Derek's Photo Blog » Sports

Fireworks!!!

DRock — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:22:45 +0000

For Independence Day this year, I ventured down to watch the pyrotechnics from my fiance’s brother’s place, which is about half a block from Lake Superior. My fiance Kristin, her brother Jake, their parents and Evan took in the show from the rocks along the shore as the rain cleared out for one night that weekend to make way for almost perfect conditions. The shoreline of Lake Superior in Duluth is a great place to watch the fireworks because you got an unobstructed view of the Aerial Lift Bridge while also being able to see Superior’s fireworks show. Another cool thing I noticed for the first time is that if you look out across the lake toward Wisconsin, you can see about four or five other fireworks shows in other cities. For now, check out the images below and be sure to check back here in a few days for another post.

The Aerial Lift Bridge, for you non-Duluthians, is the yellow bridge directly under the fireworks. It connects Park Point to the rest of Duluth and was built for the city's shipping industry.

Looks like a shell exploded on the ground in the image on the right.

Evan handling fireworks for the first time. As you can see, this was serious business.

David vs. Goliath

DRock — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 16:01:33 +0000

This past weekend marked the end of my month-long swing through the state tournaments of Wisconsin and Minnesota as I traveled down to Minneapolis to shoot the Grand Rapids boys basketball team play for the Class AAA championship. The Thunderhawks, despite being ranked third, did not earn one of the top four seeds. The logic behind that was they hadn’t won a first-round game the last five times they made it to state. They took that as a slight and played like they had a chip on their shoulder.

They got over their first-round demons with a 70-61 victory over the No. 3 seed Benilde St. Margaret’s. That set up a semifinal against the No. 2 seed DeLaSalle. This was a game that was back and forth from the opening tip until the final buzzer. It would take two overtimes for Grand Rapids to pull out the 57-53 victory and advance to the first state title game in team history. However, that meant they would have to play St. Paul Johnson.

Johnson had defeated the top-ranked team in the large-school division earlier this year making their claim as the best basketball team in the state. Nationally, the Governors were ranked 42nd and their stock was rising with each week. While it took Grand Rapids two overtimes to get to the finals, the Governors won by 25 in their semifinal game and 43 in their opening round contest. On paper, it didn’t look like it was going to be close. Urban vs. rural. Top-dog vs. underdog. David vs. Goliath. But that’s why they play them.

In the championship match, each team held big leads–Grand Rapids by six and St. Paul Johnson by nine. Late in the second half, it looked like Johnson was pulling away as they carved out a 10-point lead, but Grand Rapids thundered back to bring it to within one with 30 seconds to go. They got the ball on a missed Governors’ shot, but were unable to get a shot off as Johnson forced a turnover. Grand Rapids ended up losing 59-55, but to play that close in a game that nobody was giving them a chance showed that this team belonged in the championship–seeded or not.

Here are a few photos from my time at the Target Center. I’m now going to be transitioning into the wedding season so we’ll start seeing some more wedding and engagement blog posts.

Stacy Perreault (center) prays during the second of two Grand Rapids' free throws with classmates Gabby Menges (left, holding sign) and Christian Adams (right, jersey #22) in the second half of the Thunderhawks' game against DeLaSalle during the Class AAA state semifinal game.

LEFT: Grand Rapids' Austin Pohlen (left) fights for possession of the ball with DeLaSalle's Bretson McNeal (right, 25) during their Class AAA state semifinal game. RIGHT: Winona's Anthony Inman (23) bowls over St. Paul Johnson's Anthony Lee (right, 1) during a Class AAA semifinal game.

Grand Rapids' Austin Pohlen (right, 23) begins to celebrate the Thunderhawks' victory over DeLaSalle in the final seconds during the Class AAA state semifinal game.

DeLaSalle's Jonah Travis (middle, white jersey) runs into a stiff Grand Rapids' defense that included Michael Johnson (3), Brian Akre (left, 53) and Kevin Rabbers (2nd from right, 43) during the Class AAA state semifinal game.

Grand Rapids' Michael Johnson slips on the floor in the first half of the Thunderhawks game against DeLaSalle during the Class AAA state semifinal game,

LEFT: Grand Rapids' Eric Stark (left, 25) goes up for two and the foul against St. Paul Johnson's Demitri Conwell (right, 4) during the Class AAA state finals. RIGHT: Grand Rapids' Eric Stark (right) has a shot blocked by St. Paul Johnson's Maxie Rosenbloom (left) in the second half of the Thunderhawks 59-55 loss to the Governors in the Class AAA state finals.

Grand Rapids' Austin Pohlen (23) smiles while looking at the Thunderhawks' student section seconds after they defeated DeLaSalle in the Class AAA state semifinal game.

LEFT: St. Paul Johnson's Roosevelt Scott (left) slams one home while teammate Jordan Pluff (right, 42) in the first half of a game against Winona during the Class AAA semifinal game. RIGHT: St. Paul Johnson's Jordan Pluff (center, 42) is fouled in the first half of the Governors' game against Grand Rapids during the Class AAA state finals.

