getting out and being seen in the community. The Lady Tigers were there as well and looked like they enjoyed themselves.
Tiger baseball travels to Houston this weekend. Memphis split four games with the Cougars last year and Brennon Martin got his first complete game of his career when Memphis beat them 12-4 in the opening game of the conference tournament at East Carolina.
April 29, 2008
Brightwell's Blog #21
It's a beautiful day at Nat Buring Stadium as I sit in the press box a few hours prior to tonight's game with Ole Miss. This will be the last non-conference game in this park as it's known as Nat Buring.
The Tigers have 12 games left in the regular season and will be looking for a strong finish that will hopefully put them in the Conference Tournament in New Orleans.
After the two losses to Tulane over the weekend, the rain-out on Sunday may have been what the team needed, and extra day of rest for the stretch run.
I'm looking foward to a packed house tonight and I hope to see all of you out here.
April 25, 2008
Brightwell's Blog #20
It was a wild mid-week series at Middle Tennessee. We lost leads in the 9th inning in both games but were able to garner a split in Murfreesboro. The Tigers played the longest game in school history by time on Wednesday, over a five-hour, 14 inning marathon. The game featured a 7 run rally by the Blue Raiders in the 9th and a six run 14th to give Memphis the 17-11 win.
It was also the first time I've ever called a game from a bus. MTSU is in the middle of construction of their new $6.5 million stadium so the Blue Raiders had a bus in the right-field bullpen area that was used as the press-box.
The Tigers go back into CUSA play tonight when they face Tulane. The Green Wave are good as usaual and will be very tough to beat. The Tigers are 3-3 against the Wave in the last six and won 2 of 3 in New Orleans last year. This is a rivalry that dates back to the old Metro Conference days.
Tomorrow will be Family Day at the Park Avenue Campus, only $5 to watch 2:00 baseball game and the 1:00 Softball double-header with stuff for the kids between the parks. Hope to see you out there, and if you can't make it, email me during the broadcast at MEMPHISRADIO@HOTMAIL.COM
April 22, 2008
Brightwell's Blog #19
I've had several people ask me about the current Tiger baseball season and the record so today I'm going to break it down.
First of all, yes, it's been a frustrating season and the record is not what we would like it to be. But, we have been in the majority of games. The Tigers have been in 21 games decided by 2 runs or less, including 16 1-run games. Our record in these contest thus far is 7-14, so if we just split those, we would be closer to .500.
The offense has struggled after being one of the best in the conference the last two years, let's take a look. The Tigers lost 7 starters in the line-up including 1 All-American (Amar) and three more All-Conference performers (Lieberman, Moss, and Murray). So, we are playing with three freshmen, two sophomores (one that didn't play last year due to injury), and a juco transfer. We have plenty of talent, but not a lot of experience which we will have after they get a year under their belt.
This season has seen an improvement in pitching which finished at the bottom of the Conference the last three years, we currently rank 6th in the league in ERA, just behind Houston. This is the first year that Coach Rock has had a healthy pitching staff and it's anchored by three juniors-Scott McGreggor, Matt Yokely, and Will Hudgens. If all three return, we should be very good on the mound next year.
The players that are currently starting are the best defensively since Rock came to Memphis. Memphis is currently 4th in fielding percentage and just two-thousandths of a point out of second in the league. The majority of our starting infield/outfield still have two to three years left here.
Although the record isn't where we would like it to be, the Tigers have been in most every game that includes at win on the road at Georgia and a win at AutoZone Park against Mississippi State.
We have four weekends left in the season and if the team can get on a roll, we have the potential to make some noise at the Conference Tournament. Our coaching staff is one of the best I've been around in 12 years of broadcasting, stadium improvements are on the way, and we have another outstanding recruiting class on the way.
April 21, 2008
Brightwell's Blog #18
Last Night I had the pleasure of meeting our new Lady Tiger coach, Melissa McFerrin, briefly after the Lady Tiger banquet. From the short time I got to spend with her, I was impressed.
She had just arrived from the airport and wasn't really expecting to be greeted by anyone, but myself, a few boosters, and four players were waiting. As soon as she entered the lobby, she knew who the majority of the group was. She knew the home-town of all four players that were there by heart, which showed me she was ready to dive right in to this program. I was also really impressed by how friendly and confidently she spoke to all of us; I'm sure the last few days have been a blur to coach McFerrin.
