Michael in Los Angeles

The End...For Now

2009-12-17T15:37:00.000-08:00

The end of my semester in Los Angeles has finally arrived, and I will be going home for a few weeks on Sunday. However, I will be returning to Los Angeles to continue my broadcasting for the Ontario Reign and a position with the Los Angeles Clippers of the NBA as an Inside Sales Executive.

What a semester this was! I have no doubt about it that this was my most favorite semester of college and one of the best experiences of my life. Everyone was telling me before I came that it would be a fantastic time. However, no one's words could compare with the time that I had here, and I am truly grateful for it all!

The best part of being here were my internships. The Los Angeles Kings are a great organization to work for, and I loved every minute of my time there. A big thank you to Jeremy Zager for hiring me, along with Nick Nickson, Daryl Evans, John Traconis, Bob Miller, Jim Fox, and everyone else with the organization that made this experience as great as it was. From watching the games to learning from the broadcasters and everything in between, I am so happy I interned with the Kings.

Citi Cable 3 gave me an opportunity to write, report, and produce content that would air on a weekly show, "The Sports Desk." To get on-air and report on what I wanted was a great experience for me. I am so grateful to Bonnie Prickitt, our host, for hiring me, as well as to all the coaches and athletes who allowed me into interview them. You all made the experience extremely worthwhile!

Finally, the Ontario Reign gave me the chance to broadcast games for a sport I love. I have absolutely enjoyed having this opportunity and look forward to continuing my work with the team. The people at the Reign are great to work with and really value my role.

There were so many great activities I took part in while here in Los Angeles, and it was really hard for me to narrow them down to my Top 10, but here they are (I've added links to my blog posts about it):

10) Hollywood Sign Hike and Venice Beach
9) Wednesday Tradition
8) The Price is Right and Family Feud
7) San Francisco/UFL Trip
6) Knicks-Lakers
5) Yankees-Angels ALCS and Yankees-Angels Reg. Season
4) Six Flags Magic Mountain
3) Green Day Concert
2) Blink 182/Fall Out Boy/All-American Rejects Concert
1) Trip to California

I am not sure how much I will be able to post when I go home or when I return. However, I will definitely keep things updated from time-to-time. If you are interested in tickets to a Los Angeles Clippers game, feel free to contact me! My email address is michaelhpolak@gmail.com...See you all soon!

Jackie Landers Profile

2009-12-11T21:19:00.000-08:00

This past week, I was able to interview South High volleyball star Jackie Landers as well as her mom and dad, and put together a nice profile piece on Jackie and her career as a Spartan. The final product came out, in my mind, as one of the better packages I have done. I hope you enjoy it!!

Here is the link to this week's episode: Episode 43.09
If you want to skip ahead to my package, the intro begins at 14:27 in the video

As always, let me know your thoughts on the final outcome. I really appreciate any advice, especially on this piece. Jackie was a terrific player and definitely deserved a profile piece like this to be done. She will no doubt have a great college career wherever she ends up!

Reign Highlights

2009-12-08T01:04:00.000-08:00

Hello Again!

I was sent the following video from one of my co-workers with the Ontario Reign, Robert Salvucci. He works on filming some footage, including the pregame "Coach's Corner" segment. Robbie took the B2 Network feed from the game with video and audio and created a highlight segment that is shown on the scoreboard before the game. I hope you enjoy it! Let me know what you think of the goal calls!

Another Crazy Weekend

2009-12-07T18:36:00.000-08:00

Well, once again, I have yet to post in a few days, and that's because I have literally been scrapping for time. This past weekend was chock full of every different internship I have, making life sort of chaotic. In fact, I am writing to you right now from the Staples Center where the Kings are about to play the Flames, and several ICLA students and alumni are in attendance! GO IC!

So, here's a recap of the last few days:

Friday

Went to Torrance for Citi Cable 3 to do some interviews for a profile piece on South High volleyball player Jackie Landers. I got to meet her mom and dad as well as see where they live. The interviews and the package came out fantastic and will be aired on this week's show. Keep an eye out on the blog for a link!

Saturday

The Kings played a 1:00 game against the Blues. The team honored Luc Robitaille before the game for being inducted into the National Hockey League Hall of Fame and gave out Luc bobbleheads to everyone! The game was exciting and went to a shootout, but the Kings lost 5-4.

After, they had about 2 hours to change the arena from hockey to basketball format, and I got to stay and watch the changeover. It was the first time I've seen this, and I must say, it was pretty cool! Here's a glimpse of the change:

The Ice is Covered and the Court Begins to Form

Extra Seats Opened and Court Almost Done

Court All Done

All Set After 2 Hours

Players Take the Court

After, I stayed for most of the Clippers vs. Pacers game which was also exciting and allowed me to complete my goal of seeing each pro sports team in LA (and Anaheim)!

Sunday

The Ontario Reign finally returned home for the first time since November 21st. They played the Victoria Salmon Kings and won in overtime 4-3 in another thrilling game. It was great to get to call another game after such a long layoff, and it was even better because the game was close!

As for today, it rained for the 2nd time since I've been out here, and wreaked havoc on the roads. It took me 90 minutes to go what is normally 30 because people drive so slow and don't know how to operate when it rains. However, I edited the Citi Cable package and now am ready for Kings hockey! Should be another fun one at Staples Center tonight!

Basketball Season

2009-12-03T11:01:00.000-08:00

Basketball season has arrived in Torrance, and for Citi Cable this past week, I did a little preview on the North High School boys and girls basketball teams.

Here is the link to this week's show: Episode 42.09 To see just my package, skip ahead to 9:57 in the video

I believe I will be doing one or two more packages for Citi Cable 3 before my semester is officially up. I will do a full internship recap when I get closer to the end, but I am truly grateful for having this opportunity and have really enjoyed getting to create my own work and having it shown on the air. It was pretty fun stuff! I hope you enjoy this week's package!

Kings Strike First in Freeway Face-Off

2009-12-02T00:28:00.001-08:00

My awesome experience with the LA Kings was taken to another level on Tuesday night when I got my first experience watching a part of the "Freeway Face-Off!" This is the name for the annual season series between Southern California rivals: The Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks. Tuesday was the first meeting of the season between the two teams, and if it's an indication of what is in store for the remaining five games, I want to be at each one.

The Kings took an early lead and then played a see-saw affair into the third period. The Ducks tied the game early in the 3rd, and it appeared that the game would go to overtime when it was still tied late. Then, with 2:20 to go, Brad Richardson deflected a shot from Jack Johnson past goaltender Jonas Hiller for his first goal of the season and gave the Kings a 4-3 lead. With 1:35 to go, the Kings took a penalty. Anaheim immediately pulled Hiller, giving them a 6 on 4 advantage to close out the game. However, the Kings stood tall and took Game 1 of the series 4-3. WHEW!

The thing that stood out to me was the fan environment. Being from New York, I have gotten to see a very similar rivalry between the Rangers and Islanders along with the Rangers and Devils. I have also seen a similar duel in baseball between the Yankees and Mets. Basically, the arena is packed with fans on both sides, and both groups of fans make a lot of noise. When the Kings scored tonight, the arena was loud; When the Ducks scored, it was loud as well. While these are just regular season games, their seems to be an added pressure to win the games and take bragging rights for the time being.

Southern California is not really what you would call a hockey environment. The weather is warm, it's far from Canada, and there are not many ice rinks. However, with two NHL teams 30 minutes apart, and a sports-crazy fan base, it makes it easy for a big rivalry to develop. If only the two teams could meet in the playoffs, the "Freeway Face-Off" would be taken to a whole new level!

Royal Rest of the Semester

2009-11-30T16:28:00.000-08:00

Out of my three internships going on, the Kings are going to be consuming the most of my time for the remainder of the semester here in Los Angeles. Here's a look at the Kings' schedule between now and their next long road trip:

Tuesday, 12/1 @ Anaheim
Thursday, 12/3 vs. Senators
Saturday, 12/5 vs. Blues
Monday, 12/7 vs. Flames
Wednesday, 12/9 @ San Jose (won't be at this game)
Thursday, 12/10 vs. Coyotes
Saturday, 12/12 vs. Stars

Should be a fun time. I love going to the Kings games. The crowd is always really into it, I have a great time talking to the wonderful people I work with at the Staples Center, and the games are usually pretty good. This past Saturday, the Kings beat the Blackhawks 2-1 in a shootout. Aside from the fact that it was two teams with great, young talent playing, the crowd was the loudest I've heard so far. The shootout was fantastic to watch.

The Reign have spent much of their first half on the road, and have just four home games during the month of December compared to nine road games. Here are their home games:

Sunday, 12/6 vs. Salmon Kings
Wednesday, 12/16 vs. Condors
Friday, 12/18 vs. Wranglers
Sunday, 12/27 vs. Condors

Aside from that, the job search continues in Southern California. I've sent out some resumes and hopefully will start hearing back from organizations soon. I can't believe how fast this semester has flown by!!

2nd Appearance On "The Sports Desk" Set

2009-11-27T11:37:00.000-08:00

This past week, I came into the studio of "The Sports Desk" for the second time to talk with our host, Bonnie, on the air and read highlights. This week, I picked my Top 12 Football plays of the season, edited them together, and read the highlights during the show. Wonder why I picked 12 instead of the usual 10? You'll have to watch the show.

Here's the link to watch this past week's episode: Episode 41.09
My segment is right at the beginning after the intro, starting at 2:05.

I wish I got the chance to cover some more football games live, but the ones I did get to see were a lot of fun to watch. Among five high schools in the city of Torrance, there are so many talented players as well as a high level of rivalry and competition. I never got to see anything similar to this back home, so it was a treat to watch California High School Football this year.

I hope you enjoy my segment! Let me know what you think!

Happy Turkey Day!!

2009-11-26T10:05:00.000-08:00

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Hello Blog Family!!

Just wanted to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving! It's very weird for me being away from home for the first time in my life during the holiday. I love getting together with everyone, usually at my uncle's house in New Jersey, catching up with each other, watching football all day, and eating a great meal. Today, I will not be at my uncle's house, but I'm sure the day will still be fun!

I have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, and while I can't think of them all, here are a few:

1) My family, especially my mom: Everyone has been so supportive of me through my college career and mostly this semester in LA. They always listen to my hockey broadcasts and check in on me to see how things are going. I love you all so much!

2) My friends: I have so many great people both at home, in Ithaca, and here in LA that I have surrounded myself with over the last 3 and a half years. You all have been so much fun to spend time with, have been extremely supportive, and I wouldn't give you up for anything in the world!

3) The Ontario Reign, LA Kings, Citi Cable 3, WNBC-TV, WCBS NewsRadio 880, SportsNet NY, and Steiner Sports: Since I embarked on my college career, each of these organizations has been gracious enough to offer me a job or internship that has helped me progress to the point where I am at now. Without all of the experiences you have given me, I would not be as prepared for the future.

4) Ithaca College: The last 3 and a half years of my life have been the best! When I looked at colleges, IC was at the top of my list, and getting accepted was one of my most exciting moments. From my advisor John Wolohan, to the awesome professors I've had, to the people at Financial Aid who allowed me to make Ithaca happen, to the wonderful people at the two radio stations and ICTV, to my bosses at the Campus Center where I worked, and everyone else I'm forgetting, thank you for making college amazing!

5) The Yankees: Almost every year, I always thank the team I care about the most at the Thanksgiving table. It's been rough the last few years with the Yankees either getting bounced in the first round or missing the playoffs altogether. This year, they won the World Series. Can't really leave them out this time. Thanks for a great season, thrilling postseason, and all the World Series apparel I now get to flaunt!

Alright, I have a date with some turkey, sweet potato casserole, and corn bread from Boston Market this afternoon! Very excited!

McRibs, Green Day, and Basketball

2009-11-25T17:05:00.001-08:00

What a start to this Thanksgiving week!!

Okay, so first of all, the World Famous McRib is back at McDonald's restaurants. Don't believe me? Check out these pictures I snapped with my phone at a restaurant here in LA right before I sunk my teeth into heaven.

It might not look appetizing, but it is really good! I used to eat this fairly often when I was a kid with the mother. The story is, my friend Bryan and I saw a sign for the sandwich at a rest stop on the way to San Francisco two weeks ago. We tried to stop there for one on the way back, but they were closed.

Then on Monday, I drove to a McDonald's in Torrance before interning for some breakfast. What do I see? The big "McRib is Back" sign, and my day was immediately off to a great start. I called Bryan, he met me for lunch, and life was good. Unfortunately for my East Coast friends, I think it's only available at select SoCal locations. I'll be sure to eat one or fifty for you!

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Moving on, I was fortunate enough to get tickets to a Green Day concert outdoors at the Nokia Plaza @ LA Live. They were playing as a part of NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly show. The best part? The concert was completely free! My friend Laura and I went to the show not knowing what to expect. Boy were we shocked.

First, there were a ton of people there. Thousands! We had to wait in line forever just to get to the plaza, but once there, we had a pretty good view of the stage as you can see.

The next weird thing was finding out that this was all for their New Year's show. They made us do countdowns and cheer loudly for their cameras like I had to for every TV taping I've been to, as well as wear Happy New Year's hats. It was weird acting like it was New Year's on November 23rd, but it was fun nonetheless.

Eventually, the concert started and it was absolutely amazing! Green Day played 19 songs over an hour and a half, and it was more fun than I could have imagined. Their music was so good. They were very animated and got the crowd involved all show long. Also, they used a lot of pyrotechnics in the show from fireworks to actual shooting fire. It was fantastic to see and nonstop fun from start to finish. I couldn't bring my camera in, but took some shots with my cell phone. Sorry if they're blurry.

As you can see from the setlist of the show, they played a lot of new and old stuff, and even did a brief cover of "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Sweet Child of Mine." They said they had no designated set list at the start of the show.

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The next night, I was back downtown at the Staples Center to watch my hometown Knicks take on the Los Angeles Lakers. I expected the Knicks to get destroyed, and while they played terrible at points, made it a respectable loss at 100-90.

The Staples Center is a great place to watch a Lakers game. The team is the hottest ticket in town, fresh off their NBA Championship last season. The fans are knowledgeable and into the game. It's also pretty cool to see the numerous celebrities that come out to watch the game. In addition to Jack Nicholson (a noted Lakers fan), Stevie Wonder, and Spike Lee (a noted Knicks fan), George Lopez and Richard Lewis were in attendance.

It was also pretty impressive to see the many great players the Lakers have. It shows why they are a championship team. From arguably the best player in the NBA right now, Kobe Bryant, to Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum, and Derek Fisher, they are a darn good team. Not to mention, they have Hall of Fame Head Coach Phil Jackson at the helm.

Here are some pictures from the game. To see all of my photos, check out my Facebook Album!

P.S. The Staples Center sells McDonalds, and even they are selling the McRib! Don't believe me, here's the photo with the outrageous prices to confirm it:

I said one of the things I had to do before I came to LA was see a Lakers game. I also said one of the bands I had to see at some point was Green Day. I can now check both of those off the list on consecutive days.

Great Weekend of Hockey

2009-11-22T13:54:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was a lot of fun for someone like myself who is a big hockey fan. I had a Reign game on Friday night followed by a Kings game and a Reign game on Saturday.

Friday's game wasn't close, as the Reign spanked the Stockton Thunder 8-2, but it was a lot of fun to call so many goals over the course of a game. It's shocking when you see a team put out 8 scores in a game in hockey. It rarely happens, and it almost seems like the other team just didn't show up.

The Kings played the Calgary Flames on Saturday afternoon, and it was enjoyable to see some of the big stars the Flames have. Jarome Iginla is a premiere name in the NHL, and he ended up with a hat trick in the game. Daymond Langkow, Dion Phaneuf, and Miika Kiprusoff are just some of the quality names Calgary has. While the Kings lost 5-2, the game was much closer than that, and there was a good mix of Kings and Flames fans at the game.

