And now something really important to talk about

On this Memorial Day weekend, I'd like to give thanks and praise to all the American heroes who have given their life to secure the freedoms we all enjoy. It is a debt that we will never be able to repay. My particular thoughts this weekend gravitate down to Cary, North Carolina, where my Uncle Mick, a former lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps, and who passed away last October, lived.

Uncle Mick was the prominent military figure in my life... he was the embodiment of the Marines, through and through. Those who never served (like myself) will never truly understand and appreciate the enormous sacrifices that he and other military personnel gave.

Thanks to all our military today and every day!

Closing Sequence Part 2

Here is the second part of the closing sequence against Maine to take us to the Garden.

http://www.archive.org/details/ClosingSequencePart2

On our way to the Garden

Here is the closing moments of our victory for Merrimack over Maine. It represented MC's first trip to Causeway Street since 1998, and my first trip there ever as a broadcaster.

http://www.archive.org/details/ClosingSequenceMaine3-12-11

Coach Dennehy Pre-Game Interview- Notre Dame

Here is the pre-game interview I had with Merrimack head coach Mark Dennehy prior to our 4-3 loss to Notre Dame in the NCAA playoffs on 3-25-11.

http://www.archive.org/details/MarkDennehyPre-gameInterview3-25-11

Highlights from the season past

I am experimenting with adding audio clips to the blog, so I thought I would start with a clip of Merrimack's Carter Madsen scoring a goal against Maine in the 2010-11 playoffs. Hope you enjoy it!


http://www.archive.org/details/CarterMadsenGoalVs.Maine3-12-11

It sure has been a while

Hi friends,

I read today that the worst thing you can do with a blog is let it go stagnant. Unfortunately that is exactly what I have been doing. So just a few thoughts to get caught up.

After a long winter of not having any employment prospects lined up, I managed to get a few things going for myself this summer. I agreed to be the PA voice of the Worcester Tornadoes of the Can-Am League. This will be new for me- I have never done PA on a consistent basis of course- but I'm willing to give it a try. It will be a one year deal for me. I plan on being back full time behind a play by play microphone in 2012.

To that end, my good friend Ken Cail, who did the play by play for the Nashua Pride when I was with the Spirit, offered me a chance to do 31 games of play by play for the Lowell Spinners this summer. I can't tell you how thrilled I am to help Ken out. I've always dreamed of the chance to do affilated baseball, and this opportunity will give me that chance. The schedule of games I'll be doing is posted on my homepage, which is www.johnrleahy.com. I am eager to make new friends and possibly reconnect with some old ones.

I also have my second book coming soon- Calling the Shots, a small autobiography and a look back at some of the places I've worked in the business. I was dismayed the book will only be 104 pages in total with some very small chapters- you can never tell how long a book will be when you are writing the manuscript- but I will release more editions once my career advances.

By the way, I need to give a shoutout to my dear friend from Hockey East, Brock Hines, the award winning color analyst for UMass hockey. He gave me the idea for the title. Brock, I promise you will get one of the first copies. It will take you about an hour or two to read it!

Anyway, that's it for now. I will get this blog humming hopefully on a daily basis. Thanks to one and all!