2008 Rants

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Tigers Are Rollin'
April 30, 2008

The Tigers are finally kickin' it into gear like we hoped they would from the start of the season.  I had it rough the first week of the season.  The Tigers hadn't won a game, and I went to Mexico for a week.  I couldn't find a score to save my ass.  All you see and hear down there are soccer scores from leagues I've never heard of. 

Hey, that Placido Polanco has a big head!   That head should get it's own locker.   That's Charlie Brown big.  He looks like the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain.  He hit two homers tonight at Yankee Stadium. It was cool to see Andy Pettite get shelled. I just hope the Tigers can stay somewhat healthy this season.  It's been a rough start already.  You think Granderson being out and the Tigers having a bad start is a coincidence? 

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Big Fish
April 28, 2008

WMU BASS FISHING
April 18, 2008

I just finalized a deal with a couple of local guys from WMU.  I am sponsoring their bass fishing team.  Matt Monroe and Jonathon VanDam are both students at Western Michigan University, and they are part of the Collegiate Bass Anglers Association.  While it isn't actually an NCAA sanctioned group, it is catching on around the country.  College kids fishing against other college kids.  I wish they had something like that when I started at WMU in 1981.  Actually, if we had it back then, my college career  would have been even less stellar than it was. 

I am also helping Matt and Jonathon get the word out about their team and the group in general.   I believe the championship will be televised by FOX Sports. I'll have their results here all summer.  Good luck guys.

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K-Wings Done
April 14, 2008

The Kalamazoo Wings hockey season is over.  I missed the final three games since I was on vacation with the family in Mexico.  I would like to congratulate Kory Karlander on a great season, and for winning the IHL MVP Award.  He is the best face-off man in the league and a great guy.  As the PA Announcer for the K-Wings, I would interview a player after each game at center ice.  After a loss, I was always glad to be face to face with Karlander or Nick Bootland.  They are both straight shooters, and wouldn't shy away from my questions.  Some guys just want to get back to the locker room and not talk, but they both listened to the questions, thought about it, then answered.  Thanks guys. 

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ASK SCOTTY BUD

Ok, for the past 21 years, I have been on the radio in Kalamazoo.  Every week, I get a call or an email from someone who wants an explanation about something that I was part of, or something I did, or something that I said. What's really amazing is that some of you remember some of the crap I've said.

 I answer all my email, and always answer the phone when I'm in the studio.  But, I figured it was time I open it up for questions, officially.  I've threatened to write a book for years, so maybe this will get it rolling. Ask away, and I will read the question and the answer on the air on my show on 92.5 The ZUU, between 2-6 pm.  That is, if the question is air-able.  Please don't start with "How did you get the Bud nickname", that is answered on this site somewhere.  Thanks. Have at it.

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What A Day!
February 28, 2008

I had Mary Carey on my show today.  She's on VH1's Celebrity Rehab show.  She's also a porno star and dancer.  After a half hour with her, I needed a nap.  She didn't stop talking the entire time.  And she was funny, in a stripper/porno star kind of way.  I only wish we could have aired some of the stories she told me off the air.  She said she may get her own show, and that for now, she's done making movies.  We'll see how long that lasts.

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KVD Finishes Third In Classic
February 25, 2008

I know he's not happy with a third place finish in the Bassmaster Classic in South Carolina and the $40,000 prize, but Kevin VanDam had a pretty damn good showing at the Classic.  At this point in his career, he's only concerned with titles.  Trust me when I say that he's not interested in the money.  Still, the rest of the world, including yours truly, is pretty impressed.

I wasn't that impressed with ESPN2's coverage of the event, and that's not just because they didn't air the story about Kevin and his wife helping to get a new high school built in Otsego.  They didn't have too much substance to their two hour shows each night.  I realize that they had a short amount of time to edit and air the show, but I am a stickler when it comes to production, and I have pretty high expectations from the world wide leader.  I enjoyed the banter between my man Mark Zona and the various anglers they interviewed, but everything else was less than stellar.

I would have liked to see more of the big names on the final show.  We barely saw Skeet Reese.  The world wide leader could have put a couple more cameras in boats.  Hell, when I was at the classic a couple of years ago, I got booted out of KVD's boat as a media observer so they could put a camera in there, and he wasn't even in the top 10 at the time I don't think.   

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A Piece of My Childhood is Gone
February 14, 2008

David Steere passed away earlier this week.  Who is he?  He was the guy who owned the radio station I grew up listening to, 1360 WKMI.  In the 70's and early 80's WKMI was the only station to listen to in Kalamazoo. Keep in mind this was before FM radio was popular. I used to put my small radio under my pillow at night and listen, hoping that someday I could be that guy introducing Jim Croce records and giving away tickets.   That radio station was the reason I am now in my 21st year of radio.  Steere was the owner, but also on the morning show for a while as Doc Holiday on the Holiday and King Show.  I can only imagine what he thought regarding how the current company has ruined that station over the years.  I had a front row seat for the decay over the past 15 years.  For a while, I was one of the only people in that building who gave a damn about what happened there.  In fact, there aren't too many of us left who have any appreciation for the history of that station and the history of radio in Kalamazoo in general. There are only a handful of people in town on the radio who are actually from the Kalamazoo area.

