Cameron's Chronicles

My first of many (hopefully) appearance on ESPN

2008-11-11T01:17:00.002-05:00

Bryant Haines Piece

2008-10-28T09:42:00.003-04:00

Here's the latest project from Ball State Sports Link. My partner for the project was Ken Sothman. Watch it here.

Happenings

2008-10-27T18:26:00.002-04:00

Well...what can I say? I have really been slacking when it comes to my blog. I'm sorry for all of you who have checked this thing with any regularity for the past 5 weeks. Hopefully I've talked to you in the time span to at least let you know some of the things that are going on. It's been a very rewarding semester thus far. I am enjoying my classes and my sports link experience continues to be wonderful.

The Ball State football team is having a great season. They are now ranked 16th in the Bowl Championship Series standins and have an undefeated 8-0 record. Next up for the fighting cardinals are the huskies from Northern Illinois.

The Paoli Rams are also having a fantastic season with a 9-1 record. They face Mitchell on Friday night in sectional semifinal action.

I will try to write more frequently to keep you up to date on my life and happenings. Hopefully I'll have a link to some of my work from this semester as well.

Football Weekend Sweep!

2008-09-15T18:42:00.002-04:00

My football teams pulled off an impressive 4-0 weekend. The rams rolled at North Harrison, Ball State trounced Akron, LSU demolished North Texas, and the Colts squeeked by Minnesota.

Ball State has a huge game this coming Saturday against IU in Bloomington. I would encourage anyone who can to get up to Memorial Stadium to watch this game. It's gonna be a great with with A LOT OF POINTS!! Hopefully my Cards can pull it out and move to 4-0 on the season. By the way, Ball State recieved some votes in both the USA Today poll and the AP poll this week.

I'm going to be heading home to Paoli this weekend and I'm excited about seeing my family and watching Caleb and Cody play football on Friday night.

Are You Ready??? Ball State Sports Link

2008-09-10T09:48:00.004-04:00

As most of you know, this semester I am once again involved in an immersive learning experience, similar to what I did in the spring with Newslink Indiana. However, the program I'm participating in this fall is a little different. It's called Ball State Sports Link. (I know...I hate the name sports link but we had to please people like Dr. JoAnn Gora, the university president) Sports Link is a brand new program and the first of its kind in the country. In fact, it's already been featured in a few articles as a model for other universities. This semester I, along with 11 other students and 4 faculty members, are covering every facet of Ball State sports. Now...the program is anything but smooth yet. We're still trying to get computers with the needed software, cameras that will do what we need, and a million other things but it's off and running.

We had our first show last night. It was a 30-minute live show done from the basketball arena on campus. Now...live shows are very fun...and very stressful. This one was even more exciting and nerve racking because we were in the arena and the show was done completely out of a remote truck. Here are some pictures of the inside of the truck. Now let me explain that out of the 12 students in Sports Link one had any expereince on the truck. So we went through some training but for the most part we were all learning on the run. And the finished product was surprisingly good.

Now, I must mention that I was chosen as the producer for this first show. The producer is, in a word, the boss. I was in charge of making sure that everyone and everything was prepared and good to go. I'm not sure why the faculty chose me as the first producer. It was a very big responsibility considering that President Gora, the board of trustees, and Dean of Telecommunications, Roger Lavery were all eagerly awaiting the new program's first product. However, I couldn't be more pleased with how things turned out. And two of the faculty members have already told me they don't think they could have choosen a better producer for the first-ever sports link show. (I'm glad they think so)

I'll keep you updated on everything that I do with Sports Link this semester. Ken Sothman and I put together a piece of the swimming and diving coaches and I'll try to have it up to youtube soon.

Also, Cardinal Sports Live, a show that I'm talent for, will be attending the Emmy ceremonies in Cleveland, Oh this weekend. Unfortunately I won't be there because I'll be bringing the play-by-play of Ball State's football game at Akron on Saturday but it could mean the by Sunday I'll have an emmy award tacked on to my achievements!

Football Weekend

2008-09-08T10:25:00.002-04:00

I have four teams that I really root for on every weekend of football. One is my home team Paoli Rams. In past seasons cheering for the rams has been about as enjoyable as sleeping on a hardwood floor without a pillow. However, last season changed that completely. For the first time since 1997 the rams had a winning record and they advanced in the state tournament. The sectional victory against clarksville was one of the most fun football games I've ever been a part of. This season the rams are picking up where they left off last season. Paoli has won its first three games this year and looks poised to continue that dominance for several more games. Going back to last season the rams have won 9 of their last 10 games. The rams won big over county rival Springs Valley this friday night by a score of 42-0. And what makes the season even more fun is that my brother Caleb and cousin Cody are intrumental in the rams success.

My second team I root for is my Ball State Cardinals. This team too has not been easy to root for in the past but after a winning record and bowl game appearance last season things are looking up for the cardinal and white. Ball State got a huge win Friday night in front of a sell out crowd at Schuemann Stadium and an ESPN national audience, beating Navy 35-23. The Cards are now 2-0 and they'll take on Akron this Saturday at 1 pm. You can listen to the game (as I deliver play-by-play action) at www.wcrd.net.

The thrid team I root for is LSU. Their game was postponed due to damage from hurrican Gustav so I didn't get to cheer them on.

The last team that I root for is the Indianapolis Colts. Now the colts are a team, unlike Ball State and Paoli, that have been so easy to root for in recent years. They're classy and they're really good. But last night the Colts got off to a very shaky start as they were dominated by the Chicago Bears and fell 29-13. I think the colts will be just fine this season but it's going to take a few games for the crew to get things going...and as long as Jeff Saturday is out I don't think Peyton will be the Peyton of old.

I guess I should also mention that it looks like Tom Brady is out for the season with a knee injury. Let me say that I couldn't be happier about that.

Ball State vs. Navy

2008-09-05T10:11:00.002-04:00

A combination of a busy schedule and laziness has kept me from writing this week. I do have several things I want to touch on in the next few days though. However, first I must mention the excitment I have about tonight as Ball State takes on Navy in football. You can watch the game on ESPN at 7 PM but I would recommend you mute the tv and log on to www.wcrd.net and listen to my broadcast of the game. It should be an exciting game featuring two completely different styles of offense. (They combined for over 1100 yards in the game last season)

Once again, I'll try to write more often and keep you updated on what's going on in my life.

Football Season is Finally HERE!!!

2008-08-28T00:31:00.004-04:00

I appologize for not writing for a while. I took a week or so off from my internship and teen mission before moving back to Muncie. This week is my first week of classes back at Ball State. I'll try to update you on each of my classes in the next few days. However, I'd like to take this space to invite you to tune in tonight at 7 pm and listen to me and the rest of my crew as we bring you the action of Ball State football in its season opener against Northeastern University.

To listen you can click here or go to www.wcrd.net and click listen live. Once again...game time is at 7 and this will be an exciting one to listen to as the Cards are expected to put up some major points.

UK Basketball Facilities

2008-08-08T14:54:00.000-04:00

Before I met coach Gillispie I had a chance to just walk around a little bit in the UK basketball practice facility. I took some pictures...here they are.

Obama the Antichrist?

2008-08-08T11:25:00.002-04:00

Some in the Obama camp claim that this ad, paid for by John McCain, portrays Barack Obama as the Antichrist. I certainly see where they are coming from. An article about the ad on Time.com also points out that many are drawing comparisons between Obama and Nicolae Carpathia, the Antichrist character from the popular 1990's book series "Left Behind." Personally, I think this is ridiculous but probably a good strategy for a desperate John McCain. Share your thoughts- camandry@gmail.com

Meeting Billy Clyde

2008-08-07T11:44:00.000-04:00

Today I accomplished one of my top goals for my summer in Lexington...I met Billy Clyde Gillispie...the coach for the University of Kentucky Wildcats basetball team. We did a sit down one-on-one interview with the head coach today about some basketball camps he is promoting in the coming weeks. He was exactly what I expected him to be...just plain ol' Billy Clyde. He wore golf shorts with loafers and no soaks. He tucked his UK polo shirt in but only to realize he had forgetten his belt. He talked about how much he and his staff just loved people and how he looked forward to making people's day when he shook thier hand. He was very engaging and an all around nice guy. In reality...he is the only way a coach named Billy Clyde could be...just plain and simple.

UK Football Coach Rich Brooks speaks at Rotary Club

2008-08-06T12:50:00.000-04:00

I covered the annual event that is Rich Brooks speaking at the Rotaray Club. I really like Coach Brooks. He's an old school guy that doesn't put up with any nonsense. The event took place at the auction barn that has seen the likes of Big Brown and Seatle Slew trot through. I took a few pictures at the event.

Fishing with Grandad and Cody

2008-08-05T17:45:00.000-04:00

During the few days when I was home early last week I got to go fishing with my Grandad and Cody. We didn't catch a ton of fish but I still really enjoyed just being on the lake with both of them. I took a few pictures of our adventure.

Anchoring 6 PM sportscast

2008-08-05T11:11:00.002-04:00

Check out me anchoring the 6 PM sportscast at WKYT. I'm not sure why the picture is squeezed like it is but I'll try to get it straightened out in the next few days. Watch the segment here.

The Tire-Gauge Solution

2008-08-04T21:27:00.003-04:00

I must admit that when I first heard Barack Obama was suggesting that if Americans would simply keep their tires fully inflated and take their vehicles in for regular tune-ups it would make a real difference in our demand for oil I laughed. I thought...how stupid is that idea. But then I read this article by Michael Grunwald on Time.com and it changed my perspective. I won't rehash the article...it's short and insightful and certainly worth 3 minutes of your time.

Andre Woodson Package

2008-08-04T11:51:00.001-04:00

Check out my latest package. This one's about former UK quarterback Andre Woodson. He is now battling for a spot on the roster with the New York Giants. To watch, click here.

Reporting from Bengals Training Camp

2008-08-03T21:30:00.000-04:00

Friday evening I went to Bengals training camp at Georgetown College for their intra-squad scrimmage. I interviewed running back Chris Perry and chatted with Chad Johnson (he is refusing to speak with the media this season). I also interviewed Marvin Lewis and defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. Check out the story here.

27 Teams and 27 Cats in 27 Days

2008-08-02T23:32:00.003-04:00

At WKYT the sports department took on a couple of huge projects for the month of August. The first is 27 teams in 27 days (WKYT is channel 27). Starting this evening and for the next 26 days WKYT will run a package on a different high school football team. Now...let me tell you how big this project is. It involved contacting and setting up a time for 27 high school football coaches along with 2 players from each team to sit down for an interview. It then involved going to practice and pulling past game film of all 27 teams. Overall it's a huge undertaking but and great idea and the execution is going wonderful so far.

The second project is also a big undertaking. It's 27 cats in 27 days. Starting Monday and running for 27 consecutive days there will be a package running on the evening newscast highlighting 27 UK football players. This was not quite as huge an undertaking but it's still pretty amazing. There's also a little surprise that I've been instructed not to share so the competition doesn't hear about it.

Overall...I think it's projects like these that make WKYT 27 Sports First the number one station in Lexington.

Randy Moss Does NASCAR?!?

