I have been at the Radio Results Network since November of 1994. I have been the network news director ever since that day, and I took over the local sports broadcasting duties a short time later.
I graduated from Robichaud High School in Dearborn Heights, MI, in 1989, and then graduated from Northern Michigan University in May, 1994. I started my radio career while I was in college, and was also the editor of the student newspaper North Wind.
After a brief stay at radio stations in Ann Arbor and South Haven, I came back to the Upper Peninsula and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. It's an important job to report the news to you every day, and I'm lucky to have people like Don Curran and Mindy Wills on my news team. If there's a news story that you'd like to see covered, E-Mail me at jack@radioresultsnetwork.com. My real love is sports broadcasting. I mean, I get to sit there for two or three hours, have a hot dog (or two), and watch kids play for the love of the sport. And I get to let everybody know back home how the game is going, and my goal is to make it feel like they are actually at the game while they're listening.
I'm especially proud to be the Voice of Little League Baseball. Those 50 games we broadcast every summer is sports in its purist form, in my opinion. I'm also proud to be the Voice of the Escanaba Eskymo baseball team, and to be the Voice of the Escanaba Eskymo hockey team. Hockey is my favorite sport (look me up on Facebook and you'll see). I've broadcast 415 Eskymo hockey games over the last 18 years and I am looking forward to this 2012-13 season.
I enjoy broadcasting the high school and youth sporting events here in Delta County because I get to meet a lot of good people. I have made some great friends over the years just by broadcasting Little League games or high school events. It's a great feeling when someone comes up to me, years after they graduated from high school, and we talk about "the good ol days".
This is one of the main reasons why I've never really pursued a radio job in a bigger city. Plus. I hate driving in traffic.
I think that any success I've had in sports broadcasting is because I've been able to get to know the kids who are playing the games. They are not just uniform numbers. I like knowing a little about the guys or gals who I'm broadcasting for.
Besides the radio, I have been dragged kicking and screaming into the world of the Internet. I guess I'm old-fashioned in some ways and focus really hard on what I put onto the air. But, the Internet is important nowadays and I am slowly getting used to it. I've even had an on-line blog since 2008, so check out my (almost) daily entries!
For the last seven-plus years, I have been in charge of the local sports web site www.rrnsports.com. Check it out if you're looking for scores, schedules and other information about U.P. high school teams.
I guess that's about all I can think of to write in this section. Thanks for listening to my broadcasts over these many years and if you have any suggestions, let me know.
Jack Hall
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| Jack Hall Blog | | ESCANABA, MI--MAY 22, 2013-3:33 A.M. |
|  Back from a long baseball road trip to Shawano, Wisconsin.
But first, I just want to update you on the situation in Moore, Oklahoma. The good news is that the death toll from that horrible tornado was revised during the day on Tuesday. Late Monday night, we were told that 91 people were killed. That number now stands at 24.
Still horrible. And more than 200 people were hurt, and thousands lost their homes. How can we help in the U.P.? The best way is to make a donation to the American Red Cross, which is providing disaster relief services there. You can make a donation at www.redcross.org, or send a $10 donation via text message at REDCROSS to 90999.
The donation will show up on your cell phone bill, and the money is used to buy supplies that the people there who have lost their homes need after this horrible storm.
Closer to home, I was with the Escanaba Eskymo baseball team in Shawano, Wisconsin, and it looked like we would drive there for nothing. Heavy rain fell at times, and as we sat at the field two hours before the first pitch, it didn't look too good.
 But the rain stopped and it was a sunny evening.
The people in Shawano were friendly to our team, and the Hawks' head coach had me and the Eskymo coaches rolling with laughter with a few of his stories before the games.
The downside was that the mosquitoes there were way too friendly. The insects probably got as much blood from us through their bites as we'd give at a Red Cross blood drive!
One other positive thing from our doubleheader split was that Eskymo senior David Falish (pictured) played for the first time this season. He had been on the shelf with a foot injury, but he got cleared to play by doctors at a Monday check-up. Dave was no-where near his usual lightning-fast self on Tuesday, but it was great to see him back on the field!
Read all about the Eskymos' baseball games at rrnsports.com. I just finished the updates! Now, it's time for me to get some sleep!
---later, Jack
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| | ESCANABA, MI--MAY 21, 2013-2:27 A.M. |
|  Absolutely horrific.
That is what law enforcement, search and rescue, and weather forecasters are saying about the tornadoes that rolled through Oklahoma late Monday afternoon.
I was glued to my TV tonight watching the heartbreaking coverage from the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore.
As I write this at 2:30 a.m., authorities say that 91 people were killed, with dozens more hurt. An elementary school was completely flattened when the funnel clowds destroyed 30 square miles worth of land at about 4:00 in the afternoon. At least 20 little kids were killed.
