September 3, 2020


Sometimes I wonder if this diary of events is about the NBA bubble or the Kennedy Space Center because today another SpaceX launch successfully sent about sixty satellites into the Earth’s orbit at 8:46am.  I awoke without the assistance of an alarm and after coffee and a couple of McVitties my wife had sent out, I made my way to the lagoon to stare almost directly into the direction of the sun to hopefully see another glorious launch from the Kennedy Space Center.  I had become an old pro in figuring out how to watch the live broadcast of the event on my phone and then peruse the sky at the right moment to find the rising contrail.  The launch happened at the exact moment it was scheduled and after about ten seconds of it being airborne, I glanced up, squinting tightly, and found the Falcon rising skyward.  The flame from the engine was clearly visible and I tracked it until it faded from sight.  The contrail grew thicker because of the moisture present in the Florida air and I paused for a moment patting myself on the back for making my way out to witness yet again another successful SpaceX event.

 

The guys I work with were angry I didn’t get them up to see the rocket launch.  They are correct I did not get them out of bed.  I only reminded them every day for the previous three days leading up to the event via text and during conversations.  Apparently my reminders were not enough as I witnessed the launch alone.  And besides, 8:46 am is very early for a lot of these guys, unless they have a call time or have to catch a flight.  Nonetheless, they each spared no opportunity for leaving them out of witnessing the launch and chastising me in the process.

 

I had the late game tonight so I didn’t have to get on the shuttle until 5:00pm so I was able to enjoy a little pool time before showering and heading over to the WWOS campus.  I brought my Bolton book to the pool along with a few cold drinks (non-alcoholic, come on man.  I gotta work later!) Here we were in September and the temperature was still as hot as it was in July.  It was very difficult to read while constantly wiping the sweat from my face that I finally gave up and just lounged around in the pool for about an hour, conversing with the various other greenies that were killing time in the water.  I tossed around a football with one of my friends from ESPN until he had an errant toss that smacked a woman square on her ass as she sunbathed nearby.  It made me wonder if the pass was intentional or not. 

 

The game I had tonight was the first game of the conference semifinals with the Clippers taking on Denver, who had to claw their way to the second round with a competitive seven game series that eliminated the Jazz.  I was looking forward to this one because I had picked the Clippers to win this thing and the more Clippers games I can do, the more I felt I had a stake in the outcome.  Otherwise, after doing so many games, the games become a blur.

 

While we were on camera shooting the players as they warmed up we could watch the conclusion of the Toronto Boston game that was being played in the other arena.  This was the third game of that conference semifinal and the Raptors were down two games to none on the verge of going down three to none as Kemba Walker tossed a perfectly executed pass to a smiling Daniel Theis who slammed it through with point five seconds remaining in the game to put the Celtics up by two. That was the play of the game…until the next one.

 

Returning after a timeout Boston brought in the seven feet six inch tall Tacko Fall to defend the inbounds pass from the front court sideline where Toronto advanced the ball after the timeout.  There was only a half second left on the clock so only a catch and shoot play could send the game to overtime or propel the Raptors to a win if it was worth three. Kyle Lowry was the player chosen to inbound the pass. When the referees count hit four seconds he looped a long pass to the opposite baseline to a seemingly wide open Og Anunoby standing in three point land who flicked the ball towards the rim and it fell through for the win.  It was unbelievable.  The other TNT crew covering that game did an excellent job with the coverage as we viewed multiple angles of the game winner through our viewfinders as we continued to perform our work tasks.  I could only hope our game would be as thrilling.

 

It was not going to happen.  The Clippers had come off several days rest awaiting this game and they waltzed through an easy victory against the tired Nuggets.  When the fourth quarter started, most starters from both teams rested awaiting a meaningful second game in a couple of days.  This baby was over after thirty minutes of play and we basically went through the motions until the final buzzer.

 

At the end of the game we record an interview with a player, usually from the winning team, and tonight it was Marcus Morris, who played an outstanding game with his expectant wife and son present in the arena.  Technically the interview was a disaster.  Our sideline reporter did not know where to position herself or the guest and our director Matt Lipp had to scramble in order to find a decent shot to begin the interview.  For some reason, TNT chooses to use a two shot of the reporter and the guest, then cut to a single shot of the guest once the interview starts.  The two shot comes from one of the robotic cameras, and the positioning of the reporter and guest, with the audio assistant holding a boom microphone, looks bad and even worse when everyone is out of position.  ESPN uses a single camera for this effort and it comes across much cleaner.

 

I have another day off tomorrow so being as tonight was a late game I am looking forward to having an easy day and perhaps getting a little extra sleep in the morning.  No rocket launches to get up for.  Perhaps a day of rest and catching up with personal chores is in order.

  

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