The Round of 16 Ends Today

Well after today, it's down to the final 8 teams competing for the World Cup. There has been a ton of controversy during the matches and here at Univision, to keep the fans up on all the news, a special graphic was created to demonstrate the goal line during the England-Germany game.

It clearly shows that England did not score as has been widely reported in replays.
Also, I saw this morning in the paper that the stadium showed the replay and got the fans in the stadium upset.
Looks like Mark and I might have a future in the 2014 games in Brazil.
Instant replay in the future... I'll leave that up to you.
To make matters worse, apparently the hotel staff where the English players were staying stole money, jerseys and underwear. It was reported that the hotel workers homes were searched and all the items were recovered.
The guilty received 3 years in prison and an $800 fine. Welcome to the mean streets of Pretoria.
Most of the crew is looking forward to either a day off or a short day tomorrow. The studio crew has to come in to work Contacto Deportivo so no safaris for us but we won't have to be in until 5PM so my hope is a trip to Mandela Square or somewhere interesting tomorrow.
I mentioned the spontaneous photo taking yesterday in the studio. Here's a few of the snapshots that were taken. Art demonstrates Hollands' offense against Stig's Slovakian defense.

There's always a bit of time for clowning about! Today my picks include Paraquay over Japan and in the evening match, I've got 10 rand riding on the fact that Ronaldo will lead Portugal over Spain. Viva Ronaldo!!
If that does indeed happen, tomorrow I will post the picture that I took with Ronaldo!

Round of Sixteen, Repeat Again

Repetition, recurrence, reiteration, and reproduction. Let's do it again today.  There's nothing new about today, it's a return to yesterday and the day before, and the day before.
The round of sixteen gets cut to eight after tomorrow night, and although each match is do or die for the teams, for us, it's another two games, one in the afternoon and one in the evening.
The repetition has become routine. 
The weather has changed into a cloudy, brisk morning and I'm sure it will be very cold this evening. One morning before the warm days were upon us, there was ice in the fountain in front of the IBC.
Main decisions are do we have the stir fry beef or stay with the chicken today. I've taken to drinking hot tea in the morning instead of coffee.
There was an outbreak of photo taking in the studio today and everyone seems a little more relaxed since a short day is just one more day away. More on that in the next few posts. 
A personal note of thanks to Kevin for providing me with his "Crosscut" CD which I got to listen to in it's entirety this morning.

Here's a random shot of the satellite farm on the edge of the compound. I guess it could be worse spending six or more weeks out by your satellite dish.
Today's picks have the Netherlands beating Slovakia just because I like that all of their fans wear orange and that reminds me of the Dynamo.
The evening game pits Brazil against Chile. Unfortunately Brazil will win this game but because the Chile flag looks almost identical to the Texas flag, I'm rooting for Chile. Let me be clear, Brazil wins. Dang!

Out and About! The Sunday Market!

A group of us got up this morning and went to the Sunday market at Roseland, a suburb north of downtown Johannesberg. Although I would have rather slept the extra two hours, it's was great to get up and go.
After a leisurely breakfast at McDonalds, yes one of the official restuarants of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the six of us headed to the market. Go team Egg McMuffin!
The flea market was located on a parking level of the Roseland mall, and because we had two hours or so, I spent half my time at the market and got to wander through the mall as well.
There was a lot of beaded crafts, several artists with original canvases, picture frames, and the lists goes on.
My favorite store in the mall was the Jeep store. It's a clothing store with the Jeep logo we associate with the automotive company. I was able to get a few things for the nieces and a little something for Sean.
Mostly it was great just to get away from the hotel for a bit.

I was happy to be on the bus.








There is still a lot of disappointment about the US lose last night but hope that Mexico can somehow pull out a win against Argentina.
I'll have to go with Germany and Argentina today. That is what my mind tells me so those are my picks of record. My heart wants exactly the opposite.

Does the USA Soccer Team Continue It's Winning Streak?

I'll keep it short today. I slept seven hours last night and woke up tired but refreshed. Now we are just waiting to see what magic Landon has in store for the evening. There's a sense of electricity in the air.
I say they go on! Uruguay plays earlier today and get a win also.
The days of splits are over, each game is win or go home. I need to work on my bracket and I hope to go to a flea market in the morning.
Enjoy your Saturday everyone!

