Most television and cable sportscasters sit in a studio and read off a teleprompter.
Not Ric Blackwell and Dan Oliver, sportscasters for WPEC-Ch. 12, based in West Palm Beach.
For nearly a year, Blackwell and Oliver have competed against ordinary Palm Beach County residents in bizarre sports ranging from underwater hockey to downhill carpet skiing.
It’s all part of a regular news segment Blackwell and Oliver call “Ric and Dano v. the World.”
Although they “take on” the world, they also “have fun at the same time,” they said.
And they make their viewers “aware of the 1,000 different [athletic) clubs and sports [groups) in the area,” they said.
Groups that organizers say need all the help they can get to get the word out that they exist.
For a recent segment, Kathleen Maceyka, 13, and Carly Owens, 11, members of Palm Beach Sports Academy in West Palm Beach, boldy challenged Blackwell and Oliver to “beam wars.”
“You just get on the [gymnastic balance) beam and hit each other [with padded sticks) like [the TV show) American Gladiators,” Carly said.
During the supervised videotaped contest, both men and both girls fell off the beam, but landed safely in giant plastic foam pits. No one won. But no one was disappointed either.
“We’re big on ties,” Oliver said, afterward. “In the end, everyone walks away happy.”
Blackwell and Oliver conceded they take some challenges more seriously than others.
“If we’re challenging kids, we usually don’t take it quite as seriously as if we’re challenging adults,” Oliver said. “After you’ve lost to a pregnant woman in racquetball and a 75-year-old man in handball, you do want to win on occasion.”
But winning a challenge takes a back seat to having fun and telling viewers about a club or organization.
“It’s a great way to tell the story of whoever we are challenging,” Blackwell said. “I think people are entertained by us going out, challenging the community and, sometimes, making fools out of ourselves.”
Not surprisingly, though, the challenges they like the best are the ones they win.
Their favorite?
Taking on tennis star Martina Navratilova in basketball.
“It was such a thrill to challenge her,” Blackwell said. “I also got the biggest rush when I beat her.”
And he did it fair and square, Navratilova said. “It was a lot of pressure,” she quipped. “I choked big time.”
Their toughest?
“I thought the underwater hockey challenge was the most difficult,” Oliver said. “Breathing through a snorkel when you’re completely out of breath is a challenge in itself.”
Among their opponents was Brad Ochstein, 29, a member of the Palm Beach Underwater Hockey Club.
Ochstein said he was impressed with the sportscasters’ ability and humor.
“Ric and Dano were good sports,” Ochstein said. “They learned the basics of underwater hockey pretty quickly.”
And did well enough to end the game in a tie.
“We’re ready for a rematch anytime,” Ochstein said, laughing.