I idolized many of the people who worked at WKMI:  Gary Outlaw, The Beaver, Jim Higgs, Bill Anthony, Big Joe Wright, Bill Martin, and my favorite, Dave Thompson.  He used to scream his name and hold it for as long as he could.  He was crazy, and I wanted to be just like him.  I eventually worked there reporting sports. I even took over for Big Joe Wright after he retired.  That didn't last long. I also did play by play for high school sports there for years before the corporate idiots decided that making $20,000 a year for the company on high school sports wasn't a good idea.  I am proud to say that I have come to know Bill Anthony and Bill Martin, and I got to meet Dave Thompson while I was actually on the air doing sports on WKMI. He had to leave, so I didn't really get a chance to talk with him much.  Some day.  I also got to meet Jim Higgs a couple years ago and actually got an email from him a few weeks ago congratulating me on our ratings increase at WZUU.

So a piece of my childhood has gone.  The man who ran the station that I worshipped has passed on.  I'm sad that I never got a chance to meet him and tell him how he helped shape my life.  I think it's important to tell people who have helped you out in one way or another, that they've been an influence on you.  I've done it many times.  And I've also had people  thank me for helping them.  That's a nice feeling.  So long David Steere.  Thanks for doing what you did, so that I could do what I do.

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Billy Ray Cyrus Finally Makes It To ScottyBud.Com

Some of you are thinking, man, how did Scotty Bud get a photo with Hannah Montana's dad?  Actually, this is my buddy Mark Zona, from ESPN, with Billy Ray.  They're filming a movie about bass fishing right now in Florida, called BAIT SHOP, with Bill Engvall, and Z has a cameo as himself.  As you can tell, Billy Ray is thrilled to be hanging with Z.  Yes, I know, Mark looks a lot like me.  And vice-versa.  We get it.  We're just trying to figure out how we can make some money off it.  At least I am. Check out Z's show on ESPN2 every Saturday morning starting this spring. It's called The World's Greatest Fishing Show.

Also, coming up at the end of February, during the Bassmaster Classic, I will be on ESPN. They filmed a story about Kevin VanDam and his wife Sherry and how they helped get a new high school for Otsego.  She's on the school board.  So the ESPN guys came up to interview me, since I know them and work in Otsego.  We'll see how much of me was left on the cutting room floor.  Either way, it was cool.

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This Video Is Hilarious
February 1, 2008

I'm not a big Sara Silverman fan, but she was on the Jimmy Kimmel
show the other night and showed him this freakin' hilarious video
that she made with Matt Damon.  I was laughing out loud. 
Silverman and Kimmel are dating by the way, which makes this very funny. 
It's not for the kids.  Not that you let the kids read my stuff.

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Big Mac in the ZUU
January 27, 2008

So Darren McCarty was in Kalamazoo last night to play in his next to last game in the IHL with the Flint Generals.  He had a couple of nice hits, a couple of penalties, and a goal, that was later taken away, even though he insisted to me that it went off his foot.  The first time he was in the box he wanted to know if our game the night before was as bad as this one, since it was penalty-fest. I told him it was a bit less exciting.  He was complaining about guys hanging all over him the night before and not getting any calls from the ref. 
The second time he was in the box, he begged me to have the goal changed to his, because "it went off my friggin' foot". It didn't get changed. Sorry D-Mac. I don't get to make that call. I did however get to announce his name a few times, and have a nice chat, so it was a win-win for me. All in all, one of the most exciting games in a while at Wings Stadium, and me without my camera. But, hey, I get paid to talk, not take pictures.   I would say McCarty brought in at least an extra 1000 fans.   I don't think he'll make it back to the NHL, and certainly not with the Red Wings, who have no room.  But at least we got a chance to see a guy who at one time was a major part of Red Wings history, and provided us with some great memories. Thanks Darren.

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Go Lions!

I just want to thank the Detroit Lions for ending my year on such a high note. Again. Thanks Lions, for once again getting our hopes up early, then letting us down as usual.  Thanks Jon Kitna, for predicting 10 wins, you dick. Next time you want to make a prediction, ask yourself - "What would Jesus do?" Jesus would have kept his mouth shut.  Thanks defensive backs for tackling like girls. No offense to the girls. Thanks Mike Martz for misusing what little talent you have. Thanks Calvin Johnson, for dropping all those passes that hit you in the hands.  That ball sure can sneak up on you, especially when you know it's coming, huh? Thanks Rod Marinelli for acting like you guys always had a chance, when you didn't. 

It has been exactly 50 years since the Lions won their last championship.  It may be another 50 before they win the next one.  I don't have that kind of time. Until William Ford sells the team, and changes the attitude, mindset, and gets rid of the bad karma, there will be no championship.   Matt Millen is the luckiest man in the world.  If the rest of us had track records like his at our jobs, we would have been fired long ago. I don't usually call for people to get canned, because I wouldn't want someone to say that about me, but Jesus Christ, Millen has to go.

Oh, by the way, back in September, I picked the Lions to win 6 games. They finished 7-9.  They started 6-2.  Well done Lions.  If you are a fan, and continue to pay money to go see the Lions in person, you should be ashamed of yourself.  I will not pay money to go see another Lion's game until they make the playoffs.  Hey Kitna, I guess Jesus doesn't give a crap about football after all.  At least not about the Lions. Why should he?

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Happy New Year!