Broadcast wrap-up: Cretin-Derham Hall vs. St. Paul Central

I apologize for the delay; I had my last final yesterday and did some housekeeping things with footage I taped last spring, among other things.

The game was all right. There was some audio issues again with the wireless system, except this time, it didn't pick up at all on our channel. It's not a total loss, although it looks like I'll miss out on a solid interview with Kendra Harris of Cretin-Derham Hall. Parking was difficult; student conferences were held before the game and jammed up all the lots. Tracy and I fed off each other well, although it doesn't appear she will return for future games because of other commitments...the game of commentator musical chairs continues.

Kendra Harris jumped out quickly, scoring the first 10 points for Cretin. The Raiders had an eight-point lead in the first half, only to be usurped by Central, who never looked back once they erased Cretin's early lead. Samantha Robinson-Ricks scored a game-high 16 while Theairra Taylor could only contribute 11. There was a long scoring drought for most of the second half as Central's overall shooting slump carried over from Becker. They'll be in big trouble if they can't work on that, because every team is executing a box-and-one on Theairra Taylor. She's good, but she can't win games by herself. Cretin's 0-5 record is somewhat deceiving with the caliber of teams they faced so far. Don't be surprised if they surge back over the .500 mark.

I'll work on getting this game up quickly; Central needs it for tracking stats.

Next TV game: Minneapolis South vs. Park of Cottage Grove
Monday, December 22nd, 7:30 p.m. at Park

Broadcast preview: Cretin-Derham Hall vs. Central

Our annual anniversary game is upon us. I apologize for the delay; I'm the middle of two finals, I have one more to take tomorrow morning and then I can call it a semester.

On paper, this game would appear misleading as Central is outrebounding and outscoring Cretin-Derham Hall by considerable margins. However, Cretin has already played three top teams this season: Hill-Murray, Hopkins, and Totino-Grace. By comparison, Central has played just one: Centennial. Even if Cretin does go 0-5 after tonight, don't write them off; they surged last season by winning 11 games over a 13-game period. On the broadcast side of things, our clock camera should return since kids won't mess around with it. This is also the first game of the year where I actually have a partner. Tracy Buford, who called a summer AAU tournament with me, will return to the microphone. I'm also still trying to figure out why one of our cameras appear soft on widescreen mode.

QUICK RELEASE

1. Central made just 26% of their field goals in their 43-34 win over a much weaker Becker team Saturday. Central also struggled from the free throw line, going 9 of 22. Theairra Taylor has yet to show improvement from there as well as she's shooting just 56% from the charity stripe.

2. Theairra Taylor has four straight double-doubles, a streak that began against Centennial. She's fifth in the state in scoring with 21.8 points per game.

3. Central is scoring 63.6 points per game as a team, Cretin-Derham Hall is putting up just 48.3 points per game. Cretin will need to step up if they want to win.

4. On Cretin's end, Sally Boland is second in the Suburban East conference in assists with 3.3 per game while Kendra Harris in third in the conference in rebounds with more than eight boards per game.

5. Cretin hasn't beat Central since February 17th, 2004, when the Raiders won a triple-overtime game. For the record, that's a six-game streak.

Schedule change: Minneapolis South vs. Park

Part of the ripple effect caused by the cancellation of our Hopkins games. In its chronological place, we will televise the Minneapolis South-Park (Cottage Grove) game on Monday, December 22nd at Park. Tip-off is 7:30 p.m. This one shall be interesting now that South's weakness appears to be exposed and after Park got walloped by Hopkins.

I'm looking to pin down one final game in our schedule to makeup for Roosevelt. As of now, I'm considering their game January 3rd against Eden Prairie. I'll keep you posted.

Broadcast wrap-up: Lakeville North vs. Minneapolis South (and those meddling kids!)

My scoreboard cam was a bust. It worked fine, but I didn't expect kids in the mezzanine during our game. With those curious little minds, they just couldn't stop messing with it. I'm either going to need a bigger battery so I can keep it closer to Heinz or develop another strategy if kids cause problems again. At least it's not vital to our programs. You just won't see a clock for this game. Kids also won't be a problem at our next game in Central; no mezzanine for kids to gather. Someone also set his or her cell phone to play the "communicator" tone from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers whenever a text message was received. Sounded just as clear as the '90s show, which threw me off for a moment.