(These photos are courtesy of CBS News. See more pictures and videos at CBSnews.com)
Questions are already being asked: why were the fourth, fifth, and sixth grade kids evacuated, but the third graders stayed in that school as the storm went through. Horribly, reports are that many of these kids drowned as the EF-4 tornado, with up to 200 mile per hour winds, rumbled through that part of Oklahoma.
This brings up a question here in the Upper Peninsula. Are we prepared for disasters? We are certainly not located in Tornado Alley. But tornadoes do happen here, too. What are the procedures that we use to keep our kids safe if a tornado came barreling toward one of our schools? This is a parent's worst nightmare.
 We all had fire drills and tornado drills when we were kids. I remember not really taking them seriously when I was little. It was kind of like a break from class.
Well, hopefully, many of our schools will drive home the point to our kids that these are very serious drills, and everyone needs to know what to do if a tornado strikes.
Again, this isn't Oklahoma. EF-4 and EF-5 tornadoes don't come here. But even a weaker tornado, like the one a couple of years ago in Menominee County, can still be deadly. My prayers are with everyone in that Oklahoma community that is living through a nightmare.
Keep your radio set to NewsTalk 600 WCHT for twice-an-hour updates on the situation in Oklahoma throughout the day on Tuesday, and we will provide local reaction during our local newscasts as well.
---later, Jack
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| | ESCANABA, MI--MAY 20, 2013-1:22 A.M. |
| When I woke up Saturday morning and I looked outside, it was raining.
My first thought was "You've got to be kidding me". I was thinking that maybe the high school baseball and softball tournaments scheduled in Escanaba on Saturday would be rained out, or the games might be played under lousy conditions. But, as if on cue, the rain stopped right at 10:00.
We got both tournaments in, and I had a lot of fun watching both baseball and softball all day long.
 Normally, I don't care much about the third place games of these baseball tournaments.
But as Saturday's game between the Gladstone Indians Legion team and the Negaunee Miners went on, I started to love what I was seeing.
The Indians have mostly seventh and eighth graders on their roster because other Gladstone kids are playing high school baseball for the Braves.
Well, little (and I mean little) seventh grader Braden Lamberg pitched 5 2/3 innings of shutout, five-hit ball, and the Indians beat the Miners. The Indians got a bunch of infield hits and pop fly singles and played excellent defense, and Lamberg had a mile-wide grin.
I was also impressed with the Alpena Wildcats baseball team. They took advantage of every opportunity they had and beat the Eskymos in two out of three games, all decided by one run. Escanaba's top two pitchers, Devin Olsen and Ben Kleiman, both pitched well, but that 2-3-4 portion of the Wildcat line-up is deadly. That was good competition for our boys, though, as they get ready for next week's districts.
In softball, meanwhile, there were three fields going simultaneously, from 10 in the morning until 5 in the afternoon. The Eskymos played four games, and won three of them.
 I was so happy to see Jenn Koish hit a home run, and I was able to get it on film for rrnsports.com. She had been struggling at the plate recently.
And how about Rapid River's Neena Brockway? She was completely unhittable when she pitched against the Cheboygan Chiefs. Neena struck out a school record 19 batters and Rapid River won, 9-0.
But the highlight of the girls tournament for me are those french fries. Yep, he gets real potatoes, cuts them right there at the field, and dumps them into these pots of boiling oil and fries them. They are sooooo good!
They are so popular that some of the girls on out-of-town teams refer to it as the "French Fry Tournament".
All in all, I had an enjoyable ten hours at Al Ness Field and Lemmerand Park on Saturday, even though my teams didn't win all of their games.
And now, for the next few days, here comes the rain!
---later, Jack
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| | ESCANABA, MI--MAY 17, 2013-3:30 A.M. |
|  Now that we've got some decent weather around here, the kids who play high school spring sports don't have to show up in snowsuits and blankets.
I spent a couple of hours at the MHSAA Division One Regional Track Meet on Thursday in Escanaba.
The Gladstone boys and Marquette girls dominated the meet, winning the team scores by wide margins and qualifying numerous kids for the U.P. Finals on June 1st at Kingsford High School.
The Gladstone boys almost completely swept the field events, with Jared Vuksan going into "beast mode" and winning both the shot put and discus.
And teammates Cody Malanowksi and Steve Strom also qualified in the shot put (the guys are pictured).
Gladstone's Justin Pederson is about as good as they come. I honestly believe he could win any event they put him in, except maybe the 1600 or 3200. He shattered a Gladstone school record in the 100 dash (10.78). Good to see Zach Sturdy back in action and winning the pole vault. He was hurt earlier this spring and couldn't be at his best.
