Opinion: This Opening Day belongs to WLWT's George Vogel

Andy Furman
·2 min read
WLWT sports director George Vogel is retiring from broadcasting after almost 42 years. His last sportscast will be in March.
WLWT sports director George Vogel is retiring from broadcasting after almost 42 years. His last sportscast will be in March.

It’s time for Act II. But this time, Phil Castellini won’t be taking center stage. Thank goodness.

You remember Phil, the COO of your Cincinnati Reds who stole the show on Opening Day a year-ago with his now infamous quote:  "Where ya gonna go?"

Well, to some extent he was correct. The Reds are here – and if you read these pages, well, last April 7 Phil’s dad Bob − the team’s owner − said, there was "zero chance the Reds would be for sale." That’s the good news. (Please don’t scream at me, because it’s better to have a bad team than no team. But we digress.)

Lucky for Phil, Opening Day this year won’t belong to him. Or his baseball team. Or even the weatherman. Nope.

Opening Day this year is a sad day for Cincinnati sports lovers. After some 42 years, Lonesome George Vogel will call it quits as sports director at WLWT-TV Channel 5. Vogel has spent his entire career at WLWT, the local NBC affiliate. And his face just might be one of the most recognizable among Cincinnati broadcasters.

More than that, he’s one of us. How do I know? I worked with him in the WLWT newsroom back in the day.

Low-keyed − which is not a usual trait in that business − enthusiastic, helpful and more than that, a true professional. Perhaps there is a bit of bias here − maybe so. Yes, he’s also a friend.

But to be truthful, I’ll admit Vogel isn’t the storyteller John Popovich − the former sports director at WCPO-TV Channel 9 − ever was. He isn’t the socialite or the story-breaker that Popovich’s tag-team partner at Channel 9 was − Dennis Janson. In fact, the one closest to Popovich in television story-telling these days is Joe Danneman at WXIX-TV Channel 19. But Vogel is what I’d like to call a grinder. Comes to work daily, great attitude and everyone loves him.

But unlike Popovich and Janson, Vogel can hang one thing over them − he’s worked at the same station for 42 years. In the media business, that’s a stat for the ages. George Vogel is a dinosaur − and that’s a good thing.

So, Phil Castellini, no need to worry on Opening Day. Meteorologist Steve Raleigh says the temperature will be around 60 degrees and sunny. The Pirates are in town and a win is very real.

And George Vogel will be the news of the day − so relax.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Opinion: This Opening Day belongs to WLWT's George Vogel