The End of Splits

Today marks the end of split feeds, one out of the main control room and one out of the mini. Only two days a game after today. There is great rejoicing in the tape room
Rather than think about that, I thought it'd be nice to talk about technology. It's odd to know that I knew Landon Donovan had scored his goal exactly seven seconds before those of you watching at home did.
Considering that there are roughly 10,000 miles between us right now, that's not much of a delay. We of course were yelling on headsets, and back in Miami where the signals are received, they complained because we ruined the surprise for them.
Last night I got to talk to Sean and Lily and Josie and Woody on the Skype. The delay is even less which is remarkable. So being this far from home, how do you find something that you can connect with that has no delay?
It's the moon! Now, being the romantic that I am, I know the moon has had much significance in movies and literature, but I know that if I look up at night and Sean looks up, we are looking at the same object at exactly the same time. There is comfort in that!
I've been paying a lot of attention to the moon. Just as the days are sunny and clear, the night sky intrigues me because I don't recognize the constellations. I have spotted the Southern Cross.
Also the moon going through its' phases means that time IS moving. A visible change. I could have torn pages from a daily calendar, but the moon is my friend and as it gets larger or smaller, I know that it's doing exactly the same thing in Texas!

Okay enough of my silly ramblings, meet Zamile Tiwani or better known as Zama to his friends. He has been one of our escorts and is much like most of the people we have met here, happy, gracious, full of life, and generous.
If you look closely, you'll notice he has a Texas flag lapel pin on his jacket. He sometimes tells people now that he is also from Texas.
Today's picks are Brazil, Chile, Ivory Coast, and Switzerland as winners!

Another Day in Zululand

Well I called the USA win correctly, who would have thought that it would take 91 minutes for them to score and eventually end up in first place in their group.
This is one interesting aspect of the way the tournament functions. The US had to win to advance to the next round or England had to lose or tie. For the last two days, and the next two days, there are four games and they run at the same time, 4:00 and 8:30 PM. We are airing one game on Univision and one on Telefutura, the sister network.
I of course worked the England game but the way the mini-control room is set, we could see a monitor that had the USA game on it through a window.
We were cheering trying our best to get Slovenia to at least score. They had been leading the group going into yesterday.

When the US finally scored, there was a roar from the big bullpen room outside our door and the US team went from being out of it to leading the group. It was a lot of fun. I'm sure all of the American networks, Univision and ESPN are glad as there will be another big match in a few days. After all, ratings, ratings, ratings! So two more days of the splits and then we are on easy street.

Don't let his casual appearance fool you, engineer Mike was very interested in the England game.
As most of the engineering staff is split between Australia and Britian, having England advance sustains the harmony in that department!
Today's picks are Italy, Paraguay, the Netherlands, and Denmark as winners. Sorry Japan, you go out today.

Good Morning IBC

Scott sez, "There's a light at the end of the tunnel,". Always. But remember, don't go into the light Carol Ann.
We are all starting to cope and have reached the halfway mark. A few days ago, I mentioned having things around you that make you feel comfortable. There's also the aspect of a routine that can help you. I clean up my hotel room in the morning so that when I finally roll in, everything is in it's place.
Today at the IBC, I saw a little group of ours having coffee and enjoying the sunshine before the seven or eight hours in the control room. We all need a little more vitamin D I suspect.
I figure that being here in the "winter" is a little like San Diego. It's blue skies and sunshine and hasn't rained since we've been here. Okay, it's not like San Diego at all.
I talked with a janitor last night and he was upset that the South African team was eliminated but had high hopes for Ghana. We do tend to stay with our continent when it comes to favorites.
One other thing is that editors tend to like editors. There is a language to cutting and when we get together and start talking, it usually drifts to techniques and tricks.
There are a number of editors on site here and they are doing some incredible work. I get to see the features they are cutting about South Africa and some of them are great.
Editing is just editing and although there are three suites that are enclosed, there is one suite situated in a main office with lots of desks.

She just works away all day with the headphones on making the magic behind the pixels.
Bravo!
Today's picks include the USA over Algeria, England ties Slovenia, Serbia gives Australia another lost, and Germany wins against Ghana. Poor, poor Ghana.

Predictions for June 21, 2010

I almost to get my predictions in before kickoff...

The great Ronaldo leads Portugal over North Korea, Spain take the victory over Hondurus, and in the toughest one to call... Spain over the Swiss, although I could predict a draw on this one. Go Spain!

Monday Again?

