Due to time constraints with broadcasting the state finals, along with the preparations, I will be unable to do an in-depth game/travel blog for my IHSA Class 3A/4A State Finals trip in East Peoria. Since I already hit the morning highlights, here are some other thoughts from East Peoria.
IHSA.TV
This is the first year that IHSA.TV has broadcasted the games on the world wide web. The production is run by When We Were Young Productions, which is based in Wisconsin. In talking with some of the guys from their production crew, it sounds like it started a lot like my Illinois High School Sports Network. A hobby. I expect bigger things to come for this production company as it is still on its way up. I hope the same can be said for IHSSN.net.
Rim Shots in the IHSA Press Box
If seeing Monmouth College Sports Information Director Dan Nolan every Monday morning in studio, along with various Fighting Scots athletics events was enough, I have to sit next to him all weekend! Dan keeps the crew entertained with his....cheesy....comedy bits!
TV Differs From Radio
I let the IHSA production crew know early on that I was a TV rookie, and not used to calling a game with a monitor in front of me. Before the games began, they told me to just call the game like normal and they would follow my cue. It seemed to work throughout the game, and with each contest I relied more and more on the monitor. I don't know what is tougher, going from radio to TV, or TV to radio. One would think the former would be the easiest since you are calling the game like you are speaking to someone that isn't seeing it firsthand. As I learned today, you must be in sync with the cameras, as to talk about what is being shown on the screen. Just like anything else in broadcasting, its a feeling out process. I will be the first to admit, that Softball is not one of my stronger points in broadcasting. Certainly not the weakest, because there are many sports I have never broadcasted before, but the pace of the game is so difficult. I planned for hours (literally...several hours and a lot of missed sleep time) for this weekend's state finals, yet it was very easy to run out of talking points. Then, at the bat of an eye, many things happen in one play, that take me an extra second to process. It's a lot easier when I am just jotting notes down as a spectator, but actually broadcasting, it's much different. If there is one thing I hate in this world, it's not doing something to a great ability, so I am marking down every mistake made this weekend, using it as a tool to improve upon.
Speaking of TV differing from radio, one spot that I really wish I could take back on the IHSA broadcast, was a spot panning back to start an inning. I lost my composure when an unaware fan made some movements that caught me off guard. I reacted very unprofessionally, not keeping my composure.
After the Games
I entered Morton to stay in the Quality Inn for the night, and noticed that both Arby's and Culver's had their lights off. I wondered if I had skipped ahead a couple hours, or if Morton just shut down this early. It was neither. Walking into the Quality Inn lobby, the desk clerk mentioned parts of town were in the dark. The hotel lobby being one of them. The strange this was, the other half of the lobby was lit up like normal.
After unpacking I walked across to Paddy O'Flaherty's Irish Pub, and they had mentioned the power was out there earlier, too. It affected many businesses in the area for upwards of 90 minutes, and some places would have one room light, the other dark.
Speaking of O'Flaherty's, while I was there I ran into some Marengo fans in town watching the softball finals in East Peoria. I sat with them for a bit and talked statewide softball. At first, I thought they were from Moline, wearing the maroon shirts with a "M" emblazoned.
Wakeup
Fortunately, there is not a 5:30 a.m. wakeup call tomorrow, and a majority of my game notes are taken care of. First game begins at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow with the Class 3A third place game between Breese Mater Dei and Antioch.
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