News

Making the Call

Continued from page 1

So Michaels and King talk to coaches and players. "They have the stories. You get to know them and their families," says Michaels. He and King are walking almanacs and sports guides. Need a guy's weight? They've got it. Want to break down a QB's passing style? King can do it on the spot. How much faster is Michael Fuda than his brother Joey, who also plays offense? King will tell you each of their 40-yard-dash times. The only thing that seems to stump the TSRN squad: Where did Katy QB Bo Levi Mitchell's name come from?

"We have to be precise," says Michaels. "The greatest compliment we receive is when game officials and coaches tell us they listen to our archives as a measuring stick for the next game they're working, or that they're scouting a team -- based on our words. So we really can't take it easy or even have an off day. People are relying on us."

The game is over: 17-3 Katy. "Another typical Katy game: close at halftime, make adjustments, Katy kicks your butt in the second half. So to me, it felt like just another ball game," says Massey. Michaels and King struggle to come up with a player of the game during a 30-second commercial break. "Dean? Mitchell?" asks King, shrugging. Michaels has an epiphany: "How about the Katy Tigers defense? They played great." Just like that, Katy's entire D gets player of the game.

Michaels and King have packed up and are the last out of the stadium. Outside, Michaels dissects the future of high school football and its coverage. "By 2015 we're supposed to have 8.5 million people in Houston," he says. "When I first started, there were two schools in Humble; there's gonna be six. There were four schools in Cy-Fair, now there's eight. That's a lot of names to memorize. I love it. I wanna see everybody -- north, south, east, west. Big schools, small schools, all of 'em." Katy players are enjoying the win, and they should, says Michaels. "Moments like what Katy's going through now are fleeting. Aldine, Kingwood, Humble, Cy-Creek, Stratford, Hastings, Elsik, Galveston Ball -- every school will have its run. Coaches move, areas grow old, kids grow up."

The grizzled veteran is off to watch "anything but sports now," except for tomorrow. Sunday's a big pro game, and he's going to catch up with a player whom he called a star before anyone else on the radio did. Some kid who caught his eye because he was "head and shoulders -- literally -- above every other kid on the field," says Michaels. "Some kid named Vince Young."

• 1
• 2