However, we got a good chunk of interviews before the game, so that should help fill the time. I walked into a couple interviews and planned two more. I felt more comfortable this time around, although it took two takes to tape my open. I also vamped a lot more as I'm starting to analyze and do play-by-play simultaneously, something that was harder to do this time a year ago.

Minneapolis South won 72-57 thanks to 33 points from Tayler Hill. She keeps this up and Ohm's record will be destroyed. Cassie Rochel also logged her 1,000th career point tonight, but was shut down in the 1st half. She came back strong in the 2nd, but Lakeville North had too big a hole to close against the shooting threats of South.

Overall, the result was good, I just need to watch out for my poor little scoreboard camera.

Next TV game:
Cretin-Derham Hall vs. St. Paul Central, December 16th, 7:00 p.m. at Central

Broadcast preview: Lakeville North vs. Minneapolis South

Our second game of the season features a makeup game for Minneapolis South as they play Lakeville North. This will be Lakeville North's only game outside of the Lake League, one of the toughest conferences in Minnesota. Lakeville North was ranked #1 in the preseason by the Star Tribune and the Breakdown while Minneapolis South was ranked #1 by the Associated Press before losing to Hopkins in a "yes, but..." game (South wasn't at full strength for the Pat Paterson tournament).

Lakeville North also returns nine players who played considerable minutes last year. South is still trying to adapt with the departures of Ephesia Holmes and Taquoia Hammick.

We've figured out how to make widescreen work in more ways than one. We'll continue to broadcast games in widescreen, but will offer standard definition versions on DVD as well.

Tonight also marks the first edition of my feature that will now be called...

QUICK RELEASE
(Sounds more like basketball terminology versus quick hits)

1. Tayler Hill is averaging 33.3 points per game in three games and is 89 points away from passing Janet Karvonen for third place on the all-time high school scoring list (654 away from Katie Ohm's record)

2. The rest of South's players are averaging just 21 points per game.

3. Defensively, Mallory Cramer appears to be South's defensive specialist in the early going, although she is averaging just 6.3 rebounds per game

4. Cassie Rochel posted a triple-double in Tuesday's win over Bloomington-Kennedy with 32 points, 17 rebounds and 12 blocks. She was the only Lakeville North player to break double digits in that game.

5. Random trivia of the day: Lakeville North was the last team to win back-to-back class AAAA state title prior to St. Paul Central, in 2001 and 2002, as Lakeville (South wasn't added yet).

Wrap-up to come tomorrow.

Scheduling change: Becker Breakdown

Barely one week in the season and we already have our first schedule change in our TV coverage (I wasn't kidding about our "flex pick" model).

After the events of last weekend, we will televise the Lakeville North vs. Minneapolis South game at 6:15 Saturday in Becker. Sources I checked with suggest this should be a good game with Lakeville North returning a boatload of starters against two-time class AAAA state runner-up, now featuring a player in the 3,000-point club.

Look for our new sofa when we return :-p

Broadcast wrap-up: Central vs. Centennial, scheduling changes

Scheduling change:

We will not be airing the South-Hopkins game and possibly the Hopkins-Roosevelt game. This may also affect our plan to televise the Dick's Sporting Goods Holiday Tournament. My co-workers aren't pleased with this news. As a result, I will try to nail down the Lakeville North-South game at Becker next Saturday as a makeup. I will keep you posted.

On the game, I never felt more comfortable on a season premiere. I think the AAU, soccer and football games between season helped. I need to make sure I get names right, but that's an easy obstacle to clear compared how I was two years ago. Centennial won 68-56 with help from poor shooting on Central's end. Centennial has some ball control to work on, but it looks like their inside game is well-established. Bridget Schuneman led all players with 23 points.

However, it's still early. Central didn't appear to be outplayed. However, they need to work on finishing offensive rebounds and turning them into points. They won't last long otherwise.

At least this gives me time to start editing the Central-Centennial game. Look for it online.

Broadcast preview: Pat Paterson Tournament

A new season is almost upon us.

As expected, we will be broadcasting the Central vs. Centennial game set to tip off at 3:00 p.m., followed by the South vs. Hopkins game at 7:00 p.m. I can't say when the games will be ready to air, but the Central-Centennial game will be the first game I edit.

It's a little early for my quick hits, they will return for the Central vs. Cretin-Derham Hall game. However, I can tell you about one big change you'll see for Keystone Productions broadcasts. This will be our first year broadcasting games in widescreen format. With YouTube and everyone else offering widescreen broadcasts, it's only appropriate that we stay in the 21st century. What this means is more space on screen, so you can see more action.

