Sunday, March 21, 2010

2009-10 season recap

I apologize for not keeping up with this blog more often. This season turned out to be my busiest not just on the basketball side, but with other projects that involved sports or other topics.

Finishing up coverage at Target Center last night, this was the first time where I was actually comfortable reporting finals coverage. Last year, I was wondering what my future would hold thanks to The Great Recession and the ugly departure from Keystone Productions. My first go-round in 2008 was tricky as I was overwhelmed by the aura of being at Target Center at a young stage in my reporting career. I sent a tape and got feedback from a producer at KSTC channel 45, who broadcasts the state tournaments annually, and since then, my skills and confidence in my play-by-play duties have exploded. I'm officially at the point where I'm ready to have my ego bruised.

That didn't mean this season went without a hitch. As usual, schedules changed and other curveballs tried to thwart our coverage, but we ended up televising more games than previous seasons (11 high school games, 1 community college game, 1 semi-pro game). I did accomplish my goal of covering more teams this year. Expanding was almost a necessity with the lack of superstars for girls basketball this year. The YouTube ratings reflected the lack of big names. My most-watched game of the season was the first high school game we televised: Rosemount vs. Centennial, neither of them even close to making state this year.

I'm not sure what will happen in the season to come as user-generated content continues to expand and change the game of high school basketball. There's not even a guarantee I'll be able to cover the high school circuit as extensively for 2010-2011. Graduating from the U of M and not having a daily ritual to follow makes the future even more unpredictable.

With that said, it's hard to really set goals for next season because I won't know where my broadcasting career will go next. I have better knowledge of protocol, but I am concerned the pool of teams may not be so large.

In any case, my focus will shift to the Lynx and Howard Pulley leagues for the moment and securing the 2010 All-Star series at Macalester College. Thanks for sticking with us! The ride is always exciting!

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Programs available for DVD purchase

Autism Part 1 DVD cover

Autism: The Wall That Knows No Limits - Award-winning documentary series providing insights on autism rarely seen in contemporary media. Produced by someone on the spectrum, this series is a wealth of information for anyone seeking to learn about autism.
$15 for one episode, $50 for the complete series (4 episodes)

What Are You DVD cover

What Are You? A Dialogue on Mixed Race - Originally a school assignment, this one-hour documentary explores a population that existed for many years but didn't get much focus until recently. This program examines how a small but growing segment of the population could shift racial and cultural identity. Screened at the 2009 Mixed Roots Film and Literary Festival and will be screened at the inaugural Critical Mixed Race Studies conference at DePaul University. $15

Vices to Verses promo

From Vices to Verses: Featuring Voices Merging - From Vices to Verses: A New Era of Hip Hop and Action is a biannual conference held at the University of Minnesota. The goal is to promote the culture and history of hip-hop, which is often lost in the corporate mainstream representation. In this program, you'll see how the Voices Merging student group absorbed what they witnessed and how their experience will transform them as a group and as individuals. DVD copies come with 14 minutes of bonus footage not seen online or on TV. $15

Machine 2010 highlight promo

Minnesota Machine: 2010 - Geared for Greatness - Join the professional women's football team in their historic 2nd season. Despite several injuries that depleted the roster, the Machine finished 2010 with a 6-3 record and their first division title in franchise history, edging the Iowa Thunder in the Midwest Division of the American Conference. This highlight reel includes clips from the 2010 season and their interview on the cable television show Rollin' and Tumblin' - $15

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Silhouettes by RZI Couture - The inaugural breast cancer benefit fashion premiere took place in St. Paul and was met with a fabulous response. All the models were breast cancer survivors or relatives of someone affected by breast cancer and all the clothing was designed by Rosalyn Smaller, owner of RZI Couture and currently fighting breast cancer herself. The TV version features testimonials from the models and co-host Miss Georgia of KMOJ. $10 of every purchase will be donated to RZI Couture to help the breast cancer fight! $15