Then, the Reign and Thunder played a thriller of a hockey game at night. Stockton took a 3-0 lead into the middle of the 2nd period, and then the Reign scored 3 goals in the 2nd half of the game to tie the score and send it to overtime. In the end, Jason Pitton scored in overtime to win it for Stockton, but it was a great game to watch and call.

In addition, I was able to interview ECHL Commissioner Brian McKenna during the 2nd intermission which was a good time. He's a very nice person and excited about how the league continues to progress. Having the All-Star Game in Ontario this year is something he can't wait to see because he loves the fans and the facility. Should be a great experience.

South Volleyball's Playoff Run

2009-11-19T17:38:00.001-08:00

The newest installment of The Sports Desk is available for your viewing pleasure online. For this week's show, I reported on South High's volleyball team once again and their 2nd round match-up with Redlands High in the CIF Southern Section Playoffs.

To view this week's show, click the following link: Episode 40.09
If you want to skip ahead to just my package, it begins at 2:09.

The Spartans are doing a great job once again this season. They got to the 2nd round last year but then lost. This year, they got past the 2nd round, won in the quarterfinals, but ended up losing on Tuesday night to a very very good Corona Del Mar team. Regardless, it was a great season for the Spartans. The seniors helped lead the team deep in the playoffs and they have some key underclassmen that will help for the next few years.

This week, I filmed some basketball previews at North High School that will air next week, and the following week, I will be editing together a Top 10 football list among the Torrance schools and will help choose some MVPs for this past season.

San Francisco, UFL, Kings, and Reign

2009-11-18T15:29:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, I went up north with a few of my friends in LA to San Francisco and San Jose. The three people I went with had never been to San Fran, so I showed them around some of the best sites in the city. We went to Lombard Street, Fisherman's Wharf, Ghiradelli Chocolate Factory, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Muir Woods. I had never been to Muir Woods, so that was cool to see. The redwood trees that make the forest famous were incredibly tall and a sight to look at.

Here are some pictures from our time in San Francisco:

Lombard Street

Pier 39 @ Fisherman's Wharf

California Sea Lions @ Fisherman's Wharf

Golden Gate Bridge

Redwood Trees @ Muir Woods

We spent part of our time also seeing some college campuses including Stanford University and San Jose State University. Here are some shots from the colleges:

Stanford University

San Jose State University

Finally, we capped the weekend by going to a United Football League game in San Jose between the California Redwoods and the Las Vegas Locomotives. It was fun seeing some former NFL players, and we got an exciting game to watch. Not to mention, we had seats 2 rows off the field at the 50-yard line. Overall, we had a fun experience! Here are some shots from the game:

View From Our Seats

Game Action (Redwoods in Green)

To see all of my pictures, check out my two Facebook photo albums!

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Aside from that adventure, things at the internships are going well. The Kings are finally back from their road trip and host the Philadelphia Flyers tonight at Staples Center. I actually am getting to do stats for the Flyers TV broadcast which should be a fun experience. I'm excited to watch some hockey once again. The Kings play again on Saturday against the Calgary Flames at home. Nick and Daryl have both been great people to work with and care a lot about my broadcasting experience in Ontario. They have asked how things have gone and even will listen to CDs of my broadcast and critique me. Pretty cool!

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Finally, the Reign are back home as well for two games this weekend against the Stockton Thunder. They will play on Friday night at 7:30 PM Pacific Time (10:30 Eastern) and on Saturday at 7:00 PM Pacific (10:00 Eastern). I hope you get a chance to listen as they should be good games, and I am now getting a good grasp of the teams and flow of the game. To listen to my broadcast, click here about five-ten minutes before game time.

I'm Still Here

2009-11-15T23:20:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

So yes, it has been a while since my last post here on the blog. However, I wasn't just sitting around twiddling my thumbs. I actually did post on my other blog covering New York Sports with a Top 10 list I made of Yankees Championship season. Take a look and let me know what you think.

In addition, I covered a high school volleyball game at South High and edited a package which will air Tuesday. Finally, I went up north with two of my roommates and another good friend of mine for part of the weekend. We checked out some of San Francisco considering neither of them had been there before and we also went to see a UFL game in San Jose. For those who don't know, the UFL is the United Football League and is a "professional" league that was just created this year. I'll be posting hopefully on Monday with some photos and a recap of my trip. It was a blast!

In the meantime, this past week's episode of The Sports Desk at Citi Cable 3 is up online. Here's the link to the show: Episode 39.09

For this episode, I covered the South High School girl's volleyball Senior Night in Torrance. They honored five seniors who are on the team and then played El Segundo in a match that could clinch the team the Pioneer League title. I highlighted the seniors and what they meant to the team during the game and the season. If you want to see just my package, skip ahead to 8:10 in the video.

I hope you enjoy it! Let me know what you think.

Some More High School Football

2009-11-09T22:48:00.000-08:00

My newest package for Citi Cable 3's "The Sports Desk" is available to view online. It took the folks at the station a bit to get it posted, but it is now ready to be viewed by the world!

Here's the link to watch the video: Episode 38.09

The package I did for this past week was of the North High School football game against El Segundo. This game was extremely important in terms of the conference standings in the Pioneer League, where both schools play, because a loss for North would likely mean they miss the playoffs. It was another fun game to edit a package for, so I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think!

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Aside from that, this Tuesday will finally be my first full day off in two weeks. During that time, I had 7 Ontario Reign games, 3 Kings games, 2 days of editing at Citi Cable 3, a volleyball match at South High, and a day of class. Pretty busy life here in LA. Now that the Kings and Reign are on the road until next week, I will take the time to start doing some serious job and apartment hunting. We'll see what comes of it!

Last Chance...

2009-11-07T23:24:00.000-08:00

...to listen to me broadcast a Reign game until November 20th. The team goes on a four-game road trip to Victoria and then Bakersfield before they come home for two games against the Stockton Thunder. Tomorrow, the Reign end their 7-game homestand when they play the Alaska Aces for the first time this season. It should be a good game as Ontario tries to win all three games this weekend and need to be the defending National Conference champs to do so.

Once again, if you haven't listened to a game yet and are wondering how to do so, it's very simple. Just click this link and then hit "Ontario Reign Streaming Audio" on the page that opens. You can get video with audio too for a nominal fee if you click the upper link on the page.

I've really enjoyed broadcasting the Reign games so far. It is a great challenge to broadcast hockey, especially when doing it for an audio only audience, because the game is so quick. There have also been a bunch of close games which makes it more fun to call, and the fans are definitely into the game. The ECHL is different from the NHL in terms of skill level obviously as well as arena size and amount of employees there. However, I like the small atmosphere.

Aside from that, the Kings are going on the road til the 18th as well, so I'll have a little bit of time off from those two. Time to focus on finding a job and a place to live, as I'm only about a month away from the end of the semester. I'm excited to graduate college. I'm a little scared to start being an adult!

Best Kings Game of the Season

2009-11-06T00:20:00.000-08:00

Tonight was without a doubt the best time I've had at a Kings game at the Staples Center. The Kings played the defending-champion Pittsburgh Penguins in front of a sell-out crowd of 18,118. The place was rocking from start to finish, and the Kings won 5-2 with 4 third period goals. When the Kings are playing well, especially against a good team, the Staples Center gets very loud. Fans here in southern California are pretty passionate about hockey and their team, and the Kings have played great so far this year.

I also had a little change tonight as I was the statistician for the Penguins TV broadcast on FSN Pittsburgh. The station requested the Kings to provide them with a statistician, and I was asked to fill that role. It was fun getting to keep track of the key parts of the game (goals, penalties, scoring chances) and even challenging at times. Overall though, it was a great experience that I'm glad I got the chance to have. Getting paid for it doesn't hurt either!

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Aside from that, the Reign begin another 3 games in 3 nights streak tomorrow when they host the Victoria Salmon Kings in Ontario. They'll play two games against Victoria and then face the Alaska Aces on Sunday. Here are the start times for the games and the link to listen to my broadcast:

Friday - 7:30 PM Pacific, 10:30 Eastern
Saturday - 7:00 PM Pacific, 10:00 Eastern
Sunday - 5:00 PM Pacific, 8:00 Eastern

Ontario Reign Internet Broadcast

Here's a picture I took of the beautiful mountains nearby the arena as well as another shot of my view inside the broadcast booth:

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Finally, I leave you with a few pictures of my roommate and I celebrating the New York Yankees World Series victory over the Phillies on Wednesday night. 27 championships is unbelievable, and getting to celebrate for the first time since 2000 felt great! Congrats to the Yanks on an incredible season!

Reign and Music

2009-11-04T13:31:00.001-08:00

Hey Everyone,

This evening, I am back in Ontario for my 4th game in 6 days as the Reign face the Stockton Thunder. The game begins at 7:00 Pacific time, which is 10:00 for those of you on the East coast. I hope you get a chance to listen. To listen, click the link below:

Ontario Reign Broadcast

Audio is free, video with audio is a small fee.

Aside from that, I have been sitting here today preparing for the game and listening to some of the music on my iTunes library. It got me thinking about my Top 5 songs for some of my favorite bands. So, here's what I came up with:

The All-American Rejects
1) Swing, Swing
2) I Wanna
3) Real World
4) Gives You Hell
5) The Last Song

Paramore
1) Misery Business
2) For A Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic
3) Playing God
4) Ignorance
5) I Caught Myself

Blink 182
1) What's My Age Again?
2) First Date
3) Dammit
4) All the Small Things
5) Dumpweed

Fall Out Boy
1) This Ain't a Scene, It's An Arms Race
2) A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More Touch Me
3) Grand Theft Autumn
4) Sugar We're Goin Down
5) I Don't Care

Black Eyed Peas
1) I Gotta Feeling
2) Pump It
3) Let's Get Retarded/It Started
4) Boom Boom Pow
5) Smells Like Funk

Red Hot Chili Peppers
1) Tell Me Baby
2) Californication
3) Snow (Hey Oh)
4) Otherside
5) Dani California

Green Day
1) American Idiot
2) Holiday
3) Know Your Enemy
4) Basket Case
5) Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)

Foo Fighters
1) Monkey Wrench
2) DOA
3) Best of You
4) My Hero
5) The Pretender

Let me know what you think! What should go up? What should go down?

We Saw A Wildfire

2009-11-01T23:05:00.000-08:00

No, there isn't another wild fire going on in the Los Angeles area that I am reporting on right now. This is the name of a song a few of my friends here in LA decided to write, sing, and produce. It is, in my opinion, absolutely awesome. To come up with all the rhyming lyrics was fantastic, the singing was pretty good for three college guys, and the music video "slideshow" was done pretty well too. I give these guys a lot of credit.

The creators of this masterpiece were Bryan Mercer, Eric Licht, and Foster Cooper. It is to the tune of "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel. I hope you enjoy it.

As for me, this weekend went pretty well. Three Reign games in three days can do a number on the voice, especially when I'm broadcasting the whole game by myself. Regardless, it was fun getting to call hockey and a challenge as well. I'm sure I will continue to improve once I get in a groove.

Once again, if you couldn't listen, the Reign have games this upcoming Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. You can see the schedule below for all the start times of the game (they are pacific time, 3 hours behind the east coast). To listen to the games, click here and choose the audio link at the bottom. Enjoy!

Wednesday, November 4th vs. Stockton Thunder - 7:00 PM
Friday, November 6th - vs. Victoria Salmon Kings - 7:30 PM
Saturday, November 7th - vs. Victoria Salmon Kings - 7:00 PM
Sunday, November 8th - vs. Alaska Aces - 5:00 PM

1 Down, 35 to Go

2009-10-31T10:44:00.000-07:00

The equipment worked, the connection worked, and most importantly, my actual broadcast went fairly well, and so completes one game of the Reign's 36-game home slate in 2009-2010. I am very relieved that the first broadcast went well and hope they all continue to go as smoothly throughout the rest of the season. I also wanted to thank everyone who listened in to the game. It helps having listeners, and I hope you all enjoyed the game as much as I did.

As for the game, it was a see-saw affair as the Las Vegas Wranglers came out on top 4-3. Vegas would take a 1-goal lead 3 separate times, with the Reign tying them after each one. In the third though, Ned Lukacevic scored to give the Wranglers the lead, and they would hold on despite a late power play for Ontario. If there was one thing that stood out, it was penalties. There were 26 penalties to be exact including a ten-minute misconduct and a game misconduct. Very crazy game for sure!

The Citizens Business Bank Arena is a very nice facility in Ontario. While it's not as big as the Staples Center, it still holds 9,736 for hockey. The best part for fans, and broadcasters, is that there is not one bad seat in the house. Even at the top of the arena, us broadcasters have a great view of all the action. The two tiers of seats are perfect for fans, and there are plenty of suites as well. The fans were very into the game as well, which made it more fun to call. Great place to watch a game!

Finally, I'll leave you with a look at my broadcast booth, which has plenty of room and as I mentioned, a great view of the ice. The Reign are home again tonight for a match-up with the Bakersfield Condors at 7:00 Pacific Time. So, flip the World Series on your TV, turn up the Reign game on the computer, and you're all set!

Sports Desk Appearance

2009-10-30T10:10:00.000-07:00

After a little tinkering with video recording, the kind folks at Citi Cable 3 in Torrance have posted the most recent episode of The Sports Desk online. As I mentioned in previous posts, this is the show where I am live in-studio to talk with our host, Bonnie, about some local High School football. Also for kicks, it was our Halloween show, so there are some spooky set pieces.

Here is the link to the episode for your viewing pleasure: Episode 37.09

Now, there are two different packages I have in this week's episode. First, as I said, I am on the set with Bonnie talking about football, then are the highlights from a game followed by some interviews, then Bonnie and I talk about all the football teams in the area. If you want to jump right to the start of the football segment, skip ahead to 1:38 in the video.

Later in the show, there is a tennis package I also did featuring a good rivalry match between North High and South High. If you want to skip ahead to watch this one, it begins at 13:30 in the video.

As always, I appreciate any thoughts you have on the two pieces and hope that you enjoy them. In addition, I hope you get a chance to listen to some of my Ontario Reign games starting tonight. I have posted the link to listen in the blog post below. I'm very excited to start this new opportunity in my life!

Let It Reign

2009-10-29T16:47:00.001-07:00

This weekend, I am making my debut as the play-by-play broadcaster for the Ontario Reign. For those who do not know, the team is a hockey club in the ECHL, which is basically the "AA" version of minor league hockey. The team is affiliated with the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL.

This season, I will be broadcasting all the home games for the Reign, and starting tomorrow night, they begin a streak of 7 straight games at home. So, as a favor to me, I ask that if you can, please listen in to at least some of a game and let me know what you think. Here is the Reign's schedule over the next week (all times are Pacific time):

Friday, October 30th - 7:30 PM vs. Las Vegas Wranglers
Saturday, October 31st - 7:00 PM vs. Bakersfield Condors
Sunday, November 1st - 5:00 PM vs. Las Vegas Wranglers
Wednesday, November 4th - 7:00 PM vs. Stockton Thunder
Friday, November 6th - 7:30 PM vs. Victoria Salmon Kings
Saturday, November 7th - 7:00 PM vs. Victoria Salmon Kings
Sunday, November 8th - 5:00 PM vs. Alaska Aces

So, how do I listen to the game, you ask? Well, it's pretty simple. Just click this link. Once there, you will have the choice to either pay a fee and get the video along with the audio or to listen to just the audio for free. If you want both, click "Click Here." If you want just audio, click "Ontario Reign Streaming Audio." The audio will open in a separate media player.

The feed is broadcast over the B2 Network online and will not be available until between 5 and 10 minutes before the start of the game. So, go to the page around 7:20/7:25 PST or so Friday night and you should be able to get the audio. I'm very excited for the opportunity and can't wait to get started tomorrow.

