An interview with longtime Michigan Associated Press (AP) sportswriter Larry Lage. We covered a ton of ground including:
- His Ann Arbor roots and early days at Michigan Stadium
- Performing as the ‘Sparty’ mascot at MSU (and how he kept it a secret)
- Escaping the Malice at the Palace in 2004
- Getting cussed out and booted out of practice by Nick Saban
- Growing up with two deaf parents – and how this affected his perception and his career
- The COVID vibe at sporting events, and the good & the bad for his profession
See the detailed show notes below. A big thanks to LL (@LarryLage on Twitter) for taking the time.
WARDROBE SPONSOR: My friends at Homefield Apparel, in particular the Slippery Rock collection.
Interview notes (with timing):
0:00 – Interview intro…reminder to like/subscribe/share the History Show.
1:00 – Larry on his role at the Associated Press, the teams he covers, and the perspective from which he writes
2:20 – How his AP role differs from most sportswriters
3:15 – Other projects he’s taken on during the pandemic
4:30 – On his Ann Arbor roots in the shadow of the Big House and “grew up on the 50”, his family legacy around Ann Arbor, early gigs around A2
6:00 – On when he knew he’d be a sportswriter, on only applying to MSU, memories of Eddie Brown tripping Desmond Howard
7:35 – On MSU fandom as a student in East Lansing, and on heckling Jalen Rose on the court (and laughing with Jalen about it later)
8:00 – How he became the ‘Sparty’ mascot; his tryout routine (Brass Monkey)
9:00 – On how he kept being Sparty a secret with his friends, on his fraternity brothers busting his balls
10:10 – The vibe at the empty Michigan Stadium with COVID (at the MSU game), and the impact on his dad (a lifelong Michigan season ticket holder with an epic home games streak)
13:45 – On memorabilia – on being a Michael Jordan fanatic and the MJ stuff in his collection; as a child running on the Big House field and gathering wrist bands, gloves, and chin straps from Michigan players and opponents (Iowa, Minnesota, Miami, FL).
16:50 – On the legacy of Rickey Foggie amongst his friends
17:15 – How his kids bring the sports fan/art lover out it him – but it’s not part of his job
18:05 – On separating his job from fandom, and why that’s important for his job
20:00 – Larry offers up his greatest moments covering Michigan sports – The Malice at the Palace (2004), The Imperfect Game, LL’s article chilling in Cooperstown, Spartan Bob, Olympics in Italy, a great memory after Scotty Bowman’s last game.
23:46 – On his confrontation with Nick Saban, why Saban cussed him out and kicked him out of practice, and his relationship with Coach Saban today
26:20 – On growing up with two deaf parents, and Larry’s thoughts on how that’s impacted his career; how he sees and interprets things differently because of this experience as a CODA (child of deaf adults).
29:40 – On his project to advance accessibility of deaf access – news, current events and information to deaf people, and on working with Jim Hackett on getting the Star-Spangled Banner signed on the big screen at Michigan Stadium
31:30 – As a longtime traditional journalist, his feeling on citizen journalists/bloggers (MVictors excluded) in the press box and as part of the “media”
33:15 – On the pressure on traditional journalism, the Teddy Greenstein departure from the Trib, LL’s take on the industry and the AP and his hopes for the future, on rooting for outfits like The Athletic
37:20 – How COVID has changed his job – at times for the better – also on the challenges of journalism during COVID.
41:00 – On his Saturday tradition of hitting Benny’s Bakery in Saline, and the origins of their pretzels from the Quality Bakery recipe – as Larry said, it’s magic.