2008-08-02T14:38:00.000-04:00

Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss took on a new task over the off season. He bought a NASCAR truck series team and the team made its debut a few weeks ago at Kentucky Speedway. I was there for the spectacle. Here are a few pictures.

I'm Back

2008-08-01T10:09:00.003-04:00

Hey everyone! It's been several days since I last updated you here on my blog and I apologize for that. Last week I was at a week of camp in northeastern Ohio at Elkhorn Valley Christian Service Camp. It was a wonderful week with a great group of 7th and 8th graders and superb faculty.

There were 43 campers at the week and they were so generous in their offering! I really enjoyed getting to know all of the students and all in all it was a really good week of camp.

A few highlights for me from the week:
1. Dustin (a 7th grader who was a great (although very little) guy) deciding to give his life to Jesus.
2. The wonderful offering that the students gave for Teen Mission
3. The new friends I made (especially the faculty from Fri st Christian Church from Barnsville, OH)
4. The awesome high ropes course! I'll explain it to you...There were three stations that we did. The first was a zip line which was about 100 yards long. You climbed a tree to platform about 35 feet high. Then you were hooked on to the zip line with your harness and you simply jumped and let gravity do the rest. For the second station there was a log about 25 feet long hung between two trees at a height of about 35 feet. You hooked on to a pulley system and climbed up a tree and tight walked the log. I was pretty scared of this one but it was fun. The last station was very similar to the second expect instead of a log it was simply a wire. It was really cool!
5. The awesome slip and slide! This slip and slide was probably 100 yards long and it was permanent. There was a water pump with a pipe that pumped the water from a pond all the way to the top. Then you went down the slide and ramped into the pond.

I really had a good time and it was a really nice way to end my summer full of church camps!

I'll be updated you on more of what's been going on in the next few days.

A.J. Ellis piece is up on youtube

2008-07-20T12:00:00.000-04:00

Click here to watch the story I did on Lexington native and triple A all star A.J. Ellis.

Check out my Ben Revere baseball package

2008-07-19T09:00:00.000-04:00

I have uploaded to youtube the story I did with Ben Revere last week. You can see it here.

A.J. Ellis and the Triple A All Stars

2008-07-17T12:00:00.002-04:00

On Tuesday David Patrick and I had yet another baseball assignment. This time it was for the triple A all star game which was played at Louisville's Slugger Field last night. The focus of our story was once again a Lexington native. A.J. Ellis, who played at Dunbar High School and then Austin Peay State University is now a catcher for the Las Vegas 51's (I think that is a pretty creative team nickname and their logo has an alien's head on it). He is having a great season and is hoping to be called up to the majors sometime soon. Las Vegas is the triple A team for the Los Angelos Dodgers.

A.J. is a super nice guy and was very gracious to us as he spent a good 15 minutes with us for our interview. It's nice to see professional athletes that are down to earth just nice guys. One of the coolest things A.J. said was that this great season in baseball doesn't even hold a candle to the joy brought to him by he and his wife's first baby.

I once again turned my own package out of the story and I'll try to have that up on youtube sometime soon.

Youtube Stuff

2008-07-16T20:00:00.000-04:00

You can check out a segment of my anchoring on youtube. Click Here

Ben Revere and the Beloit Snappers

2008-07-16T10:37:00.004-04:00

The past few days I've had the chance to do some stories on local baseball heros. On Saturday WKYT's David Patrick and I went to Dayton, Ohio for a minor league baseball game. Saturday was a pretty hot day and because of a mix up D.P. and I actually ended up driving the stations P.T. Cruiser WITHOUT airconditioning! It was a long, hot drive from Lexington to Dayton.

The reason we went to Dayton was because the Beloit Snappers were playing the Dayton Dragons. Both of these teams are single A minor league teams...Beloit is part of the Minnesota Twins' farm system while Dayton is part of the Cincinnati Reds' farm system.

A quick note...the Dayton Dragons (field on left) have been around for 9 seasons and have sold out EVERY game! Incredible for a single A team. In fact, Sports Illustrated rated a ticket to see and Dayton Dragon's game as the 10th hottest ticket in ALL of sports!

The Beloit Snappers feature a Lexington native named Ben Revere (below). Revere was drafted right out of Lexington Catholic high school in the 1st round of last years draft by the Twins. He's a speedy outfielder and a great guy.

David was not feeling well during the day and it was quite a crunch for us to get the story done but we pulled it off. I'll explain...the game started in Dayton at 7 pm. David and I got there around 4 and interviewed Revere, a teammate, and his manager. We then shot some video of Revere warming up and taking batting practice. Then we decided to stay for the first inning of the game. We had to get back however because David's story was scheduled to air for the 11 pm show that night. We had a 2 hour drive back to Lexington and then we had to edit the story together. So...as I said it was quite a crunch but David worked hard and got the story done about 7 minutes before it aired! Such is the life a TV reporter!

I'll share one of the cool parts of the story (which will kinda ruin the surprise of watching the piece I did but that's ok) Anyway...I had the idea while David and I were waiting on Ben to come out and start warming up that perhaps we could put a wireless mic on Ben for warmups. So when Ben came out I asked him if he would be willing to wear a mic during warm ups and he was excited to do so. It was cool to pick up sound of him signing autographs and greeting the many friends and family that came to the game to watch him. However, the coolest part of him wearing a mic actually happpened a little later.

As the game was set to begin we told Ben we'd go ahead and take the mic off him and he said he would just wear it for the first innning. It turned out to be some awesome natural sound. He got him hitting a ball in the gap between 1st and 2nd for a single (He's currently the only player in ALL of pro baseball hitting over .400) and then we had the sound of him stealing second base. And when I say we had the sound I mean you could hear him grunting and puffing as he ran and you could hear the collision as he slid into second base! Needless to say...WKYT sports director, Steve Moss, loved the sound we got and I was pretty proud that it was my idea!

I'll have another baseball story later.

Golf with My Best Friends

2008-07-14T14:21:00.003-04:00

My dad and brother, Corey, came to visit me and have a little golf weekend. They came yesterday afternoon and we played The Bull golf course in Richmond. It was a beautiful golf course and yesterday was an absolutely perfect day. We had a great time. Corey won the day with an 82...I followed closely behind with an 84 and Dad fired an 88.

The most exciting time was certainly on the 121 yard par 3 (below) on the back nine. The hole was really down hill with water on the left. The pin was on the front of the green. Corey was the first to tee off and he hit what we all thought was a pretty good shot. It hit about 3 yards past and to the right of the pin. His ball hit the green and started to trickle back toward the cup. All three of us started to get excited. We began pacing back and forth on the tee and just watching in awe. The ball trickled for probably 20 seconds and we all thought for sure it was going to be the first hole-in-one for Corey. (Dad and I have never hit one either) The ball stopped just 1 inch short of the hole...I'm not exageratting either...it was literally one inch! We all agreed that it was exactly the way we wanted to get a hole in one. All of us together and on a beautiful course and great day.

Today we played one of my local favorites, Tates Creek golf course. I won the day and with an 80. Corey and Dad both fired 86. It was once again a really great day of golf and I'm enjoying playing with this two guys more than I enjoy playing with anybody else.

We have a tee time at Cherry Blossom golf course for 4 this afternoon. I'm looking forward to another shot at the course.

Fly Like an Eagle

2008-07-11T13:47:00.002-04:00

I read a very intriguing article in the Bedford Times-Mail yesterday. It was written by my good friend Roger Moon and it detailed what struck me as a very cool discovery.

Earlier this year an injured bald eagle was discovered along a rural road somewhere in Tennessee. The bird was retrieved by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. It was taken to a vetrinarian in the area and diagnosed with a badly broken wing. The people at the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said there was no sign of a gun shot wound and it is believed the bird was hit by a car. I know none of this really seems interesting. However, the cool thing about the eagle was what the tag on one of the legs of the bird revealed. This eagle was actually from Indiana. It was released as part of the Indiana Eagle Restoration project in....1986!

The bird was about 6 weeks old when it was released in Monroe County in September of 1986...that means that this particular eagle is about 2 months older than me. I know...I'm wierd but the thought of an eagle flying around Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee for my entire lifetime is really cool to me.

Just the other day Jessie and I watched the Disney movie "Rescuers Down Under" which features a bald eagle as one of the main characters and...even though it was an animated film...the movie reminded me of how majestic these creatures are. It also served as a reminder of how close we had come to wiping the bald eagle out. But thanks to the Indiana Eagle Restoration project and other similar projects the eagle has made a comeback. The eagle was taken of the federal endagered species list last June and Roger's article revealed that just recently it was discovered that Indiana's bald eagles have achieved 100 nesting pairs.

Back in Lexington

2008-07-09T23:21:00.003-04:00

I'm finally back in Lexington after a day at the North American Christian Convention in Cincinatti, July 4th at home, and a few days at Scenic Hills Christian Camp.

The week of camp I was at was students going into 6th and 7th grade. It was a very enjoyable week and a full week in terms of numbers. There were over 60 campers! I was representing teen mission during the week. I hope the offering is a good one.

I apologize for not writing for about a week. As you can tell I've been super busy. I should be able to write more often for a few days.

Also, if you would please keep my friend Sam Waldron in your prayers. Sam is part of the camp team that I spent two weeks with this summer and he was in an accident involving a lawn mower today. I don't know much about it other than the lawn mower supposedly severed a couple of fingers on his left hand. One of his passions is music and playing guitar so this injury will be extremely difficult.

Nothing too Crazy

2008-07-01T14:43:00.002-04:00

I apologize for not having written in a few days. Really, nothing too crazy has been going on in my life.

I played Cherry Blossom golf course yesterday (It's been voted the #1 public course in Kentucky 5 years running). I played with the sports director at WKYT, Steve Moss, and a friend of his. I struggled to hit it in the fairways and it really cost me because the rough was very difficult. I shot an 87 and for those of you that know much about my golf game that's MUCH worst than normal. I really fell apart on the back nine where I shot a 47. But...if I get a chance to play there again I know it will be better.

Other than that...nothing very exciting going on. I'll be manning the Teen Mission USA booth and the North American Christian Convention in Cincinnatti this Thursday and Friday. If you're going to be there then please find me or give me a call.

Why I Love Hillview Christian Church

2008-06-26T13:38:00.005-04:00

I spent my lunch today eating some fried chicken at KFC along side Greg and Leonard from Teen Mission. I really enjoy our lunches together...we always seem to get into some very compelling and thought provoking conversation. Today's topic was simply about local churches (as opposed to "The Church") As we discussed our thoughts and feelings on everything from elders and leadership to worship music my mind couldn't help but wander back home...to my church.

I love Hillview Christian Church. I really do. I love that we are a church with a vision. I love that we are a church compiled of people from every different walk of life but we still come together to worship our Lord and Savior. I love that we aren't afraid of trying new things. I love that we aren't afraid to disagree, to discuss, and to move forward. I love that we care about our communities. I love that we care about our children and youth. I love that we care about the big picture by supporting missionaries all across the world and by have a mission focus. I love that we have people, as I write this, that are taking the love of Christ to people in Honduras. I love that we raise up our youth so that God calls them to give their lives to ministry. I love that we teach the Bible. I love that the older and wiser members of our church are willing to be "contemporary." I love that we love to eat and drink coffee. I love that we podcast! I love that we stand around and visit for an hour and a half after Sunday morning services are over. I love that we have many grandparents that have brought their children and now their children's children up in Christ. I love that we want to do more. And most of all I love that we love.