In other news, my appearance on Citi Cable 3's "The Sports Desk" went pretty well on Tuesday and the show has been broadcast over the airwaves since Wednesday. The people at the station put the video up online, but there was a recording error and the video has a full-screen graphic over it. They are aware of the problem and should have it fixed at some point tomorrow. When they do, I will post it here.

Until then, I hope you all get a chance to tune in to some exciting Ontario Reign hockey soon and look forward to your thoughts on the broadcast!

Citi Cable Debut

2009-10-26T18:32:00.000-07:00

No, this isn't the first time I have been on The Sports Desk, but it will be my first appearance on the set for the show. I will be on set tomorrow morning for the taping that will be played all week.

I ended up editing together the highlights for the South vs. Torrance football game I covered on Friday and will be discussing the game during the show with the host, Bonnie Prickitt. I'll be calling highlights for the game as well and discussing some of the other teams in the area with Bonnie. It should be fun.

Once the video is posted online, I will be sure to post the link to it here for you all to see. I appreciate any feedback you have as always. Until then, who's excited for this year's World Series. The two best teams in baseball without question this year will play for the title. Should be fun to watch!

Playoff Baseball

2009-10-24T21:32:00.001-07:00

This past Tuesday, my roommate Matt and I got to experience some of this year's baseball playoffs. We made the trek down to Anaheim for the second time in a month to watch the Yankees and Angels duke it out in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series. While the Yanks couldn't clinch a berth in the World Series (they lost Game 3 in extra innings), we did get a chance to see them go up 3 games to 1 in the series.

Matt and I were able to get tickets at the beginning of the playoffs for only 45 bucks a piece, a bargain for a big-time postseason match-up. Fortunately, the Yanks beat the Twins and the Angels topped the Red Sox in the first round to get this far. The seats weren't great; they were in the upper deck, five rows from the top, far out down the left field line. We didn't care though. Just being at the game was enough.

Angel Stadium in the playoffs is a fantastic place to watch a game for many reasons. The place was packed, and the fans were really into the game from start to finish. They love the Angels and every time the Rally Monkey comes up, the place goes nuts. There were also a ton of Yankee fans there too, so that made for a lot of back and forth cheering.

The only negative? The STUPID Thunderstix they hand out to their fans! I'm very against needing anything artificial to make noise. Why were we created with hands? To clap! And mouths? To cheer! Why do we need blown-up plastic to make noise at a game? As you can see below, Matt and I took out our anger on the stix after the game.

As for the game, it was a blast! The Yankees jumped out to a 3-0 lead, added two more on an A-Rod homer, then padded their lead after the Angels tacked on a run. Johnny Damon hit a two-run bomb in the 8th, and the Yanks plated 3 more in the 9th. CC Sabathia was dominating for the Yankees all night long, and was able to get out of trouble the two times he ran into it. The final outcome: Yankees 10 Angels 1!!

I took plenty more pics from the game. You can check them all out on my Facebook Photo Album. If you ever get the chance to go to a playoff game, I highly recommend it. It's way better than a regular season game!

Wacky Friday...

2009-10-23T23:46:00.000-07:00

...And 50 Posts! This is the 50th post of the blog through my 2 and a half months since I came out to California. Nice milestone to have reached!

Moving on, today was quite the odd day. It started when I got stuck in way too much traffic on the way down to Torrance, where I was editing together my most recent package. Mind you, this was at about 2:30 this afternoon. Why on earth is there extremely slow traffic at this time? I just don't get it!

Once in Torrance, I was able to easily edit together my story in a couple of hours. I wish I had more of a variety of shots from my camera guy, but I think the package came out pretty decent. When it gets posted online, I'll be sure to post the link here.

While editing, I received a call from my producer to answer a question of mine, but she later told me that one of my fellow-reporters was sick and couldn't cover thee South vs. Torrance High football game tonight. Considering I wanted to see this game anyway, I offered to go over when I finished my editing and do some interviews postgame. I ended up getting to see one of the best finishes to a football game.

Torrance was up 14-0 in the 4th quarter. South ended up driving down the field with about 8 minutes left and scored to make it 14-7. On the ensuing kick-off, the returner let the ball bounce off of him and South recovered it. Not long after, they had tied the game at 14. Not to mention, the same receiver (Boian Kolev) caught both touchdowns.

Torrance then drove downfield before fumbling the ball and letting South recover. They drove down the field and chose to attempt a 33-yard field goal. WIDE LEFT! South misses and Torrance gets the ball back. They drive down the field and try a 23-yard field goal on 1st Down with 15 or so seconds left. BOTCHED SNAP! They fall on top of it, but can't get back to the line and spike it before time runs out.

ON TO OVERTIME!!

The rules are like college. No clock. Each team gets a chance to score on a drive staring from their opponents 25-yard line. If a team is in front after both teams score, they win. If it's tied, they go to another overtime.

So, South gets the ball first and they score on five plays, the final one being a beautiful fourth down throw by QB Jon Concetti to hit WR Keith Mitsuucci. They kick the extra point and lead 21-14. Torrance has their chance, and they too score, except on six plays. As they lined up to kick the extra point and go to another overtime, they call time out and Coach Rock Hollis asks his team if they'd rather kick the extra point or go for 2 and the win. They choose to go for two. They run the ball, and...

...Joey Olsin is tackled at the half-yard line!!! NO GOOD!! South wins the game 21-20!

It was without a doubt one of the best football games I have ever seen and the atmosphere of the capacity crowd under the lights on a Friday night at Louis Zamperini Stadium was unbelievable. I'm so glad I decided to go help out at this game. High school football doesn't get much better than that!

Aside from that, the day ended with gridlock traffic on the 110 freeway near downtown because they closed two lanes for no reason. This traffic occurred at 10:45 PM. Again, why is there traffic at this hour? Welcome to Los Angeles!!

More Citi Cable Packages

2009-10-23T00:48:00.001-07:00

Okay, so these are a little long overdue, but as I mentioned before, I have had some computer issues for the past week and a half. My most recent packages that I edited together for Citi Cable 3's "The Sports Desk" are available online. I think they came out pretty well, but would definitely love to hear you opinion.

Here's the episode with my package from October 13th: Episode 35.09

This package is a recap of a football game between Torrance-rivals North High and West High. It was a pretty good defensive battle. To see the package, skip ahead to 2:22 in the video.

Here's the episode with my package from October 20th: Episode 36.09

This package is a recap of a Cross Country meet featuring three Torrance high schools. This isn't as much of a highlight package like the football ones are. To see the package, skip ahead to 2:26 in the video.

I hope you enjoy these two packages. I have plenty more to come including a tennis recap from this week, some more high school football, and maybe even some water polo. I'll have a blog post on my trip ALCS Game 4 hopefully on Friday or Saturday.

Back Again

2009-10-22T14:33:00.001-07:00

After another long delay, I am finally back and should be for good now (**fingers crossed**). Apparently the viruses on my computer screwed it up enough that it began to "Blue Screen" which we all know means death. Unfortunately, I had to completely reinstall Windows which meant downloading all my programs and such again. Fortunately, I was able to get all of my important stuff backed up.

I have a Kings game to work tonight, the first in two weeks, as the team is back from its longest road trip of the season. However, I will try to do a blog post later this evening with some Citi Cable packages, pictures from ALCS Game 4, and a lot of other stuff. Until then, bear with me as I get back on track!

Attack of the Killer Viruses

2009-10-18T17:04:00.000-07:00

That's what my laptop just experienced this week...and why I have not been posting on the blog since Monday. On Tuesday night, my computer was running really slow and not really loading programs. Therefore, I brought it to Staples and low and behold, 67 VIRUSES!! There were 67 on my computer that had multiplied and slowed everything down. Luckily, the great people (albeit a little slow) at Staples got them all removed, and it's back up and running now. Yes, I should probably get a Mac. Graduation present anyone?

Ok, so moving on, this week was no doubt the worst since I have been in California (a little over 2 months). On top of the computer issue (which was really the worst of it), I had a sinus congestion from Sunday to Friday, it rained for two days when it hadn't the previous 68 I was in California, and I got a flat tire. Fortunately, I am feeling much better, the sun and heat are back, and my tire was easily fixed (I was able to get another car that was the same kind, but white.

However, the week was turned around Friday and Saturday night when it didn't rain in New York City (shocking, I know) and the Yanks and Angels were able to play both Game 1 and Game 2 of the ALCS. If you didn't know already, the Yankees won both games and take a 2-0 lead to Anaheim. If they win Game 3, I'll have a chance, along with my roommate, to go see them potentially clinch a berth in the World Series in Game 4 on Tuesday. Crazy Stuff!!

Aside from that, this week was really quiet for me. The Kings are on a road trip until this Thursday, so I haven't had to do anything there. Being sick prevented me from going to cover a game for Citi Cable 3, but I did edit a package that will air this week. There are two Kings games this week, so things should pick up.

Finally, I didn't get to post this earlier in the week, but my new Citi Cable package is up online. To make things easier, I will post it in a new entry later tonight or tomorrow. Until then, I'm Back!!

The Price Is Right

2009-10-12T16:47:00.001-07:00

Good Monday everybody! Hope you are all feeling much better than I am right now. I seem to have picked up a small cold over the weekend, probably from being in the freezing ice rink on Friday night in Ontario. Regardless, just a little stuffy, and hopefully I'll be better soon. I did have a good time celebrating the Yankees win over the Twins in the Division Series and can't wait to go to Game 4 of the ALCS in Anaheim next Tuesday!

Anyway, this post is more about today. About 20 or so of us from the ICLA program got to go and check out a taping of The Price Is Right! Yes, the very popular game show that airs on CBS and used to be hosted by Bob Barker. Boy, I must say, the show beat the heck out of the Family Feud taping we went to.

First, let me get the sucky part of the experience out of the way. We had to be at the studio by 9:00 AM and the taping wasn't until 12:30. They have such a long process before we get in the studio. We had to wait before getting on a line where we got our name tags. Then, we waited again to take a picture we could get online. Then, we waited on benches OUTDOORS (it was cold and cloudy) while we filled out info cards. Then, we waited more until we got interviewed as a group. Then, we waited again after going through security. Finally, we got into the studio at about 12:15 or so.

Ok, now to the good stuff. The show started fairly quickly after we got in, unlike Family Feud. The studio was pretty big and had a very energetic studio audience. People all over made their own T-Shirts in hopes of getting on the show. One of my roommates made one that said "I paid $200,000 to Ithaca College to be here!" Pretty funny. The show was very exciting, and we were all nervous as to whether or not we'd be called down to Contestant's row. It ended up that one of the girls at the ICLA program, Ashley, got called down. While she didn't get to go up on stage, it was still pretty cool.

Another great part was that she was sitting right next to me, so I most likely will be on camera when the show airs. They told us the air date was November 10th, so make sure to watch the show or just set your DVRs. Another ICLA student won a raffle drawing at the end where she got the PC DVD version of the game and $100 cash. Pretty awesome just for showing up.

Drew Carey was also a fantastic host. He was very funny telling a lot of stories and interacted with multiple people from the crowd. It was cool to see a host and high-profile celebrity like him do that. John O'Hurley definitely didn't do that on Family Feud. Also cool was an appearance by Carl Edwards on the show. The NASCAR driver helped out with the showcase prizes and even answered questions from the audience. He seemed like a great guy!

So, there you have it. November 10th on CBS will be the air date for the show. I hope you get to watch it because it really was a lot of fun to go watch the show live. It's a fun game show where people can go and win things like a car or amazing vacation just by guessing retail values and numbers. Very very interesting!

High School Football At Its Best

2009-10-08T22:56:00.000-07:00

Hey Everybody,

My most recent package that I did for The Sports Desk on Citi Cable 3 in Torrance is up online. I believe this piece turned out to be the best I've done so far, but I'll leave that judgment to you.

Here's the link to this week's show: Episode 34.09

My package is right at the beginning of the show after the opening introduction, but if you feel the urge to jump right to it, the package intro. begins at 1:38 of the video.

If for some reason the link doesn't work, you can click here and just click "Watch Video" next to Show 34.09

I mentioned this in a previous blog post, but this package is of South High's football game this past Friday night against town-rival West High. South was a tremendous underdog in the game after a rough start, but put up a great performance in a tough defensive battle. I hope you enjoy it, and please let me know what you think. You can either post a comment by clicking the link below, write to me on Facebook, or e-mail me at michaelhpolak@gmail.com. Thanks for watching everyone!

Kings Season is Underway

2009-10-07T00:16:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the second home game for the LA Kings with the season opener happening this past Saturday. I didn't get the chance to blog about it with everything else going on this past weekend. However, it was a fun experience.

I never got to go to a season opener for any pro team, so it was cool to see the videos the team created and see all the players get introduced. Kings fans are very loyal from what I have seen so far and love their hockey. They are passionate, cheer loudly for their team, boo the other team, and know the game well. Very impressive for a southern city!

As for me, I have really enjoyed being in the radio booth for the games. Nick Nickson and Daryl Evans are two really great guys who are always pleasant, love to do their job, and do it well. They are also always in the mood to talk with me about the game and ask me constantly about what I'm up to. It's great to have people in the business that are interested in what you do! I also have had the chance to meet and talk with Bob Miller and Jim Fox, the Kings TV broadcasters, as well as some other great people that are part of and cover the Kings. All of them are great and very enjoyable to converse with.

Normally, I'll get to the game at about 4/4:30 for a 7:30 face-off. I'll go up to the broadcast booth and check in with our engineer, John Traconis, to see how things are going. I'll then usually head down with Nick to the locker room to watch him do some pregame interviews, and/or I'll help out getting equipment for the booths. Then, I'll have a great pregame meal prepared by the LA Kings dining staff and head back to the booth to get ready for the game.

During the game, I'll provide Nick and Daryl with out of town scores from around the NHL as well as keep track of some statistics in case they need confirmation on a goal, assist, penalty, or the time any of it occurred. It's great to be able to watch so much hockey live. The real benefit though is getting to listen to them call a game. It helps me on many levels. I get to increase my hockey knowledge and vocabulary. I learn the best way to call a hockey game and what to look for during a broadcast. Finally, I learn the order of a broadcast and how everything is put together. It really is useful information I get just from putting on a headset and listening to them broadcast the game.

I'll usually stay after the game as well to listen to their postgame show and their talk show in which fans can call into the show and ask them questions. It's a pretty cool thing they do and provides more content for me to observe. I couldn't have asked for a better internship opportunity and am glad Nick and the Kings have me the chance to do it. If only I could broadcast the games with them!

I've Got Coaster Fever

2009-10-05T12:11:00.000-07:00

There is no describing how awesome my Sunday was at Six Flags Magic Mountain. The park is one of the best in the country, and it certainly showed it yesterday. It could have been the fact that there were no lines at all basically (the longest I waited for a coaster was 30 minutes). However, every coaster I went on was unique and extremely fun. It was so fun in fact, that I went on 26 roller coaster rides!! That's a new personal record for me in one day.

Take a look at my total stats for the day below. If you want to see the specifics that I used to come up with it, scroll toward the bottom of the post:

Length of Track Ridden: 95,673 feet
-This translates to 18.1 miles of track-

# of Inversions: 85 (Don't Throw Up!!)

Total length of big drops: 4,578 feet
-This translates to almost 1 full mile of me plummeting toward the earth-

The park has 16 roller coasters in total, and I went on 13 of them. 3 are smaller coasters for little kids, so I decided to pass on those. I was on a mission to break my record from the beginning of the day, and I didn't even need a flash pass to do it. Here are the 13 coasters I went on, how many times I went on it, and my review:

X2 (4 times)

This was without a doubt the most insane coaster I've ever been on. Multiple times, I had the thought of "How in the world could a sane human being create something like this?" You ride in seats that are off the side of the track, and the seats rotate on their own. After going up the hill backwards, you tilt to where you face straight down as you plummet 215 feet toward the earth. It's breathtaking! The rest of the ride, you are flipped and tossed every which way and almost never have any idea where you are going or which way is up or down! Another great part is the ride has speakers on the trains which blast "Enter Sandman" by Metallica as you ride! There's also some fog and fire during the ride. It was a little bumpy and your legs take a beating on the seats, but it's still worth it. What an experience!

