Author Archives: Keith Hirshland

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About Keith Hirshland

My name is Keith Hirshland and I am a four decades television veteran who has spent time both in front of and behind the camera. During nearly forty years in broadcasting my path has crossed in front of, behind and alongside some of the best in the business... And some of the worst. Many of those people I count as friends while others wouldn't make the effort to spit on me if I was on fire. This television life started early watching my Mom and Dad found, fund and run a local affiliate TV station in Reno, Nevada. As a teenager approaching adulthood I worked for them, first as an on-air sports reporter/anchor and later as a director and producer. Jobs in the industry took me across the country and then to many places around the world. Sports is my passion and putting it on TV has been my business. Production credits include auto racing, baseball, basketball, bowling, college football, field hockey, soccer, volleyball and water polo but the majority of my time "in the chair" since 1990 has been invested in the game of golf with both ESPN and The Golf. Channel ( I was one of the first forty people hired by TGC in 1994 ). I am a fan and I watch TV sports as a fan but I also have hundreds of thousands of hours watching from inside a production truck. I think that makes me qualified to comment, my hope is you agree. I have written four books, Cover Me Boys, I'm Going In (Tales of the Tube from a Broadcast Brat), a memoir that is a tribute to my parents, the hard working, creative people who started ESPN2 and The Golf Channel and a look back at my life in television. Cover Me Boys was awarded the “Memoir of the Year” in 2017 by Book Talk Radio Club. In February of 2019 it was released anew by Beacon Publishing Group. My second book is a novel, Big Flies, and is a mystery that tells the story of a father and a son with four of the world's most notorious unsolved robberies as a backdrop. Big Flies was named “Solo Medalist” in the True Crime category by New Apple Awards. My third book, another mystery titled The Flower Girl Murder, was published in 2018. Book number four might be the most fun I ever had on a writing project. Murphy Murphy and the Case of Serious Crisis is a mystery, a love story, and an homage to good grammar. It is both the Book Talk Radio Club BOOK OF THE YEAR for 202 and a TopShelf Awards first prize winner in the mystery category. All four are available at Amazon. Book five is in the capable hands of the good people at Beacon Publishing Group and should be available soon. I look forward to sharing new thoughts about golf, golf television, sports in general and the broadcast industry with you. The views expressed here are mine and mine alone. They are not connected to nor endorsed by any other person, association, company or organization.

Just Call Me “A Change Agent”

As golf fans suffer through the muddle of another undefined transition from the end of one season to the beginning of another I find myself amused reading articles offering all the myriad ways to “improve the product”. These “innovative” ideas apply to … Continue reading

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What Does A Guy Have To Do?

Did you hear ’em talkin’ bout it on the radio Did you try to read the writing on the wall Did that voice inside you say I’ve heard it all before It’s like deja vu all over again John Fogerty … Continue reading

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Was Jimi Hendrix a San Francisco Giants Fan?

“There must be some kind of way outta here Said the joker to the thief There’s just too much confusion I can’t get no relief”   Just like the bratty bully that became a full fledged juvenile delinquent, the San … Continue reading

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And So It Comes Down To This

The San Francisco Giants are one loss away from the end of their baseball season. Down 0-2 to this year’s “best team in baseball”, the Chicago Cubs, the Giants head home for game three of the National League Division Series … Continue reading

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Opining

  Starting January 2, 1971, U. S lawmakers made it illegal for tobacco companies to advertise cigarettes on television. I think it’s high time Congress makes the same decision about prescription drugs.   Direct TV’s “Peyton on Sunday Morning” commercials … Continue reading

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Arnold Palmer 1929-2016

I first wrote this piece on April, 11 2016. Since then Muhammed Ali and now the great Arnold Palmer have passed. May they rest in peace.   “Mama, put my guns in the ground I can’t shoot them anymore. That … Continue reading

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The Greatest Of All Time

On Sunday, September 25th,  Vincent Edward “Vin” Scully will sit behind a microphone in a Dodger Stadium broadcast booth and call a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball home game for the last time. 67 glorious, sun-soaked seasons since he sat behind a microphone in … Continue reading

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My Hate/Hate Relationship with MLB Extra Innings

I am an unabashed fan of the San Francisco Giants. Up until 2010 that meant a lifelong fandom of a great deal of fun as well as a fair share of frustration. Since 2010 and the subsequent THREE World Championships the fun … Continue reading

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Our Weekend at Bernie’s Without Bernie

My wife and I like getaways. Sometimes just the two of us, sometimes with family and friends and sometimes with the dog. This past Labor Day Weekend was a “Sometimes with the dog”, sometime. When the 85 pound Bernese Mountain … Continue reading

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Just Musing, Pondering and Pandering

Pressure is an interesting thing. Many great athletes succumb to it at times, the best in the world embrace it. Those of us who don’t deal with it in any way, shape or meaningful form have no idea. The start … Continue reading

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