One of the most popular shows in recent UticaTV production history has been the “4 J’s Sports Show.” This semester, Jeremy Horowitz, James Brown, Jack Rathburn and Justin Notargiacomo, along with the creative mind of producer Nico Leonard and company, set out to create a show that pushed the boundaries of UticaTV.

The show was originally pitched as a Utica sports recap where the 4 J’s would sit around a table and go back and forth with their opinions of different sports on campus and the immediate reactions of the outcomes from the week. 

As the weeks went on, the crew found themselves enjoying the camaraderie more and more. 

“We tried something new and it worked out perfectly,” Notargiacomo said. “I’ve been happy every single second of it from doing the game days and I think everyone who’s been a part of it has done a great job. This has turned into a really good show.”

Gamedays stemmed from a brief conversation between himself and show producer, Nico Leonard, one day before recording the show. The idea would be if UticaTV had the ability, they could find themselves producing  a live pre-game show of a Utica University sporting event. After reaching out and going through all of the proper channels, Leonard and company got the clearance to run a Gameday production for the Men’s Basketball team during the first round of the Empire 8 Conference Tournament.

“I was really excited and I was fired up because it was an idea I had that I didn’t think would happen, and Laura said okay…let’s figure it out, ” Leonard said. “We sat in the studio for seven hours to figure out how to go live. We had mic issues but we got better as we kept going. It was the coolest thing we’ve ever done here.”

As the semester continued, the “4 J’s Sports Show” continued with multiple live Gamedays completed as well. After the first Gameday, the crew were invited back to continue covering the Empire 8 Championship and because of seeding, and a bit of good fortune, UticaTV was fortunate enough to host a live pregame and postgame of the Empire 8 Championship as Utica took on SUNY Poly and ultimately proved victorious in the end. 

Lead host James Brown had positive takeaways from the first live shows that premiered.

“It was an awesome experience; one of the best I’ve had at Utica,” Brown said. “It was cool to see a team I’ve worked with for four  years and having them win the championship was amazing, especially with it being against SUNY Poly. A really cool experience and I know that it will help me in the future.”

After the basketball season came to a close, the crew set their eyes on doing more live Gamedays as they had gotten more comfortable with them after the hard work they put into the process during the Empire 8 Conference Tournament. The 4 J’s would get their wish as they were invited to do media work and participate in the NCAA Division III Frozen Four and continue producing live, Gameday shows. They did pregame and two intermission reports during the semi-final games against Curry College and during the championship against Hobart, produced a pregame, first, second and third intermission, along with a postgame show.

“I thought the experience was out of this world,” co-host Jeremy Horowitz said. “It was something that I didn’t expect coming to Utica. Being a part of the Frozen Four not only for Gameday but also calling the game is something I will cherish forever. I consider myself lucky that I could be a part of such a great group of people. These are my best friends and being able to have this experience with them is something I will always cherish.”

With everyone involved graduating beside Notargiacomo and Rathburn, the 4 J’s last show was held on April 23.

“I think that this group has shown so much potential in sports coverage and we’ve been able to do a lot that we haven’t in the past,” Rathburn said. “We may be losing people, but the opportunities are not lost and there’s still so much more we can do.”