On The Run

Catching a few minutes with Al Rosenberg can be hard to do.

Al Rosenberg
sets up for the
Lions jets game
on Dec. 21.

LONNY GOLDSMITH

Sta Writer

H

e never has tO pay for a
flight. When he retires,
he'll never have to pay for
a flight. He flies every-
where first class, as does anyone he
travels with, and he gets into many
sporting events without cost.
President Clinton?
No, Al Rosenberg.
Rosenberg, Detroit's and arguably
the country's pre-eminent sports radio
engineer, is somewhere over the mid-
dle of the country right now. He's
thankful to be on his way home, corn-
pleting his second cross-country trip
in a week.
Rosenberg is responsible for the
sound quality on the broadcasts of
Michigan State University football and
basketball games, Detroit Lions foot-
ball, as well as sound for the oppo-

1/2
1998

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nents of the Detroit Red Wings and
Detroit Pistons games that are in
town.
"MSU pays for my flights, as does
anyone else I work for, and I fly on
the Lions' team charter," Rosenberg
said. Prior to his multi-stop, multi-
event national tour, he stated,
"Starting on Dec. 19, I'll be all over
the place."
That could be an understatement.
On Dec. 19, he left for Tampa,
Fla., as MSU took on South Florida in
basketball the following day. He
returned after the game, Dec. 20,
because he had to set up for the Lions
football game against the Jets on Dec.
21.
On Dec. 22, he left for Hawaii,
because the Spartan football team was
in the Aloha Bowl. He returned fol-
lowing the Christmas day game to
handle the Motor City Bowl at the
Silverdome on Dec. 26.

He left town on the 27th for
Tampa (again) for the Lions playoff
game, after doing an MSU basketball
game earlier that day.
On the 29th he headed west (again)
for the Jan. 1 Rose Bowl in California,
where he worked for ESPN Radio.
When he's unable to cover the
Pistons and Red Wings home games,
he contracts others to cover for him.
"Conflicting games is the big prob-
lem," said the 43-year-old. "I'll always
take the toughest job."
Football is generally the more diffi-
cult of the sports he does because of
the number of broadcasters involved.
"On the Lions broadcasts, I need to
set up a microphone on the sidelines
for the reporter down there, as well as
headphones for the statistician," he
said. "They also do the postgame
show direct from the lockerroom.
"During the broadcast, I'm running
the controls to make sure everything

.

sounds right. A lot of times I'm pro-
ducing as well as engineering the
broadcast."
Producing means that Rosenberg is
working with the studio to set up the
commerical breaks and letting the
announcers know when they are on
and off the air.
He transports his own equipment
for all football and basketball games
not at the Palace or Joe Louis Arena.
He stores equipment at those local
venues.
"When anyone hires me, I assure
them that I will bring the best quality
equipment," he said. "I also know my
equipment better then others. Should,
something go wrong, I can handle it.
Rosenberg is a native of Detroit
and a graduate of Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah. He got his professional start
in 1976, at WAAM-AM 1600 in Ann
Arbor, after meeting the station's gen-
eral manager at Olympia Stadium in