Want to see what my ride experience was like? Check out the video below:

Goliath (4 times)

This was my favorite non-looping coaster. At the top of the 255 foot lift hill, the chain stops and you are sitting at the top for a good 5 seconds before you drop down into a tunnel underground. You swear your head is going to get chopped off as you go in. The rest of the ride features turns with a ton of G-force and hills. Very smooth and very fun!
To see an on-ride video, click here!

The Riddler's Revenge (3 times)

This is the world's tallest and fastest stand-up coaster. Yes, that's right, you stand up the entire ride. It goes upside down 6 times and has a ton of twists and turns that keep you excited from start to finish. Definitely one of my favorites of the day!
To see an on-ride video, click here!

Tatsu (3 times)
This is the world's tallest, fastest, and longest flying coaster. What is a flying coaster? Just as it says, you fly on your stomach the entire ride (sort of like Superman). This ride was intense throughout, with a ton of inversions that flip the entire world around and cool turns that make you feel like you are really flying. The best part is a gigantic pretzel loop where you basically dive head over heels. Fantastic ride!
To see an on-ride video, click here!

Scream (3 times)

This is basically a mirror image of Medusa (now Bizarro) at Six Flags Great Adventure. It is a floorless coaster, which means you sit above the track but there is nothing below your feet except the track. This is a classic favorite because all of the inversions are really good, the ride is smooth, and it's overall just a good time!
To see an on-ride video, click here!

Viper (twice)

This is almost exactly like Great American Scream Machine at Six Flags Great Adventure. 7 inversions make this ride worth it to ride a few times. The first drop is big which is cool too. It's a little bumpy, mostly because it's an older coaster, but it's still fun to ride.
To see an on-ride video, click here!

Deja Vu (once)
This was very intense but well-worth waiting til the end of the day to ride it! You are pulled back out of the station almost 200 feet in the air at a 90-degree angle. You then are suddenly dropped back down, into a boomerang inversion, then a loop, then up another 90-degree tower to the top. Then, you get dropped again by surprise and go through the whole thing again...but backwards! Awesome ride!
To see an on-ride video, click here!

Terminator Salvation: The Ride (once)

This is the park's newest coaster and is a really good wooden one. There's cool terminator theming with multiple videos as you walk in. Then, the ride is very much like El Toro at Great Adventure. It's fast from start to finish and has multiple twists and turns that keep you changing direction constantly. At one point, you zoom back through the station above the loading platform. We really underestimated this ride!
To see an on-ride video, click here!

Superman The Escape (once)

I would've done this twice had it not broken down when I was next to go on. This is the first ride ever to reach 100 mph. You are launched out of the station from 0-100 mph. in 6 seconds then go up vertically about 328 feet in the air. You then fall back to earth and into the station. It's a short and uneventful ride, but the launch and height make it worth doing once.
To see an on-ride video, click here!

Batman: The Ride (once)

This is a copy of the one at Great Adventure and multiple other Six Flags parks. It's a great inverted coaster (you hang below the track) which is pretty fast and doesn't let up the whole ride. The inversions are great as well. Definitely worth doing at least once!
To see an on-ride video, click here!

Ninja (once)

This is the West Coast's fastest suspended coaster. You sit in cars that hang below the track and sway a lot as the ride goes. It was fairly tame, but had some good speed and weaved through the trees and near water during the ride which made it fun.
To see an on-ride video, click here!

Revolution (once)

The world's first looping roller coaster made this necessary to ride solely for the history. It opened in the 70's, so it's very old. The ride was bumpy and not too exciting. It had some fun drops and the loop was nice. Good to do once for the history.
To see an on-ride video, click here!

Colossus (once)

This wooden roller coaster is also very old which means it's also very rickety. The ride was relatively boring for the most part and didn't feature as many good hills as I thought it would. The only cool thing was that because it was fright fest, you could ride it backwards at night. Still, I only recommend doing it once unless you like tame rides.
To see an on-ride video, click here!

You can see all the stats I came up with below. I used the numbers from Roller Coaster Database to figure it out.

X2 (4 times)
3610 feet x 4 = 14,440 feet
2 inversions x 4 = 8
215-foot drop x 4 = 860 feet

Goliath (4 times)
4500 feet x 4 = 18,000 feet
No inversions
255-foot drop x 4 = 1,020 feet

Riddler's Revenge (3 times)
4370 feet x 3 = 13,110 feet
6 inversions x 3 = 18
146-foot drop x 3 = 438 feet

Tatsu (3 times)
3602 feet x 3 = 10,806 feet
4 inversions x 3 = 12
111-foot drop x 3 = 333 feet

Scream (3 times)
3985 feet x 3 = 11,955 feet
7 inversions x 3 = 21
141-foot drop x 3 = 423 feet

Viper (2 times)
3830 feet x 2 = 7,660 feet
7 inversions x 2 = 14
171-foot drop x 2 = 342 feet

Deja Vu
1204 feet x 2 (forwards and backwards) = 2,408 feet
3 inversions x 2 (forwards and backwards) = 6
177-foot drop x 2 (once each way) = 354 feet

Terminator Salvation: The Ride
2877 feet
No inversions
87-foot drop

Superman The Escape
1235 feet
No inversions
328-foot drop

Batman: The Ride
2700 feet
5 inversions
105-foot drop

Ninja
2700 feet
0 inversions
60-foot drop

Revolution
3457 feet
1 inversion
113-foot drop

Colossus
4325 feet
0 inversions
115-foot drop

Thanks for reading through this entire blog post. I had such a great time that I had to share it all with you. Check out my Facebook photo album from the park!

Friday Night Lights

2009-10-02T23:50:00.000-07:00

What a great movie! One of my personal favorites. But this post is not about the Permian High School Panthers in Texas, however, it is about high school football. Tonight, I covered South High's game against town-rival West High. I can't remember the last time I watched a football game outside of the NFL under the lights at night. I think it was my freshman year in High School. It was a cool experience for sure!

As for tonight's game, it went from exciting to extremely boring to one of the best finishes possible. South was 0-3 entering the game, big underdogs to the 3-0 Warriors from West. I won't give away all of the game, as you'll be able to see it on my package this coming week. However, South kept things close with West all game long, played tough defense, and ended up coming back with two clutch fourth quarter drives. What a great end to a good defensive battle all game long. The team and the fans were going nuts!

Below is a picture that I took from tonight's game. Sorry about the quality, but my phone is not the best at taking pictures. South High has the new field turf which they installed this year and it looks fantastic. The facility is very nice for High School and the school had everything I wish my high school had: A nice field, a great crowd, a marching band, and lights.

I had a good time tonight getting to cover a high school football game and look forward to doing so again soon. As for the rest of my weekend, I have a packed schedule. Saturday morning will include editing my package in the morning then the Kings Season Opener at night at Staples Center against the Coyotes. Then, a bunch of us are spending the day at Six Flags Magic Mountain on Sunday. For those who know me, I love roller coasters. Considering there are 17 at the park, I will be set for the day! Check back during the weekend for blog posts about both events!

Another Package

2009-10-01T11:39:00.001-07:00

Citi Cable 3 is getting much better at posting their episodes online. Therefore, I already have this week's edition of The Sports Desk. This week features a longer package I did recapping two volleyball games in Torrance. The first is between South High and Bishop Montgomery and the other is North High against Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Here is the Link to the Show: Episode 33.09

If you want to just see my package, skip ahead to 18:58 in the video.

As always, get back to me with your comments on the package either below by clicking the comments link, on Facebook, or e-mail me at mhpbroadcaster@gmail.com. Thanks for watching everyone!

Traditiooooooon, Tradition!...Tradition!

2009-09-30T19:49:00.000-07:00

Ah, Fiddler on the Roof. What a great play! Saw that a few years back on Broadway when Alfred Molina was Tevye. Good Times!

Anyway, I'm a man about tradition. I absolutely love having things that you do and treasure for years. At home, my best friends and I had a tradition that we'd go to Wendy's and then hang out at one of our houses on Friday nights. The Yankees have the Pinstripes, and haven't changed in all their years playing baseball. At Ithaca, I would always do a fist-pound with my broadcast partner before a game.

Here in Los Angeles, I have a new tradition. Every Wednesday, I have a class from 2:30 to 5:30 and then another one at 7. That hour and a half in between has become the Mike, Bryan and Jennifer dinner party. Every week, the three of us, and sometimes other friends of ours, all go have dinner at one of LA's fine fast food establishments.

Yes, it is awful for our health, and we probably should just bring our own dinner down to the Pendelton Center. But, come on! How boring is that? All three of us are loving this tradition. This week, we elected to go to Panda Express for some quality Chinese food. Last week was Wienerschnitzel. The week before that, Koo Koo Roo. We've also hit up Carl's Jr. It's been a great time.

Traditions are very valuable in my life. I love having two great friends that share this with me. Those 90 minutes have become something I look forward to every week!

Citi Cable 3 Packages

2009-09-28T13:28:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

So after some tinkering with problems on the web site, we finally were able to get the videos up and running for the past two episodes of The Sports Desk. The good news is that three of my packages aired during these two episodes, and now, you can view them as well! I know your excitement is overflowing, but I thought these all came out pretty well and would appreciate any feedback you have.

Here is the link to the first episode: Episode 31.09

In this episode, there is a package I did previewing the football season for El Camino College. The school is a junior college in Torrance and has always had a very strong football team, similar to that at Ithaca. In fact, they are currently ranked #1 in the state of California for Junior Colleges! The intro. to the package begins at 13:10 in the video if you want to jump ahead.

Here is the link to the second episode: Episode 32.09

In this episode, there are two packages I did. The first is a preview for South High School's volleyball team. The squad had a solid year last season and is off to another good start this year. They have some good players I mention in the package. The intro. to that package begins at 1:50 in the video. The other is a highlight package from South High's football game against Burroughs High School. There were some pretty good plays in this game. The intro. to it begins at 14:02 in the video.

When you click the link, it will open to a page with a description of what's in the episode and will open in a video box on the bottom. Not positive if it works on a Mac, but it definitely does on a PC. If you want to watch in full screen, right click in the video, go to zoom, then click full screen.

Once again, any feedback you have is appreciated. I am really interested to hear what you all think about the work I've done so far and what I could possibly do to improve on it. You can either comment right on the blog by clicking the comments link at the bottom of the post, or you can e-mail me (mhpbroadcaster@gmail.com) or write on Facebook, or whatever! I hope you enjoy!

The End of the Beginning

2009-09-27T21:40:00.000-07:00

Preseason Hockey is over and done with after the Kings played their final game today. It was against the Ducks again, though this one was in Anaheim at the Honda Center. I was fortunate enough to be able to go and help out in the radio booth as well as see another new sporting venue. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised how nice the arena was.

The actual seating bowl is very intimate and not one seat was too far away from the ice. There are three levels of seats: The main level (lower level), club level (middle level) and upper level. There were also two different sets of suites, with one of the rings at the back of the main level and the other at the back of the club level. The scoreboard is pretty big and has all the important info. There are two LED ribbon boards circling the whole arena at the top and bottom of the main level, and an HD board at the top of each end of the arena. Overall, it was just what you'd want.

The concourses were the most surprising. They all had very nice tiled floor and were extremely clean. There were also windows at different points that offered nice views of Anaheim and the surrounding area. While the food choices were not as varied as say Angel Stadium or Staples Center, they had a bunch of good selections. Overall, it was a just a very nice arena.

As for the game, the Kings lost 5-4, but it was an exciting game to watch. Each team was basically trading off goals and making it difficult for the goalies. I wish these two teams played each other more early in the season.

I put a picture of my plate at dinner tonight, which was glorious (the food was better than it looks in the picture). Eating in the press room at a game is without a doubt one of the best parts of being a media member. Here's the menu from tonight's pregame meal:

Salad w/ Blue Cheese Dressing
Soup (didn't try it but it was pork something)
BBQ Pork Chops
Blackened Chicken
Baked Potato Bar
Macaroni and Cheese
Corn on the Cob
Brownie Dessert (they also had Churros, Pretzels, and Popcorn in the Press Box)

The Kings' first regular season game is on Saturday, October 3rd against the Coyotes. I've never been to a season opener before, so I'm really excited for all the festivities that will go along with it. Until then, enjoy reading!

Volleyball and Only in LA

2009-09-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

Not much going on over the last few days. Yesterday, I covered a volleyball game at North High School in Torrance against Palos Verdes Peninsula High. I just finished editing a package this week for The Sports Desk that has highlights from that game as well as South High's game against Bishop Montgomery on Tuesday. It also features postgame sound bytes from players and coaches. I will post the video when it goes online next week.

The last two episodes of the show have a combined 3 packages that I made, but the station is having some trouble getting the video up online. Once they do, I will post links to them. I appreciate your patience!

As for the rest of the weekend, I will be up early here on Saturday to listen to Ithaca's football game against Utica on the road. The Pioneers are a much better team this year, so the game should be a good one. If you haven't listened to a game yet, you should. 92 WICB puts on a great broadcast from pregame to postgame, and I'm proud to have called games on the station for two years. Take a listen Saturday!!

Finally, I have done a bit of observing over the last week or so around the city to try and determine some things I've never seen before. While I'm sure you can see some of these things outside of LA, I haven't, so they're on this list. Here it is:

Only in LA will you...
1) Sit in annoying traffic at 2:15 on a Thursday or 3:00 on a Tuesday
2) Eat a chili cheese french fry burrito

3) Not move while sitting in a car behind people at a green light
4) Constantly see beach balls being bounced around you when you try to watch a baseball game

5) Not receive a golf pencil at a baseball game when you buy a scorecard
6) Have a waiter named Johnny Smash ask you if you want to "Pack a Bowl"...Apparently, this is ordering a bowl of soup at Bob's Big Boy
7) Have to pay to park just about EVERYWHERE you go!!
8) Be less than 5 miles from Downtown and barely be able to see the skyscrapers

9) Be able to order Donuts and Chinese Food in the same place

10) NEVER SEE RAIN!!...Ok, maybe you will see rain in LA, but considering I haven't since I've been here (50+ days), I'm putting it on the list.

It Feels Like October

2009-09-23T16:39:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday night, I saw one of the best baseball games I've ever been to. The Yankees defeated the Angels 6-5 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. Everything about the game and the trip to it was well worth it. I'll give you a brief glimpse of my day.

I went to the game along with my roommate Matt and our friend Bryan. Three of our other friends from the ICLA Program also came but arrived later. We went to a TGI Fridays nearby the Stadium and had an awesome early dinner. Happy Hour specials galore here! I'll spare the details, but it was very good and inexpensive!

At the game, we were able to park relatively close to the Stadium. The best part was that it was only $8, a steal compared to $15 at Dodger Stadium, Staples Center and the Home Depot Center. The Stadium itself was very nice and a great place to watch baseball. It has a new feel to it, but not brand new like the new stadium in New York or others built in the 21st Century. Great views, a good tribute to Angels history, excellent variety of food, detailed scoreboards and loud fans.

We got to go down low right next to the field for batting practice, something you can't do at Dodger Stadium unless you have tickets there. Besides seeing a guy get nailed in the head with a line drive that caused some serious bleeding, it was a great time. We saw many of the players up close, and I got a ball signed by Ramiro Pena. I then took a stroll around the Stadium to see all the many things it had to offer.

