Rob Curley: Switch from sports to morning news makes perfect sense for KHQ’s Sam Adams

Sure, he’s known for his coverage of Friday night’s lights and overtime games that often end eerily close to midnight, and is more than used to late hours, but he really is a morning person. No, we’re serious. He totally is.

That probably explains why the majority of the letters in his name spell A.M., because longtime Spokane sports broadcaster Sam Adams is about to become one of the anchors for KHQ’s popular “Wake Up” morning show. It might sound a little crazy, but it’s likely a crazy-smart move, both for the station and for the affable Adams.

Even when he was a kid growing up in the Bay Area, he was known to wake up hours before the rest of his house so that he could go outside, grab the morning newspaper and read while he ate a little breakfast. His first job at a local radio station required him to get up at 3 in the morning so he could drive around and pick up copies of the area newspapers and then bring them to the station.

That’s even how he is today. While most sports reporters absolutely hate waking up early after covering a big road game the night before, Sam loves it. Seriously. Even more impressive is how genuinely excited he seems to be on those early morning broadcasts.

After longtime KHQ co-anchor Sean Owsley told the station he wanted to go back to school and look for a career that would let him eat both breakfast and dinner with his family, the station embarked on a nationwide search. The only problem was the guy they kept coming back to – the one they felt would be the perfect fit – already worked at the station. Just at the wrong time of day.

The suggestion even surprised him. Then it hit him …

As much as he loved covering sports, there were other things he loved more that would no longer need to be missed if he switched shifts. He could have dinner every night with his family. He could go to his kids’ school programs without having to cross his fingers, hoping that a team’s schedule wouldn’t conflict.

He could even go to a ballgame with this family. More important, he could go to a sporting event and not worry about having to tell anyone about it.

There wouldn’t be the need for a single tweet to be posted during the game or for a highlight video to be shot and edited after it was all over. He could literally just sit next to the people he loves the most, enjoy some food that is clearly not healthy and watch one of our hometown teams play. It would even be OK if he missed a key hit or an awesome dunk. There would no longer need to be highlights at 11. At least not for Sam.

Come to think of it, he could even cheer if he wanted to now – an act strictly forbidden in a press box. All of the sudden, moving from sports to news and giving up his night ballcap for a daybreak dome didn’t seem all that crazy to him.

Oddly, it started to feel a little like something he not only could do, but something he really should do. He liked the idea. A lot.

Moving from the sports side of the business isn’t nearly as unusual as one might think. You wouldn’t believe how many former sports writers are now running newspaper newsrooms across the country – including here at The Spokesman-Review, where both the editor and the managing editor are old sports guys. Well, one is way older than the other, but you get the point.

That even happens in TV land. Bryant Gumble broadcasted NFL games, Major League Baseball, college basketball games, the biggest PGA events and even the Olympics. But he became beloved when he became the main anchor for NBC’s “Today” show.

Gumble and Adams share a lot of similar qualities. They both have an easygoing on-air demeanor that’s comforting to watch. They each have one of those warm and pleasant-sounding voices that feel authoritative without sounding like a narrator in a 1980s movie trailer. They love stories that are much more complex than first appearances.

And they both are fantastic interviewers. That’s the skill which has made Adams one of Spokane’s most-popular TV broadcasters.

Adams’ sports segments often zero-in on the people behind the X’s and O’s, as opposed to a clip of highlights with a couple of postgame soundbites sprinkled throughout. When his pieces are over, you often feel like you understand more about the game because you understand more about the person who played it. What makes all of that work is the actual interview.

That’s because of Adams’ innate ability to simply talk with people.

With.

Not to.

There’s a huge difference. And not just when the cameras are rolling. Interestingly enough, people love to talk with him almost as much as he loves to hear their stories. Part of that is because he’s one of those guys who is seemingly always on and endlessly happy. Sometimes he seems to crackle with positive energy.

What’s wild is that he really is like that. It’s not an act.

And that is part of the reason why Adams’ move to KHQ’s already ratings-leading morning program might be as a good of a fit for him as it is the show. When you’re trying to wake up and get yourself in the right frame of mind before you head to work or school, you might as well catch up on the news from someone who clearly delights in life, adores Spokane and loves telling people what has just happened.

That’s not to say many aren’t going to miss his coverage of Gonzaga, Wazzu, Eastern, Whitworth and our local high school teams. They will. So will he.

Earlier this week, Adams drove by Freeman High School’s stadium. It struck him that he had almost certainly covered his last football game there. He was flooded with memories.

Ironically, one of those memories perfectly illustrates why Adams’ move from sports to news isn’t going to be stretch for him. Think back to 2017 and one of this community’s darkest moments. Then think about a story from that period that you saw on TV that you remember the most – the one that meant the most to you.

For many, it was a story that unfolded a few days after the tragedy as the Scotties and the Medical Lake Cardinals took the football field together on a Friday night under one of the most beautiful sunsets you’ll ever see on the Palouse. The players from both teams stood side by side as they held each others’ hands. There were long hugs and uncontrolled tears as fans of both teams all wore stickers that said “Freeman Strong.”

It was a powerful show of what community really means and an important moment in this area’s history told perfectly throughout his broadcast. That’s why so many remember it so vividly, even though none of us could tell you the score or who actually won the game. We all knew the story wasn’t about a game. It was so much bigger than that.

It’s exactly the kind of story that Sam Adams typically finds just the right words and images to tell. Most people around here, including Adams himself, might describe him as a sports broadcaster, but in that one story he showed he was much more than that.

That’s why it’s going to be not only good, but even comforting, to have his voice, humor and insights help this region wake up each morning. Even if it means he now has to get up at 2:30 a.m.

Sure is a good thing that he’s really a morning person.