I also like the way she speaks about Memphis becoming the class of the Conference. I think that is so much better than just wanting to be competitive. It looks like she is really embracing this opportunity and I hope it will be a long and successful tenure for Coach McFerrin.
Tomorrow baseball plays at Middle Tennessee and I'll break down some numbers for you before we bus out.
April 18, 2008
Brightwell's Blog #17
It's a rainy day at the Ballpark, sitting here getting my prep work done a few hours before our game against Dallas Baptist. Hopefully this is the last batch and we can get our 6:30 game in tonight. Hope to see a lot of you out at the park this weekend because we only have 10 home games left at Nat Buring.
If you haven't heard of Dallas Baptist, they are a very good team. They are currently 32nd in the RPI and have two wins over Rice and one over Baylor and have the number 30 strength of schedule. They were an NAIA power and turned D1 a few years ago so this will be a very tough weekend. Baseball plays a double-header tomorrow beginning at 1:00 and it should be a beautiful day. As always, feel free to email me during the broadcast on 91.7 fm at MEMPHISRADIO@HOTMAIL.COM
April 15, 2008 --- Tax Day!
Brightwell's Blog #16
It's a beautiful day in Murray, Kentucky as Memphis is about 20 minutes away from first pitch against the Thoroughbreds. The MSU baseball team is the only team that didn't switch to Racers. It was an interesting trip today as the bus took a wrong turn and couldn't clear an over-pass, so we had to turn around in a farmer's field. But we made it on time and are ready to face the `Breds at 3:00. Tomorrow night, we'll be in Jackson, TN for the second time this year to face UT-Martin at 6:05, hope to see you in the "Big Potato Chip", Pringles Park.
April 10, 2008
Brightwell's Blog #15
Tuesday night provided some much needed relief after such a tough loss in Monday's title game.
The Tiger baseball team beat perennial power Mississippi State in 9-8 in 10 innings in dramatic fashion with Cole Shelton's 2-out, 2-run single in the bottom of the 10th. It was the first win over the Bulldogs since Ryan Martin hit a game winning Homer against State in 2003 at AutoZone Park.
It was an emotional lift for a team that had lost 9 straight and now heads on the road for a 5-game swing beginning this weekend in Orlando against UCF.
April 7, 2008
Brightwell's Blog #14
It's been a frustrating season thus far for Coach Schoenrock to say the least. After watching the 12th ranked Rice Owls come from behind to win 7-6 yesterday, the team fell to 11-19 and lost their 9th straight. As in all other sports, a bounce here or there and it could be much different. Memphis has lost 9 one-run games, so if we win just four of those we are 15-15. The road doesn't get any easier because tomorrow we host Mississippi State at Autozone Park before going on the road to UCF. The good thing though about this team, is despite the struggles, the team is still a very cohesive unit and doesn't point blame, Rock's teams have always played hard and stayed together in the good times and bad. Tonight is obviously a historical night, being an Alum (1996), it's extra special to me. I was less than a year old when the Tigers played in their last title game and was in 5th grade when we lost to Villanova in the Final Four. I know it's been said before, but it's great to see how our city becomes one when Tiger basketball does well, no other entity in this city has as much unifying capability as Tiger basketball.
Mar. 24, 2008
Brightwell's Blog #13
It sure was great to wake up this morning and know that baseball is in first place in Conference USA! Memphis has won five straight and swept UAB over the weekend and are now tied with Rice at 3-0 in Conference and are above .500 for the first time this year.
Yesterday was one of those games that was slow and dragged on....except for the last inning. After watching two teams walk 18 batters and the game slow to a crawl, the Tigers found themselves down 6-3 with nobody on and one out. But Memphis was able to find a way to score four runs capped off by KK Chalmers 2-run single to win it.
I hope to see you in Jackson, TN tomorrow when we play our first game at Pringles Park. The Tigers will face Austin Peay at 6:30.
Mar. 20, 2008
Brightwell's Blog #12
What a beautiful day! The basketball team starts play in the NCAA tournament tonight in Little Rock and the baseball team opens Conference play at Nat Buring.
