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Pack Attack finale means lots of giveaways

“Bryon–I really enjoyed have you for Pack Attack. I will really missed you. Just wanted to know what you are going to do with remaining big boards that were behind you throughout the season. I really would like one if though I didn’t win one.

thanks again.

valerie”

Hello Valerie and all other Pack Attack fans.  First off I just wanted to let everyone know I appreciate the kind words from our last Pack Attack this season.  Yes, I’m done hosting the show but we’re also working out a way for me to be involved.

As for the boards behind me for the show.  We gave a few away on Monday night.  The rest are donated to charity.  In addition to the boards we gave away t-shirts, hats, a helmet and all kinds of other Packers memorabilia

Bryon

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This post was written by bgraff on January 13, 2010
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Former Woodchuck Yost back on Helena Brewers’ coaching staff

Former Wisconsin Woodchuck Ned Yost IV returns to the Brewers’ minor league affiliate in Helena, Montana.  Yost played on the Chucks’ 2003 Northwoods League championship team.  He was the Helena Brewers’ batting coach in 2009 and returns for a second season.  The Brewers named Joe Ayrault their field manager for 2010. 

Following his graduation from UW-Oshkosh, Yost played in the Brewers’ minor league system for three years before embarking on his coaching career. 

Bryon Graff

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This post was written by bgraff on January 6, 2010
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Central WI Baseball Hall of Fame banquet on January 28

The Central Wisconsin Baseball Hall of Fame banquet is coming up on Thursday, January 28th.  It was originally scheduled for Wednesday the 20th but is confirmed as the 28th.  It should be another outstanding event and highlights some of the best baseball players and friends of the game from our area.  This is already into its 8th year.  For the first time this year, I voted on the hall’s inductees.  There are a lot of people in our area worthy of the hall and it’s always great to see these folks appreciated for what they’ve accomplished.  It’s also a night to talk Brewers and Woodchucks baseball.  Brewers play by play announcer Cory Provus will join us as the keynote speaker.  Chucks manager Guido Aspeitia will also be on hand for comments about the upcoming 2010 Chucks season.

Can’t wait to see everyone out there!  I’ve attached the official press release if you’re interested in coming out.

Bryon Graff

2010 Central WI Baseball Hall of Fame Rescheduled for January 28th

WAUSAU, WI – January 4th, 2010 – The 8th annual Central Wisconsin Baseball Hall of Fame will be held on Thursday, January 28th, 2010 at Dale’s Weston Lanes in Schofield.  The evening’s festivities will begin with a social hour and autograph session at 5:30 PM.

 

Tickets for the Hall of Fame Banquet are on sale now and can be purchased at the Woodchucks’ office location at 1110 East Wausau Avenue or by calling the office at (715)845-5055.  Tickets are $30 each and include dinner.  Reserved tables for eight people can be purchased for $240.

 

Headlining the induction ceremony on January 28th is Cory Provus, Milwaukee Brewers radio broadcaster.  Provus will be a guest speaker at the event and plans to talk Brewer baseball.  Before joining Bob Uecker in the broadcast booth this past summer, Provus spent some time with the Chicago Cubs and their broadcasts.

 

The Central Wisconsin Baseball Hall of Fame voting committee has chosen one candidate from each of the following four categories: Resident / Non-Resident Professional, Resident Amateur Player, Amateur Coach / Manager, and Non-Uniform Person.  The sponsors for this year’s banquet are as follows:  Midwest Professional Planners, LTD., WAOW TV-9, Trig’s, and Wausau Tile.

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This post was written by bgraff on January 5, 2010
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Have to go to ESPN for Packers vs Ravens

Hello everyone, just a friendly reminder that the upcoming Packers - Ravens game on Monday Night Football is seen in the Wausau-Rhinelander market on ESPN.  As a quick bit of background, the NFL mandates the competing teams’ home markets show it on free over-the-air tv.  However Wausau-Rhinelander is not considered part of the Packers’ home market.  That designation is for Green Bay and Milwaukee.

Bryon Graff

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This post was written by bgraff on December 2, 2009
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2 of Wisconsin’s winningest coaches meet Saturday

I know I moved over to news recently but I have to dip back into sports for a bit.  This Saturday Pacelli and Edgar will play a WIAA level 3 high school football playoff game.  It will match two of the winningest coaches in Wisconsin prep football history.  Acccording to the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association website,  Pacelli’s Bob Raczek has 342 (332 after last year) career wins to rank  and Edgar’s Jerry Sinz owns 315 (304 after last year). 

After the 2008 season Raczek ranked 3rd all-time.  Sinz was 4th.  You’ll notice 6 of the top 12 coach/coached in our TV9 viewing area.

WISCONSIN’S WINNINGEST FOOTBALL COACHES
(200 VICTORIES)

Updated: December 30, 2008

 

  NAME SCHOOL STATUS RECORD PCT
 
1. Dick Basham Milwaukee Marquette Active 336-91 .787
2. Bob Hyland Fond du Lac St. Mary’s Springs Active 334-99-2 .765
3. Bob Raczek Stevens Point Pacelli Active 332-150- 2 .688
4. Jerry Sinz Edgar Active 304-70 .813
5. Wayne Steffenhagen D. C. Everest Active 274-68 .801
6. Phil Datka Germantown Active 268-147* .646
7. Win Brockmeyer Wausau Ret-Dec 265-43-14* .845
8. Tom Taraska Arrowhead Active 246-92 .728
9. Bill Young Waukesha Catholic Memorial Active 244-92 .726
10. Walt Kroll Marshfield Columbus Ret-Dec 243-105-2* .697
11. Bill Turnquist West De Pere Active 243-139-1 .636
12. Ken Biegel Wis. Rapids-Northland Pines Retired 241-109-4* .686

Bryon Graff

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This post was written by bgraff on November 6, 2009
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My career takes a new path

My career takes a new turn starting next week when I move out of the sports department and into the newsroom.  I’ve been chosen to co-anchor the 6 and 10pm news and that will start next week Wednesday. 

