My week in review: Jan. 8-14
And we’re back! Made it into week two of 2020 unscathed, mostly (looking at you, Minnesota Vikings). Once again, it was another eventful week with plenty of work and family fun to look back on here. Here goes nothing:
Jan. 8: Taking advantage of free time
This day was pretty light. I didn’t have any FSN or iHeart obligations. With that in mind, I used the day to knock out some stories and work my on the freelance writing side of things. I write for a few different outlets semi-regularly including the Star Tribune High School Hubs, PrepHockeyMN, Touchpoint Media and more. I had my hand in all three of those on this Wednesday while also squeezing in some quality time with Minny.
Jan. 9: All about that Wild
It was back to the grindstone on Thursday as I worked a double shift as FSN for the Wild’s game in Calgary. Here’s how this day goes. I arrived at 10 a.m. and started getting things ready for the pregame show. It’s a lot of cutting video and helping the producer get things ready. A lot of the videos are highlights that run while the analyst is talking. Basically, we try to illustrate their point. For example, on this pregame show, Mike Greenlay (the analyst) talked about goaltending on the penalty kill (Yes, I know this is super hockey nitty-gritty). So, I cut an 18-20 second video of the three Wild goalies making plays on the penalty kill. This was a little more nitty gritty than normal, but it was a fun exercise nevertheless.
The second part of my day was working on the pre and postgame show. On pregame, I help roll things for the show, such as the opening tease video and warmups of players. This is all done throughout the show and can be a lot of a time crunch. During the game, I’m clipping off important plays that may be talked about in the postgame show. I’m also preparing for certain elements of that show, including the game summary and teases for breaks. It can be stressful but also a good adrenaline rush.
By the time the day is done, I’ve worked 14 hours. Woof. But a fun 14 hours.
Jan. 10: Hungry like a wolf
This was one of those days where I wear multiple hats. I woke up bright and early on this Friday to work the final Friday Football Feast of the season. As I mentioned last week, it’s a little bit of a grind for me to be up and at it that early, but it’s a fun crew that makes it worth it. Here’s the crew I’m talking about.
Later that day, I was back on the work grind. This time, it was with FSN. Because the Timberwolves played at 4 p.m. on Saturday, the editing shift for the pregame show was Friday night. That way, you’re not working overnight. Anyway, it was a fun shift. You never know what you’ll do. On this day, I cut a video tease about Gorgui Dieng’s recent success. Here’s one of the highlights I included:
https://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/28412315
Jan. 11: Minnesota sports gonna Minnesota sports
This day was devoted specifically to Minnesota sports disappointment. I worked on the Wolves’ pre and postgame show for their game at Houston. Coincidentally, they started at 4 p.m., less than an hour after the 49ers and Vikings kicked off. Pregame, which is one of my priorities in this job, started at 3:30 p.m. So, it would be hard to follow both. In all reality, it probably would’ve been better to ignore both. Each team got drilled. Not great. Thankfully for me, working Wolves was much less stressful. You expect a 30-point loss to Houston on the road and it doesn’t cause you to freak out. Overall, just a slightly depressing day. But we move forward.
Jan. 12: A (late) Christmas celebration
It was a day off for me for the most part work-wise. Except for one thing. I’ve been writing a weekly article for the Star Tribune’s high school boys’ and girls’ basketball hubs. It’s the top five performers from each week. Basically, I go through and pick five boys and five girls who stuck out the week prior. Then, fans have a few days to vote on who they think should win. That Sunday, then, the voting closes and whoever receives the most votes wins. Here’s who win this past week:
Boys - http://bit.ly/2uwXaeT
Girls - http://bit.ly/2QCup8Y
I finished this article on my way to my mom’s family Christmas. The vast majority of them live in the St. Cloud area where my mom is from. So, we go up there each year. With a large family (more than 50 people) we usually have to do it a couple weeks after all the Christmas festivities. Even though most of the Christmas spirit had dissipated, we had a jolly good time (giving myself a self-five as I write that pun). We got a good majority together. Here’s what that looks like:
Jan. 13: Running with the pack and the Bachelor
I started off this Monday by working on editing the pregame show for the Wolves. As I’ve mentioned, the idea is producing video that will support the points made on the show. At this point in the Wolves season, things are tough. But we try not to be so negative. So, we emphasize things such as the play of Jeff Teague in the last matchup between the Wolves and their opponent that night - Oklahoma City. After seven months on the job, I’m feeling a lot more comfortable with video editing and feel like I’m starting to hit a stride of sorts.
After that, it was all about watching TV. Yes, the college football national championship to a certain extent. But of course, it was the second week of the Bachelor. I’m in a fantasy league and watched the episode with fans. I only started watching during Nick Viall’s season (2017) but have become all in on the show. So far this season, I’m not overly impressed. It’s been good television, but most of the girls have just been irritating. Hannah Ann has been the favorite but also the villain. To me, it’s just not a likable group of girls among the frontrunners. I’m hoping it gets better.
Jan. 14: A whole lot of basketball
This was a weird day from a work standpoint, my top performer articles came out this week. You can find each one on the boys’ and girls’ basketball hubs. I also covered a girls’ basketball game that night between St. Michael-Albertville. First of all, that’s a freaking hike from the southwest suburbs. But I was coming from Minneapolis because FSN had a meeting for us regarding the upcoming Hockey Day (more on that next week - a tease, look at me! It’s like I’m becoming a professional or something). The drive was a tad painstaking but it was a fun story to tell. STMA is a top-tier program looking to break through. I tried to tell that story: http://bit.ly/2uSr3Xn
Thanks for reading this week’s (and maybe last week’s) week in review. I’m hoping I will keep this going. Again, please reach out with any feedback. It’s always much appreciated.
