And Remember... Next Friday is Hawaiian Shirt Day...
The First "Official" Blog: A Running Diary of Sports Intern's Last (Fri)day at the Station.
12:00 PM. My first task? To cover the World Cup and log the game. The first of many times I hear "City of Blinding Lights" via an ESPN promo. How much is Bono getting paid to put his face all over this year's World Cup? Furthermore, is the World as sick of Bono as I am?
12:21 PM. To my surprise, I'm not bored by this game. In fact, after three quick goals between the two teams, I'm thoroughly entertained. This is much better then game 1 of the NBA Finals last night. Which begs the question: if Shaq put on a soccer uniform, would I watch more soccer? I think the answer is yes.
12:23 PM. More World Cup fun. Trying to pronounce player's names is almost impossible. For added difficulty, I suppose you could do it with a mouthful of peanut butter.
12:24 PM. I got one of the names. Gonzalez. G-O-N-Z-A-L-E-Z. He plays for Costa Rica, and I can pronounce his name.
12:39 PM. Benefit of being a sports intern? While searching for vintage Pedro Martinez Red Sox footage in preparation for the upcoming Mets vs Sox series, I stumble across a gold mine of raw post-game celebrations. The highlight came from the 2003 ALDS vs Oakland. As Peter Gammons stands quietly in a hallway leading to the locker room, waiting for the victorious Sox to arrive, the silence is quickly interrupted by a rowdy Pedro Martinez in a "cowboy up" t-shirt, running through the hall screaming: "YANNNNKKEEEEESSSSS!!!" David Ortiz quickly gives chase, screaming: "Oh, shit! Oh, shit!" The camera slowly pans back to Gammons, who has had the crap scared out of him by the sudden appearance of Pedro and Papi. The look on Gammons' face is excellent. He looks like an old man who forgot to look both ways before crossing the street... then almost got hit by a car. Priceless.
12:40 PM. A message labeled "urgent" just popped on my screen via the station email system. I open it up, curious. The message simply reads: "The ice cream truck is here." ...we get free ice cream on Fridays.
12:45 PM. Someone really needs to do a sitcom about what goes on in a news station's sports department.
12:46 PM. Nevermind. I just remembered that's been done. It was called "Sports Night," and I'm pretty sure it got canceled. Still, I liked that show. Wonder if it's available on DVD.
12:51 PM. An interesting aspect of the World Cup, as explained to me by a fellow sports intern: apparently, there is never a stoppage of play in soccer. The play clock just keeps going once it starts. So, at the end of a 45 minute half, the refs add "injury" time to the game to compensate for any perceived time they missed out on while the clock was still running. No wonder I never got into this game. I trust my game clocks to be run by computers only.
12:52 PM. ESPN is using their "NFL Live" set to cover the FIFA World Cup, and this is bothering me a little bit. I don't know why. By the way, who are these analysts? Julie Foudy? What happened to that girl who took her shirt off a couple of years ago during the women's World Cup? Couldn't we have broken her out for this occasion?
12:54 PM. Brandy Chastain. That was her name.
12:56 PM. Pretend insta-poll: funnier commercials. Guinness? or Burger King?
12:57 PM. The Adidas commercial where the two kids pick all the pro players to play soccer kind of reminds me of the "Homer at the Bat" Simpsons episode. So classic.
(Ken Griffey's Gro-tesquely swolen jaaaawww!)
(Steve Sax and his run-in with the laawwwww!)
12:59 PM. Number of people I've heard say the words "ice cream truck" so far today? ...five.
1:01 PM. Why did Hyundai of all companies decide to sponsor the World Cup Halftime report? Is this simply because of the alliteration coincidence between "Hyundai" and "Halftime"? If so, the Honda car company totally dropped the ball on this one.
1:35 PM. Funny exchange I just eavesdropped on.
Weather Lady: "I did a terrible job today."
Random News Intern: "You were fine."
Weather Lady: "I said intermittently! Who says that winds are blowing intermittently???"
Random News Intern: (silence).
Weather Lady: "I'm going to get some ice cream from the ice cream truck."
1:46 PM. After logging a number of different classic Pedro moments, I realize that I miss him desperately. Interesting side note: Pedro's Mets press conference is followed up direcly on the news file tape with footage of Suddam Hussein being captured. I'm not lieing.
