State Bound Badgers...

I was closely following Merkel's game the night before via a coworker's Twitter feed, wondering if I'd be coming to cover them in the regional championship game. The plans was if Merkel won their game I'd spend the night in Lubbock after the Wylie game and head to Midland to shoot the game the next morning. The game the night before was close and Merkel won it by the skin of their teeth. So, given how good Wall has been in the past I was expecting another close game. Plus, I was excited to be shooting the game in the Chaparral Center. It's a great place for a basketball game. A nice arena, with plenty of light and for the 2A regionals there is always a good crowd for the games as well.

When I got to the arena the reporter that was there told me Merkel had gotten to the arena about three hours early and had a practice before the game. Well, from the start of the game it was clear that the early practice was a good idea since Merkel jumped out to a quick lead. Their guards were handling the ball well and shooting well. Both of those combined with a really good defense it was clear that Merkel was serious about punching their ticket to Austin. Between the great playing and the great defense that Merkel plays every game it was clear who was going to win this game. It made for both some nice action shots as well as a nice celebration for the #2 ranked team in the state, who would be making their first trek to the state tournament.

Two Games, Two Towns, Again, Game 1...

As I was pulling into Lubbock, our sports editor sent me a text message asking if Jim Ned won their regional championship game if I'd be willing to drive down to Midland to shoot the regional championship game since it was at 1pm and Wylie's championship game would be at 8pm. So, I was on the road to Midland at 10am headed to game one of the day.

Jim Ned came out looking pretty good early, playing good defense and working their press really well. I think Wall slowing down the pace of the game helped Jim Ned out a lot. Wall seems to have lived and died by the three-point shot a lot this year and wasn't shooting real well this game. So, Wall's limiting of possessions was starting to hurt them.

One thing I do love about the regional tournaments are they are played in bigger nicer arenas that have better light and basket on the ground and not hanging from the ceiling. The great part about that is that it allows me to set up a floor remote to shoot the game. Not only is it easy to set up, but setting it right next to the basket protects the camera and has the potential to make a pretty cool shot.

It wasn't a very high scoring game, but there was plenty of great action that made for a few decent images. Adding the remote made for some nice practice for the state tournament next week in Austin, but I didn't get anything fantastic. One thing about remotes is they can make some really cool shots, but I never rely on them, since they seem to be really hit or miss. And, the two-hour trip back to Lubbock and a great reporter who was willing to drive, gave me plenty of plenty of time to put together and post the slideshow for the web.

Nearing The End Of The Season...

This was the start of a busy week of basketball. It's the third round of the boys basketball playoffs and this is pretty much the time that you can bet the games will be good. The quality of play is good on both sides and the games usually aren't one-sided blowouts. Thank God! Because I've been suffering through way too much of this crap throughout the regular season.

So, I was pretty excited to see Eastland playing Wall on my schedule to shoot. This was a rematch of a great game in the same round from the previous year. So, there was no doubt that Wall would be looking to revenge. And, from the start of the game that's the way things were looking. Wall came out completely dominating the first half. In the second half Eastland started making a comeback and Wall began crumbling. With a couple of really clutch three-pointers by Eastland's blue-chip center, Forrest Robinson, the game was tied up and sent to overtime.

In overtime, neither team looked all that spectacular. Both had opportunities to put things away and couldn't. Eastland hit a couple more free throws and made less turnovers. Not to mention a clutch three to put them ahead by one when it counted. Wall put up a few desperation shots in the final seconds but couldn't sink them. Eastland won a great one in another nail-biter.

Playoffs Week 2...

Well, the odd run through the playoffs continues this week, with a Thursday night game, Merkel vs. Wall. A rematch of a game from earlier in the year which Merkel jumped out to a quick lead and then got reeled in. And well, it turned out to be Deja Vu all over again. Merkel came out, jumped up quick with a 14-0 lead and them forgot how to hold on to the football and ended up losing 21-14 in a game they almost came back and tied it at the end of the game, but couldn't complete a touchdown pass as the clock expired. It was a pretty fun game to watch and shoot.