The game was in the refrigerator. The door was closed, the lights were out, the eggs were cooling, the butter was getting hard and the Jell-O was jiggling.
Last Sunday was Chick Hearn Night at Staples Center, and the Los Angeles Lakers honored their legendary, late broadcaster by defeating the Sacramento Kings, 100-86. Hall of Famer Hearn was known in part for his gustatory “game over” proclamation.
“This is fantastic; a great night,” said Evan Budrovich (’15), a USC Annenberg broadcast and digital journalism major and sports media studies minor from Torrance, Calif.
There’s no cheering in the—proverbial—press box, and the stentorian-voiced Budrovich wasn’t referring to the home team’s win. Instead, he was taking stock of an evening to remember for him and his family; as well as for fellow USC Annenberg student Sarah Bergstrom (’15) and her family; and for the greater USC Annenberg community.
Bergstrom and Budrovich are the winners of the 2013-2014 Chick Hearn Memorial Scholarship. [Read more about the duo’s accomplishments and about the scholarship here, in this preview story.] Sunday night was about honoring them, and of course, Hearn and his legacy. [Watch their video interview.]
“Passion is something that drives me in my own career,” Bergstrom would say later. “And you see that for Chick Hearn, his passion for this city and this community shone through in his work and allowed him to excel.”
Sunday night, 90 minutes prior to the opening tip, Budrovich and Bergstrom met each other and Lakers officials at—where else?—the Chick Hearn statue outside Staples Center.
Fans were already lining up to pose for photos with the Hearn statue. During the two and a half hours that followed, still and video and smart phone cameras galore, and microphones and voice recorders, would be aimed at Budrovich and Bergstrom.
From the statue, the USC Annenberg duo and their respective parents, brothers and guests were escorted inside the arena and shown to their 100-level seats behind one of the baskets.
Almost immediately, Budrovich and Bergstrom were whisked to the court. They stood near the sideline across from the two teams’ benches, near center court, and shook hands with Time Warner Cable SportsNet Lakers play-by-play announcer, Bill Macdonald (B.A. Communication, '81), and game analyst, Stu Lantz.
Macdonald and Budrovich paired off, with Macdonald telling Budrovich he was a Trojan, too, and posing for photos while giving a “Fight On” salute. Lantz and Bergstrom chatted a few feet away.
Bergstrom, from Portland, Oregon, is a public relations major who is minoring in sports media and nonprofits, philanthropy and volunteerism. Soccer has always been her sport, she said later. But if a basketball found its way to her out there on the hardwood? “I could hold my own,” Bergstrom said with a smile. “Maybe knock down a couple of threes.”
The Annenberg students weren’t on the court to shoot, or for a meet-and-greet. Macdonald and Lantz interviewed Bergstrom and Budrovich live on-air. This was the first of four interviews the two Trojans gave Sunday night, across a variety of platforms.
“I’m very good at asking questions,” Bergstrom said. “But rarely do I have to pause and be the one who answers questions. I think it’s fun to talk about my work.”
Next, Budrovich and Bergstrom were taken by a Lakers official through a tunnel, down a corridor and into the Chick Hearn Press Room. Budrovich and Bergstrom picked up Lakers gold-colored meal tickets and joined the buffet line. Bergstrom ate cooked salmon, mushrooms and vegetables. Budrovich had steak, mushrooms and pasta. Hot dogs and nachos, this was not.
While the students dined, John Ireland came over to congratulate them. Ireland is the Lakers radio play-by-play announcer, an ESPN 710 radio sports talk show host, and a KCBS / KCAL television anchor and reporter.
Ireland is also a UCLA graduate, and the Trojans and Bruins are scheduled to play their PAC-12 football season finale Saturday. Joked Ireland to the students: “This is the last night I can be nice to you.”
Winning Time
After eating with their media brethren, Budrovich and Bergstrom headed courtside. Here, the pair were interviewed, consecutively, by host Dave Shore live on ESPN 710 radio’s pregame Lakers show. While Bergstrom spoke, a video tribute to Hearn played on the arena scoreboards.
No sooner had the students returned to their seats when another journalist sought them out, this one with City News Service. While the trio spoke, on the concourse level, Lakers fans walked by, many balancing beers and sodas and foodstuffs, many wearing #24 replica jerseys of the injured superstar Kobe Bryant.
For the next forty minutes or so, Bergstrom and Budrovich returned to their seats, sat with their families, and watched the Bryant-less Lakers maintain a small lead over a subpar Kings squad. Budrovich’s on-air, pre-game caution that the Kings could present a challenge appeared to be coming true.
With three or so minutes remaining in the half, Bergstrom and Budrovich and USC Annenberg Dean Ernest J. Wilson III left their seats to connect with Shannon Hearn and Kayla Hearn. The former is Chick and Marge Hearn’s granddaughter. The latter, a great-granddaughter.
When the first half ended, the group moved out to center court. Standing aside the Lakers logo, with a scrum of photographers and videographers gathered in front of them, the Hearns, the Dean and the students were introduced to the announced crowd of 18,977 people.
Bergstrom and Budrovich were handed translucent, teardrop-shaped trophies bearing a congratulatory message from the Lakers and the Hearn Family. Each student smiled such big smiles that, up on the arena’s video screens, their faces looked either like advertisements for toothpaste—or for the joys of talent, training, ambition and effort.
As the Lakers and Kings players filtered back onto the court to warm up for the second half, Bergstrom and Budrovich – this time, joined on camera by Dean Wilson – had one more interview to do. This was for “Backstage: Lakers,” a SportsNet behind-the-scenes show.
While they were out of site, the arena’s public address system played the USC Trojan Marching Band’s version of the Fleetwood Mac anthem, “Tusk.” This was a sonic wink and a nod to the scholarship winners, and to Chick Hearn himself, who more than a half-century ago, broadcast USC football and basketball games.
More recently, current Laker player Nick Young played at USC. During the first half versus the Kings, Young was held scoreless.
The Trojan Family Network knows no bounds. After Bergstrom and Budrovich stood at center court, in the second half Young scored seven points. When Young knocked down a step-back, in rhythm, 27-foot, three-pointer late in the game, the Trojan put the Lakers ahead by a game-high nineteen points. The Jell-O was definitely jiggling.
A moment later, as the final seconds of the game clock wound down, Young dribbled, going behind-his-back and putting on a ballhandling clinic. Gold streamers fell from the rafters. Randy Newman’s familiar “I Love L.A.” played.
This was Budrovich's second time out on the Laker’s court. This was Bergstrom’s first. Based on what they’ve already accomplished, and by how polished they already are, it’s worth guessing that they’ll each be back.
As the play-by-play announcer Macdonald had said on-air to Budrovich and Bergstrom: “Congratulations to you both, and we’ll see you in this business sooner than later.”
