Better Mascot Costume?
Ghostly Cy?
or
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| Courtesy Des Moines Register |
Captain America Herky?
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Down goes #5
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Friday, October 29, 2010
Matt Millen and Sean McDonough
Iowa Football is fortunate to have had all of its games televised since the 2000 season. Big Ten Network, ESPN, ABC, Fox Sports, Versus are among the different networks producing each game. And in that time I have had the pleasure meeting many personalities and voices associated with college football. However one of the more memorable is Matt Millen.
Typically announcers arrive as early as the Thursday prior to game day to either watch a little video or to attend practice to get to know the team a little better. Then on Friday the talent spends almost two hours with coaches and players to provide a little background for the game telecast.
And while they are in town they will watch video of each team. It varies by announcing crew as to the amount, but no one watches more than Matt Millen.
The former GM of the Detroit Lions spends his fall weekends on either college campuses or preparing for his Monday Night Football duties on ESPN. Millen's life is emerged in football and it starts with the amount of game video he watches. No other announcer I've worked with watches as much as Millen.
For the second week in a row Millen arrived in Iowa City early Thursday morning and immediately went to the video. Iowa was a new team for him this season and it was important for him to study them the best he could. A week ago he spent his entire first day watching Iowa's previous game with Michigan. He then returned with his production staff early Friday morning to watch more of the Hawkeyes in their previous game as well as get some prep in on Wisconsin. The morning wasn't enough as he returned in the evening and then again Saturday morning.
Once he felt his session was complete, he could be found pacing in the Kinnick Stadium press box as if he was preparing for an oral exam. He would take time to meet with the other "celebrities" in the press box, and then return to his pacing until he was to take to the air. As prepared as Matt is, he is that personable. A self-described "low maintenance" person makes you feel as if you've been his friend for years.
His broadcasts reflect the time he prepares. ABC and ESPN is fortunate to have some of the best analysts of the college game, but Millen's preparation is second to none. And tomorrow when Iowa and Michigan State take to the field, Millen may know more about each team than those on the field.
A New Video Era
Many of you have already heard of the recent tragedy at Notre Dame involving a video student losing their life when the scissor lift they were shooting practice from tipped over in winds totally 50mph. My sympathies and those of my video staff are extended to the family of the student as well as the Notre Dame Video Staff.
Much of what I wanted to say has been covered in a recent article on ESPN.com. Being a member of a college video staff can at times be anonymous. We are those who hide behind the cameras, rarely being seen in front of those. While many have their eyes on the on-field action, there are those recording every move of the players, seemingly non-stop throughout a practice or a game. That footage is edited and shared out to coaches and players on your own team, and games are exchanged with teams throughout the conference and country.
While many eyes constantly play, replay and review each play over and over, it is a small group of people that watch their footage. Coaches and players are the target audience for this video, but fans rarely get a glimpse of this behind the scenes world.
This tragedy strikes very close to home. While I did not know the young man who lost his life, I do know his immediate boss. He has been at Notre Dame for as long as I've been at Iowa--around twenty years. All of us in the profession have been atop those lifts getting everything a coach would want to make his team better. And whether or not we continue to get into scissor lifts, boom lifts or other shooting towers, we send other students up to capture every step, route, punt and hit. When I began working at Iowa the saying was, "Whatever the Hawkeyes are doing, we're shooting it." Big Brother we became.
The unique part of the job is the comraderie that binds video staffs across the county. Coaches may like one another, but they also want to beat their fellow friend. But in our profession our rivalries must be put aside as it is important to help one another out. We need our opponent's video as they need ours. And in the process of helping one another out, we become friends with each other.
This two-week period on the schedule features Wisconsin and Michigan State. Our team goal is to win the game, but at Iowa we share a booth as well as assisting each other to ensure they can do their job quickly, efficiently and correctly. And at the same time, we form a bond of friendship. Some greater than others, but for these consecutive weeks we host two staffs we consider friends and not opponents.
For those who follow this blog know Wisconsin's and our video staffs meet in Dubuque every Summer for a friendly, yet competitive game of golf. A lot of fun is had on that day, and that continues over to a great time in the booth during a game. Michigan State will also provide a fun experience within the booth on Saturday regardless of the outcome of the game.
