Fall is in the air around the country as we head toward a busy Thanksgiving weekend. As the temperature falls, the football action is heating up!
Let’s start off with some NFL football, as our production and transmission service platform for NFL Network’s live tailgate show picks back up this weekend. Blake Blomstrom and Dennis Smith are working together again on this dynamic show, this time live from Ford Field in Detroit, MI. Blake and Dennis will be up early on Sunday for a live show from the parking lot in advance of the game between the Lions and the Dallas Cowboys.
Yet another stop on the Pat McAfee Show tour: this time Dave “Mitch” Mitchell was our man with DAZN’s road show. Mitch was live on Wednesday and Thursday near a hotel in downtown Pittsburgh. Next week we’re in Atlanta with the same crew, with Steve Toth at the helm.
As soon as he wrapped up in Pittsburgh, Mitch hit the road toward Huntington, WV, where he’ll be the primary transmission pathway for the game between the Thundering Herd and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs on Friday night, live from Marshall University’s Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
No games on Saturday or Sunday for Mitch, but he’ll be back in Morgantown on Monday for more Mountaineer hoops, live from WVU Coliseum.
The SEC on CBS game of the week is in Auburn this weekend, and of course that’s where you’ll find senior engineer, Rick Ball. He’s all set at Jordan-Hare Stadium, where the Tigers will host the Georgia bulldogs in another huge SEC game on Saturday afternoon.
It’s a doubleheader for SEC football on CBS, and Chris Golden is our man for the earlier game. Chris is all set up at the University of Missouri’s Faurot Field, where the Tigers host the #11 Florida Gators on Saturday.
Fox’s 4K game of the week is back at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, IA, where the Iowa St. Cyclones host the Texas Longhorns on Saturday. Ames is almost a second home for 4K guru Rick Varney, and this week he’s joined by his old friend, Steve Toth, on the second truck. That’s two weekly UHD transmissions for our friends at Fox Sports 1, a routine we’re proud to be a part of.
Another big game and big transmission for us down at T. Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, OK. There John May has the CK48 mobile teleport all set for the game between Oklahoma State and the Kansas Jayhawks. This is one of Fox’s “home run” productions, so John will be pushing quite a lot of data out of his antenna to get all the cameras back to Fox in LA.
Back to the Big 10, where Steve Hagerty’s all set up at the Big House in Ann Arbor, MI. In-state rivals Michigan State will be in town to take on the Wolverines, and Steve will make sure all the action finds its way to Fox.
We’re happy to have ESPN on our schedules, as well. Steve Chaisson’s getting ready at Canvas Stadium in Ft. Collins, CO, where the Colorado State Rams host Air Force on Saturday. Steve’s doing a 10-channel “at-home” transmission for our friends at ESPN, who will get the cameras from Steve’s transmission and produce the broadcast at their Connecticut headquarters.
More Army football, as we’re handling yet another Army home game for our friends at CBS Sports Network. Mike Lemieux’s back from his Saudi Arabian adventure and getting set up at Michie Stadium in West Point for Saturday’s game against VMI.
Dave Buckman’s enjoying a little high school football postseason action. He’ll be at Bald Eagle Area High School’s Alumni Stadium on Saturday for Pennsylvania High School Football playoffs on Saturday afternoon.
Down in Florida, Mike Howley’s covering the University of South Florida versus the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday. Another game that’s live on CBS Sports Network.
Quite a few Pac-12 games on the schedule this weekend!
David Meyer’s back at it in Corvallis, where Oregon State takes on Arizona State on Saturday night, live on the Fox networks.
Down the road a stretch, John Jennings is up in Berkeley, where the Cal Bears host the USC Trojans on Saturday night, also on Fox.
Joe Cox is back at Rice Eccles Olympic Stadium in Salt Lake City, where the Utes will host the UCLA Bruins as part of Fox’s packed Saturday football lineup.
And also a little Pac-12 hoops! Dave Brin’s in Reno for basketball on CBS Sports Network. The University of Nevada hosts the USC Trojans on Saturday, live from the Lawlor Events Center.