As for the game, it was very exciting. The atmosphere was like it was a playoff game, as it should be with both teams competing for home field advantage in the postseason. There were many Yankee fans that did a great job cheering against the Angels Fans. The Yankees built a 5-0 lead through the first half of the game, but then relinquished it. It was tied at 5 after 8, but there were great moments of suspense and big plays throughout the game.

In the 9th, Brett Gardner singled, stole 2nd, and scored on a sac fly by A-Rod to give the Yanks the lead. Enter Sandman! Mariano Rivera came on to closer the game out, getting some help from Jorge Posada on a clutch strike-em-out, throw-em-out double play. Yankees win! We all had a great time. For the 19 bucks we paid for tickets, it was definitely worth it and then some!

To check out the majority of the pictures I took, see my Facebook album!

Rest of My Weekend

2009-09-21T12:20:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts the last couple of days. This was another busy weekend as I was basically running around the entire city of Los Angeles. First of all, a belated L'Shanah Tovah to all of my fellow-Jewish readers out there. I hope everyone had a great holiday, and I wish you all a happy, healthy, and sweet new year!

Saturday, I interned at my third Kings game of the week. The rival Anaheim Ducks were in town for a preseason affair and were sent packing with a 4-1 beating from the Kings. The team's top draft pick this past year scored twice, which got a roar from the crowd. It was a fun game to work at, and I did my usual helping out of providing out of town score updates, letting the people in the press box know the announcers' three stars of the game, etc.

I spent some of my time walking around the Staples Center just to see the place as a whole and what it had to offer. I've posted a few pictures below, but check them all out on my Facebook album.

Staples Center Ice

Seating Bowl with 3 Levels of Suites

View from the Press Box

Inside the Press Box

The Main Concourse

The highlight, though, was that there were 25 or so people from the Ithaca LA program that came to the game. During the 2nd intermission, with the good graces from radio play-by-play announcer Nick Nickson, I brought over a bunch of them to check out the broadcast booth and meet Nick. For those who don't know yet, Nick is an Ithaca alum as well, and he was very excited to meet some of the current IC students. On the other side, everyone who came over enjoyed meeting him and color analyst Daryl Evans as well as seeing where they work every night. It was a pretty cool experience!

On Sunday, I went down to Torrance to do some serious editing for this week's show. I edited together two packages. One is a highlight package on this past week's Football game between South High School and Burroughs High, which is actually located in Burbank. The other is a preview package on this year's South High girls volleyball team. Both came out pretty good in my mind. Once links to both of those as well as my El Camino College football preview package are posted online, I will definitely post them up here.

Finally, I was graciously invited last night to have dinner at the house of two friends of my mother and uncle, Bob and Gloria. They live in Thousand Oaks on the complex of the Sherwood Country Club, which is a very nice golf course. Among others that live there are Broadcasting Hall-of-Famer Vin Scully, Pete Sampras, Paul Anka, and Wayne Gretzky used to live there along with Lenny Dykstra. Bob and Gloria were excellent hosts, provided me with a tour of their lovely home, featuring a ton of sports memorabilia, and a fantastic dinner. Thank you both once again for a great time and one of the best meals I have had since I've been in LA.

As for this week, I will be going to the Yankees-Angels game in Anaheim tomorrow night, classes on Wednesday, covering North High's volleyball game Thursday, doing some editing Friday and/or Saturday, and interning at the Kings-Ducks game in Anaheim on Sunday. I'm very excited to see Angels Stadium and the Honda Center this week! I only wish I was able to go to Las Vegas to see the team play on Saturday against the Avalanche.

Well I Guess This Is Growing Up

2009-09-19T11:15:00.000-07:00

Lyrics from the song Dammit, which Blink 182 played last night during a tremendous encore of an even better concert!! I am so happy that I was able to attend the show with my roommate down at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine. Blink 182 headlined a fantastic show that also included Fall Out Boy, The All-American Rejects, and Chester French.

Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

While LA traffic prevented us from seeing Mr. French, we did get to see most of AAR, and all of the other two bands. The Rejects are a personal favorite of mine and they didn't disappoint with many of my favorite songs. Swing, Swing was played as was I Wanna, The Real World, and Gives You Hell, which closed out their performance. Tyler was very vocal with the crowd! Gotta love AAR!

All-American Rejects on Stage

Fall Out Boy was next. They had a cool set-up with light-up "F O B" letters in front of the drums. They played many of their big hits as well. Some of my favorites were "This Ain't a Scene," "I Don't Care," "Sugar, We're Goin Down," and "Dance, Dance." I wasn't sure what to expect out of them, but they were really fun to listen to, talked a lot with the crowd, and had some nice guitar playing. I was very impressed by them!

Fall Out Boy on Stage

Then came Blink 182, which showed it was going to be impressive right out of the gate. They played three straight songs without stopping. Their set-up included some awesome lighting and multiple video screens in the background. They played a total of 22 songs and were on the stage for about an hour and a half. You should check out the complete setlist. Just unbelievable!

Blink 182 on Stage

Their encore included a ridiculous drumming session by Travis Barker where he drummed on a platform that elevated in the air, went on angles, and even spun!! It got a tremendous roar from the crowd. "Dammit" was fantastic. It included an amazing intro and sounded even better with the whole crowd singing!

End of the Blink 182 Encore

Overall, this was probably the best concert I've been too. Granted, I haven't been to many, this just blew me away with how great it was. The venue is pretty big. It seats about 10,000 or so and then has a giant grass area which can hold at least 6,000 people if not more. The place was absolutely packed yesterday, and the sound was awesome with everyone cheering and singing. Definitely worth the price of admission and something I hope I can do again.

Packed House For the Show!

Another Exciting Kings Game and A Big Decision

2009-09-18T00:18:00.000-07:00

Tonight was my second Kings game of the preseason, and once again, it was a thriller. The Kings were down 1-0 for most of the game and couldn't seem to get any good scoring opportunities. Then, with 9.5 seconds left, Kings captain and Ithaca, NY native Dustin Brown scored to tie the game and send it to overtime. After the Kings killed off two penalties in the extra frame, the contest was decided by a shootout. Unfortunately for the Kings, Jason Demers scored in the fourth round to win it for San Jose. However, the game was still really exciting.

This game was a bit different than almost all of the others I will be working at this year. Tonight's game was played in Ontario, California at the Citizens Business Bank Arena instead of the Staples Center in LA. The arena is home to one of the Kings' minor league affiliates, The Ontario Reign. They are in the ECHL, which is like the AA version of minor league hockey.

The arena and team are very new, with the building opening last summer and the team having their inaugural season last fall. The place seats about 9,000 or so for hockey and is very nice. There isn't a bad seat in the house, the press box has a good amount of room, the fans were into the game, and the people there were very kind. I'm glad I got to experience a "home" game away from the Staples Center.

There is a big decision that I will have to make as well after what was presented to me this evening. I have been offered a spot to do play-by-play for the Reign's home games this season and they will be broadcast online. This is a great chance for me to get a good start in the broadcasting industry. However, the position is like an internship and not paid, and to do it, I must remain in LA for the entire season (through April). Therefore, I would need a job by the end of the semester.

So, here's where you all come in. In this situation where I am faced with a difficult decision, I would like to turn to my loyal readers and see what you think is best. What do you think I should do here? You can either comment directly on the blog, send me an e-mail at mhpbroadcaster@gmail.com, or speak to me in person. Either way, I appreciate any advice you might have.

Hockey's Back

2009-09-15T23:37:00.001-07:00

Tonight was the first preseason game for the Los Angeles Kings as they hosted the Phoenix Coyotes in a split squad affair. Half of each team played at the Staples Center in LA and the other half at the Jobing.com Arena (worst name ever) in Phoenix. So, I got to spend my first night at the Staples Center and experience what I'd be doing for the season, the arena, and the team. It was a great experience.

View from the Broadcast Booths

Before the game, I followed around the Kings' radio play-by-play announcer Nick Nickson and color analyst Daryl Evans and got a tour of parts of the building. I saw where the broadcast booths are, and they are actually separate from the press box. The booths are together in the middle of the upper section of seats while the press box for writers and other staff members is up at the top of the arena. The view from the booths was just about perfect for hockey and there was plenty of space as well. Great place to watch a game!

The Kings' Radio Broadcast Booth

I also got to see the press dining room, known as the Chick Hearn Press Room, the Kings' locker room, and the postgame press conference room. The "event level" of the arena by the locker rooms was just renovated along with the rooms themselves. While it's smaller than the new clubhouses at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field, it is still nice and creates an intimate atmosphere for the team.

Retired #'s and Championship Banners

During the game, I basically help out the broadcasters by providing any additional information they might need. I'll keep track of the out-of-town scores, confirm any scoring changes, and provide one of the Kings' media members with the broadcasters' three stars of the game. After the game, I will go down to the locker rooms to do interviews with players and the head coach and then edit the audio for use on the postgame show. I'm really excited to have these responsibilities and observe a professional radio broadcast.

Staples Center Scoreboard

As for the Staples Center, it is quite the venue. Being only 10 years old, it is expected that it will be very nice and modern. The biggest thing that stands out to me is that there are 3 levels of suites. That's right...3! In between the 200 level and the 300 level, 3 rings of luxury boxes ring the arena except for one end where there is a giant bar/club area.

Three Levels of Suites!

There are multiple LED boards around the arena, and the scoreboard was clear. The concourses were very large, clean, and had many different food options including McDonalds and California Pizza Kitchen. And the seating bowl, while big, seemed like there wasn't one bad view of the ice anywhere. Definitely a place I'd want to go to watch a game. Fortunately, I'll be watching at least 20 or so over the next few months.

First Sports Desk Package

2009-09-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

After much anticipation, my first sports package for Torrance Citi Cable 3's The Sports Desk has been posted online. I have embedded below the episode of the show in which my package airs. If you want to see just my piece, you can skip ahead to time marker 14:35 in the video, which is the intro into my story. However, feel free to watch the whole show to see some of the other stories/teams we cover in Torrance.

Bonnie Prickitt is the host/producer of the show and is a great person to work with. I hope you all enjoy the piece. PLEASE feel free to comment on the video either here or directly to me! Anything is appreciated!!

So, without further ado, here it is! If you want to make it full screen, just right click in the video, go to zoom, then click full screen.

***If for some reason the video won't work through the blog, you can access it through this link.***

Crazy/Awesome Week Coming Up!!

2009-09-13T18:41:00.001-07:00

Before, I discuss the insane week ahead of me, I just wanted to point out that I have put up a full album from the LA Galaxy game yesterday. You can view it here!

Okay, onto this week! This marks the official beginning of the NHL Preseason and the Kings have three game "at home" during the upcoming week. Why is "at home" in quotes? Well, Thursday's game is being played in Ontario, California, which is about an hour east of downtown LA. This is the home of one of the Kings' minor league affiliates, the Ontario Reign. The Kings will play the Sharks there on Thursday. The other two games are on Tuesday at the Staples Center against the Phoenix Coyotes and Saturday against the crosstown-rival Anaheim Ducks.

I will be working in the broadcast booth at all three games, assisting mostly the radio broadcast team of Nick Nickson and Daryl Evans. However, I will also be helping out TV broadcasters Bob Miller (announcer from The Mighty Ducks) and Jim Fox and possibly some of the out-of-town broadcasters.

The other big event this upcoming week will be a concert I'm attending with my roommate on Friday. Blink 182 will be playing at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine (about an hour south of LA) as part of their reunion tour. But the excitement doesn't end there. Also playing are Fall Out Boy and one of my personal favorites...THE ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS!! It should be quite the concert. Being someone who doesn't go to concerts often, it's pretty exciting when I finally get to go to one!

Aside from that, classes Wednesday, as well as our first Media Industries seminar class on Monday night, editing the rest of my volleyball preview, as well as highlights from the South High School football game vs. Burroughs High this coming Thursday! Then, next Tuesday, I'm going to see the Yankees play the Angels in Anaheim! With both teams battling for home field advantage throughout the playoffs, it will be an exciting game!! Should be busy, but very fun.

My First Ever Soccer Game

2009-09-13T00:32:00.001-07:00

Yes, today, I attended my first professional soccer game. I have seen my high school and college teams play, but never have I seen a Major League Soccer team or international club live. The match-up on Saturday evening was the Los Angeles Galaxy against FC Dallas. I must say it was quite the experience...probably one I will never get again considering the final score was 6-3!!! Too bad the Galaxy lost. Don't believe me? Here's the scoreboard at the end of the game:

If you don't already know, the Galaxy are the home team for superstars David Beckham and Landon Donovan. Beckham was a fantastic player over in England and for other teams abroad. Donovan has gained fame as one of the key players on the US National soccer team. It was pretty cool to see these two in person and hear the fan support they get. Here are shots of Beckham (#23) and Donovan (#10):

Beckham:

Donovan:

As for the game and environment, it was surprisingly very exciting to watch. I have never been interested in soccer and have only really watched big international games like the World Cup on television. However, watching the sport live is definitely an experience. The Home Depot Center was a cool place to watch the game as it is built just for soccer. It is very intimate, with every seat having a good view of the field. The fans were very into the game, especially the multiple sections of Galaxy Supporters. They stood, chanted, played instruments, and jumped up and down the whole game. There was confetti/fireworks at the start of the game, and more confetti for each goal. Each chance for a score was exciting, and the unusually large number of goals made the game even more enjoyable. I had an absolute blast!

Me and my friends Bryan and Dan

Below are some more pictures I took from the game. I will be posting a whole album on my Facebook soon! Tomorrow, I'll have a whole preview of the crazy week that's about to begin!

Entrance to the Home Depot Center

View from Our Seats

Corner Kick on Our End

LA Galaxy Huddle

FC Dallas Goal Celebration

Galaxy Supporters

Discussion with the Referees

Brawl/Handshakes After the Game

Volleyball Preview

2009-09-10T22:54:00.000-07:00

Today at Citi Cable 3, I went out to do a girls volleyball preview at South High School in Torrance. The team is pretty good and today had a preseason game against Palos Verdes Peninsula High School. Watching the team brought back memories of when I played volleyball in high school and made me miss it a little. While it's not a popular game, it is more complex than you would think and can be very exciting to watch.

As for the preview, I was able to interview Head Coach Rob Kutsch and two of the captains for the team. The team and players seem very excited for the season and are looking to reclaim the Pioneer League title once again. When the package is all completed and airs, I will post the link to it.

Overall, I really am enjoying my internship with The Sports Desk @ Citi Cable 3. While high school sports is not anything glamorous, it is still fun to cover and see kids playing the sports they love and learning about the storylines that go along with the teams. I am excited to be creating some pieces that will get airtime here in California and online, and I will hopefully be able to use them for my demo reel once I'm done with college.

Tuesday Intern Double Dip

2009-09-08T20:22:00.000-07:00

Today, I spent some time at both internships. My time today with the Kings was short; I just went in to fill out some paperwork, talk to my supervisor, and pick up my season credential for the Kings. It is nice to finally have a credential that's good each game for the season rather than having to pick one up each day. It also includes phone numbers for all of the important people I will be dealing with, which will be very helpful on game days. I'm definitely getting excited as the first preseason game is only a week away!

At Citi CABLE 3, I did some editing for my second package that will be aired. This one is going to be another football preview, focusing on El Camino College. The school is a junior college in Torrance and is one of the best for football. I'll leave you in suspense about the team until the package is aired. I expect it to turn out pretty good...even better than my first one.

Speaking of my first package, it was recorded today during the taping of the show and should be online by Friday. I will put up a post with either a link to the video or with it embedded if possible. I thought it came out great for my first package in Torrance and gave some great insight on the South High School Spartans. I look forward to hearing your feedback on the piece.