1:58 PM. I sense a bit of chemistry between this Wylanda guy and Fowdy. By the way, apparently Fowdy is a former US women's team captain. I still think it would've been cool to get Brandy Chastain.
1:59 PM. Point of note. A lot of cute female interns work over in the news department. Sadly, few of them ever travel over to the sports department. Why is this?
3:01 PM. Back to soccer after a bit of editing. According to the guy on ESPN, the average German drinks 300 pints of beer a year. Germany is also apparently the World's leading producer of sausage. I congratulate ESPN on doing the best job possible to try and make me forget that I'm actually watching soccer.
3:02 PM. Just saw a World Cup promo that wasn't narrated by Bono. What gives? Did they cut his paychecks already?
3:41 PM. Finished editing my first news-ready, legit interview... with none other than... Chris Smith, of the AA Portland SeaDogs. I hadn't heard of him either. The World Cup announcers are becoming more ammusing as the games go on. One says "it's a bit of a nailbiter, isn't it?!?" in an extreme Irish accent. Meanwhile, ESPN's cameras cut to a shot of one of the coaches literally biting their nails. This is good TV.
3:43 PM. It's official. Announcers with thick Irish accents officially kick the ass of announcers without thick Irish accents. Honestly, can we get these guys to announce the NBA Finals? I like Hubie Brown, but come on. These guys rock.
3:45 PM. The most intriguing story line of Ecuador vs Poland, to me, is the goaltender for Ecuador. He's using eyeblack, only the eyeblack isn't black. Instead, it's multicolored, and he's using it as facepaint, so that he has little mini Ecuador flags under each of his eyes. Really now. Is this supposed to be intimidating? Did you just come back from a carnival? I hope he brought balloon animals for the rest of the team.
3:48 PM. Done with the first half of Ecuador vs Poland. This means I've officially watched three halfs of soccer. On to the Hyundai Halftime Report!
3:50 PM. Jim Leyritz, former Yankee player, is admitting to having taken amphetamines, according to ESPN.com. Daryl Strawberry is reported as having asked: "why didn't I think of that?"
3:59 PM. Just had a little exchange with the sports boss:
Sports Boss: "So we're gonna get that feed from Fenway..."
Sports Intern: "ok."
Sports Boss: "So if you want... you know... you could... edit it?"
Sports Intern: "...sure."
...that was like asking the hottest girl in school to prom. It didn't have to be that difficult.
4:05 PM. ESPN's soccer announcers excitedly announce the score. "Poland - Nil! Ecuador - One!" They're playcalling is totally making this worth it for me. Really, who says "nil"?
4:07 PM. Updated approximation of the number of times I've heard the words "ice cream truck" today? ...twenty-three.
4:08 PM. A great exchange between the soccer announcers:
Announcer 1: "Did you know, Tommy, the first oil well was drilled by a 'Pole'?"
Tommy: "Funny, I thought it was drilled by a bit!"
...this was followed by seconds of continuous Irish chuckle. All they really need is a rimshot at the end. Currently, I'm imagining 'Tommy's' appearance as something like a mix between Jerry Remy and the Lucky Charms leprechaun. This imagery alone is making the game fantastic.
4:11 PM. As Sports Anchor strolls into the station, I attempt to talk to him.
Sports Intern: "How's the weather out there? Still raining?"
Sports Anchor: "NICE! Ehhh... (inaudible mumbling)..."
...amazing how incoherent he is off camera. That response didn't even make sense.
4:20 PM. Sports Employee: "If this game gets rained out tonight, you think we'll get a triple-header tomorrow?"
4:33 PM. At some point when I wasn't paying attention, Ecuador has taken a lead. Sports Anchor feels the need to comment.
Sports Anchor: "This is very disturbing."
Sports Intern: "What are you talking about?"
Sports Anchor: "Poland! That's what."
Sports Intern: "What's wrong with Ecuador?"
Sports Anchor: "Come on. It's Ecuador."
Sports Intern: "And Poland's any better?"
Sports Anchor: "As an intern, you wouldn't understand."
4:45 PM. Got to help with last minute preps for the 5pm sports update. Maybe after that, I'll go to get some ice cream from the ice cream truck. In the words of Stuart Scott, hugs and hand-pounds, everyone. Man, do I hate Stuart Scott.