I forgot to use an analogy I had for working a job like this the other day. I think my long distance cycling over the years, prepared me for the work. The same would be true if I ran marathons.
There is a mental toughness you have to develop to live in a hotel for the length we do, be away from all the things you care about, and essentially do the same thing day after day.
When I was on the bike for seven days in a row, after the first 20 miles on day three, you had to just keep moving forward.
Little things like an iPod, or your favorite movie on your hard drive makes the free time you do have more comfortable.
In 2002, when I was in El Salvador for a month, I found an escape in a couple of albums by Incubus. I'll always connect that band with that trip. I've yet to connect any one band on this trip yet, but Dave Mathews is running in first place right now, partly because I believe he's from here.
Today is the last day we have three games in three different time slots. Tomorrow moves to four games a day with two running at the same time. After eight more days, there's a couple of rest days for the tournament, but we will still be working on the evening show and preparing for the quarter finals.
The teams should be playing more all out soccer and that should be more entertaining as well.

There's no doubt that this is a world-wide event. Here's a shot of the Master Control room that distributes the signals from the remotes to the International Broadcast Center (IBC).
Oddly enough, the girl in the foreground was watching an Angelina Jolie movie on her laptop.
I understand, I understand.

Father's Day 2010

It's a beautiful morning here in Johannesburg, the sun is shining and it's not too windy.  The pre-game has started and the announcers are showing pictures of their kids.
Several people have asked me if I have kids, it's odd for me because I usually don't get that question. I'm sure because today is Father's Day and I'm with a lot of people that don't know me that well, it's a reasonable question.
I think I'll talk about my Dad today! I am fortunate enough to be in South Africa today probably because of the lessons my father taught me. Always an extremely hard worker, he taught me the value and merits of doing your best and that the rewards would come.
Treat people fair and most likely, they will return the favor. And probably the most important lesson he gave me was, when you are faced with challenges, look at them as opportunities to better yourself.
As an orphan, he came from the school of hard knocks and overcame his disadvantages to become a great man and role model.
I thank you for the lessons and am very proud of you! Enjoy the day!
On a more serious note: Paraguay over Slovakia, Italy beats  New Zealand, and Brazil wins over Ivory Coast.

Some days are diamonds, some days the audio board isn't happy.

Time Compression

Today marks the third Saturday in South Africa. When you are working like we are here, time really has no meaning. You lose track of what day it is, and time seems to just flow, sometimes faster, most of the time slower.
Luckily, now the routine is set. Eat, work, sleep. Last night was Friday night and seemed like something to look forward to. But, when you are working Saturday and Sunday, and have a heavier schedule with additional programming on the network during the weekend, the day's just another day.
I watched most of "Alpha Dogs" last night at the hotel. I didn't mean to stay up watching a movie, but it caught my eye and I certainly didn't want to watch the replay of the England game.
So just as when I got booked to work the World Cup in January of 2009 and it seemed like such a long time away, I know as we near July 13, my day to start traveling home, it will approach with increasing speed.
The key is to enjoy the time and the experience while you are in the moment. It's hard to do sometimes but I know eventually, I'll look back fondly for having been here.
Today's picks are the Netherlands over Japan, Ghana over Australia, and Cameroon over Denmark.

The streets are fairly empty at 1:20 AM on the way home.

Las Differencias

Considering the differences between the United States and other places, it really comes down to two things. Shoes and blue jeans.
Without a doubt, Levi Strauss makes the best blue jeans in the world. You may or may not remember after the fall of the Berlin Wall, that jeans where going for around $100 a pair or more. At one point you could even sell your old jeans to be recycled.
Shoes are a little bit different. It mostly has to do with style and as Nike and Adidas are global brands, there aren't that many differences in tennis shoes.
It's the other class, the casual shoe, that there are a vast variety of styles and shapes. Maybe I have too much time to consider these things on the road, but I check out German and Brazilian shoes and I'm a little bit envious. Maybe I can order a pair online.
This morning the van got stopped for a "safety" check. It's a random roadblock where the police talk to the driver, documents are either produced or not, and you either get on your way or not.
It was about 3 minutes in total but I mention it only as an aside to how things are different here.
Easy picks for the teams today: Germany over Serbia, United States over Slovenia, and England over Algeria. My hope is that the U.S. can do what the Mexicans did and create a little more excitement within the studio.
Lastly, you may ask, "How do you get 23 people in a 22 person van?". It's simple, put the little people on the floor.

Meet Alba from Dublin, Ireland, who provides the scenics look on the set. Cheerful, happy, and a Spain supporter all the way!

The Scorecard After the First Round of Games

So I finally took some time to tally up my scorecard over the first 16 games of the World Cup.
My scoring philosophy is that if the game is tied, there is no winner or loser so I don't get penalized for picking a team that ties.
Through the first round, I'm 7 wins and 3 loses. There were 6 ties in the first round. The teams that let me down were Spain (who'd have thought the Swiss would win that one), Cameroon (an African sentimental pick), and Algeria.
I'll keep you up to date as group play continues for another nine days!