Ball State Football 2008

2008-06-25T16:27:00.005-04:00

My last two posts have been about religion and politics so I thought I should get back some lighter material...so...we'll talk about sports. Specifically, Ball State Football and the upcoming season.

I think it's safe to say that it's been many years since there has been such a high level of excitment surrounding Ball State's football team. This year, by all indications, is shaping up to be one of the best years in Ball States's 82 years of football. After the first bowl appearance in 11 seasons last year and 16 of 22 starters back the Cardinals have extremely high hopes for this coming season.

Here's a look at the schedule and my short breakdown of each game.

A reminder: You can listen to every Ball State football game on 91.3 WCRD or at WCRD.net. I will once again be the voice of the Ball State Cardinals on WCRD so tune in a listen!

2008 Football Schedule and Results

August 28 Northeastern 7:00 PM This is a game BSU should easily win...I'm thinking something like 49-20 or somewhere around there.

September 5 Navy 7:00 PM A very difficult game for the Cardinals. There are rumors that Navy is bring all of the cadets to the game which would negate any home field advantage for the cards. However, Nate Davis and company got it done in Annapolis last season...BSU wins 38-32...and BSU will have 450 yards through the air while Navy has 350 on the ground.

September 13 at Akron TBA This is a somewhat difficult conference opener. Akron is always a solid oppenent and they play well at home. However, the Cards keep it going and move to 3-0 with a 31-17 "W"

September 20 at Indiana TBA Now things get really difficult. Indiana will not be as good as they were last year...However, they'll still be better than Ball State, in Bloomington anyway. Hoosiers hand the Cards their first lose...38-34.

September 27 Kent State TBA Kent State is predicted to be one of the most improved teams in the MAC. They won't improve enough to compete with Ball State in Schuemann Stadium. Ball State rolls...38-14.

October 4 at Toledo 7:00 PM Since this game is on my birthday I can't help but believe the Cards will deliver a gift in the form of a whoppin of the Rockets. Toledo is always very solid and the glass bowl is an awesome place to watch football but on this night it will only be awesome for people wearing Cardinal and White. BSU wins a tight one 28-25.

October 11 at Western Kentucky TBA Western may be in their first full season at the D-1 level but they'll surprise some people. That game will be close in the first half then Ball State will pull away riding the golden arm of Nate Davis. BSU-41 WKU-27

October 25 Eastern Michigan TBA Eastern Michigan will once again be a bad football team. However, this is a trap game for Ball State and it will be a close conetest into the 2nd half. Then Miquale Lewis takes over for Ball State and the Cards roll 38-28.

November 5 Northern Illinois 8:00 PM Northern Illinois was one of the worst teams in the MAC last season and things won't get much better in Dekalb. The Huskies won't enjoy their trip to Muncie because Ball State will poor it on for the ESPN crew in town. BSU-45 NIU-21.

November 11 at Miami (OH) 7:00 PM Miami is a good squad. They're especially good in Oxford. But Ball State will need to repay the Redhawks for the season opener from last year. Ball State wins with a field goal as time expires. BSU-30 Miami-28.

November 19 at Central Michigan 7:00 PM The biggest game of the season for both squads. CMU will come in with a very good record as will Ball State. It's a shoot out featuring the top two QBs in the MAC if not in the entire nation. The weather will be brutal but BSU will hold on for a 44-38 win.

November 25 Western Michigan TBA This game will also be a match-up of teams win solid records. WMU will jump out on the Cards in the season finale and Nate Davis will lead a mighty comeback in what might be his last game in Schuemann Stadium. Final score BSU-31 WMU-30

Ball State finishes regular season at 11-1 ranked 11th in the country.

Ball State will face Bowling Green in the MAC championship...and it will be another offensive showcase. However, Nate Davis will out duel BG QB Tyler Sheehan and deliver the MAC title to Muncie. BSU-49 BG-38

I have no idea about the bowl game!

Barak Obama vs. Dr. James Dobson

2008-06-24T22:29:00.003-04:00

"Even if we did have only Christians in our midst, if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America, whose Christianity would we teach in the schools? Would we go with James Dobson's or Al Sharpton's?"

The above quote comes from a speech delivered in 2006 by Illinois Senator Barak Obama. Dr. James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family took issue with Obama's comments on his radio show today.

First of all, let me say that I don't completely believe Christianity should be taught in public schools. Second of all, I think the above quote says a lot about Obama's understanding, or lack there of, of the Bible, our faith's ultimate athority. In my opinion this shows that Obama is simply another follower of post-modernism in which your faith is only what you want it to be. In other words, Obama is saying that we can make up our own "Christianity" and there is no determining who's right and who's wrong.

I think the United States has had some successful presidents that were not Christians. However, it must be noted that Barak Obama claims to be a Christian and is still trying to feel out what parts of Christianity he should grab hold of in an attempt to be elected.

If you wish to read more about Obama's statements and his on going fued with Dr. James Dobson you can do so here.

There is ONLY one way!

2008-06-24T09:30:00.003-04:00

A recent study of more than 35,000 Americans revealed some disturbing findings about American "Evangelicals." Here is the article from Time Magazine.

Americans of every religious stripe are considerably more tolerant of the beliefs of others than most of us might have assumed, according to a new poll released Monday. The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life last year surveyed 35,000 Americans, and found that 70% of respondents agreed with the statement "Many religions can lead to eternal life." Even more remarkable was the fact that 57% of Evangelical Christians were willing to accept that theirs might not be the only path to salvation, since most Christians historically have embraced the words of Jesus, in the Gospel of John, that "no one comes to the Father except through me." Even as mainline churches had become more tolerant, the exclusivity of Christianity's path to heaven has long been one of the Evangelicals' fundamental tenets. The new poll suggests a major shift, at least in the pews.
The Religious Landscape Survey's findings appear to signal that religion may actually be a less divisive factor in American political life than had been suggested by the national conversation over the last few decades. Peter Berger, University Professor of Sociology and Theology at Boston University, said that the poll confirms that "the so-called culture war, in its more aggressive form, is mainly waged between rather small groups of people." The combination of such tolerance with high levels of religious participation and intensity in the U.S., says Berger, "is distinctively American — and rather cheering. "
Less so, perhaps, to Christian conservatives, for whom Rice University sociologist D. Michael Lindsay suggests the survey results have a "devastating effect on theological purity." An acceptance of the notion of other paths to salvation dilutes the impact of the doctrine that Christ died to remove sin and thus opened the pathway to eternal life for those who accept him as their personal savior. It could also reduce the impulse to evangelize, which is based on the premise that those who are not Christian are denied salvation. The problem, says Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, is that "the cultural context and the reality of pluralism has pulled many away from historic Christianity."
Quizzed on the breadth of the poll's definition of "Evangelical," Pew pollster John Green said the 296-page survey made use of self-identification by the respondents' churches, denominations or fellowships, whose variety is the report's overriding theme. However, he said, if one isolates the most "traditionalist" members of the white Evangelical group, 50% still agreed that other faiths might offer a path to eternal life. In fact, of the dozens of denominations covered by the Pew survey, it was only Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses who answered in the majority that their own faith was the only way to eternal life.
Analysts expressed some surprise at how far the tolerance needle has swung, but said the trend itself was foreseeable because of American Christians' increasing proximity to other faiths since immigration quotas were loosened in the 1960s. Says Rice's Lindsay, the author of Faith in the Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite: "If you have a colleague who is Buddhist or your kid plays with a little boy who is Hindu, it changes your appreciation of the religious 'other.'"
While the combination of Americans' religiosity — more than half those polled said was "very important in their lives" — and their tolerance for the beliefs of others may suggest creedal confusion, this appears not to trouble good-hearted U.S. pew-sitters. Says Lindsay, "The problem is not that Americans don't believe in anything, but that they believe in everything, and the two things don't always fit together." But he adds, the views are consistent with tolerant views expressed by Evangelicals he met in various cities as he toured while promoting his book. Mohler agrees: "We've seen this coming," adding that the query about whether others can make it to heaven "has been the question I get asked by more college students and on my radio program." More so than Christ's divinity or Resurrection, he says, "the exclusivity of the Gospel is the most vulnerable doctrine in the face of the modern world."
Liberals and conservatives will interpret the numbers in different ways, says Pew's Green. "The liberal [interpretation] is that Americans are becoming more universalistic, religiously. The conservative one is that Americans are losing faith and becoming more accommodationist." But he says the truth may lie elsewhere. "Just because they don't want to believe that there's only one way to salvation doesn't meant that they don't take their religion very seriously."
The political implications of the Pew findings are more difficult to gauge. Green says that while Americans' unexpectedly high tolerance for one others� creeds might seem to blunt the sharp religious edge of some of today's campaign-trail discourse, it could also lead to larger religious coalitions around certain issues as pious believers overcome their inhibitions about working with others.
The survey's biggest challenge is to the theologians and pastors who will have to reconcile their flocks' acceptance of a new, polyglot heaven with the strict admission criteria to the gated community that preceded it.

We need to get back to teaching God's Truths. There IS ONLY ONE WAY to the father and that is through Jesus Christ. We must not lose this truth in an effort to make the message of Jesus relevant or because we don't want to be offensive. If if was not absolutely essential for Jesus to be crucified on the cross then He would not have been. The fact that he endured the agony of death and then defeated it proves that He is the ONLY way to salvation.

Please e-mail your comments to me at camandry@gmail.com

Andry reaches base in every plate appearance in softball debut

2008-06-23T20:54:00.004-04:00

Today I made my softball league debut, albeit in the post-season tournament, for the Gardenside Christian Church softball team. I decided I would take a page out of Greg Herriford's blog book by writing a story as if I covered the game for a print publication.

Lexington, KY-Cameron Andry didn't even know there was a Gardenside Christian softball game until about 3 pm.

He didn't know he was going to play in that game until 6:28. First pitch was scheduled for 6:30.

But as Andry walked off the field after a 18-13 Gardenside Christian victory he looked like a player who had been preparing for his season debut for months. Despite the fact that he was wearing khaki golf shorts and a t-shirt. And the fact that he arrived at the ball park wearing flip flops, without a glove or cleats.

Andry stepped into the batters box for the first time in a long time with his team trailing 8-3. The bases were loaded. Andry watched the first pitch by orders from the third base coach. When the second pitch sailed across the plate Andry sent it on a sharp line over second base, scoring two runs.

After the Gardenside rally in the second inning pulled the team within two runs Eastside was held at bay in the top of the third, scoring only two runs. Andry came to the plate again in the bottom half of the third inning with the score tied. This time his patience at the plate paid off and Andry reached on balls. He later scored.

Gardenside continued to pour it on. Andry continued his stellar play during his next at bat. He blooped a single over the third baseman's head which drove in another run. Andry walked again in the 6th inning.

Andry's line for the night 2-2 with 2 BB and 3 RBI. Not bad for a guy who hadn't swung a bat in a real game since the 3rd grade.

