From The Host's Chair: Holla For 2

Callan McClurg
Feb 24, 2016
8 min read

"Crazy", "Stupid", "What was I thinking?", "Is anyone even going to watch?", "I'm wasting my time."

STUDIO 171: Two years ago today at 8pm PST, in a recently moved into Studio 171, the original exclusive, year around platform for the WNBA officially launched devoted to coverage built around the Los Angeles Sparks, while mixing in news and scores from the rest of the league to try and give this under appreciated league some type of positive media coverage. At the time, I was still in College and adding this project to my course curriculum had me doubting myself and wondering if this was really a good idea to continue forward with this channel. At the beginning and much like the league itself, the channel was exposed to the daily trashing of sports fans who were trying as they always do to tear down the talented athletes and the sport for almost no reason what so ever. Thirty (30) people watched the first ever "Sparks 365" show on February 24, 2014 when my Studio was empty, except for my surfboard that has become a Network staple since it's launch. A grand total of Eighty (80) viewers viewed the original trifecta of shows on the first night of Network programming. The original trifecta of programs included "Sparks 365", "#SparksFam" and "The Guy with the Petition" Sparks 365 was the current version of WNBA 365, the flagship show covering all the big news of the day, scores, and more things involving the league. #SparksFam was a social media program aimed at engaging fans to join the conversation of the day on Twitter with either the latest happenings on my personal timelines and the heresy amongst the league and it's players. The Guy with the Petition came from an off air hangout joke and eventually led to the formation of a one or two man forum for discussing the offseason efforts spurred by the Los Angeles and WNBA fanbases to keep the Sparks in Los Angeles after the ownership group had given up control of the team with the threat of the team leaving for the Bay Area. Along the way, I could feel that the Network was on the right track based a thing I receive quite frequently with jobs outside of the Network...Positive Feedback. With the Women's Basketball community being such a tight knit family, you literally never know who may watch a show you're hosting or who nay chime in on Twitter. We had our first player viewer in former Sparks Forward Ebony Hoffman watch our social media and gave her approval of the job well done. We'd also have some spattering's of fans give their input and contribute to the shows. Once the 2014 season officially got underway, I felt it was time to add new programming for the season, which included the expansion from three (3) to seven (7) shows for the season that included "The Fabulous Forum" "Buzzer Beater LA" "The W" "Ageless Sparks" Full Court Press" "Press Pass: Sparks" and "LIVE in Hawaii" As the start of the season was on the horizon, we invited Tanisha Stewart (Shorty Mamba 24), to join the show to recap the entire 2014 Sparks offseason on a two (2) part, two (2) hour show, which also marked Tanisha's first ever appearance on the Network. Shorty's analysis, along with her collaborative effort on the petition gave her an "off the bench" roster spot, meaning she would be a fill-in guest on the Network. The 2014 season also marked the first year of the "365 Meet and Greet Nights" at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles where two (2) designated home games were opportunities for the fans to meet new fans, see old friends and also get a chance to thank me for my dedication to bringing fans up to date on everything that's occurring in the WNBA. Turnouts for the events were and seeing the fans stop and chat with me was a turning point in knowing how successful the Network could become amongst the fanbases. It wasn't until a postgame I had hosted in early June when current Lakers and Sparks Television Analyst Coach Dave Miller watched the ENTIRE postgame show on June 17, 2014 while he was in San Diego seeing his son Mike, who at the time was playing Football at San Diego State. However, this wasn't a face you see on TV watch for five (5) minutes and then leave. Dave watched the show from Start to Finish, even sending in photos of him and his dog watching from his couch and even chiming in about points and arguments I brought up during the course of the show., We continued rolling through the season until July 21, 2014 when the Sparks had announced the firing of head coach Carol Ross during the All-Star Break which led to our first ever hour long edition of Sparks 365 as our programming was only half an hour long. We made another Free Agency move midseason when after being baited by Tanisha, that Kristul Thomas made her 365 debut to recap the Sparks/Mercury game, it was from their we needed to keep our own KT, as another "off the bench" guest...as she brought the comical relief that I was looking forward to make the shows more enjoyable for fans and viewers to watch. As August and the later part of the season came along, it became increasingly difficult to get my full broadcast team, which at the time was just one other co-host, assembled for a show and,was becoming a pain as they would drop out of co-hosting at the last possible minute. Announcing a game or even hosting a show by yourself is a tough situation to be caught in as you may run out of material to bring up and there's no safety net for you to fill that dreadful "dead air" There were many times where Kristul or Tanisha couldn't make it in time to fill the void and it would be just me talking to myself for thirty minutes. That was the moment I knew I needed to start