
{"id":476,"date":"2007-06-21T08:28:33","date_gmt":"2007-06-21T16:28:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/2007\/06\/21\/playing-with-heart\/"},"modified":"2007-06-23T11:13:20","modified_gmt":"2007-06-23T19:13:20","slug":"playing-with-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/2007\/06\/21\/playing-with-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"Playing with heart"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/06\/webmontross.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/06\/webmontross.jpg\" height=\"201\" width=\"303\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<em>Eric Montross at his Father\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Day Camp last weekend. Now in its 13th year, the camp raises money for special projects for the N.C. Children\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Hospital. Photo by Brian Strickland<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Catching up with Eric Montross<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>By Kirk Ross<\/strong><br \/>\nStaff Writer<\/em><\/p>\n<p>When you think of Eric Montross, the words \u00e2\u20ac\u0153high-performance liquid chromatographer\u00e2\u20ac\u009d probably aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the first to pop into your head. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Really tall,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d maybe, or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153National Championship.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Last Friday and Saturday you may have noticed several dozen people around town in Carolina Blue jerseys with \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Montross\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and a double-zero emblazoned on the back. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re the 13th graduating class of Montross\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 annual Father\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Day Basketball Camp \u00e2\u20ac\u201d a fundraiser for the N.C. Childrens\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Hospital. Like their predecessors, the 140 or so campers spent two days on the hardwood at the Smith Center working on their moves with Montross and a few of his buddies. And like each class of campers before them, they helped raise thousands for the Children\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Hospital.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>A foundation Montross set up with his wife, Laura, has raised more than $670,000 over the years. The Montross\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 personally work with a team of doctors and nurses and patient advocates to steer the money. Thus the chromatographer \u00e2\u20ac\u201d a genetics diagnostic tool that would help free up doctors and turn around test results much faster.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The turnaround time went from four to five hours to five minutes,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Montross said in a recent interview. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Families are able to find out results faster.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>The instrument, he said, is the result of the foundation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unique set-up, which put together what Montross calls an \u00e2\u20ac\u0153honest network\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of health professionals and young patients and their parents. The network has helped the Montross\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 cut to the chase and direct the foundation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s money in ways that most directly help the kids and their families. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s based on an idea he got from a friend. In addition to research gear, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve helped set up the Jason Clark Teen Activities Center, a children\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dialysis center, wall murals and a special pediatric infusion room. An eight-bed-overnight-stay unit is in the works as well.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Jason\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s List<\/strong><br \/>\nIn 1993, Montross was volunteering at the Children\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Hospital, where he befriended Jason Clark, a 15-year-old patient and an ardent Carolina fan.<\/p>\n<p>Clark, stricken with Burkitt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lymphoma, was an inspiration, Montross said.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We really hit it off. We would just spend time playing games and being kids,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153He was a wonderful person. He had a tremendous outlook.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Within nine months, he was gone. But during the time they spent together, Clark passed along to Montross his views of the hospital. The young patient eventually produced a three-page list of the ways the hospital could improve  life for kids.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It was the hospital seen through a child\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s eye,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Montross said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It said, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcHere are things kids need.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The list, he said, included everything from getting rid of the drab color on the walls to an activities room and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153places where they could just get away from the doctors and just be kids.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153My wife and I adopted that as an idea we wanted to take on. Our response was to work on the list.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>The camp, he said, seemed like a natural way to go \u00e2\u20ac\u201d a perfect way to return to the Smith Center.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a chance to give back, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s important to me. I have a lot of great memories there.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>And probably a lot more to come, given that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s seemed to settle in nicely to his new role as a radio voice of the Tar Heels.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Off Season<\/strong><br \/>\nApart from the camp and the occasional speaking engagement, this is pretty much the off-season for Montross, who makes his home in southwestern Orange County. Radio eats up the winter, he said, but this time of year the schedule is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fairly flexible,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d allowing for some quality time with Laura and their two children.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It gives me a chance to just be a Dad. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nice to just be home and sleep in my own bed.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>But come fall, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be back on the radio with 30-year broadcast veteran Woody Durham. And, just as he was as a player, he&#8217;s determined to get better.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fun and challenging. You want to get better with each broadcast.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<br \/>\nMontross started with the Tar Heel radio network three seasons ago, doing pre-game and halftime interviews and commentary. When the Carolina Panthers snatched up longtime color announcer Mick Mixon, Montross got the call.<\/p>\n<p>He spent his first full year behind the mic last season, where his often-deadpan humor and Midwestern flair for the understatement have added a new element to the broadcasts.<\/p>\n<p>Last season, after a particularly brutal foul early in a game against Duke, he uttered: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153There will be no niceties exchanged tonight.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Working the color job means being ready to jump in.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We have to play off each other,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153But you have to make sure you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not stepping on the other guy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tongue.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not always easy. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcOh, darn it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 button\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 in radio. If you say something stupid, you have to own up to it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Montross says he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s learning a lot from Durham, Mixon and fellow color-man Jones Angell. Durham, who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been broadcasting Tar Heel sports for 30 years, has made it easier for Montross to slide into the new role.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The abilities of the guy are amazing,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Montross said, although they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t always see eye-to-eye on what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s happening. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sometimes we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re polar opposites in how we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d describe a situation.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>His passion for the Tar Heels and his history on the court have occasionally caused him to flair up a bit. He has politely asked Durham to stop jinxing players at the free throw line by stating how accurate they are before the shot, and in the second half of last year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s NCAA tournament loss the former All-American center bemoaned eschewing the inside game for a flurry of errant three-pointers. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Woody, if they put up another [three-pointer], you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to have to console me,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said, then added quietly, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Mercy.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no doubt, he said, that the network is partisan; but the crew works to not be too over the top. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not shy about criticism, but tries, he said, to keep it constructive: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the responsibility of a broadcaster.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d And besides, some very good coaches have given him a few insights into the sport.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It would be very easy to keep everything positive,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Montross said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153but that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not the game of basketball.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Eric Montross at his Father\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Day Camp last weekend. Now in its 13th year, the camp raises money for special projects for the N.C. Children\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Hospital. Photo by Brian Strickland Catching up with Eric Montross By Kirk Ross Staff Writer When you think of Eric Montross, the words \u00e2\u20ac\u0153high-performance liquid chromatographer\u00e2\u20ac\u009d probably aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the first&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=476"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}