About Me
I realized when I was 8 years old that covering sports -- not
playing them -- was my destiny. Making contact just once,
fouling a ball off, in an entire Little League season tipped me
off that my career on the field would never amount to much.
I'm pretty happy the way things turned out.
My career has taken me from Alaska to Italy and everywhere
in between.
I began as a teenage weekly newspaper columnist at The
Home News Tribune (N.J.) from 2000-04, before working at
The Daily Orange student newspaper at Syracuse University
from 2004-07, including a stint as assistant sports editor.
But broadcast media has always been my true love. I spent the summer of 2005 as one
of two commentators for the Mat-Su Miners of the Alaska Baseball League. In 2006, I
interned for NBC Sports at the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Later that year, I held all
play-by-play duties for the Orleans Cardinals of the Cape Cod Baseball League. All the
while, I worked in a number of on- and off-air capacities for student station 89.1
WJPZ-FM on the Syracuse campus during the school year.
After graduating from SU in 2007 with a degree
in broadcast journalism, I took over as Director
of Broadcasting and Media Relations for the
Anderson Joes of the now-defunct South Coast
League. There, I called play-by-play of all 90
Joes games for ESPN 1280, as well as
producing written and multimedia content for the
team's Web site and acting as liaison to more
than 15 media outlets covering the Joes.
In 2008, I completed a season as the Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations for
the South Atlantic League's Hickory Crawdads, at the time the Class-A affiliate of the
Pittsburgh Pirates, calling 140 games as well as handling all media responsibilities for
coaches and players.
My most recent ventures found me in the roles of studio host and producer for Villanova
Wildcats football and basketball with the Villanova ISP Sports Network and as External
Relations Director for the University of North Carolina Greensboro Spartans.
I've found that broadcasters play some of the most important roles in covering sports.
We all have a special connection to a radio voice or TV personality from our favorite
teams as youths, helping enhance and increase the enjoyment of the game.
The one thing I aspire to more than anything else in my career is to be one of the good
ones, someone fans connect to and forge a special bond with. If someday some
listener or viewer recalls me as part of what made them love sports just a little bit more,
I'll know I have accomplished all I ever wanted.
playing them -- was my destiny. Making contact just once,
fouling a ball off, in an entire Little League season tipped me
off that my career on the field would never amount to much.
I'm pretty happy the way things turned out.
My career has taken me from Alaska to Italy and everywhere
in between.
I began as a teenage weekly newspaper columnist at The
Home News Tribune (N.J.) from 2000-04, before working at
The Daily Orange student newspaper at Syracuse University
from 2004-07, including a stint as assistant sports editor.
But broadcast media has always been my true love. I spent the summer of 2005 as one
of two commentators for the Mat-Su Miners of the Alaska Baseball League. In 2006, I
interned for NBC Sports at the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Later that year, I held all
play-by-play duties for the Orleans Cardinals of the Cape Cod Baseball League. All the
while, I worked in a number of on- and off-air capacities for student station 89.1
WJPZ-FM on the Syracuse campus during the school year.
After graduating from SU in 2007 with a degree
in broadcast journalism, I took over as Director
of Broadcasting and Media Relations for the
Anderson Joes of the now-defunct South Coast
League. There, I called play-by-play of all 90
Joes games for ESPN 1280, as well as
producing written and multimedia content for the
team's Web site and acting as liaison to more
than 15 media outlets covering the Joes.
In 2008, I completed a season as the Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations for
the South Atlantic League's Hickory Crawdads, at the time the Class-A affiliate of the
Pittsburgh Pirates, calling 140 games as well as handling all media responsibilities for
coaches and players.
My most recent ventures found me in the roles of studio host and producer for Villanova
Wildcats football and basketball with the Villanova ISP Sports Network and as External
Relations Director for the University of North Carolina Greensboro Spartans.
I've found that broadcasters play some of the most important roles in covering sports.
We all have a special connection to a radio voice or TV personality from our favorite
teams as youths, helping enhance and increase the enjoyment of the game.
The one thing I aspire to more than anything else in my career is to be one of the good
ones, someone fans connect to and forge a special bond with. If someday some
listener or viewer recalls me as part of what made them love sports just a little bit more,
I'll know I have accomplished all I ever wanted.
Mike Janela
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