Deana Blackburn
Carter Blackburn
Carter Blackburn, a successful CBS sports analyst, was our speaker at Rotary last week, and was introduced by his mother Deana. She said Carter had been broadcasting since before he could legally drive, so he has been in the business quite a while now.
Carter took the microphone and wished his dad Bill a happy birthday, and led us in singing the Happy Birthday song in his honor. Their family moved here in 1984, and Carter attended Kerrville schools and Tivy High School. Baseball was his first love, but he realized he didn't have the talent to be a baseball star. He channeled his enthusiasm for the sport into broadcasting, and began working the Tivy games when he was in high school.
Syracuse has a great broadcasting school, so that's where he went to college. He was mentored by a number of great people, including Bob Costas. He interned for the Texas Rangers when he was nineteen, and received some advice that it was hard to be a baseball broadcaster and a family man because you would be away from family much of the summer. So, Carter concentrated on football and basketball, and has worked for CBS, then ESPN, and is now back at CBS.
He now has two daughters that keep him busy, and he and his wife, who also travels for her wine industry job, keep busy raising their family.
Carter said being prepared for every game, regardless of the apparent importance, is a key to success. One otherwise unmemorable basketball game was between Rice and Tulane, and the Rice mascot, Sammy the Owl, got in an altercation with the referee and was ejected from the game. Carter called the play by play, and the clip is a now UTube favorite.
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