The rest of the week will include classes on Wednesday, a volleyball preview at North High on Thursday, more editing later in the week, and my first ever Major League Soccer game on Saturday when we go see David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Top 10 Continued

2009-09-07T15:30:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody. Hope you are all having a fantastic Labor Day. I am enjoying mine here in sunny Los Angeles relaxing and just enjoying the day. I have another Top 10 today. Being that I'm near Hollywood, the movie capital of the world, I have decided to make a list of my Top 10 movies that I have seen. So, here it is:

1. Remember the Titans

Just a tremendous sports movie that features some great acting, a story about a football team overcoming racism in their town and on their team to complete a memorable season. Watching this movie gets better every single time.

2. The Hangover

If you like comedies, this movie is for you. The acting in this was hysterical as each person played their role tremendously. Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis all did a great job trying to find their lost bachelor all over Las Vegas. I could not stop laughing the entire movie!

3. Psycho

Horror/murder mystery movies don't get much better than this one. Janet Leigh provides the perfect character for Marion Crane as she tries to escape town and ends up at the Bates Motel. The music makes the movie as it provides a creepy backdrop to the chilling storyline. A must-see if you are a murder mystery fan!

4. The Rookie

Another one of my all-time favorite sports movies. Dennis Quaid does a great job filling the role of former Major League pitcher Jim Morris, who goes from teacher in Texas to pro pitcher for the Devil Rays in a matter of months. Just a great story to hear if you don't already know it, and a fantastic, heart-warming movie to watch even if you do.

5. V for Vendetta

It took me a couple viewings of the movie to understand everything that was going on, but it's totally worth it to watch it again and again. The extensive plot and awesome special effects make the movie even better. It's a great story to follow as the movie goes on and the acting was superb.

6. Superbad

One of the all-time funniest movies. From start to finish, the movie theater was cracking up at each joke. The storyline was another hilarious tale of trying to get to a party and buying alcohol with a fake ID. All of the tangents the actors had to encounter really made the movie worthwhile. Pure laughter in this one.

7. Independence Day

This movie could be higher up on the list, but we'll slide it in here. Still one of the great movies that can be watched over and over again. Will Smith does a great job in the movie and the special effects are awesome. When the movie came out, it was a thrill to watch it in a movie theater. Definitely a quality action movie with some drama thrown in as well.

8. Wedding Crashers

Another classic storyline in this one featuring Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn. Two guys who go around crashing weddings and sleeping with girls at each one. Then, they both fall in love with people at one specific wedding. Funny moments all the time in each movie but there's a heartwarming tale in it too.

9. Pulp Fiction

This classic featuring the likes of John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, and Uma Thurman, provides multiple storylines and interesting twists the entire movie. I really liked the acting by both Travolta and Jackson as they made the movie funny and action-packed at the same time.

10. Friday Night Lights

Based on the true story of the 1988 Permian Panthers, it was great to see what high school football in Texas is really like and how much pressure these kids are put under when playing the game. The story is a little dramatized, but the emotion that you can see and feel as the movie goes on really makes it great to watch.

Honorable Mention Award Winners

Major League

Anchorman

Happy Gilmore

Miracle

Animal House

That's all from me...might come at you with another Top 10 tomorrow. Hope you enjoy the new background. I'll try and change it up every so often. This is of Dodger Stadium.

Top 10 (+ 1)

2009-09-06T17:37:00.001-07:00

So today, I decided to make a Top 10 list of the places I've been to so far in Los Angeles and California in general, with one bonus place. San Francisco was so awesome that I had to include it in the list. Some of them are activities rather than places. Alright, here it is:

1. 17 Mile Drive/Pacific Coast Highway

This is something that I don't think I will ever get to experience anywhere else. The drive is absolutely beautiful and provides awesome views of the ocean, mountains, and beaches. I often could not fathom how something so gorgeous was made and formed. The actual drive was very curvy and hilly which made it fun and difficult too. However, if you come to California, you must do this drive. It was a tremendous experience.

2. Fisherman's Wharf (San Francisco)

Great variety of food, the California Sea Lions, awesome views of the San Francisco bay, crazy shops, it has basically everything you'd want all in one area!

3. AT&T Park (San Francisco)

This has become one of my favorite places to watch a baseball game. The park is beautiful and features a large amount of Giants history in it. Great views from everywhere in the park of the field as well as the bay. Fans were into the game, and the variety of food also raised it up. Great place to go!

4. Universal Studios Hollywood

This place just had so much to do. The park had a bunch of fun rides to go on, and the studio tour was pretty awesome. City Walk was great to go to at night with all the lights on. The restaurants all sounded so good with Tony Roma's being the choice and being very very tasty. The shops were pretty fun to go in as well. Lots of life here and a fun place to be.

5. Hollywood Walk of Fame

The area has so much to do. Walking up and down the street to see the stars and concrete hand/footprints was a unique site. The Grauman's Theatre is a great place to go watch a movie. The Kodak Theatre area had many cool shops and restaurants to go to, and the rest of Hollywood Boulevard has multiple other places to go and check out. The area's a little touristy but definitely something one has to do.

6. Cable Car Ride (San Francisco)

Basically, you must do this in San Francisco. While it's not anything amazing, it's a tradition and a very unique experience. Going up and down the hill provided great views and getting to stand and hold onto the side of the car while riding was much more fun than taking mass transit.

7. Venice Beach

I am not a big beach person, but this day was too enjoyable to not put on this list. The waves in California are twice the size of those on the east coast and swimming in them was a lot of fun. The sand is much softer and smoother as well which was a pleasant surprise. As for the boardwalk, it was simply ridiculous. Strange shops, vendors, and people all made the experience that much more unique. Good times!

8. House of Nanking (San Francisco)

I wanted to have a good dinner in Chinatown while in San Fran, and this was one of the best experiences I've had eating. The food was great, and ordering without a menu and receiving tea in a beer mug with a flower in it was quite uncommon. While I wasn't in love with the place, it was pretty darn good and definitely not what I expected.

9. Dodger Stadium

One tour and two games gave me a pretty good perspective on the Stadium. I enjoyed seeing another traditional, older ballpark and the place was fun to watch a game. The constant bouncing beach balls, lack of good out-of-town scoreboard, late gate opening times, and inability to get to all levels of the ballpark dropped this one down.

10. Hollywood Sign

This was an experience I will do once or twice, but it was worth it. The hike is long and steep through the mountains, but the views are amazing. Everything from seeing downtown LA, Beverly Hills, Burbank, and the sign itself was all an experience you don't get often.

Bonus Place - The Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco)

The Golden Gate Bridge is a national landmark and is well-known everywhere. I enjoyed getting to drive back and forth over the bridge and see up close just how amazing of a site it is. It provides great views of the San Francisco skyline, the bay, and the opening to the ocean. Just amazing to see up close.

Another Active and Exciting Weekend

2009-09-05T19:12:00.000-07:00

Sunday will be my day of rest, but my Friday and Saturday were both a lot of fun. Friday night, several students from the Ithaca LA program, and even some alumni, went to the Dodgers-Padres game at Dodger Stadium. It was another relatively boring game, with the final score being 2-0, but we all had a great time and got to see some awesome fireworks on the field once again. Here are some pictures from the game:

Reserved Level behind Home Plate

View from Our Seats

First Pitch - Clayton Kershaw to Everth Cabrera

Adrian Gonzalez (Padres 1st Baseman Swinging)

Adrian Gonzalez and Manny Ramirez at 1st

Nice Evening Sky

Ithaca College Welcomed on the Scoreboard

Russell Martin Swinging Away

Padres Celebrate the Win

On the Field After the Game

A Look at the Infield

Group Shot on the Field

Fireworks to End the Day

If you want to see all the pictures I took, check out my Facebook Album!

As for Saturday, a bunch of us went bowling at Pickwick Bowl, which is about a 5-10 minute drive from the Oakwoods. We all had a great time, and there was even some friendly wagering going on. Let's just say, I got a free dinner because I finished more than 50 points higher than someone (I finished 51 higher to be exact). I'd like to say I bowled pretty well, finishing with scores of 151 and 168 in the two games. It was an enjoyable afternoon for everyone who went!

The best part of the weekend though was probably celebrating the start of another new Bombers Football season. While I am sad that I am not in Ithaca to cover the team and call games, I still got a thrill from listening to the game on the radio. The guys over at 92 WICB do a great job putting the game on the air, and I'm proud to have been a part of that for two seasons. You should all take a listen on Saturday afternoons! By the way, Ithaca won 45-0 over St. Lawrence which made it even sweeter. Great start Bombers!!

Quick Thoughts on a Thursday in September...UPDATED

2009-09-03T18:47:00.000-07:00

Just some things that went through my head today...

*People in Los Angeles do not understand that a green light means to drive. It's very frustrating

*Often times, a traffic-capable GPS will tell you to not take the highway because it has traffic and instead to take the side roads that "don't have traffic." In reality, it's even slower with lights and there are still a ton of cars on the road. Thank you GPS for a miserable ride home.

*College football starts today!! And this South Carolina-NC State games is 7-3 in the 4th quarter. What a terrible way to start the season.

*The NFL season is about to start! YAY FOOTBALL!

*The song "Suddenly I See" by KT Tunstall is actually very catchy. Heard it on a commercial and now find myself singing it often.

*People in LA find it amazing that I traveled here all the way from New York for college, and I'm not even studying at one of the California Schools (USC, UCLA, UC-Something, Cal State-Something, etc.)

*I had to pay nearly 8 bucks to park in a garage for under an hour so that I could get consulted about my allergy shots. Ummmm...can you say rip-off?!

*UPDATED THOUGHT: Erin Andrews is back on ESPN covering College Football. Today's a great day in the sport media world! Welcome Back Erin!

That's all from me. Dodgers game tomorrow night should be fun! Bowling on Saturday...can't wait! Found out we're going to Six Flags Magic Mountain on October 4th, the same weekend as the Kings' season opener! Should be quite the weekend for me!

Busy Rest of the Week

2009-09-02T11:53:00.001-07:00

Just thought I'd give you all a heads up of what's going on for the rest of this week. Not sure how intensive some of the posts will be, but here's a small preview of what's going on:

Today - Classes at the Pendelton Center...I'm particularly excited for Issues and the News where we'll be watching the movie V for Vendetta. If you haven't seen it, you should! It's great!

Thursday - Final editing for my first football preview package on South Torrance High School! I will let you know when it will be airing so that you can watch it online.

Friday - Going to the Dodgers-Padres game with the ICLA Program!!

Saturday - Getting up early here to listen to the Bombers Football Season Opener online (It feels so weird to not be preparing for another Ithaca season right now). Good Luck Bombers!! Then, going bowling with some people from ICLA!

Sunday - Back to Torrance most likely for some more editing on another football preview for El Camino College!

Right now, things are slow with the Kings internship as the season hasn't started yet and some other interns are learning their tasks in the office. However, next week, things will likely heat back up as Training Camp gets underway. The first preseason game is on the 15th, which will be my first trip to the Staples Center. So Excited!!

Take it easy everyone! Thanks again for reading!

New Picture and Layout

2009-09-01T00:06:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

Nothing much going on today as I had the day off from interning, no classes, and no activities planned. Aside from some food shopping, I pretty much relaxed for the day. I did prepare a little for tomorrow at my Citi Cable 3 internship. I will be editing my first package a bit on South High School's football team, but I will also be going out to El Camino College to preview their football season. Their quarterback this season is Matt Simms, who is the son of Giants Legend Phil Simms. Pretty cool stuff!

If you haven't already noticed, I did do some minor adjustments on the blog. I changed the background to a picture I took at Venice Beach and the title spot to a picture of the famous Hollywood Sign. Thought it would give the blog a little more of an LA feel to it. I also edited my "About Me" section on the top right to include my school, major/minor, and internships, in case you did not already know. Some small things that I feel will make the page a little bit better! Hope you all enjoy!

Also, just a reminder, you can check out additional pictures that I did not post on the blog on my Facebook Photos Page. I may not have them all up right away, but they'll likely get up at some point! You can also follow me on Twitter or leave a comment for me here. Thanks for reading everyone!

Wildfires and Universal Studios

2009-08-30T17:54:00.000-07:00

So, if you have been hearing about wildfires in the mountains just north of Los Angeles recently, the reports are in fact true. There is a pretty big fire burning, and it's very visible from the Oakwood apartments and even as far as south of downtown LA. It's pretty crazy to look at. According to reports I have read, the fire is called the Station Fire and is centered in La Canada Flintridge. It has burned 35,000 acres so far and is 5% contained. Crazy Stuff! Here are some pictures I have taken:

On Sunday, the ICLA program went over to Universal Studios Hollywood for the day. The park is not a roller coaster heaven like Six Flags, or as big a place as Disney. However, it was a great deal of fun.

We were able to go on a tour of the studios, which featured some pretty cool movie sets. Some of the ones we visited were the War of the Worlds (which was by far the coolest), Desperate Housewives, Fast and the Furious, Jaws, and Jurassic Park. Here's a look at some of the sets:

War of the Worlds

Desperate Housewives

The Fast and the Furious

Jaws

Jurassic Park

We also went on many of the awesome rides at the park. My three favorite, hands down, were the Revenge of the Mummy, Jurassic Park, and Simpsons: The Ride. The Mummy was an indoor themed roller coaster that launches you in the darkness, and you even go backwards at one point. The launch was totally unexpected.

Jurassic Park takes place in a big boat and brings you through themed areas featuring dinosaurs. In the end, you have to escape from attacking T-Rex's and you go plummeting down a big drop into water. It gets you pretty wet, but it was very refreshing on a warm August day.

Splashdown!!!

All Wet!!

Finally, the Simpsons Ride is a motion simulator ride. You sit in 8-person cars and get raised into a giant IMAX theatre where you have to destroy Sideshow Bob's plot to kill the Simpsons. It was also very fun and feels like you are riding on a roller coaster.

We went on some other attractions too like Shrek 4D and the Hollywood House of Horrors. We also learned behind the scenes info about movies such as computer generated imaging (CGI) and how sounds are made. They were all cool but definitely could not top the other three. I had a really great time at Universal and definitely recommend spending a day there.

Los Angeles Kings Hockey Fest 2009

2009-08-29T19:52:00.000-07:00

On Friday and Saturday, I was fortunate enough to spend part of my day helping out at the 1st Annual Kings Hockey Fest. The event runs from Friday through Sunday and is a celebration of both the Kings and the game of hockey. It was a great way to promote hockey in an area of the country where it is not as popular. The event was held in the LA Live section of Downtown, which is home to the Staples Center and the Nokia Theatre.

Kings Players and Alumni

Friday night featured an introduction of many different personnel in the organization, many past players, prospects, and almost the entire current team at the Nokia Theatre. There was a great turnout despite awful traffic and fans were giving loud ovations for many of the past greats. Players like Kelly Hrudey, Marcel Dionne, and Luc Robitaille (who is now the President of the team) all received some of the loudest applause.

Luc Robitaille Addressing the Crowd

The current team was also a big hit, with Dustin Brown giving a speech at the end. Brown, if you did not know, is actually from Ithaca and played hockey at Ithaca High School before moving on to bigger and better things. He's now the captain for the Kings and a great public speaker as well. Very cool to see!

Dustin Brown Addressing the Crowd

Saturday featured a ton of fan interactive areas inside the Kings Tent. There were many skill games featured such as Hardest Shot, Accuracy Shot, and the Goalie Challenge. I helped out at the latter where one person would shoot on another who was dressed in goalie gear. I sometimes had to stand in between the pipes and have plastic pucks ripped at me. It was quite fun though, and I met some really great people I will be interning with this season. There were also many autograph sessions that went on inside with current and former players. It definitely was a hockey fan's dream day!

Inside the Hockey Fest Tent

Finally, there were some panel discussions with Kings alumni inside the Nokia Theatre hosted by some of the broadcasters as well as John Buccigross from ESPN. It was cool to meet all of the announcers as well as John and just take in the entire atmosphere. They had several different discussion themes from Hockey Experts to Enforcers to a discussion with the Kings' famous "Triple Crown Line" of Marcel Dionne, Dave Taylor, and Charlie Simmer.

