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.

It's been 11 days since I've been behind the lens for a sporting event. Last weekend I was out of town so I missed the Georgia Tech vs Maryland game, but fortunately Anthony Amobi and Mike Busada covered it for the DC Sports Box. I'm happy that there are enough people at the DCSB that we can get some other people to cover events when I'm not available!

It was nice to get back into a sporting event and see all the familiar faces. Joey Flyntz was there covering the event for the Terrapins and I went up and shook his hand to say hello. After the event Joey handed me my Maryland vs Duke media credential for the men's basketball game tomorrow night.

The dual was pretty good and the Terps won by a large margin. Please go over and take a look at my article and photos on the DC Sports Box.