Gardenside improved to 6-4 on the season and will continue their quest to win the city softball title next Monday at 6:30.

A Fun Weekend!

2008-06-22T12:00:00.001-04:00

Today is the end of a very fun weekend for me. As I mentioned in my last post I was tired from two straight weeks of church camp...but I wasn't too tired to enjoy a great weekend with friends and family.

I was lucky to go to the same week of camp this week as the Cincinnati Christian Unviersity team that came to our week at Scenic Hills two weeks ago. I really became good friends with Brittany, Katy, Nate, and Sam from CCU and so did the rest of the Hillview faculty from the Scenic Hills week. So Sam (Bowles) and Jessie (my girlfriend) decided they would come to KCA on Friday and hang out with the CCU team and me.

When we left Kentucky Christian Assembly about 2 pm we decided we needed to party it up in Lexington before the CCU team headed back to Cincy. So we came back to Ken and Carol's house (Ken and Carol are in Africa right now) and just enjoyed each other's company for a while. Then we headed to the Mall where Sam Bowles made a cool purchase (He might blog about it so I won't) and then we went to Red Robbin (a very good O'Charley's like resturant) I had perhaps the best burger of my entire life for dinner and enjoyed some great laughs with friends before topping the night off with some coldstone ice cream and then a movie (The Bucket List).

Yesterday was also a very fun day as my Granny and Grandad came and

picked Jessie and me up this morning and took us to Shaker Village (picture below) outside of Harrodsburg, KY. It was a really neat experience and I learned a lot about the Shaker's, their dances, furniture, and architecture. After experience Shaker Village we went to the Cash family reunion and had some great food. Then Granny and Grandad brought me back to Lexington and headed home, unfortunately taking Jessie with them.

All in all a really good weekend!

Another Week of Camp

2008-06-21T22:50:00.004-04:00

I got home from another week of jr. high church camp yesterday afternoon. As you would imagine, I was pretty well pooped. (Although not too tired to enjoy a great night with Jessie, Sam, and the CCU team here in Lexington...but that's for another post)

This past week I was Teen Mission USA's represenative at Kentucky Christian Assembly. KCA is a more primitive camp than Scenic Hills and I was ok with that. The dean was a full-time mailman (he walked a 10 mile route daily) and a part-time youth minister. He was very passionate and good with the students. It wasn't the most organized week I've ever been too, in fact most of the time I felt out of the loop, but the results can't be argued with. There were 53 campers and by the end of the week 7 were baptized and many more rededicated their lives.

The students at the south central Kentucky camp are certainly not wealthy. There were not very many students wearing designer clothes...and when it came time for the offering for TM I must say my expectations were pretty low. Boy did God use those students to prove me wrong! The students raised (with some special incentives) a total of over $300. Over $200 of that came on the last night following a wonderful prayer walk that ultimately featured nearly 2 hours of intense prayer from each student and faculty member. It was evident that many if not all of the students at KCA chose to give sacrificially to TM. (A trick I learned from Greg may have also helped the students to give their money. I told them that if they took home money from camp then the next summer their parents wouldn't feel it was necessary to give them as much...haha...they listened!)

The last two weeks of camp have been really enjoyable. But I'm glad I don't have a week of camp or VBS this week. I'll just be hanging out with Greg and going to the station often. Thanks for reading!

Jr. High Students...AHHH!

2008-06-17T08:00:00.001-04:00

I really enjoy doing the jr. high age group week of camp. I've helped with that week for, I believe, 6 or 7 years now and I've enjoyed each one. However, last week at Scenic Hills was the more trying week I believe I've ever been too as faculty.

It was a rewarding week and I think we made a difference in some students' lives but...wow...did I want to just shake some of the kids!

I did more one-on-one counseling than I've ever done before at a week of camp and it was very exhausting. Some of the stories that students shared were just heartbreaking for me.

Some of the students (actually some of the boys) were just flat out bad. They put one boy's shorts in a toilet. They intentionally broke three glow sticks and poured them out on the floor. They were extremely obnoxious when it was bed time. They asked stupid questions. They gambled on stinkin carpet ball!!! I mean...some of those guys were just bad. But despite all of those things I think we softened some hearts and really made a difference. And that's why I love jr. high camp!

EMMY NOMINATED!

2008-06-16T08:00:00.000-04:00

I got the news last week that Cardinal Sports Live (or as you may have heard me call it, C.S.L.) has received its first every Emmy nomination. This is an incredible feat and one that we at CSL are very proud of. The Emmy awards ceremony we will be attending is in September and takes place in Cleveland. It's a black tie affair and one that I'm really looking forward to. I mean, an Emmy would be a nice addition to my resume!

A First Time

2008-06-15T01:28:00.006-04:00

This week I did something I had never done before. It was something that I have always looked forward to and it really was just as special as I had anticipated. On Wednesday evening, I baptized someone for the very first time.

His name is Bradley Montgomery. He's a very kind hearted boy and this week he decided to ask Jesus into his heart. Now, I really don't think his decision was really that closely tied to anything I said or did. I actually think it was some of the other campers and faculty. But, when he wanted to talk about his decision he came to me. We had some very good conversations about what becoming a Christian means and it was very obvious that he ready to make that decision.

It was such a humbling experience for me as I tiptoed down the steps of the pool. My mind was filled with memories of my sins and my unworthiness to actually baptize someone. As Bradley and I found a spot in the pool we stopped and I told him how I would cover his nose with his hand ect. The look in his eyes is something I will not soon forget.

His eyes said it all. They twinkled with the realization that a weight was about to be lifted off his shoulders. They were eyes filled with hope where despair had once roamed. They were eyes filled with joy.

I really don't remember much about the "good confession" we went through or the actually dunk in the water.

But one of my fondest memories of the entire event happened as Bradley and I walked back to the dorm to change out of our swimming trunks. I asked him how he felt and he response was...well...fantastic.

"I feel like I'm dreaming," he responded, "I just feel like I'm so light."

Forgiveness sure feels good.

I'm Back!

2008-06-13T21:24:00.002-04:00

I just got home from a wonderful week of jr. high chruch camp. I have several stories to tell you but I'll spread them out over the next few days. After being home for just a few hours, my overall thoughts on the week are that it was a good week. I think there were certainly lives changed and I'll get to all of that in the next couple of days. As well as some other really exciting news!

Firing and Hiring

2008-06-05T13:40:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was certainly a learning experience for me. I was exposed to "the business" of television news and its sometimes harsh dealings. For privacy's sake I won't mention the name of this person but a guy (we'll call him John) that I've been working with during my internship at WKYT has decided to leave the station. He hasn't shared where he'll be going or what he'll be doing. However, after talking to one of the men that has been at the station for 20+ years I realized that John may have "seen the writing on the wall" about his future with the station. He was a very engaging, witty, and likable on-air personality. He was extremely friendly and helpful to me during these first few weeks at the station but he also didn't seem to really work that hard. He didn't go out and shoot stories or report. He simply lined up what would go in the sports segments he was in charge of and then he would go on set and deliver it. I learned that it was that lazy or complacent attitude that was behind the "writing on the wall" for him.

I'm sure John will be fine. I'm not worried about him at all and in reality he beat WKYT to the punch by finding and taking another job before they cut him loose.

I also learned a little bit about the hiring process. It seems that WKYT has moved quickly in finding a replacement for John. The process was very fast. The guy got a phone call on Friday, came for an interview the next Tuesday, and will, barring any unusual turn of events, start work a week from this coming Monday. Altogether, it will be about 16 days from first contact to first day on the job for the new guy. Now that's moving quickly.

And for those of you who are thinking, "Man, they should just give the job to Cameron." I appreciate your support but...I still have a year of school left and Lexington, the #62 market, is not exactly an entry level market. Still, my internship gives me a leg up on many of my competitors and is continuing to create contacts that will benefit me down the road.

My Class

2008-06-04T11:55:00.004-04:00

Next week I will not be blogging very often if at all. I'll be doing something that I love to do...church camp! I'm going to be representing Teen Mission USA at Scenic Hills next week. It is the jr. high 1 week and will feature the age group of kids going into 8th and 9th grade.

I'm also teaching a class while I'm there. I wanted to get some of your feedback on my lesson rough drafts so just take a gander at what I'm going to be teaching.

Last year I taught about parables while we walked through the beautiful paths of camp. This year I'm going to continue with the concept of getting my class out in the woods away from camp. However, since we will have many of the same kids from last year I wanted to teach something different. So...this is what I've come up with.

I'm going to use my class as a story time. I'll be featuring 4 Bible characters, each one with something that the kids might be able to relate to. The first character is Paul. I'm still thinking about telling the story of Paul but putting it in modern day terms but that's a work in progress. Either way, the ultimate lesson behind Paul is this: Don't let your past dictate your future. My thinking behind this is that there are going to be kids at this week that have some messed up pasts, some that are "known" for being a crazy kid or a bad kid. I want them to understand that God can take that past and use it for his glory.

The second character is David. The concept is this: There will be kids at the week that have been given some wonderful talents and gifts from God but they've got a sin in their past...a "Bathsheba" of their own that they need to let God take.

The third character is Jonah. The concept is this: There will be some kids that God is calling to do more...to talk to the kids at their school who nobody really wants to talk to...to be a leader in their youth group...maybe even to go into full time ministry in the future. But they're trying to push God's calling away. They're trying to run and just live a "normal" life.

The final character is Judas. The concept is this: Perhaps if there's one character in the Bible that we can all relate to very closely it's Judas. We have the opportunity to share communion with Jesus. We have the opportunity to be a best friend with the savior of the Universe and yet we through it all away for earthly desires. However, the difference between us and Judas...Judas paid a dear price for what he did...Jesus paid our price for us.

Perhaps you think there's a character that better personafies the concept I'm going for with each less. If so please send me an e-mail with your thoughts and suggestions.

I'm also going to start out each lesson with a crazy/bizarre story from the Bible. Something to kinda break the ice and grab the kids' attention. For example...Ehud, Baalam's donkey, Elijah calling out the bears on 42 kids because they made fun of his bald head, and perhaps some others.

Once again, if you have any stories to suggest just shoot me an e-mail a camandry@gmail.com

Also, have not received any responses to the challenge I issued a couple of days ago. Can you describe your life in a 6 word phrase? I'm really interested to see what people come up with.

Finally...The results are in and...I won a Communicator Award!

2008-06-02T14:56:00.003-04:00

I just got news from Mike Stevens, the sports director at WCRD, that my football broadcast team won a Communicator Award for one of our broadcasts last season. It's a nice accomplishment as well as a testament to the hard work our broadcast team put in to each broadcast.

Altogether, WCRD collected a station-record 7 Communicators Awards in several different categories. We'll set our goals even higher this coming school year!

Also, please watch the two part ESPN piece I posted below. I promise you will not be disappointed.

The Greatest ESPN Story

2008-06-02T00:21:00.003-04:00

My words can't do this story justice. This is, simply put, a remarkable story.