A Good Night's Rest!

It's amazing what a good night's rest can do for you especially when you have to be in to work a little earlier than normal.
Today is the last early game at Soccer City! There will continue to be matches at the stadium just down the road from us but they will be in the late afternoon or evening. Why is this important? Because we have to get here early on match days just to avoid the traffic and gridlock.
Typically, on a no game day, we get to the IBC in around 17 minutes. Today we left two hours earlier than normal and it took roughly 35 minutes. The joys of travel!
There was a birthday party at the hotel last night and the studio crew arrived at the hotel around 1:30 AM. I went straight to bed after I discovered the internet wasn't functioning (no checking email when the wireless is down).
It was great! A full night's sleep and I'm ready to go.

I even had a little time this morning to go on a safari with the camera crew. Meet Vince, Frank, and Amy! Cameradistas that are the best!
Picks for today include: Argentina beats Korea, Nigeria over Greece, and Mexico wins over France!!

Eating and Transportation

I seem to have several themes that run through the blog and eating is one of them. I wasn't really sure what I was expecting before I got here, but the fact that you eat lunch and dinner in the same place for over a month, and breakfast in the hotel for over a month, makes eating pretty boring.
I'm not snacking a lot between meals, so I think I'm losing weight. Not a bad side effect of being bored with the selections.
Today though, I spied something I think Sean would love and I may just have to try it. Tomato flavored Fritos. Who knew they made such a thing!

Another interesting situation is moving people back and forth everyday from the hotel to the IBC. There are also field units staying at the hotel and they have their own armada of vans, along with crews working a second location called Melrose Arch somewhere downtown.
Logistically a nightmare, there are scheduled bus runs for the media and they are spot on. The mornings are pretty good, leaving at the end of the night is more difficult. The buses have stopped running by then and you are trying to get the entire studio crew in a few vans. The vans were having to make multiple runs back and forth but things have settled down and gotten much better.
On one of these nights, I got to ride in the Mercedes SUV with the producer, Fernando. He was very excited not to be in the van.
Today's picks are simple: Chile over Honduras because the Chile flag looks a lot like the Texas flag, Spain over Switzerland, and Uruguay over South Africa. Although I'd love for Bafana Bafana to prevail, South America, not ZA, is the soccer powerhouse.

Chilly at Last

So the weather has finally changed and I got to get my big coat out today. It's been in the 60's during the day and quite comfortable but last night a front blew in and this morning it's in the low 40's.
The week finally caught up with me and there were several times yesterday when I was struggling to stay awake during the day.
We got out a little early last night and didn't have to be in until 11AM this morning but I still find myself waking up around 8AM.
The big news on Skynews out of London is that there is pressure to ban the vuvelas (the horns the fans blow) because it's annoying both the players, fans, and viewers of the matches. If you've watched at home, there's a underlying noise that sounds like a hornet's nest, a constant blaring.
Of course the British also put a spin about the health risks as a lot of spit eventually comes out the other end. This will certainly be on the top of my list to follow. I figure I should go ahead and buy a few before they become collector's items.
I'll be tallying my score card later this afternoon and have a reporting of my World Cup picks to this point.
Today is an easy one...Slovakia over New Zealand, Brazil over North Korea, and Portugal over the Ivory Coast. I've learned that being sentimental to the African teams, i.e. Ivory Coast, is not going to get me many victories.

Oh No! I'm Acclimating...

I finally got a little rest last night after an extremely long day. As I might have mentioned in an earlier post, I'm trying to learn a little Zulu as most of the hotel staff, and other people we interact with around the IBC, speak something other than English.
Of course, native South Africans sort of have an English accent and certain words and phrases can have different connotations. Take care for instance really means watch out. It's more of a warning.
Yesterday, I spend the day in the studio for all of the segments for all three games. That's seven or eight hours. In visiting with the makeup guy, we talked about the city, places and things to do. We may have some time towards the end of the month to spend a few hours in the city.
This morning when I walked in he said, "Howsit". I had read about this greeting, but it's the first time anyone has used it. I'm in the inner circle now!
Today's picks are Netherlands over Denmark, Cameroon over Japan, and Italy over Paraguay. One hour to pregame!

Hey look, it's grafico operator fantastico Jenilee with Zakumi and Stig.

