The central San Joaquin Valley is home to some of the most exciting sports in California. As successful as many of the athletic programs are in Fresno County, there are few sources who showcase the athletes and their teams. Among those reporters are longtime Fresno Christian supporter and teacher, Paul Loeffler and Robert Foshee. Another source is Fresno native, Nick Papagni, has dedicated much of his spare time to running a website, The Pag Meter, covering high school sports in the Valley.
Nick Papagni was born and raised in Fresno, California, attending Bullard High School and eventually graduating from Fresno State. Papagni’s wife, Laurie, also went to Bullard and was a cheerleader at Fresno State. Together they have four daughters: Gianna, Alexa, McKenna, and Tessa. The Papagni family has been in the agriculture industry for many years. Following in his family’s name, Nick, started a company called, Papagni Packaging, which he eventually sold. Currently along with running The Pag Meter, Papagni also works for a company called Rain for Rent.
Papagni has had a long time connection in central Valley sports. It all started in 2004 when he was recording home runs and PA announcing for the Buchanan Bears baseball team. Papagni helped out coach Tom Donald and was part of Bears’ first Valley Championship in 2005. Shortly thereafter, Papagni served as the PA announcer for the Fresno Grizzlies for one season. Since then, Nick has been broadcasting on local sports radio shows covering high school football and basketball games.
Papagni’s love for sports is mainly for the local community. He enjoys the feeling of sharing news that fans can relate and have personal ties to. He likes broadcasting local sports because of the exclusivity of it versus the broad and generic competition sharing of national sports.
“I believe in local sports and so do the listeners,” Papagni said. “I don’t like to see local broadcasters talking national stories. When you talk local, you have that niche that no one else can do with local. When you talk national, you are competing against the world.”
The idea for The Pag Meter was born when Papagni was at Buchanan working with the baseball team. He associated the name with his rankings of high school sports and broadcasting. Seven years ago his daughter, Gianna, suggested that he create a website. It has grown tremendously in those years; the website is now getting over 55,000 hits a week.
I believe in local sports and so do the listeners. I don’t like to see local broadcasters talking national stories. When you talk local, you have that niche that no one else can do with local. When you talk national, you are competing against the world. — Nick Papagni
Papagni loves running the website and covering all sports. He enjoys writing about the local kids and the stories behind them because they are all so unique. Papagni does not find any part of the job tedious or boring.
“My favorite part of the job is watching local sports,” Papagni said. “The kids I cover that work so hard and like what they do! There is not many that do what I do with local sports. We have reporters but I dive much deeper because I have played and coached. The Pag Meter can bring a different twist to the party that works. I love everything about The Pag Meter! I go all over the valley and watch practices and games.”
The Pag Meter provides in-depth information about almost every high sports team in the central Valley. Tyler Breedlove, ’16, enjoys checking in on The Pag Meter for the latest rankings because it showcases the smaller schools in the Valley.
“I use Pag Meter to see how teams in my division and league are performing.” Breedlove said. “The Pag Meter gets around to all schools, even the small schools, which is very useful.
The Pag Meter is not the only high school sports provider; many students are using various Twitter accounts and websites to stay up-to-date with their opponents. Junior, Jacob Bynum, prefers use sources such as Andy Boogard and Maxpreps to stay updated with local scores and records.
“I’ve heard of The Pag Meter before but I usually Maxpreps or twitter,” Bynum said. “I follow Andy Boogard on Twitter and he is always posting updated scores of high school games in the Valley. If I can’t find the score that I want on twitter, I usually just look on Maxpreps”
Over the course of 11 years, Papagni has become a well respected broadcaster and local sports reporter. He has served in many positions on the radio and as a PA announcer for multiple teams. Currently Papagni is hosting a Fresno Pacific sports show on 1680 AM with head coach of the Edison Tigers, Matt Johnson, every Tuesday night from 5-6. Papagni and Johnson also will be broadcasting for all of the Sunbirds home mens basketball games.
Visit Papagni’s website, Thepagmeter.com, and follow him on twitter, @pagmeter, to stay updated on local sports.
This writer can be reached via Twitter: @Phillip11499 and via email: Phillip Christopher