Coach Mulkey Part 1

Coach Mulkey Part 2

Your Life in 6 Words

2008-06-01T15:14:00.004-04:00

Today I went to Southland Christian Church. I really enjoyed the service. John Meece, the senior minister at SCC, delivered the message and it was a very good one. The sermon series that Southland is currently working through is "Channel Surfing." They've picked 4 channels to do sermons on. Today's message was based on the Discovery Channel. It hinged on the 6 word tag line for the Discovery Channel..."Discover Your World in High Definition"

John Meece issued a challenge for us to give a 6 word memoir of our lives. I came up with this..."Driven to succeed despite my failures."

I'm still thinking because there were some very thought provoking memoirs that Meece talked about. One in particular that fascinated me was by Earnest Hemingway. He was challenged to write a story in only 6 words. After two weeks in a cabin in the mountains Hemingway penned this short story..."For sale: Baby shoes, Never worn." Wow.

If you would like...think about a 6 word memoir about your life. Write it and send it to me. I'd like to see what everybody comes up with.

My New Strategy

2008-05-31T23:09:00.003-04:00

You may have noticed that I'm trying a new strategy with my posts. For one, I'm working hard to post something every day. As I told Marty yesterday, I didn't know when I started this blog that it would become a full time job pleasing my viewers! I'm just kidding...I'm glad that someone out there cares about what I'm doing enough to check this thing every day.

The second "new strategy" I'm implementing is I'm trying to include a picture with at least most of my new posts. I hope this doesn't slow down the page loading for those of you who are using dial-up. Please shoot me an e-mail and let me know how you feel about the pictures.

Also, I'm going to Southland Christian Church tomorrow morning. I'll let you know what I think about it sometime tomorrow.

My First Web Story

2008-05-30T17:24:00.001-04:00

I successfully posted my first web story today on the WKYT website. You can view the story here.

My First Motorcycle Ride

2008-05-30T13:15:00.005-04:00

This picture used without the written consent of Samuel Curtis Bowles

Sam brought up a very good point regarding my post about last weekend. I failed to mention that he had let me ride his motorcycle! Sam, I apologize for leaving that very exciting detail out of my post! :)

Most of you probably know this about me but I'll say it anyway...I'm not a dare devil in the least! I never enjoyed riding my bike over ramps or jumping from roof tops. I don't even like climbing trees. This may come as a surprise to you but it's really true. I don't typically drive fast...although I have been stopped a few times. (I certainly don't drive fast now because it is so inefficient for fuel) I do love roller coasters and scary rides but that's about as crazy as I get when it comes to doing things that could hurt me. I've always admired Sam because he is willing to try just about anything. I think most of you can recall a broken arm he suffered because he fell out of a tree he was climbing.

This difference between us was once again evident over the weekend when I took a short ride on his motorcycle. I was scared! I didn't go fast, I didn't make any sharp turns...in fact, I made a very wide turn. I never even got the bike out of 1st gear! It's funny but we've both always been like that. What can I say? I'm just a scaredy cat!

Lexington Catholic vs. Dunbar

2008-05-28T22:06:00.002-04:00

Tonight I actually got to do some reporting. Now, I gotta clarify and let you know that my reporting didn't actually get on the air but it was an opportunity to get some practice and put some stuff together for my resume tape. I'll try to put the package on youtube when I'm done with it. I may not get it up until Friday if I get it on at all.

I covered the baseball district championship between Lex Catholic and Dunbar. They are two teams with no love lost between them. They despise each other and last season the district championship paired the same teams and Dunbar advanced with a 1-0 victory. This year however was a different story as Lex Catholic won tonight's game 7-0 upon the arm of University of Florida bound pitcher Nick Maronde, pictured above.

Tom Leach

2008-05-28T16:47:00.003-04:00

I e-mailed Tom Leach (the voice of UK football and basketball) a few days ago about critiquing a couple of my past broadcasts. He e-mailed me back today and told me he would be glad to do so. It's pretty cool to have a guy with a high profile position critiquing my tapes. I'll let you know what he has to say about my broadcasts when he sends his critique my way.

Family and Friends

2008-05-27T10:57:00.003-04:00

It may sound like a bit of an exageration but this past weekend was one of the best weekends in recent memory for me. I didn't involve any spectacular sporting event or great trip. It didn't even involve me broadcasting any games. It was just a laid back weekend where I got to spend time with my family.
I have to be the luckiest person in the world to have the family I have. My Granny and Grandad and MawMaw and Pawpaw are so loving and encouraging. They are so interested in what I'm doing that they actually get perturbed when I don't blog for a couple of days. My parents just pour out love for me. They encourage and advise me and make me feel like I'm the most important person in the world....and the crazy thing is they also do that for 3 other boys.
I think I just needed to say thank you to my family and friends that shared this weekend with me. It was encouraging and enjoyable.

I'm Actually Doing Stuff

2008-05-24T16:44:00.002-04:00

I was a little bit worried heading into my internship at WKYT that I would not really get to do much more than go fetch the carry out or watch the video feed to make sure nothing "went wrong." However, after only a couple of weeks at WKYT I'm already really getting my hands dirty.

WKYT is in a unique circumstance because not only do they produce all of the newscasts for WKYT but they (or I guess I could say "we") are also responsible for the local fox affiliate's news show at 10 pm. So...last night Drew Deener, the weeknight sports anchor for WKYT let me produce the entire 7 minute sports segment for Fox's 10 pm show. I chose which stories we would run, I wrote those stories, then I edited the video for those stories. The only part of the segment I didn't do was the actually on-air delivery. It was a cool learning experience. And, in case you were wondering, everything went perfectly smooth.

I'm home for the holiday weekend and I'm enjoying some time with Jessie and my family! I'll write again soon.

"Loving Everyone Without Really Loving Anyone"

2008-05-20T17:46:00.003-04:00

Today Greg and I went to Beatyville, KY. Beatyville is a small town, no larger than Orleans. It is is Lee County which is the county just north of Osley County. And to help you understand the situation of this area of northeastern Kentucky let me tell you that Osley County is the 2nd poorest county in the entire country! People in Lee and Osley Counties do not have very much money.

So today we stopped by a camp ground of sorts. The place is an area which houses mission teams throughout the summer and sets up these mission teams with projects to serve the people in these poor and struggling communities. The camp group also houses a second hand store.
Greg and I stopped in this store and had a good conversation with the lady that runs it. She was extremely nice and extremely talkative. And she is certainly living out Jesus' love to those communities.

This lady is 63 years old. She started this store because she saw a need that poor people in the community needed a place to buy clothing. She doesn't like to make people pay for things but the store has generated much more business when it charges a little money for items because people keep their pride. I was so moved by this lady's concern for her community. She works so hard trying to make people's lives a little better.

As I listened to her speak I couldn't help but think about something that Joe, the minister here at Gardenside said on Sunday. He said, "Too many Christians are loving everyone without loving anyone." In other words, we are not being specific and purposeful in our love for others. The lady in Lee County is loving people in specific ways. She seeks out people who are hurting and needing help and she finds a way to enrich their lives. I pray I can be more specific and purposeful in my love for others.

Jessie

I need to mention my beautiful girlfriend for a moment as well. She is simply AMAZING! She has a way of lifting me up and loving me the way I need to be loved when I need it. I haven't mentioned her very often on this blog and that's not really fair to her or to you who are reading and wondering what my life is like on an everyday basis. Jessie is such a huge part of my everyday life and she's a blessing that I do not deserve. I love her and miss her.

Another really neat story dealing with sports

2008-05-20T11:47:00.003-04:00

Here's the link to a video that is pretty cool. I've always thought doing something like this would be neat...obviously somebody else thought so too. This is certainly something these kids will remember and cherish for the rest of their lives.

Watch the video

The Beauty of Sports

2008-05-19T16:33:00.001-04:00

Here's a video by ESPN that proves once again people have something to gain from the world of sports.

Sara Tucholsky's First Homerun

Update on Sports Immersion

2008-05-19T13:29:00.002-04:00

Here's a story on the sports immersion program I'll be participating in next semester. This is just more evidence that Ball State is second to none in telecommunications.

Ball State Creates Sports Immersion Program

My First Day at WKYT

2008-05-13T23:43:00.003-04:00

This afternoon I embarked on what will surely be a very exciting part of my summer...my internship in the sports department at WKYT 27. It was a great first day. I got to know a few of the men that I'll be working with throughout the summer and things look like they'll be really fun.

I became acclimated with the sports department section of the building (which looks like a beautiful colonial style mansion). In fact, I actually edited together 3 highlight reels for the 10 o'clock show. The guys were quick to accept me and to start teaching me the ins and outs of the station.

Today was also a reassurance that Ball State's tcom department is everything that it's cracked up to be! When one of the sports reporters was explaining some of the programs they use he was absolutely amazed to learn I already had experience with those programs. In fact he said, "How the h%^* did you learn all this stuff?" Then later, as I was preparing to leave for the evening, the same guy said, "Well Cameron, you're a quick study but you are by far the farthest along first-day-intern in the history of WKYT."

Both of those statements were compliments of not only me but Ball State and my professors who have obviously taught me the things that I need to know in the real world.

Ultimately it was a very enjoyable first day and I'm really looking forward to working as part of the "WKYT Sports First" team throughout the summer.

Side Note: WKYT is one of only a handful of stations in the entire country that shoot high-definition in the field instead of converting it later.

My Mom

2008-05-09T20:30:00.003-04:00

I thought with Mother's day coming up it would be an appropriate time to share some of the feelings about my mom.

I think my mom is the best mom in the world. Now, there may be lots of people that will say that about their moms but I really do believe it. Let me tell you why.

My mom is a servant. She serves her children, her husband, her church, and the Lord. She simply has a servant's heart. Sometimes, I just take a moment to think about all of the selfless acts she practices on a daily basis and the thought is very humbling. For example, right now as I type this she is in the kitchen preparing dinner. Before she could start dinner she had to make a run to wal-mart for some ingredients. Now, I might enjoy preparing dinner for one night but to do it night in a night out would simply wear me out. But my mom simply does it. It's all part of her duty as a mother and she just serves with no expectations for recognition.

I'll give you some more reasons why my mom is the greatest mom in the world. She's a working mother with a full-time job and she stills finds time to enjoy life. She has made her boys one of her main priorities and she loves to enjoy our activities. She never misses our activities. Whether it's watching wrestling, football, or golf she just loves it. I'm sure if you go down to the bleachers in Chamber's gymnasium or Cook field you'll find a perfect imprint of my mother's rear end because she's seen so many games there. And she wouldn't have it any other way.

I also love my mom because she's willing to let us go. She's never been one to keep us home and keep us from going to camps or anything else. She certainly loves it when all of us are home but it really doesn't happen all that often because we're all involved in everything and she doesn't complain she just encourages us and loves us.

I could go on and on about why I love my mom. But the bottom line is she is a wonderful mom and I'm so blessed to be her son. There's no better feeling than walking in to my living room after being away at school for a few weeks and being greeted by a huge hug from my mom.

Mom, I love you.

Indiana Votes

2008-05-08T22:34:00.005-04:00

A couple of days ago the people of Indiana had a great opportunity. As the eyes of the entire world focused on the Hoosier state I couldn't help but wonder what role religion plays in the way people vote. I know people, and I may be one but I'm not sure, who really just can't bend on some issues. You know, the "moral" issues that seem to always come up during elections like abortion and gay marriage. Now, I'm a conservative and usually vote republican...but sometimes I think the wrong things determine how we vote.