Grand Rapids' Michael Johnson (left) and Brian Akre (right) put on the defense against St. Paul Johnson's Anthony Lee (center) during the Class AAA state finals.

Grand Rapids senior Ryan Dumm cheers on the Thunderhawks during introductions before their game against St. Paul Johnson in the Class AAA state finals.

LEFT: Grand Rapids' Brian Akre gets pumped up after scoring two and being fouled in the first half of the Thunderhawks' 59-55 loss to St. Paul Johnson in the Class AAA state finals. RIGHT: Grand Rapids' Brian Akre (53) goes high to defend St. Paul Johnson's Roosevelt Scott (center) while Thunderhawk Kevin Rabbers (right) defends down low during the Class AAA state finals.

Members of the Grand Rapids boys basketball team including Kevin Rabbers (left, 43), Michael Johnson (2nd from left, 3) and Brian Akre (center, hand up) console each other after their 59-55 loss to St. Paul Johnson in the Class AAA state finals.

Beaker?

DRock — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 14:50:17 +0000

A lot of what makes a good sports photograph comes from the athlete’s face. You might have an awesome shot of a point guard flying through defenders, hands everywhere, player frozen in the air, but if the face is blocked, it more often than not ends up in the circular file. The face is one of the first areas our eyes are drawn to in a photograph and it’s definitely what caught my eye here.

This is from the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, IN. I’m just getting around to cleaning up my desktop of all the clutter and came across this shot again. The moment I saw it, I thought of Beaker from the muppets. This was at the end of the race so Wisconsin’s Craig Miller is probably as tired as much as Beaker is shy and tormented. One thing that was not heard down the final stretch of course in Terre Haute was any “meep, meep, meep” and I can safely say Miller wasn’t electrocuted, set on fire or eaten by any large creatures like our favorite friend from the Muppets.

Just to clarify... that's Craig Miller of Wisconsin (left) and Beaker of the Muppets (right)

Badges of Honor

DRock — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:59:56 +0000

At its most basic level, cauliflower ear is the result of blows to the ear damaging the cartilage and allowing fluid to collect. The cartilage separates from the skin and dies, the ear becomes permanently swollen and deformed and resembles a cauliflower. However, for those in sports such as wrestling, cauliflower ear is almost like a badger of honor. Like a reporter or photographer with a media credential that identifies them as a member of the press, cauliflower ear often means you are a member of a special community.

The injury is not common outside sports like wrestling, MMA or rugby. While downtown in Omaha at last weekend’s NCAA wrestling championships, you could immediately tell who had wrestling in their blood by checking out their ears. When I’m people watching, I typically don’t make a point of glancing at someone’s ears, but it’s hard not too at tournaments like these. Not because the ears are so gnarly, but because you get a sense of who people are in the crowd or anywhere by looking at their ear. The old guy with cauliflower ear down the row from you with the Arizona State sweater on might not just be an old curmudgeon, but was probably a pretty good wrestler too.

The great thing about cauliflower ear is that while the condition of the ear itself sends a united message about each person, each ear is particularly unique. Some have just a little deformation, while others are completely filled in, some have bumps and valleys, some look like you could pop them with a needle, some people have piercings in their ears while others have just enough room to insert an earbud.

I took photos throughout the championships of different cauliflower ears and posted a variety below. It might be gross to some of you out there, but anyone who is familiar with the sport of wrestling shouldn’t have a problem. It’s all in the ear of the beholder…

Three days in Omaha

DRock — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 22:27:28 +0000

I spent this last weekend photographing some of the best wrestlers in the country at the NCAA division one wrestling championships in Omaha, NE. My dad had been going to this tournament for ages and this was the first time things came together so that I could go.

Most of the wrestlers at this tournament have been living on mats for almost 20 years and their ears showed it. Anyone familiar with the sport of wrestling knows about cauliflower ear. It’s one thing that you don’t see too often on a person who hasn’t spent a good portion of their life on the mat. Cauliflower ear was everywhere here and so were great matches. From the quarterfinals on, you couldn’t turn your head without seeing a great match. And Iowa fans made their presence known. They could make a preliminary round victory by one of their wrestlers sound like they had just won a national title. If an Iowa wrestler lost in dramatic fashion or in the last second, almost every other fan there cheered. Iowa has been so dominant in this sport with 23 NCAA team titles since 1975 that they are a team that people love to hate.

One of the best stories of the tournament was Anthony Robles of Arizona State. Robles was an All-American last year and again this year. This isn’t what makes his story unique. The fact that he was born with only one leg is what makes his story special. There are so many things you can’t do with only one leg as a wrestler. Through the first two matches, Robles had outscored his opponents 31-0 and scored two quick tech fall victories using a variety of tilts to garner back points. With only one leg, Robles is much stronger in his upper body than his opponents and probably has the arms of a 157-pounder, which makes life for opponents pretty complicated. Being a former wrestler, it amazes me that he is able to compete at such a high level without one of his legs. He has been one of the most inspirational figures in the sport’s history and he will be looking to make it to the top of the podium next year in Philadelphia. To read more about Robles’ life story, check out this story here.

You’ll see some pictures of Robles below mixed in with other action from three days in Omaha.