You've got time to do the double-header if you're in town. Baseball faces off against the Blazers at 6:30 and the men won't start until around 9:00. It should be around 70 degrees at first-pitch and hopefully with the warmer weather, the Tiger offense will continue to heat up after an 18 run outburst on Tuesday night. A good start in the conference is imperative for this young Tiger team.
Baseball also plays at 2:00 tomorrow and 1:00 on Sunday. If you can't make it out, shoot me an email during the broadcast at MEMPHISRADIO@HOTMAIL.COM
Mar. 19, 2008
Brightwell's Blog #11
A lot has happened since I last spoke with you. The baseball team got it's first shut-out in two years last week at Arkansas State in front of a very quiet record crowd, then lost two of three to SEMO over the weekend.
The basketball team cruised through the Conference USA Tournament and earned the number one seed in the south regional which we were all expecting. Have fun if you're getting to go over to Little Rock this weekend.
Then, baseball erupted for an 18-9 win over Samford last night. Great to see this young line-up finally explode. Most of them are learning a new hitting system and it's not always easy to adjust to. But, once they catch on, they'll be tough to get out.
Looks like another cold day for a game. Last night was great, 73 degrees at first pitch. I'm ready for it to stay warm.
Mar. 11, 2008
Brightwell's Blog #10
Back on the road with Baseball today. Sitting on the bus right now getting ready to roll out to Jonesboro to face Arkansas State. Hopefully, we can keep the momentum of our win at Georgia. ASU is pretty good this year, they're 8-4 and handed Mississippi their first loss of the season. Brach Davis gets his first start of the year for the Tigers. Should be a good crowd at Tomlinson Stadium.
Mar. 10, 2008
Brightwell's Blog #9
My long journey is over and I'm back. Ben Grisham and I arrived in Memphis last night around 11:00 after driving from Athens where the Tigers beat Georgia to salvage a game in the series with the Bulldogs.
It was a long tiring trip, but it's still one of my favorite weeks, I got to call six games in five days in three cities. I was really happy for coach Rock that he was able to get a win at Georgia, it holds a special place in his heart. He was an assistant for two years there and helped lead them to the 2001 College World Series. His good friend Dave Perno is now the Bulldog coach.
Back on the road tomorrow to Jonesboro to face Arkansas State.
Mar. 7, 2008
Brightwell's Blog #8
Well I made it to Athens. Following the Lady Tiger loss, I dashed to the Orlando airport, caught a plane to Atlanta and then drove over to Athens arriving at 10:00. Felt great to finally get some rest. Being on the road is tiring, but still wouldn't trade my job for anything. I'm in the lobby of the Holiday Inn, Athens writing today's blog. We'll be leaving for Foley Field in about 15 minutes to get ready to open our series with Georgia. I always look forward to playing the marquee teams since the Tigers have beaten 9 ranked teams in the Schoenrock era. It will be fun watching some of the freshman playing in a hostile environment with a big crowd for the first time.
Mar. 6, 2008
Brightwell's Blog #7
I made it to Florida for the CUSA Tournament. After yesterday's double-header with Creighton, I hit the road to Atlanta arriving at 2:30 Eastern time. I got checked in a 4:00am and flew out at 7:20. Got to the team hotel and ate breakfast and hopped on the bus for UCF Arena. The team has finished their first warm-up and has headed to the locker room. Survive and advance as always during the conference tournament.
Our pregame begins at 10:45 am, Memphis time, on 91.7 FM.
Mar. 4, 2008
Brightwell's Blog #6
The next few days will be my annual dash between baseball and women's basketball. I'll start Wednesday with the baseball double-header with Creighton beginning at Noon. Following that game, I'm on the road to Atlanta so I can catch a 7:20 flight to Orlando to do tomorrow's CUSA tournament opener between the Lady Tigers and Tulsa. If the Lady Tigers are eliminated before Sunday, I'm back on the plane to Atlanta, then a short drive over to Athens to catch up with baseball and their series with Georgia. I'll be hopping around, but it's one of my favorite weeks of the year. I could end up doing six games in five days in three different cities.
On a somber note, Wednesday's baseball broadcast will be the first game I've called since the passing of Dr. Robert McDowell, the only general manager that our campus station, WUMR, has ever had. Like me, countless broadcast professionals learned under McDowell and he was a friend and mentor to us all. I'll be thinking of you during the broadcast Dr. Bob.
