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First off, Carter Blackburn sounds much taller on television. In person he is just as tall as me...and sooo much younger. But he is so good at what he does. Meeting this up and coming play-by-play man at this past Saturday's Southeastern Conference (SEC) men's basketball game between the University of South Carolina and the University of Georgia turned out to be more surreal than expected. Why? Because out of six people seated in a row at the television/radio table, five had some connection to Syracuse University as a student or a parent of a student.

Standing in front of the table and looking at it, from left to right, you had:

Judge L. Casey Manning, the first black basketball player at the University of South Carolina in the early 1970's and the father of a young man that went to Syracuse with three of the others.

Andy Demetra, the new basketball radio voice of the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, and a graduate of the the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Myself, who was dual enrolled at Syracuse (but not as a Newhouse student).

Carter Blackburn, who, after realizing he would never be a Don Mattingly, went on to become a Newhouse graduate, and is in his first year with ESPN and the SEC Network (for basketball)(after his successful stint with CBS College Sports).

Talent statistician Dana Magliola, a who started out at the Newhouse School, who is now thinking about becoming a teacher.

The only thing missing was a Carrier Dome atmosphere. You can trust me when I say that a basketball game at Stegeman Coliseum will never be confused for a game at the Dome.

Sadly, I did not have my camera there to get a picture of these other four lined up in a row. It would have been a fun picture.