Howard Borden's Rosenblatt memories go way back

One of the many nostalgic sounds coming from Rosenblatt Stadium for the 2010 College World Series can be heard as Howard Borden – who called the CWS with Mike Harrison on the radio for the Creative Sports Network from 1996 to 2004 – begins his count down, “And, 5-4-3-2-1 ...” as he gets set to record another interview for his radio show “First Pitch – College Baseball” that is airing on local radio station 660-AM KCRO.

He speaks into his vintage tape recorder (yes, tape recorder) with all of the excitement of a kid who gets the chance to meet his favorite player for the first time as he sets the stage for the interview he is about to conduct with former players and various media members.

Borden is a radio guy, cut from the old cloth – someone who prefers radio to television. And given that his influences were Lyle Bremser, Jack Payne and Joe Patrick, it’s no surprise. He tells a story from the early 1960s that explains one of the reasons he loves radio so much.

“There’s a station based in New Orleans at the Hotel Roosevelt, 8700 on the dial, you can still get it, WWL – home of LSU football.” Borden said. “So I would be working the dial and all of a sudden I got 87 – it was crystal clear, just like KFAB – on a crisp, fall November evening, and LSU football is on the radio, beaming up north.

“I heard an announcer by the name of John Ferguson for the first time and he was absolutely tremendous," Borden said. "But what was interesting was, the engineering and the way they miked the field, the band, the music and the ambience along with the play-by-play. It was absolutely fantastic.

“That was another influence. Radio, to me, is the best. I like TV, but radio is just absolutely a tremendous opportunity to do play-by-play.

Even as he reflects back to the days when he called CWS games, he paints a picture.

“I was very humbled and privileged to be in the broadcast booth for the games,” Borden said. “It was very special for me as a broadcaster, as a fan, and as an Omahan to see the brilliant, shining diamond from that perspective.”

As you might imagine, he is full of stories about his days behind the microphone at the CWS. One of them involves a surprise he got one night.

“The Creative Sports Network would line up guests to come in for an inning or a half inning to talk about college baseball in between pitches while we were doing play-by-play,” Borden said, “If we were in the broadcast booth – where Westwood One is now – you were on broadcast row in your chair, and you were focusing in on the game. People are coming in and out all the time, but you’re focusing in on the game.

“We were in a commercial break and I knew somebody was going to come on, but I didn’t know who. So you get back, counting down ‘5-4-3-2-1 ... welcome back to our broadcast and over to my right to do color and to visit with us is Kevin Costner. Kevin welcome to our broadcast.’”

Costner, who is a frequent guest at the CWS, was in town on this particular occasion to also promote his movie, “For Love of the Game.”

Long before Borden was a broadcaster, he was sports fan and he has great memories about attending games at Rosenblatt Stadium.

“I remember going to games when I was a little boy to see the Omaha Cardinals in the late ‘50s,” Borden said. “And then the Dodgers before the Omaha Royals in the late ‘60s. But I remember from about 1964-65 going to College World Series games.

“We sat behind the third base dugout and witnessed Rod Dedeaux’s tremendous Southern California teams, Jim Brock’s Arizona State teams, Jerry Kindall’s Arizona teams, Ron Fraser’s Miami teams, Cliff Gustafson’s Texas teams – you know, I’m a little kid in a candy store at the ballpark.

“So that’s been a part of my tradition. And you watched as Rosenblatt grew physically, you watched how the game got national exposure with ESPN starting in the early ‘80s to give it more flavor and more credibility and then we witnessed a real growth pattern with the way they skewed from 48 teams to 64 teams to regionals and super regionals. So, from one decade to another, you just kind of grew with it. And the city of Omaha embraced it.”

As much as Borden loves Rosenblatt Stadium, he still expects the CWS to be a great part of the Omaha experience going forward as play begins at TD Ameritrade Park in 2011.

“Everybody around the country knows that when you think about college baseball you think about Omaha. And now it’s going to continue at TD Ameritrade Park. New traditions will build. There will be memories of this stadium and we’ll all have them.”

You can catch Borden’s radio show “First Pitch – College Baseball” on 660-AM KCRO this afternoon at 3:00 pm and again on Tuesday on the same station at the same time. He’ll also be doing football broadcasts in August – all the way through the football season. Watch the KCRO website for more details.

Rosenblatt PA announcer Bill Jensen enjoying his 10th CWS

One of the many ambiances of the baseball experience that makes the game so great is a strong, soothing, familiar voice that oozes forth from the PA system, pulling you away from the struggles of real life for three hours at a time.

Bill Jensen has been just that voice at Rosenblatt Stadium for a long time. He has been the PA announcer for Omaha Royals games for 20 years and the PA announcer for College World Series games for the past 10 years.

Jensen already works at News Radio 1110 KFAB in Omaha during the day from 4:00 am until noon. So, why, at the age of 63, would he want to spend his evenings at Rosenblatt Stadium?

“I always wanted to be a baseball player,” Jensen said. “It was my secret dream. I was never good enough to get beyond the sandlot. I was a great sandlot player, but beyond that, I wasn’t very good. So being the PA announcer is my way to be part of baseball.”

He says he hopes to go another ten years – or as long as his health and voice will allow. Jensen followed legendary CWS PA announcer Jack Payne, who held that position from 1964 to 2000 and Payne blazed the trail for Jensen in more ways than one.

