I was going to do that night at Long Beach State. Mitch, grinning like a cat, immediately said yes and that night we worked together to send the broadcast back to Honolulu.
Hawaii and Long Beach State always made for a great radio match-up.
And as a color man, Mitch was better than good. We connected instantly and had an amazing chemistry on the air. A part-time beach Volleyball player himself, Mitch’s knowledge of the game and his relationships with the players dwarfed mine. He oozed Volleyball and knew every rule, regulation and nuisance of the sport and he really pushed me to be better. I immediately asked him to be part of all of the broadcasts I was doing and to join in on each pre-game show as “The Coach, Mitch Lehman” and on-mike friendship reflected the respect that we had for each other. Because the majority of the Hawaii Men’s and Wahine broadcasts were in Southern California, Mitch was available for all of the matches. It was a joy to work with him and we formed a bond of friendship that lasts through this day. I am so blessed that he is my friend.
It was sometimes a struggle to do many of the Wahine Volleyball broadcasts “solo”; that is Western Athletic Conference matches in places like Rice University in Houston, Texas. Iverson’s network covered my expenses but refused to do for Mitch, so I ended up doing them alone. Fortunately for me and I think to a great extent to the listeners, the Wahine would pound their opponents into the floor and we would be out of the gym in about one hour.
I will never forget one particular broadcast at UC San Diego.
Mitch and I drove down to this predominantly academic university for the broadcast of a Hawaii men’s match against the Tritons which ended (for them) in 45 merciful minutes. However, with all University of Hawaii radio broadcasts, you must fill in all of the time of each and every broadcast that are already sold and locked in. So, there Mitch and I were in a now empty gym, watching student workers sweeping up the floor and bantering away just to fill up the time. The post-game show lasted longer than the action on the court.
***
I’ve shared with you about the mania that is the University of Hawaii Volleyball. Now I have to introduce you to one of the most electrifying players ever to wear a Volleyball uniform. His name is Yuval Katz and he was the starting outside hitter for the Rainbows. UH head Coach Mike Wilton recruited Katz from Israel where he played on numerous club teams and after fulfilling his required military time for his nation, came to the Hawaii Volleyball program. Katz hit the islands like a tidal wave. There was never a more exciting team in recent Volleyball history that there was in the mid-1990’s with Katz leading the way. Fans at the UH Stan Sherriff Center Arena would wait for days to get one of their allotted tickets to see this Hawaii team play. It was beyond “rock concert” status as young 17 year olds would throw themselves all over the players and would pass out - all on live local Hawaii TV - whenever Katz would come onto the court.
I hate regret. I think it is a useless emotion. I think you should accept life the way it comes. But the one “regret” I have was never being allowed by Iverson to broadcast any of the Hawaii Men’s or Wahine broadcasts at home at the Stan Sherriff Center. Iverson didn't want to incur the expense of flying me out to Hawaii to do a home broadcast where he could get a local announcer to do it. It was understandable. But I dearly wanted to see what it was like to experience Hawaii Volleyball, just once, in Honolulu. For you see, Katz and the Rainbows were the #1 team in America and every time the team went to the US mainland, tens of thousands of people listened to every live broadcast that Mitch and I did.
Some people drink coffee for caffeine high.
Who needs that crap?
When Katz and the Rainbows suited up and played at UCLA and USC, I just put on the headphones and EXPLODED all over the radio. Mitch had to try and hold me back, eventually giving up and coming along for the ride. He and I were better than good as every spike, dig and block were instantly radiated back the 2,500 miles back to the Hawaii Islands like a metal slinky. The Rainbows pulverized every opponent they faced and upon returning back to Honolulu were greeted by thousands of fans that packed the pre-9/11 Honolulu International Airport.
I was still doing the league broadcasts and combined many of them with the Rainbow Sports Radio Network radio broadcasts. So, just once, I scheduled one league broadcast to originate from Honolulu. I wanted to see what it was like when Katz and the Rainbows were playing at home in the Stan Sherriff Center. It was incredible … unbelievable. Words cannot even come close to the level of excitement and love the local Hawaiians had for Yuval Katz. When the Rainbows came onto the court, the noise level was teeth jarring. I had seen the team a few days earlier in California and each of the players high fived me when they ran around the court for their warm-ups. I think they were hosting UC Irvine and handled the Anteaters mercilessly; like red meat to a hungry dog and won the match in a runaway.
Well, it finally came time for the NCAA National Championship at UCLA against the home-court Bruins. More than 5,000 insanely crazy Hawaii fans made the trip over from Honolulu and Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA Campus rocked. Mitch and I was at our very best, calling the match live on both radio networks as the see-saw battle waged between both ball clubs. The Rainbows made it to match point, serving for the NCAA National Championship only to fall to the Bruins by two points in the fifth and final game.
A tough loss for the Bows and for Katz who returned for just one more season. But it was never quite the same. The magic was gone. But my God was that fun.
More than a decade later, Mitch and I still remember that NCAA National Championship match-up and wonder “what if” …
***
So, it was with Mitch Lehman by my side, we broadcasting some 90 NCAA Volleyball matches a year. Also coming onto the scene was a new Women’s indoor league run by a self-styled millionaire named Gary Wyma called the NVA, the National Volleyball Association. It was a rag-tag, seat of the pants operation that Wyma personally funded, including paying me to put together a nascent radio package. So, Mitch and I saddled up for these broadcasts as well. The NVA league came and went bankrupt in two years but it put some money in Mitch and my pockets and more radio broadcasts to put on the resume.
But, then I had to ask, what‘s next? I always look forward to see what will be the next challenge on the horizon. Was I fated to broadcast Volleyball for the rest of my career? Was I going to be the “voice” of Volleyball forever? This is the question that I poised to my Dad one day when I called him at his home in Orem, Utah. He listened patiently but was ambiguous about the next challenge. He felt that as long as I was working, something good would come my way. It was then … in early 1995 that I started to ask myself … what about the Olympic Games? Why couldn't I broadcast the Olympic Games?
I must be nuts!
There is no way that I could broadcast the Olympics … at least that is what I told myself. You see, we humans are our own worst enemy. We will say to ourselves all the reasons why we can’t do this thing or that. But when you think about it, the only one saying it to me … was me. There was no one else telling me that I could not broadcast the Olympic Games, which was to be held in Atlanta the following summer.
And certainly no one in America had broadcast as many Volleyball matches on radio as I had.
***
So, I started formulating and executing a business plan to promote myself to the Westwood One Radio Network in Washington D.C. with the goal of being hired by the network as their “voice” of Olympic Volleyball.
First, I had to find out where to