For tomorrow's games, there will be one thing you will hear from coaches and myself: It's early. Championships aren't won in November. That's not to say the games will be good; Centennial was the team that ended Central's 34-game winning streak a year ago at this tournament, but what you'll see now will be very different than what you'll see in March.

I will call the first game solo, Brandon Jones will make his debut for the South-Hopkins game.

Wrap-up to come tomorrow night.

"Making her move"

I decided to write my profile assignment in my magazine writing class on Theairra Taylor, who committed to Iowa this November. This is the final, graded version. As before, the deck is in the larger Times font.

Several colleges are eyeing two-time state champion Theairra Taylor. This November, she will make her biggest move in her basketball career.

On a recent visit to the University of Pittsburgh, 17-year-old Theairra Taylor was enjoying her time out east, expecting to have some small talk with the athletic staff. Instead, she felt pressured to commit to the school's basketball team immediately.

"I was at the dinner table almost shaking. I couldn't really speak," she says. "It was really difficult to leave that night. I don't really like that uncomfortable feeling."

The St. Paul Central standout hasn't faced another Pittsburgh-like scenario since, but her experience underscores a complex process that is now the norm for many high school players.

Taylor's 5-feet-10-inch body, three-point range and agility helped her land scholarship offers as a sophomore. Now a senior, Taylor will choose a college in November to play women's basketball. In the running are Big Ten schools Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, along with Big East schools Marquette and Pittsburgh.

Before Taylor could visit any of those schools, she had to submit her ACT score and high school transcript. After that, her college visits were filled with administrative meetings and team outings designed to build chemistry with her potential teammates.

Willie Taylor, Central's head coach, has watched nine players continue playing basketball careers at NCAA Division One schools during his coaching career. Theairra, who is not related to the coach, will be his 10th. He'll be the first to say that he still learns new things when he gets calls from colleges looking to recruit his players.

"Theairra is the first kid that I coached who waited this long," he says. "It's a pain in the neck. Every school feels like they got to call me every day. You run out of things to talk about. But I'm willing to do whatever she needs to do to help her select the best school."

At the same time, colleges are doing whatever they can to convince Taylor their school is the best. When Taylor visited Minnesota Sept. 12, she was escorted to the Metrodome to watch Minnesota's football team in pregame exercises and was given a tour of the new football stadium. She even put on the hard hat, safety vest and goggles construction workers use while working.

When she wasn't touring schools, Taylor and her parents say the family was taken to restaurants where the cheapest selections were around $20. On one of their hotel stays, Taylor saw Diana Taurasi and her Phoenix Mercury teammates.

Taylor enjoyed the atmosphere and meeting new people, but the physical wear and time commitment eventually caught up.

"After a while, it kind of got tiring. I was starting to miss school, starting to not have weekends. I missed a few football games," she says.

The recruiting efforts weren't limited to school visits either.

"They had times where they can come visit your school," Taylor says, "I missed half of my math class, which happens to me my toughest subject, and my teacher wasn't so lenient at first."

Taylor is learning that time management will be an even bigger focus when she starts taking college courses. Her friends who play at Division One schools told her workout routines that took place once in a while in high school are now a daily part of the schedule.

"I told Theairra, being a student athlete, they expect a lot of you," says her mother Michelle Taylor. "Their days start at eight and they're back in their homes at eight and this repeats every day. That's not something you're used to in high school."

Michelle Taylor persistently dreams of her daughter finally committing to a college only to wake up and realize that hasn't happened yet.

"Everyone keeps telling us that you'll know, you'll have this feeling. But when you go and have a good experience, it just makes your decision even harder," she says. "Theairra said to me 'You know why you don't know? It's because I don't know.'"

The investment schools put into Taylor won't make the final decision any easier. Willie Taylor says every college Taylor is considering put in a lot of money to set up visits with her.

"She'll have to tell four schools no. It's scary to see how they're going to react to that no," he says.

Taylor could be feeling anxious right now with everything she has encountered in the last couple months. Instead, like everything else that comes into her life, she's relaxed about everything.

"I keep telling each coach there's not anything you need to do because it's basically just a decision I'll have to make upon myself," she says.

Taylor is looking for three things that will influence her school selection.