I like watching Escanaba's Andrew Stenberg, Eric Cousineau, and Jared Ogren run the distance races. They did well on Thursday. The stamina that it takes for them to round that track four times, and be able to pace themselves, well, that's incredble to me.
 Marquette completely dominated the girls race. Lindsay Rudden is so smooth in how she runs, and we all should remember that her family is from Escanaba!
I felt for Escanaba's Amy Giese. She just got done finishing the 3200 run and she was due up to do the high jump! Wow, that's tough. But tournament officials gave her a chance to catch her breath before jumping.
Also...I got in the way a couple of times.
No, not like the little kid that wandered onto the track and was scooped up just in time before a runner came through. I was standing on the infield, taking pictures. And twice I heard "Jack Hall, MOVE!" I looked up, and it seems that I was in the path of tournament officials who were trying to start the relay races, and they had to see across the infield to make sure everyone was on their blocks.
They were polite about it. But it shows that maybe I really do belong in a radio booth!
---later, Jack
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| | ESCANABA, MI--MAY 15, 2013-3:32 A.M. |
| Well, stupid people sometimes do stupid things.
So, I bring you a funny (to me) story from the small Mackinac County town of Curtis. It seems that a lady there broke into Chamberlin's Inn Tuesday morning and stole food, dishes, silverware, and other items.
That is not funny. But read on to see what is funny!
When this lady started to leave the motel, she couldn't find her car keys. She went into her car, closed the door, and got locked inside! That's because the car's inside door latches were broken, and she needed to have the keys to start the car in order to roll the windows down.
If she had had the keys, she could've then reached outside the window and used the handle to get out of the car. But this unlucky thief ended up being stuck inside the car until police arrived at 7:30 Tuesday morning to arrest her, with all of the stolen items right next to her in the car. Ah, you've gotta love karma!
Hope you will tune in Wednesday afternoon for Gladstone Braves baseball in Negaunee. It's a doubleheader that starts at 4:00 on WCHT-AM (600), and on www.rrnsports.com. Should be some good baseball!
---later, Jack
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| | ESCANABA, MI--MAY 14, 2013-3:19 A.M. |
|  Stunned. And almost ready to cry.
That is seriously how I felt when I watched the Toronto Maple Leafs lose to the Boston Bruins, 5-4, in overtime, in Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Playoffs Monday.
Ya, I know, it's only a hockey game, and the outcome won't change my life one way or another.
But being a Canadian hockey fan, and watching the Maple Leafs work so hard as a huge underdog to almost win the playoff series, well, it sucked to see Boston win in the end. Even worse, the Maple Leafs had an incredible 4-1 lead with ten minutes to go in the game, and led 4-2 with only 1:30 left.
You almost never see a two-goal lead disappear in the final 90 seconds of a game, let alone in Game Seven of an NHL playoff series. But it happens. At all levels.
I remember two years ago the Escanaba Eskymos blew a two-goal lead in the final two minutes and lost to Calumet. When I was in college back in the early 1990's, the NMU Wildcats led Michigan by three goals at Joe Louis Arena, and we were all talking about travel arrangements to the NCAA Final Four.
Michigan rallied and won, 8-7. I will never forget it. Ah, I guess it proves that a game is never really over until the clock is on all zeroes.
On another note, a black bear wandered into downtown Escanaba early this morning. In fact, as I type this at 3:20 in the morning, the Escanaba Public Safety Department was tracking the bear in someone's yard just a few blocks from where I live downtown. I see bears all the time at my parents' place out in Hermansville, but not here in downtown Escanaba. Our officers have to deal with the strangest things sometimes!
---later, Jack
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| | ESCANABA, MI--MAY 13, 2013-2:44 A.M. |
|  My friends, I am a hypocrite.
That's because when the National Hockey League had its long lockout back in the winter that severely pissed off all of us hockey fans, I was one of those who said "to hell with those greedy NHL players and owners".
In my anger as a fan, I vowed to ignore the NHL, and I said I would not "give those people a single penny" or a "single moment" of my time. Well, I held true to that for most of the 48-game regular season. But on Sunday, the hockey was so compelling that I had to watch.
First, the New York Rangers fought off elimination with a super-sweet 1-0 win over the Washington Capitals. It was great entertainment on my dad's TV in Hermansville.
 Then, it was "Go Leafs Go" as the Toronto Maple Leafs tried for the improbable upset over the Boston Bruins. It was 0-0 in the third period, but my Leafs scored twice and held on for a 2-1 win! Toronto, a place I have been to many times, exploded with excitement after that win.
And later, the Detroit Red Wings were playing way out West against the Anaheim Ducks.|
The Wings were underdogs, but got a quick goal from Henrick Zetterberg and then held on for a 3-2 win. That was a Game Seven win, and so the Wings go to the second round against the Chicago Black Hawks!