Let me tell you it was a tough decision but I believe is right for me and my family.  People in the Wausau area have known me as the “TV9 sports guy” since I arrived in May of 2002.  Believe me, I love the job and everything that comes with it.  It’s great to talk Packers, Brewers and Badgers with folks around here, whether it’s at church, the bowling lanes, the store, wherever.  Many times over the years people have emailed me and wondered why we didn’t cover something or why we chose one game over another.  Believe me, the questions are way too varied to describe in just one blog.  I’ve tried to answer those questions the best I can.  The point is, I know how seriously people take their sports and I’ve tried to give them the best coverage.

The drawback to doing tv sports is that it demands a lot of your time.  This is a great business for young, single individuals.  I have the utmost respect for those veterans like Jay Wilson who have done it all these years and tried to have some semblance of a home life.  Believe me, this is not a physically demanding job. but it is time-consuming.  My father is a plumber and I worked plenty of days with him and he showed me what hard work is.  Sports has taken up most of my life even as my wife and I first dated, then later moved to state (Iowa) after state (Nebraska) after state (La Crosse) and across the state (here to Wausau).  Along the way our family grew to three children.  They’re old enough now to realize it’s no fun when dad works 6 or 7 days a week and continually updates the website around the clock at home.  My wife has known that for years!  With that being said I will still put my focus 100% into my job.  But the news department lends itself to more help from co-workers than what television stations typically find in a sports department.

News isn’t totally foreign to me.  In fact I started my broadcasting career as a news reporter.  I know a lot of people find that hard to believe.  That was at KFXB in Dubuque and I quickly learned what it took to be a news reporter.  Nora Murray, Matt Lockwood and Mike Puccinelli taught me the ropes.  And even though I later moved into sports (big thanks to Brian Dahlin), that’s where I learned the basics and continue to rely on them to this day.

It’s not that unique for others to switch from the sports anchor chair to the news anchor chair.  Bill Jartz did it in Green Bay and Ron Steele did it in Waterloo, Iowa.  My good friend, Seth Denney, also made the switch when he moved from North Platte, Nebraska to join NTV in Kearney, Nebraska back in 1999.  What it boils down to is reporting news is the same whether it’s news, sports or weather.  It’s up to you as a reporter/anchor to gather facts and present them to the audience in a way that’s precise and understandable.  I believe that’s what I’ve done since breaking into the business.

Next week Wednesday will mark the changeover.  It’ll seem strange at first to me and probably to you.  But I trust it will become comfortable over time.  I hope you’ll feel the same.  It is also my pleasure to maintain a commitment to you, the viewers, and TV9.  Wausau has been a wonderful place to raise a family and we enjoy living here!

Bryon Graff

WAOW-TV Sports Director (for now)

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This post was written by bgraff on October 21, 2009
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WIAA football brackets due out this Friday

Marshfield and Wisconsin Rapids get a headstart on week 9 of the high school football season.  They’ll play tonight in Rapids.  Tomorrow night marks the final games of the regular season.  The WIAA will release playoff brackets Friday and we’ll post those to our webchannel WAOW.com as soon as we receive them.  I’ll also have those in the 5 and 6pm shows.

Bryon Graff

WAOW-TV Sports Director

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This post was written by bgraff on October 21, 2009
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Derrick Martin lots of fun on Pack Attack

I can’t believe what a great guy Derrick Martin was when he came over for Pack Attack!  A lot of times you get a vibe from a player judging by the way they come out to the set.  When Dave Kallaway introduced Derrick, the Packers safety immediately went to every guest at the front tables handing out high fives along the way.  Then when it was time to get on-stage, well he didn’t need the steps, instead he jumped up there and we went to work.

Derrick described special teams as “throwing knives” and he said he lines up on kickoff coverage wherever he thinks is best.  Yesterday he was awarded a game ball for his special teams performance. 

It looked like he genuinely had a great time with the fans, especially signing autographs and posing for pictures. 

All in all a great night at Pack Attack and great time with a player I hadn’t met before.

Bryon Graff

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This post was written by bgraff on October 19, 2009
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Packers programming notes on TV9&34

I just wanted to remind viewers that the Mike McCarthy Show gets pushed back one day when the Packers play on Monday Night Football.  So that’ll air Wednesday at 6:30pm.

Also when the NFL airs a game on ESPN or NFL Network the league requires the competing teams home markets to air the game for free.  This week WBAY in Green Bay and WISN in Milwaukee aired the Packers-Vikings Monday Night Football game.  The NFL does not consider the Wausau-Rhinelander tv market to be part of the home market.  That’s why it wasn’t shown on free tv in this area.  Believe me, we wish we could air the game here as well!

Bryon Graff

WAOW-TV Sports Director

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This post was written by bgraff on October 6, 2009
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Tony Bennett impresses with first Virginia recruiting class

Tony Bennett is trying to build a power at Virginia like they had back in the 1980s.  Check out this story on Dick’s son.  Tony pulled in recruits from across the nation as he heads into his first season as head coach.

Bryon Graff

WAOW-TV Sports Director

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This post was written by bgraff on September 29, 2009
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