One Game at a Time

Tonight there was a men's basketball (Maryland vs Duke) played in Durham as well as a wrestling dual held up here in the College Park area. I asked Anthony to watch the game, read the box score and the post-game comments and quotes and work on the basketball article so that I would have a chance to attend the wrestling matches, take photos, and write an article.

I have to admit that when I attended a match earlier this winter it was my first wrestling match ever. I didn't know how it worked, how the scoring worked, and I especially didn't understand the flow of the sport. I never considered myself to be particularly intelligent in sports in particular, but I am an engineer (albeit in software) and as a result I have a talent for observing, asking questions, learning, adapting, and improving.

Whenever I head out for a new assignment for the first time my wife Julie always asks me how I think it will go. I usually tell her the same thing I always say on first-time assignments to cover sports I had never watched before: a not-confident "who knows...." while shaking my head. The first time I cover something the quality of my product is abysmal. But the second time around there is noticeable improvement. Same thing goes for the third time around.

I think this is my 4th or 5th wrestling dual that I've covered this winter and I'm starting to get the hang of it. I know how the scoring works now (that's a plus) and I've experimented with camera settings to find out what works reasonably well given my camera body and light limitations (D200 with f/2.8 glass in a low-lit gymnasium). I've also figured out a good way to take play-by-play notes and that goes a long way when you write an article (note: Maryland doesn't publish play-by-play or box scores for wrestling).

Please read my latest wrestling article over on the DC Sports Box.

Up next is women's hoops tomorrow night. There's a lacrosse match on Saturday as well as a men's basketball game on Saturday night (Maryland vs Florida State). I heard from Al today that the DC Sports Box was approved for photo credential for the remainder of the season except for the game against Clemson. That's fantastic news and I was very happy to hear that. It's certainly a far cry from our situation in October and I'm very appreciative and thankful that Maryland continues to give us the opportunity to report on the progress of their various teams.