I mean, should the fact that candidate A's affiliated party has a certain view on a "moral" issue really make him unable to be the best candidate? I do think that the Holy Spirit should guide our decisions...especially as we choose the best people to run our town, county, state, and country. But, is it possible that just a Democrat is the best candidate? Is it possible that Republicans are abusing the support they receive from the "moral" people?

I'm just not sure about all of this. I love democracy! But sometimes I think we've corrupted the system to the point where we don't choose the best candidate. It's like choosing a car based on not it's engine, the mileage, or its gas efficiency but instead based on the paint job and only the paint job. If that makes any sense.

Anyway...I'm just talking about the things that have been on my mind. I certainly don't have anything "figured out." These are just my quandaries.

By the way...you have a chance to vote on my blog...look at the poll question on the right side of the page and cast your vote!

Meeting a McCoy!

2008-05-04T23:15:00.002-04:00

I had a very interesting day on Friday. First, it was my last day of Newslink Indiana. I'll have a post relecting on the semester in the next few days but I chose a fun story to end the semester with. I'm not going to give it all away but I'll give you a little tease to encourage you to watch. My story dealt with 80-something-year-old ladies and nude poses! You can watch the story here.

But...the interesting part of my day that'll I'll tell you about in this blog is a really cool story. Rachel, my photographer for the story, and I were hungry after finishing our story. We were in a town that is about the size of Paoli, called Winchester. (Paoli basketball fans may recognize this name...the Rams and the Golden Falcons seemed to meet year after year in the semi state in the early years of class basketball. The Golden Falcons and the RAms both have enjoyed a return to glory as well. In fact, Wincherster has been the 2A runner-up the last two season.) Anyway...Rachel and I decided to grab a bite to eat and we walked a block down from the town square to a little pizza parlor.

I wish I could remember the name of the place but I'll just say that it was less than half the size of Papinno's. We walked in and order our pizza. Then, we went to sit down at one of the two card-table sized tables in the place. We looked up and noticed all of the empty wall space had been filled with memorabilia. Posters, tickets, records, record covers, pictures, and much more...all from the band The McCoy's. Now...to be honest...I had never heard of The McCoy's. You may not know the name either but I'm sure you know one of their songs. It was their only billboard number 1..."Hang on Sloopy" If you've ever been to a Paoli high school basketball game then you've heard the pep band play this.

Anyway...Rachel and I were both intrigued so we decided to ask why this little pizza place had all of this stuff. The lady was quick to share with us that her husband was the key board player for this 1960's boy band. The man himself then walked out and talked to us for about 15 minutes about his days in the band. The McCoy's actually opened for the Beatles for about 6 months. I was talking to a former rock star! I got his autograph (which he really enjoyed giving) and learned a lot about this guy's life. It was a neat experience! You never know when you may be talking to somebody who was a somebody at one point or another.

This is why sports are important

2008-05-01T10:12:00.001-04:00

I know some people say sports aren't important and they serve no purpose other than meaningless entertainment...this story is yet another example of why sports do make a difference in people's lives.

Next Semester

2008-04-27T21:25:00.002-04:00

I'm not sure how many of you are aware of what I'm a part of next semester. I'll be part of a brand new program, one that has never been done before at any university in the country, called sports immersion. (Our name is still being decided so it will be much more flashy than "sports immersion")

In fact, Sports Video Group, is doing a story about what our program is going to be about on thier website tomorrow. This is a link to thier website.

Our group, which consists of 12 students, 4 faculty, and 1 graduate assistant, had a meeting tonight to discuss what next semester will look like. I'll tell you a few of the ideas that are looking like they're going to happen.

This program is going to be somewhat similar to what I did with Newslink Indiana although it will be completely about Ball State sports. We will be working on many packages about players, coaches, teams, cheerleaders, fanatical fans, referees, and more. We will also be doing some remotes. Remotes are simply games televised from location just like ESPN, CBS, NBC, and others do all of the time. This will be great experience because it is exactly what I want to do for a career. (I'll still be doing play-by-play for all of Ball State's football games on WCRD)

We'll also be doing atleast one 30-minute show a week. This is simply going to be a place for us to show our material.

We're going to have a website which will feature all of our packages, shows, podcasts, and other things.

More than likely, we'll also be working with The Big Ten Network and ESPN on some remotes during the semester.

We'll also be sending a package that we do on, for example, a player from Toledo to the Toledo tv stations to allow them to show it.

So, this all adds up to some amazing experience and resume building blocks. In essence, I could have on my resume that I've had my material show or worked with- ESPN, The Big Ten Network, numerous local tv affiliates, and ballstatesports.com.

I am so extremely excited about this opportunity. I'm going to be very busy because I'm going to also have a few other classes on top of my responsibilites with sports immersion but the experience is going to be invaluable.

I'll keep you updated on new developements about this over the summer.

If you would like to give input on potential names for our program then here's a few of the top choices:
1. Cardinal Sports 360
2. Cardinal and White Sports Focus
3. Cardinal Sports 365
4. Your idea

A Few More Awards

2008-04-25T23:34:00.001-04:00

I just got a couple of awards from the WCRD sports department. I won Junior of the Year (Last year I won sophomore of the year and the year before that I won freshman of the year).

My football broadcast team also was honored as the broadcast team of the year. I was very pleased with both awards.

I should hear back about the national Communicators awards in the next month.

That's it for now.

Hello

2008-04-25T00:35:00.002-04:00

Wow...it's been a while since I last wrote. Sorry to everyone who checks this thing regularly (Laura). :)

To keep you updated on my summer plans...I'll be done with this semester in a week. (I don't any real finals but Jessie does so say a prayer for her) I will get home on Saturday, May 3rd...Derby Day. I will be home for a week before I move to Lexington to start my internship. I will be living with Ken and Carol Henderson while I'm in Lexington and I'm excited about being in a new city and meeting and getting to know new people. I still don't know exactly what I'll be doing for my internship but I'll be finding out soon.

In other news...if you want to see some more of my work from this semester you can check click here. I'll be adding a few more of my pieces from this semester in the next week so continue to search for me on youtube.com if you want to watch more stuff.

I'll write again soon.

God Is Good

2008-04-09T17:50:00.002-04:00

The Lord has blessed me in some unique ways the past few days. On Friday, Jessie and I went to the telecommunications banquet for the tcom department here at BSU. It was a fun evening...everyone got dressed up and it was a celebration of the year and there were several awards and scholarships given. I was the recepient of the Tom Hammond News Scholarship. The scholarship is worth $1,000 for next school year and was given out by "The Voice of the Ball State Cardinals" for more than 50 years...Morry Mannies. It was an honor and blessing to recieve this scholarship and certainly the Lord was good in this.

Yesterday I found out some more very good news. I was selected as the intern for WKYT-TV's sports department. WKYT is the CBS affiliate in Lexington and this has been my number one choice for my internship since Januarary. I am very excited about this opportunity. However, there are some things I need to work out...for example-where I'm going to live in Lexington and where I'm going to work. So...if you have any ideas then please let me know. And as always...keep these issues in your prayers. Once again...God is good!

Press Corp Circus

2008-04-01T22:31:00.002-04:00

Hillary Clinton came to Muncie last Friday. It was a very interesting event. Now I'm sure most of you know where I stand on the political scale so you can imagine how this was an interesting event for me. Over 3,000 Hillary Clinton supporters were maybe a little much for me but seeing every tv station from Indianapolis and all of the national press corp was really cool for me. It was certainly a "real world" experience for me as I was sandwiched between longtime professionals doing their jobs. You can check out my work (although the sound isn't that great for the Clinton one) at the following link.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Cameron+Andry&search_type=

Hillary Clinton Comes to Town

2008-03-29T10:57:00.002-04:00

I covered Hillary Clinton's visit to Muncie last night. It was a pretty neat experience. Every local and regional media outlet was in attendance along with the travelling national media so it was a big stage for a college kid.

My photographer and I arrived around 6:30 to the Muncie Central High School gym. Clinton was scheduled to arrive at 8:45 so we had some time to kill so we set up our stuff and waited...and waited...and waited. Finally, around 8:30 we heard that the Clinton train was running about an hour late. So we decided to do a few quick interviews with some of the crowd members and get that part out of the way.

Finally, around 9:30 Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived in Middletown, USA. The crowd was very energetic as Clinton arrived. In fact, the entire crowd stood for the first 20 minutes of her speech.

Clinton touched on issues that affected nearly every person in attendance. She hit home with the laborers (Muncie has many although many of those jobs have been lost in the last 5 years) as she promised to stop tax breaks for companies that outsource to another country.

Clinton hit home with the college audience (I would estimate between 300-500 BSU students) by promising to lower interest rates on college loans. She also mentioned a plan to forgive the college debts of those who will go into public service such as the millitary, teaching, public safety. (A lot of good that does me! Let's forgive their debt and push it off on the Tcom majors!)

Ultimately it was a good experience. The speech finished around 10:15 and we headed back to the newsroom to edit our material. The completed package will be done sometime today while a 2 minute clip of Clinton's speech is now available on newslinkindiana.com.

Selfish Christian

2008-03-28T01:00:00.004-04:00

Far too often, I'm a selfish Christian. I miss the point altogether. Too often I get all caught up in how I am doing. How do I get past this sin? Why do I feel this way? When will I know what the Lord wants in this part of my life? Too often I forget that Christianity is not about me. It's about Jesus. It's about his love.

Sometimes I minimize Jesus to a cleaning solution...something that I spray on my scum littered heart to clean it up. However, the truth is that Jesus is so much more than that. The reality is that my sins are forgiven. And not just the sins of my past but the sins of my future, they're all erased. That is not all that Jesus and following him is about...although far too often that's exactly what I make it about.

Love.
Today, I came home to my apartment to find a stranger sitting on my couch. He was a young man about my age. I sat down, logged on my computer and checked my e-mail. The man was on the phone so I didn't interrupt him. Finally, he hung up his phone and stood up. I looked at him and we introduced ourselves.
I asked him, "So, what are you doing around here?"
"Well, my mom kicked my out of the house," he said.
"Her boyfriend doesn't like me much so they kicked my out about two weeks ago," he continued. "I'm friends with ASB and I've been living on the streets since I was kicked out. My sister brought me here last night."

I was stunned. Part of my heart broke for this young man, and sadly, part of my wondered what he did wrong and why he wasn't making something of his life. He went on to explain that he was looking for a job but it would be tough because he didn't have a car. I didn't have long to chat so that was about the extint of our conversation.

Tonight, I realized how often I think about my own spiritial status. I get caught up in my sins that have already been forgiven. Meanwhile, there's a young man out there who's been thrown out of his house and just needs to be loved. This truth broke my heart. I am certainly a selfish Christian. Lord, give me a heart for people like you had when you walked this earth, the kind of heart for people that led you to send your only son. Lord, let me love like you. Amen.

Notes

2008-03-05T16:30:00.002-05:00

A couple of notes for everybody.

You can check out a couple of packages I've reported on www.newslinkindiana.com. My photographer on both of these packages was Derek Kratzer and he has done a great job shooting and editing these spots.

