As we approach the end of 2018, PSSI Global Services shows no signs of slowing.
Let’s start at our engineering headquarters in Las Vegas, NV, where we assembled a few of our engineers for a presentation by the Nevada Department of Transportation. Two State Troopers spent the better part of the morning showing our drivers best practices for pre- and post-trip vehicle inspections and other rules of the road. Bridgette Blomstrom, our Resource Manager (and DOT compliance czar), also arranged for a representative from our independent safety consulting firm to join the meeting. PSSI Global Services prides itself on its impeccably-maintained fleet and safety-conscious drivers. We rack up a lot of miles across the country, and we always do so safely and in full accordance with state and federal regulations.
There wasn’t much of a lull between the college football regular season and bowl season. While we prepare to provide massive transmission services for the Big 6 on the ESPN networks, we are keeping plenty busy across the country with bowl games.
Justin Roszak and the NT33 truck will be at Camping World Stadium in downtown Orlando on Saturday for the 2018 AutoNation Cure Bowl. The Tulane Green Wave takes on the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns in the Cure Bowl, which promotes awareness and benefits the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and we are proud to work this event with our friends at CBS Sports Network.
Out West, Wes Hill and the C15 will be at Dreamstyle Stadium at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque on Saturday for the 13th Annual Gildan New Mexico Bowl, where the Utah State Aggies take on the North Texas Mean Green. The winner will take home the coveted and very unique Native American clay pot that was handmade by Marcellus and Elizabeth Media from the Zia Pueblo. Wes will be providing a 10-channel “at-home” transmission for ESPN, who will produce their show at their facility in Connecticut.
Also for ESPN, Mike Sheehan will take C32 to McKinney, TX on Saturday for the 2018 College Football Division II Championship game between Valdosta State Blazers, winners of the Gulf South Conference, and the Ferris State Bulldogs, winners of the GLIAC Conference. What an exciting weekend!
Dave Meyer and K20 will head back to Roos Field at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, WA, where the Maine Black Bears take on the Eastern Washington Eagles in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision semi-finals on Saturday. Both teams have offenses in the top 10, so expect to see a lot of points on the scoreboard!
We also have a couple of basketball games on the schedule this week.
On Thursday Mark Huss and the LA Sprinter were at the UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo, CA for the NBA G-League game between the Capitol City Go-Go and the South Bay Lakers.
Nick Ray and the Wolfcoach will be at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT on Sunday for the 2018 Air Force Reserve Men’s Basketball Holiday Showcase, presented by Citi. There’s a slew of exciting inter-conference games at this great event, including the University of Rhode Island Rams versus the West Virginia Mountaineers, the University of Dayton Flyers battling the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricanes, and the Quinnipiac Bobcats facing the Drexel Dragons.
A little winter golf in Florida: Chris Golden and the C24 are at the Ritz Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, FL this week through Sunday for the 2018 PNC Father-Son Challenge. This annual 2-player team golf tournament features PGA Tour and Champions Tour golfers who have won a major championship and their sons (and daughters and grandsons), all competing for the Willie Park Trophy.
There’s an awful lot of fighting on our schedules this holiday season!
Dave Buckman and the Columbia truck will be at the Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City on Friday for MMA Cage Fury Fighting Championships 71. The main event will feature Alexander Keshtov battling Andre Bernardo for the Bantamweight Title, and Champion Featherweight Pat Sabatini defending his title against Da’Mon Blackshear.
Up the coast from AC, there’s a huge fight brewing at Madison Square Garden. Mike Howley’s bringing the CK25 mobile teleport into the city to meet up with EIC Tracy Michaels for the much-anticipated matchup between Canelo Alvarez of Mexico and Rocky Fielding of Great Britain for the Super Middleweight title. Working closely with our partners at Aldea and DAZN, we will provide extensive transmission and captioning services via the PSSI International Teleport for the domestic and international distribution of both the weigh-in and the big fight itself. Blake Blomstrom will also spend his Saturday at the Garden, as he will be providing unilateral transmission services for a Mexican broadcaster. Big thanks, as well, to PSSI News Group’s Javier Padilla for lending a hand with NYC truck logistics, which are always a challenge.