“When I was a little kid, one of the first people that I started idolizing in broadcasting was Jack Payne,” Jensen said. “So it was kind of ironic that I wound up taking over for him in the College World Series. I always wanted to be a sportscaster, but my career never took me that way – it was always in news.”

Jensen is married and loves to spend time with his four grandchildren. He likes to golf once in a while and he bowls in a league during the winter. Like most of us though, as winter crawls to a close in the heartland, he is anxious for Opening Day at the ballpark.

Since 2010 is the final year for the Omaha Royals and College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium, he has set a goal for himself – something he wants to accomplish before the Omaha Royals conclude their season at home.

“I think there’s a noon game, the last home stand,” Jensen said. “As soon as I get off work at noon, I’m going to come down and I’m going to be a fan. I have not sat in the stands as a fan – I cannot remember the last time. I want to do that one time. I might even have a beer.”

FSU coach Mike Martin reminisces about Rosenblatt

Florida State coach Mike Martin finished answering questions last night at the post game press conference just after his team lost 11-7 to TCU in dramatic fashion, thus eliminating his team from the 2010 College World Series.

He pushed his chair back and the congratulatory handshakes began, including a few with people affiliated with TCU. Then he made his way to the back of the room. That’s where I caught up with him.

Over the last 31 years, he’s brought 14 different teams to this city and to this stadium. His team has never won the National Championship, but it’s the only major accomplishment missing from his resume.

He’s the winningest active NCAA Division I coach by percentage (.745 going into the CWS) in history and his teams have piled up 1,626 wins for him coming into the event. Only three Division I coaches have ever reached the 1,600-win mark. He was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2007. His teams have made 31 consecutive NCAA Regional appearances. And all 23 of FSU’s 50-win seasons have come under Martin.

Even though things have not worked out on the field at Rosenblatt the way Martin hoped, he stands in the back of the Hall of Fame room for the last time and talks about two of his best memories in the ballpark.

“I would say the biggest memory that I have is the time I was in the dugout about 16 years ago,” Martin said with raw emotion filling his voice. “And I said, ‘Everybody’s out here watching their son. They’re having a big time and all I do is coach – scream and yell and jump up and down. I ain’t gonna coach. I’m gonna be a daddy.’

“I didn’t give a sign. I just sat there – for one minute, and I watched my son hit. I looked at the scoreboard. I looked at the fans. Two pitches later, he gets a base hit up the middle. Doug Mientkiewicz goes to third, points at Mike [Martin Jr. – who is now an assistant coach for the team] and I became a coach again. That’s one I’ll always treasure.

“The other memories I had that are special are coaching guys like Buster Posey, who came up against Miami in ’08 with the bases loaded and we’re down five,” Martin said. “The count goes to 3-2 and they threw him a slider down and he took it for ball four.

“Anybody else would have been anxious and wanting to be a hero. He took it and walked his last at bat as a Seminole. It made me proud just to know him – to see what he’s all about, to take that pitch for his team. And what’s fun now – two years later he’s in the big leagues and look what he’s doing now every night.”

Miami won the game that night, but Martin sounds like a proud poppa as he describes Posey’s walk, giving new life to the old adage that it’s not whether you win or lose, but it’s how you play the game.

Even though Omaha has embraced TCU this season, they respect what Martin has done over the years and, in turn, Martin has nothing but good things to say about the city.

“The people of Omaha are the best,” Martin said. “This is just a super place to end your season. These people have just embraced this event. They make you feel so welcome and there’s no warmer – this is the heartland of America, undoubtedly, and it’s because of the great people.”

Nomar Garciaparra is glad to be back in Omaha

Nomar Garciaparra is familiar with Rosenblatt Stadium. In 1994, he played for Georgia Tech in the College World Series and they made it all the way to the title game (back when the title was decided by just one game) before losing to Oklahoma.

Sixteen years later, the six-time All-Star and two-time AL batting champion is back in Omaha – this time as an ESPN color commentator. Garciaparra recently retired from the game and he jumped at the chance to come back to Omaha.

In fact, it was his idea.

“When I knew I was going to work for ESPN, I asked them, ‘Is there a chance I could work the College World Series?’ because I loved my experience I had here back in ’94,” Garciaparra said. “I knew what the environment was like. It was so fun. It really left me great memories. It’s good to come back.”

One young boy, 9-year-old Nicholas Cary, is glad Garciaparra came back. Garciaparra is one of Cary’s favorite former major league players. Cary’s father is deployed overseas and the military arranged for Cary to play catch with Garciaparra (click the link to view video of the event), who said that is was just a small gesture for what the military is doing.

So, does Garciaparra have a favorite memory at Rosenblatt Stadium from his playing days?

“You know, really, it’s not just so much the stadium itself as a figure, but really it’s just the city and the way the city embraces it,” Garciaparra said. “I tell people I’m very lucky. I got to play in the big leagues. Not everybody gets that luxury and is fortunate enough to play there.

“Since I’ve been able to have that, I can tell people that the closest thing to being a big leaguer is the College World Series. That’s the way it feels. You see the environment. You see the way city goes out there. And the way they make you feel – you get recognized as a college player when you go to different restaurants and different places, it’s a great experience.”

Proving that he knows Omaha, he still remembers what he used to order in restaurants.

“I remember having a steak, obviously,” Garciaparra said. “You have to have a steak in Omaha.”