Mar. 4, 2008
Brightwell's Blog #5
Yesterday I received the news that Blair Savage had announced that she was stepping down after this weekends Conference USA Tournament. I know the wins and losses didn't add up to what she wanted, but I always appreciated the fact that she always was there for her post-game interview and told it like it was. Trust me, I've worked with coaches before that won't give you the time of day when they lose, but are everyone's best friend when they win. Here's hoping the team can make a run this weekend and end on a high note.
If the baseball team gets to play today, it could be the first time I do a game where I see a snowflake. Last year it sleeted during the Saturday game at Tulane, but no snow. I guess it's appropriate that the Blue Jays are in town, since the Toronto Blue Jays used to regularly play in snow at old Exhibition Stadium. This is a very good Creighton team, they won over 40 games last year and went to their 8th regional. If we don't get today's game in, we could be looking at our first double-header of the season tomorrow, in much warmer weather. By the way, several of the Creighton players were at Coach Cal's radio show last night since the Jays stayed at the Double Tree.
Mar. 3, 2008
Brightwell's Blog #4
I saw two disappointing losses to start the weekend, but two good wins to finish it. Friday night I got to see a great pitchers dual through six innings between the Tigers Scott McGreggor and Ohio's Chris Rigo. It was 2-1 Memphis through six, but unfortunately, Ohio edged the Tigers 5-4 to win the first game of the series.
Saturday, the Lady Tigers had a chance to finish .500 in the conference and hosted 12th place UCF, but the Knights went on an 9-0 run to close the first half with an 8 point lead and never trailed again beating us 81-69. It just seemed it the intensity that we had on Thursday night wasn't there. But, 7-9 in league play is a vast improvement over the 1-15 record we've had the last two years. We'll face Tulsa this Thursday at 11:00am Memphis time down at UCF Arena.
After the game, I went over to Nat Buring Stadium to catch the last few innings of the baseball game and got there just after a 4-run sixth inning put us on top 5-4. Marc Ashley (Collierville) got the his first win of the year and Matt Yokley (Collierville) got his second save of the season.
Sunday, the Tigers jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the rubber game of the series with Ohio. Trey Wiedman hit his third homer of the season and Phillip Utley notched his first win. Memphis is now 4-4 on the season and has a very tough 5-game stretch coming up with Creighton at home Tuesday and Wednesday and a weekend trip to Athens to face Georgia.
By the way, what great weather yesterday, partly sunny and temperatures in the 70's! Oh well, back to cold weather on Tuesday for our game with the Blue Jays.
This is my annual travel frenzy where I could do 6-games in 6-days in three different cities.
This weeks broadcast schedule on 91.7fm, WUMR.
Tuesday Baseball vs Creighton 4:00
Wednesday Baseball vs Creighton 4:00
Thursday Lady Tigers vs Tulsa CUSA Tourny 11am
Friday Lady Tigers vs SMU 11am OR Baseball at Georgia 5:30
Saturday Lady Tigers CUSA Tourny 2:00 OR Baseball at Georgia 2:00
Sunday Lady Tigers CUSA Tourny 2:30 OR Baseball at Georgia 1:00
Feb. 29, 2008
Brightwell's Blog #3
What an exciting night at the Elma Roane Feildhouse last night. Down by 9 early, the Lady Tigers fought back and knocked off Southern Miss to pull into a tie for 5th place with one game to go tomorrow against UCF. Great to see the crowd and they really helped out down the stretch. Gutsy performance by Jessica Hall who played though pain with a banged up shoulder and hit some key free throws late. Tomorrow will surely be an emotional day as we say good-bye to our lone senior, Aroha Jennings.
Baseball opens up it's first series of the year this afternoon against Ohio out of the MAC. Both pitching staffs have been superb through the first week. I'm predicting a low scoring weekend, which means I'll be wrong and tons of runs will be scored. We play at 4:00 today so come on out after you get off work, this team is young and exciting to watch. It will be fun to watch them grow up this season.
Here's the broadcast schedule for this weekend for the Lady Tigers and Baseball on 91.7fm WUMR.