fresh with a new team and identity. With the help of my status as a student, plus the Network, September and October brought along my first ever interviews with professional, both of which are current WNBA superstars. Two-time league MVP Candace Parker and 2011 WNBA Champion Candice Wiggins both joined me in the span of two weeks for a personal, one on one conversations that according to Wiggins was "The best interview she's ever done." I was able to recap both of the interviews on the Petition show on September 28 and October 13. We concluded year number one of the Network with recaps of every team's season and brought in our Overseas/Offseason show "Sparkling Overseas" to keep fans in the loop about their favorite players during the offseason. During the offseason, we stepped our game up by welcoming WNBA writers and media members on to the show. Sue Favor of Hoopism was our first media member guest on an offseason. Other guests included: Pat Friday, Albert Lee, Kris Habbas, Stephen Anderson and many other media members who have come to embracing the Network as an extension of themselves. During the 2014 playoffs, we instituted a live online radio show as an extension to the YouTube channel, but give the fans a better chance to express how they felt about their team. Our first included a fan, Sparks Public Address Announcer Huisha Bush...and even former WNBA player Chasity Melvin. However, the radio show fouled out after seven shows because of time constraints with the channel as the main priority., As the calendar turned to 2015, we began the new year by revisiting seven (7) key dates in the 2014 offseason as we looked back on one (1) year of the Los Angeles Sparks staying in Los Angeles, one show in which Albert Lee embedded the show into a full story published on Swish Appeal. Then came the big day. On February 24, 2015 we celebrated a full year of being on the air and revisited many highlights of the Network from the first show to where we had been at the time. However though, responses from the fans called for some changes around the co-host position of the broadcast team... Even before changes came, July 22, 2015 was a date that I will take to my grave when after eleven (11) years, I had a chance to reconnect with one of my interview guests, Candice Wiggins who also grew up in San Diego and was an interview guest of mine over the 2014 offseason. Following her game at STAPLES Center as a member of the New York Liberty, I had the chance for a few hours to reconnect and hangout with Candice and her family at STAPLES Center and afterwards at the team's hotel two blocks away. It will forever be the greatest athlete meet and greet I've ever had! Following my annual vacation to Hawai'i, changes were coming to the Network. It started with the termination of our former co-host due to negative fan responses via social media and e-mails, along with declining numbers because of the co-host. August 8th, the show was streamed live for the first time outside of Studio 171, when it was streamed from the Honda Center (home of the NHL's Anaheim Ducks) Press Box and brought along a new face. Longtime WNBA fan Todd Mintz played hardball in his Network debut, but was the type of co-host that could take us to the next level. Following the show, the Network officially streaming shows with only me as the on-air talent as we began to figure it out what to do next. During the postseason, we brought back Pat Friday to fill in on our final edition of Sparks 365 to recap the Western Conference Finals and other news. On September 27, 2015, the buzzer on the Sparks 365 Network officially sounded. It was time to sit down, go back to the drawing board and figure out our next move. After a week of deliberating, I was approached by Eric Nemchock, the WNBA beat writer for Today's Fastbreak who had heard about the casting call for the vacant position. Following maybe a ten (10) minute Google Hangout conversation, I officially gave Eric the co-host's spot. But I thought we needed to add more people to the roster, and I still had two players on the bench...Following Eric joining the team, Kristul and Tanisha were officially added to the starting lineup. In a matter a days after ending Sparks 365, I had four (4) devoted, loyal and dedicated WNBA and Women's Basketball fans who know the ins and outs of the game and that insight and information that I instantly knew would take us to that next level. On October 15, 2015, we officially relaunched as the WNBA 365 Network, with no devoted to just one team...but all twelve (12) teams along with the college ranks and International Basketball. After our opening relaunch show, we made another roster move by adding another player to the roster in Reagan Patrick. With her addition, we now had a starting lineup of five (5) people who know the game extremely well. After two (2) shows, we changed our format from half an hour, to a full hour show to get through more news and more thoughts from the team. As we celebrate our two year anniversary this evening...I just want to pass along a sincere THANK YOU to everyone who has made this Network a reality and for making us appreciate the job we do to make sure we keep the most important people updated on everything happening at every rank of Women's Basketball...and that's YOU, the fans! None of this would be possible without the hard work, dedication, devotion and love for the game and league without your full backing and support and for allowing us to be an intricate part of the WNBA and Women's Basketball community. We are truly honored, appreciative and grateful for everyone support. CHEERS TO YEAR NUMBER TWO!! HERE'S TO THE NEXT TWO YEARS!! And those are my thoughts...FROM THE HOST'S CHAIR