Day 332/365

     Thursday night/day 332 was another night of basketball. The game was between two local Midland rivals, and was pretty exciting. Midland Dow, a team with a perfect record so far this season, kept their record going when they won.

Day 322/365

     Last night/day 322 I got to shoot my first ever college/Big Ten/NCAA basketball game. It was the University of Michigan vs. Michigan State women's basketball matchup, and each team had a former local high school standout. #24 Jenny Ryan who now plays for U of M is a graduate of Saginaw's Nouvel Catholic Central, and MSU's #52 Becca Mills is a graduate of Midland Dow. It was a great game to shoot, with two pretty good teams that made everything interesting. Not to mention the lighting in the arena was fantastic. It'll be hard switching back to high school basketball, but it was an awesome experience all the same. Hopefully I'll get to shoot another one soon!

Day 319/365

     I shot another basketball game Friday night/day 319, which unfortunately wasn't nearly as interesting as the last few I've shot. It had its moments, but ultimately I was a bit disappointed. 

Day 316/365

     Tuesday/day 316 I got to shoot a new antique store in Saginaw, and then a high school basketball doubleheader. Two local Midland rivals played each other, the girls varsity teams followed by the boys. Both games were fun to watch. One of the girls teams had a come-from-beind victory, which is always crazy, and the boys were pretty evenly matched.

Day 312/365

     It's embarrassing how much i've neglected this blog this past week. Things just got away from me I guess, and I apologize. Prepare yourselves for a slew of updates!

     Last Friday/day 312 I shot a local Bay City boys basketball team's first win of the season. Despite their lack of victories, it was a fun game to watch, and the atmosphere was incredible. The further the game went on, more and more fans and players realized that this was the night they'd finally get a win. It was a pretty cool moment to witness.

Day 298/365

     My boss was nice enough to put me on the night shift today since I got back to my apartment extremely late last night after spending time with Jessica in her hotel room in Ann Arbor. I was assigned to cover a boys basketball game. I tend to make a point of showing up early so I make sure I get team rosters and get a decent spot to start shooting from. When I got to tonight's location, the girls varsity game was still going, and the sports reporter that was covering both games asked me if I could get a few quick pictures of the girls game since it was turning out to be a pretty big upset. 

     

     There was some decent playing in both games, but after covering last Friday's craziness, (day 291), every other matchup just pales in comparison.

Day 291/365

 

     On Friday/day 291 I got to cover the biggest basketball rivalry in Saginaw, and quite possibly the biggest in the state as well: Saginaw High vs. Arthur Hill. It. Was. Insane. At least 1,600 people packed into Arthur Hill's gym, and local celebrities like Michigan State's basketball coach Tom Izzo and Saginaw High alumni/Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley were in attendance. It's the showdown of the season, and it was easy to see why. 

     I've loved basketball for a long time. I've been to enough games and played it enough times that I've seen amazing plays made by amazing athletes. Most, if not all, of those pale in comparison to the moves I saw in this game. Incredible doesn't seem to to them justice. 

    It did get a bit dicey towards the end of the game. Both schools are in the heart of the inner city of Saginaw, where there are high crime rates and strong gang activity. Metal detectors are built into the entrance of both schools and anyone who set off Arthur Hill's Friday night was searched. Towards the end of the game, a few technicals were called on Saginaw High, and a few players from both teams almost came to blows over it. This resulted in the majority of the people in attendance trying to rush the court. Security and the police managed to keep them at bay for the most part. I ended up with an elbow to the face and my body twisted in two different directions, but it could've been much worse all things considered. All in all though, it was a great game, and made for a great night.

Day 221/365

     Last night/Friday was a football night. This is the first week of high school playoffs in Michigan, and the game I covered last night was between two Saginaw high schools. One of the schools was making their first playoff appearance for the first time ever in the school's history, but unfortunately they lost pretty badly. It was quite an exciting game though, so much so that I was literally one step away from getting knocked out at one point when a defender tackled a receiver on the sidelines. Luckily the TV cameramen had left already...