- sports intern.
12:00 PM. My first task? To cover the World Cup and log the game. The first of many times I hear "City of Blinding Lights" via an ESPN promo. How much is Bono getting paid to put his face all over this year's World Cup? Furthermore, is the World as sick of Bono as I am?
12:21 PM. To my surprise, I'm not bored by this game. In fact, after three quick goals between the two teams, I'm thoroughly entertained. This is much better then game 1 of the NBA Finals last night. Which begs the question: if Shaq put on a soccer uniform, would I watch more soccer? I think the answer is yes.
12:23 PM. More World Cup fun. Trying to pronounce player's names is almost impossible. For added difficulty, I suppose you could do it with a mouthful of peanut butter.
12:24 PM. I got one of the names. Gonzalez. G-O-N-Z-A-L-E-Z. He plays for Costa Rica, and I can pronounce his name.
12:39 PM. Benefit of being a sports intern? While searching for vintage Pedro Martinez Red Sox footage in preparation for the upcoming Mets vs Sox series, I stumble across a gold mine of raw post-game celebrations. The highlight came from the 2003 ALDS vs Oakland. As Peter Gammons stands quietly in a hallway leading to the locker room, waiting for the victorious Sox to arrive, the silence is quickly interrupted by a rowdy Pedro Martinez in a "cowboy up" t-shirt, running through the hall screaming: "YANNNNKKEEEEESSSSS!!!" David Ortiz quickly gives chase, screaming: "Oh, shit! Oh, shit!" The camera slowly pans back to Gammons, who has had the crap scared out of him by the sudden appearance of Pedro and Papi. The look on Gammons' face is excellent. He looks like an old man who forgot to look both ways before crossing the street... then almost got hit by a car. Priceless.
12:40 PM. A message labeled "urgent" just popped on my screen via the station email system. I open it up, curious. The message simply reads: "The ice cream truck is here." ...we get free ice cream on Fridays.
12:45 PM. Someone really needs to do a sitcom about what goes on in a news station's sports department.
12:46 PM. Nevermind. I just remembered that's been done. It was called "Sports Night," and I'm pretty sure it got canceled. Still, I liked that show. Wonder if it's available on DVD.
12:51 PM. An interesting aspect of the World Cup, as explained to me by a fellow sports intern: apparently, there is never a stoppage of play in soccer. The play clock just keeps going once it starts. So, at the end of a 45 minute half, the refs add "injury" time to the game to compensate for any perceived time they missed out on while the clock was still running. No wonder I never got into this game. I trust my game clocks to be run by computers only.
12:52 PM. ESPN is using their "NFL Live" set to cover the FIFA World Cup, and this is bothering me a little bit. I don't know why. By the way, who are these analysts? Julie Foudy? What happened to that girl who took her shirt off a couple of years ago during the women's World Cup? Couldn't we have broken her out for this occasion?
12:54 PM. Brandy Chastain. That was her name.
12:56 PM. Pretend insta-poll: funnier commercials. Guinness? or Burger King?
12:57 PM. The Adidas commercial where the two kids pick all the pro players to play soccer kind of reminds me of the "Homer at the Bat" Simpsons episode. So classic.
(Ken Griffey's Gro-tesquely swolen jaaaawww!)
(Steve Sax and his run-in with the laawwwww!)
12:59 PM. Number of people I've heard say the words "ice cream truck" so far today? ...five.
1:01 PM. Why did Hyundai of all companies decide to sponsor the World Cup Halftime report? Is this simply because of the alliteration coincidence between "Hyundai" and "Halftime"? If so, the Honda car company totally dropped the ball on this one.
1:35 PM. Funny exchange I just eavesdropped on.
Weather Lady: "I did a terrible job today."
Random News Intern: "You were fine."
Weather Lady: "I said intermittently! Who says that winds are blowing intermittently???"
Random News Intern: (silence).
Weather Lady: "I'm going to get some ice cream from the ice cream truck."
1:46 PM. After logging a number of different classic Pedro moments, I realize that I miss him desperately. Interesting side note: Pedro's Mets press conference is followed up direcly on the news file tape with footage of Suddam Hussein being captured. I'm not lieing.
