For 26 years, Dennis Krause has covered sports in Wisconsin. He has been recognized among the best multiple times in his career, and earned accolades again as the 2012 Wisconsin Sportscaster of the Year.

"This one is significant because I had suffered a stroke last February," Krause said of his fifth top honor from the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. "To get nominated was a surprise, to win was beyond what I could have expected."

Krause faced a number of obstacles on his road to recovery and he is humbled by the recognition.

"There are at least a dozen better than I," he said of fellow sportscasters throughout the state. He’s the first to recognize that there is a great support team behind him. "I find it very humbling and I realize I am being recognized for parts of team efforts.  I share this with my co-workers at Time Warner Cable Sports32," Krause said.

Besides his show hosting duties on Time Warner Cable Sports32, you can hear Krause during home Bucks games on the team’s radio network and locally on WTMJ-AM 620, as well as during the Packers pre-game show on the Packers Radio Network. It speaks to his versatility and worth ethic.

"I try to work hard, but it’s really not working that hard," Krause said. "Both my parents went to work each day in a factory, that’s hard work."

A native of Harfrord, Krause had the chance to experience sports coverage in Wisconsin and was influenced by the early broadcasters and later got to work with some of them. In our conversation we talked about Eddie Doucette, Bob Uecker, Jim Irwin, Gordon Hinkley and Hank Stoddard among others.

"I would listen to Gordon Hinkley (and Irwin) on together for years (on the radio)," Krause said, "and to think they did games the night before and they are on air in the morning talking about it, that was so cool."

Krause said that some of the highlights from this past year was the chance to do a show with former Packers coach Mike Holmgren when he was in Green Bay for his induction into the Packers Hall of Fame. Also, being a fan of sports history, he enjoyed working on a personal project talking about the great teams at Milwaukee Lincoln, saying it was story that not a lot of people know about.

The way I look at young people interested in sports broadcasting today, I’m sure Krause and a few of his contemporaries are on a list of influences. Kudos to the voting members of the association for recognizing the great work Krause has done and continues to do.

SLUMP: "American Idol" opened to a ratings slump with its premiere episodes last week. The new panel of judges and the hype of the warring between Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj wasn’t enough to show growth year over year.

For Wednesday’s kickoff, 17.8 million viewers tuned in, according to preliminary numbers from Nielsen. The mark is 19 percent off from the opening of the 2012 season. The decline among the most coveted demo of adults 18-49 was also at 19 percent. Although it was a drop, it is important to keep perspective. The numbers were strong enough to make the show the most watched on TV last week.