Please Pass on the Left

Good afternoon from Johannesburg! I'm a little late posting today because we've had a busy morning but my picks today include Algeria, Ghana, and Germany.
Since we drive on the right side of the road and most of the rest of the world drives on the left, interesting things happen when you meet people in the hall.
We tend to slide to the right, everyone else slides to the left, you end up doing the jig back and forth. Just an interesting aside from the bottom of the world.
We are now falling into a routine, day in and day out, and I made the mistake of looking at the calender and remembering I only have five more weeks! We will end this week (working all seven days) with about 104 hours. Divide by seven, you get the idea.
In the morning I'll give you a little more info on how my picks are going.

Predictions for June 12, 2010

After a 16.5 hour day yesterday... I don't have a lot to say, not just yet. But a quick note for todays predictions....
South Korea beats Greece
Argentina beats Nigeria
and in a repeat of the 1950 miracle.... the United States wins over England 3-2

More to follow later in the day! Plus pictures....

Game 2 France vs. Uruguay

Just to keep my predictions on the record, I will pick France to win this game.
Fernando doesn't care, Zach is going Uruguay, and Scott's with me picking the home of Le Tour.

Low Pressure Weather on a High Pressure Day

Let the games begin!! We've been waiting for this day, some for four years, me for a year and a half. The weather is crisp, dare I say, slightly chilly and overcast. It will now be nice to go into the second phase of the job, having three games a day for the next ten days after the first two kickoff this afternoon. 

A regular routine is welcomed. 

Last night after the concert, it took us about forty-five minutes to get back to the hotel. Transportation as the late crew is always a challenge. 

On the sports side, we have Mexico going against host South Africa, France against Uruguay. The tape guys have picked Mexico 3-1 or 2-1, I'm going with the upset and picking South Africa. What I know that they don't is that the referee is calling his first international match at this level. The pressure should have him call the game in favor of the 92,000 fan from home.

Nevertheless, Viva la Mexico!!!!

Wait! You're Telling Me It's Winter

Good afternoon from Johannesburg! What had been a week of sunshine and warm temperatures changed overnight to cooler weather with a little wind.
We completed a week in the country and are left with five to go. I think it's going to be easier to count down weeks instead of days.
Tonight is concert night and then the games begin. It will be nice to get into a routine that will be fairly full each day.
Starting tomorrow morning, there will also be within the blog, a section which has our predictions on the upcoming games. If you aren't interested, don't waste your time reading but I'll title the entries so you know which ones those are.

I leave you today with the downtown skyline of Johannesburg taken from the bus. Notice the Nike "Write The Future" ad on the whole side of the building.

Tape Guys Are Nice People...Sometimes

We are tribal in nature, television people. Moving from city to city and job to job, we go where we are needed. It's currently day seven already!
The tape room here at the IBC is nice, has a bit of room to move around, and the crack team of Zach, Scott, and Fernando to keep things in check.
When I need a little pick me up, I head to the tape room. A new joke, an old horror story, all can be found in the tape room.
We are still in rehearsals, but the games start in just a few days. I will try to provide analysis as the tournament progresses.
This photo above was taken from the crew bus on the way to the IBC. Because of a traffic jam, we actually got to ride around the outskirts of Soweto. It is a third world city and you can see a very small tent city on the way to work everyday. We will find out very shortly what traffic will be like when there is a game at Soccer City. I have the feeling we will not be pleased.

Another Beautiful Day in Johannesburg

Greetings from the bottom of the world... well close enough. It's amazing what a full night of sleep will do for you. Yesterday I made my first visit to the IBC and it's amazing. A lot of media is represented in a compressed space...don't worry, there will be more about that in the next few days.
I got my credentials, went to an extended safety meeting, and then began working setting up two switchers along with Mike, the other technical director. One Kayak and one Kalypso for those of you in the biz.
Rehearsals and blocking start today so things are moving slowly but surely.
A short update but I'm writing right before the bus leaves so I best be on my way. Pictures tomorrow I promise.
By the way... the USA won a friendly match yesterday against Australia 2 - 1. That makes my morning brighter!!

Welcome Home, Well at least for 42 Days

Hello from South Africa! After a very long flight through London, I landed last night at 9:00 PM and got to the hotel around midnight.

I’ve got a schedule for the first week and it looks like we will be very busy with rehearsals and technical sessions including a practice game. More on that to follow in the upcoming days.

The maxi-shower lived up to it’s billing and I may spend long sessions in a hot shower. Also, my first Skype went through to Sean. I will be glad that we can talk on a daily basis as I didn’t get everything taken care of before I left.

So it’s off to the IBC (International Broadcast Center) which is right next to Soccer City, the stadium hosting the first and final games of the 2010 World Cup.

There will be a more entertaining and coherent post this evening after I get a little more sleep!