1:58 PM. I sense a bit of chemistry between this Wylanda guy and Fowdy. By the way, apparently Fowdy is a former US women's team captain. I still think it would've been cool to get Brandy Chastain.
1:59 PM. Point of note. A lot of cute female interns work over in the news department. Sadly, few of them ever travel over to the sports department. Why is this?
3:01 PM. Back to soccer after a bit of editing. According to the guy on ESPN, the average German drinks 300 pints of beer a year. Germany is also apparently the World's leading producer of sausage. I congratulate ESPN on doing the best job possible to try and make me forget that I'm actually watching soccer.
3:02 PM. Just saw a World Cup promo that wasn't narrated by Bono. What gives? Did they cut his paychecks already?
3:41 PM. Finished editing my first news-ready, legit interview... with none other than... Chris Smith, of the AA Portland SeaDogs. I hadn't heard of him either. The World Cup announcers are becoming more ammusing as the games go on. One says "it's a bit of a nailbiter, isn't it?!?" in an extreme Irish accent. Meanwhile, ESPN's cameras cut to a shot of one of the coaches literally biting their nails. This is good TV.
3:43 PM. It's official. Announcers with thick Irish accents officially kick the ass of announcers without thick Irish accents. Honestly, can we get these guys to announce the NBA Finals? I like Hubie Brown, but come on. These guys rock.
3:45 PM. The most intriguing story line of Ecuador vs Poland, to me, is the goaltender for Ecuador. He's using eyeblack, only the eyeblack isn't black. Instead, it's multicolored, and he's using it as facepaint, so that he has little mini Ecuador flags under each of his eyes. Really now. Is this supposed to be intimidating? Did you just come back from a carnival? I hope he brought balloon animals for the rest of the team.
3:48 PM. Done with the first half of Ecuador vs Poland. This means I've officially watched three halfs of soccer. On to the Hyundai Halftime Report!
3:50 PM. Jim Leyritz, former Yankee player, is admitting to having taken amphetamines, according to ESPN.com. Daryl Strawberry is reported as having asked: "why didn't I think of that?"
3:59 PM. Just had a little exchange with the sports boss:
Sports Boss: "So we're gonna get that feed from Fenway..."
Sports Intern: "ok."
Sports Boss: "So if you want... you know... you could... edit it?"
Sports Intern: "...sure."
...that was like asking the hottest girl in school to prom. It didn't have to be that difficult.
4:05 PM. ESPN's soccer announcers excitedly announce the score. "Poland - Nil! Ecuador - One!" They're playcalling is totally making this worth it for me. Really, who says "nil"?
4:07 PM. Updated approximation of the number of times I've heard the words "ice cream truck" today? ...twenty-three.
4:08 PM. A great exchange between the soccer announcers:
Announcer 1: "Did you know, Tommy, the first oil well was drilled by a 'Pole'?"
Tommy: "Funny, I thought it was drilled by a bit!"
...this was followed by seconds of continuous Irish chuckle. All they really need is a rimshot at the end. Currently, I'm imagining 'Tommy's' appearance as something like a mix between Jerry Remy and the Lucky Charms leprechaun. This imagery alone is making the game fantastic.
4:11 PM. As Sports Anchor strolls into the station, I attempt to talk to him.
Sports Intern: "How's the weather out there? Still raining?"
Sports Anchor: "NICE! Ehhh... (inaudible mumbling)..."
...amazing how incoherent he is off camera. That response didn't even make sense.
4:20 PM. Sports Employee: "If this game gets rained out tonight, you think we'll get a triple-header tomorrow?"
4:33 PM. At some point when I wasn't paying attention, Ecuador has taken a lead. Sports Anchor feels the need to comment.
Sports Anchor: "This is very disturbing."
Sports Intern: "What are you talking about?"
Sports Anchor: "Poland! That's what."
Sports Intern: "What's wrong with Ecuador?"
Sports Anchor: "Come on. It's Ecuador."
Sports Intern: "And Poland's any better?"
Sports Anchor: "As an intern, you wouldn't understand."
4:45 PM. Got to help with last minute preps for the 5pm sports update. Maybe after that, I'll go to get some ice cream from the ice cream truck. In the words of Stuart Scott, hugs and hand-pounds, everyone. Man, do I hate Stuart Scott.
- sports intern.
posted by The Sports Intern at 5:40 PM
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