It’s not all sports, of course. Brian Blomstrom’s going to have the CK35 mobile teleport at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas for this weekend’s 2019 Soul Train Awards, live on BET Sunday night. Hosts Tisha Campbell and Tichina Arnold will celebrate all the best artists and albums of 2019 on what is sure to be an entertaining evening.
Wes Hill’s getting a little political in LA this weekend. He’s not too far from his house in Long Beach for Univision’s coverage of the California Democratic Party Endorsing Convention, live from the Long Beach Arena. Saturday’s televised forum will feature eight presidential candidates discussion issues important to Californians, in particular the Latino community.
Meanwhile, Ron Ford’s getting a little religion in Baton Rouge. He’s there for the dedication of the Latter Day Saints dedication of the Baton Rouge Temple, live on Sunday.
We have a lot of talent and resources converging on Atlanta for next week’s Democratic presidential debate. We will be providing extensive production, project management, and transmission services for multiple outlets, including the Washington Post. PSSI News Group will be well-represented in Atlanta, as well, as our friends at CNN will have wall-to-wall coverage. A big recap of our efforts to come in next week’s roundup!
Lots of fighting this weekend. Chris Hovden started things up for us at the Belasco Theater in downtown Los Angeles Thursday night. He was there with the Sprinter for yet another edition of Golden Boy Thursday Night Boxing. Strategic Television project manager, Michael Hollander, wasn’t there in person, but he made sure Chris’s signal got to international licensees, with a stop at the PSSI International Teleport for captioning and turnaround services.
Mike Sheehan’s in Sloan, IA at the WinnaVegas Casino Resort for Showtime Boxing on Friday night. Erik Vegas Ortiz takes on Alberto Palmetta in the main event, which will cap off a night of exciting boxing in Iowa.
We’re fully into the Friday Night SmackDown routine with our friends at WWE and Fox. Nick Ray’s at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia for tonight’s event. Joe Kelderhouse will pilot the CK30 mobile teleport to Boston for Monday Night RAW, where Nick’s our man again at the TD Garden. Then it’s time for another pay-per-view…
Our UFC team is back in Brazil, working alongside our friends at Casablanca Online and Concom to pull off a great international show for MMA fans around the world. Tracy Michaels is taking his tech managing talents international, as he is charge of ensuring the production and transmission crews and equipment are a well-oiled machine. Strategic Television project manager, Garrett Hunt, is joined by UFC veteran, Jim Flowers, to manage multiple transmission pathways in and out of the Ginasio do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo. The PSSI International Teleport is a key part of the UFC Fight Night’s international distribution, from ESPN+ to UFC fans worldwide. Jan Blachowicz faces Ronaldo Souza in the co-main event, with Mauricio Rua taking on Paul Craig in the other main. Our team will handle the weigh-in and all the undercards, as well as the post-event press conferences.
Not quite so far South of the Border, engineers Jose Sanchez and Kevin Spangler are killing it for Golf Channel in Playa del Carmen Quintano, Mexico. Our partners at Telecomm are there for engineering support as our crew transmits the Mayakoba Golf Classic, live from El Camaleon. It’s been raining all week, so Jose and Kevin haven’t gotten poolside very much, and they will be working through Monday to get all the golf in.
Earlier in the week, Rick Ball and Justin Roszak were outside a very swanky hotel in Miami’s South Beach for NASCAR Media Day, providing our friends at NASCAR and NBC with a multiplexed transmission of multiple media feeds. As usual, the PSSI International Teleport was the hub between the remote transmission and NASCAR headquarters, and everything went off without a hitch.
And we will finish up this week with the final race in the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, live on NBC and around the world on Sunday from the Homestead-Miami Speedway. NASCAR veterans Kyle Meyer and Ben Bradshaw are in the C27 mobile teleport for the last time this year, providing the impeccable data and transmission services that NASCAR has come to expect from our team, week in and week out. Congratulations to Kyle, Ben, Jonathan Ayala, our crew at the PSSI International Teleport, and everyone who has made this NASCAR Cup season a success. While all of our attention will be on Sunday’s EcoBoost 400, on Monday we will turn our attention to all the offseason upgrades and preparations for next year with our trusted partners at NASCAR.
That’s it for this week’s roundup! Thank you for reading, sharing, and commenting. More to come next week!