BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
There is one thing that I’ve enjoyed about being in the media for over four decades. The relationships you meet with your colleagues, players, coaches and others is what keeps the fire burning.
I’ve interviewed a lot of my colleagues on different types of broadcasts and the one thing I’ve learned is when we start talking, you’re going to be entertained with tons of stories. The shows are longer because we’re never at a loss of words.
I’ve tried to emphasize to my team on the South Florida Tribune Broadcasting Network that it’s not how many clicks that you get with your videos, but the connections/contacts you make. With this generation, that’s a tough message to convey.
During the Fall, I had South Florida Sentinel University of Miami writer Adam Lichtenstein on Fire Up Florida. He was great! We see each other at Media Days along with Games. I plan on bringing him back this Fall.
A couple of weeks ago, I brought on another colleague that I met during the Covid-19 Season when I covered the Florida Panthers.
He’s the owner of Florida Hockey Now.
If you’re looking for a person that knows everything about the Florida Panthers, his name is George Richards. I recently saw him at a pair of Miami Marlins games and invited him to come on Fire Up Florida. George accepted and we had a great time!
The timing was great because even though George said he would gladly come on anytime I needed him, doing a show in August was a No-Brainer. This is the time of the year he had more time and the slow period for news with the Panthers. Things will start to ramp up in September with training camp and the regular season gets going in October.
We talked about the Panthers winning the Presidents Trophy a couple years ago. George told me that he didn’t feel the record for the Panthers would be as good, but they were a playoff team. He had his I told you so moment when we talked.
The Panthers did their talking when they made the playoffs on the last day of the season. Florida benefitted from the goaltending of Sergei Bobrovsky as well as some key offensive performances. Florida upset the Presidents Cup Winner the Boston Bruins to begin its ride to the Stanley Cup Finals, only to lose to the Vegas Golden Knights.
The thing that stood out to me on our show was when we talked about Lionel Messi joining Inter-Miami and Richards considered MLS Soccer as AA Minor League Soccer.
As I analyzed what he said, I agreed with him. The MLS is supposed to help groom talent for the USA Men’s National Team for the World Cup. Unfortunately, in the last World Cup, the USA Men’s National team could only muster up four goals and underachieved again.
When you think of how popular soccer is around the world, then it’s easy to see why Richards takes his position.
In the story, if you’re a Florida Panthers fan, I encourage you to watch Fire Up Florida in its entirety. We go into a lot of depth with the team and this will get you revved up for the 2023-24 Season.
As I said, the NHL Season on the Frozen Pond is just around the corner.
George Richards is just another example that not only do you cover events in the field, but he’s the latest colleague which has turned into a great friend!
Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and X, formerly Twitter @TribuneSouth. Also, by subscribing to the South Florida Tribune at no charge, you can see all of his broadcasts.
