It would honestly be great to make him (Michael Konowitz) the voice
of the Titans.-Brett Ellison, Lane Director of Student Recreation and Athletics
Michael Konowitz (in blue) broad- casts coverage of men’sandwomen’s basketball games. (Photo by Eugene Johnson)
Michael Konowitz had two strokes between the ages of 1 and 3.
“I very vaguely remember the second one happening. That honestly might be my earliest memory,” Konowitz says of his second stroke, “It’s about taking what you got and making it a gift. Making it something that you’re proud of and enhances your life.”
Today, the 25-year-old UO journalism graduate is making a name for himself behind the microphone at Lane Community College basketball games, where he’s served as a play-by-play announcer for the last three years.
Titans fans can listen to his broadcast at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/lcc-basketball or by logging on to http://www.lanetitans.net and clicking on the Titan Radio/TV link.
Konowitz grew up in the North Bay and attended Sir Francis Drake High School in San Anselmo,
Calif. Here he first became fascinated with sports, especially the concept of sports broadcasting and being the voice behind the microphone.
“It was a natural progression to do sports broadcasting,” he says. “I loved it just as much as I thought I would.”
It hasn’t been an easy journey for Konowitz, who says he doesn’t take a single day for granted and understands that he has a long ways to go.
“I had to re-learn to walk after my first stroke and second stroke,” he says. “I had surgery in fifth grade to correct my left leg growing in the wrong direction. I’ve learned to walk basically three to four times. I still do a lot of stretching and exercising; it’s a continual process.”
Konowitz adds, “Growing up, I was a normal kid who wanted to play and play video games. I kind of didn’t always take my physical therapy as seriously as I should have. It’s all a part of the big words: the balance in life!”
Konowitz has everything going for him these days. He has a sense of calm and direction. He’s shown that he isn’t afraid of failure and knows that, with hard work, he will achieve any goal that lies in front of him.
“I’ve worked pretty hard for it,” he says. “I’ve also had a lot of people help give me these opportunities and help bring me along and show me the ropes — even toss me around when I kind of needed it.”
Konowitz compares his future job to being an actor seeking his first Oscar: It’s a very competitive business that many want, but few can have.
“The dream in my profession is obviously working for ESPN and the networks,” he says. “It could happen someday. You can’t just be focused on a destination; it really is about the journey.”
For now, Konowitz enjoys the perks of covering Lane basketball and the coaches do too.
“It’s been amazing,” he says. “Because you’re never sure if you’re going to like something when you do it. And the only way you’ll find out is to throw yourself into that fire. It’s the dream job.”
LCC Athletic Director Greg Sheley says, “Michael added another way for us to reach out to our friends and family who follow Titan basketball programs. He is very knowledgeable and gives good insight for our fans.”
Sheley, who coaches the women’s basketball team, knows the job can be hard sometimes but he feels confident in Konowitz’s progression.
“His knowledge of the players, teams and coaches is great. That takes time and research, which he is
willing to do,” Sheley says.
Men’s head coach Bruce Chavka says he loves what Konowitz brings to the table.
(Photo by Turner Maxwell)
“He is a professional. He puts in a lot of time into preparing for the individual games,” Chavka says. “This season he is traveling to all the road conference games and he took a three-day trip with us to our crossover tournament.”
It wasn’t until Konowitz’s fifth year at UO that he decided to contact Lane Director of Student Recreation and Athletics Brent Ellison for a potential job covering basketball games.
“I was the campus TV sports producer at the time. It was called Duck U TV and Duck U Sports,” Konowitz said.
Ellison fell in love with the idea, and Konowitz was on board.
“I jumped right on it,” Konowitz says. “I went to Brent Ellison and the LCC athletic department and said, ‘Hey, I want to broadcast your games.’ I started doing the games online; that’s kind of how it got started.”
“I love Michael,” Ellison says. “What Michael has done kind of brought us up to par. It’s time. It’s effort. It’s my goal to retain him and have him do baseball. It would honestly be great to make him the voice of the Titans.”
Konowitz says Eugene has been an ideal place to live, though he misses the California sunshine.
“It’s been a great time out here,” he says. “It’s been a little cold for my California blood … fantastic college town.”