Also, I turned in my application for another immersion program next semester. (Yes, I know I'm crazy) However, this immersion program is brand new and this coming fall semester will be the pilot semester and I will be completely immersed in SPORTS MEDIA!!!! I am so extremely excited. The competition is pretty stiff to see who will get to take part in it next semester so I'm praying that I'll get the opportunity.

One last thing...I want to encourage everyone to cheer hard for my UK Wildcats in their games tonight and Sunday. If they're able to win...they should make the NCAA field of 64. Also, everybody cheer hard for the Paoli Rams as they play in the regional this Saturday in Huntingburg. I'll be there and can't wait to see Indiana High School basketball at its finest.

More Stuff

2008-03-04T21:59:00.002-05:00

I had a good weekend this past weekend. Jessie and I went to a really good concert on Friday night at The Living Room (which I've mentioned before) and saw a guy who graduated from Ball State last year and is a friend of mine...Jon Hainstock. (You can check him out on myspace)

Saturday- Jessie's family came up and we looked for and found a place for Jessie and her roommate, Katy, to live next year. It's actually the apartment complext next to mine which is cool and their place is really cool. They've also got a very nice and strict land lord which is a very good thing.

Sunday- Jessie and I tried a new church. We went to the 10:45 service at Madison Park Church of God in Anderson. It is a really really big church (comparable in numbers and buildings to Northside Christian). The service however was not what neither of us had anticiapated. The church has a full orchestra for worship to go along with a probably 100 person choir. It was cool but I don't think I would enjoy it every week. Jessie said it best at lunch when she said it felt a lot more like a show than a worship service. It just wasn't very engaging.

Monday- It was a pretty boring day...my partner and I had no luck while trying to work on stories so we ended up just writing some short stories for the newscast.
Today- I worked on a story about the ice storm that slid through our area and the havock it wrecked on the area. It was a pretty straight forward story but I worked with Da Yan...the student from China...and I found out that she is a Christian and has been since about August. We got to talk about that and she shared that she has convinced her parents to read the Bible when she goes back to China. It was cool to talk to her about that.

I also got to do the play-by-play for the Ball State men's basketball team tonight. It was senior night for our lone senior, Peyton Stovall. The Cardinals won against Northern Illinois 67-63. It was a fun game to call and a very emotional night. For one it was Stovall's last game and he is a wonderful player and an even better person. (He's one of 10 finalists for the John Wooden Citizenship Award this season) The second reason it was a little emotional although not too much was the fact that it was the first road game for Northern Illinois since the tragedy on Feb. 14th.

The other cool thing about the game was that it was simalcasted on the internet. Basically a crew shot the game on video and used our audio on Ballstatesports.com. It was pretty cool.

Sick

2008-02-26T12:25:00.002-05:00

I'm sick today. I started feeling bad yesterday about noon and it only got worse. I had another busy day which included newslink until 5 class and a speaker from 6-8 and basketball officiating from 8:30-11 (it was supposed to be 12 but I simply couldn't run the court any more). My whole body aches and I had a fever last night of 103 which has since declined slightly. Although my mom isn't here to take car of me lucky for me Jessie has been playing nurse. I'm still in bed right now and I haven't moved since last night when I went to sleep. Hopefully this is something that I'll be over quickly.

Ball

2008-02-23T16:48:00.002-05:00

It's been too long since I last wrote so I apologize for that. I've had a busy but pretty uneventful week. I'm the producer this week for newslink which basically means I'm the boss. I started on Thursday and will be producing the newscast until this coming Wednesday.

I'll give you a quick explaination of what I do as a producer. I assign stories to the crews for each day and then I assemble the three news briefs which we broadcast. The producer is responsible for making sure everything goes smoothly during the day. All of these things are pretty cool but I'm also just stuck in the newsroom all day so that gets a little boring. The other interesting thing has been the fact that on Thursday and Friday, my first two days producing, our head instructor has been out sick. On Thursday, the other instructor was there but he was off on Friday so it was all me then. Anyway...that's what I've been doing.

Also, I wanna take a little time to talk about basketball. I'm so proud of my beloved UK Wildcats. They've been fighting so hard and are one quite a streak right now (except that Vandy game, which we won't talk about). I think this season has been on of the most frustrating and rewarding seasons to be a Wildcat fan in a long time.

Corey and I went to Lexington on Tuesday night to watch UK play Georgia. We had a great time and the Cats won so it was a really really fun trip for us.

Last night I went to the Marion Giants vs. Fort Wayne Snider game with my Dad's cousin, Phil Berkley. It was a very competitive game and myself being an Indiana high school basketball fan it was a great venue in a gym with TONS of history at Marion. Marion won and they have a very good chance of making a deep tournament run.

In other high school basketball, I'm really wishing I could be at Ron Furgeson Gymnasium tonight as the Rams and the Wolfpack renew thier rivalry. It should be a great atmosphere as the Rams take on old coach Mike Brown.

That's about it for now.

Oh by the way, I can't wait to get on a golf course!

Wrong

2008-02-13T23:52:00.003-05:00

I just read an article that made me cry. I think that every day I

work in a newsroom I become just a little more cauliced to people's circumstances. I think that it's almost a requirement of the job...if I let everything bad that I see effect me I would go insane. But this story hit me.

His name was Demonte. Deomonte was a typical 10-year-old boy. He loved football and candy. He loved to play jokes and dance.

He was also a foster child, a romer with no real family. Five months ago Demonte's class at School 83 on the northeast side of Indianapolis was told to gather on the carpeted floor in the classroom. Marianne Karn, the teacher of the 5th and 6th grade combined classes told the students there had been a terrible tragedy in their class.

She explained that Demonte had been killed. She didn't go into details.

Demonte was at home in his bedroom when he was stabbed to death. The killer was his foster-mother's adult son.

To help some of Demonte's friends deal with their feelings one of the counselers took the students to see Demonte's grave. When they found it tucked in a back corner of a crowded Indy cemetary they were shocked and hurt.

Demonte didn't have a head stone. The only thing marking his grave was the fresh dirt laid over his casket. He had no family to pay for a head stone.

So Demonte's friends made a decision. They would pay for a head stone. They would not let thier friend be forgotten. But students at School 83 don't have a lot of spare cash around, and niether do their parents. So the students decided to have a fundraiser.

This afternoon, the last two hours of school, Demonte's friends will dance in his memory. They will dance with their Valentine's but remember their friend.

I know there are so many more Demonte's in the world...so many people with rough lives who live every day hoping they'll make it to the night. My thoughts and tears certainly don't do anything...I'm not sure what I can do anyway...but I don't understand why I was born into the wonderful family I have and others like Demonte are born into his life. I think it's wrong.

Anchoring

2008-02-13T23:26:00.002-05:00

Tonight I was the anchor for Newswatch. Newswatch is a student produced, live, 30 minute broadcast which airs on cable and is only available in Delaware county. The show runs from 9-9:30 pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I'm in a class that runs the Wednesday show so that's why I was anchoring. It was a pretty cool thing. I've had some experience with anchoring but this was my first full fledged newscast. Things went really well...by far our best show yet (that really didn't have much, if anything, to do with my job). It was another good, long, exciting day in Cameron's Chronicles.

Awards

2008-02-13T00:07:00.002-05:00

I forgot to mention that my color commentator and I are up for a couple of awards for our work on Ball State football games this past fall. We are up for sports play-by-play broadcast of the year for Indiana colleges. The IASB (Indiana Association of School Broadcasters) is the presenter of that award. We are also up for a Communicator award which is national award for students. I'm excited to find out the results in the next few weeks. I'll keep you updated!

Read the blog bellow...it's new as well.

Gospel and Murder

2008-02-12T23:01:00.003-05:00

I tried to share the gospel today. I've never felt good at it (I'm not sure anyone really feels like they're good at telling people about Jesus) but I not only feel insuficient in my efforts to be more honest with you I feel scared to death. But yesterday I saw a door creep open and I knew today I would have a chance to really share about Jesus, and thankfully when the opportunity came today, the Lord put some words in my mouth.

I was out chasing scanner talk with my partner/photographer Megan yesterday and we began talking about Marriage (she's married and has a 2 year old son) and that led to talk about what the Bible says about sex before marriage. Let me say here that she asked me why Jessie and I chose to live the way we do (like not sleeping at each other's places) and so I explained and that led to more questions. However, yesterday this whole conversation took place as she was dropping me off at my apartment so I didn't get to go into much depth and that was certainly a blessing.

I kenw that I would have an opportunity today so I asked one of my room mates about some very good questions Megan had asked (ie: Aren't some parts of the Bible irrelevant of out-dated?) and how he would respond to those questions and ultimately how I could turn the conversation to the gospel.

So today the opportunity presented itself. I don't know how it went. I know I talked a lot (probably way too much) but she did have several good responses. I also know that she has a desire to know the Lord and I'm praying the Lord will use what I said. I also know that sharing the gospel is scary, difficult, and joyful.

Oh, and about the murder part. Megan and I covered a murder today. We got to the scene shortly after the police arrived and we didn't really see anything graphic but we did see the investigation in progress. I hope I don't sound strange or inhumane when I say this but it was a very intriguing and cool story for us. At the time we aired the story there was no suspect we knew about so that's kinda scary.

Other than all that...just another day in Cameron's Chronicles!

Fairmount

2008-02-07T00:51:00.000-05:00

Today my partner Steve and I decided to get to the bottom of an issue that's hanging over the small town of Fairmount. Perhaps you've heard of Fairmount, it's actually a small town with a pretty big history. Fairmount is the hometown of two famous people, the first is James Dean and the second is Jim Davis (The creator of Garfield).

Anyway (I'm easily side tracked by history like that) recently the Fairmount town marshall was forced to take leave with pay and just Monday he resigned his position. Also on Monday it was discovered that the Indiana State Police and the FBI are currently investigating the town marshall. So...Steve and I decided we would try to find out what in the world the FBI is doing in Fairmount, Indiana. We drove to Fairmount (about a 35 minute drive) and started asking people what they knew. We continually got the same answer, "Well, I don't know for sure but I heard that..."

We wanted a little more than what was the latest gossip about the story but when we went to the police station you would have thought we were asking for credit card and social security numbers. They would barely mutter "no comment." So we called the "High Hog" as some of the local's called her. She was the boss on the town board but she said she had nothing to say about the situation. At this point Steve and I really needed a story and so far we had nothing. So we decided to go to the local diner (it was a neat little place) and wait for some locals. Boy did we hit the jackpot.

We found out that every day at around noon 6 or 7 local farmers gathered and the diner for lunch. We asked the leader of this group if he would mind if we put a mic on the table and simply record their conversations. He agreed and what an "interview" it was.

We sat around for an hour+ and listened to these fellas shoot the breeze about everything under the sun. We got some good quotes about how the farmers didn't know anything but they all had their ideas about what was going on. The package we turned is now online at www.newslinkindiana.com.

It was a really neat experience and Steve and I got some really good food too. I'll also do some shameless promotion here. For newslink I'll be blogging every Wednesday and today was my first day. You can check it out by clicking on the blog section on the top of the newslink indiana website.