"The graduation rate of the team, if I feel like I fit into the scheme of the program, (and) the team itself. If I feel like I can't fit in, it's going to be a struggle," she says.

So what will happen when Taylor finally makes her choice to end this ongoing plot?

"I want to talk to her before she calls the school and get one last look, and then I'm going to be happy for her," Willie Taylor says. "Then we're going to celebrate."

2008-09 TV schedule

I've connected with several coaches and conferred with a few analysts to develop the 2008-09 high school girls basketball TV schedule. My schedule lightens up next semester with one less class, so my afternoons and evenings will be generally free.

All games will be uploaded to YouTube, although the delay between the game date and broadcast date will vary as I will be editing all these games. As I mentioned earlier, I will be following NBC's Sunday Night Football "Flex pick" model, so all games are subject to change. I'll provide updates if they do. Reasons may include current status of the teams playing (there isn't a lot of parity within many conferences in our coverage area), and funding (if we get a sponsored game versus a non-sponsored one. This stuff isn't free to produce). I also included reasons for the games I selected below.

If you or an organization you work for would like to sponsor any of these games, send an e-mail to sportsbrain2005@aol.com and I will connect you with my co-worker, who takes care of sponsorships. I linked a recent game I televised to give you an idea of how I would acknowledge your contributions.

Sponsorship recognition

Saturday, Nov. 29th
Pat Paterson Tournament - Hamline University
The first tournament may produce a potential Central/Centennial match followed by South/Hopkins as they begin their journey for a state title. Central's never won three in a row, by the way. The teams that won their brackets last year were knocked out in the section finals, so an early win may not be a good omen.

Tuesday, Dec. 16th
Cretin-Derham Hall vs. St. Paul Central - Central High School, 7:00 p.m.
This is usually Central's barometer game; what they use here may be a model for the rest of the season.

Friday, Dec. 19th
Hopkins vs. Minneapolis Roosevelt - Roosevelt High School, 7:00 p.m.
I'm on winter break here, which frees my schedule up. This could be Shakila Boler's first game back from an MCL/ACL injury she suffered this summer and the first opportunity to see Roosevelt at full strength.

Wednesday, Dec. 31st
Dick's Sporting Goods Holiday Classic, Championship Game - Lindbergh Center, Hopkins, 6:00 p.m.
Decision may depend on the final two teams, but the bracket features four of last year's class AAAA state tournament participants (Central, Eastview, Osseo, South) and host Hopkins. The most anticipated tournament in the non-conference portion of the schedule.

Saturday, Jan. 10th
Jordan vs. Minneapolis South - South High School, 1:00 p.m.
Jordan makes their first of two Minneapolis visits, bringing returning stars Brittany Chambers and Leah Dietel to face you know who.

Tuesday, Jan. 13th
Johnson vs. St. Paul Central - Central High School, 7:00 p.m.
This may be Johnson's best chance to pull off an upset against the St. Paul City Conference favorite. Central is still ranked, but considerably weaker in the proven talent department.

Monday, Feb. 2nd
Jordan vs. Minneapolis Roosevelt - Roosevelt High School, 7:00 p.m.
Chambers and Dietel vs. Boler and Maguirre. Jordan's second visit to Minneapolis. Roosevelt plans to debut their alternate uniforms at this game, but more importantly, it could be a preview of the class AA, section four final. Jordan beat Roosevelt to qualify for last year's state tournament.

Friday, Feb. 6th
(Doubleheader) St. Paul Academy vs. Mounds Park Academy - Lansing Sports Center, Mounds Park Academy, 6:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Two Tri-Metro rivals in a girls/boys doubleheader. The S.P.A. girls team features the O'Brien sisters and Niambi Mitchell, while the boys rivalry is usually close. If this doesn't work out, the date below would be a makeup.

Saturday, Feb. 14th or Tuesday, Feb. 17th
Minnehaha Academy vs. DeLaSalle, 6:00 p.m. OR Minneapolis Roosevelt vs. Minneapolis South, 7:00 p.m.
Either a snapshot of the Tri-Metro's premiere teams before the state tournament, where DeLaSalle beat Minnehaha Academy in last year's AAA semifinal, or a potential battle between Roosevelt and South for the Minneapolis City Conference title and right to the Twin Cities game

Saturday, Feb. 28th
Twin Cities Championship - Minneapolis site
The last tune-up opportunity before playoffs begin