Learfield Sports Operations: Then and Now

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The Learfield Sports Operations Center is a real thing of beauty. Great equipment, well designed. A really nice place to produce sports broadcasts. It wasn’t always so. My recent photo spelunk turned up this shot taken in the basement of Learfield’s former headquarters, an old house on McCarty Street. Kim Steiner (the guy in the photo) was about 5′ 7″.

In 1984, we began producing the broadcasts for Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Kansas. We already had the rights to Missouri and were producing those broadcasts in a studio shared with The Missourinet. Because there was absolutely no more room for studios, the engineers jammed some small mixing consoles into a corner space in the basement (where the engineers also lived).

Cramped, dusty and… dangerous. You could always recognize the new guys by the contusions and lacerations on their foreheads.

Internet passes radio as “most essential” media

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“Less than one of five Americans (17%) say radio is their most important medium for information and entertainment. That’s down from 26% in 2002. What’s changing is obvious – the Internet is quickly becoming a turn-to medium. One-third of Americans say it’s now the most important — compared to 36% who pick TV. A big jump from 2002 when just 20% said the Web. A new Edison Media Research report also shows the Internet and TV have swapped places as the “most cool and exciting” media with 38% now picking the Web versus 35% for TV. Edison’s report also finds newspapers are most-often picked as the “least essential” medium by 35% of consumers. It’s followed by the Internet with 24%. Both radio and TV had the fewest mentions at 18%.”– Inside Radio

Blurring the lines between fan and sportswriter

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Thanks to Edward for pointing to this story on the Kansas City Star website about sports blogging:

Meet the new American sports fan — an Internet-induced mix of sportswriter, play-by-play announcer, talking head and regular guy. His name is Will McDonald and, from his one-bedroom apartment in Cleveland, the University of Iowa doctoral student, painstakingly records, on his blog, the comings and goings of each Kansas City Royals game.

For the sports world — the fans, the players, the leagues and the teams — the rise of the blogger has raised complicated questions about broadcasting rights, how to reach an audience, and where the sports fan stops and the journalist begins.

The lines have blurred so much, in fact, that the New York Islanders plan to give bloggers their own box next season. So much that the NCAA escorted a reporter out of the press box two weeks ago for blogging a live baseball game. So blurred that sports teams are holding meetings about how to handle the rise of the blogger, and no one seems to know what comes next.

I could be wrong, but I think the Islanders are on the right track.

YouTube on AppleTV

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I downloaded the YouTube update to AppleTV last night and watched some videos on the big (bigger) screen. Stupid videos are still stupid. Shitty quality videos still look shitty. And the good ones look pretty darned good. Watching “Internet video” on the big screen in the living room takes a little getting used to.

I had the sense that I was getting a peek at the future. Thousands of videos, downloaded from the Internet to my little AppleTV box. No idea what the business model will look like but this is disruptive technology. If I was the guy responsible for “scheduling” programs on a “TV network,” I’d be nervous.

You’ll find a real review at engadget.

YouTube is now live on Apple TV

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"Apple today announced that YouTube is now live on Apple TV.
Users can download the free software update using Apple TV’s built-in
software update feature, and then navigate through YouTube’s familiar
video browsing categories or search for specific videos. YouTube
members can also log-in to their YouTube accounts on Apple TV to view
and save their favorite videos." [Podcasting News]

Haven’t tried this yet, but I will. Stay tuned. Related story.

“Do you know who I am?”

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The woman smiled, waiting patiently. My mind is frantically processing data, running through thousands of images and names. I bullshit for time…

"Hey, I almost didn’t recognize you! Man, how long has it been?"

But people can always tell.

"You have no idea who I am, do you?"

(Click!)

"Debbie! Debbie Elting!"

Debbie and I attended Southeast Missouri State University in the late 60’s. Worked on college plays together, partied together. Haven’t seen each other in 30 years. Turns out we’ve been going to the same dentist all these years. She drives down to Cape from St. Louis, I drive down from Jefferson City. The staff thought it would be nice to arrange a surprise reunion and scheduled our check-up’s on the same day.

The next time a woman I don’t recognize asks, "Do you know who I am?, I’m going to say –without hesitation– "You’re Jennifer Anniston. What are you doing here?"

Self-portrait

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Self-portraitDeLoss asks: “Whatever happened to that picture of you staring at a monitor? The background was dark and you were quite close to the screen, as if trying to detect something. I always thought that was a good shot for your
blog.”

Me too. When I started blogging, I thought I should include a photo but didn’t want to look like more of a dumb-ass than necessary. So I sat my camera (on timer) on a stack of books, turned off the lights and came up with this. Still pretty much how I see myself.

Missouri’s Gaming Lab

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Met up for coffee with old friend (and former Learfielder) LeAnn McCarthy last week. She’s a PIO (Public Information Officer) for the Missouri Gaming Commission. I think I knew this is the governmental entity responsible for some kind of oversight of Missouri’s casinos, but that’s about it. As LeAnn explained some of the things the commission does, I became more interested and when she told me they have this room where they test and measure and check-out all of the gaming devices, I asked if I could get a look.

It’s called the “Gaming Lab” and it’s filled with what I (a non-gambler) would call “electronic slot machines.” As well as a crap table, a roulette table, and a couple of Black Jack tables. [flickr set]

Electronic Gaming Devices

LeAnn introduced me to Clarence Greeno, the Gaming Enforcement Manager for the commission who was kind enough to answer a few questions and explain some of the commissions many functions and responsibilities.

Clarence showed me another, smaller, room that was filled with surveillance monitors that displayed real-time images from above the gaming tables in the first room. This is exactly like the gear the casinos use (and you’ve seen in countless Las Vegas heist movies).

Several large metal cabinets were filled with chips, dice, playing cards and a variety of scientific-looking instruments for measuring and weighing it all.

Missouri has eleven casinos and the Missouri Gaming Commission is tasked with seeing that the games, the people run them and the people who play them are all on the up-and-up.

I regret not being more prepared but I had no idea of what’s involved. Our chat lasted about half an hour but there was easily another half hour of interesting stuff I missed after turning off the recorder: RFID chips in larger denomination casino chips; ever more sophisticated games designed to appeal to younger players that have grown up with computer games; “Minority Report” games that recognize individual players and “market” to them based on their personal interests and history.

“Hello, Mr. Mays. Back for another run at the Black Jack table. We’ve got a couple of new games that we think you might enjoy. Shall I reconfigure my interface so you can take a look?”

My thanks to Clarence Greeno and LeAnn for their hospitality and a fascinating tour. Before I left, I urged them to consider a weekly podcast about gaming in Missouri and the commission’s role in seeing that everyone plays fair.