How sweet it that? People thought that the Wings wouldn't even make the playoffs at all, and they almost didn't. I love hockey so much. And even though I am still pissed at the NHL, this is still the best hockey in the world. It is so cool to sit and watch it, while sipping an adult beverage amongst family and friends.
And so Monday night, I will be glued to the TV, hoping that Toronto pulls another upset in Game Seven! And Tuesday night, I will hope for an Ottawa Senators upset over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
And then Wednesday night, I will hope for the Wings to upset the top-seeded Chicago Black Hawks. And all of the Wings games are on the radio, live on Magic 97 (97.1 FM), in a good chunk of the U.P.
One other thing...I was glad to spend some time with my mom on Mother's Day. She is literally the best person in the world. Hope all of you spent time with your mom's too on Sunday!
---later, Jack
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| | ESCANABA, MI--MAY 9, 2013-3:36 A.M. |
| When I got back from the Escanaba Eskymo baseball game in Marquette tonight, I went to the radio station to write up the news stories that you will hear Heidi Rae and Don Curran read on our RRN radio stations.
One of the news releases from the Michigan State Police really bothered me. It seems that someone in Iron River has put the chemicals to make meth inside of five pop bottles, and then put these bottles in two park playground areas. In one case, an eight-year-old found the bottle, which police refer to as "burst vessels".
Thank God that this young kid didn't take a swig of what he would probably think is soda!
What the hell is wrong with people nowadays?
I mean, if you want to be a druggie, then do it in your own home and fry your own brains. That's none of my business. But to put this crap somewhere where a little kid could find it really pisses me off.
I wish I could go on the radio and say exactly what I think of these types of people, but I can't. All I can do is hope is that the police find whoever did this and put that fool in jail!
---later, Jack
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| | ESCANABA, MI--MAY 8, 2013-3:48 A.M. |
| It's amazing to me that someone would be evil enough to kidnap another person and hold that person hostage, just for the hell of it. That's apparently what happened in Ohio, where three brothers are accused of holding three girls hostage inside a home for ten years. The girls, now women, finally escaped this week.
Can you just imagine how you would feel if your life, your entire existance, was at the whim of someone else? We're just now finding out some of the details of those ladies' ordeal.
This Ohio case also makes me think about the teenaged boy here in Escanaba who was allegedly held inside a room by his mother and her boyfriend for nearly four years. Police say that the boy was tortured and raped for years. Again, what goes through someone's mind, where they would treat another human being like that?
 Well, on a much brighter note, Dylan Gauthier is officially back. The Escanaba High School freshman competed in an Eskymo uniform on Tuesday at the Marinette Golf Invitational in Wisconsin.
Gauthier is the boy who was severely injured during an Eskymo hockey game downstate just three months ago.
Dylan has worked extremely hard to be able to have a normal life as a teenager, and to get back into varsity sports competition so quickly. He, along with Dane Casperson, shot a 75 for the Eskymos...the best score for Escanaba's team in that tournament.
And Dylan (pictured here from the Marinette meet) is basically doing it on one leg. Congratulations to him, and I hope you all see Dylan and the Eskymos compete in the Northern Michigan Bank Championships Thursday at the Escanaba Country Club.
---later, Jack
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| | ESCANABA, MI---MAY 6, 2013-3:17 A.M. |
|  Jace Daniels made it!
The 2009 Escanaba High School graduate and Northern Michigan University football standout has signed a deal with the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccanneers after he did well this weekend at the team's Rookie Camp.
The Bucs have not made the official announcement yet, but Jace let all of us know on Facebook Sunday night that he had signed on the dotted line. An NFL contract!
The official announcement will come sometime on Monday, and it has already been posted on the "Tampa Bay Times" newspaper's sports blog.
I saw this picture on the Buccanneers web site, and took the liberty of posting it for you here. Jace is #76!
It's sweet to see an Escanaba boy be able to live his dream. Think about how much work he had to put in over many years to be able to play football at this level. It is very rare to see an Upper Peninsula football player make it this far, and it is even sweeter for me because I knew Jace when he was a (not-so) little kid back in the day here in Escanaba.
I am also happy as a Northern Michigan University alum to see a Wildcat make it. I remember when Mark Maddox made it to the NFL, a guy I knew only vaguely back then because he was older than I was. But he had a good NFL career, and I know Jace will bust his butt too.
The next step for Jace Daniels is to go to Tampa and earn a spot on the final roster. He is on the 90-man roster right now, and that, of course, gets trimmed. But there aren't that many 300 pound men who are in good shape like Jace is, so I'm thinking that he's got a great shot.
It's a privilege, and a lot of fun, to be able to report "good news" for a change.
---later, Jack
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