It’s hard to believe that Christmas is a little more than a week away! What better way to celebrate this holiday season than by having an unprecedented amount of staff and resources in Canada? Yikes…
It is remarkably cold in Winnipeg and Montreal, but our crews up there are doing the best they can to provide top shelf transmission and commentary services for a couple of big-time fights.
We’ll start in Winnipeg at the Bell MTS Place, where Mike Sheehan, Joe Cox, Tracy Michaels and project manager Garrett Hunt will be on hand for another UFC Fight Night this weekend.
UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler faces off against former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos in the headliner. The winner of this match will earn a title shot against current UFC champion Tyron Woodley. The co-headliner for the evening’s events is former WEC featherweight champion and two-time UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo facing Josh Emmett. The guys are going to keep the trucks running until they get back over the border and into warmer weather on Sunday!
Across the tundra at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec, project managers Michael Hollander and Eric Hall are working with Steve Hagerty, Mike Howley and engineer in charge (EIC) Mike Lemieux for HBO and Golden Boy’s broadcasts of Billy Joe Saunders (28-0) of the UK against David Lemieux (35-3, no relation to Mike). Mark Huss rounds out our ace crew by providing ringside commentary services for international broadcasters. This fight is live on HBO Saturday night, and on television screens around the world. Stay warm, fellas!
Conditions were a little better in Southern California earlier this week, where John Bright and Mark Huss commuted all the way to our Van Nuys office with our K34 production truck. With guidance from project manager David Gallardo, Mark and John downlinked a clean feed of the Horn vs. Corcoran fight taking place in Brisbane, Australia. Our crew here added graphics and commentary with Top Rank’s production team so that we could uplink a fully produced version of the fight for viewers around the world. The main event took place around 4 a.m. local time, which made for a long night. But they got it done!
That very same morning, Chris Hovden had our Sprinter truck parked at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, California, for the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Award Nominations. The Screen Actors Guild honors achievements in film and television from the previous year and presents the winners at an annual event in January. Chris was there at 3:30 a.m. local time getting ready for the early morning announcement.
From there Chris took a siesta and made his way to Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio for even more boxing. This was the Golden Boy on ESPN bout featuring Diego De La Hoya against Jose Salgado. The three-channel multiplexed transmission is becoming old hat for Chris, as he delivered feeds to ESPN, ESPN Deportes and international boxing fans worldwide.
One of this weekend’s biggest events is taking place at the TD Garden in Boston. WWE Clash of the Champions is the last pay-per-view (PPV) event of the 2017 WWE Season. The explosive fight card includes AJ Styles vs. Jinder Mahal, Breezango vs. the Bludgeon Brothers and Zack Ryder vs. Mojo Rawley as well as the Lumberjack Match for the Smackdown Women’s Championship between Natalya and Charlotte Flair, the Triple Threat Match for the United States championship between Baron Corbin, Bobby Roode and Dolph Ziggler, and finally the Fatal Four-Way for the Smackdown Tag Team championship with The Usos vs. The New Day vs. Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable vs. Rusev and Aiden English. WWE neophytes Nick Ray and Chris Golden join veterans Zane Michaels and Logan Schinto for this huge show. Just a few more non-PPV WWE events left on our schedule for 2017, and then we’re right back at it next year. The WWE action never stops for PSSI Global Services!
That’s a lot of fighting on our schedules, but we have our share of traditional sports this weekend, as well. Hoops for days!
Dennis Smith is in K44 at West Virginia University Coliseum in Morgantown, West Virginia, where the Wheeling Jesuit Cardinals (8-2) take on the West Virginia Mountaineers (9-1) on Saturday in a men’s NCAA college basketball exhibition game. Dave Buckman heads to Charles E. Smith Center at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. with K46 as the the Miami Hurricanes (8-0) face the George Washington Colonials (5-5) on Saturday in NCAA basketball action as well.
John Poss will steer the Alabama truck back to H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, Texas, this Sunday for more NBA G League basketball action when the Canton Charge (6-7) face the Austin Spurs (9-7).
Rick Kolinek and K22 will be on hand on Friday at the Standard Bar & Grill in Chicago, Illinois, for an official Bulls Road Watch party and to catch every minute when the Chicago Bulls take on the Milwaukee Bucks in NBA action.
Meanwhile, Dave Mitchell and the Pittsburgh truck are heading to Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to cover AHL action when the Chicago Wolves take on the Grand Rapid Griffins on Friday night. The Griffins have been the victors at two out of their last three meetings with the Wolves. Will this game tie up the odds, or will the Wolves head home from Grand Rapids with their tails between their legs?
Can you believe it’s college football bowl season already? PSSI Global Services is proud to be providing extensive transmission services for our friends at ESPN, and there are a LOT of games left to be played.
Our bowl season starts with Brian Blomstrom and the C36 truck at Dreamstyle Stadium in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Saturday for the 12th annual Gildan New Mexico Bowl. This year’s game features the matchup between the Marshall University Thundering Herd (7-5) and the Colorado State Rams (7-5). Brian will be there providing a 10-channel multiplexed transmission for full production back at ESPN headquarters in Connecticut. Then it’s time for Brian to take some well-deserved time off!
Marty Smitherman will be at Camping World Stadium in Orlando on Saturday with K38 for the third annual AutoNation Cure Bowl, where the Georgia State Panthers (6-5) take on the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (6-6).
Also down in Florida, we have Mike Howley coming next week to thaw out post-Canada and provide ESPN with yet another multichannel “at-home” transmission. Mike and broadcast sports EIC Rick Ball will be in our C31 truck at the Boca Raton Bowl at FAU Soccer Stadium. The game is live Tuesday afternoon, as the home favorite Florida Atlantic Owls take on the Akron Zips.
About that same time, John Bright will be in Frisco, Texas, at Toyota Stadium for the Frisco Bowl, where it’s Louisiana Tech vs. SMU. John’s in his old truck, the CK48, providing a seven-channel multiplexed transmission via satellite. John, too, will head home shortly thereafter for some much-deserved rest.
Last but not least, back here in Los Angeles we will be on hand for Fox’s live production of “A Christmas Story.” John Jennings is setting up his truck at Warner Bros. Studios tomorrow for Sunday’s exciting broadcast. Matthew Broderick narrates this classic Christmas movie-turned-musical tale in the three-hour extravaganza featuring other big actors, such as Chris Diamantopoulos, Jane Krakowski, child actor Andy Walken as Ralphie and SNL’s Maya Rudolph as his mother. Just around the corner from John, Wes Hill’s setting up a truck of his own for a special live commercial that will air during the Christmas Story broadcast. We are all so excited to be a part of this festive night on Fox.
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