Tomorrow when Iowa and Michigan State put their cameras atop their tripods, nothing will have changed. I will be standing next to MSU's Tom and our students will be in the end zones side by side. That is our normal. We will be thinking of what those in South Bend must be going through as their normal will never be that again.
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| Matt from Iowa alongside Big D and Ryan from Wisconsin |
Much of what I wanted to say has been covered in a recent article on ESPN.com. Being a member of a college video staff can at times be anonymous. We are those who hide behind the cameras, rarely being seen in front of those. While many have their eyes on the on-field action, there are those recording every move of the players, seemingly non-stop throughout a practice or a game. That footage is edited and shared out to coaches and players on your own team, and games are exchanged with teams throughout the conference and country.
While many eyes constantly play, replay and review each play over and over, it is a small group of people that watch their footage. Coaches and players are the target audience for this video, but fans rarely get a glimpse of this behind the scenes world.
This tragedy strikes very close to home. While I did not know the young man who lost his life, I do know his immediate boss. He has been at Notre Dame for as long as I've been at Iowa--around twenty years. All of us in the profession have been atop those lifts getting everything a coach would want to make his team better. And whether or not we continue to get into scissor lifts, boom lifts or other shooting towers, we send other students up to capture every step, route, punt and hit. When I began working at Iowa the saying was, "Whatever the Hawkeyes are doing, we're shooting it." Big Brother we became.
The unique part of the job is the comraderie that binds video staffs across the county. Coaches may like one another, but they also want to beat their fellow friend. But in our profession our rivalries must be put aside as it is important to help one another out. We need our opponent's video as they need ours. And in the process of helping one another out, we become friends with each other.
This two-week period on the schedule features Wisconsin and Michigan State. Our team goal is to win the game, but at Iowa we share a booth as well as assisting each other to ensure they can do their job quickly, efficiently and correctly. And at the same time, we form a bond of friendship. Some greater than others, but for these consecutive weeks we host two staffs we consider friends and not opponents.
For those who follow this blog know Wisconsin's and our video staffs meet in Dubuque every Summer for a friendly, yet competitive game of golf. A lot of fun is had on that day, and that continues over to a great time in the booth during a game. Michigan State will also provide a fun experience within the booth on Saturday regardless of the outcome of the game.
Tomorrow when Iowa and Michigan State put their cameras atop their tripods, nothing will have changed. I will be standing next to MSU's Tom and our students will be in the end zones side by side. That is our normal. We will be thinking of what those in South Bend must be going through as their normal will never be that again.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Night Out on the Town
Pleasure Island is part of Downtown Disney. Filled with shops, movie theaters and fine dining, it also has a variety of clubs and bars. Irish pubs, dance clubs as well as a House of Blues with live music on many nights. It has something for everyone. The clubs include techno, 80s, piano and country.
Food is aplenty, too. Seafood, Italian, as well as a Planet Hollywood and a Rainforest Cafe allow for everyone to find something for their tastebuds.
College Football Week 8
The college football never disappoints. While games may not finish with your preferred team winning, every week there are great games....After eight weeks of the college football season many fans criticize how teams are ranked, and they will continue to do so until the bowl pairings are announced. However there is no need to panic after the midway point of the season. Often the rankings will shake out in the end as many top games have yet to be played....But if there are polls to be made, why not let the ones who set the Vegas lines also set who the top ten are. They know the game well and their betting lines are more right than wrong.....Auburn hits the #1 spot in the BCS, impressive in Gene Chizik's second year. But some in the Twin Cities may wonder what could have been as the Tiger's Defensive Coordinator, Ted Roof spent time heading the Gopher's D under Tim Brewster.Saturday, October 23, 2010
Hawkeyes Lose First Big Ten Game
A last minute Wisconsin touchdown, and an Iowa offensive series that ran out of time is how the Iowa Hawkeyes fnished their first loss of the Big Ten season, 31-30. It was the Hawkeyes second overall loss on the season.
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