Friday Baseball vs Ohio 3:45
Saturday Lady Tigers vs UCF 1:45
Sunday Baseball vs Ohio 11:45
And as always, you can email in during these games at MEMPHISRADIO@HOTMAIL.COM
Feb. 28, 2008
Brightwell's Blog #2
Big weekend for Lady Tiger basketball team starting tonight. We face Southern Miss at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse, and after Saturday night we could finish anywhere from 5th to 9th in the league standings. Regardless of where we finish, it's a nice improvement from the last two years. We know what to expect out of the Eagles tonight, full-court pressing and a lot of running on offense. Hope to see you out there this weekend. Your attendance could be the difference.
Last night was a disappointing loss on the diamond to Murray State, our third straight loss to the Thoroughbreds. After getting behind early, the Tigers took the lead in the 7th on Brett Bowan's three-run homer, only to lose in the 9th. Here's an interesting story about Bowan, a juco transfer from Pensacola JC. According to Bowan, who's a Florida native, when the temperature got around 50 in Florida, they broke out the heaters in the dugouts. The last two nights, the temperature has been in the mid-30's at Nat Buring, but it didn't seem to bother Bowan's play.
Talk to you tomorrow, hopefully about a Lady Tiger win!
Feb. 19, 2008
Brightwell's Blog #1
Well here I am, my first blog entry. First of all, I want to think Jennifer Rodrigues for asking me to do this, along with Tammy DeGroff and Jason Redd, it's truly an honor. Now for those that don't know me, let me tell you just a little about myself.
I am in my fifth season as the radio voice of Lady Tiger Basketball and Tiger Baseball. It's been a great five years because I'm an alum of Memphis and would not want to be any where else. I graduated in 1996 and actually started as an elementary student at then-Memphis State Campus School. My mother, Peggy, worked in Human Resources and retired from the University about five years ago and I still have family that works on campus. So, I've been around the school for a long, long time.
What a wild weekend for Tiger Sports. I was at the UAB game Saturday night. Dave Woloshin, Matt Dillon and myself drove down on Friday night and the expanded highway 78 makes the trip much quicker. It was a great win despite how bad things looked with just over a minute to go. Every team that has gone deep into an NCAA tournament or won a championship usually gets one of those types of wins. We didn't get a great view of all the post game 'activities'. We sat across from the Tiger bench and when the fans went on to the court, a lot of our view was blocked. Ugly situation to say the least, but we got out of Bartow with the win, our perfect record and our #1 ranking.
Sunday took me to the Elma Roane Fieldhouse to broadcast the Lady Tiger game against Tulsa. We were coming off a 44-point loss Thursday at SMU and Tulsa had already beaten the Mustangs twice this season. However, the Lady Tigers got off to the hot start, scoring the first 10 points of the game en route to a 17-2 run and went on to beat Tulsa. Memphis is now 5-7 in CUSA and in 7th place. Now we can really do something. Marshall, ECU, and Southern Miss are our next three opponents, and if we can grab some wins, the Lady Tigers could finish as high as 5th, which would be a great turnaround from two straight years in last place.
Later Sunday night, I went over to the Holiday Inn on campus for the 'Meet the Tigers' Baseball banquet featuring Jim Morris. For those that have seen the Disney movie 'The Rookie', he is the guy Dennis Quaid portrayed. He was a great speaker and what stuck out most was what he said about 'Dream Killers'. Don't ever let anyone kill your dreams by telling you that you can't do something. I'm very optimistic about the upcoming season. We're coming off the first NCAA Regional since 1994 and have several new faces. Our pitching has a lot of experience after last year, but we'll have four freshmen in the line-up a lot of times. I won't make any specific predictions, but I won't be shocked if we're playing in June despite being picked 7th in the CUSA preseason poll.
You should come out to Nat Buring this year if you get a chance, it's really becoming a great experience even if you're not a big baseball fan. The tailgating in right field has become extremely popular. Help support Coach Rock by joining the Bullpen Club, you can call Al Woods at 351-0062 or email him at AWOODS4@MEMPHIS.EDU.
I look foward to updating this blog on a very regular basis. By the way, as you have seen in this entry, I use 'We' a lot. Some people say broadcasters shouldn't say we because their not on the team, but being an Alum, I consider myself a Tiger by blood and will always say 'We'!
