Play by Play Day by Day with Amy Lawrence

I said farewell to Penny this week. I already miss her, and it’s only been two days. Only five-and-a-half weeks to go. Boy, do I wish my dog could read so she’d know why I left her with family in New Hampshire. Even though I hate not seeing her every day, she’ll get more exercise and attention in the Granite State than she will with me since I’ll be traveling, working, and spending nights in 11 states between now and mid-March.

If I knew last spring that my life would be turned completely upside down in the span of 10 months, I might not have adopted Penny. I’m SO glad I didn’t know because she’s MY dog. She was supposed to be my dog all along, so I’m making it work as best I can. The sacrifice is a small price to pay for an awesome new opportunity with CBS Sports Radio! Five weeks in, I love the unique challenge of each show. Obviously, you couldn’t ask for a better time to launch a sports radio network than the NFL postseason; my first month was driven by jaw-dropping moments and all-consuming storylines. The last ride of Ray Lewis; the bold run by the Niners behind their brash leader; the upsets in Denver and Atlanta; the timid exit by the Patriots; and finally, the power outage at the Superdome and Baltimore barely hanging onto its second Super Bowl title in franchise history. Throw in Lance Armstrong, Manti Te’o, some Lakers drama, and Alex Rodriguez — and your month is packed to the gills. The new show is called “After Hours with Amy Lawrence.” And coming up on President’s Day, I’ll fill in for Doug Gottlieb on his midday show (3-6p ET). No doubt, CBS Sports Radio is the right place for me.

In addition, I still have the privilege of doing radio play-by-play for Hartford women’s basketball. CBS stays flexible with my schedule so I don’t have to give up my other passion. What a blessing! It does require some crazy long days — like getting off the air in Manhattan on a Saturday at 6am, driving out to New Jersey to retrieve Penny, and then making a beeline to Boston for a noon tip. I stopped at a service plaza on the interstate to walk, feed, and water Penny; and since she was exhausted from the early morning and the drive, I left her to sleep in the car in the shade on her favorite blanket. We do this all the time because she loves road trips and would rather come with me than be left at home. Pen will nap while I grocery shop or run errands, but apparently, the Boston police officer manning that particular street didn’t see it that way. He gave me a ticket for leaving my dog in the car — ha! I’m still laughing out loud at that, two weeks later.

So there’s my full time job at CBS Sports Radio plus Hartford basketball and Sunday, I start traveling for CBS Sports Network. It’s a college sports channel, and I’m thrilled my agent could drum up six games in six weeks on TV! Thanks, Matt! This will give me a chance to showcase my basketball knowledge and TV presence and potentially open a door for more play-by-play/color down the road. While TV is NOT my favorite and definitely high-maintenance, this is a great way to raise my profile for future basketball opportunities. My journey will take me to Bethlehem, PA; Birmingham, AL; Raleigh, NC; El Paso, TX (might as well be Mexico); and New Orleans. Can’t wait!

If Penny could read, she’d know I don’t want her to be bored by herself while I’m traveling all over God’s green earth. Basketball season is my favorite time of year, and I’m thrilled to chase this passion all over the country. However, I’ll be just as happy when I can drive back to New Hampshire to get Penny. We’ve already developed a nice routine for our new life in New Jersey, and I look forward to settling in. For now though: three jobs, two homes, and 11 states over six weeks. Ready, Set, GO!

This entry was posted on February 9, 2013 at 9:42 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.