Interactive Fan Challenges

I had a lot of fun during my two days at the event and am now even more excited to be a part of the Kings organization. I feel like this team has a lot of good, young talent and a tradition of true appreciation for their fans. It should be a fun time this fall at the Staples Center!

Staples Center: Home of the Kings (Lakers, and Clippers too)

California Fast Food

2009-08-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

So, when I was a kid, I was pretty much a fast food junkie. I ate it very often and always would go to grab a quick bite before Karate Class or some other thing I did. Today, with the busy lifestyle I often live, I find myself having to resort to eating fast food just to have a quick fill-up. Here in California, I have been able to experience a few places that aren't see on the East Coast much, or at least have driven by them. Here are a few with some of my reviews:

In-N-Out Burger
Probably the staple of West Coast fast food. This place is famous for their very good burgers and very simple menu. Basically, your choices are burger, cheeseburger, double double (self explanatory) and fries. Soda and milk shakes for beverages (shakes are very good). They have a "secret menu" which allows you to craft your burger in different ways. Very very good food and a very easy choice to decide what to eat!

The first In-N-Out Burger I went to in San Francisco

Carl's Jr.
This is another place that's famous for their burgers. I really enjoyed the variety they offered here. Everything from their famous Big Carl burger, to Western Bacon Cheesburgers, and even Teriyaki Burgers, complete with grilled Pineapple. They had regular burgers or "six dollar angus" burgers which are probably better meat. They also had chicken sandwiches and other options. Very good if you like burgers and probably my #2 choice.

Funny Ad I Found

Jack in the Box
This was another place that had multiple burger choices as well as pretty good chicken sandwiches. Overall a good variety, but the quality was much lower than what I was hoping for. The Sourdough Jack was pretty good though. Can't rate it higher than #3 on the list. Something about that clown though really creeps me out (maybe it was the large mural of him right next to the table I ate at).

Crazy Clown!!

Places I've Yet to Try, but Certainly Will:

Wienerschnitzel
They claim themselves as the "World's Largest Hot Dog Chain" but apparently Wienerschnitzel is not even a hot dog. We'll see when I go there. I hear mixed reviews.

Bob's Big Boy
Seem's like a very good place that's not far from the Oakwood Apartments. Definitely think I'll enjoy what they'll have to offer.

Places That Are Also in California and the East Coast:

McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Subway, Quizno's, KFC, Pizza Hut, and best of all............A&W!!!!!!

Heaven in a Mug!!

Classes and Internships

2009-08-26T10:43:00.000-07:00

Hello Again,

So today marks the unofficial end of summer as today is the first day of classes for Ithaca College and for me. I know! It's ridiculous, right? I have to take classes while I'm in the middle of enjoying one of the most fun cities in the world?! Well, unfortunately, I do.

I will be taking two classes this semester, as I mentioned in my first ever post. Those two are Issues and the News & Government and Media. Both classes are on Wednesday, so it helps to free up the other six days of the week for internships and other fun things. However, both classes are about 3 hours long. It should certainly be an interesting time! All of the students in the LA Program are also required to take a 1-credit seminar called Media Industries where people from around the media industry are brought in to speak to us. That seminar takes place four times during the four months on a Monday night. Classes are held at the Pendleton Center (in picture) which is located right down the street from the Oakwoods.

Now for the exciting stuff. I have finalized the two places where I will be interning while I am in LA. They are with the Los Angeles Kings and Torrance CitiCABLE 3!!

The LA Kings are the professional hockey team out here and former home club for greats such as Wayne Gretzky, Luc Robitaille, and Marcel Dionne. For the internship, I will be helping out in the radio broadcast booth at the Staples Center with broadcasting great Nick Nickson (whom the broadcast center @ Staples is named after) and former Kings great Daryl Evans. I will be doing anything from statistics to helping choose the 3 Stars of the Game to conducting player interviews during pregame and postgame for all home games while I'm out here. When there's no home game, I will do some work at their practice facility in El Segundo (just south of LAX) such as proofing pages for the media guide or program, editing game notes, helping the media at team practices, etc. It should be a great opportunity and is exactly the kind of experience I wanted while out here.

Torrance CitiCABLE 3 is a small TV channel out of Torrance, CA (just south of El Segundo) that focuses on local news and sports. I will be interning with their show, The Sports Desk, as an on-air reporter covering local high school sports. Torrance has four public high schools (Torrance, North, South and West) and one public school (Bishop Montgomery). There is also one college we cover called El Camino College. I will be focusing most of my reporting on South High School and will try to cover as much High School Football as I can. Basically, I will get to go cover a game, do interviews, and then edit together a package that will air on their weekly show. It is a fantastic opportunity that doesn't usually come often in an internship. I hope it will provide me with some more great stuff for my resume tape.

Overall, I'm really very excited to get things going at both internships and with my classes (as scary as that sounds) considering those are the real reasons why I am out here. However, I'm sure I will still be doing a bunch of sightseeing while I'm out here, so I'll have a lot more great posts to come! Thanks for reading!

The Oakwood Apartments

2009-08-23T20:03:00.001-07:00

Yes, I know, this is very much delayed, but I have been so busy checking out LA that I haven't been able to post these pictures from my new apartment. I live with three other guys here in a complex call the Oakwoods. Many other people live here including people in the film industry, other college students, and people just visiting or working out here.

The apartment has two, two-person bedrooms. One is a master bedroom with a bathroom attached to it. The other (my room) is like a guest room with the bathroom across the hall. The apartment also has a very nice kitchen with a bar-style countertop. It comes complete with a full-size refrigerator, oven/stove top, sink, and dishwasher, along with bountiful cabinet space. There is a dining room next to it with a table for four. In the same area, there is also a living room with a couch and love seat (fairly comfortable), small desk, and TV stand with free cable (you have to supply the TV though).

The complex also has two pools and two hot tubs, as well as clubhouses which have small business centers, gyms, conference space, and movie screening rooms. One has a convenience store in it as well. There is also dry cleaning service available on the complex.

This gated community is really a nice place to live and not terribly far from anything!

Soaking Up the Sun!

2009-08-23T16:41:00.000-07:00

One final trip today before our classes start on Monday. We ventured out west to the coast for a day at Venice Beach. This is just one of the many beaches that line the Southern California coast, and it was certainly one of the nicest I've been to.

The sand on the west coast is so much different than it is back east. Very smooth, very grainy, not water-logged and gross like the sand in New York. It was excellent to walk through and lay down on. The only problem is that the sand gets much hotter and becomes difficult to stand on.

The waves are without a doubt the best part of the beach. They are at least twice if not three times the size of normal waves back on the east coast. While the water was cold at first, we got used to it quickly, and the day was filled with body surfing, swimming, and amazement of the power these waves carried.

The beach also had a tremendous boardwalk. Someone noted that it was like "Ithaca on Steroids." There were many little shops with souvenirs and other odd items that you would find in a laid-back town like Ithaca. There were also street vendors and performers doing all wacky types of things. The walk also featured Muscle Beach, which was a place you could work out right on the oceanfront, as well as basketball courts and a skate park.

I would definitely recommend a visit to Venice Beach. There is plenty to do over the course of a full day there and is a great place to catch some sun and ride great waves.

For all my Venice Beach photos and pics from other places, check out my Facebook photos.

Hike to Fame!!

2009-08-22T17:52:00.001-07:00

Well, I can't remember the last time I walked that far and that high!! Today, the ICLA Program went on a hike to the famous Hollywood sign in the mountains north of Los Angeles. The sign is one of the most recognized landmarks in the world, and today, we got to get a glimpse of the amazing view the sign has!

The hike is pretty long and steep. It starts as a dirt road down near the bottom of the mountain and connects to a regular road that winds around to the top of it. The best part of the hike is that there are plenty of great places to stop and take pictures of the fantastic views. At points you can see everything (as best as possible with the smog and haze) such as downtown, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Burbank, the San Fernando Valley, and more! There are a few places that you can get a great glimpse of the Hollywood sign!

When you finally reach the top, it feels so good not to have to walk up anymore! The view is tremendous from up there and you can see all the letters up close. The only negative is that they are fenced off, so you basically are looking at the backs of them. However, it is still pretty cool to get up close to where the sign sits and see just how spread out and amazing LA is.

Unless you like walking up steep mountain trails, I don't recommend doing the hike more than once. However, it is something that must be done at least once! After the hike, I took a nice and relaxing dip in one of the two pools located on the Oakwoods complex! It was very much needed after the long trek!

If you want to see all of my pics from the hike, the Dodgers game, and a trip to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, check out my Facebook Photo Albums!

Family Feud and the LA Dodgers

2009-08-21T23:50:00.000-07:00

What a day! I will forever remember Friday, August 21, 2009 as one of the busiest but most fun days in a while. Myself and a bunch of friends from the ICLA program all went to a taping of Family Feud at the Sunset Bronson Studios. I always loved watching the show when I was younger, so it was fantastic to finally see the show live.

If your hands ever hurt from clapping a lot, it couldn't be anywhere near as bad as all of our hands were after today. You see three shows at the taping, and the show is ALL ABOUT APPLAUSE!! You clap for EVERYTHING! If a person gets a question right, you applaud. If they get it wrong, there's an elongated "Awww" followed by clapping. Cheering and applauding were non-stop during the show. However, it was certainly a fun experience and something I advise anyone to do if they are in Los Angeles. The best part? The tickets are free!

After the show, we ventured over to Dodger Stadium for the Dodgers-Cubs game. It was the first time I had ever been to a game at the ballpark, and it became the 8th different MLB Stadium I've seen a game at (10 if you include the Old Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium). The place is very unique and one of the oldest parks around. We had seats in the Top Deck which are high up, but provide a very nice view of the whole field and the scenic mountains behind.

The game was a bit boring, a 2-1 Dodgers win where the Cubs had only 1 hit, and the fans in the Top Deck were a little too focused on bouncing around Beach Balls and doing the wave (a personal pet peeve of mine). However, they were passionate at points, especially when Jonathan Broxton came on to close the game. I feel if the game was better, the atmosphere would've been much more enjoyable. I couldn't believe that you don't get a pencil with your scorecard. I had to buy one separate which was ridiculous! I also was upset with the lack of various sizes for T-Shirts in the stores. That could use work.

After the game, we were allowed to go onto the field to watch a very nice fireworks show. It was relatively short, but very cool to watch in the middle of a stadium with all the lights turned off. Being on the field was pretty fun too! As for getting out of the Stadium parking lot, it was a nightmare. It took forever just to go about 20 feet from our parking spot to the exit lanes. However, once we got in those, it took us about 15 minutes to get back, which wasn't bad. Overall, about 40 minutes from the time we got in the car.

Today was a very fun day and one of many that I know I will have here in LA. On Saturday, we'll all be going on a hike to the famous Hollywood sign, and on Sunday, we're taking a trip to Venice Beach. Certainly should be a fun time for everyone!

Thanks for continuing to read! I hope you're enjoying my posts. Feel free to give me any comments or suggestions or ask questions. You can comment on the post or email me at mhpbroadcaster@gmail.com

Musings from LA

2009-08-20T15:58:00.000-07:00

Ok, I've been in Los Angeles for over a week now and am starting to get a feel for where everything is in the city and the lifestyle here. So, these are some of the things I noticed:

1) Traffic is EVERYWHERE and it SUCKS!!

Every highway you go on, you will likely find traffic in and around the city. During rush hour, it is the worst. If you think getting off the highway and going through the city is better, think again! Lights make it even worse and there are just as many cars driving.

2) The weather is GORGEOUS!

No, not Gorges like Ithaca, you won't find many of those here. However, aside from the morning cloud cover that comes in off the Pacific Ocean, there is bountiful sunshine and warm temperatures every day. The best part: ZERO HUMIDITY! You never feel very sweaty or tired from being outside. It's the polar opposite of the East Coast.

3) "It's not smog, It's fog!"

Or so the people from LA believe. From everyone I've talked to here, the people of LA do not like to think that it's smog that prohibits people from enjoying the skyline and mountains. Instead, they claim it is a "marine layer" that comes in off the water. Sorry LA, with the amount of cars driving around, it's most definitely smog!

4) People here are much friendlier than in New York City

The polar opposite factor comes into effect here again. In New York City, everyone is in a hurry and very often unpleasant. While there are definitely some of that kind in LA, most people I've run into are much nicer. One lady let us stay parked in a lot after 6:00 without having to pay an extra $10. If you see that in NYC, go out and buy a lottery ticket because you definitely have some major luck!

5) Everything is so spread out

To get anywhere worthwhile in LA, you will have to drive a decent distance. From where we I am in the Oakwoods, the only things you can really walk to are Warner Brothers Studios, NBC Studios, and part of Universal Studios. Everything else is a drive, and a decent one at that. For every minute of normal driving time, you can add another 3-5 here at best. Basically, when looking from above, Hollywood is North, Downtown LA (Dodger Stadium, Staples Center, Big Skyscrapers) is East, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica is West, and Los Angeles International Airport is South.

Will get some pictures up from my apartment soon! Check back soon as well for my final decision on the two internships I will be doing in LA!

Favorites from My California Vacation

2009-08-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm all settled into my new apartment, I thought I'd do a little recap from my trip and tell you some of my favorite things that I did. So, here we go:

Favorite Place: Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39
This is really the premiere place to go in San Francisco and featured so many great things to do. From walking through the shops to the great restaurants to the California Sea Lions; Everything in this area was unique to San Francisco for the most part. The seafood was really great, and the sourdough bread from Boudin was also tasty. Overall, I had the most fun in this area.

Runner-Up: AT&T Park for the Giants-Reds Game

Favorite Meal: Shabu-Shabu dinner at the Kodak Theatre
I was looking to pick something that was both very tasty and a great experience. This place qualified for both. Having never had this type of cuisine, I truly enjoyed getting to try something new, and it was fun getting to basically make your dinner even though you were at a restaurant. While the food was already prepared, you put the final cooking touches on it which was cool. Then, there was the food itself, which was delicious. Flavorful, filling, and definitely worth the cost.

Runner-Up: Ribs and Onion Loaf at Tony Roma's in Universal Citywalk

Favorite Dessert: Hot Fudge Sundae at Ghirardelli Square
We didn't have a ton of places that we went to for dessert, but this would've been the winner anywhere. The sundae is famous and definitely the epitome of hot fudge sundaes. The chocolate at Ghirardelli is so good that it makes the ice cream infinitely better. The shoppe was a cool place too and showed how the chocolate was made. There was a gift shop too with insane amounts of chocolate. Overall, a great dessert.

Runner-Up: Hot Fudge Cheesecake at Cavalier Restaurant in San Simeon

Favorite Hotel: San Francisco Marriott Fisherman's Wharf
I've never slept so well in every hotel I went to during this vacation. However, this one was far above the rest. First of all, the beds in this hotel were phenomenal. The second you lie down, you sink into the bed because of how comfortable it was. The place was clean, big enough, and easy to access. Then, there's Pablo. He was the main concierge there, and he helped my mom and I get the best experience in San Francisco. He told us about the city bus tour, the House of Nanking, and what buses to take everywhere. Without him, this trip would not have been as fun. Overall, just a great place today, especially since it's a few blocks from Fisherman's Wharf.