There’s fightin’ down in Texas, too. John May’s taking the CK48 mobile teleport to the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, TX for Top Rank Boxing on ESPN. Gilberto Ramirez Sanchez takes on Jesse Hart for the WBO World Super Middleweight Title on Friday night, and John’s there to provide a multiplexed transmission for ESPN and ESPN +.
Things are little chillier up in Milwaukee, WI, where Jim Flowers and project manager Garrett Hunt will join our friends at Concom for UFC on Fox, live from the Fiserv Forum on Saturday night. The main event will feature Kevin Lee versus Al laquinta, and the co-main events will include a lightweight matchup between Edson Barboza and a bantamweight bout between Dan Hooker and Rob Font and Sergio Pettis. Garrett and Jim will handle the domestic and international distribution of these fights and all the undercards.
The weather’s a little nicer in Hawaii, where Rick Ball and Todd Harvey are setting up at the Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, HI for Bellator 212 and Bellator 213 this weekend. It’s the “Salute the Troops” show on Friday, when undefeated Lightweight champion Brent Primus takes on former champion Michael Chandler in a long-awaited rematch. All servicemen and women and their families will enjoy free admission to this exciting night of MMA. Rick and Todd are back at Blaisdell Center Saturday night for Bellator 213, an even bigger show! Women’s flyweight champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane defends her title against former UFC strawweight title challenger Valerie Letourneau, and ex-UFC champion Lyoto Machida, in his Bellator debut, takes on Rafael Carvalho in a middleweight bout.
Back on the mainland, it’s a big weekend for WWE. Driver Joe Kelderhouse got some maintenance done on the CK30 tractor-trailer in Las Vegas after Tuesday’s Smackdown show at the T-Mobile Arena, and now he’s on his way to the SAP Center in San Jose for this weekend’s Tables, Ladders, and Chairs pay-per-view. Zane Michaels and project manager Logan Schinto will be on hand to manage extensive domestic and international transmission services, which will include monitoring and re-distribution at the PSSI International Teleport in Pittsburgh. From there the WWE team heads to Sacramento for Monday Night RAW and then Fresno for Tuesday’s Smackdown show.
Awards show season is just around the corner! Chris Hovden took the LA Sprinter to the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, CA in the wee hours on Wednesday for the Screen Actor’s Guild Award nominations. We are already preparing for the SAG Awards ceremony in late January, an event for which we’ve provided domestic and international transmission services for many years.
On Saturday and Sunday Chris Hovden is back in the LA Sprinter in Huntington Beach, CA, where 36 of the world’s best skateboarders will compete in the 2018 Street League Skateboarding World Tour Finals at the Vans Off the Wall Skatepark.
John Jennings will bring his earplugs and the K19 truck to Exposition Park in Los Angeles, CA this weekend for coverage of the Rolling Loud Festival, the world’s largest hip-hop festival. Post Malone and and Li’l Wayne are the featured performers on Friday, and Cardi B and Li’l Uzi Vert will grace the stage on Saturday night. John will be there for the headliners as well as dozens more acts over two long days of music. You can watch along with John on the rollingloud.com live stream.
Last but not least, in a land far, far away, John Bright and Keith Valeri are setting up in the same city as the future Miss Universe. Keith and John have been in Bangkok, Thailand for a few days to work with local vendors to provide worldwide transmission services for the 67th annual Miss Universe Pageant, which will air live in the States on Fox Sunday night. This exciting event will be hosted yet again by comedian Steve Harvey, and will feature contestants from 94 countries, including Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and Mongolia for the first time ever.
There’s no doubt about it: PSSI Global Services gets around! Much more to come next week and through the holidays, including our final newsletter of 2018. Stay tuned!