Thoughts

2008-02-04T21:10:00.000-05:00

I had a good weekend. I made a few bucks officiating a JV boys basketball game on Friday night then Jessie and a few of her friends and I went to a concert at this cool little place downtown (Jessie and I go there often) and it was really fun. Saturday I got to sleep in! It's been a pretty long time since I got to sleep in past 7:00ish so it was really nice to be able to sleep until 9:30. I was also able to get a few things done around my apartment like laundry, dishes, cleaning the bathroom, and straightening up my room. (My room get pretty messy during the week because I just want to lounge when I get home in the evenings)

Sunday I had to officiate indoor flag football but it wasn't too bad and then one of my roommates- Andrew- and his fiance came over and Jessie and I had a superbowl party with them. Jessie and Heather cooked up a really good meal of steaks, mashed potatoes, corn, and cake! The game was really enjoyable aswell. Not only did the Patriots lose which I thoroughly enjoyed but the game was also just a fun game to watch. We were all on the edge of our seats for the last 8 minutes or so!

Today Steve and I covered a tough story. On Friday night a couple from a local high school died in a car crash. It was the second bad car crash involving teenagers in one week in Henry county (my beat county) so Steve and I decided to do a story on how emergency personel deal with tragic events day in and day out. However, we also went to the high school and spoke with the principle and it was a really tough situation. The school is a small school...maybe 60 kids in the graduating class so everyone was taking things hard. The mother of the boy that died is also a teacher at the elementary school so the staff and everyone was hurting pretty bad. The story turned out pretty good. Once again if you want to watch it you can go to www.newslinkindiana.com.

Right now...I'm sitting in my living room...I just had a tostinos pizza for diner..yum! and now I'm watching a classic movie (at least it's a classic for me) ...................KARATE KID! So I'm done writing for now.

Wild Week

2008-01-30T23:28:00.000-05:00

Just thought I'd let you know why I haven't written much this week. One of the busier weeks in recent memory for me.
Sunday- Indoor Flag Football Officiating 7:30 pm to Midnight
Monday-Newslink 8 am to 5:30 pm Class 6 pm to 8 pm
Tuesday-Class 8-9 am Newslink 9am -4:30pm Jr. High Basketball Officiating 6-8 pm Intramural basketball officiating 8:30-midnight
Wednesday-Newslink 8 am-5:45 pm Class/Newswatch 6 pm-9:45 pm
Thursday- Newslink 9 am-5 pm Cardinal Sports Live 7:30-8:30 Intramural Supervising 8:30-10 CRU 10 pm-11 pm.
Friday Newslink 8am-4:30 pm JV basketball Officiating 6-7:30 pm
Saturday Broadcast Ball State game 1 pm-4 pm

Pretty busy week for me but I'm enjoying what I'm doing...I put together a pretty good package on steroids and high school athletes today...it should be available to watch at www.newslinkindiana.com sometime tomorrow.

In other news: Ball state football signed a 3 star quarterback from Texas today who decommitted from Oregon to come here. The kid is really really good. He is actually rated higher than Nate Davis (BSU's current quarterback and future NFL player). Kelly Page is the guy and he's 6'3 200 pounds. I believe he'll be Nate's successor.

Meeting Mr. Basketball

2008-01-28T21:14:00.000-05:00

I know some of you have heard bits and pieces of this story so I thought I would write it all out for everybody.
The story begins with my assignment for Newslink a couple of weeks ago. My assignment was a story about a Muncie City Park superintendent who had not been reappointed by the new mayor of Muncie. (The Muncie Mayoral ordeal is another story but in a nutshell...the Democrat won the election by 9 votes. Then during the recount some votes were ruled not to be counted so the Republican won the recount by 12 votes or something like that...there are still legal issues as I'm sure you can imagine but as for now Republican McSherley is the Mayor of Muncie.)
Anyway...Ron Bonham was the superintedent of this park for 38 years so it was a significant story when McSherley chose not to reappoint him to his position. However, there was an unusually loud outcry from the community. So I worked on the story with a buddy of mine and we interviewed the mayor as well as Ron Bonham. Now, I can't say that I truly recognized Bonham's name but I did think that I had read it before and as I came to find out...I had. Bonham was actually Indiana's Mr. Basketball in 1960. He played for the hometown Muncie Central Bearcats and lead the Bearcats to an undefeated season until the state championship where MC lost to (I think) East Chicago. Bonham told me that the state championship game was the only game in his entire career in which he fouled out and he also said the loss could be chalked up to his team being over confident. I can understand why...you see...Muncie Central beat the #2 team in the state in the semifinals game of the tournament by around 40 points. Bonham's success didn't end with high school graduation however. In fact, he was only getting started. Bonham went on to play at Cincinatti (I can never spell it right) and won TWO national championships with those Bearcats. He was then drafted by the Boston Celtics where he played for (I think) 3 seasons and won TWO NBA championships along side Bill Russell and some of the other Celtic greats.
After finding all of this out...what I had originally thought was an unusually loud outcry from the community made perfect sense. You simply don't mess with Mr. Basketball. Especially in a city which calls itself the "Basketball Capital of Indiana" or where the school has won more state championships (8) than any other high school.
I thought all of this was pretty cool and I'm hoping to do a story on Ron Bonham's life a little later on this semester. I'll keep you updated on where this goes.

I HATE Dish-Network

2008-01-27T17:41:00.000-05:00

I made a big mistake back in August when I decided that we should get Dish Network for our apartment instead of regular old cable. Today one of my roomates bumped the dish so we lost our signal...I tried to move the dish back where it would work again but didn't have any luck...So I called Dish Network. After being transferred at least 5 times I finally got to the technical department only to talk with a Robot for 5 minutes...I was ready to throw the phone. Finally I did get to talk with a real person and she walked me through about 30-45 minutes worth of instructions before finally conceeding that she needed to send a technician then she informed me it would be a $50 charge for the technician to visit me and the earliest one could get to my apartment was Thursday afternoon. I told her not to worry about it and I would try to fix the stupid thing myself. Luckily...I just moved the dish enough to reconnect it although our local channels are not showing up which means I can't watch Tiger dominating the golf tournament. Either way...I've decided after this I will no longer deal with Dish Network!

School Bus Crash and Sickness

2008-01-25T23:04:00.000-05:00

Today I covered an accident involving a semi, 3 other vehicles, and a school bus. It wasn't nearly as bad as it sounds but it was still quite a mess. There weren't any serious injuries so that was good. The accident happened when the semi didn't slow down while the school bus was stopped on the highway picking up a student. The semi slammed into a van which slammed into an SUV which slammed into a car which slammed into the bus....I know, pretty wild! There other thing about shooting the story was that by the time my photog and I got there it was only about 9:15 am so it was still pretty cold....when I say pretty cold I mean it was 1 degree with out considering the wind chill! So that made things a little crazy.
Sickness...Jessie hadn't been feeling well for most of the week and yesterday she finally went to the Ball State health center. She found out that she has strep throat and of course I figured I wouldn't be far behind. So today, after I was done with the bus crash story I went over to the health center myself and although I didn't test positive for strep the doctor said I sounded like strep might be in the works. She also said my throat also looked like I could have it so she gave me a prescription (the same Jessie has) and made a joke about how we could be a cute couple taking our antibiotics together. I'm hoping I can head the strep off and get it out of the way.

Another Crazy Day!

2008-01-24T08:11:00.000-05:00

Ok...if you haven't read about my day yesterday then you should skim over it because it will let you know how crazy this day will be on top of that. I've of course got newslink (although we don't start until 9am becasue of a class that I'm not in) so that will last until 4:30 or 5. Basically as soon as newslink is over I'll jump in my car and drive to Cowan High School (about a 20 minute drive) because I'm scheduled to officiate a JV girls game starting at 6. As soon as the game is over it's back to the Tcom building for Cardinal Spors Live which airs live at 8:30. When CSL is over at 9 I'll be heading over to Pruis Hall for CRU which starts at 9:15...when CRU is over at around 11 I'll be heading back to my apartment and going to bed!

Long Day

2008-01-24T00:19:00.000-05:00

Today was a really long day. I woke up at 7 am so I could get to the newsroom by 8. At newslink we always have our morning story meetings starting at 8 am. Today I already knew what my assignment was... I worked on a package about the 80th anniversary of the Muncie Fieldhouse. My photographer Steve and I went to the fieldhouse and got a lot of b-role then we conducted a few interviews. One interview was with a custodian in the fieldhouse, another was with a teacher at Muncie Central who is working on a collection of the history of the fieldhouse, and the third interview was with the current head coach of the Bearcats...Matt Fine (he is a really nice guy and a really really good coach...something like .800 + winning percentage in the past 6 seasons). Shooting the package was really relaxed...Steve and I are both sports guys so we were in our element and we even had enough time to play a few games of "p.i.g." in the fieldhouse. By the way...if you would like to check out the kinds of things we do at Newslink Indiana you can check it out at http://www.newslinkindiana.com/ .
After Steve and I were done shooting (footage and hoops) we had enough time to go grab a bite to eat and head back to the newsroom for the editing process. Editing went well until it was time to actually send the finished package to the control room and there were some problems. I would explain them to you but I don't know what they were...anyway... after our computer guru figured out what was wrong it was about 4:30. I got the story in but we had major computer problems in many areas and getting our news briefs taped and on the air was a real challenge.
On Wednesdays I have a class about producing that starts around 6:30 so by the time all the computer issues were worked out it was time for my class to start. This class is in charge of Newswatch...the evening newscast on WIPB in Delaware county for Wednesdays and today was our first show...IT WAS BAD!!! There were a lot of inexperienced people on the broadcast tonight (myself included) and so things were really rough. We did pull the show off and my sports segment went perfectly fine but we certainly have a lot of room to improve. The show finally went on the air at 9 pm and ended at 9:30...after the post show meeting was over it was time for me to head over to the Rec Services building to help out with intramural officials training. I enjoyed the training and helping guys learn what officiating basketball is all about but by the time the training was over at 11:30 pm it had been about a 15 1/2 hour day for me. I made a trip over to Jessie's dorm to check on her because she hasn't been feeling well and I arrived back at my apartment around midnight and started writing this.
If anyone actually reads all this then you'll probably be as tired as I am right now...with that said...I'm going to bed! Goodnight!

Today

2008-01-22T17:07:00.001-05:00

Today I worked on a package I'll be putting on Newswatch tomorrow evening. It's a sports package on the 80th anniversary of the Muncie Fieldhouse.

What I'm working on today

2008-01-21T10:28:00.000-05:00

I'm working on a story for today's newscast. It's a story on a luncheon for MLK day. I'll be traveling to Anderson for the story.

Getting Started

2008-01-20T22:35:00.000-05:00

My aunt Jenny and I had a phone conversation earlier today and she told me she wanted me to start a blog. To tell you the truth, I had never really given the idea much consideration before. In all reality I thought, "Why would anyone care what I think?" However, I'm not going to use my blog for a place to spout off on issues (atleast not very often). Instead, I'm going to use this as a way to keep you informed on what's going on in my life. I'll try to add funny or interesting stories that I have encountered and more things of that nature. So...this is a start. I'll be adding more in the near future.