Sightseeing in LA

2009-08-16T17:30:00.000-07:00

After our two-day drive down the Pacific Coast Highway, we arrived in Los Angeles and spent a few days getting acquainted to the city. Aside from driving around and getting a feel for the streets and freeways (which are often loaded with traffic), we visited many of the sites around the city. Here's a recap of them:

Tuesday Night:
Went to Hollywood Boulevard to check out the Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the Kodak Theatre, and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. These landmarks were must-sees in LA and the concrete hand and footprints were neat to look at and compare sizes with. The Kodak Theatre had a bunch of restaurants in it, including this awesome Japanese place that serves a great dish called Shabu Shabu. I definitely recommend it. Here are some pics:

Grauman's Theatre

Adam Sandler's Concrete Block

Shabu Shabu Dinner

On Wednesday, we went to the Farmer's Market. This was a nice little area that featured many food vendors as well as gift shops and even department stores. I even got some quality Bubble Tea there. Next, we traveled down to the USC Campus to check out the LA Memorial Coliseum. This was the site of the 1932 and 1984 Olympics and is the current home for USC Football. The place is massive and absolutely breathtaking when you walk inside it. I can only imagine it with 100,000+ people inside. On the way back to the hotel, we drove on Mulholland Drive, which goes up through the mountains in North Hollywood and provides awesome scenic views of all of LA. Finally, we went up to the Griffith Observatory at night. This is like a science museum which provides night-time lighted views of the city and allows you to see the stars much better. Unfortunately, it was foggy when we went, so the views weren't great. Some more pics...

Farmer's Market:

LA Memorial Coliseum

View of LA from Mulholland Drive

On Thursday, our big event was taking a tour of Dodger Stadium. This ballpark is one of the most historic in all of baseball and will be the third oldest in the majors next season. The views around the park were tremendous. We got to go in the Top Deck seats, the Vin Scully Press Box, a Suite, the Dugout, and the Field. You can see the mountains beyond the outfield and downtown LA from behind home plate. It's certainly something I would recommend doing if you can't see a game (the Dodgers were in Arizona when we went). The other big part of the day was going to Universal Studios City Walk at night. This place is vibrant with lights, restaurants, shops, and people and every restaurant we looked at had great food. We chose Tony Roma's, which is famous for it's fantastic ribs. Among the others were Hard Rock Cafe, Jillian's, Bubba Gump's, and many other varieties from Italian to Oriental to American. And more pictures...

Dodger Stadium from Top Deck

Stadium from Press Box

On the Field

In the Dugout

With Rudy Law, a Former Dodger

City Walk

On Friday, the only big stop we made was for dinner at the ESPN Zone down at LA Live, which is the name for that area of town. Also there is the Staples Center and the Nokia Theater. The Lakers were holding a 3 on 3 basketball tournament at the time. Here are some more pics:

Staples Center

Nokia Plaza

ESPN Studios

Finally, we spent Saturday at Malibu and Santa Monica. The beaches around Malibu were nice and the sand on the West Coast is much softer and warmer than the East Coast. Santa Monica is famous for its pier, which features a small amusement park, many places to eat, an aquarium, and great views of the ocean as well as fishing. The beach was gorgeous as well. And...more pics...

Malibu Beach

Santa Monica Pier

Santa Monica Beach

Ocean from Santa Monica

Back with pictures from my new apartment soon!

Drive Down the Coast Photos

2009-08-14T22:41:00.000-07:00

Stanford University Football Stadium

Pacific Ocean from 17 Mile Drive

Crazy Tree on Monterey Peninsula

Sea Lions on an Island (seen through a telescope)

Another View of the Pacific Ocean

18th Green at Pebble Beach

Entering the Drive Through Big Sur

Fog Rolling In from the Water

Pacific Coast Highway

Down the Mountains to the Water

Looking Out into Oblivion

Interesting Design at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo

Surfers at Pismo Beach

Gorgeous Mountains and Lakes

Pacific Ocean from Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, CA

Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara

Drive Down the Pacific Coast Highway

2009-08-14T22:27:00.000-07:00

After my stay in San Francisco, it was time to take the drive down to Los Angeles. Rather than just taking a quicker route on the interstate, we knew the only way to get down there was driving the Pacific Coast Highway. And so our journey began.

The beginning of the scenic route of Route 1 doesn't happen until around Monterey, so we took 101 South first. We made a pit stop in Palo Alto to check out the campus of Stanford. We couldn't see much because of construction, but it certainly looked like a very nice campus overall.

After getting down to Route 1, we took the 17 Mile Drive on the Monterey Peninsula. This is a big tourist attraction and rightfully so. The drive offers some amazing views of the Pacific Ocean along with beautiful homes and golf courses. Most notably, Pebble Beach Golf Links is located on the peninsula and provides a scenic place to play a round of golf. The historic site was definitely a pleasure to see, even for someone like myself who isn't a big golf fan.

Once we got back on the highway, we hit the best part of the trip, which was the drive through Big Sur. This mountain range is a tremendous site to look at with a variety of colors and peaks. On the drive, you have the mountains on one side with the ocean on the other. The road features a ton of places where you can pull over to stop the car, get out, and take some pictures. The views down from the high points on the road are absolutely breathtaking and very unique to the road. A personal favorite point was looking out into the ocean and hearing sea lions off in the distance.

We stayed overnight in San Luis Obispo, a cute little town about midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. In the town is a funny place called the Madonna Inn. Inside, there are crazy designs in the restaurant, lobby, and bathrooms that make it a unique tourist stop. It was an interesting site to say the least.

On the rest of the drive, we made stops at Pismo Beach, a nice area just south of San Luis Obispo that featured a lot of surfers, as well as Santa Barbara, another fun town that features Stearns Wharf, a long pier with some good food, shops, and great views of the ocean. If you go to California, I highly highly recommend taking this drive. It is well worth it and something I extremely underrated!

Day 3 in California Photos

2009-08-14T00:03:00.000-07:00

Union Square

San Francisco City Hall

San Francisco Ferry Building

San Francisco Bay Bridge from Ferry Building

View Up Nob Hill from San Francisco Cable Car

San Francisco Cable Car

View from the Bottom of Lombard Street

View of San Francisco from the top of Lombard Street

Coit Tower with Christopher Columbus' Statue

Downtown San Francisco from Coit Tower

Fisherman's Wharf and the Bay from Coit Tower

Oyster with Pearl at Pier 39

Hot Fudge Sundae @ Ghiradelli Square

California Vacation - Day 3

2009-08-13T23:39:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Back again for another post. I'm thoroughly enjoying my time in Los Angeles now and have some major catching up to do over the next week or so. However, here's a recap of my third day in San Francisco:

We began our day taking another bus tour of the entire downtown area of San Fran. This included most of the popular sites such as Fisherman's Wharf, the famous ferry building, Union Square, Chinatown, and the Financial District. It was a very informative tour that basically gave us an overall feel for the best parts of San Francisco.

After the tour, we took the bus back to the Ferry Building to get a closer look. This is a very famous landmark in the city and features many great food and gift markets inside, a beautiful fountain outside, and one of the best views of the Bay Bridge. It was also one of the very few buildings that survived the fires from the 1906 Earthquake which destroyed most of San Francisco.

Next, we finally got to ride a Cable Car. We took the car on the California Street line which runs from the Ferry Building up to the top of Nob Hill, one of the more expensive areas of SF, and down the other side. The car is a unique experience only to San Francisco and was fun to ride on, especially when you stand on the side and hold onto the bar. The views going up and down the hill were great too. I highly recommend taking a ride on a cable car in the city. We also took the Powell and Hyde Street line to get to our next destination...

...which was Lombard Street. This is the Crookedest Street in the World and another must-see in San Francisco. This one small section of the street in the city features numerous banked "S" curves that people can drive on. It's a very popular tourist destination, and there are stairs on either side for those who wish to walk down the street and take pictures. You can't go to San Francisco and not see Lombard Street.

The last big tourist trip of the day was up to Coit Tower on the top of Telegraph Hill. This old landmark of the city features multiple painted murals inside the base of the tower and an elevator ride up to the top of the 200+ foot tower. At the top, you can view the entire city through enclosed windows, though the top is open-air. You can see everything from the tower including both bridges, Lombard Street, downtown San Francisco, Fisherman's Wharf, and even out to Oakland across the bay. It was a magnificent way to see the entire city from one of the highest points.

After the tower, we headed back to the wharf where we had another good dinner at Wipeout. After that, we looked around some more at the shops including the Pearl Factory, where you can buy an oyster and have them get the pearl out of it. Some of the pearls that are found can be different colors and big sizes too. It's definitely another unique San Francisco experience.

Finally, we ended the day with a trip to Ghiradelli Square, home to some of the best chocolate in the world. We got to have one of their famous Hot Fudge Sundaes which was delicious and see how the chocolate is made. The aroma inside the square and sweetness of the chocolate is something that cannot be missed.

Overall, our three days in San Francisco were absolutely fantastic. Everything from the different sites to the food to the very nice people everywhere we went really made the trip worthwhile.

Day 2 in California Photos

2009-08-13T07:21:00.000-07:00

Outside Home Plate Gate of AT&T Park

Right Field Boardwalk with McCovey Cove on Right

Willie Mays Statue

AT&T Park - Field Level

View from Our Seats

Famous Coke Bottle and Glove in Left Field

View of Bay Bridge from Park

Grace Cathedral

Sunset Over San Francisco

The House of Nanking

Flower Blossom Tea at House of Nanking

California Vacation - Day 2

2009-08-12T08:54:00.001-07:00

So, this past Saturday, I added another ballpark to my list of sports venues that I have been to. AT&T Park became the newest addition as we ventured over for the Giants-Reds game that afternoon. I must say, this is definitely in my Top 3 of baseball stadiums.

We walked around the outside which is beautifully constructed with Giants history. There are statues of greats such as Willie Mays, Juan Marichal, and Orlando Cepeda and several plaques for the Giants Wall of Fame on the third base side. Palm trees adorn the facility too. Once inside, you see more of why the park is fantastic. For starters, the view is one of the best in baseball. You can see San Francisco Bay in the distance with McCovey Cove in right field, the site of many home run balls. In the upper level on the left field side, you have a beautiful view of the Bay Bridge, which can also be seen from the upper level seats in right field.

Other great features of the park include comfortable seats, a wide variety of food (including Gilroy's Garlic Fries), and very very friendly employees. There is an area in left field with a wiffleball field, and the famous Coke Bottle Slide and big leather glove. Right field is like a boardwalk where fans can walk atop and purchase seats to watch the game.

As for the fans, they were passionate, cheering hard, and ripping on me for the most part as I was wearing my Yankee jersey. One fan chanted "A-Roid!" at me, which I laughed at considering they worship Barry Bonds, Overall, just a great place to go watch a ballgame; I recommend doing it during the day when it's sunny and gorgeous out.

After the game, we did a night tour of the city, even though it was still light out. This was another double-decker bus tour and featured many great spots in the city like Union Square (a big shopping area), the Financial District, and City Hall among others. Another cool little tour that showed some of the best San Francisco had to offer.

Dinner was just as good as the ballgame as we ate at what is probably the most popular place in Chinatown: House of Nanking. After waiting 30 minutes in line at about 9:00 at night, we got a table and even sat with three fellow-New Yorkers who were also big Yankee fans. You don't order from a menu here; the waiters ask what you like and bring you dishes that cater to your taste. We had a shrimp cake appetizer, a very good sesame chicken, and an equally good pork dish. The tea was the wildest part. They serve it in a beer glass and there is a little flower on the bottom that blossoms into a big one inside the tea. It is a site to see for sure. I highly recommend eating here if you go to San Francisco. It was a truly unique experience.

After getting some famous Mitchell's Ice Cream in The Cannery down by the Wharf, we turned in for the night. Another great day in the Bay Area! Keep an eye out for pictures coming later tonight in another post!

Photos From Day 1 in San Francisco

2009-08-12T00:35:00.000-07:00

New York City from the Plane

Rocky Mountains from the Plane

The Palace of Fine Arts

The Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco from the Golden Gate Bridge

Famous Fisherman's Wharf Sign and Wharf Area

Alcatraz Island

Entrance to Pier 39

California Sea Lions

Coit Tower and the TransAmerica Pyramid

California Vacation - Day 1

2009-08-11T07:34:00.000-07:00

Hey, I'm back and ready to start detailing my experiences on the West Coast. I apologize for not posting sooner, but I haven't had much wireless access at any point so far. I have been in California since Friday, August 7th and have loved every minute of it. My mother is vacationing along as well, as she hasn't been able to see Cali in a long time. We started our trip up in San Francisco, a city that's a personal favorite of both of us. Here's a recap of the highlights:

Flight: We took American Airlines from JFK to San Francisco International. Not really any delay which was good and the flight was smooth for the most part...just some minor turbulence. The views on the trip were amazing, especially when we passed south of Manhattan and over the Rocky Mountains. Safe flight was a good start.

Hotel: For our three days in San Francisco, we stayed at the San Francisco Marriott Fisherman's Wharf. The people at the hotel were very friendly, it was reasonably priced, and it was located very close to Fisherman's Wharf. The best part was the beds, which were nice and soft and gave me the best sleep I ever had at a hotel. I highly recommend this place.

Tour Bus: We began our day (which was in the afternoon at this point) by doing one of the many tour buses in San Francisco. We got a great deal on the CitySightseeing double-decker buses and got to do many different loops over the three days. The first one we did was to the Golden Gate Bridge. We stopped at the Palace of Fine Arts which is a gorgeous looking building first. Then we went to the Bridge which is a fantastic sight to see up close. The views of the San Francisco Bay, the city, and the Pacific Ocean are all great from Golden Gate and there's a viewing point on the north side of the bridge too. On our way back, we passed through the Presidio district which is a wealthy part of San Francisco. It had some very nice Victorian Homes and Eucalyptus trees. Overall, this was a very nice tour to start the day.

Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39: After the bus, we went down toward the water to check out Fisherman's Wharf and the famous Pier 39. You cannot go in this area without being overwhelmed by the smell of seafood. Everything from crab to shrimp and even lobster is available here and is all very good. The Wharf itself had a ton of great places to just pick up some seafood and eat it with a view of the bay and Alcatraz. In the area by our hotel, there was an In and Out Burger, which I naturally went to so I could get my first experience of it. The food was pretty good; Burger, fries, soda is the norm. The place is a good combo of McDonalds and Johnny Rockets. As we walked further east, we eventually hit Pier 39, which is the hot spot for San Francisco Tourists. It has many shops, restaurants, and other assorted fun places to go. We had a shrimp dinner on the Pier which was fantastic. We also checked out the California Sea Lions, which is a must-do in San Fran. On the back-left side of the pier, there is a balcony where you can see all of the Sea Lions lounging on the platforms in the bay. They are very noisy despite looking like they are sleeping and are often "barking" at each other. It is an awesome site to see for sure. On the way back to the hotel, we passed by many cool shops and restaurants along the Embarcadero. There was even a Rainforest Cafe, which I didn't think existed anymore. Other notable places were a Wax Museum and Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum.

Overall my first day was fantastic. I will add some pictures either to this post or in a separate post as soon as I can. I've taken so many to this point that I have to share at least some with you all. Either later tonight or tomorrow, if I have wireless access, I will write about the second day in San Fran.

Welcome

2009-08-03T10:34:00.001-07:00

Hello Everyone. This is a new blog that I set up where I will be keeping track of everything going on as I spend the Fall of 2009 in Los Angeles. I will do my best to update what I am doing each day from my internship and other activities that I'll be doing.

I will be taking part in the Ithaca College Los Angeles Program. It is specifically for communications students. I will be taking two classes to finish up my Journalism minor: Issues in the News & Government and Media. I will also be doing a six-credit internship to fulfill the final requirement for my Sport Media major. I will update here as soon as I know where my internship is.

Aside from that, I plan on enjoying my time in LA and other places on the west coast. I have never been to Los Angeles before, so this will be a first-time experience for me. I have been to San Francisco for five days, but that is all. I hope to check out a lot of the stadiums and arenas out there, the big tourist places in LA, the beach of course, and anything else I find interesting.

I hope you enjoy reading about my journey to the left coast. I'll be heading out on Friday, August 7th, so stay tuned for my first posts from California soon!