Something got snuck into the last sign off of the year. The outgoing sports director, Auston Matricardi, on the left, caught it just in time to not read it.

This was such a fun group, all year long, and the graduating seniors will be missed. Next year’s group will have a lot of possibilities and a big reputation to fill in the award-winning IUSTV sports department. Their last shows of the year will be online tomorrow.

Here’s this week’s news shows. This first one features the rising news director and a graduating senior:

And this one has the final sign off of the outgoing news director. She’ll graduate next week and will be on the air in Illinois almost immediately.

And with the year wrapping up, I brag to everyone who will listen. For example, the sports guys swept an entire statewide sports reporting contest. Some other factoids …

And they do it around classes and work schedules and everything else. They do it because they believe us when we tell them that it will be helpful to them. And indeed, it is. You should see where these folks go in their internships and their first jobs. It’s a remarkable thing, how student media helps set up young media types. It’s lovely to see them bloom.

UPDATE: Here are the last sports shows of the year. First is the full show from the featured clip above. In the second video, the new talk show host takes the reins of The Toss Up.

Today’s color scheme is blue.

These awesome cufflinks were a gift from my awesome mother, who once spent a day following me in her car on a bike course and helped me, with Christmas money, buy one of my bikes. And now I want to go for a ride.

Tonight, though, the sadness begins. We’re winding down the semester, which means change is inevitable. Michael Dugan has hosted this talk show for two years, a steady voice that has given us great topics, cool updates to the segments and, like every good host, always has about 14 more topics than necessary at the ready.

He’s passing over the show to Drew Frey, who has been running audio for the sports shows for more than a year. He started out doing social media segments when we had extra time in the studio and took those opportunities to boost his delivery and tighten up his writing. If he grows into this show like he’s grown into everything else, it’ll be great.

It’s a fun time of year. Seeing the graduating students move on, reflecting on their great promise and watching people step into new roles.

What they shot tonight should be online tomorrow. For now, though, you can see some of the latest shows: