In September 2012, the NCAA implemented a stall warning procedure for men’s lacrosse to include a 30-second time frame for the offensive team to take a shot — or risk losing possession.
Working with the NCAA, ESPN’s Emerging Technology division constructed a Stall Warning Device for the referees to wear during ESPN televised games. The referee flips the switch at the start of the Stall Warning, and the production truck produces a countdown clock graphic.
It will be used again at the 2013 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship Presented by Northwestern Mutual, set to air on ESPN networks Saturday and Monday from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Front Row talked with Anthony Bailey, vice president for Emerging Technology, about ESPN’s newest creation. continue reading…
ESPN’s Andy Katz is the Swiss Army knife of reporters. He contributes daily to ESPN.com, has his own college basketball show on ESPNU and co-hosts a podcast with analyst Seth Greenberg that also airs on ESPN Radio. Katz is hardly one to let his skill-set sit around collecting rust, so while college basketball takes a seat on the bench, he continues reporting from the NBA Draft beat.
ESPNU’s coverage of the NBA Draft Combine begins today at 10 a.m. ET. The exclusive live telecast will include interviews as well as an inside look at how the expected top draft picks fair in several skills challenges. Front Row sat down with the newly re-signed Katz to discuss this year’s Combine:
How difficult would it be to direct a full-length film in addition to performing your normal work duties? Just ask ESPN Films producer Erin Leyden, whose documentary, Abby Head On, premieres tonight at 8 p.m. ET on ESPNU as part of the SEC Storied film series.
Front Row caught up with Leyden in advance of the film’s debut. Also, be on the lookout for another film she is directing this summer, The 99ers, part of the Nine for IX ESPN Films and espnW series. continue reading…
Front Row sat down with him to discuss “The Schwab” playoffs that start tonight during UNITE on ESPNU at midnight ET. The field in this bracket has been narrowed from 27 to nine college contestants who will represent their respective conferences in the semifinals of the late-night show’s sports trivia game. continue reading…
More than 40 years after the passing of Title IX legislation, ESPN is capturing watershed moments in women’s sports in a new display unveiled yesterday on ESPN’s Bristol, Conn. campus. The wall dedication was a fitting part of the festivities leading up to the first-ever primetime telecast of the WNBA Draft, held in Studio E and aired on ESPN2, ESPNU and WatchESPN.
The 560-square foot wall (just down the hall from ESPN’s newsroom) features iconic moments in women’s sports history, from Billie Jean King’s triumph in the Battle of the Sexes tennis match against Bobby Riggs in 1973, to ESPN’s pioneering female sports broadcasters of the 1970′s and 80′s, to “The Year of Women’s Soccer” in 1999. continue reading…
Lya Vallat in the control room. (Photo courtesy of Lya Vallat)
Lya Vallat has produced many shows in her five-plus year career at ESPN, but when ESPN women’s basketball announcers Beth Mowins and Debbie Antonelli wanted to make their ideas a reality, Vallat had to put her experience to use.
Today, Mowins and Antonelli, along with Cara Capuano, Maria Taylor and Brooke Weisbrod, will take part in the execution of those ideas with a revamped, four-hour ESPNU College Basketball Live: NCAA Women’s Special beginning at 1 p.m. continue reading…
ESPN’s Andy Katz on the set of “Katz Korner.” (ESPN)
Click HERE to listen or visit iTunes to download the podcast and be sure to SUBSCRIBE to the Front & Center podcast. Also, make sure to check out the ESPN Radio app, available for the iPad.
The madness of March doesn’t really seem all that mad once you hear Senior ESPN.com Writer Andy Katz’s season-long college basketball schedule. From his daily writing for the site to his sideline reporting at games to his in-studio work, Katz goes pretty much non-stop from Midnight Madness (October) through One Shining Moment (April).
This year, Katz’s plate has overflowed with a brand new podcast (co-hosted by analyst Seth Greenberg), hosting duties for ESPNU’s The Experts (Tuesdays, 1 p.m. ET with re-air at 2:30 p.m., ESPNU) and his new show, Katz Korner (Tuesdays, 4:30 p.m., ESPNU).
In the Front & Center podcast above, Katz covers a range of topics from his goals for Katz Korner to his affection for Outside the Lines and his thoughts on whether college basketball needs “fixing,” as some have suggested.
Last Friday, Feb. 15, hosts Danny Kanell, Reese Waters and Marianela Pereyra traveled from their Bristol-based UNITE studio to the Big Apple to call their first basketball game, Iona at Manhattan, on ESPNU.
The MAAC (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) contest lived up to its ESPN Rivalry Week designation. Manhattan outlasted Iona 74-73 in double overtime.
Rookie basketball analysts Kanell and Waters and sideline reporter Marianela were helped by veteran play-by-play voice Doug Sherman.
The pictures above capture some of the UNITE team’s behind-the-scenes preparation and on-air presentation.
Front Rowtalked with Kanell, also known for his role as an ESPN college football analyst, prior to the game.
Drafted by both the NFL (Giants, 1996) and MLB (Brewers, 1992; Yankees, 1995), the former Florida State quarterback (and two season Seminoles baseball player) cherishes athletic competition of any sort. That’s one of the many reasons he is able to host a show like UNITE that addresses various sports.
Kanell puts his analytical skills to the test when he and fellow UNITE hosts Reese Waters and Marianela Pereyra call the MAAC Rivalry Week matchup of Iona at Manhattan on ESPNU (Friday, 7 p.m. ET).
Kanell has called baseball games for ESPNU, but this will be his first time providing analysis for a basketball game. Waters and Kanell will join play-by-play voice Doug Sherman, and Pereyra will handle sideline reporting duties.
Recently, UNITE has been the postgame destination for ESPNU action with Kanell and Waters providing recap analysis, highlights and interviews with the game’s coaches and players. Front Row sat down with Kanell to see what he’s learned:
How have you prepared for the game?
We have been reading game notes along with research and media clippings of both teams and we watched several of their game highlights online. Also, we are going to go to both team’s shoot-arounds on Friday where we will talk to the coaches and players. [Note: UNITE also had two Iona players on the show this week -- see video above.]
What do you know about ESPN’s Doug Sherman, who will be providing the play-by-play?
Doug Sherman is a staple of MAAC basketball. He’s been covering the conference for nine years and knows the players and teams inside and out. There is a rumor that we are going to give him a UNITE makeover throughout the game so we’ll have to see if it that happens.
After signing at Houston in 1987, Andre Ware — now an ESPN analyst — eventually won the Heisman Trophy. (Credit: University of Houston Athletics)
Today, 18 of the nation’s elite undecided college football recruits will discuss their commitment decisions on ESPNU during the network’s daylong coverage of National Signing Day.
National Signing Day Coverage
ESPN Reporters In The Field
Tom Rinaldi – Alabama
Bob Holtzman – Notre Dame
Pedro Gomez – Texas A&M
Jeannine Edwards – Florida State
Josina Anderson – Michigan
Shelley Smith – Southern Cal
Allison Williams – Ole Miss
Holly Rowe – LSU
Cara Capuano – Florida
Quint Kessenich – Ohio State
Lowell Galindo – Texas
Paul Carcaterra – Auburn
Eamon McAnaney – Clemson
ESPN Studio Talent
Rece Davis
Dari Nowkhah
Derrick Dooley
Tom Luginbill
Gene Chizik
Craig Haubert
Mike Bellotti
Rod Gilmore
Kirk Herbstreit
Lou Holtz
Coverage of the event has expanded annually as fans’ appetites for recruiting news has increased. However, the first Wednesday in February has been
circled on players and coaches’ calendars for decades.
Front Row asked some of ESPN’s college football analysts to reflect on their own Signing Days.
Danny Kanell, QB, Florida State, 1992
Signing Day is a day I’ll never forget. I was 90 percent sure I was headed to Florida State, but it didn’t hit me until I signed on the dotted line that it would make me a Seminole for life. Henri Crockett — another high school senior headed to FSU — and I held a press conference at the Olive Garden and felt like superstars.
